Its Looks Were The Stuff Of Nightmares | Blackburn R.1 Blackburn [Aircraft Overview #67]
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2022
- Today we're looking at the Blackburn R.1 Blackburn, the ugly competitor to the equally ugly Avro 555 Bison. Despite its confusing name and repugnant appearance, this plane enjoyed a little more success than the Bison, albeit this was only by dint of it being slightly better than the Avro.
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***
Producing these videos is a hobby of mine - and apparently its now a full-time job too! I have a passion for history, and personally own a large collection of books, journals and other texts, and endeavor to do as much research as possible. However if there are any mistakes, please don't hesitate to reach out and correct anything :)
Sources:
Thetford.O (1991), British Naval Aircraft Since 1912.
Jackson.A.J (1989), Blackburn Aircraft Since 1909. - Наука та технологія
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F.A.Q Section
Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)
Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.
Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos?
A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :)
Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators?
A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.
Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)
Not sure if it was mentioned under one of the previous videos already, but the IAR 80 would be an interesting plane to cover - one of the rare instances where a minor Axis power managed to produce a modern fighter of their very own design and in quite significant numbers as well.
Well well the Blackburn Blackburn....a plane so awful they named it twice.
They kinda stuttered while naming it.
😁
Ferrari La Ferrari: *awkward silence*
@@jimtaylor294 New York, New York? So good they just named it!
@@mikehipperson try Shibushi-shi in Kyushu Japan
I am a retired Short Brothers Airframe Engineer and I always thought that nobody could equal Shorts for ugly aircraft. After this video, I stand corrected.
What would you regard as the ugliest of the Shorts? the Seamew? The Shrimp?
@@uingaeoc3905 Yes.
Personally I think Shorts had quite a few handsome aircraft: the Sterling, Sunderland, Sperrin & Belfast in particular.
@@Grobut81 and the Sturgeon!
Of course to be fair, we shoulden't forget Westland, who created some flying eye-sores of their own.
Air Ministry - "We need you to build a reconnaissance aircraft"
Blackburn - "No worries, also it won't have any windows"
Me "WTF... you had one job, Blackburn"
Would you like your enemy to see you in this?
It was actually a very clever design; the enemy would be helpless with laughter when they saw this thing meandering towards them.
on the same line of armament than the Funniest Joke in the World by Monty Python
An aircraft that flew not through engine power or lift but rather sheer spite and desire to inflict it's eye searing uglyness on as many unfortunate souls as possible.
At 4:40 "...completely destroyed in a hanger fire..." So, someone came to their senses.
Mechanic:"i can't let this live"
I remember seeing a model of this aircraft at what used to be Blackburn's factory at Brough, East Yorkshire. It looked like someone had stuck a couple of wings on a very tall slim house. I did wonder if the pilot had to use an oxygen mask while still on the runway.
3000ft without oxygen mask isn’t too big of a problem
I agree a long climb up the side of the fuselage for the pilot, looks like he may have had to use the machine gun as one of the steps..
I think I know where that model now resides!
@@cruisingoffthedeepend1059 is that something you are allowed to share?
@@Simon_Nonymous Not publicly!
And the Bison and Blackburn loved each other very much, so that one day the Gannet was born
Glories to the heavenly Blackburn Blackburn. We are truly BLESSED by her presence. GLORIES! WE ARE TRULY BLESSED. GLORIES!!!
I thought the Bison was hideous, but at least it had the glass windows to allow for viewing, growing cucumbers, etc.
It was ugly but being able to take off in 60 feet is kind of impressive "into the wind". Tx for sharing Rex
Perhaps its appearance was intended to cause enemies to mistake it for a flying slug.
Or die with laughter
I really like how the Vickers gun is just kind of strapped to the port side, just hanging out.
You call it lazy naming, they call it taking pride in your business and home town. Misplaced pride, granted, but still pride. :)
Yup. Did Ferrari no harm.
