Bristol Scout A - D
For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.
Contents
Type Description
- Scout A
- Originally referred to as the ‘Baby’, it was a single seat sporting biplane designed by Frank Barnwell and Harry Busteed, utilising the fuselage of the uncompleted Coanda Type S.B.5. It was an equal-span single-bay biplane with staggered parallel-chord wings with raked wingtips and ailerons fitted to the upper and lower wings, which were rigged with about half a degree of dihedral, making them look almost straight when viewed from the front. The wing section was one designed by Coanda which had been used for the wings of the Bristol Coanda Biplanes. The rectangular-section fuselage was an orthodox wire-braced wooden structure constructed from ash and spruce, with the forward section covered with aluminium sheeting and the rear section fabric covered. The engine enclosed in a cowling that had no open frontal area, although the bottom was cut away to allow cooling air to get to the engine. It had a rectangular balanced rudder with no fixed fin and split elevators attached to a non-lifting horizontal stabiliser. The fixed horizontal tail surfaces were outlined in steel tube with wooden ribs and the elevators constructed entirely of steel tube. A two-wheeled Vee chassis was fitted.
It was later fitted with a new set of wings of slightly greater area, increasing the chord by six inches and the span by 2 ft 7 in. These were rigged with an increased dihedral of 1-3/4° and reduced the landing speed and improved handling without affecting the maximum speed. One 80 h.p. Gnome Lambda powerplant.
| Scout A Specification (Initial Configuration) | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Endurance | Service Ceiling |
| 22 ft | 19 ft 9 in | 8 ft 6 in | 161 sq ft | 617 lb | 957 lb | 95 mph/ 83 kn | 3 hrs | ||
| 6.71 m | 6.02 m | 2.59 m | 14.96 m2 | 280 kg | 434 kg | 153 km/h | |||
- Scout B
- As the modified Scout A featuring half-hoop-style underwing skids, six stiffening ribs around the engine cowl which was also made with a larger circular front opening for engine cooling, and an enlarged rudder. One 80 h.p. Gnome Lambda powerplant.
| Scout B Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Endurance | Service Ceiling |
| 27 ft 4 in | 20 ft 8 in | 8 ft 6 in | 198 sq ft | 750 lb | 1100 lb | 100 mph/ 87 kn | 2.5 hrs | ||
| 8.33 m | 6.3 m | 2.59 m | 18.39 m2 | 340 kg | 499 kg | 161 km/h | |||
- Type 1 Scout C
- Fighting biplane version of Scout B, differing from the Type A and B predominantly in the detail of their construction. Outwardly however, the engine cowling was replaced with one with a small frontal opening and the stiffening ribs were removed. The top decking, in front of the cockpit had a deeper curve whilst the aluminium covering of the fuselage sides extended only as far as the forward centre-section struts, aft of which the decking was plywood. Powerplant as indicated.
| Scout C (Le Rhône 9C) Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Endurance | Service Ceiling |
| 27 ft 4 in | 20 ft 8 in | 8 ft 6 in | 198 sq ft | 757 lb | 1195 lb | 93 mph/ 81 kn | 2.5 hrs | 15500 ft | |
| 8.33 m | 6.3 m | 2.59 m | 18.39 m2 | 343 kg | 542 kg | 150 km/h | 4724 m | ||
- Type 2 Scout D
- Improved production version of Scout C, with detail improvements and provision for armament. The first 50 aircraft retained the same wing rigging and aileron area as the Scout C. Later aircraft featured a new wing with a smaller aileron combined with increased dihedral of 3°; in this type the wing-tip skids were moved outboard from below the interplane struts. Two sizes of rudder were designed for Scout D, the larger being fitted in conjunction with long ailerons, the so-called 'medium' in conjunction with short ailerons; both the Scout D rudders were larger than the Scout C type in height and chord, but differed from each other only by 2 1/2 inches in height. One .303 in Lewis or Vickers machine gun. One 80 h.p. Gnome Lambda powerplant.
| Type 2 Scout D Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 27 ft 4 in | 20 ft 8 in | 8 ft 6 in | 198 sq ft | 760 lb | 1250 lb | 110 mph/ 96 kn | 187 mi | 13500 ft | |
| 8.33 m | 6.3 m | 2.59 m | 18.39 m2 | 345 kg | 567 kg | 177 km/h | 301 km | 4115 m | |
- Type 3 Scout D
- As Type 2 with 80 h.p. Le Rhône 9C powerplant.
- Type 4 Scout D
- As Type 2 with 100 h.p. Monosoupape-Gnome powerplant.
- Type 5 Scout D
- As Type 2 with 110 h.p. Clerget powerplant.
