Bristol Freighter

The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.

Design and development
The Bristol Type 170 was designed to Air Ministry Specifications 22/44 and C.9/45 originally as a rugged, heavy-duty transport to operate from unimproved airstrips. After the end of the Second World War the design was adapted by the Bristol Chief Designer A.E. Russell and his design team as a rugged, heavy-duty aircraft. It was an all-metal, twin-engine high-wing monoplane and built without the use of expensive alloys and with a minimum of machined parts. The square-sectioned fuselage was designed to be clear of internal obstructions. The flight deck was high in the fuselage nose, accessed via a ladder.

The Freighter was a somewhat bulbous and cumbersome-looking aircraft. Like the more slender prewar Bombay, it was a high-wing monoplane with fixed undercarriage, the main gear legs supported by substantial vertical struts beneath the Bristol Hercules radial engines and horizontally from the lower edge of the (slab-sided) fuselage. The cockpit sat atop the forward fuselage, with two large clamshell doors in the nose, making the unpressurised fuselage somewhat breezy; one Kiwi pilot claimed his charge was "40 thousand rivets flying in close formation."

The prototype, registered G-AGPV, first flew at Filton on 2 December 1945; it was an empty shell without nose doors.

Operational history
The second prototype and the first 34-seat Wayfarer, registered G-AGVB, first flew on 30 April 1946, and began proving flights in the colours of Channel Islands Airways. It carried over 10,000 passengers in under six months. The third aircraft, registered G-AGVC, was the first Freighter I and had fully operating nose doors. After a number of demonstration flights around the world, the Bristol 170 entered full production. One of the first sales was to the Argentine Air Force, which ordered 15 aircraft.

The managing director of Silver City Airways was Wing Commander Griffith James Powell, who realised that he could adapt the Bristol Freighter to fly passengers with their cars from Britain to Continental Europe and Jersey. This "air ferry" would allow Britons on holiday to avoid lengthy waits for the sea ferries. On the 14 July 1948, the airline made the first flight with a car, from Lympne Airport in Kent to Le Touquet on the northern coast of France.



In 1953, production of the freighter was moved to Weston-super-Mare. An lengthened version, the Freighter 32, was introduced which featured movable wooden partitions in the cargo compartment. It could be configured to carry either three 14-foot cars and 20 passengers or two large size American cars and 12 passengers, the passenger seats being in the rear section of the fuselage. Silver City Airways dubbed this variant the Superfreighter and subsequently built an airport named "Ferryfield" at Lydd in Kent, beginning air ferry services in 1955. In the same year, Channel Air Bridge started operations from Southend, with four Bristol Freighters flying to Calais.

The last two freighters of the 214 built were delivered in 1958, one to New Zealand in February and the last aircraft to Dan-Air in March 1958. The New Zealand aircraft was delivered to SAFE, who eventually operated one of the largest fleets of Freighters. One of the lengthened aircraft, registered G-AMWA, had 60 seats fitted and was known as a Super Wayfarer.

Other civil uses
In New Zealand SAFE Air (Straits Air Freight Express) moved rail freight from Wellington (the North Island) to Blenheim (the South Island) and back, using Bristol Freighters, starting in 1951. The airline later reconfigured its aircraft to accept palletised cargo loaded on patented "cargons." This was a first anywhere in the aviation world. Cargons were loaded near the rail yards and their load was calculated and arranged to remain within the aircraft's load and centre of gravity limits. They were then trucked to the airport and placed on the Freighter using a mechanical loading device. The loader accepted cargons from horizontal-tray road vehicles and then raised them to the level of the aircraft's cargo deck on electrically-powered screw-jacks. The pallets could then be rolled into the nose of the aircraft. Other adaptations allowed the carrying of horses and other high-value large animals.

Freighters were the major link between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand until Armstrong Whitworth Argosys replaced them. SAFE Air developed a sound proofed 'container' for the half of the aircraft given over to passengers on these flights. Bristol 170s were still in commercial use with SAFE until the late 1970s.