This is the reason why the tourist trade in Blackburn is on its knees!
I wonder if there's a surviving copy of the Royal Navy specification that stated that all naval aircraft had to be ugly enough to stun a Wildebeest at 100 yards
They didn't rescind it until the Supermarine Sea Hawk demonstrated that an aircraft specifically designed for carrier use from the outset didn't actually have to look horrifically deformed.
I wanna know about it too... If two opposing companies made the same ugly design, then there should be a "standard" they were given
The main reason for the shape of both aircraft is that the specification was very clear that the cabin must be large enough for an admiralty chart to be fully unfolded and used inside. Pretty much everything else was secondary to that requirement.
Requirements writing is a fine art. You have to balance the need of the service with room for the contractor to innovate ... Or you could get stupidly drunk and simultaneously demonically possessed like the British Naval Air service, or the Ch-53 program office.
The Vickers Vildebeest says please don't include me in this conversation. I'm rather sensitive about my looks, but I'm not in *this* category.
Oh, you mean Wildebeest. Never mind.
Nah. Few would call aircraft like the Swordfish, Roc or Skua ugly. The DH Vampire (first jet ever to land on a RN Carrier) was particularly attractive.
Blackburn Blackburn is the aircraft version of the guys who get tattoos of their own names.
Ferrari would repeat this decades later XD
@@jimtaylor294 Twice!
They named their halo car after the owner, who the company is named after, the Enzo, then they named their new halo car "The Ferrari"
Basically the aviation equivalent of turn of the century French dreadnoughts (immortalized in Drach's awesome "When Hotels Go to War" video.)
When AirBnB goes to war in this case? ("air" bnb.. see what I did there? OK, I'll let myself out...............)
I love these aircraft. They look like nothing else and UGLY IS BETTER THAN BORING.
When both the submitted designs end up looking so repellent they could probably levitate due to the earth rejecting them it was probably the Air Ministries specification that caused it.
Thinking the same thing.
"Specification 1. Have such an appearance as to make the enemy vomit or die of laughter on first sighting, and therefore unable to aim or fire"
Amazing how any engineer would be satisfied with so much aerodynamic drag.
Perhaps drag wasn't invented yet 🙂
Well to be fair to the engineers, it was so slow that aerodynamics were never going to be a major issue
Great video. In elementary school I saw a picture of a Blackburn Blackburn and wondered for years about the strange double name and the equally strange design.
I was watching the whole video wondering if someone has ever tried to build an aircraft with a fuselage larger than the propeller placed right in front of it, like those fans in some PC cases which turn out to (try to) blow into a solid wall, but all the time I was also thinking that this likely was the worst that was ever tried.
Until here comes the training version.
Aerodynamic efficiency was known years before this came out. Yet it has all the aerodynamics of a 3 hole brick, with wings decorated by sticks and fishing nets.
These planes are like pulling a fat bird at closing time; they might be a bit short of good looks, but they'll do everything that's asked of them.
The fact that this and the Bison were similarly butt ugly would suggest the specification requirements were to blame.
Up until Rex's video these planes only lived in conspiracy theories and myths...
Rex you are the best with the retro Aircraft video's....Thanks from an old Navy Shoe🇺🇸
5:00 Portholes are actually called sidelights (not able to be opened) or scuttles (able to be opened). 😀❤️🚢
Until your channel, I never knew there were so many obscure, British affronts to both aesthetics and aerodynamics.
There's plenty of french ones too XD.
(and one polish, if you count the Zubr)
I really love ugly, odd or asymmetrical planes. I really liked the Kalinin K-12 video. So, keep videos of ugly planes coming.
There is a beautiful asymmetrical plane - ok, the cockpit was off centre and it had a weird "porthole" for the observer - but it was beautiful otherwise. In fact, very beautiful. I bet you can guess what it is ASV!
