62 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS
BEVERLEY
BLACKBURN
1956 TO 1968
BEVERLEY
1956 TO 1968
W
hen the Beverley entered
service, it was the largest
aircraft operated by the RAF.
It was also the first to be
specifically designed to drop large
loads from its rear doors.
The aircraft was actually a
military derivative of the General
Aircraft Limited GAL 60 UniversalTransport. It had been designed by
GAL before the company merged
with the Blackburn organisation,
and was the largest British-designed
aircraft to fly when it first took off
on June 20, 1950.
Although no civilian sales were
forthcoming, the RAF saw the
type’s potential and an order was
placed for 20 examples on October
1, 1952. The aircraft was to be
called the Beverley (afterthe Yorkshire cathedral town near
Blackburn’s base) and the original
Bristol Hercules engines were
replaced by much more powerful
Bristol Centaurus units.
The basic Universal Transport
design was retained, including the
high-wing cantilever configuration
and strong, non-retractable
undercarriage. The large fuselage
had a tail boom complete with
twin fins; the boom itself could
accommodate 36 troops, whereas
the main 36ft (10.97m)-high cabin
could hold 94 more. The boomRight
Blackburn Beverley
XH124 fi rst fl ew on May
1, 1957 and went on to
be operated by 30 and
84 Squadrons, as well
as 242 OCU. In June
1968 it was placed on
display at the newly
opened RAF Museum at
Hendon, London. Sadly,
it was to suffer badly
from corrosion and the
airframe was scrapped
at the museum on
January 30, 1990. ANDY
HAY/WWW.FLYINGART.CO.UKRight
The Beverley could
operate from
unprepared landing
strips, taking off in
just 320m (755ft)
and landing in 741m
(2,431ft). ALL KEY1918 2018