Avro: 549 Aldershot
Note: This is a sub-section of Avro.
The Aldershot was a three-bay biplane, with a steel-framed fuselage structure with plywood and fabric covering, and wooden wings. The pilot and navigator were seated side-by side in a cockpit behind the upper wing trailing edge, with additional accommodation for the navigator, who was also the bomb-aimer in a cabin inside the fuselage, which was provided with four circular windows on each side. A gunner sat in a separate cockpit behind the pilot, and was armed with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring. Another Lewis gun could be fitted to a ventral mounting in the cabin, while there was provision for a fixed, forward firing Vickers machine gun operated by the pilot, although this was rarely fitted. A bomb-bay forward of the cabin could hold eight 250 lb (114 kg) bombs, with larger bombs being carried externally under the fuselage.
The Aldershot also formed the basis for the Avro Andover transport, which used the same wings, tail and power plant but had a new fuselage.
Variants
Avro 549 Aldershot I
- Prototype. Two built.
Avro 549A Aldershot II
- First prototype modified with 1,000 hp (746 kW) Napier Cub engine.
Avro 549B Aldershot III
- Production version. 15 built. One modified with metal wings as Avro 549M.
Avro 549C Aldershot IV
- First prototype modified with Beardmore Typhoon engine.
See Also
Sources of Information