Blériot 127

The Blériot 127 (or Bl-127) was a French bomber aircraft of the 1920s and 1930s, developed from the Blériot 117 escort fighter. It was a large monoplane of conventional configuration that featured open gunner's positions in its nose and at the rear of its two underwing engine nacelles. The wing airfoil was of sufficient thickness that these latter positions could be accessed from the fuselage in flight.

Blériot 127
Blériot 127
Role Bomber
Manufacturer Blériot
Designer Leon Kirste
First flight 7 May 1926
Introduction April 1929
Retired 1934
Primary user Armée de l'Air
Number built 44

Forty-two aircraft were operated by the Armée de l'Air from 1929 until 1934, by which time they were thoroughly obsolete.

Variants
  • 127/1 - Prototype with Hispano-Suiza 12Gb W-12 piston engines.[1]
  • 127/2 - Main production version, fitted with two Hispano-Suiza 12Hb V-12 piston engines.[2]
  • 127/3 - Single prototype of night bomber version.[3]
  • 127/4 - Single conversion of 127/4 with revised undercarriage.[4]
    Blériot 137 photo from NACA-AC-169
  • 137 - All-metal high-wing prototype designed in order to meet the requirements of the Service Technique de l'Aéronautique (STAé) of the French government towards the end of the 1920s for a light bomber and reconnaissance plane type designated as Multiplace de Combat.[5] The two aircraft built, (Bl-137 M0[6] and M1[7]), were eliminated from competition in favour of the competing Amiot 143. Other Multiplace de Combat prototypes built at the time, such as the SPCA 30 and the Breguet 410, underwent a similar fate to the Blériot 137.

Operators
 France

Specifications (Blériot Bl-127/2)
Blériot 127 3-view drawing from L'Air May 15,1928

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928[8], Aviafrance:Bl-127/2[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 4 to 6
  • Length: 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 23.2 m (76 ft 1 in)
  • Height: 3.41 m (11 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 88 m2 (950 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 3,252 kg (7,169 lb)
  • Gross weight: 4,466 kg (9,846 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 520 kg (1,150 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 12Hb V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 410 kW (550 hp) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch wooden propellers

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 221 km/h (137 mph, 119 kn) at 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
216 km/h (134 mph; 117 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
207 km/h (129 mph; 112 kn) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
  • Range: 1,500 km (930 mi, 810 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 8,100 m (26,600 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 12 minutes 21 seconds
  • Wing loading: 50.7 kg/m2 (10.4 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.168 kW/kg (0.102 hp/lb)

Armament

  • 2 × forward trainable 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Lewis guns in nose
  • 2 × rearward trainable 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Lewis guns in each of two engine nacelles
  • 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of bombs carried in an internal bay
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References
  1. Parmentier, Bruno (20 December 1998). "Blériot Bl-127/1". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  2. Parmentier, Bruno (20 December 1998). "Blériot Bl-127/2". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  3. Parmentier, Bruno (20 December 1998). "Blériot Bl-127/3". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  4. Parmentier, Bruno (20 December 1998). "Blériot Bl-127/4". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  5. William Green, War planes of the Second World War: Volume 7
  6. Parmentier, Bruno (20 December 1998). "Blériot Bl-137 M0". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  7. Parmentier, Bruno (20 December 1998). "Blériot Bl-137 M1". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  8. Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 88c.

Further reading
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 162.
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 890 Sheet 41.
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