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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1172.PDF
440 FLIGHT. MAY 6, 1937. In the H.P.52 or Hampden slots and flaps have taken the place of the early plan form, and the power has gone up to about 1,500 h.p. Before the days of slots. Below is a view from above of the ion Handley Page monoplane with 35 h.p. Green en gine. Note the crescent - shaped wings. 'military machine made its appear ance at the Olympia Show of 1914. This was the Bristol Scout, with 80 h.p. Gnome engine. Slightly smaller even than the Sopwith "Tabloid" (span 22 ft. and wing area 156 sq. ft.) this machine had a top speed of 95 m.p.h. Also during 1914 appeared the Vickers "gun-bus," which repre sented a complete breakaway for that firm, who had previously been in favour of the monoplane and had built R.E.P. machines under licence. The "gun-bus" was a pusher biplane with 100 h.p. Gnome mono- soupape engine, the nacelle providing a fine view and good field of fire for the gunner. During the War this type was used extensively. For the Circuit of Britain seaplane race scheduled for August, 1914, nine machines had been entered. The Sopwith Company entered a tractor seaplane two-seater rather like the Schneider winner in general design, and also a " Bat-boat." Tractor seaplanes were also entered by Black- burns and Avros, and White and Thompson entered two Curtiss flying boats, for which they held the British rights. The race was, of course, called off, but several of the machines were sold to the Government, and some went into service with the R.N.A.S. The experience obtained in building them became valuable when the demand for seaplanes arose. The War Period When War broke out in August, 1914, the British aircraft industry was, as will have been gathered from the preceding pages, a mere nucleus of small and unorganised firms. The services consisted of two " wings," a Naval and a Military, known respec tively as the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps. The R.N.A.S. was controlled by the Admiralty and the R.F.C. by the War Office. It seems almost ludicrous nowadays that at the outbreak of war the R.N.A.S. had 93 machines and the R.F.C. 179. Under the stimulus of the War that number grew to approximately 22,000 machines at the time of the Armistice. That, of course, meant an almost incredible expansion of the aircraft industry. For instance, during the first twelve months of the War the average de livery of aircraft from British and foreign sources was 50 machines per month. During the last twelve months of the War deliveries averaged 2,700 per month, and at the time of the Armistice it is estimated that the country's output capacity was 3,500 per month. During the early stages of the Wat aeroplanes were used for reconnais sance only, and they carried no mili tary load. Very soon, however, the need for armament made itself felt, and the first result was that the re connaissance aeroplanes were loaded up with guns and other equipment to an extent which spoilt their perform ance. Not until the latter part of 1916 did specialised military aero planes begin to come into use, and when that happened performance im proved greatly, not merely because of the specialisation, but also as a result of fitting the more powerful engines which had by then become available. To form a picture of the way in which performance improved, it is useful to divide the aircraft types broadly into classes, such as the single-seater fighter, the two-seater fighter, the bomber, and the ground fighter or armoured aeroplane. When Lewis guns were first fitted on aeroplanes they were mounted out side the airscrew disc and were operated by Bowden cable. The attachment of the gun and its operat ing gear was heavy and cumbersome, and considerably reduced perform ance. Towards the end of 1915 the Germans introduced a system of synchronising the gun trigger with the engine so that the bullets passed be tvveen the airscrew blades. Our Vickers guns were quickly adapted to work in a similar way, and during the V
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