fighter Bristol J 7

[Wiggly_Armed_Man 2,383]

Bristol Jakt 7

#5211 during 1931.

 

Classification

Military

Long Model Designation: Jakt 7

Short Model Designation: J 7

 

History

First Purchase

In 1930, three Bristol Bulldogs Mk IIs were purchased from the United Kingdom to serve as a comparison during evaluations against the J 5 and the J 6. After the contracts had been signed, the three planes were flown over to Sweden the same year.

 

Guinea Pigs

The three aircraft were used as apart of the F 1 based out of Västerås. During 1931 they competed against the J 5 and J 6 in evaluation tests, during which one of them crashed. At the conclusion of it the air force couldn't make a decision about which plan to procure and so a further eight Bristol Bulldogs, this time being Mk IIAs, were purchased the same year and sent to the F 5 based out of Ljungbyhed.

 

 

Oddballs

The now ten aircraft were used as trainers while there and received the designation J 7. Due to issues with the Jupiter engines, assumingly why it had such a fatal rate, all J 6 and J 7 were sent to the CVF for review and repair and afterwards, deployed to the F 1 and the F 3 to be trainers again. By 1938, a further eight aircraft had crashed leaving only two J 7 remaining. In 1938 these two remaining aircraft accompanied the move of newly-formed F 8 detachments to Stockholm before resuming their duties. Sometime over their service, most likely early on, at least one J 7 was tested as a bomber. However, because of its limited capability to carry bombs which was limited to 40 kg this role wasn't adopted. With the outbreak of the Winter War in 1939 the remaining J 7s were donated to the Finnish forces where they had a much more exciting career: being the first aircraft to shoot down a Soviet one and swatting down an I-16 and a SB-2. Granted this wasn't solely due to Sweden, rather Finland already had fifteen other Bulldogs in service before then. After the war they remained in Finnish service as trainer aircraft until 1942 when they were presumably scrapped.

 

General
Place of Origin		United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Designer		Bristol Aeroplane Company
Builder		Bristol Aeroplane Company
Type		Fighter (J)
Service Period		1930-1940
Number Built		11
Dimensions
Weight (empty/takeoff)		1,220 kg/1,475 kg
Length		7.54 meters
Width		10.36 meters
Height		3 meters
Propulsion
Powerplants		Bristol Jupiter VII piston engine (Mk II), Bristol Jupiter VIIF piston engine (Mk IIA)	1
Output		330 kW (Mk II), 370 kW (Mk IIA)
Rotor		2-bladed	1
Speed (cruise/maximum)		N/A / 286 km/h (Mk II), N/A / 300 km/h (Mk IIA)
Endurance		N/A
Service Ceiling		8.9 km
Rate of Climb		N/A
Protection
Armour		None	N/A
Crew		1
Firepower
Weapons		8 mm kulspruta m/22	1
		Bomb Racks, 40 kg capacity (EXPERIMENTAL)	?
Ammunition		8x63 mm Cartridge m/32	1,000
		10 kg bombs (EXPERIMENTAL)	4

 

Design

The J 6B shares the engine and armaments with the J 7 and can be seen as the closest example to how it would perform; probably being rather lofty and floaty due to the low power of the engine and the very light frame.

 

An experiment was done where it was equipped with bombs, prompted on because the wings could already be used to carry cargo, and while it's not stated anywhere it can be assumed the process had two bomb racks installed on each wing. It's said that 10 kilogram bombs were tested with it but never stated what model. In either case, it remained an experiment and the aircraft was modified back.

 

Implementation

The J 7 would be at 1.0 due to its similar performance to the J 6B. Due to its relation to the J 8A, it should either be placed after it or replace it as a reserve with the J 8 being moved after it. It should be noted that this suggestion is for the J 7s that originated from the Mk IIA model with the VIIF engine and not the three that originated from the Mk II model with the VII engine.

 

Sources:

Spoiler

Fighter:

• J 7 - Bristol Bulldog Mk IIA, avrosys.nu
• Bristol Bulldog, Swedish Wikipedia
• Bristol Bulldog, English Wikipedia

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Wiggly_Armed_Man

[Miki_Hoshii 2,449]

Open for discussion.

[Milocat 4,857]

+1 as a new reserve-level aircraft.

[you_cant_seeme 19]

I really don't know - but I voted 'no', for the simple reason that there are a lot of swedish biplane suggestions anyway, and to be quite frank I think adding too many (unless a biplane bomber) would overload the bottom of the tree. However I really don't mind if it's added I just dont want too many low tier biplanes that people have to get through before they get to the more interesting aircraft

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

+1 literally wouldn’t hurt getting added. Would make the air tree a little bit longer.