The Most Hideous Plane Ever Built? | Avro 555 Bison [Aircraft Overview #66]

Today we’re looking at the Avro Bison, which was an exceedingly ugly looking biplane that was built in the early 1920s. Built as a reconnaissance and fleet spotting aircraft, it won no points for its looks or its performance. It was slow, vaguely unstable, and an eyesore aboard an aircraft carrier.
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***
Producing these videos is a hobby of mine - and apparently its now a full-time job too! I have a passion for history, and personally own a large collection of books, journals and other texts, and endeavor to do as much research as possible. However if there are any mistakes, please don't hesitate to reach out and correct anything :)
Sources:
Thetford.O (1991), British Naval Aircraft Since 1912.
Jackson.A.J (1965), Avro Aircraft Since 1908.

[@RexsHangar]

F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible. Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)

[@erickvonengelwalten8568]

Hello! If possible do the L-W-F Model H Owl its a great and unusual design with its own story, great choice in my opinion

[@joshuacutler9499]

Video suggestion: tempest mk 5. I feel like it will be very interesting as there are very few videos on it

[@RexsHangar]

@@erickvonengelwalten8568 added to the list :)

[@RexsHangar]

@@joshuacutler9499 definitely on my to-do list :D

[@milliblom2237]

Suggestion: I would love to see a video on the Japanese J2M series, they're some of my favourite WWII Japanese aircraft in terms of looks. Additionally, I would love to hear the story behind the Swedish J21. It has, from what I can gather, quite an interesting story, especially with its later forays into jet propulson.

[@jaex9617]

On the plus side, those home-center bathroom windows made it dead simple to install a standard window air conditioning unit. This feature was, needless to say, much appreciated by radio men and navigators serving in India and Australia during the interwar years.

[@johndododoe1411]

Real or joke?

[@rubiconnn]

@@johndododoe1411 I don't think window AC units were invented in the early 1920s...

[@jaex9617]

@@johndododoe1411 😉 Joke, but I'm sure it would have been popular if available.

[@nonamesplease6288]

If they'd a had 'em, they'd a used 'em.

[@ronfullerton3162]

@@jaex9617 It would of required on hexk of an extension cord!

[@PaulinesPastimes]

I love it! It seems from your excellent videos that a lot of designers really lost their way in the 1920s. Some of the designs are truly hideous and didn't seem to work very well either. 😊

[@DataWaveTaGo]

Awwwww.... That thing's as cute as a bug's ear! At 4:05 - WOW! That pilot must feel like the king of the world up there! /s

[@bostonrailfan2427]

honestly, i think this isn’t so bad of a look. it’s like a bigger Sopwith Camel, it’s actually pretty functional in design as it has great visibility without being too overly ambitious

[@rubiconnn]

I think it's great looking. Stuff designed with function over form look much better to me.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

If you ask me, the best thing about a Sopwith Camel is the fact that Snoopy flew one.

[@pufango4059]

Does your guide dog thinks it looks like a sopwith camel ?

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@pufango4059 only when he’s fighting the red baron

[@stevenborham1584]

This aircraft was a subject of the very first aviation publication my parents gave to me as a five year old... Air Enthusiast No. 22. Still have it today and it received quite a bit of damage from the countless page turning and tracing the 3-views as a very enthralled youngster. I was quite confused by the Avro Bison as the description of it having a twelve cylinder engine, and my young mind only ever seeing a bank of four cylinders either side of the cowling took some learning to realize how radials and arrow engines all worked internally. Off memory I believe the publication covered the SAAB J.21, Avro Bison, Fiat CR.32, Junkers Ju- 86, Avro Lincoln, and the Confederate Air forces airshow of that year. As a kid I used to think that the fellow flying the Douglas Dauntless on the cover was none other than Marvin Lee Aday ('Meatloaf').

[@carlorrman8769]

Excellent video as always Rex. Good job mate.

[@blasterofmuppets4754]

I think its looks rather interesting and not ugly at all.

[@HS-su3cf]

Naming this aircraft "Bison" was a mean thing to do to the Bison.

