Boulton Paul P.3 Bobolink

Boulton Paul p. 3 The Bobolink Story

Boulton Paul's first entry into fighter jet design and development was in 1918 with the P.3 "Bobolink". It was in service with Great Britain in World War I (1914-1918) and of course to succeed the famous Sopwith Camel fighter (see details elsewhere on this site), but the type never outgrew its prototype stage. Nonetheless, the proposal set the company on a serious path in World War II (1939-1945).

The bobolink design is credited to J.D. North.

The origins of Boulton Paul can be traced back to the late 17th century and are based in Norwich, England. Through the 1900s the company grew under various names until it changed its name to Boulton & Paul Ltd in 1905 - specialising in engineering and manufacturing.

By World War I, Bolton Paul was building aircraft for other companies, including the Sopwith Camel, to serve the war effort.

Despite the performance of the Sopwith Camel, the Air Ministry is looking to the future, inevitably looking for a successor to its ageing biplane. This prompted Bolton Paul to throw a hat in the ring with a possible rival - a combat biplane named "Bobolink". The first flight (in prototype form) took place in January 1918, and testing continued until February.

In its earliest form, the aircraft had no ailerons on the lower wing assemblies, but these were added prior to formal testing.

Boulton Paul's engineers relied on proven technology for its combat mission: it was a single seater made of wood and fabric, powered by a single engine in the nose. The engine of choice became the Bentley BR. 2 Wankel engine with 230 hp.

The biplane's wing configuration employs a two-cabin approach and N-shaped struts. The overall size of the product includes a length of 6 meters, a wingspan of 8.8 meters, and a height of 2.5 meters.

The Boulton Paul's design largely lives up to expectations - it can hit speeds of 125 mph and maintain a service cap of 19,500 feet. Battery life was more than three hours, a major consideration for fighter jets at the time. Weapons are fairly standard - 2 x .303" Vickers fixed forward-firing machine guns with broken gears that fire through rotating propeller blades.

One of the more unique features of the Bobolink is the disposable fuel tank system, designed to improve pilot survivability. The pilots were also protected from fuel storage by armor.

Despite the promise of the Bobolink, the British authorities opted for the competing Sopwith Snipe (which was also based on the Bentley BR.2 Wankel engine). Officials noted that at its evaluation stage, the bobolink was not operational, and the entire product was deemed more complex (and therefore more expensive) to produce in the required quantities.

Sopwith Snipe just performs better, is easier to manufacture, and comes from Sopwith's tried and true designers/constructors.

As a result, only the only prototype of the Bobolink was completed, although the company continued to use the aircraft for testing after some time.

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