FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0180.PDF
FLIGHT, FEBRUARY 22, 1934 THE " MULTIPLACE DE COMBAT " : The Breguet 41 is shown above fitted with Gnome-Rhone 14 K brs. radials, but Hispano Suiza engines are also installed. The radial engines have now been fitted with N.A.C.A. type cowlings. guns are not fitted to the Breguet 41. An open cockpit forthe pilot, who is seated on the left-hand side of the fuse- lage, is situated just in front of the leading edge of thetop plane. An auxiliary pilot's position . fitted with a hinged window is located in the fuselage. The naviga-tor's position is to the right of and below the pilot's seat beneath which wireless is installed in a position easilyaccessible to the navigator, and the bomber's position is on the port side beneath the top plane. An efficient systemOf communication is provided between the pilot and the other members of the crew. Behind the wings is a wellsheltered position for the rear gunner with a mounting for twin guns. A very excellent field of fire is obtained inthis position, as the spar which supports the tail unit, unlike the conventional type of fuselage, is of avery small cross section. Another position for a down ward firing gun may be provided beneath this position.A variety of engines may be installed, and the aircraft has a separate type number for each installation. Whenfitted with two Hispano Suiza 12 H.B. 500-h.p. engines the type is known as the 41-1 ; with two Hispano-Suiza12 N.B. engines of 650 h.p., as the 41-2 ; with two His- pano-Suiza 12 Y brs. engines (840 h.p. at 13.120 ft.), asthe 41-3; and with two Gnome-Rhdne 14 K brs. geared and supercharged radial engines, as the 41-4. With itsconcentration of mass, this machine has quite remarkable powers of manoeuvre, and has been ordered in largequantities for the " Armee de l'Air." THE R.A.F. AT ADEN AND BASRA IT is several years since the Imam of Zeid gave serioustrouble to the Aden Protectorate by invading andoccupying our protected territories. He and histroops were driven out by the Fairey 3F. bombers of No. 8 (Bomber) Squadron in an almost bloodless war,which so shook the prestige of the Imam that the tribes- men of the protected territories took heart of grace, rose,and hustled the Imam's troops out of their country. Since then there has been no serious trouble, but even now" incidents " occur at intervals. Last July a party of tribesmen from the Imam's country made a raid on twovillages near the foot of the Thirra Pass, some 100 miles N.E. of Aden. The villagers are stout men and they putup a lively resistance. Whilst a merry little fight was in progress, it so happened that a formation of No. 8 B.S.,returning from Mukalla to Aden, flew over the scene of the fray. The Zeidi leader, muttering " May Shaitan flyaway with the R.A.F.! How on earth did they hear about this little private tea party of mine " ! or words to thateffect, immediately ordered a retreat, while all the villagers in the neighbourhood, confirmed in their belief that thefriends of the British were always sure of help (poor be- nighted Asiatics!), immediately mustered in force and sawthe raiders to the door. None the less, in August it was reported that 30 Zeiditroops with 400 Yemeni tribesmen had raided another part of the Protectorate and had carried off some prisonersand livestock. What is more, a British subject was pre- vented from anchoring his dhow and landing on Protec-torate territory. The district where this occurred was remote, and some time elapsed before a report reached theResident at Aden. When it did, he was very properly wrathful, and sent a strong demand for full restitution to1he Imam's representative at Taiz. No notice was taken, and another small raid was made in September to collecttaxes which were certainly not legally due to the Imam. Then evasive. replies were sent to the Resident, coupledwith promises of restitution, which were not carried out. Some prisoners were released, but the more important oneswere kept as hostages, while, as a great concession, the owners of the camels, etc., were allowed to pay a ransomto get their property back. Then the Resident sent a Fairey 3F. to the official at Taiz and to the Imam, witha message which said in the most urbane Arabic, " Any more of your lip, and I'll let No. 8 B.S. loose at you."Full restitution was then made. Suppose we had had no aeroplanes at Aden, how could we possibly have protected our subjects and feudatorytribesmen? The answer would appear to be what the dic- tionary calls a syncarpous, polycarpellary fruit of thecitrus medica limon. The R.A.F. Commands of Aden and Iraq are mutuallyinterested in developing a coastal route between Basra and Aden. That part of the coast which lies between the Gulfof Oman, where the " Atalantas " of Imperial Airways pass on their way to India, and the Hadramaut coastjust to the east of Aden, is very imperfectly explored and mapped, and when the aircraft from both sides have setout to look for suitable landing grounds, flying-boat bases and anchorages, they have found the tribesmen on thecoast far from anxious to assist them. However, the air- craft persisted, and the first stage of success was markedwhen " Rangoon " boats of No. 203 (F.B.) Squadron at Basra met Faireys of No. 8 B.S. at Murbat in December,1931. Last November a further success was registered,when two " Rangoons " flew all the way from Basra right through to Aden, a distance of 4,000 miles. The timemay come (who knows ?) when it may be very important to be able to fly right round the coast from Suez to Basravia Aden. Apart from the exploration flights, which must be ofintense interest, the squadrons at Basra have occasional little excitements of their own. Last July information wasreceived that Beduin tribes round Sharjah, which is a station near the Gulf of Oman, where passengers by Im-perial Airways spend a night, were in a state of unrest because the Sheikh of Sharjah had not paid them theirusual allowances, and the rumours went so far as to state that the tribes meant to mark their displeasure by makingan attack on the resthouse. It was at once decided to make an air demonstration over those tribes, and No. 84(Bomber) Squadron at Shaibah, near Basra, fitted four " Wapitis " with tanks for a long-range flight. Meanwhilethe Residency Agent at Sharjah reported that the situation had been much exaggerated, but it was thought that nonethe less it would do no harm for the " Wapitis " to carry out their programme. It would be a good practice flight ifnothing else. So the flight was made, and it took the machines 7£ hours only to arrive at Sharjah non-stop fromShaibah. For the next two days they carried out demon- stration flights over the tribal area, and as the situationwas then normal, they flew home again. Quite a good performance! 180
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
