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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0286.PDF
142 FLIGHT. FEBRUARY 7, 1935, The Northrop's flaps. On the left the split trailing-edge flap is shown closed, and the slotted aileron in the "down " position. On the right the flap is open and the aileron "up." Operation is hydraulic. (Flight photographs.) necessitate a compromise. In the Northrop this has taken the form of carrying the bombs under the centre-section, where their extra drag reduces the performance to a degree which cancels the advantages of the originally clean aerodynamic design. In fact, with the bombs in place, the speed is no greater than that of comparable British types. To give the bomber any view at all a retractile bombing station is built into the floor of the gunner's cockpit. This has a window facing forward, and one sus pects that after a very short time this window becomes covered with oil and fairly useless for accurate work. A machine gun is provided in the rear cockpit. It covers an arc of less than 180 degrees, i.e., it cannot be fired quite broadside. Two guns are provided for the pilot. They are placed one in each wing, a location which has the advantage that, as the guns are outside the propeller disc, no interrupter gear is required. On the other hand, a jamb cannot be cleared. To give the crew a reasonable view and yet keep them out of the slipstream, a "con servatory " roof has been built on to the cockpits. This roof is in sections, one or more of which can be opened by sliding them along. Of the qualities of the Northrop 2E as a military machine it is difficult to form a decided opinion. That it will have to depend on straightforward speed rather than on aerobatics appears to be indicated by a warning in the cockpit pointing out that the machine must not be dived at speeds in excess of its normal maximum. THE R.A.R in the FAR EAST Work of the Squadrons at Singapore : Points from a R.U.S.I. Lecture MEMBERS of the Royal United Service Institution learnt a good deal about the work of the Royal Air Force in the lands and seas which surround Singapore when Group Capt. A. C. Wright, A.F.C., lectured on the subject or. Wednesday, January 30. Air Vice-Marshal P. B Joubert de la Ferte, C.M.G., D.S.O., was in the chair. The lecture was illustrated by a very fine selection of slides, which brought home to the audience as nothing else could have done the difficulties of flfftcing aerodromes and selecting anchorages in the regions beyond India. The lecturer dealt mostly with the work of No. 205 (F.B.) Squadron, whose " Southamptons "—they will soon have " Singapores '*—have scoured the seas as far as Aus tralia and Hong Kong. In the military sense, he said, the boats were the reconnoitring force whose function it would be to find a hostile fleet by day or night. The two squadrons of torpedo-bombers now at Singapore, Ncs. 36 and ioo, would form the striking force. Exercises With Liners He said that the very closest co-operation between the flying boats and the landplanes was necessary, and they must constantly practise together. Whenever a warship passed Singapore an exercise was arranged ; but, unfor tunately, warships did not pass very often. Accordingly they often agreed with captains of liners that the boats should practise on them, first finding them and then plot ting their course. In tropical rain it was not too easy to find even a brilliantly lighted liner. The R.A.F. also joined in exercises with the Army garrison and the local Volun teers. The lecturer harped mostly, however, on the survey work carried out by the " Southamptons." He pointed out that a radius of 2,000 miles from Singapore included Cal cutta and Darwin, and almost included Shanghai. The flying boat squadron had to learn all about that tract o! the earth, and in the first place had to find anchorages here, there, and everywhere. He described the process of selecting an anchorage from the air, where the coral reefs (though invisible from the surface) could be clearly* seen. The whole of the groups of Andaman and Nicobar islands had not been fully surveyed, and owing to river silt the coast line had altered not a little since the Admiralty charts were made in 1879. No. 205 (F.B.) Squadron undertook the survey work and spent a most interesting and busy period of forty-five days on the two groups. The lecturer also described formation flights to Darwin and Hong Kong. Once the Royal Australian Air Force met them at Darwin for combined exercises, and it was surprising to learn that the Australians had flown farther to get there than the "Southamptons" had done. The civil air routes are being developed, and now, be- tween Singapore and Calcutta, there was a landing ground about every fifty miles. Meteorological services needed de veloping, and there ought to be the closest co-operation between the French, Dutch and British. However, matters had now advanced so far that it was under consideration to appoint a Director of Civil Aviation at Singapore. WOMEN'S ENGINEERING SOCIETY DEBATE The second debate of the scries at present being held by the Women's Engineering Society is entitled " The Problem of Britain's Internal Air Lines," and will take place at 20, Regent Street, London, W.i, next Tuesday, February i2' at 6.30 p.m. Col. F. C. Shelmerdine, Director-General of Civil Aviation will be in the chair, and the chief speaker will be Mr. Willianl Courtenay.
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