British Aircraft Swallow

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Use British English|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox aircraft |name = Swallow |image = BA Swallow G-AFCL Kemble 2003.jpg |caption = 1937-built BA Swallow 2 G-AFCL with Pobjoy engine, in May 2003 |type = Light tourer |manufacturer = British Klemm/British Aircraft Manufacturing |designer =  |first_flight = 1933 |introduction =  |retired =  |status =  |primary_user =  |more_users =  |produced =  |number_built = 135 |unit cost = |developed_from = Klemm L.25 |variants =  }} The '''B.A Swallow''' was a British light aircraft of the 1930s. It was a license-built version by the British Klemm Aeroplane Company (which later became known as the British Aircraft Manufacturing Co.) of the German Klemm L.25. A total of 135 were built.

==Design and development== The German aircraft manufacturer Klemm developed a successful low-powered light aeroplane, the Klemm L.25, which first flew in 1927,<ref name="=German Aircraft">Smith and Kay 1972</ref> of which over 600 were produced. Several were sold to British owners, where they proved popular, so the British dealer for the L.25, Major E.F Stephen, set up the "British Klemm Aeroplane Company" at London Air Park, Hanworth, Middlesex to produce a version of the L.25 under license.

thumb|left|BA Swallow with Cirrus Minor engine at Wroughton airfield, Wiltshire in July 1992 thumb|1937-built BA Swallow II in 2007

The prototype of the licensed version, known as the '''B.K. Swallow''', first flew at Hanworth in November 1933.<ref name="Jacksonv1">Jackson 1974</ref> It was an all-wooden cantilever monoplane, with tandem cockpits accommodating two persons, and was powered by a 75 hp (56 kW) Salmson 9 or 85 hp (63 kW) Pobjoy Cataract radial engine. It differed from the German original with its more powerful engines and local strengthening to meet British airworthiness requirements.<ref name="Jacksonv1"/>

In 1935 a revised version of the Swallow was introduced, with the curved wing tips, rudder and tailplane inherited from the Klemm original being made straight and with revised fuselage top decking. At this time the company changed its name to the British Aircraft Manufacturing Co., so the revised version was known as the '''B.A Swallow II'''. Swallow IIs were produced powered either by the Cataract or the Cirrus Minor inline engine, production continuing until 1938, with a total of 107 Swallow IIs produced, following on from the 28 Swallows I.<ref name="Jacksonv1"/>

==Operational history==

[[File:BA Swallow G-AFGD Shobdon 1988.jpg|thumb|right|Pobjoy Swallow G-AFGD with wings folded, at Shobdon Aerodrome Herefordshire in 1987. This aircraft served as a glider at RAF Ringway in 1940]]

The Swallow, which proved to be robust, was popular in service. The majority were sold to private owners or flying schools within the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of the Second World War, many were taken by the Military, most being issued to the Air Training Corps for use as instructional airframes.<ref name="Jacksonv1"/>

In 1938, British mining engineer Brian Grover flew a Swallow illicitly from Stockholm, Sweden into the Soviet Union in a daring stunt, hoping to be reunited with his wife who was a Soviet citizen. The case became an international ''cause célèbre'' and Grover's wife was eventually allowed to emigrate to Britain with her husband in early 1939.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shackleton |first1=W.S. |title=Those Russian Wives |journal=The Aeroplane |date=August 8, 1947 |page=151 |url=https://www.google.fi/books/edition/The_Aeroplane/mxQnAAAAMAAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PA151 |access-date=23 January 2026}}</ref>

A number of Swallows were taken on charge during late 1940 by the Royal Air Force's Glider Training Squadron within the Central Landing Establishment based at RAF Ringway near Manchester. Their propellers were removed and tow hooks were attached to each wing leading edge. The Swallows were towed singly, in pairs and in threes by retired Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers before being released to glide to their simulated "target" on the airfield. This unusual procedure was adopted to assist the evaluation of the future use of heavy gliders in assaults on enemy positions.<ref>Scholefield, 1998, page 22</ref>

One Swallow was impressed into RNZAF service in September 1939 and was used as a communications aircraft from September 1939 to April 1940.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

Some 17 Swallows survived to fly again under private ownership after the war, with a few remaining airworthy in 2008.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

==Variants== ;B.K. Swallow :Initial production version, powered by {{convert|70|hp|kW|abbr=on}} British-Salmson A.D.9R or {{convert|90|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Pobjoy Cataract II engines, 28 built (six with Salmson engine). ;B.A. Swallow II :Revised production version, with modified structure to simplify production, powered by {{convert|90|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Pobjoy Cataract II engine or {{convert|90|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Blackburn Cirrus Minor, 107 built (60 with Cataract, 47 with Cirrus).

==Operators== ;{{UK}} *Royal Air Force *Royal Navy – one aircraft used in Ceylon for communications duties. ;{{NZL}} *Royal New Zealand Air Force ;{{ESP}} *Spanish Air Force – One aircraft only.

==Specifications (B.K. Swallow II) ==

{{Aircraft specs |ref=British Civil Aircraft since 1919 <ref name="Jacksonv1"/> |prime units?=imp  |crew=2 |length ft=26 |length in=3 |length note= |span ft=42 |span in=8.5 |span note= |height ft=7 |height in=0 |height note= |wing area sqft=219.5 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil=Modified Klemm <ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |accessdate=16 April 2019}}</ref> |empty weight lb=960 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=1500 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Pobjoy Cataract II |eng1 type=7-cylinder air-cooled geared radial piston engine |eng1 hp=85 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note=  |max speed mph=104 |max speed note= |cruise speed mph=90 |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |range miles=420 |range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft=17000 |ceiling note= |climb rate ftmin=800 |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |more performance= }}

==See also== {{aircontent  |related=*Klemm L.25 |similar aircraft= |lists= *List of aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air Force |see also=

}}

==References== {{reflist}} *Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1''. London: Putnam, 1974. {{ISBN|0-370-10006-9}}. * Scholefield, R.A. ''Manchester Airport''. Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1998. {{ISBN|0-7509-1954-X}}. * Smith, J.R. and Kay, Antony L. ''German Aircraft of the Second World War''. London: Putnam, 1972. {{ISBN|0-85177-836-4}}.

==External links== {{commons category|British Aircraft Swallow}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930180741/http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=731 B.A. Swallow] – British Aircraft Directory

Category:1930s British civil trainer aircraft Swallow Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1933