[@dovidell]

to me , it looks like two dissimilar modelling kits shaken in a box , parts randomly removed , along with any clue as to how to construct the Franken-plane , along with any guide picture on the box !!!

[@johnbuttery1171]

That is hauntingly ugly and yet I cannot look away. Someone pass the balsa wood...

[@hipwave]

It isn't really that unsightly. The Zubr was.

[@charleszerafa296]

The further into the video I watched the less silly I thought this aircraft was. They seemed to have the right ideas but aviation was still only in it's, maybe Second stage of development. Not to mention Government specification, powerplant and changing military doctrinal issues etc, to contend with. The Third stage would probably come in he late 1930's and WW2 would really lead aviation to where we are today. As for the looks of the aircraft, to me anyway, in profile, it actually does look like a bison or buffalo if you live in North America. Also, it has a passing resemblance to the Fairey Gannet which flew 27 years and extraordinary amount of aircraft development later. So "hideous" nah I don't think so. At least it wasn't responsible for the deaths of many crew like later "prettier" planes that actually got into combat and failed miserably. I enjoy these "quirky" aircraft videos lots of things I haven't seen even after more than five decades interest in aircraft.

[@paulhaynes8045]

Context is everything though. They didn't have the luxury of 20/20 hindsight like we do. No one then knew what shapes and designs would eventually become 'normal', so they had no template to compare against. To them, each new design must have been an interesting experiment - maybe a dead-end, but possibly a positive development on the path that would eventually lead to today's aircraft. So the pilots and engineers of the day may have found the planes odd looking and/or difficult to fly, but they wouldn't have known that they were 'ugly' or a weird experimental cul-de-sac, because they had no crystal ball to tell them how things would turn out.

[@Mr_Fancypants]

If i had one of these i would call it Dodo

[@peterblood50]

Pilot to his Bison: "You're sluggish and you're slow." Bison: "I want a second opinion." Pilot: "Alright, you're ugly too."

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Bison: "I get no respect!"

[@peterblood50]

@@MonkeyJedi99 I needed a rim-shot at the end.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@peterblood50 "Ba-dum-pssht!"

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Ah you made me laugh and spit my beer out... great gag!!

[@lafeelabriel]

Honestly a classic example of "if it looks wrong it probably is".

[@sim.frischh9781]

Early planes tend to expose the pilot to the worst weathers one could possibly fly in, but having such a nice window would be a definite pro.

[@fazole]

This thing is like the horse carriage or stagecoach idea of an airplane. The driver sits out in the weather and dirt while the upper class passengers sit cozily inside.

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

It took until the 30s to kill off the notion the pilot needed an open cockpit to get an adequate view. Plus, an enclosed cockpit is non-trivially heavy

[@retrocollector1999]

Idk, the “Guppy” might have it beat 😂

[@mbryson2899]

Awww, the Guppy is cute in its way. That being the accidentally smash you flat kinda way.

[@shingoshoji2771]

The guppy's looks at least had a reason

[@bostonrailfan2427]

yep…plenty of uglier biplanes out there from the same era

[@jackx4311]

@Rex - may I request that when you cover the equally gruesome Blackburn Blackburn, you include the trainer version. Clearly, some engineering philistine looked at the Bison and thought "Hah!! I can do worse than that!" - and he succeeded, too . . .

[@RexsHangar]

You mean the offensively ugly looking 'Bull' variant? Fear not, it gets an honorable mention.

[@jackx4311]

@@RexsHangar - cheers, mate! I shall await that one with bated breath!

[@AnimeSunglasses]

All Hail the high priest of the Blackburn Blackburn!

[@jackx4311]

@@AnimeSunglasses - if you say so, guv . . . ;)

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@jackx4311 I meant the chap who made the trainer version, I wouldn't dare preempt Dr. Clarke's right to appoint a CURRENT High Priest...

[@iffracem]

You know drag wasn't a big concern when the access ladder is left fixed to the machine for flight.

[@kittehgo]

It was needed, I mean how else are they going to clean the bathroom windows..

