Beardmore W.B.XXVI

The Beardmore W.B.XXVI (W.B.26) was a prototype British two-seat fighter of the 1920s. A single engined biplane, one example was built and evaluated by Latvia, but was not accepted for service.

W.B.XXVI
Role Fighter aircraft
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer William Beardmore and Company
Designer W.S. Shackleton
First flight 1925
Status Prototype
Number built 1

Development and design

In 1924, the Scottish shipbuilding company of William Beardmore and Company designed a two-seat fighter for Latvia, the W.B.XXVI. Beardmore's chief designer, W.S. Shackleton produced a wooden single-bay biplane, powered by a Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. The slab-sided fuselage was of hexagonal section, with the crew of two seated in separate cockpits. To reduce drag, the wings had no bracing wires, bracing being solely by means of struts, with a large inter-wing gap. A Lamblin radiator was installed in the leading edge of the lower wing. Instead of the normal Vickers and Lewis machine guns, the aircraft was armed by Beardmore's own gas-operated Beardmore-Farquhar machine guns.[1][2]

The prototype first flew some time in 1925.[3] While it proved to be manoeuvrable,[4][5] it was underpowered, and performance was poor, with the Latvians unwilling to pay for replacement of the Eagle with a more powerful Napier Lion engine. It was sent to Latvia for evaluation in 1926, but was only flown three times in Latvia before it was rejected, and was eventually sent back to Beardmore and scrapped. No more W.B.XXVIs were built.[6]

Specifications

Data from Limited Editions Part 4: Beardmore W.B.XXVI[4]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 27 ft 10.5 in (8.496 m)
  • Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
  • Wing area: 356 sq ft (33.1 m2)
  • Empty weight: 2,555 lb (1,159 kg)
  • Gross weight: 3,980 lb (1,805 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Eagle IX V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 360 hp (270 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 145 mph (233 km/h, 126 kn)
  • Endurance: 4 hours
  • Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
  • Time to altitude: 15,000 ft (4,572 m) in 20 minutes
  • Wing loading: 11.2 lb/sq ft (55 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 0.09 hp/lb (0.15 kW/kg)

Armament

  • Guns:
  • 2× fixed forward firing Beardmore-Farquhar machine guns[7]
  • 1 or 2 flexibly-mounted Beardmore-Farquhar machine guns on a Scarff ring

Notes
  1. Jarrett 1996, pp.27-29.
  2. Flight 31 December 1925, pp.850-851.
  3. Mason 1991, p.175.
  4. Jarrett 1996, p.30.
  5. Flight 25 February 1925, p.111.
  6. Jarrett 1996, p.31.
  7. "Beardmore-Farquhar Light Machine Gun". www.historicalfirearms.info. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

References
  • "A New British Aeroplane for Latvia". Flight, 31 December 1925. pp. 850–851.
  • "The Beardmore W.B.XXVI". Flight, 25 February 1926. p. 111.
  • Jarrett, Philip. "Limited Editions Part 4: Beardmore W.B.XXVI". Aeroplane Monthly, December 1996, Vol. 24 No. 12, Issue 284. London:IPC. pp. 26–31. ISSN 0143-7240.
  • Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
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