Beagle designations

[Stargazer]

When Beagle took over the assets from Auster and Miles, they established a numbering system that is not too easy to follow.

Prefix letters
Designations in "A.***" were for former Auster designs.
Designations in "B.***" were for off-the-shelf Beagle designs.
Designations in "M.***" were for former Miles designs.
Initially the acquired designs were called Beagle-Auster and Beagle-Miles but soon enough the original company names disappeared and only the name Beagle remained. Similarly, the "M." prefix was soon dropped and these types were prefixed "B."

Numbers
Apart from the out of sequence A.61, whose logic escapes me, all other model numbers have three digits and follow a sequential order.
However, that order is not immediately evident, as it is given by the second and third digit — the fiirst digit is only there to indicate whether the aircraft is a single- or a twin-engine type. To complicate matters further it would seem that Beagle chose also to reserve the uneven numbers for the single-engine types and the even numbers for the twin-engine ones (although the WA.116 doesn't follow this pattern).
Not all numbers seem to have been allocated. Besides the A.61 mentioned above, the earliest number in the list is "*06" (B.206).

NOTE: THE LIST BELOW IS VERY INCOMPLETE.
IT HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED IN EXCEL (.xlsx) FORM (see comment #23)

A.61 Terrier Series 1 (former Auster 6B, a civil version of the A.O.P. 6)
A.61 Terrier Series 2

B.206 (Masefield-Beagle design, soon called Beagle only)
B.206X (first prototype)
B.206Y (second prototype)
B.206Z (two pre-production examples)
B.206R Basset CC.1
B.206C = B.206 Series 1
B.206S = B.206 Series 2
B.206 Series 3
A.109 Airedale (former Auster D8)
B.210 (unbuilt enlarged derivative of B.206)
A.111 Airedale (single military modification)
A.113 Husky (former Auster D5 or D5/180)
A.115 "Mark 11" (former Auster E3 or A.O.P. 11)
WA.116 Series 1 (Beagle Miles-Wallis autogyro) (see note)
M.117 > B.117 (former Miles M.114)
M.218X > B.218X (former Miles M.115 Martlet)
B.220 (project, no detail)
B-121C (early designation)
B.121 Pup Series 1 (Pup 100)
B.121 Pup Series 2 (Pup 150)
B.121 Pup Series 3 (Pup 160)
B.222 (project, no detail)
B.123 (single-engine B.242 project)
B.125 Bulldog Series 1 (produced by Scottish Aviation as the Bulldog Series 100 and 200; eventually as British Aerospace SA-3 Bulldog)
B.242X (prototype derived from B.218X but without plastic components) (see note)

NOTES:

• A Beagle B.207 mentioned in Taschenbuch für Wehrfragen in 1963 was most certainly a typo.
• Please note that Wallis's subsequent designs, with no Beagle involvement, continued their own sequence as WA-117 to WA-121.
• Please note out-of-sequence number of B.242.

 

[hesham]

Great work my dear Stargazer,


and B.200 was developed from Bristol Type-220 as alight aircraft,B.201 was developed from
B.200,but I am not sure about that last one.


B.208 was a light aircraft developed from B.206,project only.


B.220 was a further development of B.206,with extended fuselage to accommodate 8 passenger and RR
engines,intended for VIP.


B.221 was mentioned here,but no details;
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,19034.msg183890.html#msg183890


B.222 was also developed from B.206 a redesign fuselage to carry 8 passenger,with the same RR
engines,the mock-up of the fuselage was built,a larger size than B.208,intended for short-
range transport and VIP duties,project only.


B.224 was a small four-six utilising components from the Bulldog,that was included the outer wing,project only.


B.226 was twin turbofan executive low-wing business,powered by two RR RB188 Turbofans,mounted
at the rear of the fuselage,project only.


B.228 was canard high-wing executive aircraft project,powered by two P&W PT6A-20 engines,project only.

 

[Stargazer]

Thanks for all these! Do you have sources?

I saw your reference to the B.221 on the forum before, but I believe it must be a typo since the "21" slot was already used by the Pup.

Also, in another topic you erroneously mentioned the sub-variants of the B.125 Bulldog built by Scottish Aviation as being "B." models when in fact they were "Series" numbers with no "B".

 

[hesham]

My dear Stargazer,


the Scottish Aviation series called Model or "B" in some reference,and you find it also in
Wikipedia,and for the source is; Stuck on the Drawing Board, book.


What is your source about B.210 ?.

