the Kennedy Aeronautic Company founded by J. H. Chesborough MacKenzie-Kennedy,
he designed and built a giant bomber for RAF during WWII,called as I heard K1,the K2
are not known,certainly a project,the K3,a huge transport biplane project,based on the
K1 and very close to it.
the M-K designed an aeroplane in 1908 when he was in Russia,the K1 was a biplane
likes Wright concept,created in 1910 and modified in 1912,he return to Britain in the
1914,and formed this company,the K2 was a giant bomber,which he actually built,
the K3 maybe a dream only.
He also made a patents for aircraft,here is a bomber with four engined (Push-Pull)
biplane.
As Hesham mentioned above, Mackenzie-Kennedy had spent time in Russia. His story is pretty impressive as he had left the UK as an eighteen-year-old and with three pounds in his pocket. In 1908 he was involved in the design of Russia's first aeroplane, and formed the Kennedy Aeronautic Company the following year. Due to his interest in large aircraft he became associated with Igor Sikorskii in 1911, and said to have been involved with the design of the first Sikorski four-engine biplanes before returning to England on the outbreak of war.
Kennedv approached the War Office with designs for large aircraft, and established an office at 102 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London. His partners in this venture were T W K Clarke, G C McClaughlin and E A Vessey.
The eventual design which made itself into a physical entity was the Giant. The manufacture of the aircraft was undertaken by the Gramophone Company Ltd (later to become EMI, and who are still in Hayes) and the Fairey Aviation Co Ltd. J M Bruce was quoted as stating that it required two lorries and seventy men to move it, but even this effort broke the aircraft's back. It was repaired, but with the fuselage shortened by 10 feet. The influence of the Sikorski Ilya Mourametz, was evident in the design. Due to the size of the aircraft, the final assembly had to take place at Hendon in the open air.
Late in 1917, the machine was readied for flight. However the 200hp engines proved insufficient to gain true flight, and despite being taxied at full throttle downhill, the pilot, Lieut Frank Courtney, only managed to lift the mainwheels off the ground for a short hop with the tailskid still dragging along the ground.
Although no further attempts were made to fly the Giant, Kennedy was not discouraged from designing a second, smaller version, and construction was underway at the works of John Dawson & Co Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1920 when the venture was abandoned owing to financial failure.
Specifications
Type: Four-engine (two tractor, two pusher), three-crew, four-bay biplane bomber.
Manufacturers: Fairey Aviation Co Ltd, and the Gramophone Co Ltd, both of Hayes, Middlesex, to the design of Kennedy Aeroplanes Ltd, South Kensington, London W.7
Powerplant: Four 200hp Canton-Unne Salmson Z9 nine-cylinder water-cooled radial engines driving two tractor and two pusher two-blade propellers.
Dimensions: Span, 142ft 0in; length, 80ft 0in; height, 23ft 6in.
Weight: Tare, 19,000 lb.
Performance: No true flight achieved.
Prototype: One, No 2337. One partial flight made by Lieut Frank T Courtney late in 1917.
A couple of further pictures of the 'Giant'. The second shows a size comparison with the Bristol F.2B, whilst the third shows the 'Giant' whilst being assembled at Hendon airfield.
Test pilot Frank Courtney was obviously not too impressed with the "Giant" writing in his autobiography "Flight Path" of his experience with the type (attached).
Also attached is a photo of Kennedy with his "Giant".
Source:
Flight Path by Frank T. Courtney (William Kimber) ISBN 0718304829
Just one simple point; any reference to the Kennedy Giant being at Hendon is wrong. It was built with the help of Fairey Aviation Co Ltd at Northolt and after its 100 yd 'hop' it remained there and gradually deteriorated over the text 10 or more year. It would have been too big to move to or from Hendon.
Yes thanks for the comment LarryH57. I had based what I wrote on the source that I had used to get the info, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Obviously the Flight Path biography is more likely to be accurate.
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