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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 1798.PDF
JULY 2, 1936. > FLIGHT. 11 1 What particularly impressed one when the " Horice " took the. air was the quietness of the Renault engine; time after time it circled over the enclosures, and Sqn. Ldr. Carnegie must have enjoyed floating around having a look at the people. Of the three-war-period types, the " Brisfit " with Rolls- Royce engine was flown by Mr. Nigel Tangye, who did a very good loop on it, the S.E.5A with Wolseley Viper engine was piloted by Sqn. Ldr. Hawtrey, and the Sopwith triplane with Clerget rotary engine was flown by Fit. Lt. Buckle. The per formance of the old triplane was something of a revelation; its take-off and climb were surprisingly good, and reminded one that, wnen it first came out, this type was rather remark able. . The Sopwith Camel, famous war-time single-seater fighter with Clerget rotary engine, was taxied past the enclosures by Fit. Lt. Sealy, while the Antoinette and the Wright proceeded with auxiliary assistance. And then the contrast! The new types park was voted the most interesting for years, containing as it did the fastest fighters and bombers in the world. AH the machines except the new Westland army co-operation monoplane and the Miles Nighthawk were demonstrated. Every one was a monoplane. The Merlin^engined Hawker F.36/34 monoplane (Squadron Leader D. F. Anderson, D.F.C., A.F.C.) made one of the shortest take-offs one has seen from this machine, which has, of course, been amply illustrated in Flight. Landing lights are now sunk into the leading edge behind a section of trans parent material which is moulded to preserve the contour. The pilot is stated high in comparison with the Spitfire, and considering the nature of the machine should have an un usually good view. The span is 40 ft. Fastest in the World.7 No one seems to question that the Supermarine Spitfire I (flown on Saturday by Fit. Lt. J. H. Edwardes Jones) is the fastest military aeroplane in the world. It is considerably smaller than the Hawker and one can believe that its dis posable load is less. In general layout it resembles the later types of Supermarine racing seaplanes, but is far from being, as one of the news reels puts it, a land version of one of these. The engine is the Rolls-Royce Merlin and the span is 37 ft. The quiet of the Vickers private venture monoplane fighter with Aquila A.E.3S sleeve-valve engine made a comparison of speed with the Hawker and Supermarine monoplanes a matter of extreme difficulty. Due to its short span the machine is, of course, exceptionally manoeuvrable. The under carriage is retracted electrically and a V.P. airscrew is fitted. The span is 32ft 9m. It was flown by Fit. Lt. H. P. Fraser. The Fairey Battle medium bomber with Rolls-Royce Merlin (flown by Fit. Lt. W. H. Markham) was sporting something new in exhaust pipes. Possibly it was an aural illusion, but they seemed to eliminate same of the crackle from the Mer lin's exhaust note. The cockpit enclosure has been re designed and blends harmoniously with the fuselage contour. The Bristol Blenheim medium bomber was not ready for a public showing, so the 142 which inspired its design wTas shown in its place. Its pilot was Sqn. Ldr. E. G. Hilton, D.F.C., A.F.C. The small wing area of this machine is accentuated by the nacelles bearing the two Mercury engines. T'he 142, which is rumoured now to do even more than the 268 m.p.h. mentioned some months ago, is already well known. Built to the specification A.39/34, the Westland army co-op eration machine (such a stimulating design) was unhappily grounded. The demonstration it gave during a rehearsal, however, promised big things. Its take-off was particularly short. A Bristol Mercury IX engine is fitted at the moment, pending the supply of a sleeve-valve Perseus. The cantilever undercarriage embodies Dowty internally sprung wheels. In many respects the most impressive of the twin-engined tvpes was the Vickers medium bomber flown by Fit. Lt. S. R. Ubee. Its main structure is of the Wallis geodetic type, and its two Pegasus engines drive V.P. airscrews. The under carriage and trailing edge flaps are hydraulically operated. Its take-oft and general handling qualities seemed very good indeed. The span i:> bOft. There is nothing conservative in the design of the Handley Page B.9/32 medium bomber (Fit. Lt. R. S. Blucke), which strikes one as a highly promising design. In appearance it is reminiscent of certain of the French multiplace de combat machines. The deep forward section of the fuselage presents the silhouette of a balcon de tir, but has no windows and appears to be used, in reality, mainly for bomb stowage. There is a gun positicn at its extreme rear. The twin fins Weaving a plait in smoke—the Bulldogs of No. 54 (F) Squadron. and rudders go to make up an up-to-date empennage and permit firing the top fuselage gun dead astern. On the other hand, there are two obstacles for the gunner to miss instead of one. The narrow fuselage, in conjunction with the small, thin wings, presents a small silhouette area when seen end on, facilitating a surprise attack and presenting a small target. Incidentally, this machine was of a dark, muddy colour and, like the Vickers medium bomber, had dummy gun turrets. Largest of the new types was the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley heavy bomber with two Siddeley Tiger IXs. The quality of the '' tin bashing '' apparent on its wings and fuselage was the subject of favourable comment. The under carriage, which ia operated hydraulically, was not raised during the demonstration, but the machine was shown to advantage by Fit. Lt. C. E. Hortex, A.F.C. Finally, there wa< the Miles Nighthawk two-seater cabin monoplane equipped f-jr blind flying instruction. This machine was not flown on Saturday. Actually it was the only type about which it is possible to publish details. Span and length respectively are 35ft and 25ft., maximum and cruising speeds 170 m.p.h. and 150 m.p.h., range 3! hours at cruising r.p.m., and gross weight 2,600 lb. Lastly, in keeping with the brightening-up of the programme, a " radio drama " on the loud-speakers accompanied that wel come revival, the Set Piece. Southland's power staticn—a nost solid and convincing edifice on the far side of the a^iodrome—was the objective of Northland's oombers. The loud-speakers let us listen-in to Southland's operaticnai headquaiters receiving raid warnings from ships and the Observer Corps, ordering up its defending fighter squadrons, No. 600 (City of London) and No. 17, to patrol the expected avenues of attack, and calling on the A.A. guns to stand by in readiness. Northland, being wily birds, sent ahead a lone Hart to shoot down Southland's observation balloon; the latter, apparently preferring death to dishonour, burst into flame before the Hart was'within range. H.Q. next calls N::. 600 and asks them if they have made contact, anr' we hear the leader leply, "Yes, we are now engaging the enemy." Simultaneously the raiding formation of Harts appears out of the heat-hize with the defenders twist ing and diving in and out among them, and in a few seconds the unlucky powei station's volts, amps and ohms are being split into atoms in a terrific welter of smoke, flame and noise. And then th? guns are told to stand by for a second raid which will be "here in three minutes—as you were, in one minute." This time the attackeis are two squadron V's of Heyfords; they afe engaged by No. 17's Bulldogs, and one descends "in flames," demg a genuine loop—amazing sight— in the process, and going down out of sight behind the trees in realistic fashion. But the power station suffers again. Then we learn that the first raid is turning to reopen the attack, and soon the Harts are approaching in echelon, to fall away one after the other in a steep bombing dive. And with that Southland has to admit that what remains of the power station isn't of any great value, and resigns itself to waiting "for another raid at 10 p.m." The fact that odd "bombs" were still going off amid the ruins of the building nearly two hours after the Display con cluded, rather suggested this threatened renewal would be extremely uneconomical warfare on the part of Northland.
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