Norman Thompson N.1B
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=N.1B | image=Norman Thompson N.1B (N37) Admiralty.jpg | caption=N37, Isle of Grain Test Depot. }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type= Flying boat fighter | national origin=United Kingdom | manufacturer=Norman Thompson Flight Company | designer=Francis Percy Beadle{{cite web|last1=Moss|first1=Roger|title=Francis Percy Hyde Beadle|url=http://britishaviation-ptp.com/fph_beadle.html|website=British Aviation - Projects to Production|accessdate=10 February 2017}} | first flight=October 1917 | introduced= | retired= | status=Prototype | primary user= | number built=1 | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Norman Thompson N.1B was a prototype British flying boat fighter aircraft of the First World War. A two-seat single-engined pusher biplane, a single example was built in 1917, but no production followed.
Development and design
In 1917, the British Admiralty issued Specification N.1B, for single-engined, single-seat aircraft which laid down a number of requirements of aircraft to equip the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), including a requirement for a single-engined floatplane or flying boat fighter aircraft intended to operate from the Royal Navy's seaplane carriers.Another requirement of specification N.1B was for a torpedo bomber to carry a heavy torpedo, which resulted in the Short Shirl and Blackburn Blackburd. These torpedo bombers were unsuitable for the requirement for shipborne fighter which the Norman Thompson N.1B was built and vice versa. The specification required a maximum speed of {{convert|110|mph|kn km/h}} at {{convert|10000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and a ceiling of {{convert|20000|ft|m|abbr=on}}.James 1991, p.69. Responses were received from a number of companies, including the Supermarine Baby and the Westland N.1B, as well as that from the Norman Thompson Flight Company.
The Norman Thompson design, the Norman Thompson N.1B was a pusher biplane, with two-bay equal-span wings that folded forwards for storage on board ship, with ailerons on both upper and lower wings. A single Hispano-Suiza engine mounted between the wings drove a four-blade propeller. While the specification required a single-seat aircraft, the Norman Thompson aircraft had a crew of two, seated in separate tandem cockpits ahead of the wings, giving rise to its alternative name of TNT (Tandem Norman Thompson).Goodall 1995, p.68.London 2003, pp. 37–39.
Construction of a single prototype, N37 was ordered by the Admiralty in April 1917, first flying in October that year.London 2003, p.39. Norman Thompson claimed that the aircraft had good performance, reaching a speed of 108 mph (174 km/h), but when the aircraft was officially tested at the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot, performance was much less than that claimed by Norman Thompson, and did not meet the requirements of the specification.Goodall 1995, p.69. No production of any of the aircraft designed against Specification N.1B followed, with the RNAS operating Sopwith Pup and Camel landplanes from flying-off platforms aboard ships, which did not require the carrier to heave to in order to lower a seaplane to the water. James 1991, p. 71.The Norman Thompson N.1B was struck off charge by October 1918.
Specifications
File:Norman Thompson N.1B (N37) Admiralty (rear left).png
File:Norman Thompson N.1B (N37) Admiralty (front).png
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=British Aeroplanes 1914-18 Bruce 1957, p. 659.
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|wing area sqft=357
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|empty weight lb=1895
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|gross weight lb=2673
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|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Hispano-Suiza 8
|eng1 type= water-cooled V-8 engine
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|eng1 hp=200
|prop blade number=4
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|max speed mph=93
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|endurance=3{{frac|1|2}} hours at {{convert|6000|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=12600
|g limits=
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|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|time to altitude=
- 3 min 30 s to {{convert|2000|ft|m|abbr=on}}
- 27 min 35 s to {{convert|10000|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}
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See also
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Notes
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References
File:Norman Thompson Flight Company advertisement 1917.jpg
- Bruce J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.
- Goodall, Michael H. The Norman Thompson File. Tunbridge Wells, UK:Air Britain, 1995. {{ISBN|0-85130-233-5}}.
- James, Derek N. Westland Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1991. {{ISBN|0-85177-847-X}}.
- London, Peter. "Bognor's Boats: The Aircraft of Norman Thompson". Air Enthusiast, No. 66, November–December 1996. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}. pp. 70–75.
- London, Peter. British Flying Boats. Stroud, UK:Sutton Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7509-2695-3}}.
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