While developing the Beardmore W.B.IV, G. Tilghman Richards, Beardmore’s chief designer, also created a second aircraft.
This was in response to an Admiralty request for a shipborne fighter armed with a 37 mm Le-Puteaux quick-firing gun to combat airships.
The resulting W.B.V was a single-seat, two-bay tractor biplane with a 200 hp (149 kW) Hispano-Suiza engine and foldable wings for shipboard storage.
The Le-Puteaux gun, manually loaded, was positioned between the V-8 engine’s cylinder banks, shooting through the propeller shaft.
In contrast to the W.B.V, the W.B.IV lacked a buoyancy chamber and instead used inflatable flotation bags.
The first prototype took flight on December 3, 1917.
However, RNAS pilots deemed the Le Puteaux gun hazardous during trials, leading to the aircraft’s rearmament with a synchronised Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun on a tripod mount.
The project was discontinued following the completion of a second prototype.
Specifications
Crew
1
Length
26 ft 7 in (8.10 m)
Wingspan
35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
Height
11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
Wing area
394 sq ft (36.6 m2)
Empty weight
1,860 lb (845 kg)
Gross weight
2,500 lb (1,136 kg)
Powerplant
1 × Hispano-Suiza 8,
200 hp (149 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed
112 mph (180 km/h, 97 kn)
Stall speed
45 mph (72 km/h, 39 kn)
Endurance
2 hours, 30 minutes
Service ceiling
14,000 ft (4,270 m)
Armament
One 37 mm Le Puteaux quick-firing gun firing through the propeller shaft
