Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo

Blackburn Aircraft · United Kingdom · first flew 1924 · bomber

The Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo was a British prototype biplane torpedo bomber of the 1920s. It was claimed to be the largest single-engined aircraft in the world at the time of its first flight.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Fuselage 11 ft deep with a triangular rear cross-section
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Massive single-engined biplane built to carry a 21 in torpedo
Napier Cub X-16 engine with a curved or flat radiator in the nose
Fuselage 11 ft deep with a triangular rear cross-section

The wingspan was 88 ft and the metal tube structure carried a crew of four. A hatch near each lower wing root allowed the gunners to cover the underside of the tail.

Specifications

The Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo has a length of 16.46 m (54 ft).
It has a wingspan of 26.82 m (88 ft).
Its maximum speed is 185 km/h (115 mph).
Typical crew: 4.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The Air Ministry issued Specification 8/21 for a long-range torpedo bomber, and Blackburn's chief designer Major F. A. Bumpus submitted the Cubaroo. The first example, N166, flew in secrecy in the summer of 1924.

Variants

The first example had a curved radiator ahead of the engine in the nose, while the second, N167, had a flat one.

Where you'll see it

N166 was delivered to RAF Martlesham Heath for testing but was written off when its undercarriage collapsed on 2 February 1925. The second prototype flew in 1925 and was used as a testbed for the Beardmore Simoon diesel engine.

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