Blackburn В-6 Shark

Самолет В-6, построенный в инициативном порядке на конкурс в соответствии с требованиями S.15/33, имел в основе конструкцию бомбардировщика-торпедоносца В-3 той же компании, спроектированного под требования М.1/30 и поднятого впервые в воздух 24 февраля 1933 года. Прототип В-6 совершил свой первый полет на полгода позже, 24 августа 1933 года, а в ноябре того же года был передан в А&АЕЕ (Управление испытаний самолетов и авиационного вооружения). В начале следующего года прошли испытания, в ходе которых самолет сажали на палубу авианосца "Корейджес", а в августе 1934 года был размещен заказ на 16 самолетов для авиации Королевских ВМС.
   Прототип был оснащен двумя поплавками и удачно прошел испытания на воде. Последовали контракты, в соответствии с которыми компания "Blackburn" отдельными партиями поставила авиации британского флота 238 самолетов как с поплавковым шасси (гидросамолет), так и с обычным шасси для базирования на аэродромах.
   Как и его прототип, Shark Mk I был оснащен одним звездообразным двигателем Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IV мощностью 710 л. с. Двигатель Tiger VI использовался и для Shark Mk II, выпуск которого начался в 1936 году, а на следующей серийной модификации, Shark Mk III, устанавливался двигатель Bristol Pegasus III мощностью 800 л. с. Было поставлено 95 машин модели Shark Mk III.
   Когда Shark был заменен в морской авиации на знаменитый самолет Fairey Swordfish, оставшиеся машины поступили в тыловые подразделения, а несколько самолетов переделали в буксировщики мишеней.
   Шесть гидросамолетов Shark Mk IIA были приобретены португальскими ВМС, самолеты доставили заказчику в марте 1936 года. Последним зарубежным покупателем данного самолета стала Канада, купившая в 1936 году семь Shark Mk II для Канадских Королевских ВВС. Успех машин был таков, что "Boeing Aircraft of Canada", дочерняя компания всемирно знаменитого сегодня американского концерна, получила право на лицензионную сборку этих самолетов в Ванкувере, где построили 17 самолетов Shark Mk III с двигателями Pegasus IX мощностью 840 л.с. Самолеты Shark канадского производства использовались до 1944 года, когда с эксплуатации был снят последний самолет.


ТАКТИКО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ

   Blackburn Shark Mk II (торпедоносец наземного базирования)

   Тип: двух- или трехместный торпедоносец, бомбардировщик, разведывательный самолет корабельного или наземного базирования
   Силовая установка: один звездообразный двигатель Armstrong Siddeley Tiger VI мощностью 760 л.с. (567 кВт)
   Летные характеристики: максимальная скорость на уровне моря 241 км/ч; крейсерская скорость на оптимальной высоте 190 км/ч; начальная скороподъемность 273 м/мин; практический потолок 4875 м; дальность полета 1006 км
   Масса: пустого 1832 кг; максимальная взлетная 3651 кг
   Размеры: размах крыла 14,02 м; длина 10,74 м; высота 3,68 м; площадь крыльев 45,43 мг
   Вооружение: один 7,7-мм пулемет Vickers на неподвижной установке в передней части фюзеляжа и один 7,7-мм пулемет Lewis или Vickers на подвижной установке в задней кабине, плюс одна 680-кг торпеда или 907 кг бомб на внешней подвеске.

Flight, May 1934

THE BLACKBURN T.S.R.
Bristol "Pegasus" 9 cylinder or Siddeley "Tiger" 14 cylinder engine available.

   DESIGNED for work such as torpedo-dropping, Fleet spotting, and Fleet reconnaissance, the new Blackburn B.6 is an unequal-span biplane with folding wings. A twin-float undercarriage can be substituted for the wheels, and the machine operated as a seaplane. When used as a landplane the machine is fitted with wheel brakes and a tracking tail wheel to facilitate ground handling. The fuselage is of metal monocoque construction, and is designed to accommodate a crew of two or three, according to the military duties undertaken. The power plant may be either a Bristol "Pegasus" or a Siddeley "Tiger." The machine has been tested with both types. The photographs show the "Tiger" version. An unusual feature is the wing bracing.

