Avro Aldershot
| Aldershot | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The first prototype in 1924, modified to production standard | |
| Role | Heavy Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| First flight | October 1921 |
| Introduction | July 1924 |
| Retired | March 1926 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Produced | 17 |
| Variants | Avro Andover |
The Avro 549 Aldershot was a British single-engined bomber aircraft built by Avro.
The Aldershot was designed to meet the 1920 British Specification 2/20 for a long-range day and night bomber to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Condor engine. The specification required a range of 500 miles (800 km) and a bombload of 2,000 lb (900 kg), originally comprising a single World War I vintage 1,800 lb (820 kg) SN bomb, but then changed to four 500 lb (230 kg) bombs carried externally or eight 250 lb (114 kg) bombs internally. The Air Ministry gave Avro a contract for two prototypes, designated Aldershot I, on 2 December 1920, in competition with the de Havilland Derby.
The first prototype flew at Hamble Aerodrome near Southampton in October 1921. As a result of test flying, the fuselage was lengthened by 6 ft (2 m) in order to improve directional control, being displayed in this form at the RAF Display at Hendon on 24 June, the second prototype flying in July with the lengthened fuselage and a modified undercarriage.
The first prototype was modified as a testbed for the water-cooled Napier Cub engine, in this form becoming the Aldershot II, flying on 15 December 1922. It was later used to test the slow-revving 850 hp (630 kW) Beardmore Typhoon I inline engine, flying in this form on 10 January 1927.
The Aldershot was a three-bay biplane, with a steel-framed fuselage structure with plywood and fabric covering, and wooden wings. The pilot and navigator were seated side by side in a cockpit behind the upper wing trailing edge, with additional accommodation for the navigator who was also the bomb-aimer, in a cabin inside the fuselage, which was provided with four circular windows on each side. A gunner sat in a separate cockpit behind the pilot, and was armed with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring. Another Lewis gun could be fitted to a ventral mounting in the cabin, while there was provision for a fixed, forward-firing Vickers machine gun operated by the pilot, although this was rarely fitted. A bomb bay forward of the cabin could hold eight 250 lb (114 kg) bombs, with larger bombs being carried externally under the fuselage.
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