[@richardkirka5977]

In those early years, drag hadn't even been invented yet. Still, aircrew sobriety probably was stellar. No matter how hideous it looked, it had to be even worse when hungover.

[@rockyraab8290]

Did the Air Ministry also specify that it had to be "boxy, cumbersome, and hideous, with ladders and all manner of objects bolted on in the airstream"?

[@kyle857]

A NACA researcher would have had an aneurysm if saw the wind tunnel results for this thing.

[@Omniseed]

@@kyle857 the results? An obstruction

[@jackx4311]

@Rocky Raab - probably not; but as they insisted that the navigator / observer had to have an office and chart table, you'd have thought they would have also required a small attached study, with club armchairs and a small library . . .

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

It had to look like a plane from a 16 bit era flight simulator

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

@@jackx4311 a drawing room and billiard table

[@fazole]

I don't know why aviation companies like the "Bison/Buffalo name so much. Let's associate a 2 ton solid, heavy, ugly beast which doesn't fly or even jump with our speedy flying machine?

[@koghs]

Bisons are cool, duh

[@fazole]

@@koghs Is there an airplane called the elephant or octopus? They need some love too!

[@mpetersen6]

But......Buffalo Wings 😊

[@meespo3354]

@@fazole I mean there are tanks named after cats while cats are pretty stealthy small and fast

[@tsbrownie]

It has all the aerodynamic streamlining of a bush.

[@parrotraiser6541]

The Fleet Airm Arm managed to specify a whole series of aesthetic offences masquerading as flying machines, to the point one wonders if it was deliberate. ("We have to work with these bloody things, but they're never going to look better than our beloved ships!")

[@SudrianTales]

If I recall the RAF was the one controlling them so, yeah. Dick move guys

[@michaelwright2986]

Yeah, it really makes you appreciate the sleek lines of the Fairey Swordfish.

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

And then they went and ordered the Blackburn Buccaneer…

[@parrotraiser6541]

@@RoamingAdhocrat It's harder to make a really ugly jat, though they clearly tried. At least it was an effective weapon, unlike some of the earlier atrocities.

[@thebighurt2495]

@@michaelwright2986 "sleek" and "Fairey Swordfish" are not phrases I ever expected to see in the same sentence.

[@whachikan]

Conversation aboard HMS Eagle, circa 1923: "Sir, Captain wants me to take up the Blackburn and take a look around," "I see, which Blackburn will you be taking?" "The Blackburn, sir." "Yes, which Blackburn" "The Blackburn!" "I'm sorry flying officer, but I'm trying to ask, which Blackburn aircraft will you be taking up." "As I said, sir, the Blackburn," "Flying officer, one of us will be going over the side of the ship if you don't give me a straight answer, WHICH BLOODY BLACKBURN ARE YOU FLYING TODAY?" "The Blackburn, sir, the Blackburn Blackburn" "Right, clearly you have a brain injury, report yourself to medical, I'm taking you off active duty, dismissed." Something along those lines anyway...

[@bostonrailfan2427]

are you related to Laurel or Hardy? 🤣 sorry, I meant Abbot or Costello…got my comedy duos mixed!

[@mpetersen6]

Who's on first?

[@donjones4719]

Most hideous plane. That's a pretty high (or low) bar to set. The Bison isn't the bottom of the barrel to my eyes but it is in among the dregs.

[@seanmalloy7249]

I think it falls short of matching the ugliness of the PL-12 Airtruk, although the M15 Belphegor is a strong chaser.

[@GeorgHaeder]

You sure that this was an airplane and not some sort of contraption Nelson used at Trafalgar?

[@stephengardiner9867]

The names they gave these aircraft (have to qualify that by stating that I am Canadian and most of our most famous home-grown aircraft were named after sundry ungulates, big rodents and a large relative of the weasel)! "Sir, we have a flight of Bison inbound"... (er... Bison?... flight?? ...nothing more flight-worthy than a bison!)... Scramble the Bristol Bullfrog squadrons immediately!". What an ungainly lump. Pull out the engine and it would have made a passable garden shed or chicken coop! Can't be too hard on the old bird though. The Supermarine Walrus (another awe and fear inspiring name) looked absurd BUT the old "whistling #@*&-house" did its job admirably.

