The
Sidestrand Bomber was manufactured from 1928 to 1934. A total of 20 aircraft in three marks were built, with 2 Mk.IIs being converted to Mk.Vs. - There didn't seem to be a Mk.IV. - All planes were sent to
101 Squadron at
Bircham Newton.
The Sidestrand was very agile and could be looped, rolled and spun. It had a maximum speed of 140 mph and a range of 500 miles. The wingspan was 71 feet 11 inches, with a length 46 feet and a height of 14 feet 10 inches. The Bomb load was 1050 pounds.
The subsequent model, built from 1934 and known as the
Overstrand, gained a very distinctive nose turret, the first to be power operated. It seems the first Overstrands were actually converted Sidestrands. The later variation also had an enclosed cockpit and hot-air heating for all 4 crew members. All the Overstrands also went to
101 Squadron which had by then moved to
Bicester. Production of the Overstrand ceased in 1936. A total of 24 Overstrands were built. The had a maximum speed of 153 mph and a range 545 miles. The Span and length was the same as the Sidestrand but the height was 15 foot 6 inches and the Bomb load had increased to 1600 lbs.
In 1933 Boulton & Paul designed the
Mail Plane to fulfil a requirement of
Imperial Airways for a craft of "reasonable speed", 1000 pounds payload and a range of 1000 miles. The first model was designated the P64, but the prototype crashed at Martlesham, with some loss of life. It is possible that the photo shown here was the prototype, since the production version had spats to streamline the fixed undercarriage.
The P64 was rapidly followed by the P71A, which had slimmer lines and more powerful engines. Two were delivered to
Imperial at
Croydon but by then the airline had lost interest in delivering mail. The planes were converted to 13 seater passenger liners and christened "
Boadicea" & "
Britomart" (see below) after the female warriors, one real, one fictional, of those names. The first crashed during landing at Brussels in 1935 and the other was lost over the channel in 1936.
Boulton & Paul Aircraft production in
Norwich ceased around 1936 when it was moved to a new factory in
Wolverhampton.
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