Bristol Buckingham

what is it?

The Bristol Type 163 Buckingham was a British Second World War medium bomber for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Overtaken by events, it was built in small numbers and was used primarily for transport and liaison duties.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 21.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 541 km/htop speed
• seats 4passengers
• size 15.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 119made in total

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 83 years ago, in 1943.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 21.9 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1943-02-04

number built

119

role

medium bomber, courier aircraft

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

Bristol Aeroplane Company

engines

2× Bristol Centaurus VII

crew

2

passengers

4

length

14.3 m

wingspan

21.9 m

height

5.3 m

max take-off weight

15.4 t

top speed

541 km/h

range

—

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.