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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0643.PDF
FLIGHT, JUNE 26, 1931 TORPEDOPLANE AND DAY BOMBER: THE BLACKBURN "RIPON ' (LEFT) HAS SUPPLANTED THE "DART." THE HAWKER "HART DAY BOMBER IS THE LATEST TYPE TO BE ISSUED TO SQUADRONS OF THE R.A.F. (FLIGHT Photos.) our new types of aeroplane behind until the time for theogensive arrived. They were badly needed, for in April, 1917. the D.H.2 and F.E.2D. machines began to fallfrequent victims to the Albatros and Halberstadt. We hoped much from the Bristol Fighter, and on April 5 aflight of six of these machines from No. 48 Squadron crossed the lines. They were led by Capt. Leefe Robinson.V.C., who was the first man to shoot down a Zeppelin on British soil. Near Douai they met Richthofen at the headof five Albatros fighters, and three of the Bristols were shot down. Leefe Robinson was taken prisoner. Thiswas a great disappointment to us, and Richthofen's report srreatly cheered the German air service. But the truthwas that our men had not yet learnt to handle the Bristol properly. When they got familiar with it, it took greattoll of the German machines. This fine two-seater actually remained standard equipment for the Royal Air Forceuntil the beginning of the present year, though of late years it was used for Army co-operation work and not forfighting. The Nieuport, too, was now outclassed by the Albatros, partly because it had a Lewis gun, and the pilothad tD stop fighting while he changed the drums of ammunition. During that month of April, 1917, Manfredvon Richthofen himself shot down 31 British machines, and his brother Lothar, and Voss and Schafer, and othersalso ran up large totals of British machines destroyed. On our side, Ball, Bishop, and McCudden shot down greatnumbers of machines, but they differed from the German champions in being for the most part single-handed fightersinstead of working with formations. However, on May 7, in a general " dog fight," or melee, in the air. Ball waskilled and Lothar von Richthofen was wounded and shot down. Ball was then in No. 56 Squadron, which hadreceived the excellent S.E.5 machine with Hispano Suiza engine. The initials S.E. stand for Scout Experimental,and this fighter was among the best at the time on the Western Front, It is possible that towards the end of theJog fight Ball and the younger von Richthofen actually met in single combat, though it is not certain. The Coming of the " Camel " Good as the Albatros had proved, the Germans did notrest content. Mr. Fokker had produced a biplane after the monoplane, but this did not prove an outstandingsuccess. In 1917 he produced a triplane, and this became a terrible instrument of destruction in the hands of Rich-tnoien and his comrades. The elder von Richthofen had •us own machine painted all red, while the other members of his Jagdstaffel added some other colour to the red tomake a distinction. The British designers were also at work. The Sopwithfirm had already done fine work for the R.F.C. It was now to do better. The " Pup " had been a success for atime, but speeds were increasing, and no machine could last as standard equipment at the front for very long.The Sopwith firm accordingly took the design of the " Pup " and improved upon it. The result was thefamous " Camel." It got its name from the fact that, unlike most biplanes of the day, it had dihedral angleonly on the lower planes, while the upper planes were flat. This produced an optical illusion, and when the " Camelwas in the air, it appeared to have a hump on its back. It had a 130-h.p. Clerget engine, which gave it a great"**advantage over the 80-h.p. Le Rhone in the " Pup." The " Camel " had a fair climb, good speed, and wasexceptionally manoeuvrable. " The ' Camel ' was a fierce little beast," writes Capt.Norman Macmillan, once a flight commander of No. 45 Squadron, in his book, " Into the Blue." He goes on: —" She answered readily to intelligent handling, but she was utterly remorseless against brutal or ignorant treat-ment. She spun quickly, and was possessed of a sensitive elevator control, which was the pitfall of many a novice.Some of her vices became virtues in the battle ' aireas,' where quick manoeuvre was invaluable. The ' Camel 'turned very swiftly to the right—far more swiftly than to the left—a feature which was partly incidental to thebig gyroscopic forces produced by the rotary engine. . . . It was mainly on this ability that she won her fame .infight, for the heavy stationary-engined German scout could not turn so fast, and, when they were engaged atclose quarters, the ' Camels ' could quickly outmanoeuvre them by maintaining the right-hand circle, in spite of the' Camel's ' inferiority in climb and speed at even moderate altitudes." By the time of the Armistice, 19 squadrons ofthe R.F.C. were using " Camels," as well as a number of R.N.A.S. units. In all, the " Camels " of theR.F.C. destroyed 908 enemy aeroplanes, and those of the R.N.A.S. shot down another 373. More than one Zeppe-lin and many enemy balloons were also shot down by " Camels." The " Camel " was used for fighting at nightas well as by day, and destroyed 20 night-bombers of the Germans. It was also used for low bombing and forattacking enemy troops with machine-gun fire. One of the greatest fights took place on April 21, EXTREMES: ON THE LEFT. THE HAWKER "FURY," THE INTERCEPTOR FIGHTER OF THE R-A F\, AND ON THE RIGHT. THE HANDLEY PAGE "HINAIDI" TWIN-ENGINED NIGHT BOMBER. (FLIGHT Photos.) ••:-•• • : • •- - 597 " • _ .
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