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The Bristol Bulldog was a single seat fighter of the inter-war period which entered service with the RAF in 1929. It was also a successful export being used by the air forces of nine other countries.

By the start of WW2 it was considered obsolete, and was replaced by the Hurricane in RAF service, but many Bulldogs had seen combat in Spain, and even during WW2 with the Finnish Air Force it scored against superior aircraft.

The Bulldog was armed with 2 x 7.7mm machine guns, and could also carry 4 x 20 lb bombs.

Bulldog Mk II of 1 Squadron RAAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk IIA of the Danish Air Force 1931.

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Bulldog Mk IIA of the Danish Air Force 1932.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Estonian Air Force 1936.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Finnish Air Force 1941.

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Bulldog Mk II of 3 Squadron RAF 1930.

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Bulldog Mk II of 17 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 17 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 17 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 19 Squadron RAF 1930.

Bulldog_GB_19Sqn_1.jpg

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Bulldog Mk II of 23 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 29 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 32 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 32 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 32 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 41 Squadron RAF 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of 54 Squadron RAF 1932.

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Bulldog Mk II of 54 Squadron RAF 1932.

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Bulldog Mk II of 56 Squadron RAF 1932.

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Bulldog Mk II of 56 Squadron RAF 1932.

Bulldog_GB_56Sqn_2.jpg

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Bulldog Mk II of the Latvian Air Force 1936.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Latvian Air Force 1936.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Spanish Republican Air Force 1937.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Spanish Republican Air Force 1937.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Spanish Republican Air Force 1937.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Swedish Air Force 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Swedish Air Force 1931.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Swedish Air Force 1935.

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Bulldog Mk II of the Siam (Thai) Air Force 1930.

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Bulldog Mk II of the U S Navy 1930.

Bulldog_USA_1.jpg

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Very nice work indeed, and a gorgeous aircraft to boot.

Time to hit ebay for an AF Bulldog kit or 12!

That camo'd Spanish Republican Air Force one is stunning.

Thanks for sharing

Matt

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Something to note, Sir, about the Finnish Bulldogs.

The one you show is a Mk. II, supplied from Sweden during the Winter War.

The Bulldogs purchased from Bristol by Finland were Mk. IV models, which was a somewhat different machine. It had a cowled Mercury engine, and a compound airfoil on the upper wing, so that the fuel tanks did not stand out as a 'blister' on the lower surfaces, as well as some other differences. With the Mercury engine, the Bulldog Mk. IV had a greatly improved performance, not far off that of the Gloster Gauntlet, and comperable to the Soviet Polikarpov I-152 biplane, which saw much use in the Winter War. It was still a good deal slower than the I-16 monoplanes, of course.

Edited by Old Man
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Something to note, Sir, about the Finnish Bulldogs.

The one you show is a Mk. II, supplied from Sweden during the Winter War.

The Bulldogs purchased from Bristol by Finland were Mk. IV models, which was a somewhat different machine. It had a cowled Mercury engine, and a compound airfoil on the upper wing, so that the fuel tanks did not stand out as a 'blister' on the lower surfaces, as well as some other differences. With the Mercury engine, the Bulldog Mk. IV had a greatly improved performance, not far off that of the Gloster Gauntlet, and comperable to the Soviet Polikarpov I-152 biplane, which saw much use in the Winter War. It was still a good deal slower than the I-16 monoplanes, of course.

Ah yes, I have seen pictures of the Mk IV, which looked an easy enough 'conversion' for me to do, but I was reluctant to carry on as it had skis... It may just be me, but there seems something terribly wrong when a plane has no wheels...

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