Bristol Badger

Bristol · United Kingdom · first flew 1919 · fighter

The Bristol Badger was a British two-seat fighter-reconnaissance biplane designed at the end of the First World War. Three were delivered to the Air Board to develop air-cooled radial engines, particularly the one that became the Bristol Jupiter.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	7.21 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Single-bay biplane with strongly staggered, unswept, unequal-span wings
Nine-cylinder radial engine at the nose
Pilot and observer in tandem open cockpits, with a ring-mounted Lewis gun behind

The pilot sits in front under the trailing edge of the upper wing. The first aircraft had almost no fixed fin, and later machines had a fixed, rounded fin.

Specifications

The Bristol Badger has a length of 7.21 m (24 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11.2 m (37 ft).
Its maximum speed is 228 km/h (142 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

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

History

It was a new design by Frank Barnwell, drawn up at the end of 1917 and owing much to the Bristol Scout F. The first Badger flew on 4 February 1919 but crashed on its first flight with fuel supply problems.

Variants

The first three were designated Badger I, and the sole Badger II had the Jupiter engine, a horn-balanced rudder and larger ailerons. The Badger X was a fifth, single-seat aircraft with a new plywood fuselage.

Where you'll see it

The Badger showed a lateral stability problem, an adverse yaw effect caused by aileron drag, and the Air Board did not accept the third machine. The Badger II was loaned to Bristol for development of the Jupiter and its cowling during 1920 and 1921.

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