 

[ursrius]

As often, these things are a lot more complicated! BEAGLE was originally founded to produce Masefield’s pretty little Bristol B.220 five seat twin, the rights he had bought from Bristol and sold to Pressed Steel, who formed BEAGLE in October 1960 (I am somewhat simplifying here).
The original BEAGLE designation system was to use the prefix B, followed, as Stargazer correctly states, with a three digit number. The first number denoted the number of engines, the next two being sequential but using, somewhat superfluously, odd for single engined and even for twins. Auster and Miles were brought into the BEAGLE fold in November of 1960 as Beagle-Auster and Beagle-Miles, and designs emanating from their offices were prefixed A and M respectively, although the association with Miles was short lived and only included two designs already under way.
It would appear, when looking at the allocated Type Designations, that both the BEAGLE and Beagle-Auster design offices, while essentially conforming to the system, worked somewhat independently, as both continued a separate sequential numbering system, prefixed B and A respectively, only skipping numbers that conflicted with the two Miles designs.
To add even more to the confusion, designations that had been used for projects that fell by the wayside were frequently re-used year later!
The use of A.61 for the Terrier is usually ascribed to it being Auster’s 61st design – pretty hard to fathom out with all the various Auster subtypes, but certainly pretty close to the number of types that actually flew.
An excellent book on BEAGLE was produced recently, False Dawn, by Tom Wenham (Air Britain Publications, 2015), and the following posts are my summary of the various types he describes.

 

[ursrius]

These are BEAGLE, Beagle-Auster, Beagle-Miles and Beagle-Wallis designations using Stargazers earlier format:

