Blackburn Ripon

The Blackburn Ripon was a British carrier-based torpedo-bomber and reconnaissance biplane which first flew in 1928.

Service

The Blackburn Ripon saw service with the Fleet Air Arm as well as with the Finnish air force. Some 92 Ripons were built. 60 were later converted to Blackburn Baffin. The finnish air force used Ripons as reconaissance aircraft against the Soviet Union in the winter war and the continuation war. After losing an aircraft to soviet fighters in 1939, the Ripon was limited to night missions. The last missions were flown in 1944. One Ripon coded RI-140 was stored and has been reassembled and put on display in the Päijät-Häme aviation museum recently. It is the only preserved example.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew : 2
• Wingspan : 46 ft 6 in (14.2 m)
• Length : 37 ft 10 in (11.5 m)
• Height : 13 ft 8 in (4.2 m)
• Powerplant : one of the following :
  • Gnome-Rhone 9A VI (Bristol Jupiter)
  • Hispano-Suiza 12 Nbr.
  • Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIa
  • Bristol Pegasus II

Performance

• Maximum speed : 112 mph (180 km/h)
• Maximum Take-Off Weight : 7,610 lb (3,450 kg)
• Range : 5 hours
• Ceiling : 6,562 ft (2,000 m)

Armament

• 2 Vickers Lewis machine guns
• 225 lb (102 kg) of bombs