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Bristol Bulldog

1929 GOLDEN AGE

History of the Bristol Bulldog

In 1926, the Air Ministry proposed specifications for a radial piston engine fighter, armed with two Vickers machine guns day and night, capable of attacking the best enemy bombers of the time. Bristol responded with the Bulldog I (Mk. I or Mark I), which was used as the development model for what would eventually become the Bulldog II.

In the interwar years, the type became one of Britain's most iconic aircraft designs and served as a front-line fighter in the host country for about seven years. About 443 servings were made.

The aircraft will be in service with the Royal Air Force, the Spanish Air Force, the Finnish Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, among others.

In configuration, the Bulldog II has an all-metal hull covered with cloth skin. The wings are arranged in a typical biplane fashion, with a single cabin and a pair of parallel struts of equal-span units. Power is provided by a Bristol Jupiter VII series 440 hp radial piston engine. The weapon consists of 2 x 7.7mm Vickers machine guns, fired synchronously by a rotating propeller via a breaker gear. The landing gear is attached to the tail skid, and both are designed with grass runways in mind.

The pilot sits behind and below the upper wing assembly in the open-air cockpit. The pilots received oxygen supplies for working at heights and even shortwave radios for communications.

In many ways, these two additions are glimpses into the future of military aviation, and together they're called innovations. Optional weapons include 4 x 20lb bombs under the wings.

The Bulldog II entered service in June 1929, effectively replacing the aging Gloster Gamecock and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin fighters in front-line service at the time. The Bulldog II would never fight under the British flag, but foreign users of the genre did well, especially Finnish pilots who used Bulldogs against Soviet invaders during World War II.

Other foreign operators are Estonia, Siam (Thailand) and Denmark.

Bristol Bulldog was inevitably replaced by the Gloster Gauntlet while serving in the RAF. The design of the Bulldog was led by Bristol-based chief designer Frank Barnwell. Other variants exist, but in limited numbers, most notably the two-seat Bulldog TM trainer.

Nakajima in Japan made two examples of bulldogs like J.S.S.F.