William Beardmore and Company obtained a licence to use the Rohrbach principle for stressed-skin construction.
Utilising these principles and Rohrbach’s designs for the RoVI, Beardmore designed the massive all-metal tri-engine transport known as the Beardmore Inflexible.
Constructed in sections at Dalmuir from 1925 to 1927, these were shipped to Felixstowe and then transported by road to the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment at Martlesham Heath Airfield, where its maiden flight occurred on March 5, 1928.
It was later showcased at the Hendon RAF Display that year.
The aircraft was structurally advanced for its era, boasting impressive flying qualities.
It was notably large, with a wingspan of 157 feet (48 m), surpassing the Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber of World War II by about 16 feet (4.9 m).
However, at an all-up weight of 37,000 pounds (17,000 kg), it was underpowered.
Lacking production interest, the aircraft was dismantled at Martlesham Heath in 1930 and subsequently used to study the effects of corrosion on light-alloy stressed skin structures.
