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Martinsyde G.100

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox aircraft

|name = G.100/G.102 "Elephant"

|image = Martinsyde g100.jpg

|caption =

|type = fighter/day bomber

|manufacturer = Martinsyde

|designer =

|first_flight =1915

|introduction = 1916

|retired =

|status =

|primary_user = Royal Flying Corps

|more_users = Australian Flying Corps

|produced =

|number_built = 271

|unit cost =

|variants =

}}

The Martinsyde G.100 "Elephant" and the G.102 were British fighter bomber aircraft of the First World War built by Martinsyde. The type gained the name "Elephant" from its relatively large size and lack of manoeuvrability. The G.102 differed from the G.100 only in having a more powerful engine.

Design and development

An unusually large aircraft by contemporary standards for a single-seater, the Elephant two-bay equal span staggered biplane was designed by A A Fletcher of the Martinsyde Company, a prototype powered by a 120 hp Austro-Daimler engine entering test in the autumn of 1915.

The initial production version, the G.100, was powered by a 120h p six-cylinder Beardmore engine and was armed with a single 0.303 in drum-fed Lewis Gun mounted above the centre section. This was later augmented by a similar weapon bracket-mounted to the port fuselage side behind the cockpit).

The G.100 was gradually succeeded by the G.102 with a 160 hp Beardmore engine. Maximum speed of the 160 hp aircraft was {{convert|108|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at sea level, falling to 100 mph (160 km/h) at 10,000 ft; it had a maximum ceiling of {{convert|14000|ft|m|abbr=on}}.

Operational use

The G.100 was built originally as a long-range, single-seat fighter and escort machine but on the basis of its size and weight was reclassified as a day bomber.

Deliveries to the RFC commenced in mid-1916, a total of 270 being manufactured. The G.100 and G.102 Elephants were used in France and the Middle East, although only No. 27 Squadron, RFC was completely equipped with this type.

While not particularly successful as a fighter owing to its poor agility by comparison other fighters of the times, the Elephant performed a useful service in long-range bombing, carrying up to a 260 lb (120 kg) bomb load. It successfully performed this role from the summer of 1916 through to late 1917. It was also used for long-range photo reconnaissance, where stability and endurance were required (the type was capable of a five-and-a-half-hour flight).

Variants

  • Martinsyde G.100 : Single-seat fighter-scout, bomber and reconnaissance biplane, powered by a 120 hp (89 kW) Beardmore piston engine. 100 built.
  • Martinsyde G.102 : Single-seat fighter-scout, bomber and reconnaissance biplane, powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) Beardmore piston engine. 171 built. The increase in engine size and fuel consumption resulted in a loss of endurance, with the G.102 being only capable of a four-and-a-half-hour flight.{{cite book |last1=Hare |first1=Paul |title=Britain's Forgotten Fighters of the First World War |date=2014 |publisher=Fonthill |location=Stroud UK |isbn=978-1781551974 |pages=108}}

Operators

;{{AUS}}

  • Australian Flying Corps
  • No. 1 Squadron AFC in Egypt and Palestine.{{cite book |last= Cutlack|first= F.M. |work=The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 |volume=VIII |title=The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914–1918 |orig-year=1923 |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069925/|edition= 11th |year=1941 |publisher= Angus and Robertson|location=Sydney |page=404|chapter=Appendix 1 Types of Fighting Aeroplanes |chapter-url=https://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1069828--1-.pdf}}

;{{UK}}

Specifications (G.100)

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=The British Fighter since 1912{{Cite book |last1=Mason |first1=Francis K. |title=The British Fighter since 1912 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1992 |pages=44–45 |isbn= 1-55750-082-7}}

|prime units?=imp

|crew=1

|length ft=26

|length in=6

|length note=

|span ft=38

|span in=0

|span note=

|height ft=9

|height in=8

|height note=

|wing area sqft=456

|wing area note=Flight 1920 p641

|aspect ratio=

|airfoil=

|empty weight lb=1795

|empty weight note=

|gross weight lb=2424

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight lb=

|max takeoff weight note=

|fuel capacity=

|more general=

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Beardmore 120 hp

|eng1 type=6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine

|eng1 hp=120

|eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2

|prop name=fixed-pitch propeller

|prop dia ft=

|prop dia in=

|prop dia note=

|max speed mph=96

|max speed note=

|cruise speed mph=

|cruise speed note=

|stall speed mph=

|stall speed note=

|never exceed speed mph=

|never exceed speed note=

|range miles=450

|range note=

|combat range miles=

|combat range note=

|ferry range miles=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=4 hours 30 minutes

|ceiling ft=14000

|ceiling note=

|climb rate ftmin=

|climb rate note=

|time to altitude={{cvt|10000|ft|0}} in 16 minutes with Beardmore 160 hp engine

|lift to drag=

|wing loading lb/sqft=5.2

|wing loading note=

|fuel consumption lb/mi=

|power/mass=

|more performance=

|guns=

:* 1 × 0.303 in Lewis gun mounted above upper wing centre section

:* 1 × Lewis gun mounted fixed aft of the cockpit pointing rearwards

|bombs=

:* 260 lb (120 kg) bombload

}}

See also

{{aircontent

|sequence=Martinsyde S.1 – G.100 – G.102

|lists=*List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force

}}

References

{{Commons category|Martinsyde G.100}}

{{Reflist}}

  • Kenneth Munson Aircraft of World War I, 1967 Ian Allan {{ISBN|0-7110-0356-4}}
  • {{citation |journal=Flight |title=Milestones: The Martinsyde Machines |date=17 June 1920 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%200637.html |pages=637–638, 641}}

{{Martinsyde aircraft}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1910s British fighter aircraft

Category:1910s British bomber aircraft

G.100

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1915