[@mcuddy799]

I thought that moniker belonged to the Supermarine Stranraer, so named because lifting up the toilet seat created the whistling sound.

[@stephengardiner9867]

@@mcuddy799 I will look into this. Pretty sure that it was the Walrus but as both were Supermarine amphibians of very much the same vintage, perhaps the same pattern of dunny was installed in both!

[@stephengardiner9867]

@@mcuddy799 I stand corrected. It was the Stranraer. The Walrus was the "Shagbat" (the explanation for that nickname was probably worse than that bestowed on the Stranraer. Now, the Stranraer was a good looking aircraft.

[@drrocketman7794]

The Walrus looks like the Goose/Duck/Widgeon seaplane series.

[@dorislyons6223]

It's cute Rex. Quite innovative for 1921 esp compared to WW1, amazing the advances

[@bostonrailfan2427]

exactly. it was innovative and did its job…it wasn’t pretty to look at, but it also wasn’t the ugliest plane of that era by a long shot

[@jmi5969]

Correct! The appellation d'origine contrôlée "hideous" is reserved by the French, anyway.

[@sergeipohkerova7211]

My mom would install curtains in the side windows and a mat to wipe boots on. And she'd set out coasters for the binoculars and maybe put some nice throw pillows on the seats.

[@Rom3_29]

Flying RV, motor-home for real adventurous retirees. Gives real meaning rv-ing.

[@planescaped]

I didn't think it looked ugly... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.

[@thebalsaboy]

Great video by the way. Also if you want to see the “real ugliest plane”, do a video on the WW1 German “DFW Floh (flea)” biplane (:

[@sim.frischh9781]

I think the Floh looks cute, at least compared to the Bison here. Ed Nash did a viedo on it by the way.

[@thebalsaboy]

@@sim.frischh9781 Yeah; I can agree it’s just short and stubby, also I didn’t see that’s yet, thanks.

[@duneydan7993]

The Floh is cute! Looks like it's a baby biplane that still needs to grow!

[@sim.frischh9781]

@@duneydan7993 It makes you want to pamper it and nurture it and make it grow big and strong, right?

[@thebalsaboy]

@@sim.frischh9781 Yeah, I’m not saying like it’s actually ugly because it kinda it’s on how it’s short and stubby but also imagine being the best British ace in ww1 and your in a dogfight and some dude in this pulls up to the fight 🤣

[@johnreep5798]

I remember when I thought there was no such thing as an ugly airplane. Damn you, internet! 😄

[@JustanOlGuy]

I would rather fly an actual Bison. lol.

[@ronjon7942]

After 2am, nobody’s ugly. Looks like something someone in northern Wisconsin would use as an ice fishing shanty.

[@stoobydootoo4098]

You've obviously never met my ex!😂

[@ianmcguinness5029]

Sorry People, but real aircraft have ladders and/or anchors. Huge trousers covering the undercarriage legs don't hurt either. Aerodynamic efficiency is for fan-boys or snobs.

[@johnparrish9215]

You have all missed the point of this aircraft's appearance. NO self-respecting bullet would ever hit it...lol

[@anzaca1]

Not surprised all these ugly aircraft were created in the Interwar period. People were really still working out what worked and what didn't.

[@iberiksoderblom]

Looks very much like a true English Shed-build. Not exactely beautiful, but not exactely hideous... Something like a three legged bulldog, trying its best to be a good doggy.

[@philmorrow2446]

Man, that hit every branch in the ugly tree😖😂😂😂

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Just look at French WW2 bombers ., or abortions such as the Curtiss Seamew.

[@gregmuon]

Looks more like a giant flea than a bison. 😄

[@Tigershark_3082]

It do be lookin like a F I S H tho

[@Charliecomet82]

Aside from the picture window, it doesn't look that much worse than most 1920's planes...

