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Bristol M.1

1917 WORLD WAR 1

Bristol M. 1 Story

The Bristol M.1 military fighter comes at a time in aviation history when prejudice against monoplane wing designs still existed. Despite its excellent straight-line speed, the fighter was not widely accepted by the British Air Force during the First World War (1914-1918), but was relegated to the Middle East, the Balkans and the mainland (the latter used as a trainer).

Bristol Aircraft delivered 130 by the end of the year.

Design work on the aircraft began in 1916 as a private company led by Frank Barnwell, chief engineer of the Bristol Aircraft Company. Contrary to the traditional route of the biplane wing layout, the monoplane wing layout is combined with a "tug-rod" engine layout - the entire design revolves around a beautifully contoured circular fuselage that tapers gracefully to the tail.

The unit consists of a small vertical tail and low-level horizontal plane. The main-wing aircraft is mounted along the shoulders on both sides of the fuselage and reinforced by a pair of semi-circular steel hoops that serve as the cabin structure (cage) and sit above the cockpit. The cockpit is an open-air type suitable for that period, and the wheeled undercarriage (rear tractor type) is fixed.

A nose-mounted engine drives a two-bladed wooden propeller, and a large aerodynamic spinner is added to complete the look of the aircraft. The overall structure consists mainly of wood with fabric covering. Power is provided by a 110-horsepower Clerget rotary engine.

A prototype first flew on July 14, 1916 and justified the design. The British War Office deemed the purchase of the aircraft to be of sufficient value for an extended assessment, with official tests showing speeds approaching 130 mph.

One of the design flaws noted was the placement of the main-wing aircraft, which reduced the pilot's forward and downward visibility - a critical viewing angle during air-to-air combat and landing operations.

Subsequent M. 1B models had several physical changes, four of which were ordered. These have a cutout in the main plane of the right wing to give the pilot a better view of the ground. In addition, the semi-circular steel hoop above the cockpit was abolished and replaced by a pyramid-shaped cockpit. On the left main plane is one. 303 Vickers machine gun.

During this time, various engine fits were tested.

Despite the changes, the M.1 was a tough sell for the UK Air Force, which had always favoured biplanes due to previous problems with the use of viable monoplane types. Compared to modern biplanes and their increased drag/control, monoplanes are still largely seen as unstable, dangerous creatures with lethal landing speeds.

However, that didn't stop 125 production-quality models from being ordered in August 1917 - these were given the designation M.1C. The most important changes include the . 303 Vickers machine gun now located above the nose and powered by a Le Rhone rotary engine.

The M. 1C has a length of 20.4 feet, a wingspan of 30.8 feet, and a height of 7.8 feet. Curb weight is 900 lbs and MTOW is 1,350 lbs. With a top speed of 130 mph - one of the faster fighters in the war - service capped at 20,000 feet, the mission duration window is 1 hour 45 minutes.

The M.1 series were sent to the Middle East theaters during their service period before the end of 1917, some of them fought on the Balkan front, while the rest of the stock remained at home to train British pilots. In actual combat, the fighters performed quite well, rivaling even the best the enemy had to offer, but - once again - a prejudice against monoplanes persisted, which limited the total number of aircraft in the series to 130.

By the end of 1918, at least a dozen warships were shipped to Chile to pay for the two ships built in British shipyards before the war, destined for the Chilean Navy. The ships were confiscated by the Royal Navy during the war with Germany to make up for its naval shortage.

M.1 fighter jets are in service with RAF Squadrons 14, 47, 72, 111 and 150. The one-off M.1D was equipped with an in-house Bristol "Lucifer" radial-piston engine that served as a high-speed test bed.

After the war, the plane raced in its bright red uniform throughout the early 1920s, but was eventually involved in a fatal crash in 1923.