Bristol Bullpup

The Bristol Type 107 Bullpup was a British single-seat biplane fighter built in the 1920s as a private design by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was not chosen for squadron service and only one prototype was built. It grew out of a series of fighter studies by chief designer Frank Barnwell, who from 1924 had worked on a Rolls-Royce Falcon fighter to specification F.17/24 and later on Mercury-powered designs for F.9/26, work that also produced the Bristol Bulldog. The Type 107 was an unequal span, single bay biplane with an all-metal structure of rolled steel strip and fabric covering, a large semicircular cutout in the upper wing trailing edge to improve the pilot view, and two 0.303 in Vickers guns. It was designed around a 480 hp Bristol Mercury radial engine but first flew on 28 April 1928 with a Jupiter because no Mercury was ready. It went to Martlesham Heath in March 1929 and competed in the F.20/27 trials, where the Hawker Fury eventually met the requirement. The prototype served as an engine test aircraft until it was scrapped in 1935.