[@JaneCobbsHat]

The scientific name for Gorilla is Gorilla Gorilla, it was named by the same guy who named Blackburn Blackburn.

[@Whiteshirtloosetie]

Thing is if aircraft were just designed on looking pretty then innovation would be totally stifled.

[@HEDGE1011]

The A-10 argues that you make an excellent point.

[@adrianrutterford762]

Greetings Everyone. A new video from Rex. Good News

[@jonmcgee6987]

Incredible. Rex found Lori Lightfoot's great grandmother.

[@mycroft1905]

Hey! Go easy on the Blackburn Blackburn, Rex, else there'll be trouble!

[@bacarnal]

Put a wooly coat on the front and trunk the exhaust through a single outward pipe and, yes, you have an airplane resembling an American Bison 😉.

[@stoobydootoo4098]

And it could have flown out of Buffalo!

[@elgato9445]

The AD scout gets my vote for ugliest aircraft. Still 4 people crammed into this single engined flying death trap ranks right up there.

[@foo-foocuddlypoops5694]

Far from the prettiest, but in it's defense the Bonney Gull and Stipa Caproni do unfortunately exist.

[@drrocketman7794]

The Gull...I need to get my eyes bleached now.

[@drrocketman7794]

The Stipa-Caproni is as pretty as an ocean sunfish.

[@L0stEngineer]

What makes this really tragic, is when you realize the gorgeous DeHaviland Fox Moth could do probably do the same thing with half the horsepower.

[@mpetersen6]

But no plotting table.

[@cesarvidelac]

Dirk Dastardly pursuing the messenger pigeon again 😸

[@vibeslide]

Really not that hideous. It's adorable, like a three legged dog or something.

[@brokeandtired]

The Blackburn Blackburn at end of video looked way more horrific.

[@elgato9445]

Sea trials?!..bwauahaha..I bet it was a trial. Flew like a bison as well

[@soppdrake]

08:30 THAT needed a firm warning beforehand. My eyes! 😳

[@Darrylx444]

That giant window on each side was perhaps an early attempt at adaptive camouflage? Make the whole plane out of bathroom windows next time, and it would be completely invisible! /s

[@Simon_Nonymous]

They did make one actually, it's just that the photos were destroyed when a clerk couldn't see the point of preserving a number of landscape photos.

[@zxbzxbzxb1]

Yep, I haven't seen anything that hideous since probably this morning. When I looked in the mirror. 😢

[@boreasreal5911]

I think the Fairy Pintail might be another strong contender to the rather "unique" looking aircraft contest

[@wildward93]

Most hideous plane? And it's not a Blackburn? Not even the Blackburn Blackburn?

[@wildward93]

LOL I posted this before starting the video and it took all of 30 seconds for the Blackburn Blackburn to be mentioned

[@youthere7327]

its beautiful and incredibly british looking

[@demcomp]

It may be considered an ugly plane, but I have a real soft spot for biplanes.. I don't think it's ugly at all, honestly.. maybe not the nicest looking, sure, but ugly? No.. ugly is a Pontiac Aztec or Chrysler PT Cruiser..

[@praveenb9048]

A biplane can never be ugly! I never thought this channel would descend to body shaming.

[@jimbo97]

This "ugly" video prompts me to note the British bombers of WWII, as a group, were the ugliest air fleet of the era. Other Allied and Axis designs (including British fighters) had styles that were commendable or at least interesting. The British bombers were just plug-ugly.

[@allandavis8201]

It’s not just ugly, it’s FUGLY, I think the designer must have mixed up his drawings with one from his children’s infant school and brought home for daddy

[@stranraerwal]

Blackburn built only ugly planes. Aesthetics seemed not to be the philosophy of that company, while Hawker produced real beauties. (in my humble opinion)

[@jelkel25]

Just stop....It's a flying potting shed complete with some old window they got out of a skip. If you put some hanging baskets of flowers on the outside and maybe a coaching lamp for those balmy summer evenings (probably from a skip too) it would look fine.