B.200 Not used.
x.x01 Not used.
B.202 Beagle designation for the Masefield’s Bristol Type 220.
x.x03 Not used.
B.204 B.206 mock-up.
B.105 Single engine derivative of the B.206 (Project only).
B.206 Produced as the following:
B.206X - first prototype - 5 seat executive aircraft). First flew 15 August 1961.
B.206Y - second prototype - enlarged B.206X with longer cabin for 7 seats, greater span). First flew 12 August 1962.[/list]
B.206Z - two pre-production examples. First flew 24 January 1964.
B.206C, aka B.206 Series 1, civil production B.206 based on B.206Y. First flew 17 July 1964.
B.206R Basset CC.1, military liaison and communication aircraft, based on the B.206C. First flew 28 December 1964.
B.206S, aka B.206 Series 2, B.206C with longer span wings. First flew 27 January 1966.
B.206 Series 3 – a 10-seat commuter airliner development of the B.206S with deeper fuselage and longer cabin. First flew late August 1969.
x.x07 Not used.
B.208 Projected military development of the B.206 (some features later incorporated into the B.206 Series 2). Overtaken by the B.206Z.
A.109 Airedale (originally under development as the Auster D8). First flew 16 April 1961.
A.110 Airedale Junior – 3 seat derivative of the A.109 (1962 project). Notably, this does not conform to the numbering system!
B.210 Several projects with this designation:
1. Original designation of the B.206S (1965).
2. Alternative designation of the 4-8 seat B.206 Series 3 (1965 Project).
3. Intended production designation of the revised 10-seat B.206 Series 3, featuring a new, larger, circular section fuselage (1968 project)
A.111 Two projects with this designation:
1. One-off Airedale fitted with a fitted with 175 h.p. Rolls-Royce Continental GO-300 powerplant to allow for inclusion in the 1962 Farnborough Air Show. Converted from the A.109 prototype.
2. Beadale, a 4 seat larger derivative of the A.109 (1962 project).
A.112 Boxer – projected derivative of the A.109 with B.206 features particularly in the engine mounting.
B.212 Two projects with this designation:
1. 7 seat turboprop development of B.206 featuring a T-tail (1963 project).
2. COIN development of the initial B.212 project with new forward fuselage (1963 project).
A.113 Two projects with this designation:
1. Husky, Beagle designation for an improved Auster D5/180. First flew 23 July 1962.
2. 4 seat single engine high wing, retractable u/c pusher light aircraft (1962 project).
B.214 Pressurised derivative of B.212, project 1 (1964 project).
A.115 Two projects with this designation:
1. Beagle designation for Auster Model E.3, aka AOP.11 or Mark Eleven. First flew 18 October 1961.
2. Airedale 2, a re-winged derivative of the A.109 (1962 project).
WA.116 Wallis Gyrocopter. First flew 10 May 1962.
B.216 COIN derivative of B.212, project 1 (1964 project).
M.117A Martlet, Beagle designation for the Miles M.114 Mk.1 (1961 project).
M.117B Martin, Beagle designation for the Miles M.114 Mk.2 (1961 project).
M.218 Martlet. Originally to have been named Mohawk and derived from the Miles M.115, it was later proposed as two variants and a new name:
M.218A Merlin 200 with two 100 h.p. Continental O-200 (1961 project).
M.218B Merlin 290 with two 145 h.p. Continental O-300-A (1961 project).
The higher powered version was chosen for initial development. It was intended that the production version would have been named Martlet.
M.218X, sole prototype. First flew 19 August 1962.
M.218Y; the sole prototype was heavily revised and eventually re-designated as the B.242.
A.119 2 seat, single engined high wing light aircraft (1962 project).
B.220 6+ passenger long fuse VIP/Comms B.206 derivative (1964 project).
A.121 Three connected projects with this designation:
1. 4 seat, single engined high wing light aircraft - derivative of A.109 (1962 project).
2. Single engined high wing bush freighter - derivative of A.109 (1962 project).
3. Single engined high wing swing tail freighter - derivative of A.109 (1962 project).
B.121 Pup. Produced or proposed as the following (in chronological order):
B.121C Pup two-seater with 100 h.p. Continental O-200 (1966 project).
B.121T Pup military trainer with 160 h.p. Continental O-300 (1966 project).
B.121C Pup two-seater with 100 h.p. Continental O-200 (1966 project).
B.121M Bull Pup with 210 h.p. Continental IO-360 and featuring clipped wings (1966 project).
Pup 100 or B.121 Series 1. Initial production version based on the B.121C. First flew 8 April 1967.
Pup 150 or B.121 Series 2, 2+2 seater: production version with a 150 h.p. Lycoming 0-320-A2B powerplant. First flew 4 October 1967.
Pup 160 or B.121 Series 3. Production version for Iran: Pup 150 with a 160 h.p. Lycoming 0-360-A powerplant . First flew 26 January 1969.
Pup 180 or B.121 Series 4. A four seater with a retractable u/c and 180 h.p. powerplant (1968 project).
B.121 Series 5, a simplified B.121 Series 2 to improve production costs, with a 160 h.p. Lycoming powerplant (1969 project).
B.121 Series 6, a simplified B.121 Series 1 to improve production costs, with a 150 h.p. powerplant (1970 project).
B.222 Two projects with this designation:
1. 10 seat feeder liner derivative of the B.206
2. B.222-180, a 4-seat twin engine derivative of the Pup 180 (1968 project).
A.123 Allocated to Auster’s Farnborough office, but not used.
B.123 Two projects with this designation:
1. Pup Major four seat B.121 derivative (1966 project).
2. Military variant of the Pup Series 4, with a 200 h.p. powerplant, extended wings, new center section and a bubble canopy (1968 project).
B.224 10 seat, feeder liner derivative of the B.210.
A.125 5 seat, fixed u/c derivative of A.113, project 2 (1962 project).
B.125 Bulldog. Produced or proposed as the following (in chronological order):
B.125 Bulldog Series 1. Beagle built prototype. First flew 19 May 1969.
B.125 Bulldog Series 100. First production version, as Series 1. Built by Scottish Aviation, as were all the following. First flew 14 February 1971
B.125 Bulldog Series 120. Fully aerobatic, strengthened version of the Series 100. First flew? 1973. First delivery to RAF 20 February 1973.
B.125 Bulldog Series 200. Improved version of Bulldog Series 120 with retractable landing gear (1975 project).
B.125 Bullfinch. Civil variant of Bulldog Series 200. First flew 20 August 1976.
B.226 8 seat, twin-engined jet feederliner (1966 project).
A.127 4 seat, fixed u/c derivative of A.113, project 2 (1962 project).
B.228 8 seat, twin-engined canard turboprop.
A.129 4 seat, low wing fixed u/c derivative of A.113, project 2 (1962 project).
B.230 Unknown
B.232 Twin Pup. 4 seat, twin-engined light tourer (1968 project).
B.234 Twin-engined light tourer (1969 project).
B.242 Two projects with this designation:
1. Pup Major Twin (though the name was never used), rebuild of the B.218X and originally designated B.218Y. First flew 27 August 1964.
2. 4/8 seat (?), twin-engined light tourer (1968 project).
B.143 Six seat retractable undercarriage derivative of the B.121 (1966 project).

