BLACKBURN PERTH 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 17Unusually, in addition to the Iris’
normal armament of three machine
guns, the Perth was fitted with a
Coventry Ordnance Works C.O.W
37mm autocannon in its bows. This
could fire 1½lb shells at a rate of 100
rounds per minute. The gun and its
apparatus added 3ft (92cm) to the
length of the airframe, making the
Perth the largest biplane flying boat
ever operated by the RAF.
The prototype flew for the first
time on October 11, 1933 and the
first in an order of four was delivered
to 209 Squadron the following
spring. The aircraft were based
variously at Mount Batten near
Plymouth Sound and Felixstowe,Suffolk, and throughout the mid-
1930s were employed mostly in
co-operation with the Royal Navy’s
fleet during exercises in the Irish Sea.DISPLAY APPEARANCE
Whereas the RAF’s flying boats were
regular stars at the annual Pageants
at Hendon, the Perth made just
one appearance. In 1934, K
launched from Felixstowe harbour
and joined other flying boats for
a memorable flypast. The massformation included the Perth along
with a Singapore, Scapa, Sarafand,
Knuckleduster and Cloud.
The final two Perths (K3582 and
K4011) delivered to 209 Squadron
differed from the first examples
in having just two gravity-fed fuel
tanks instead of three; the middle
tank being deleted to save weight at
the expense of range.
Perths remained in service with
209 Squadron at Felixstowe until
1937 when they were replaced
by the Short Singapore and Saro
London. However, one aircraft
(K4011) was retained by the Marine
Aircraft Experimental Establishment
until 1938.Left
The fi rst Perth to be
delivered to the RAF
was K3580, which
joined 209 Squadron
at Mount Batten in
the spring of 1934.Left centre
The Perth was
perhaps most notable
for being fi tted with
a Coventry Ordnance
Works C.O.W 37mm
autocannon in
its bows.Below left
The Iris and Perth
both had a .303in
machine gun mounted
in the rear for
defence (just the
mount is fi tted here).Suffolk, and throughout the mid-
1930s were employed mostly in
co-operation with the Royal Navy’s
fleet during exercises in the Irish Sea.DISPLAY APPEARANCE
Whereas the RAF’s flying boats were
regular stars at the annual Pageants
at Hendon, the Perth made just
one appearance. In 1934, K
launched from Felixstowe harbour
and joined other flying boats for
a memorable flypast. The mass“...the Perth was
fi tted with a Coventry
Ordnance Works C.O.W
37mm autocannon in
its bows.”