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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0498.PDF
d FLIGHT. FEBRUARY 25, 1937. plant. In one huge shed the fuselages of Junkers Ju.86 iwin-engined bomoers are being assembled. The paits how in at one end ot the shed and trom the other emerge as completed fuselages. There is no haste evident, yet every man is working. Each detail of the structure pro ceeds smoothly without loss of man-hours, and as we pass along the length of the shop the fuselages grow before our eyes to the accompanying hum and chatter of pneumatic drills and riveting tools. Every part is jigged. There can be no mistake. Each finished unit is standardised. In a similar shed some 250 yards away the wings are built. First the two spars are assembled on jigs, with their main tubes (that we had seen being milled for lightness in the machine shop) clamped securely into place. The secondary members are attached, and out of the jigs the spars go on to the main wing assembly plant. Here again is a special Henschel layout. At first glance it looks like a shipbuilding yard. The wing assembly jigs— big, heavy steel frames that rise in a methodical row—are vertical structures in which the wings are built standing on edge. Platforms enable the mechanics to reach every part. The economy of floor space by comparison with the older method of building the wings on horizontal tab!e-like jigs is obvious, and the continuity of work from section to section is perfectly synchronised. The battery of steel frames rises from the concrete floor, each unit clamping its wing spars in place. The cross- members fall into their appropriate positions and are secured. The metal outer covering is riveted on. Except for a few main details in steel that bear the grey colour of cadmium protection from corrosion, all the internal parts are of the beautiful golden finish. At a parallel line of benches mechanics prepare the detail work for the main assemblers. From jig to jig we pass between benches and growing wings, looking up at the workers on the platforms above our heads. Real hiass'production That line of growing Junkers wings is the most impres sive thing I have ever seen in aircraft manufacture. For the first time I was observing real mass-production methods applied scientifically to aircraft construction. And that battery of jigs, so impressive in its layout, is designed for universal purposes, not solely for the output of one type. A change can be made to produce a different type cf air craft in twenty-four hours, I was told. On the other side of the shop engine nacelles for the Jumo 205 diesel engines were simultaneously in course of assembly. Again we walk along the concrete roadway to yet another shed. In it we see the complete assembly of the Henschel type 123—a single-seat dive bomber. In this shop both fuselage and wings are built, for the size of the aircraft is much smaller than the Junkers 86. Powered with a single B.M.W. Hornet air-cooled radial engine, the Henschel 123 has a top speed of about 220 miles an hour. It is designed to have a terminal dive of 350 m.p.h. After the assembly of the Ju.86, that of the smaller Henschel 123 is less impressive, but here again oraer ana method combine to produce aircraft quickly from the parts that how steadily from the machine shop and elsewhere. I hence along the concrete road we pass to the fitting- out shop for the big Ju.86 bombers. It is another large hangar. A battery ot ten wing-mounting jigs stand in line fore and aft. Ten pairs of wings spread out from them mounted by the standard Junkers system of screw joints Their attachment is four-point, with one joint at the top and bottom of both front and rear spars. As the line moves forward to completion, engines and nacelles are fitted, electric wiring run, retractable undercarriages mounted and the unions connected up. The jigs run on rails, cable-towed, so that the line need never be empty while the other shops continue to feed it. Here the aero plane takes all but final shape, for a double row of fuselages is being fitted out simultaneously with the wings, complete with gun turrets, the lower one of which is retractable within the fuselage. Thence to the last shop, where wings meet fuselage and are mounted into place. Overhead cranes are available for transportation about the shed. Final inspection is made, and the completed aircraft pass to the test pilots. Flight Testing Out on the aerodrome stands a line of aeroplanes wait ing their turn to take the air. It is a big aerodrome—441 English acres—with an excellent level surface. The clouds are low—about 800 ft.—but one after the other, heavy and dive bombers, are climbing from the ground to pass their flight acceptance tests. On the concrete apron between the shed and aerodrome stand other lines of new aircraft awaiting their turn to fly—mostly Ju.86s, but with a few Henschel 122s and 123s as well. By the use of calculating machines the complete costing and wages cards are handled by a staff of only twenty. As I sat in the administration building canteen and ate the excellent standard lunch provided for all throughout the factory, I realised that Henschels, the century-and-a- quarter-old firm of locomotive builders, had solved the problem of the swift production of military aircraft. And while I ate I heard the peculiar drone of twin Jumo 205s as, out on the aerodrome, their testing went steadily on. I have not indicated in this article what I imagine the probable output of this factory to be. Nor have I stated the number of aircraft I saw on the aerodrome. The reason is clear. I visited Henschels' aircraft works by courtesy of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, and I believe that a guest should observe discretion in courtesy to h's host, even though I was told that I could write upon all I saw. [7M the next article in this series Capt. Macmillan will describe the Daimler-Benz engine factory and the air museum in Berlin.'] AIR STRATEGY Air Strategy. By Lieut. General N. N. Golovine (in collabora tion with a technical expert). (Gale and Polden, Ltd., ys. 6d.) T HIS distinguished writer preaches on the text that in organising an air force every country ought to consider * he strategical doctrine according to which its force will be used in war, and should equip its squadrons accordingly. He starts by examining the writings of the Italian General Douhet, which, he says, represent one of the first, and certainly the most important, attempts to form a complete "air doctrine." The Italian writer holds that in modern warfare the Army and Navy cannot obtain rapid and decisive results, but that an air force can do so. He also shows a marked contempt for anti-aircraft defence, and on this point General Golovine joins issue with him. He believes that air attack is by no means cer tain to overwhelm air defence. The author then proceeds to examine the air problem as it confronts Great Britain, and makes suggestions for the dif ferent branches of the R.A.F. which he considers necessary. It is, he says, a threefold problem: (1) defence of the British Isles, (2) defence of the Dominions and Colonies, and (3) Pr°" tection of Imperial routes. He pays most attention to the first, but would divide the R.A.F. into an I.A.F.S.O. (^P^' dent Air Force for Strategic Offensive), and an I.A.F.S.JJ- (Independent Air Force for Strategic Defence), the latter to include all the anti-aircraft organisation. It would be impossible to follow all the arguments of this author in a short review, but it may be noted that he con siders massive air raids on large cities practically impossiD and their cost prohibitive, that he would introduce what n^ calls "destroyers," i.e., multi-seater long-range fiBh*er.?ters engage the raiders at a distance, as well as single-seater ng e - for defence round the cities, and that he believes in scout" K aeroplanes to locate the line of approach of raiders when at a distance from our shores One may not agree with ai proposals, but Gen. Golovine's book certainly aes ^ careful study by all who are interested in the problems o warfare.
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