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Blackburn Baffin

1934 GOLDEN AGE WORLD WAR 2

History

The Blackburn Baffin is nothing more than a Pegasus-powered evolution of the Blackburn Ripon bomber of the mid-1920s. Both types are in service with the Royal Air Force's Fleet Aviation (FAA) as dedicated torpedo bombers and are both biplane wing designs. The original Ripon first flew on April 17, 1926, and was adopted by the FAA in 1930, with 92 produced until 1935. The Baffin appeared in response to an FAA request for a new torpedo bomber biplane that supported 1 x 1,500 torpedoes or conventionally dropped bombs of up to 2,000 pounds.

Torpedo bombers are a lethal addition to any naval air force, and their importance was evident in many of the naval battles of World War IIa few good examples were turning points in conflicts (Taranto, Pearl Harbor).

Externally, Baffin retains most of Ripon's layout. The hull is square with the sides of the slab, and the engine is built into the front compartment. Two crew members sit in two open-air cockpits aft of the upper wing assembly.

As a biplane, the Baffin features an upper and lower wing configuration for maximum lift, while a wood structure is clad in mixed metal and canvas. The tail consists of a circular vertical tail and a series of horizontal planes.

The landing gear was held in place and consisted of two single-wheel main landing gear legs below the main body of the design and a simple tail at the stern.

Power for the Baffin is provided by a 1 x Bristol Pegasus 9-cylinder 565 hp radial piston engine, an improvement over the Ripon Napier Lions 12-cylinder 570 hp unit. This allows the performance of the new aircraft to be improved to a certain extent.

The maximum range is 490 miles (more than the Ripon's 400 miles), the service ceiling is up to 15,000 feet (compared to 10,000 feet), and the flight time is about 4.5 hours. The rate of climb is better than the previous Ripon at 600 feet per minute (compared to about 420 fpm).

While the Baffin was primarily a bomber, it received standardized offensive and defensive machine gun armament. The pilot (in the forward cockpit) uses a 7.7mm Vickers air-cooled machine gun on a fixed forward mount.

The rear crew mounted an air-cooled 7.7mm Lewis machine gun on a trainable mount to protect the aircraft's vulnerable Six. It's a defensive configuration that stems from the bloody battles between monoplanes, biplanes, and triplanes in World War I, which made Baffin -- and her ilk -- the spirit of an attempt to evolve into aviation metal Hybrid aircraft of the era.

As a bomber, the Baffin can be armed with a single torpedo fired under the fuselage, or with 1,600-pound conventional bombs placed under the wings. In this way, aircraft can be required to attack all types of surface combatants using torpedoes and land-based targets/warships through a balanced external bomb configuration.

Baffin was originally implemented in the company prototype T.5J Ripon Mk V, two of which were produced as a private enterprise in Blackburn - each further known as "B-4" and "B-5" "prototype. These came from internal testing to improve the entire Ripon range - the B-4 was fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engine, while the B-5 was fitted with a Bristol Pegasus.

The Pegasus-powered prototype reassured Blackburn's engineers that they made a firm decision that would finally convince the FAA of their new torpedo bomber offering. In 1933, 26 new airframes and 38 existing Ripons were upgraded to new, more powerful standards on behalf of the FAA. The Baffins were officially added to the FAA inventory (along with the 812th Squadron) in January 1934, and in 1935 the existing inventory was reinforced again with the addition of 26 Baffin-modified Ripon airframes, bringing the total Baffins strength to an astonishing 90 Yes, Baffins were used to replace the outgoing Ripons in service at the time - a total of 68 Ripons were eventually converted to the Baffin standard. The only notable Baffin production designation is the "Baffin Mk I", although the three newly built airframes were completed using the Bristol Pegasus II.

The engine of the M3 series, with a power of 580 hp, received the new designation Baffin "T. 8A".

A total of four FAA squadrons fly Baffins - 810, 811, 812 and 820. The Royal New Zealand Air Force became the only other operator of the type and passed No No. 1 Squadron, 2 Squadron and 3 Squadron - albeit from ex-FAA aircraft rather than new build airframes.

British Baffins served on the decks of HMS Courageous, HMS Furious, HMS Glorious and HMS Eagle and excelled during their brief airborne tenure - the FAA Baffins' combat career lasted only two years before the series was replaced by Fairey Swordfish and Blackburn Ditch the shark series. The last FAA Baffin was deployed in December 1936, so there were none until WWII.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force received the former FAA Baffin airframe the following year and received approximately 29 prototypes. During World War II, the RNZAF initially used the aircraft as a dedicated trainer for a new generation of aspiring pilots, although the situation in and around Australia became critical due to Japan's expansion in the Pacific, and the aircraft were later used Pushed to the front line to serve.

According to reports, no direct combat was observed during this period, and the existing mounts were replaced by incoming American Lockheed Hudson twin-engine reconnaissance/bombers. Hudson proved herself in her role, producing some 2,941 copies.

The last operational Baffin served until 1941, officially ending the Ripon legacy with the recent Blackburn development.