Blackburn Dart
The Blackburn Dart was a single-engine, single-seat torpedo aircraft of the Royal Air Force for British aircraft carrier. The machine used in 1923 when the carrier was to 1934 units in service.
The following models Blackburn Ripon Blackburn Baffin were further developments of the dart.
Development of Darts
The company Blackburn Aircraft had already been built at the end of World War Two prototypes of the type Blackburd as single-seat torpedo planes. 1919 was designed by the chief designer of the company, Major Frank Arnold Bumpus, a new aircraft, which received the name T.1 Swift. Had the large single-seat biplane wings of equal span, which were associated with two pairs of struts and staggered slightly. The middle section of the wing had a steel tube construction, the remaining faces a wooden skeleton. The areas could be pivoted to on an aircraft carrier for stopping the machine. The wings were, as the hull, covered with fabric. The trunk is attached to the lower surface, and had a steel frame. All four wings had ailerons and control surfaces on the tail were braced with wires. The wheels of the landing gear have been attached to two struts each, between which the torpedo was attached under the fuselage. The drive of the machine was performed with a 450 hp Napier Lion IB- engine, which was easily installed in the fuselage top. Under him was the cooler, which had a large front blind. The system, designed as a W motor engine had three exhaust pipes. The side exits were conducted under the lower wings, while the central pipe down a little deeper past the side led right to the fuselage at the cockpit.
The prototype G- Swift EAVN made its maiden flight in September 1920. Constructive shortcomings with respect to the center of gravity of the machine have been removed by a slight inclination of the wing and a revised tail rudder. The Air Ministry bought the machine and finally tested it in January 1921 as N139 thoroughly. With small changes eventually three more prototypes were ordered under Specification 3/20 and then agreed the series production under the name Blackburn Dart Mk.II for carrier use in accordance with the specification 32/22, after the Ministry initially contemplated use as a land-based torpedo bomber ( 9/21) had abandoned. During the development phase the company Blackburn had already received orders for the machine, so that the export machinery are usually referred to as Blackburn Swift, while the machines of the RAF as Blackburn Dart were delivered. The naval air arm, then still part of the Royal Air Force, was awarded two versions:
Use in the British Fleet Air Force
On April 1, 1923, the Royal Air Force reorganized its for the fight by sea provided units. For the first time specific Flights were erected ( swarm ) for the use of aircraft carriers. It also emerged two "Fleet Torpedo " Flights that were both six Blackburn Dart as mission aircraft.
The Flight 460 was designed for use on the HMS Eagle, the Flight 461 for HMS Furious. Both carriers were at that time under construction. At the end of the Eagle came into service and trained with the units allocated to it. Beginning in June 1924 began their use in the Mediterranean fleet with the largest currently in service at an aircraft carrier air group. They had four Flights of six machines: 402 Fairey Flycatcher fighter planes, 422 Blackburn Blackburn and 440 with Supermarine Seagull III reconnaissance, as well as 460 Blackburn Dart torpedo aircraft. One of the Flights had been detached usually not on board, but one of the country Halfar bases in Malta or Aboukir near Alexandria. 460 remained with the Eagle in the Mediterranean in the service and swapped the Darts in November 1930 against the successor Blackburn Ripon.
461 had to wait for his support until April 1925. The rebuilt Furious began their tests as a major carrier without island structure. On May 6, 1926, the first night landing on an aircraft carrier was held, as a Squadron Leader GH Boyce with his dart landed on the flight deck of the Furious lighted off the Isle of Wight. After he landed even Flight Lieutenant Boyce, the leader of the flight 462 which had been set up in May 1924 as the second torpedo Flight for the Furious. 462 was converted in February 1929 as the first dart flight on the successor Blackburn Ripon, 461 followed in December 1929.
On September 1, 1927, two other Fleet Torpedo Flights have been established by the Blackburn Dart, which were intended for the carrier HMS Courageous with 463 and 464. This set after rebuilding the end of February, 1928, in service and came to the Mediterranean Fleet until 1930 and then joined the Atlantic Fleet. The two Dart Flights stayed until April 1933 in the service and were then merged to form torpedo bomber squadron 810. This began in September with the conversion to the Blackburn Ripon. However, the last darts eliminated only when the following conversion to Blackburn Baffin in July 1934 finally made . For the service of the Blackburn Dart ended in the operational squadrons after more than eleven years.
A Blackburn Dart 36.Staffel the RAF was assigned, which was developed from the "Coastal Defence Torpedo Flight" as the first land-based torpedo bomber squadron of the RAF. Originally, the Dart should only perform support tasks. It was then used as an insert machine next to the Hawker Horsley of the season until the squadron was transferred to Singapore.
The produced by Blackburn three floatplane type Blackburn Dart Mk.II were provided as training aircraft for advanced training and were used in a run by Blackburn RAF Reserve School at Humber. .
Appearances in other nations
As the use of aircraft Blackburn Dart was probably used only in Greece, even if three more states were supplied. About ordered by the RAF machines built Blackburn further 17 aircraft, but these were referred to as Swift and bicycles.
Further developments of the dart
In 1922 the structure of the Dart was used for the newly developed prototype of a carrier- based reconnaissance aircraft. The machine with the unconventional hull for three crew members was appointed by the RAF as Blackburn Blackburn and Blackburn made more than 60 machines in two versions.
Its successor from 1926 made the dart, the 92 Blackburn Ripon, was actually only a revised and modernized two-seater version of the original model.
Replacing this, Blackburn Baffin was its predecessor in more detail, since they actually differed from the latter only by the changes necessary as engine because of the use of a radial engine. This proximity is also illustrated by the fact that many of Baffin (68 ) caused by conversion of Ripon.