Bristol Bulldog

Interwar British fighter, the Bristol Bulldog was significant more for the shift in thinking it represented rather than any action it itself saw. During the first world war, fighters were used on regular patrols, either escorting bombers, or in standing patrols over the trenches. This changed with the Bulldog, intended to act as an interceptor, with the speed and rate of climb to reach enemy aircraft on approach rather than have to have patrols always in the air. This design philosophy makes the Bulldog the direct forerunner of the fighters of the second world war. The Bulldog itself was not in service for long, first appearing in 1929 and being replaced by the Gloster Gauntlet in 1936, after it became clear that the Bulldog was slower than the Hawker Hart light bomber, making it obsolete.

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (13 November 2000), Bristol Bulldog, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_bristolbulldog.html

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