Flight, June 1934

Blackburn B. 6
  
   Belonging to the class known as T.S.R. (Torpedo, Spotter, Reconnaissance), this Blackburn machine has been designed for torpedo operation, bombing, Fleet gunnery, spotting and reconnaissance. As it is intended to operate from an aircraft carrier, the machine has folding wings so that it can be housed in a relatively small space. If desired, a float chassis can be substituted for the wheel undercarriage. The fuselage is of metal monocoque construction, and accommodation can be provided for a crew of two or three, according to the duties to be undertaken. The wing span is 46 ft., and the engine a Siddeley "Tiger" of 670-700 b.h.p.

Flight, December 1934

THE BLACKBURN "SHARK"
A General-purpose Coastal Protection Aeroplane for Torpedo Operation, Bombing, Fleet Gunnery Spotting and Reconnaissance: Adaptability as a Ship-plane, Landplane, or Seaplane

   DEVELOPED from the Blackburn T.S.R., which has performed so well in Service trials, the new “Shark” not only appears to be extremely effective for the purposes for which it is designed, but also embodies many unusually interesting features.
   It is a strut-braced biplane of sesquiplane form, with a monocoque light alloy fuselage having cockpit accommodation for two or three persons according to the work upon which the machine is to be employed. The engine can be either the Armstrong Siddeley "Tiger" of 700 h.p. or the Bristol "Pegasus III M" of 690 h.p. The normal land undercarriage is in two widely spread and entirely separate halves, allowing ample room for the stowage of a torpedo, and a twin-float undercarriage has been designed to be interchangeable.
   The “Shark” is truly a general-purpose machine for coastal protection. As a torpedo-bomber it can carry a torpedo or a load of bombs weighing about 1,500 lb. (680 kg), a crew of two, and fuel for about 625 miles (1 005 km) as a land machine, or 548 miles (882 km) as a seaplane. When it is used as a Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance machine no bombs are carried, and with a crew of three, the fuel load will suffice for 792 miles (1 274 km) as a landplane and 690 miles (1 110 km) as a seaplane, while if it is desired still further to increase the range an additional tank may be slung in the torpedo crutches, putting the mileage up to 1,130 miles (1 820 kin) and 990 miles (1 590 km.) respectively.
   It will be seen that the "Shark" embodies in itself the desiderata of several types of aircraft, and it is, therefore, not only economical from the point of view of initial outlay, but also from that of maintenance, and, furthermore, because of the large load it carries.
   Apart from those already mentioned, the "Shark" possesses several important features which make it particularly attractive for use with the Fleet. As the machine is designed for use on an aircraft carrier, outlook is important and the sesquiplane arrangement of the wings provides it, at the same time giving rapid acceleration and excellent control at low speeds. Good take-off and slow landing characteristics are provided by an arrangement which allows of drooping the ailerons so that they have the same effect as wing flaps.
   The wings fold, and this manoeuvre is made more rapid by having a hydraulic pump in each bottom centre plane, by means of which the wing root locking pins securing both the upper and lower wing spars to the centre section spars can be withdrawn or engaged simultaneously by the operation of one hand lever.
   The fuselage is perhaps the most interesting part of the whole machine. As the aircraft is for shipboard use there are fittings for catapult launching and for arresting gear, while slinging gear is provided for launching or taking on board as a seaplane.
   The whole of the fuselage is constructed of Alclad with built-up transverse watertight frames, light longitudinal stringers and a covering of riveted sheet forming a monocoque structure. The most important part about the fuselage is that practically the whole of it is divided into watertight compartments, so that in case of forced landing at sea it would float.
   The mainplanes have stainless steel tubular spars, drawn by Boulton Paul of their patent interlocking section. In the top planes the spars have tubular booms and plate webs, but the bottom planes the spars are of the figure of eight type. Throughout, the ribs are of light alloy. The wing tips are separate detachable sections which can be replaced in case of damage. The ailerons have steel tubular spars and light alloy ribs, and are Frise balanced. The wings may be folded with the bomb load in place. The tail plane, elevators and rudder are of similar construction with steel tube spars and duralumin ribs, and, like all the covered surfaces, are covered with doped fabric. The fin is a separate structure of Alclad, with a light alloy framework.
   The main fuel supply is carried in two duralumin tanks riveted on the de Bergue system, mounted in separate compartments in front of the pilot; these compartments are watertight. A third tank is carried as reserve in the front of the fuselage top decking.
   From these details it will be seen that the Blackburn "Shark" sets a new standard in the construction of seagoing aircraft. It is a design which should be both easy to maintain and eminently suitable for Service use, particularly owing to the wide range of duties for which it has been designed and on which it may be employed.

