Folland Fo.108

The Folland Fo.108, also known as the Folland 43/37 and by the nickname Folland Frightful[1] (or Frightener), was a large monoplane engine testbed aircraft of the 1940s.

Fo.108
Role Engine testbed
Manufacturer Folland Aircraft
First flight 1940
Introduction 1940
Number built 12

Design and development

The Fo.108 was Folland's response to Air Ministry Specification 43/37 for an engine testbed. It was Folland's first design to be accepted by the Air Ministry for production. The Fo.108 was a large low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional cantilever tailplane and a fixed tailwheel landing gear. It had a glazed cockpit for the pilot, and a cabin for two observers behind and below the pilot, fitted out so that they could make detailed measurements of engine performance during flight.

To enable the aircraft to be delivered from the Hamble factory and later ferried to new assignments, they were normally fitted with a Bristol Hercules radial engine. In service, the Fo.108 was fitted with a number of other engines including the inline Napier Sabre (four),[2] Bristol Centaurus radial, and Rolls-Royce Griffon V-engine.

Entering service in 1940,[3] the type was operated by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, Napier and Rolls-Royce,[4] Five of the twelve production aircraft were lost in crashes, the type earning the nickname "Frightener" as a result.[3] The last examples of the Fo.108 were withdrawn from service in 1946, by de Havilland's engine division.[4][5]

Specifications (Centaurus engine)

Data from Jane's Fighting aircraft of World War II[6]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2 observers
  • Length: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
  • Wingspan: 58 ft (18 m)
  • Height: 16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
  • Wing area: 588 sq ft (54.6 m2)
  • Gross weight: 16,000 lb (7,257 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Centaurus 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine
  • Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 292 mph (470 km/h, 254 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 267 mph (430 km/h, 232 kn)

See also

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Buttler (2004) British Secret Projects - Fighters and Bombers 1935-1950 Midland Publishing 1-85780-179-2 p228
  2. "Aero Engines - Napier" Flight, 27 June 1958 p898
  3. Willis, David (January 2009). "Folland's 'Frightener'". FlyPast. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing (330): 60. ISSN 0262-6950.
  4. Halley 1996, p. 12.
  5. "Flying Test Bed", Flight: 591, 13 June 1946
  6. Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1989). Jane's Fighting aircraft of World War II (1995 ed.). New York: Military Press. p. 121. ISBN 0517679647.

Bibliography
  • Green, Peter (September–October 2001). "Round-Out". Air Enthusiast. No. 95. p. 79. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Halley, J. J. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-R9999. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1996. ISBN 0-85130-235-1.
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