Bristol Bagshot
| Type 95 Bagshot | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Fighter |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
| Designer | Frank Barnwell |
| First flight | 15 July 1927 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Bristol Bagshot, also known as the Type 95, was a prototype heavily armed British fighter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and first flown in 1927. Flight testing revealed serious problems, and the project was abandoned.
The Bagshot was built to Air Ministry Specification F.4/24 in December 1924. This called for a large twin-engined fighter aircraft with a crew of three (pilot and two gunners), a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) and a landing speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). Initially the details of the required armament were not specified. Frank Barnwell's design to meet this requirement, the Bagshot, was a high-wing all-metal monoplane with an unusual triangular-section fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage with two upper longerons and a single lower member. The pilot sat in line with the wing's leading edge, with one gun position in the nose and another just behind the wing. The two-spar wing had a steel primary structure and duralumin nose ribs and end-members, and was a semi-cantilever, being braced by a pair of diagonal struts on each side. The legs of the fixed undercarriage met the wing at the same place as the struts and had an axle fairing of airfoil section, contributing some lift. Power was provided by two wing-mounted 450 hp (340 kW) Bristol Jupiter VI engines.
In September 1925 the Air Ministry amended the specification, calling for supercharged engines, increased fuel load and a higher top speed at altitude. Barnwell attended a design conference to discuss these new demands and was told that the purpose of the aircraft was to carry a pair of Coventry Ordnance Works 37mm (1.460 in) cannon, (generally called COW guns). When Barnwell subsequently received the full details of the required equipment, which called for two Lewis guns in addition to the main armament, he realised that the aircraft would be overweight and have a landing speed of 57 mph (92 km/h). He suggested making an alternative fuselage of rolled steel strip in order to save weight, abandoning the project as a waste of time if load testing of this proved unsatisfactory. However, the Air Ministry declined to cancel the contract and the Bagshot was completed, being provisionally accepted by the Air Ministry on 12 May 1927 and assigned serial number J7767.
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