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| Bristol In The 1920s |
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Very rare moving pictures of Bristol (UK) filmed
80 years ago. A world in which old cars, buses,
lorries and motorcycles share the roads with trams
and a surprising number of horses and carts. A
charabanc and even a hand-pulled cart are
glimpsed. Policemen direct traffic, women exhibit
the 'flapper' look, men wear hats or caps. Clips
feature The Centre, Corn Street, Bristol Bridge,
Park Street, The Docks, Bedminster Bridge,
Redcliff Hill, and Ashton Swing Bridge.
Tags : Bristol history archive film cine 1920s vintage old vehicles transport trams charabanc horse cart |
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Affichage : 3283
Durée : 205 s |
| Bristol Hawks Gymnastics Club |
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This Sport England case study celebrates the
success of the Community Club Development
Programme. It highlights how Bristol Hawks
Gymnastics Club is working with its satellite
feeder clubs to encourage more girls and young
people, including members of black and ethnic
minority groups, to become active, contributing
to a healthier community.
Tags : Sport England Bristol Hawks gymnastics community active girls |
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Affichage : 2031
Durée : 323 s |
| Bristol Beaufighter - Ten Gun Terror |
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The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred
to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range
heavy fighter modification of the Bristol
Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo
bomber design. The name Beaufighter is a
portmanteau of "Beaufort" and "fighter". Unlike
the Beaufort, the Beaufighter had a long career
and served in almost all theatres of war in the
Second World War, first as a night fighter, then
as a fighter-bomber and eventually replacing the
Beaufort as a torpedo bomber.
Design and development
The idea of a fighter development of the Beaufort
was suggested to the Air Ministry by Bristol. The
suggestion coincided with the delays in the
development and production of the Westland
Whirlwind cannon-armed twin-engined fighter. By
converting an existing design the "Beaufort Cannon
Fighter" could be expected to be developed and
produced far quicker than starting a completely
fresh design from scratch. Accordingly the Air
Ministry produced specification F.11/37 written
around Bristols suggestion for an "interim"
aircraft pending proper introduction of the
Whirlwind. Bristol started building a prototype by
taking a part-built Beaufort out of the production
line. This prototype first flew on 17 July 1939, a
little more than eight months after the design had
started and possible due to the use of as many of
the Beaufort's design and parts. A production
contract for 300 machines had already been placed
two weeks before the prototype flew, as F.17/39.
In general, the differences between the Beaufort
and Beaufighter were minor. The wings, control
surfaces, retractable landing gear and aft section
of the fuselage, were identical to those of the
Beaufort, while the wing center section was
similar apart from certain fittings. The bomb-bay
was dispensed with, and a forward-firing armament
of four Hispano 20 mm cannons was mounted in the
lower fuselage area. (These initially were
drum-fed cannon, necessitating the radar operator
having to manually change the ammunition
drums—an arduous and unpopular task, especially
at night and in the midst of a chase with a bomber
target.) The areas for the rear gunner and
bomb-aimer were removed, leaving only the pilot in
a smoother, fighter-type cockpit. The
navigator/radar operator sat far to the rear in a
small bubble where the Beaufort's dorsal turret
had been located.
The Bristol Taurus engines of the Beaufort would
not be sufficient for a fighter and were replaced
by the more powerful Bristol Hercules. This extra
power presented problems with vibration. In the
end they were mounted on longer, more flexible
struts, which stuck out from the front of the
wings. This had the side effect of moving the
centre of gravity (CoG) forward, generally a bad
thing for an aircraft design. It was then moved
back into place by cutting back the nose area,
which was no longer needed for the bomb-aimer in
the fighter role. This put most of the fuselage
behind the wing and moved the CoG back to where it
should be, leading to the Beaufighter's famous
stubby appearance.
Production of the Beaufort in Australia, and the
highly successful use of British-made Beaufighters
by the Royal Australian Air Force, led to
Beaufighters being built by the Australian
Department of Aircraft Production (DAP), from 1944
onwards. Australian-built examples are generally
known as the DAP Beaufighter. The DAP's variant
was an attack/torpedo bomber, known as the
Beaufighter Mark 21: design changes included
Hercules CVII engines, a dihedral tailplane and
enhanced armament.
By the time British production lines shut down in
September 1945, 5,564 Beaufighters had been built
in England, by a number of manufacturers as well
as Bristol: Fairey Aviation, (498) MAP (3336) and
Rootes Securities Ltd (260).
Tags : Bristol Beaufighter aircraft airplane fighter aviation history ww2 |
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Affichage : 30457
Durée : 307 s |
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