}
The aircraft industry
‘No machine to equal it as a fighting machine’
Captain Geoffrey Hughes, the Australian Flying Corps, describing the Bristol Fighter, 1918
The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company began making aircraft in 1910. They built Bristol Biplanes (known as Boxkites) and trained pilots. The company was set up by George White, a Bristol businessman who owned much of the Bristol Tramway and Carriage Company. White was one of the first people to realise the commercial potential of air travel.
During the First World War, the company developed fighter planes. By 1918, the Bristol Fighter was the most agile and effective fighter plane on the Western Front. It had three machine guns and could carry over 100kg of bombs. Over 3,000 Bristol Fighters were built at the factories in Filton and Brislington. Women worked at airfields and in aircraft factories for the first time.
The company also made the Bristol Scout which was used as a fighter plane and for reconnaissance, taking photographs and mapping enemy positions. The company’s TB8 was the world’s first aircraft specifically designed as a bomber. These planes helped to shape modern warfare.
The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company began making aircraft in 1910. They built Bristol Biplanes (known as Boxkites) and trained pilots. The company was set up by George White, a Bristol businessman who owned much of the Bristol Tramway and Carriage Company. White was one of the first people to realise the commercial potential of air travel.
During the First World War, the company developed fighter planes. By 1918, the Bristol Fighter was the most agile and effective fighter plane on the Western Front. It had three machine guns and could carry over 100kg of bombs. Over 3,000 Bristol Fighters were built at the factories in Filton and Brislington. Women worked at airfields and in aircraft factories for the first time.
The company also made the Bristol Scout which was used as a fighter plane and for reconnaissance, taking photographs and mapping enemy positions. The company’s TB8 was the world’s first aircraft specifically designed as a bomber. These planes helped to shape modern warfare.