Bristol 170
| Bristol type 170 | |
|---|---|
 British United Airways' Bristol Mk.32 Superfreighter |
|
| Type: | Cargo and passenger aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
December 2, 1945 |
| Commissioning: |
July 7, 1948 |
| Production time: |
1946 to 1958 |
| Number of pieces: |
214 |
The Bristol Type 170 was a twin-engine propeller-driven cargo and passenger aircraft of the Bristol Airplane Company from 1945. Depending on the version, the Bristol Freighter, Wayfarer, Superfreighter or Super Wayfarer was called, with the Wayfarer versions being designed as pure passenger aircraft.
history
The construction of the Freighter was carried out by Taffy Powell, who wanted to design an aircraft that could transport both passengers and vehicles. Powell leaned it to the structural design of the Bristol Bombay - Bombers on. The first flight of the prototype of the Type 170 Mk I Freighter took place on December 2, 1945. The Type 170 Mk II Wayfarer version with 32 passenger seats followed on April 30, 1946.
On July 7, 1948, Silver City Airways made the first flight with a motor vehicle and passengers from Lympne in Kent to Le Touquet on the north coast of France . Another flight service started from Lydd Ferryfield Airport, also in Kent. The most popular version was the improved Type 170 Mk 31 equipped with more powerful engines . Due to the success of the flights, an enlarged version Type 170 Mk 32 Superfreighter was developed, which received a fuselage that was 1.52 m longer and a larger tail unit. The aircraft could now carry three cars and 22 people. The first flight took place on January 16, 1953 and 20 machines of this version were built. This type was later replaced by the Aviation Traders ATL-98 . By far the largest customer for the Bristol 170 was the Pakistani Air Force , which bought a total of 71 Bristol 170s from 1948 onwards.
As the ferries got faster and hovercrafts and hydrofoils were able to carry more motor vehicles, the airplanes for motor vehicle transport became unprofitable. Silver City Airways now concentrated on passenger and cargo transport and finally retired the aircraft in the 1970s.
The last two Bristol 170s were delivered in 1958, one to Straits Air Freight Express (SAFE Air) in New Zealand and the very last one to Dan-Air .
The last flight of a Bristol 170 took place in 2004, when the Canadian Hawkair transferred its last aircraft to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum .
construction
The Freighter was a shoulder- wing monoplane with a beefy, hinged nose and a solid, robust undercarriage. The cockpit sat above the two-part tailgate that could be opened to the left and right. The Bristol 170 did not have a pressurized cabin .
Other civil use
In one of the opening sequences of the American comedy film Happy End in September with Gina Lollobrigida and Rock Hudson in the lead roles, this machine plays a small role as a transporter for the Rolls of the industrialist Talbot portrayed by Hudson. In New Zealand , SAFE Air (Straits Air Freight Express) used the machines to transport rail freight from Wellington on the North Island to Blenheim on the South Island . For the first time in aviation history, the planes loaded patented flight containers here .
The containers were first loaded onto trucks and then onto planes by the railroad. The containers were screwed tight there with electric screwdrivers. Other variants allowed horses and other large animals to be transported.
The Freighters were the main transport aircraft to the Chatham Islands until they were replaced by the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy . SAFE Air also had pressurized containers to transport passengers.
Military use
Bristol Freighters were used by Pakistan in their wars. Some military machines were later bought up by SAFE Air and used in New Zealand.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) also used Bristol Freighters. She ordered twelve machines at the end of the 1940s. The RNZAF used the machine for transport flights to the New Zealand Army in Malaysia . The aircraft were used by the RAF Far East Air Force in Malaysia and Hong Kong . During the Indochina War , the Allies of Thailand flew military equipment with the aircraft.
The Freighters were removed from military service in the 1970s. The last civil aircraft was still in use at Hawkair in Terrace , Canada until 2004 .
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Incidents
Between 1946 and the last flight in 2004 there were 69 total losses from Bristol 170; 61 of them were accidents. 387 people were killed.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data Bristol 170 Freighter |
|---|---|
| crew | 2–4 (pilot, copilot and loadmaster) |
| length | 20.83 m |
| span | 29.87 m |
| height | 6.60 m |
| Wing area | 130.53 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.8 |
| payload | 16 passengers and 2 cars or 44 passengers or 5.6 t freight |
| Empty mass | 11,780 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 16,656 kg to 19,980 kg Mk 31M |
| Mk 21E drive | 2 × 14-cylinder radial engines Bristol Hercules 672, each with 3,380 PS (2,518 kW) |
| Mk 31M drive | 2 × 14-cylinder radial engines Bristol Hercules 734 with 4,100 HP (3,054 kW) each |
| Top speed | 267 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 7,470 m |
| Range | 1,320 km |
Preserved copies
- SAFE Air Freighter restoration in Blenheim (New Zealand)
- Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch
- Reynolds Aviation Museum in Wetaskiwin , Alberta ( Canada )
- RAAF Museum at Point Cook , Victoria (Australia)
literature
- Dealing with Some New Facts and Figures of the Bristol Freighter. Part II. Flight, 1945.
- Tony Eastwood, John Roach: Piston Engine Airliner Production List. Aviation Hobby Shop, West Drayton 1991, ISBN 0-907178-37-5 .
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing, London 1985.
- AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft Since 1919. Volume 1. Putnam, London 1974, ISBN 0-370-10006-9 .
- Derek A. King: The Bristol 170, Freighter, Wayfarer and Superfreighter. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., Tonbridge 2011, ISBN 978-0-85130-405-2 .
Web links
- RNZAF museum, Wigram
- RAAF Museum, Bristol Freighter ( Memento from June 20, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ King 2011, pp. 179-181.
- ↑ BAE Systems: "Bristol 170 Freighter" , accessed on August 10, 2019.
- ^ Accident statistics Bristol 170 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on July 11, 2017.