Blackburn Beverley
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The Blackburn Beverley was a heavy cantilever monoplane transport aircraft built by the Blackburn and General Aircraft corporation in the 1940s.
Originally designed and built by General Aircraft Ltd as the GAL60 Universal Freighter the first was dismanatled at the Feltham, Middlesex factory and transported to Brough in Yorkshire to have its maiden flight on 20 June1950. This was followed by a second, the Universal Freighter Mk 2, which had was modified from the original. Clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse pitch propellors a feature that gave it a short landing length. The RAF placed an order in 1952 as the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). All Beverleys would be built at Brough.
The aircraft was designed for, and indeed was quite profficient at, carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL50 Hamilcar glider of the Second World War. At the time of its entry into service it was the largest aircraft in the Royal Air Force (RAF). It had an enormous interior cargo area split into two levels which amounted to around 170 cubic meters of space. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just before the leading edge of the tailplane.
In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last one being manufactured in 1958 and the final retirement from RAF service in 1967. To this date, only one of the original Beverleys has survived scrapping and was on display at the Beverley Museum of Army Transport, which has now closed. This last Beverley is now on display at Fort Paull just east of Hull.
It was used as a tactical transport with a range of 1,300 miles and could carry some 80 troops (70 if paratroopers) as well as the crew of two pilots, navigator and radio operator.
Squadron use
- No 47 Squadron RAF: 1956 -1967
- No. 53 Squadron RAF: 1957 - 1963
- No. 82 Squadron RAF: 1958 - 1967
- No. 242 Operational Conversion Unit: 1957- 1967
Specifications (Beverley)
References
Blackburn Beverley Bill Overton. ISBN 0-904597-62-8External links
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