Blackburn Beverley aircraft

This all purpose military transport aircraft was introduced into service with the RAF in 1956, in the same year that the C-130 Hercules entered service in the US. The initial order for 20 aircraft had been placed by the RAF on October 1, 1952. On entering into service with the RAF, it was their largest aircraft. 47 Beverleys were eventually produced, aside from the two prototypes. 

Designed for long ranges, it would carry both troops and heavy loads at the same time. A wide variety of heavy equipment of all types could be air transported or parachuted. In the latter role the rear sections of the fuselage (which opened to enable loads to be stowed internally) were removed to allow the parachutes to develop and pull the load out of the aircraft. In this role it could carry heavy drop loads up to  25,000 lbs in weight.

A Leading Edge documentary states that the Beverley had a maximum capacity of 92 paratroopers. But according to our sources it usually carried 70 fully equipped parachutists, or 80 at a push. This consisted of 60 men in the freight bay to jump from either side, with an extra 20 crammed into the tail boom in two sticks of 10 to drop from an aperture. Normally, however, there were only 10 men total in the tail boom. Entry to the boom was either through trapdoors which linked to the freight bay, or through a door at the rear of the boom, which could be reached with a set of stairs. These stairs were usually used for paratroopers, as climbing up the walls of the freight bay was difficult with full kit. Aperture and door jumping were banned from occurring simultaneously after 1959, and the hazards of doing so in the first place are amply demonstrated by John Lowe's comment on this page. The Beverley's max range was 1300 miles with a top speed of 238 mph. 

When carrying troops who were not parachuting, the Beverley could carry 94 men in the cargo hold and another 36 in the tail boom at max capacity. It was used operationally in Malaysia, Borneo, Brunei, Zanzibar, Kenya and most famously in Aden during the years of the emergency. It was also used in a humanitarian role in Vietnam in flood relief and to deliver supplies. 

Limited by its low top speed of 238 mph compared to the Hercules' 345 mph, the Blackburn Beverley was retired from service in 1967. Its boxy shape and lack of turboprop technology made it slower and louder than its successor, the C-130. Nonetheless, it boasted a higher capacity than the Hercules and was excellent at dropping heavy equipment. As the late RAF pilot Harry Liddell wrote in 1997:

"In its time, no mere aeroplane could conceivably have taken its place. During a relatively short life it performed more useful work, in often arduous and highly-demanding environments, than many other aircraft types achieve in lifespans several times the length". 

After its withdrawal from service, a Beverley was still retained by the Aeroplane and Armaments Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe down. This was serial number XB261 and had been with the Establishment since 1955. It was used in various tests including ultra low-level airdropping trials which were filmed by cameras attached to the aircraft in the late 1960s (the films from which are held by IWM). It was retained by the A&AEE until 1971, when it was acquired by Southend Historic Aircraft Museum. Gerry Crossland remembered the trials:

"I moved from 16 Para Bde to the AATDC in 1969. We supplied warm flesh for the trials run by A&AEE at Boscombe Down. They kept and used a Min Tech Beverley and we jumped from it regularly, shadowed by Harvards filming us. As far as I recall, it was still in business when I left to return to the Brigade in 1971".

Southend Historic Aircraft Museum closed on March 27, 1983. The Beverley XB261 began to deteriorate and became a health hazard, and was broken up apart from its cockpit, which was moved to Duxford in 1989 and then to Newark Air Museum in 2004, where it remains today on display. 

All of the 47 Beverley aircraft have now been scrapped except one, the XB259, which was most recently at the Fort Paull Museum before its closure. Last flying in 1974, it was bought by Martyn Wiseman in 2020. Now Solway aviation museum is hoping to acquire it. 

Technical information:

Crew: 6, 2 pilots, flight engineer, navigator, signaller, air quartermaster.

Length: 99ft (30.3m)

Wingspan: 162ft (49.4m)

Height: 38ft (11.8m)

Powerplant: 4 x Bristol Centaurus 173 radial od 2,850hp each.

Max take off weight: 135,000lb (61,235kg)

Technical information taken from 'Aviation Archive' magazine Issue 30 and Jane's Aircraft 1956-57.