@@robertwilloughby8050 I think you are referring to the WWII German plane BV 141. But I do not remember it having a porthole for the observer, so I am not sure which plane you are talking about.
@@americansupervillain4595 Ooh, no, it was a lot faster than the BV 141, and it was a jet! Think carrierborne operations. 🙂
@@robertwilloughby8050 Now I know which aircraft you are referring to (my brain was stuck in the piston age). The De Havilland Sea Vixen, great looking plane and the seating arrangement for the observer is definitely unique.
Praise be, all are observed by the glorious and divine biplane.
Old engineers used to say if an airplane looks right, it is right. The Blackburn exemplifies the idea. Look at the access panels on the cowling. So weird.
Fairey clearly proved the exception then, as the Gannet looks so wrong, yet was really good.
Hey, the Blackburn Blackburn too had a mother (just like Boutros Boutros) that thought he couldn't have been better!
The Boutros Boutros Blackburn would be one heck of a name
Can not wait for you to review the New York New York. Frank Sinatra was the test pilot, spreading the news, leaving today….
If I can suggest the Lioré et Olivier 451 that would kill it's pilot on take off would be rather funny.
About how interesting of a bomber it is, or else we can go over the Dewoitine 551 prototype, or the Potez 630 Series of aircraft.
I bet its mother loved it and thought it was beautiful.
Yay!
The Blackburn Redundant Name!
Clunky and crude, but very, very memorable - you can't *un*see it.
As the video went on I found myself appreciative of its looks. I'm weird.
I can’t unsee that .. ouch 😣
Always enjoy your humor!! And of course all the fascinating facts 😀
Glad to see your better, thanks for the video, enjoyed it
Excellent production Rex. Cheers 👍
The Blackburn Blackburn is not as ugly as the Bison but the Bison has at least a better name that the Blackburn Blackburn.
(Haha, at first I thought that this was a re upload!)
you’re right it’s not as ugly…it’s much uglier!
Fully agree - the Avro Bison is simply garden variety ugly.
The Blackburn x 2 is weapons grade ugly, clearly the designers wanted to induce nausea and therefore incapacitate enemy lookouts.
I wouldn't surprise me if Blackburn made special protective eye wear for ground crew when servicing the aircraft.
Blackburn: "Funny seeing you here, Blackburn" Blackburn: "Speak for yourself, Blackburn"
Evidently the primary contracting officer in the FAA misunderstood the saying 'If looks could kill.'
When talking about the Fairey.... Do not forget to talk about the gallant operational history in Portugal
I don't know, to be honest it isn't that bad of a looking aircraft, sure it's an eyesore at times but I think it has a odd charm to it.
"sure it's an eyesore at times but I think it has a odd charm to it."
That's wot me mum said about me.....
An interesting video to watch over breakfast. Now I'll pack my Lunchbox Lunchbox, get into my Car Car, and go to Work Work.
Wonderful stuff!
Thanks
Thanks for sharing 👍
The Fairey IIIF is a truly elegant aircraft. Not many of those around in the 20s.
That picture of the machine gun on the port side should be the new standard for the dictionary entry of the word “afterthought.”
un bonjour de france. tout d'abord félicitation pour votre travail, super interessant pour un vieux fan (71ans) je n'ai déja regardé que 65 de vos vidéos mais c'est toujours le même plaisir : scénario impeccable, recherche approfondies, humour et pour quelqu'un qui n'a eu qu'un "tailleur très pauvre" la traduction est au top.
j'aime les avions malheureux ou très peu utilisés : prévoyez vous des vidéos sur le westland wirlwind, avro manchester, martin baker... et bien sûr un petit sujet sur les avionss de la société française arsenal serait les bien venus;
a très bientôt pour la suite de vos vidéo
I'm sure the 540 lbs of added weight from the extra fuel plus the weight of the tanks degraded performance far more than the additional drag
Praise be The Late Day Biplane!
