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| The Bombay was designed as a transport aircraft for 24 troops or freight, capable also of being operated as a bomber by RAF squadrons based abroad. Power was provided by two 753kW Bristol Pegasus XXII radial engines mounted on the leading edges of the high monoplane wings. Defensive armament comprised Lewis guns in nose and tail positions. The prototype first flew on 23 June 1935 and the first of 50 production aircraft entered service just after the outbreak of World War II. Flown mainly as transports in the Middle East and Mediterranean theatres of war, a number were also employed temporarily as night bombers against Benghasi, Libya, in September 1940.
 | A three-view drawing (900 x 757) |
| CREW | 3-4 |
| PASSENGERS | 24 |
| ENGINE | 2 x Bristol "Pegasus XXII", 710kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 9070 kg | 19996 lb |
| Empty weight | 6260 kg | 13801 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 29.3 m | 96 ft 2 in |
| Length | 20.6 m | 68 ft 7 in |
| Height | 6.1 m | 20 ft 0 in |
| Wing area | 124.5 m2 | 1340.11 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 308 km/h | 191 mph |
| Cruise speed | 257 km/h | 160 mph |
| Ceiling | 7620 m | 25000 ft |
| Range w/max.fuel | 3500 km | 2175 miles |
| Range w/max payload | 1400 km | 870 miles |
| ARMAMENT | 2-4 machine-guns, 2000kg of bombs |
| P. G. Cox, e-mail, 14.01.2015 20:59 Further to Klaatu83. The Bombay was piloted by Sergeant (later Sqdn Ldr) Hugh 'Jimmy' James.
For many years there was intense speculation about the circumstances of Gott's death. James was always convinced that he was assassinated, since the six German Bf 109s fighters had ambushed his aircraft over Allied territory and did not leave the scene until the Bombay had been completely destroyed on the ground – an unusual tactic in the desert war.
In 2005, James met one of the German fighter pilots involved, who confirmed that shortly after they had returned from the mission their commander had congratulated them for "killing General Gott"; this had been several hours before James had reached a British post to report the loss of the Bombay.
James died January 7, 2015 aged 92 reply | | Klaatu83, e-mail, 17.03.2013 01:50 The entire course of World War II may well have been decided by one of these aircraft. In 1942 Lt. General William Gott, who was about to assume command of the British Army in North Africa, was killed when the Bristol Bombay in which he was flying as a passenger crashed. It was for that reason that General Bernard Montgomery was assigned instead, and the rest, as they say, is history... reply |
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