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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0596.PDF
FLIGHT, JUNE 24, 1932 THE AIRCRAFT OF THE R.A.F. DAY BOMBERS SINGLE ENGINE-fCont/nued; attack. The bombers have no initiative in the matter, for they must keep on their course. The assaults of the fighters must be met by the cross-fire of the guns in the rear cockpits of the gunners. These gunners need to be very cool, quick and resolute. They are not protected (as the fighter pilot is) by a mass of metal in front of their bodies. They have to stand up in their cockpits and swing their guns with the utmost speed on to the diving fighters. A bomber that loses formation is probably a lost machine, for under the tail there is a blind spot not covered by the fire of the rear gunner, and the fighters can attack there. But while all nine machines keep their formation, the blind spot under each machine is covered by the fire from another machine, and the fighters should find the squadron a tough nut to crack. A day bomber needs speed, high ceiling, fairly long range and the power of carrying at least 500 lbs. of bombs. TWIN ENGINE THERE is only one squadron in the R.A.F. which uses twin-engined day bombers. This is No. 101 B.S. at Andover, and the machine which it uses is the Boulton & Paul " Sidestrand " with two " Jupiter " engines. In a squadron oi single-engined day bombers there are three flights and each flight has four machines, though it nor mally works with only three. In No. 101 B.S. there are only two flights, each of which has four machines but seldom works with more than three. In fact it is probable that in war a single '' Sidestrand '' would often be sent out to carry out a bombing mission. Carrying a crew of four, a load of 1,000 lb. of bombs, and three machine-guns all of the movable type, the " Sidestrand " can cruise at 120 m.p.h. It is very manoeuvrable, and can be spun, looped, and rolled like a fighter, and its three guns leave very few blind spots on the machine. There is a port in the bottom through which a gun can fire SIDESTRAND and guard the dangerous spot under the tail. Having no engine in the nose, this machine makes a very steady platform both for bombing and for firing. Consequently it is held that a single " Sidestrand " is very well able to look after itself, and would by no means provide " cold meat " even to a squadron of fighters. The twin-engined day bomber must still be re garded as an experiment. It would be premature to make any guess as to whether it is yet considered to be a success. It scores over the single-engined bomber in the weight of bombs which it can carry, in its steadiness and therefore in the accuracy of its bombing, and in its wide field of fire. It naturally loses in the point of speed, for the " Hart " is much faster than the " Sidestrand." It may be found that there is use for both types in the Royal Air Force. At any rate, the pilots of No. 101 B.S. are very enthusiastic about their " Sidestrands." NIGHT BOMBERS N IGHT bombers are always multi - engined machines. They are painted a dark greenish colour, and the white ring is omitted from the national mark ings on them, so that there shall be nothing to make them unduly con spicuous. Formation flying at night is an impossibility, for it would speedily lead to collisions, so night bombers must work alone. They must be self-contained machines, and when attacked they must be able to defend them selves without hoping for help from any consort. The most desirable quality in a night bomber is that it should be able to carry a heavy weight of bombs. Long range is another very necessary quality, and speed is a desideratum, though other qualities must not be sacrificed in order to increase the speed. That the machines should be easy to land at night goes without saying. They must also be well provided HINAIDI HYDERABAD VIRGINIA with machine guns, for meeting attacks by fighters. The greatest friend which night bombers hope to find is a night with enough clouds, but not too much. They want clouds which will hide the machine as it makes its way to the target, but they want the target itself to be clearly distinguish able. The greatest enemies of the night bombers are the sound-locators and the searchlights. If they can escape the notice of these two instruments of defence, there is very little chance that they will be worried by guns or by fighters. If the searchlights pick the night bombers up, or even form a pyramid of beams near them, the sentinel fighters are sure to fly up to the spot, and the chances are that they will soon spot the bomber, possibly by the flames from its exhaust. Then the fight begins, and the odds should be heavily on the side of the fighter. The bomber 548
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