Boulton & Paul P.3 Bobolink

=History= The Boulton & Paul P.3 Bobolink was the company's first internally designed aircraft, and was produced in response to a competition to replace the Sopwith Camel.

The Bobolink was a two bay biplane (unlike the single bay Camel, but similar to the two bay Sopwith Snipe), powered by the Bentley rotary engine - as was the Snipe - and was generally similar in layout to the Sopwith machine. The Bobolink used 'N' interplane struts, which eliminated the need for incidence bracing between the front and rear struts. It had equal span staggered wings, with a 2ft 3.5in stagger. The upper wing was bigger than the lower wing. Both wings had a small amount of dihedral.

Its most unusual feature was that the main fuel tanks could be jettisoned if the aircraft caught fire. It also had two separate fuel tanks, one carrying 34 gallons and one carrying 6 gallons, with an armour plate between the two to reduce the fire risk. The P.3 had a standard wooden structure with a fabric covering. The original design only had ailerons on the lower wings, but they were added to the upper wings before the official trials. The tail had a swept back leading edge and a curved top and back, while the horizontal tail surfaces were rectangular. It was armed with two forward firing Vickers machine guns and could carry a Lewis gun ont eh upper wing.

Three serial numbers were allocated to the Bobolink, but it is likely that only a single prototype was built. This aircraft, C8655, got the fourth B.R.2 engine, made its maiden flight early in 1918 and was then sent to Martlesham Heath in March 1918. The other two prototypes were officially cancelled on 9 April 1918.

Following selection of the Snipe to replace the Camel, Boulton & Paul were rewarded with a contract to produce 400 Snipes, later increasing to 500, of which 415 to 425 were completed (although none were completed in time to see combat). =Sources=