[@bigblue6917]

Avro 555 Bison was an exceedingly ugly looking biplane. Unlike the animal it was named after, perhaps. It does look like it was hammered together in a scrap yard.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

the ani,al isn’t exactly good looking either…

[@FandersonUfo]

Bison or Buffalo are not good names for planes

[@j_taylor]

My pet tortoise "BAe Systems" agrees.

[@MegaBIGJOE64]

It's an IMPERIAL bus with wings trying to land on a carrier in the north atlantic ocean and the pilot is sitting in the second floor blinded when landing by the engine . 😆

[@MegaBIGJOE64]

With bathroom windows !!! 🤣

[@charlesjmouse]

Ugliness aside, I think the feature I'd like most in any aeroplane I found myself in would be for the pilot to be comfortable and happy. My next priority might be for those manning the guns to be well provided for. It seems in this case neither is true while everybody else got to fly in comfort ...for as long as it did fly. I guess I'm missing something.

[@richsmith7200]

Probably very stealthy in a 2 dimensional way.......reminds me of a Futurama episode.....

[@otakubancho6655]

Thanks,now I can't unsee it!

[@markbreitenbach5083]

The flying "Out House" complete with crescent windows.

[@miss_pelt]

Such sleek lines. Like a hippo combined with a humpback whale. Sounds like it flew like one too. On the plus side, it... Hmm... It landed?

[@kauphaart0]

The Commonwealth surely loved the ugly weak biplanes for some 25+ years.

[@louierenault7344]

Lets set this up with the blackburn Blackburn and see the child Either the face only a mother could love or a handsome devil

[@teilrokh8065]

How dare you all call her ugly, she's an absolute beauty !

[@esmenhamaire6398]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Rex, but the Bison is beautiful compared to some of the monstrosities that have been built and flown by various nations. You'll know when you come across them... 8-}

[@brianoneil9662]

From the same company that made the elegant Lancaster? Ahhhh...glad they at least learned to do better.

[@michaelcoe9824]

"Elegant Lancaster"! Ye gods.

[@MartinCHorowitz]

Have you looked at early soviet aircraft? This isn't so bad...

[@Bang666]

I like how it looks

[@sled_everything]

Sure it's ugly, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Super Guppy!

[@mbryson2899]

Roland called. They want their Walfisch back. 😉

[@johnforsyth7987]

Thank You. You can't have too much ugliness in one video.

[@marinegunny826]

Bison is an appropriate name. Kinda looks like a flying buffalo.

[@Scott-hb1xn]

When the photo at 4:05 showed up, my first thought was "That is a plane so ugly it WANTS to crash, to end its misery!

[@maevethefox5912]

This looks like Orks built it

[@andrewrobinson5837]

I think that both Avro and Blackburn were facing pretty stiff competition with what the French were producing. Positively graceful when compared to some of the Gallic offerings!

[@maxrudder6091]

That could have been the first COD. :)

[@tonyromain1614]

Try the Hunting H126. The online photos don't do it justice...

[@drrocketman7794]

Someone stuck a cockpit and stubby straight wings on a banana and flew it.

[@perrydowd9285]

It looks more like Grumpy Cat than a bison.

[@stevepringle2295]

Fugly is the definition of British aircraft design.

[@pseudonym9599]

Looks someone bolted wings and a propellor to a Winnebago.

[@uingaeoc3905]

The Bison and Blackburn would never be in a beauty contest, but frankly the French mid-20s to mid-30s bombers were simply hideous!

[@mattbite]

Don't forget the much later PZL M15 Belphegor - slow agricultural jet and also a biplane :)

[@SephirothRyu]

Stop being mean to Bison-chan! She is not ugly!

[@grrlpurpleable]

Wow... that gives the Bennett Airtruck a run for it's money!

[@drrocketman7794]

That plane looks bizarre!

[@drrocketman7794]

Also the Transavia Airtruk

[@ncktbs]

of all the dead fish looking airplanes to not be named after a fish

[@inkycat7167]

Dam, that’s a huge besh, if i could do some modifications, i swear this thing could be one of the best bi plane bomber.