1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Swift: San Diego Air & Space Museum· CC0
what is it?
The Blackburn Dart was a carrier-based torpedo bomber biplane aircraft, designed and manufactured by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the standard single-seat torpedo bomber operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) between 1923 and 1933. Work on what would become the Dart started in 1919 as a private venture.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 13.8 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 105 years ago, in 1921.
- Wingspan of 13.8 m: about 3 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
- 1921
- introduced
- 1922
- retired
- 1933
- status
- retired
- number built
- 118
- role
- torpedo bomber
- makers
- Blackburn Aircraft
- engines
- 1× Napier Lion IIB
- crew
- 1
- length
- 10.8 m
- wingspan
- 13.8 m
- height
- 3.9 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,895 kg
- top speed
- 172 km/h
- cruise speed
- 161 km/h
- range
- 660 km
- ceiling
- 3,871 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q2905537, Wikipedia: Blackburn Dart (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.