Bristol 120

Type 118 & 120
Bristol 118
Role	Military general-purpose
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Bristol Aeroplane Company
Designer	Frank Barnwell
First flight	22 January 1931 (118) 29 January 1932 (120)
Number built	2

The Bristol Type 118 was a general-purpose military aircraft, a two-seat biplane built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the early 1930s, powered by a Bristol Mercury radial engine and aimed at overseas markets. The Type 120 was a Bristol Pegasus-engined variant entered into an Air Ministry competition and later used for armament tests. Two aircraft were built.

The Type 118 was a Bristol private venture, designed to provide a multi-role machine capable of acting as a fighter, bomber, reconnaissance or casualty-extraction aircraft for foreign air forces unable to afford a range of more specialised aircraft. The variety of roles required a two-seater and the need for high-altitude performance for the photo-reconnaissance role, for example, called for supercharging. Since the Bristol Jupiter radial engine design was ageing, the newer Bristol Mercury seemed a natural choice of powerplant. The first prototype was to have a supercharged Bristol Jupiter XFA engine, with the Mercury V installed in the second machine which was labelled the Type 118A.

Frank Barnwell designed a clean single-bay biplane with staggered and unequal-span wings. Wire bracing was used only in the centre section; outboard of that was a single streamlined compression strut and a three-strut drag brace on each wing. Frise-type ailerons were fitted only to the upper wings. The fuselage was of fabric-covered metal construction, similar in detail to that of the Bulldog. Rudder and elevators were horn balanced and the tailplane was of cantilever, unbraced form. The undercarriage was divided and attached to the fuselage with streamlined legs and struts. The Jaguar installation left the cylinder heads exposed, but later engines were cowled with a Townend ring.

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