Catching Rays Atop a Beverley
This unidentified aircrew Flight Lieutenant is clearly working on his tan atop a Beverley transport aircraft; I'm not sure what the fixture is that he's leaning against. The background scenery suggests that this was probably at RAF Eastleigh, just outside Nairobi, Kenya. I assume the vertical tube with the nozzle on top is a pitot tube; the intake to the right is probably for an auxiliary power unit. Together with the (HF?) radio aerial wires, these give the aircraft a rather agricultural air... The troops with the stripped-down Land Rovers give a great sense of the height from which this shot was taken. The 526 aircraft stern of the Beverley might be a Douglas C-47 Skytrain but that's a guess. Scanned from a B&W print.
The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.
Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.
In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.
The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.
In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.
Catching Rays Atop a Beverley
This unidentified aircrew Flight Lieutenant is clearly working on his tan atop a Beverley transport aircraft; I'm not sure what the fixture is that he's leaning against. The background scenery suggests that this was probably at RAF Eastleigh, just outside Nairobi, Kenya. I assume the vertical tube with the nozzle on top is a pitot tube; the intake to the right is probably for an auxiliary power unit. Together with the (HF?) radio aerial wires, these give the aircraft a rather agricultural air... The troops with the stripped-down Land Rovers give a great sense of the height from which this shot was taken. The 526 aircraft stern of the Beverley might be a Douglas C-47 Skytrain but that's a guess. Scanned from a B&W print.
The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.
Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.
In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.
The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.
In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.