Beverley XB259 - The Exterior
The Undercarriage
The Beverley had a robust fixed tricycle undercarriage. Steering was provided by a Lockheed twin-wheel nose wheel assembly . This gave the Beverley a 33 feet (10.15 metre) turning circle. The main wheels were 4-wheel bogie units fitted with Dunlop anti-skid braking units. The bogies were attached to the main spar by Lockheed oleo struts. An airofoil section between the strut and the fuselage, provided bracing for the assemblies. In flight, bogie wheels adopted a visible ‘nose-up’ attitude.
The Tail
The span of the tail-plane is 42 feet (12.9 metres) and each of the tailplanes has an enormous 196 square foot rectangular fin and rudder at the tip, the top of which are almost 39 feet above ground.
The Tail Boom
Thirty-six passengers or 30 paratroops could be carried in the boom, The same numbers as the Hastings Transport could carry. The right-hand photo shows the parachute exit in the floor which has been covered by a clear plastic sheet. There are actually two inwardly sideways opening doors beyond the sheet which have been fastened in the open position. Entry to the boom was by means of two trap doors in the floor, one on each side at the front, or through the parachute doors. The toilets are situated in the tail, beyond the paratroop doors. One fatality occurred when a serviceman fell the twenty feet to the ground when coming out of the toilet, not knowing that the doors had been opened. Modifications were then made to prevent the toilet doors from being opened when the paratroop doors were open.
Clamshell Doors
Entrance to the freight bay is by means of a pair of clamshell doors . These were removed when the Beverley was configured in the heavy-drop role. Standing at the rear of the Beverley when in flight with the rear doors off gave a wonderful view of the terrain below. A folding door is in each half of the clamshells.
The Wings & Engines
The enormous wings of the Beverley have a span of 192 feet with a surface area of 2916 square feet - greater than the area of a tennis court. Four Bristol Centaurus 173 or 175 radial engine provided the power.
The Nose
The height of the flight deck, some 20 feet from the ground,is easily seen in this photo of the nose of XB259. When unladen, the Beverley’s crew entry door was 6 feet from the ground. At take-off on the prototype’s first flight the pilot is reputed to have said to the co-pilot, “My side's airborne, how about yours?”.
Odds & Ends
LEFT: Beverley XB259 was fitted with attachment points for Napier Scarab rocket assisted takeoff. Now that I would like to have seen. The photograph shows attachment pints on the port side, just forward of the clamshell doors.
RIGHT: Some mystery items underneath the port side of the fuselage forward of the main undercarriage. Can any Beverly buff enlighten us as to what they are?
LEFT: The Elephant’s Foot. I never knew this object under any other name. The foot was fitted under the centre of the fuselage just forward of the clamshell doors when it was in use. It was always fitted when loading heavy items into the freight bay to prevent the Beverley from tipping over. The foot was held in place by pins inserted through a triangular arrangement of attachment points.
RIGHT: Vehicles, guns etc., were loaded into the freight bay with a pair of two piece loading ramps. The thin edge of the long pieces of ramp were attached by hinges to the sill at rear of the freight bay floor. The small piece of the ramp was hinged onto the rear of the longer piece. Once loading was completed the ramp were raised by an electric hoist on the ceiling of the freight bay, and the clamshell doors closed. From landing to opening the doors, lowering the ramps and unloading vehicles could be as little as two minutes.
Containers and platforms for air-dropping were loaded direct from the back of a lorry or by means of an adjustable platform called a ‘Transfer Loader’. When loading from vehicles, the height of the rear of the vehicle was adjusted by the use of ramps under the wheels.