Production Details
| Serial Range | C/n | Type | Batch Qty |
Conv. | Canc'd | Notes |
| 1 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol, Somerset, as a private venture. First flew February 1914. | ||||||
| 206 | Scout A | 1 | Sold to Lord Carberry in June 1914 and fitted with an 80 h.p. Le Rhône 9C powerplant. | |||
| 2 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol, Somerset. Requisitioned by the RFC to Contract A.2616 in August 1914. | ||||||
| 644, 648 | 229, 230 | Scout B | 2 | |||
| 24 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RNAS to Contract C.P.67209/14. Delivered between February and August 1915. | ||||||
| 1243 | 450 | Scout C | 1 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | ||
| 1244 - 1260 | 463-479 | 17 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | |||
| 1261 - 1266 | 486-491 | 6 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | |||
| 12 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RFC to Contract A.2824. Delivered between April and June 1915. | ||||||
| 1602 - 1613 | 451-462 | Scout C | 12 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | ||
| 75 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RFC to Contract A.3242. Delivered between July 1915 and February 1916. | ||||||
| 4662 - 4667 | 480-485 | Scout C | 6 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | ||
| 4668 - 4699 | 492-523 | 32 | Nos 492-495 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant, remainder 80 h.p. Le Rhône. | |||
| 5291 - 5327 | 784-820 | 37 | 80 h.p. Le Rhône powerplant. | |||
| 50 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RNAS to Contract C.P.74782/15/X. Delivered between September 1915 and March 1916. | ||||||
| 3013 - 3049 | 524-560 | Scout C | 37 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | ||
| 3050 - 3062 | 771-783 | 13 | 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant. | |||
| 50 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RFC to Contract 94/A/319. Delivered between February and June 1916. | ||||||
| 5554 - 5603 | 1044-1093 | Type 2 Scout D | 50 | Delivered without engines. 5570 was registered G-EAGR to Major J.A.McKelvie in July 1919. | ||
| 80 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RFC to Contract 87/A/185. Delivered between June and September 1916. | ||||||
| 7028 - 7057 | 1094-1123 | Type 3 Scout D | 30 | Delivered without engines. | ||
| A1742 - A1791 | 1381-1430 | 50 | ||||
| 70 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RNAS to Contract C.P.145461/15/X (see note 2). Ordered as Type 5 Scout D but delivered as Type 4 Scout D between April and August 1916. | ||||||
| 8951 - 9000 | 1124-1173 | Type 4 Scout D | 50 | 8976 transferred to the Central Flying School of the Australian Flying Corps as CFS10 in September 1916. | ||
| A2376 - A2380 | (5) | 8981 - 8985 transferred to the RFC (Note 1) | ||||
| A3006 - A3020 | (15) | 8986 - 9000 transferred to the RFC (Note 1) | ||||
| 30 aircraft built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Brislington, Somerset, for the RNAS to Contracts C.P.127042/16 and C.P.130592/16/X. Delivered between November and December 1916. The company declined a follow on request for 40 more aircraft. | ||||||
| N5390 - N5399 | 1837-1846 | Type 4 Scout D | 10 | |||
| N5400 - N5419 | 1847-1866 | Type 2 Scout D | 20 | |||
| 40 | ||||||
| 3 aircraft converted by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol, Somerset, into Type 5 Scout D, in March 1916. | ||||||
| (5554 - 5556) | 1045-1047 | (3) | ||||
| Total Production | 374 | (23) | 40 | |||
Production Summary
All Aircraft By Type
| Type | Built New | Conv | Canc'd | Total |
| Scout A | 1 | 1 | ||
| Scout B | 2 | 2 | ||
| Type 1 Scout C | 161 | 161 | ||
| Type 2 Scout D | 70 | 40 | 110 | |
| Type 3 Scout D | 80 | 80 | ||
| Type 4 Scout D | 60 | 60 | ||
| Type 5 Scout D | (3) | 3 | ||
| 374 | (3) | 40 |
Notes
- A2376 - A2380 and A3006 - A3020 were allocated for renumbering 8981 - 9000, transferred from the RNAS to the RFC. Of these, 8994 - 8999 were retained by the RNAS and it is uncertain if any others were transferred.
- Contract C.P.145461/15/X per Sturtivant [4], but Bristol ledger [5] gives Contract C.P.146161/15/X
Production References
- The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps, J.M. Bruce (Putnam, 1982)
- Bristol Aircraft Since 1910, C.H. Barnes (Putnam, 1964, 1970 and 1988)
- British Aeroplanes 1914-18, J.M. Bruce (Putnam, 1957)
- Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units, 1911-1919, Ray Sturtivant and Gordon Page (Air-Britain Publications, 1992)
- Bristol Air Ministry Contracts Ledger via The Bristol Aero Collection Trust Library
- Air Enthusiast Quarterly No 32
- http://www.airhistory.org.uk/rfc/home.html
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Improved Type Description and Added Specification details.