Mikro-Mir 144-008 1/144 Blackburn Beverley
This all purpose military transport aircraft was introduced into service with the RAF in 1955. Designed for long ranges, it would carry both troops and heavy loads at the same time. A wide variety of heavy equipment of all types could be air transported or parachuted. In the latter role the rear sections of the fuselage (which opened to enable loads to be stowed internally) were removed to allow the parachutes to develop and pull the load out of the aircraft. In this role it could carry heavy drop loads up to 25,000 lbs in weight.
The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tail boom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tail boom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. A 36 ft (11 m) main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tail boom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail boom. In operation, it was regarded as “ungainly but highly effective” and was described by Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Freer as “like something out of the Ark, but it was a superb supply dropper.”
The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of the Second World War. When it entered service it was the largest aircraft in the Royal Air Force (RAF). It had a large interior cargo area split into two levels which amounted to around 6,003 ft³ (170 m³) of space. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. Paratroopers in the main body exited through side doors.
In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last one being manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967.
