The Baynes Bat (or sometimes Slingsby-Baynes Bat) was an experimental

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of gliding ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, designed by

L. E. Baynes Leslie Everett Baynes, AFRAeS (23 March 1902 – 13 March 1989) was an English aeronautical engineer. Early life Born at Barnes, Surrey, on 23 March 1902 the son of James and Florence Baynes. Baynes was educated at Gresham's School, Norfolk, le ...

. It was used to test the tailless design that he had suggested as a means to convert tanks into temporary gliders so they could be flown into battle.

Design and development

In the late 1930s, armies were looking for a way to airlift heavy military units. There were then no cargo aircraft big enough to lift a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...

, and even if such a large aircraft had been created it would have needed many special facilities. A solution which was explored during the

was to tow tanks as gliders, and for this wings had to be added. Most designs were based on straight wings with extended

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

and stabilizers. The design of

L.E. Baynes Leslie Everett Baynes, AFRAeS (23 March 1902 – 13 March 1989) was an English aeronautical engineer. Early life Born at Barnes, Surrey, on 23 March 1902 the son of James and Florence Baynes. Baynes was educated at Gresham's School, Norfolk, le ...

AFRAeS in 1941 was for a 100 ft wingspan "Carrier Wing Glider" consisting chiefly of a swept wing with vertical stabilizers on the wingtips. KN Slingsby Baynes Bat 1941

A 1/3 scale prototype was built entirely of wood in 1943 by Slingsby Sailplanes at

Kirkbymoorside Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York, It is also midway between Pickering and Helmsley, on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. It had a populati ...

, and the Baynes Bat made its first flight in July 1943 at the

Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) was a branch of the British Air Ministry, that researched and developed non-traditional airborne applications, such as gliders, rotary wing aircraft, and dropping of personnel and equipment b ...

RAF Sherburn-in-Elmet Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield is located east of Sherburn in Elmet village and west of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. Pre-War and Wartime history In the 1920s, the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club began operating here. The novelist, pilot, and aer ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Most of the test flights were piloted by

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indi ...

Robert Kronfeld Squadron Leader Robert Kronfeld, AFC (5 May 1904 – 12 February 1948) was an Austrian-born gliding champion and sailplane designer of the 1920s and 30s. He became a British subject and an RAF test pilot. He was killed testing a glider in 1948. ...

. Tests were successful, but the project was abandoned because a suitable tank was not then available and a decision had been made to develop gliders which could carry heavy equipment within their fuselages. The strategists were not convinced of the practicality of retrieving large numbers of Baynes Bats from the field, but in wartime this was not a critical factor. The one Bat which had been built was the first tailless monoplane with flaps to be available for research and it was flown extensively by the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...

to test the stability and control of tailless aircraft. The Bat was sold as surplus in October 1946 and entered on the British Gliding Association register in November 1947. The Bat was last seen in 1958, lying behind a hangar at

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neocla ...

Operators

; *

Specifications

Notes

References

The Baynes Bat
{{Slingsby aircraft 1940s British experimental aircraft Glider aircraft Slingsby aircraft Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United Kingdom Tailless aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1943

Design and development

Operators

Specifications

See also

Notes

References