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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0176.PDF
i FLIGHT. JANUARY 21, 1937. The deck of the great American carrier Lexington makes a first-rate display ground. machines whose characteristics have been made public, there is nothing of outstanding interest. Incidentally, the development of dive bombing has not been fostered by the Italian Naval Aviation Corps, despite the reports of the '' suicide diving '' tactics which entail the deliberate crashing of a bomber full of explosives on the deck of a warship. Japan A formidable force of aircraft carriers is a feature of the Japanese navy, the total tonnage of existing vessels and those under construction falling only about 40,000 tons short of the figure for the British Empire's carrier force. Japan's two largest carriers are the Akagi and Kaga, both of 26,900 tons displacement. The Akagi is the more WHEN we remember the very considerable expense involved in airport layout, it is not really surpris ing that the number of municipal airports in this country has risen so comparatively slowly. The present total of thirty-one can, in fact, be considered as extremely high in the circumstances, and more towns than ever before are displaying practical interest to the point of reserving sites in their planning schemes. The map on the opposite page will give the present posi tion at a glance, but it should be remembered that the connecting air route system, though temporarily stabilised, is by no means final. The future will depend to some con siderable extent on the recommendations of the Maybury Committee, whose report will probably have been pub lished by the" time this issue appears. Modern airline operation is virtually impossible without the assistance of radio direction-finding services, and it is encouraging to see the extent to which these services have expanded during the last year or two. Since January of last year eight new stations have come into being, mainly in the North, where they were so urgently needed. The present year will probably see a few additions to the number, notably at Inverness, where a D/F station is expected to start work in good time for the summer operations. In Flight of November 5 last year the internal air route system was reviewed and a map published showing both the disposition of the Services and the companies operating recent vessel, and is capable of over 28 knots. She has accommodation for fifty machines. Next in order of size is the Kamoi (17,000 tons), a seaplane carrier, and the Notoro, a ship of similar type. Then there are the Hosho (7,470 tons) which has a flight deck and stowage for 28 aircraft, and the newer Ryujo of 7,100 tons. Work is under way on the Soryu, a vessel of advanced design and 10,000 tons displacement. Very little, if any, of the aeronautical equipment is of up-to-date design. For reconnaissance work there are Navy 90, 92 and 95 types (some two- and some three- seaters) and some 94 three-seaters. American influence is apparent in the design of much of the reconnaissance equip ment, the Nakajima 90-11 being difficult to distinguish from the earlier types of Vought Corsairs. The standard deck-landing fleet fighter is the Naka jima 90 single-seater (not to be confused with the 90-11 reconnaissance model), which has a Nakajima-built Jupiter engine and a maximum speed of about 190 m.p.h. Bristol influence is reflected in the design of the airframe, the wing cellule being reminiscent of the Bulldog and Bullpup series. For dive bombing the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service employs Type 94 biplanes, large two-bay machines generally similar to the Aichi 92 reconnaissance aircraft also in service. A force of assorted shore-based flying boats and float planes of obsolescent design is available for naval co operation. In addition to the works of the Nakajima, Mitsubishi, Kawanishi and Aichi concerns, naval aeroplanes are built at the Yokosuka and Sasebo Naval Yards. The only reasonably sized forces of ship-borne aircraft are possessed by Great Britain, America, France, Italy and Japan, but smaller nations can show something of interest in the matter of naval aeronautics. There is, for example, Sweden's aircraft-carrying cruiser Gotland, a visit to which was described in Flight of February 13, 1936. Holland is not overlooking the possibilities of marine aircraft, and Germany is said to have ordered an aircraft carrier. Pending its completion seaplane flying is receiv ing plenty of encouragement. them. It is too early in the year to give any concrete suggestions concerning likely extensions, and the services shown are those which were being operated during this winter and at the conclusion of the 1936 summer. One or two services which are known to be likely starters have been indicated by means of broken lines. Before air services can run, even by day, with a regu larity comparable with that obtained with surface trans port, co-ordinated ground equipment is essential. The air line operators cannot afford to provide it for themselves, and the municipal and Government authorities have said, in effect, that until the services are in existence there is no possible point in providing it—a vicious circle of demand and supply. This circle is by no means as close as it was, and year by year we should see demand and supply keeping pace with each other. As far as night operation is concerned the position is almost exactly the same. In this case, however, there is an added difficulty. Until floodlighting and blind approach equipment is available the services cannot be operated, and until they are run the pilots will have no chance of gaining experience in such work. The equip ment necessary for all-weather night-time flying is com paratively expensive, and it will probably rest with the Air Ministry to come at least part of the way in the matter of payment. In laying out an aerodrome by itself a munici pality has only done half its work, and it might almost PROGRESS Thirty-one Municipal Airports Now in Use in This Country : Their'Relation to the Air Routes : Britain on the Continent
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