This is an offshoot of an idea pdf27 gave me in my Worst Possible Name For A Combat Aircraft thread.
So, allow me to present the Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo.
Designed and built as a coastal defence torpedo plane, it must have made contemporary jaws drop. An 88' wing span - look at the guys sheltering from the rain in the third picture - a range of 1,565 nautical miles, the ability to carry a 2,000 pound torpedo and powered by a 1,000 horse power 24 cylinder Napier Cub.
And all this in 1924.
The aircraft was cancelled (as was its competitor the Avro Aldershot) in 1925 when the Air Ministry decided they weren't interested in the concept after all.
So, my question is this. If they'd continued with this and developed the idea further, what sort of aircraft could coastal command have had in service in 1939 and could this have had any influence on the naval war?
I'm imagining something that looks like a scaled up Fairey Battle (the Battle had a 54 foot wingspan) with a 2000 horse power double engine, each half of which drives one part of a contra rotating propeller, so one part could be shut down in flight, thus giving twin engined safety. Straight line performance wouldn't be necessary becuase it would be operating out of the range of German land based fighters. To fit in with the Cubaroo concept, it would need range, load carrying ability and fairly decent handling for a large plane. We could also provide a fairly roomy and well heated crew cabin.
The powerplant is an interesting question. According to Wiki the contra rotating prop was invented as far back as 1909, and there are precedents for using twin inline engines with contra rotating props quite a way back. Here for example is the 3,000 hp engine of the Maachi 72 Schneider Trophy racer. Basically two V-12s joined together, each driving a single prop.
It would seem reasonable that the Behemoth would have a longer range than the Cubaroo, and also a higher cruising speed, but I'd be happy keeping with a 2,000 pound bombload to get the maximum patrol range and endurance.
So, all the elements are there. Can we rescue Coastal Command from the awful mediocracy of the Avro Anson?
So, allow me to present the Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo.
Designed and built as a coastal defence torpedo plane, it must have made contemporary jaws drop. An 88' wing span - look at the guys sheltering from the rain in the third picture - a range of 1,565 nautical miles, the ability to carry a 2,000 pound torpedo and powered by a 1,000 horse power 24 cylinder Napier Cub.
And all this in 1924.
The aircraft was cancelled (as was its competitor the Avro Aldershot) in 1925 when the Air Ministry decided they weren't interested in the concept after all.
So, my question is this. If they'd continued with this and developed the idea further, what sort of aircraft could coastal command have had in service in 1939 and could this have had any influence on the naval war?
I'm imagining something that looks like a scaled up Fairey Battle (the Battle had a 54 foot wingspan) with a 2000 horse power double engine, each half of which drives one part of a contra rotating propeller, so one part could be shut down in flight, thus giving twin engined safety. Straight line performance wouldn't be necessary becuase it would be operating out of the range of German land based fighters. To fit in with the Cubaroo concept, it would need range, load carrying ability and fairly decent handling for a large plane. We could also provide a fairly roomy and well heated crew cabin.
The powerplant is an interesting question. According to Wiki the contra rotating prop was invented as far back as 1909, and there are precedents for using twin inline engines with contra rotating props quite a way back. Here for example is the 3,000 hp engine of the Maachi 72 Schneider Trophy racer. Basically two V-12s joined together, each driving a single prop.
It would seem reasonable that the Behemoth would have a longer range than the Cubaroo, and also a higher cruising speed, but I'd be happy keeping with a 2,000 pound bombload to get the maximum patrol range and endurance.
So, all the elements are there. Can we rescue Coastal Command from the awful mediocracy of the Avro Anson?
)
