Blackburn B-2

The Blackburn B-2 was a biplane side-by-side trainer aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was designed as a successor to the Bluebird IV and was derived from it, thus the two aircraft shared much of their design. One major difference of the B-2 was its semi-monocoque all-metal fuselage, which was similar to that of the Blackburn Segrave touring aircraft. On 10 December 1931, the prototype B-2 performed its maiden flight at Brough. It had excellent manoeuvrability and responsive flying controls, and was a relatively forgiving aircraft in flight. During early 1932, the first production aircraft made its first flight, and was participating in competitive air races as early as June of that year. While Blackburn had ambitions to sell the B-2 as a military trainer, the only air force to adopt it was the Royal Air Force (RAF), as part of its expansion programme. It was also flown by numerous civilian flying schools during the 1930s; these aircraft continued to be used into the Second World War as trainers. During February 1942, the remaining B-2s were transferred to the RAF for use by the Air Training Corps (ATC) as instructional aids. Only two aircraft survived through to the postwar era. By the twenty-first century, a single B-2 is still maintained in a flightworthy condition as part of the Shuttleworth Collection.

Summary from Wikipedia, photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.