Fly Past

78 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION BOMBERS

BRISTOL BRIGAND

Type: Three-crew light bomber

First fl ight: December 4, 1944, entered service June 1949

Powerplant: One 2,470hp (1,842kW) Bristol Centaurus 57 radials

Dimensions: Span 72ft 4in (22.04m), Length 46ft 5in (14.14m)

Weights: Empty 25,598lb (11,611kg), All-up 39,000lb (17,690kg)

Max speed: 358mph (576km/h) at 16,000ft (4,876m)

Range: 2,800 miles (4,506km)

Armament: Four 20mm cannon in the nose. Up to 3,000lb (1,360kg) of bombs

Replaced: Bristol Beaufi ghter and Hawker Tempest from 1949

Taken on charge: 142

Replaced by: De Havilland Hornet from 1951 and de Havilland Vampire from 1952

BRISTOL BRIGAND B.I

BRIGAND

BRISTOL

1949 TO 1958

F

rom the Blenheim to the

Beaufort and on to the

superlative Beaufighter, Bristol

had created an enviable line of

warplanes. All this expertise needed

to be capitalised upon and the Filton

design house began work on a new

type in early 1941, coming up with

the Buckingham, a four-crew bomber

with a 4,000lb (1,814kg) weapon

load.

The prototype had its maiden flight

on February 4, 1943 but by then it

had missed the boat. The amazing de

Havilland Mosquito out-performed

the Buckingham and the North

American Mitchell was showing

considerable promise.

The Buckingham had already

entered limited production and a

small number found a niche as high-

speed transports. An advanced trainer

version, the Buckmaster, was also

built, some of these serving

until 1958.

Even something as good as the

Beaufighter would need replacement

eventually and in 1943 Bristol began

to address this need. The Beaufighter

has essentially been a slimline, fighter-

like fuselage, married to the wings

and tail of its Beaufort forebear. The

same logic was used to conceive the

Brigand and the prototype first flew

on December 4, 1944.

Like the Buckingham, time ran out

for the Brigand as by the end of the

war air-launched torpedo warfare

was facing

extinction.

After a small run of TF.I torpedo-

bombers, none of which entered

operational service, Filton switched

to building B.I light bomber versions.

For the RAF, the Brigand was the last

of its kind, a piston-engined attack

aircraft.

(During 1948 RAF and Fleet Air

Arm designations changed from

Roman to Arabic numerals; the

Brigand becoming the B.1.)

Brigands entered RAF frontline

service at Habbaniya, Iraq, with

84 Squadron in June 1949. Only

two more squadrons were to be

equipped, 45 and 85, both of

which went to war in Malaya.

Brigands were also used for weather

reconnaissance and, as T.4s and

T.5s, crew trainers. The last examples

were retired from 238 Operational

Conversion Unit at North Luffenham

in March 1958.

FIREDOG

With its four 20mm cannon

and able to carry up to 3,000lb

(1,360kg) of munitions, including

80lb rocket projectiles, the Brigand

was considered an ideal for use in

Operation ‘Firedog’, the long-ru nning

conflict against communist guerrillas

in Malaya. The B.1s of 84 Squadron

1918 2018

Above

Brigand TF.I RH748

rehearsing for the

Society of British

Aircraft Constructors

airshow at Radlett,

September 1946. It

carries eight rocket

projectiles under wing

and a torpedo under

the centre section;

all this with the port

Centaurus feathered.

BRISTOL