Flight, March 1935

THE BLACKBURN T.S.R. SEAPLANE
Interesting Features in Design of Floatplane Version of "Shark"

   WHEN Flight described the Blackburn "Shark” in the issue of December 13, 1934, it was mentioned that this machine can be supplied as a seaplane. Our photograph shows the machine as it appears with float undercarriage, and the sketches indicate some unusual features. The floats are not "handed," that is to say, the same float can be used on port and starboard sides, this being made possible by the adoption of a special joint, shown in one of the sketches.
   Water rudders are fitted to the heels of the floats, and are so arranged that they are kept in the "down" position by springs, but if any obstacle is struck by a rudder, the rudder immediately springs up into a raised position. The rudders, incidentally, are hydraulically operated.

Flight, May 1935

A NEW BLACKBURN "G.P."
Another Contribution to the Growing "General-purpose" List: Interesting Wing Arrangement of "Tiger"-engined Biplane

   GRADUALLY the list of new aeroplanes in the "General Purpose" class grows. Already several have been described and/or illustrated in Flight, including the Armstrong-Whitworth, the Westland, the Handley Page, and the Fairey. To the list has now been added the new Blackburn G.P. machine.
   I t is interesting to see how the various designers attack the problem. Although all the new General Purpose machines which have been illustrated so far have the one thing in common - that they are fitted with radial air-cooled engines - they differ considerably in their general conception and still more in their detail design. For example, the Westland and Handley Page designers chose the monoplane type of wing arrangement. The others have elected to follow the older and well-tried biplane type. It is a requirement of a General Purpose aeroplane that it must be able to carry a very large load, and it is not, therefore, surprising that the majority of designers have chosen the biplane, as it is easier to achieve a reasonably low wing loading with the extra wing area which the biplane provides.
   In the Blackburn General Purpose aeroplane something of a compromise in wing arrangement has been made in that the lower wing is of considerably smaller chord and span than the upper. In conjunction with the large cut-outs in the trailing edges, this form of biplane, which approaches the so-called "sesquiplane" arrangement, probably comes very close to monoplane efficiency combined with an excellent view for the crew, while the biplane bracing results in a relatively low wing weight.
   An examination of the accompanying Flight photographs of the machine shows that the wing bracing of the Blackburn G.P. is somewhat unusual. Instead of the orthodox vertical or nearly vertical interplane struts and streamline wire bracing, the wings of this machine are rigidly braced by sloping interplane struts, the lift of the lower wing being taken by one large strut which runs from lower front spar to upper rear spar The normal interplane struts are of "N" formation and provide the torsion or incidence bracing. Frise-type ailerons are fitted on upper and lower wings, and the upper wing is provided with automatic wing tip slots. The tail surfaces are of orthodox design, but it will be observed that the elevators are provided with trailing-edge tabs.
   The fuselage has smooth metal skin covering and is of good aerodynamic shape, the form being streamline and the Armstrong Siddeley "Tiger" engine enclosed in a long-chord cowling ring.
   A "split" undercarriage is, of course, used to give space for the bombs and/or torpedo carried under the fuselage. The wheels are not enclosed in "spats," but it will be noted that where the three undercarriage struts meet the wheel a very large fairing is used in order to avoid interference drag. A castering tail wheel is used instead of a skid.
   Of the extensive military equipment carried little may be said, but it will be observed that provision is made for carrying offensive armament in the form of bombs and/or a torpedo, and that navigation lights are carried. The defensive armament includes the usual synchronised machine guns for the pilot, mounted under the deck fairing, and a swivelling gun for the air gunner, who is protected against the slipstream by a flared-out cockpit coaming.