The Blackburn Beverely was a high wing transport aircraft designed to operate in the most austere locations throughout the British sphere of influence in the 1950s and 1960s. Its somewhat ungainly appearance was the result of its unique internal layout that was designed to maximise its carrying options with a compartment located in the tail boom for additional passenger seats and for use in dropping paratroopers. The aircraft was one of the few large aircraft designed in the late 1940s to have a fixed undercarriage. This reflected its requirement to operate from rough and semi-prepared airstrips with the undercarriage being very sturdy and resilient to the hard landings it could expect under these conditions.
Power came from four Bristol Centaurus 18-cylinder rotary engines fitted with reverse pitch propellers each developing 2,850hp each. This was sufficient to pull the Beverley along at a comfortable 173mph and to a top speed of 238mph with a service ceiling of 16,000ft. The boom section could carry up to 36 people on rearward facing seats or 30 fully equipped paratroopers. The seats were positioned this way as it was deemed safer for the occupants if the aircraft crashed during landing or take-off. Interestingly, RAF Comet transports were configured this way also but it was unlikely they would be expected to operate off the kinds of airstrips that the Beverley would be expected to. The main freight bay could be configured to carry another 94 people if needed or alternatively a wide variety of heavy equipment could be carried. Access to the cargo area was through two large removable clamshell doors at the rear beneath the tail boom. In the paratrooper insertion role the aircraft could unload troops through these doors while the paratroopers in the tailboom jumped through a hatch in the floor. During the course of it’s career Beverley’s carried trucks, fuel drums, drilling equipment, helicopters and disassembled aircraft including the fuselage of a Canberra bomber.
The ungainly looking aircraft entered service with the RAF’s No.47 Squadron on the 1st March 1956 and eventually a total of 47 aircraft would serve across five squadrons plus an Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) providing crew training for the type.
- No.30 Squadron (April 1957 – September 1967)
- No.34 Squadron (October 1960 – January 1968)
- No.47 Squadron (March 1956 – October 1967)
- No.53 Squadron (February 1957 – June 1963)
- No.84 Squadron (May 1958 – September 1967)
- No.242 OCU (???1957 – ???1967)
During the course of its career the Beverley changed very little. A single aircraft, XB249, was retained by Blackburn for a series of tests that included the fitting of Rocket Assisted Take Off (RATO) bottles to reduce the take off distance even further but these were never fitted operationally. The aircraft primarily served in the Middle and Far East theatres where its rough field performance was essential. A regular location for the Beverley to operate out of was RAF Khormaksar in Aden where it was tasked with resupplying local garrisons; an extremely dangerous task given the poor runway facilities the heavy aircraft often encountered. In these areas the aircraft was painted in a sand/brown scheme but with the cockpit area painted white in an effort to keep the internal temperature down for the pilots.
The Beverley also has the distinction of being the only RAF aircraft to have flown missions during (but not in support of) the Vietnam War when aircraft from No.34 Squadron flew humanitarian supplies into South Vietnam following heavy flooding in the region. When asked by their USAF counterparts what tactics the RAF would use to avoid getting fired on by the Viet Cong forces they are reported to have responded that since the Viet Cong have never seen anything as ugly as the Beverley before they will probably spend so long wondering how it can fly that they wont have time to shoot it down. This kind of remark was actually meant with a lot of affection.
The aircraft was finally retired in 1967 being replaced by Andovers in some cases and C-130 Hercules in others. The retirement came as the RAF’s commitments to the last corners of the Empire also came to an end and so no real replacement aircraft with the same capabilities was sought.
- Crew: six (two pilots, flight engineer, navigator, signaller, air quartermaster)
- Payload: 44,000 lb (20,000 kg) for 200 mi (322 km
- Length: 99 ft 5 in (30.3 m)
- Wingspan: 162 ft (49.4 m)
- Height: 38 ft 9 in (11.8 m)
- Wing area: 2,916 sq ft (270.9 m²)
- Empty weight: 79,234 lb (35,950 kg)
- Loaded weight: 82,100 lb (37,240 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 135,000 lb (61,235 kg)
- Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Centaurus 173 18-cylinder radial engines, 2,850 hp (2,130 kW) each
Maximum speed: 238 mph (208 kn, 383 km/h)
Cruise speed: 173 mph (150 kn, 278 km/h) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (1130 nmi, 2092 km) with standard 29,000 lb (13,154 kg) payload
Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
Rate of climb: 760 ft/min (3.9 m/s)
Wing loading: 28.2 lb/ft² (137 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.138 hp/lb (228 W/kg)
Takeoff roll: 1,340 ft (410 m)
Landing roll: 990 ft (300 m