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The Avro 549 Aldershot was a British single-engined bomber aircraft built by Avro. ==Development and design== The Aldershot was designed to meet the 1920 British Specification 2/20 for a long-range day and night bomber to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Condor engine.〔Jarrett 1993, p.9.〕 The specification required a range of 500 miles (800 km) and a bombload of 2,000 lb (900 kg), originally comprising a single World War I vintage 1,800 lb (820 kg) SN bomb, but then changed to four 500 lb (230 kg) bombs carried externally or eight 250 lb (114 kg) bombs internally.〔Mason 1994, p.136.〕〔Sharpe, Michael. ''Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes''. London, England: Friedman/Fairfax Books , 2000. ISBN 1-58663-300-7.〕 The Air Ministry gave Avro a contract for two prototypes, designated Aldershot I, on 2 December 1920, in competition with the de Havilland Derby.〔 The first prototype flew at Hamble Aerodrome near Southampton in October 1921.〔Mason 1994, p.137.〕 As a result of test flying, the fuselage was lengthened by 6 ft (2 m)in order to improve directional control, being displayed in this form at the RAF Display at Hendon on 24 June, the second prototype flying in July, with the lengthened fuselage and a modified undercarriage.〔〔Jarrett 1993, p.11.〕 The first prototype was modified as a testbed for the water-cooled Napier Cub engine, in this form becoming the Aldershot II, flying on 15 December 1922.〔Jackson 1990, p.195.〕 It was later used to test the slow-revving 850 hp (630 kW) Beardmore Typhoon I inline engine, flying in this form on 10 January 1927.〔Jackson 1990, p.197.〕 The Aldershot was a three-bay biplane, with a steel framed fuselage structure with plywood and fabric covering, and wooden wings. The pilot and navigator were seated side-by side in a cockpit behind the upper wing trailing edge, with additional accommodation for the navigator, who was also the bomb-aimer in a cabin inside the fuselage, which was provided with four circular windows on each side. A gunner sat in a separate cockpit behind the pilot, and was armed with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring. Another Lewis gun could be fitted to a ventral mounting in the cabin, while there was provision for a fixed, forward firing Vickers machine gun operated by the pilot, although this was rarely fitted.〔 A bomb-bay forward of the cabin could hold eight 250 lb (114 kg) bombs, with larger bombs being carried externally under the fuselage.〔Jarrett 1993, pp.9—10.〕 The Aldershot also formed the basis for the Avro Andover transport, which used the same wings, tail and power plant but had a new fuselage.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Avro 549 Aldershot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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