FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1188.PDF
FLIGHT. MAY 6, 1937. (Above) Formation aerobatics by a trio of the tractable Gloster Gauntlets now in service. (Right) Westland Wapiti general-purpose biplanes. (Centre) The Hind light bomber, a worthy representative of the Hawker series of two-seater biplanes. later to prove their worth at home and abroad. Hawkers during the same year contributed their Woodcock, which was soon ordered in quantity by the Air Ministry as a night fighter. By 1926 Glosters were turning out Jupiter-engined Gamecocks for the Ser vice. The popularity of the type is exemplified by the persistence of the Gamecock until quite late years in Dis play aerobatics. It was, of course, a direct development of the Grebe, but was even stubbier and more agile. It will have been gathered that air- cooled radials were popular for use in the fighters of the period, but the A.D.C. Martinsyde, built with an eye on the export market and having an excellent performance with a 330 h.p. water- cooled Nimbus engine, was not without recognition. The Fairey Fox (below) showed how efficient a day-bomber could be made, due attention being paid to aerodynamic considerations. • ••• ... •• To the order of the Latvian Govern ment, Beardmores built an unorthodox, square-cut two-seater fighter powered with a water-cooled Rolls-Royce Eagle engine of 360 h.p. A trio of single-seaters, all with water- cooled engines, put up some outstand ing performances during 1936. These were the Fairey Firefly with 430 h.p. Felix (Curtiss D.12) engine, the Gioster Gorcock (525 h.p. direct-drive Napier Lion), and Hawker Hornbill (650 h.p. direct-drive R.R. Condor). None was accepted for service, but all contributed to the store of knowledge which was eventually to permit the construction of the intercepters and day-and-night fighters of three or four years later. With air-cooled power plants, Hawkers built the Heron and Danecock, while, to the designs of M. Michel Wibault, Vickers turned out a number of all- metal single-seater parasol monoplanes for despatch to a foreign destination. The introduction, in 1927, of the Jupiter-engined Bulldog capable of 170-180 m.p.h., gave us a fighter pos sessing a high performance while carrying a heavy military load, including wireless, ciffi- cient fuel for useful patrol work, night-flying gear, etc. The Bulldog Ila has only lately been superseded as standard R.A.F. equipment. As a development of the Siskin, A.W.'s produced the Starling in 1928, while Avros improved on their Lion- engined Avenger of the previous year. Departing from the beaten track, Blackburns introduced their little Lynx- engined Lincock, the performance of which on only 200 h.p. was a real eye-opener. In competition with the Bulldog, Boulton and Pauls had their Partridge, Hawkers the Hawfinch and Glosters the Goldfinch, the last-named being on Gamecock lines. Glosters also fitted a special supercharged Lion into their Guan single-seater. West- lands put up the fascinating Wizard parasol monoplane
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
