Bristol Type 48 Tourer Seaplane

The Bristol Aeroplane Company Tourer series of aircraft were effectively developments of the hugely successful Bristol F.2b Fighter, adapted or converted for civilian use, following the end of the First World War.

 

A standard but unarmed Bristol F.2b Fighter (H1460), ordered for communications duties, was fitted with a hinged cover over the rear passenger seat and this became known as the Bristol Type 27 Coupé.

 

The next development after the Bristol Type 27 Coupé was the Bristol Type 29 Tourer, an unarmed Bristol F.2b Fighter, fitted with a Siddeley Puma engine. This was initially used as a company communications aircraft although a second machine was also sold to a private owner in the United States.

 

The type was subsequently produced in two and three seat configurations. The three-seat variants saw the passengers sat side-by-side in either open, or enclosed (coupé) cockpits.  Similarly, the two-seat variant was also produced with an open or an enclosed passenger cockpit.

 

A three-seat seaplane variant was also produced.

 

When Bristol type numbers were allocated, the following type numbers were retrospectively allocated to the Bristol Tourer series;

 

Further developments for Greece (Bristol Type 81) and Bulgaria (Bristol Type 88) are also described separately elsewhere.

 

The Bristol Type 48 was a three-seat seaplane version of the earlier Bristol Type 47 landplane. Two aircraft of this type were built (construction numbers 5873 and 5874) both aircraft being flown unregistered. The first of these aircraft (5873) was flown for the first time on 15th October 1920. They had been built against orders promised by the Company’s New York agents, although in the event they were cancelled following problems with import duties.

 

However, there were hopes of ultimate sales against an order from Siberia, which resulted in both aircraft being completed as planned. Unfortunately, the Siberian order was also cancelled before the aircraft flew although there still remained the prospect of sales to Canada.

 

In the event, this order did not materialise either and so both aircraft were ultimately scrapped, unsold and unregistered.