Bristol 146

1938

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Bristol 146

Embodying the lessons learned from the Type 133, the Type 146 was a single-seat eight-gun all-metal fighter of monocoque construction with stressed duralumin skinning. Intended to meet the requirements of Specification F.5/34, the Type 146 was designed for a fullysupercharged Bristol Perseus radial of 835hp, but the sole prototype completed was fitted with an 840hp Mercury IX owing to the non-availability of the intended power plant. Armament comprised four 7.7mm Browning machine guns in each wing. Delayed in completion through its low development priority, the Type 146 was finally flown on 11 February 1938, but was already out-dated by the Merlin- engined Hurricane and Spitfire. After trials at Martlesham Heath, it was returned to the manufacturer to participate in a local RAF display, where it collided with a display set-piece while landing and was scrapped forthwith.

3-View 
Bristol 146A three-view drawing (1278 x 950)

Specification 
 WEIGHTS
  Take-off weight2086 kg4599 lb
  Empty weight1489 kg3283 lb
 DIMENSIONS
  Wingspan11.89 m39 ft 0 in
  Length8.23 m27 ft 0 in
  Height3.15 m10 ft 4 in
  Wing area20.44 m2220.01 sq ft
 PERFORMANCE
  Max. speed462 km/h287 mph

Bristol 146

Comments
Stephen Round, e-mail, 16.10.2013 02:30

The Vickers Viper performed so much better with superb manoeverability - it handled like a FW190 -and it did it with a much lower powered Bristol engine. The really good thing about this design is the excellent view available from the cockpit in comparison with the Viper... Peroblem was that the aircraft and engine manufacturers were stuck into a buggins turn kind of fixed beforehand competion with the Air Ministry and they were reluctant to upset the status quo.

This long term death wish policy had protected the Aircraft Industry from the vicious austerity of the twenties and the thirties and after Fairy Aviation had been horribly punished by The Air Ministry for buying American V12 water cooled inline Curtiss Engines and was left to depend on intermittent oders from Belgium to scrape by for its living.

No one else in british aviation was willing to step out of line and risk joining the dole queue after that - Londons grip on industry in this invisible shadow of a country was worse than Stalins Russia! has it changed - well look around you - nothing moves without Londons approval when are we going to get these thieves and lowlifes off our backs?

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mike, 01.08.2013 13:44

Ah the benefit of hindsight!

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leo rudnicki, e-mail, 15.04.2009 06:50

In planform, it looks like an Oscar, in profile like a joke. They should have scrapped it before they displayed it. A result of using handicapped design staff. Should have let their guide dogs do the job.

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