 

[ursrius]

Now, if we re-sort these by their design offices, it becomes a lot more logical. Ignoring the various re-uses of designation, the designation list is now as follows:

Auster
A.109
A.110 - does not follow the system!
A.111
A.112 - does not follow the system!
A.113
A.115
A.117 - not used to avoid conflict with Beagle-Miles M.117
A.119
A.121
A.123
A.125
A.127
A.129

BEAGLE
B.202
B.204
B.105
B.206
B.208
B.210
B.212
B.214
B.216
B.218 - not used to avoid conflict with Beagle-Miles M.218
B.220
B.121
B.222
B.123
B.224
B.125
B.125
B.226
B.228
B.230
B.232
B.234
B.242
B.143

The last two are out of step with the system. The B.242 was seen as a Twin Pup, so that makes sense (2xB.121), but why the B.143? My own speculation is that, as the B.123 was a intended as a four-seat Pup and the B.143 as a six seat Pup, they just decided to add another 2, but why to the second digit, not the last. Your guess is as good as mine!

 

[hesham]

Great work Ursrius,you made my day.

 

[Maveric]

Nice work ursrius!!!
You named a lot of unknown Projects (for me B).
Anybody had drawings and technical data for this Projects?

Thanks, Mav

 

[hesham]

Hi Ursrius,

with that splendid list,I have some notices about it;

-the B.200 was used as a development of Bristol Type-220,mentioned in Aeroplane
Monthly magazine

-the B.221 was mentioned here,but you didn't speak about it;
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,19034.msg183890.html#msg183890

-why changing from 100 to 200 series,that's no sense,also repeat the same designation
number ?.

 

[ursrius]

Hesham,

Which issue of Aeroplane Monthly? I have no record of such an entry.

Your reference to the B.221 would appear to be spurious. BEAGLE only dealt in small aircraft and would not have produced anything for a BEA requirement. Equally I have never seen a reference to a Westland 92 (or W.92, or anything similar). The link you give no longer works. Did you by any luck download the details on that site?

The difference between 100 and 200 series had been explained earlier, meaning single and twin engine - certainly no worse than those companies that used horsepower and/or wing area as a type designator! The reuse of type designations must have caused some internal paperwork confusion, but that seems typical of BEAGLE.

 

[hesham]

Hi Ursrius,

thank you for that explanation,and about Aeroplane Monthly,I don't remember the issue,
but I have it and I will send to you a copy of that text,but give me some times.

For the PDF,of course I have it,here is a page from it.

 

[Schneiderman]

Thanks, plenty to think about there

 

[ursrius]

Hesham, thanks.
Could you possibly send me a copy of the PDF offline: I would like to enquire of the NAL about those documents.

 

[hesham]

Hesham, thanks.
Could you possibly send me a copy of the PDF offline: I would like to enquire of the NAL about those documents.

OK Ursrius,

please send to me your E-mail in special message,and I will send it to you.

 

[hesham]

Hi Roger,

also there was a Beagle 205,I think they re-allocated some numbers ?,page 7.

http://code7700.com/pdfs/so_you_want_to_be_a_captain.pdf

 

[ursrius]

Don't jump to conclusions so easily. That is surely just a typo for B.206

 

[hesham]

OK Roger.

 

[Cy-27]

As mentioned in post #5 by Ursrius, the book False Dawn, by Tom Wenham (Air Britain 2015) has a number of great drawings not only of BEAGLE designs but also their work with Bristol, Miles, Wallis and Auster.

Some additional notes made when reading the book...

B.206M - A project, identical to the Basset, with an expanded role with optional ferry tanks. For RAF use in 7 different roles:
- COIN with MATRA rocket packs
- pax comms
- freight ops
- longe range ferry
- training
- battlefield / maritime surveillance radar
- air ambulance

B.212 - projected COIN variant with greatly re-profiled nose.

B.214N - naval variant project with strengthened landing gear, arrestor hook and folding wings

B.224 - other variants suggested were for a feederliner, executive version and navigation trainer.

 

[Boyington]

An old article about BEAGLE 206 and others. if you like it

 

[Boyington]

Possible to have toilets on board on BEAGLE 206 ! NOT BIG POO ! Please !!! oxygen please

 

[Stargazer]

An excellent book on BEAGLE was produced recently, False Dawn, by Tom Wenham (Air Britain Publications, 2015), and the following posts are my summary of the various types he describes.

For some reason it seems I never came across these fantastic posts before. Thank you so very much for sharing!

 

[Stargazer]

I have updated the Beagle designations list in the form of an Excel file.
Please let me know if you see any mistake or omission.