Blackburn R.2 Airedale

Two were built, the first crashing after entering competitive trials with the Hawker Hedgehog. The second went to Martlesham Heath for testing in 1926, but appeared to offer little in improvement over existing types.

Crew 3

power plant 1 x 385 h.p Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III 14 cylinder two row radial.

Span 43'0" Length 36'4" Height 14'3" Gross weight 4,942 lb

Max speed 120 mph

Armament 1 x 0.5"Vickers machine gun firing through the propeller disc and 1 x .303" machine gun on a Scarff in the rear observer's cockpit.

reply

This was intended to be a successor to the Blackburn Blackburn. It's parasol wings could fold for stowage on board an aircraft carrier, and it's radial engine was lighter and simpler to maintain than the liquid-cooled Napier Lion engine on the older aircraft. However, at that time the British were simply not ready to accept a monoplane, particularly on an aircraft carrier.

reply