Both of those are indeed the sort only a mother could love, assuming she was of only modest visual acuity.
Praise Be the Blackburn Blackburn 🙏🙏
Seeing the pictures of this plane and the Bison is what turned Michael Jackson white.
🤣🤣🤣
This is literally "you may not like it but this is what peek performance looks like"
The Blackburn Something or Other
excellent video btw as much as I make fun of both the Bison and Blackburn I'm still fascinated by 1920's aerodesign and you always feed that need lol
You know that familiar feeling of being saddened by a plane no longer existing?
I don't feal that at all for this thing.
The blessed late day biplane!
Can you do a video on the Emily flying boat that served with Japan?
The Blackburn Blackburn got me suspecting that the designers of the Westland Wessex simply took one of these and ripped off the wings and propeller and stuck it up a helicopter engine and rotor
Praise be
Beauty lies in the eye of the beho-OOOH dear god, what is that thing?! My eyes hurt!
All hail the Blackburn Blackburn...
from the Beatles, "A Day in the life" ... _4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire_
The plane with one of THE most redundant names ever.
Should've been called the Blackburn Bumpus after the designer.
i like the style
French box bombers give an honourable mention :) Cheers,
Praise be! 🙏
Praise be
Praise be!
@@mosheberkovits3586 are you also on the discord server?
@@sprite613 what server?
Naval history live, Dr Clarke's server
It & the Bison both have the appearance of fleas when viewed through a microscope.
The General Aircraft Fleet Shadower was even less visually appealing...
looks don’t matter, function matters. doesn’t matter if they’re ugly, the real issue is if they can perform in the jobs they’re intended for
@@bostonrailfan2427 The current mayor of Chicago can't even do the job she was elected for. She even looks like this and the Bison were her great grand parents.
@@bostonrailfan2427 They weren't very good at that either
@@jonmcgee6987 🤣🤣🤣
@@jonmcgee6987 you just insulted both the Bison, and the Blackburn Blackburn.
Though I do admit to the resemblance.
Nose design reminds me of an actual moth
Praise be the Blackburn blackburn, the observer of god
If you are looking for the most hideous airplane, then you should take a look at PZL M-15 (Belphegor);) Great video by the way :)
Praise Be!
3:07
If that's not a Frankenstein looking plane, i don't know what is!
I'm always assuming when you mention "Walrus" you're talking about the flying boat
Ditto.
Tis one reason why I'll never accept the F-35 being called ""Lightning"", as it's a grave insult to all other aircraft of said name, and the weather hazard itself.
When your Blackburn aircraft is so Blackburn you can't give it any other name
"If it looks right, it'll fly right"
So... this thing...
This thing doesn't fly, it's... unique visage... repels the earth and gives the illusion of flight.
praise be
I thought it was the same plane when I saw the thumbnail. "Came out one day ago" That can't be, I saw this days ago.
I think raising the upper wing might have also been a safety measure as the pilot would have been horribly vulnerable in any ground loop in both aircraft.
The aeroplane that is used to draw the ire of naval historians.
So nice they named it twice...
No amount of camouflage pant can hide this monster.
''Take a look at my aeroplane
It's the only one I got
Not much of a aeroplane
Never seem to get a lot''
With apologies to Supertramp.
Taking off into a stiff breeze off the deck of an aircraft carrier. Was it any faster than the ship?
Blackburn R.1 is beautiful.
Can you please do the glorious Aviation Traders Accountant.
When even the name of the designer fits
Any chance of a programme on the Blackburn Botha?
All Hail the Blackburn Blackburn!
May their holyness bless us with everlasting fortune and a plethora of ugly aircraft
An other strange concept... 👍
So; The hangar fire. Were any members of a local art appreciation society seen nearby, perhaps carrying matches ? 😅
the best named aircraft ever
All praise the Blackburn Blackburn, bringer of seizures.
"was complaints" ---> "were complaints"