Military uses
In military service, Bristol Freighters were operated by the air forces of Argentina, Australia, Burma, Canada, Iraq, Pakistan and New Zealand. Bristol Freighters were operated briefly by the Pakistan Air Force. After withdrawal, some of the Pakistan aircraft were bought by SAFE Air and used in New Zealand. The Royal Canadian Air Force used five Freighters to carry spares and supplies between the UK and their bases in France and West Germany.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force ordered 12 Mk 31M Freighters in the late 1940s. RNZAF Freighters ranged as far as supplying the New Zealand Army in Malaya, the British High Commissions (and other support staff) in the Maldives, Ceylon, India and Nepal, performing Far East Air Force tasks in Malaya (often when other aircraft types were unserviceable owing to maintenance problems) and Hong Kong. They ran a highly reliable military shuttle service for allies in Thailand during the Vietnam War and served several other roles, being adapted for—amongst other things—aerial top dressing experiments, although to avoid competition with private enterprise, the New Zealand government did not use them in that role.

Final days
The New Zealand Freighters were retired from military use when replaced by Hawker Siddeley Andovers in the 1970s. After retirement, a number of smaller local operators briefly flew Freighters. Some were exported to Canada. A SAFE Air Freighter is preserved in taxiable condition at Blenheim and another at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch. A third is on display at Founders Historical Park in Nelson, and a fourth is being restored at Ardmore near Auckland. Other Freighter airframes around New Zealand now serve as novelty tea-rooms, backpacker hostels, and motel rooms, such as ex NZ5906 (c/n 13059) in Otorohanga.

One Freighter was in service in turn with British Ministry of Supply (G-AIMI then WB482), the RAAF (A81-1) and subsequently went into commercial use in Australia until 1978 after which it went on to become a museum exhibit and was given over to the RAAF museum at Point Cook, Victoria, Australia in 1988.

Bristol freighter Mk 31M G-BISU (c/n 13218) was operated by Instone Airline at Stansted, Essex, UK, for a number of years. This was an ex-RNZAF aircraft and left Ardmore on 2 March 1981 for its 86-hour ferry flight to the UK, it subsequently flew its first charter flight on 3 August 1981 delivering two racehorses to Deauville. This role of flying livestock was to take up half a year while other work included carriage of oil drilling machinery, car parts, newspapers and mail. Re-registered as C-FDFC, in 1996 it crashed on takeoff with the crew escaping but was essentially a write-off. The captain - John Duncan - and co-pilot - Malcolm Cutter - reported that the aircraft entered a severe yaw after takeoff which was uncontrollable despite use of full opposite aileron and rudder control.

The last Freighter in service, which flew for Instone Airline then later returned to New Zealand, was bought from surplus by Hawkair in Terrace, British Columbia, Canada. In 2004, this aircraft undertook its final flight to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

An example of the Mark 31M, CF-WAE, ex Royal Canadian Air Force 9699, is displayed at the Western Canada Aviation Museum. It was last flown by Norcanair.

Variants

 * Freighter Mk I
 * Utility transport Series I or Freighter with a strengthened floor and hydraulically operated nose doors.


 * Freighter Mk IA
 * Mixed-traffic variant with 16-passenger seats


 * Freighter Mk IB
 * Variant of Mk I for British European Airways


 * Freighter Mk IC
 * Variant of Mk IA for British European Airways


 * Freighter Mk ID
 * Variant of Mk IA for British South American Airways


 * Wayfarer Mk II
 * Airliner (passenger variant) Series II or Wayfarer. Nose doors were omitted and additional windows were added.


 * Wayfarer Mk IIA
 * Variant of Mk II with 32 seats


 * Wayfarer Mk IIB
 * Variant of Mk IIA for British European Airways


 * Wayfarer Mk IIC
 * Variant of Mk II with 20 seats and baggage hold


 * Freighter Mk XI
 * Variant of Mk I with 108 ft (32.92 m) wing and extra tankage


 * Freighter Mk XIA
 * Mixed-traffic version of Mk IX


 * Freighter Mk 21
 * More powerful engined version


 * Freighter Mk 21E
 * Convertible version of Mk 21 with 32 removable seats


 * Freighter Mk 31
 * Variant of Mk 21 with larger fin


 * Freighter Mk 31E
 * Convertible version of Mk 31


 * Freighter Mk 31M
 * Military version of Mk 31 with provision for supply dropping


 * Freighter Mk 32
 * Higher capacity version with fuselage lengthened by 5 ft (1.52 m)


 * Type 179 Freighter
 * Unbuilt project. Twin-boom version. Not built


 * Type 179A Freighter
 * Unbuilt project. The aircraft was intended to have an unswept tail and a ramp-loading door.


