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Bristol 170 In Australian Service
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The Bristol Freighter
Part Thirteen in a Series Examining the Airliners That Established Civil Aviation in Australia
The Bristol 170 Freighter was the first true heavy freight aircraft to enter service in Australia. Prior to its introduction, freight was carried by aircraft basically constructed as passenger airliners but modified during World War II for cargo roles. In the post-war era, airfreight in Australia was very much in its infancy and suitable aircraft were not readily available. The Bristol Freighter was the forerunner of many other cargo types, both civil and military, which were later to ply the air routes around Australia.
In 1944 the Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited of Filton, Bristol was heavily involved in military production. Notwithstanding this, they saw the need for civil aircraft to keep their production lines active when the war would eventually come to an end. Preliminary work was underway on the Type 167 Brabazon and Bristol felt that a more immediately saleable aircraft was desired to fulfil market needs and provide work. Initially, it was planned to build a civil version of the Buckingham bomber, using the inner wing, power plants, tail unit and undercarriage mated to a new fuselage and larger outer wings. This was ruled out as being too complicated so an alternative plan was investigated. This latter idea was based on evolving a new aircraft from the Type 130 Bombay which first flew in 1935. What emerged was the Type 170 private venture general-purpose transport aircraft. This was a short range machine that would have a 98 ft wing span utilising the same taper ratio and section of the Bombay wing. However, it had a swept back leading edge coupled with a straight trailing edge and the number of spars was reduced from the seven used on the Bombay to two. The tail was simplified and a larger slab-sided fuselage using a new version of the Bristol Perseus developing 1150 hp was envisaged as the powerplant.
The military applications of the Type 170 were apparent to the British Army, as it matched a requirement described by General Orde Wingate for a freighter suitable for use in the Burma campaign. The army told Bristol that they would order two prototypes if the fuselage could accommodate one of their standard three-ton trucks. The original civil specification 22/44 was brought into line with their Specification C9/45 and the familiar Bristol Freighter fuselage came from this marriage. The fuselage featured a freight hold 32 ft long, 8 ft wide with a minimum height of 6 ft 8 in under the wing. Access was gained through side hinged nose doors. The realisation that the war was soon to end led Bristol to the conclusion that the design should be further attuned for civil use. To improve the specification they proposed that the more powerful Hercules 630 of 1670 hp be installed and that the gross weight be lifted by 5000 lb to 35,000 lb. This would give a cruising speed of 150 mph and a maximum range of 1100 miles.
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