Brabazon III

[Pasoleati]

Bill Gunston's Brabazon article (Aeroplane Monthly June 1974) mentions the "Brabazon III" with 4 x Bristol Centaurus. No other info is provided. Is there any further information on that one?

 

[Apophenia]

The Brabazon Type III specification was intended to produce a competitor to the existing Douglas and Lockheed 4-engined transports of the day ... but heavy bombers had priority. After WW2, the Brabazon Type III spec was rewritten as the 'Medium Range Empire'. That led to proposals from Armstrong Whitworth, Avro, and Bristol.

The Armstrong Whitworth AW.57 was an enlarged Apollo with 4 x Bristol Centaurus radials. The Avro Type 697 was a Centaurus 662-powered Lockheed Constellation. And the Bristol Type 175 was an original 4-engined design with Centaurus 662s or 663s. The latter, of course, eventually emerged as the Proteus turboprop-powered Bristol Britannia.

See: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/centaurus-powered-britannia-and-constellation.32037/

 

[Pasoleati]

Thanks!

 

[Schneiderman]

Brabazon Type III was revised several times, all the committee Types were but this one more so than the others. The original recommendation said:
Landplane for Empire trunk routes (York replacement)
Four engines; operational cruising speed not less than 225mph at 10,000ft, greatest payload (passengers, mail and freight) feasible with current engine types, still air range 3,500 statute miles.
Such a Type was the focus of BOAC's plans for post war years, equivalent to their notional Group 'A' and 'B' requirements.
One of the first projects to address the requirement in late 1943 was the Avro XXI, the origin of the Tudor II, and later, 1946-47, after the requirements had been thoroughly revised, Bristol submitted their Type 175, the start of the Britannia.