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The Blackburn Lincock was a light weight fighter produced as a private venture by Blackburn and which attracted some interest but no orders.
Work on the Lincock began in 1928 when Blackburn decided to design a light fighter aimed at export to smaller countries that couldn’t afford state of the art high powered fighters. The new aircraft would gain performance at the expense of dropping the sort of additional features that were always included in Air Ministry specifications, including radio, night flying equipment, bomb racks and other external stores.
The Lincock, which originally had the Blackburn designation F.2, was designed by Major F.A. Bumpus aided by G.E. Petty. In was a small biplane, powered by a 240hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynz IVc seven cylinder air cooled radial engine. This gave it half the power of contemporary RAF fighters.
The Lincock was built around a plywood monocoque fuselage. One unusual feature was that the lower wing was carried below the fuselage on steel N struts, rather than being built into the bottom of the fuselage. The wings and tail were built with spruce spars and ribs with a fabric covering. It had four ailerons, giving it a high rate of roll. As much weight as possible was carried near the centre of gravity, improving its handling.
It was a contemporary of the Bristol Bulldog, and a comparison of their size and performance figures show how successful Blackburn had been. The armed Lincock III was much smaller – nearly 6ft shorter and with an 11ft shorter wing span. It’s all up weight of 2,205lb was only slightly above the Bulldog’s empty weight of 2,205lb. Both were armed with two .303in Vickers machine guns, but the Bulldog could also carry four 20lb bombs. The Bulldog had a top speed of 178mph, the Lincock 164mph, despite only having 270hp compared to the Bulldog’s 490hp.
The single Lincock I was an unarmed aerodynamic prototype, made almost entire of wood. It made its first public appearance on 15 May 1928, and was later often used in aerobatic displays. It was entered into the two-day Round Britain King’s Cup Air Race of 1928, coming in 10th at an average speed of 145.32mph, an impressive performance for such a low powered aircraft. It appeared at air displays in 1929, 1930 and 1931. In the summer of 1930 the Lincock I was temporarily sold to Ft Lt R.L.R. Richard Atcherley so he could fly the aircraft at the International Air Meeting at Chicago, where the Lincock and Atcherley impressed the crowds. In 1930 it also appeared on the New Types Park at the Hendon RAF Display, after the Lincock III which was meant to have appeared was damaged. It was dismantled late in 1931 after its certificate of airworthiness expired.
In 1928 Canada expressed an interest in ordering six Lincocks, but asked for a metal version to cope with Canadian conditions. In January 1929 Blackburn promised that they could construct and deliver a metal prototype to Canada by July 1929. Work then began on the all metal Lincock II. The fuselage was built around the standard Blackburn system using a rigid steel tube structure in the centre of the fuselage, with the engine mounting and tail being bolted to this. It was mainly fabric covered apart, apart from the area in front of the cockpit, which used duralumin sheets. The wings used steel spars and duralumin ribs. A split undercarriage was installed. It was given a more powerful Lynx engine than the Lincock I. In the end it took rather long to deliver to Canada than originally promised, and didn’t arrive until late February 1930. It made its maiden flight in mid March 1930, and was demonstrated to the RCAF. It impressed those who flew it, and at one point Canada seriously considered building a factory to build it in the country. However in the end they decided against ordering it. Canada had access to the current front line fighters of the RAF, and although the Lincock was judged to be an ideal advanced trainer, the RCAF didn’t require such an aircraft at the time.
The Lincock attracted interest from both Japan and China, resulting in the Lincock III. Five examples of this model were built, one for Blackburn, two for Japan and two for China. It was the first armed version, carrying two .303in Vickers guns in troughs on either side of the front fuselage. The split undercarriage of the Lincock II was replaced with a lighter single axle type.
The two Japanese aircraft were despatched in September 1930. There were still in use in Japan in 1931.
The two Chinese aircraft were dispatched in December 1930. It is possible that these two aircraft were used in combat against the Japanese in 1932, making them the only examples of the Lincock to see action.
Spain had also expressed interest in an example, which would have been powered by the Lynx Major or Lynz IVC, the F.2E, but this was never built.
The Blackburn aircraft was registered in October 1930. One year later the Lincock III took part in a Blackburn sales tour of Europe, along with a Blackburn Bluebird IV and a Blackburn Segrave. They visited France, Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece. The tour ended in tragedy when the Bluebird was involved in a fatal crash in Athens on 24 October. The Lincock remained behind in Greece when the rest of the touring party returned home.
In 1933 the Lincock II and the Blackburn Lincock III were purchased by Sir Alan Cobham, and joined his aerobatic teams, taking part in the ‘radio controlled’ aerobatics. They were used throughout the 1933 season and into the 1934 season. Later in 1934 the Lincock III was given to the College of Aeronautical Engineering at Brooklands for use by the students. In 1936 they gave it an Alfa Romeo radial engine and a longer front to the fuselage.
One final aircraft based on the Lincock was built in Italy, where Piaggio purchased a licence to build it as a two-seat tandem trainer, the Piaggio P.11. This used the wooden monocoque fuselage of the Lincock I with the tail surfaces and other details from the Lincock III. However only one P.11 was built, making its maiden flight in 1932.
Lincock III
Engine: Armstrong Siddeley Lynx Major
Power: 270hp
Crew:
Span: 22ft 6in
Length: 19ft 6in
Height: 7ft 4in
Tare weight: 1,326lb
All-up weight: 2,082lb
Maximum take-off weight:
Max speed: 164mph at sea level
Climb Rate: 1,660ft/ min
Service ceiling: 23,000ft
Range: 380 miles
Endurance:
Armament: Two .303in Vickers guns
Bomb load: