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4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 15 Blackburn Botha I Bristol Perseus Engine (15837310772): San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives· Public domain
- 2. Blackburn Botha at RAF Silloth WWII IWM CH 1907: Daventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer· Public domain
- 3. Blackburn Botha at RAF Silloth WWII IWM CH 1905: Daventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer· Public domain
- 4. Remains of Blackburn Botha I (L6417) (8951683161): Alan Wilson· CC BY-SA 2.0
what is it?
The Blackburn B.26 Botha was a four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. It was produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft at its factories at Brough and Dumbarton. The Botha was developed during the mid 1930s in response to Air Ministry Specification M.15/35, and was ordered straight off the drawing board alongside the competing Bristol Beaufort.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 18 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 88 years ago, in 1938.
- Top speed is 2.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 18 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1938-12-28
- introduced
- 1939
- retired
- 1944
- status
- retired
- number built
- 580
- role
- torpedo bomber
- makers
- Blackburn Aircraft
- engines
- 2× Bristol Perseus XA
- crew
- 4
- length
- 15.6 m
- wingspan
- 18 m
- height
- 4.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 8,369 kg
- top speed
- 336 km/h
- cruise speed
- 341 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 5,608 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q880740, Wikipedia: Blackburn Botha (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.