 * Type 216 Freighter
 * Unbuilt project. Car ferry version. It was intended to be powered by two Roll-Royce Dart turboprop engines.

Civil operators

 * Argentine Civil Aeronautics Board
 * Argentine Civil Aeronautics Board
 * Air Express
 * Ansett-ANA
 * Ansett-MAL
 * Australian National Airways
 * Brain & Brown Airfreighters
 * Jetair Australia
 * Trans Australia Airlines
 * Avions Fairey
 * SABENA
 * Real Transportes Aéreos
 * Associated Airways
 * Central Northern Airways
 * Hawkair
 * Lambair
 * Maritime Central Airways
 * North Canada Air
 * Norcanair
 * Pacific Western Airlines
 * Transair
 * Trans Canada Airlines
 * Trans Provincial Airlines
 * Wardair
 * Shell Company of Ecuador
 * Aer Lingus
 * Aer Turas
 * Air Atlas
 * Air Djibouti (operated in French Somaliland)
 * Air Fret
 * Air Outremer
 * Cie Air Transport
 * Cie des Transportes Aériens Intercontinentaux
 * Corse Air
 * Société Aérienne du Littoral
 * Société Indochinoise de Transport Aériens
 * Transportes Aériens Reunis
 * LTU
 * Panavia Ltd
 * Bharat Airways
 * Dalmia Jain Airways
 * Indian National Airways
 * Societe Avio Transporti Torino
 * Air Laos
 * Middle East Airlines
 * SAFE Air
 * West African Airways Corporation
 * Rhodesia
 * Central African Airways two aircraft delivered in 1948, both sold in 1949.
 * Saudi Arabian Airlines
 * Aviaco
 * Iberia
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa
 * Suidair operated one Bristol Wayfarer.
 * Trafik-Turist-Transportflyg
 * Air Charter
 * Air Ferry
 * Air Kruise
 * Airwork
 * Autair
 * Aviation Traders
 * BKS Air Transport
 * Britavia
 * British Air Ferries
 * British European Airways
 * British United Air Ferries
 * Channel Air Bridge
 * Channel Airways
 * Channel Island Airways
 * Dan-Air
 * Hunting Aerosurveys
 * Instone Airlines
 * Manx Airlines 1947-1958
 * Midland Air Cargo
 * Ministry of Civil Aviation
 * Silver City Airways
 * Trans European Aviation
 * Air Vietnam
 * BKS Air Transport
 * Britavia
 * British Air Ferries
 * British European Airways
 * British United Air Ferries
 * Channel Air Bridge
 * Channel Airways
 * Channel Island Airways
 * Dan-Air
 * Hunting Aerosurveys
 * Instone Airlines
 * Manx Airlines 1947-1958
 * Midland Air Cargo
 * Ministry of Civil Aviation
 * Silver City Airways
 * Trans European Aviation
 * Air Vietnam
 * Air Vietnam

Military operators

 * Argentine Air Force
 * Royal Australian Air Force - Four in service from 1949 to 1967. They were used for transport duties in support of the Weapons Research Establishment, Woomera, South Australia.
 * No. 34 Squadron RAAF
 * No. 1 Air Trials Unit
 * No. 2 Air Trials Unit
 * Burmese Air Force
 * Royal Canadian Air Force
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Burmese Air Force
 * Royal Canadian Air Force
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Royal New Zealand Air Force
 * No. 1 Squadron RNZAF
 * No. 3 Squadron RNZAF
 * No. 41 Squadron RNZAF
 * Transport Support Unit RNZAF
 * Royal Pakistan Air Force
 * A&AEE Boscombe Down
 * Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE)
 * A&AEE Boscombe Down
 * Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE)
 * Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE)

Accidents and incidents
Sixty-eight of the 214 Freighters built were destroyed or damaged beyond economical repair in accidents. At least 45 of these were fatal, resulting in the deaths of at least 385 passengers and crew.