FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1194.PDF
FLIGHT. MAY 6, 1937. Thanks very largely to the Avro concern the R.A.F. has always had first-class trainers. Tutors are seen above rehearsing inverted flying for an R.A.F. display. Gordons and Seals are descended. Foreshadowing the development of the widely used Atlas, the Arm strong Whitworth Wolf was built in 1923 as a "corps reconnaissance" type. Avros and Napiers collabor ated in producing the highest- powered single-engined machine built up to the middle of 1924 (the Aldershot with 1,000 h.p. Cub engine), while Faireys submitted for official test, and received consider able orders for, the Fawn, a Lion- powered two-seater day-bomber ir,je with the familiar unstaggered two- bay wings. A de Havilland offer ing in the same class was the D.H.38. Outstanding in its uncon- ventionality, the Hawker Duiker corps reconnaissance machine was a parasol monoplane with swept-back wings and Jupiter engine. Taking advantage of the 650 h.p. offered by the Rolls-Royce Condor D.H.s constructed their big Derby bomber, a two-bay biplane with folding wings. Vickers put in some good work on their fast Vixen, Venture and Valparaiso types. By 1925 Avros had developed the impressive Andover ambulance from the Aldershot, and Blackburns had made extensive tests with the Cubaroo, a three-bay giant built round a Napier Cub and intended for coastal defence. Rejoicing in the name Dingo, the D.H.42 appeared as a reconnaissance type with Jaguar engine. Bristols resorted to the extensive use of metal construc tion in their massive Berkeley bomber (Condor), and as an army co-operation model were testing the Jupiter- engined Boarhound. The most noteworthy two-seater of 1926 was the Fairey Fox high-speed bomber incorporating a number of Ameri can ideas and mounting the Fairey Felix water-cooled engine—the Curtiss D.12 built under licence. The Fox subsequently showed a speed of about 150 m.p.h. Im proving on the Dingo, D.H.s completed the Hyena with 385 h.p. Jaguar. Destined for a long period of useful Service employment as a bomber and torpedo-plane the Condoi-powered Hawker Horsley caused something of a sensation at this period by virtue of its all-round effici ency. In keeping with the vogue for very large single- engined bombers Handley Pages contributed the Hand- cross, fitted, like many of its contemporary competitors, with Rolls-Royce Condor. Vickers '' struck lucky '' with the Vespa biplane which subsequently sold well, and Westlands added the Yeovil to the already impressive list of Condor-engined bombers. In 1927 the A.W. Atlas was in large-scale production as the standard army co-operation machine. The trend toward general-purpose aircraft of good performance and great versatility was marked by the Bristol Beaver, the Fairey IIIF, the Gloster Goral and Goring, the Vickers Valiant and the Westland Wapiti. De Havillands, in the Hound with special Lion engine, had probably the fastest military two-seater in the world. Between 1927 and 1929 a great deal of development work was under way, resulting in the high-performance two-seaters of recent years. Faireys installed a Kestrel :n a Fox, D.H.s put one of the then-new geared Jupiters in a Hound, and Vickers tried the Lion-engined Vivid. The 1929 crop of high-speed bombers included the Avro Antelope, Hawker Hart and Fairey metal Fox, all taking advantage of the excellent qualities of the Kestrel engine and putting up speeds in the 170-180 m.p.h. region with war load, including 5001b. of bombs. Faireys turned out a Jaguar-engined version of the II IF which foreshadowed the Panther- engined Gordon still in service, and the Hawker Horsley was selected as a flying test bed for the Siddeley Leopard. Handley Pages gained some useful data with their Hare day bombers, and Vickers, with the original Vildebeest, were smoothing the way for the large numbers of machines of this type (including Vincents) in service to-day. West- lands varied the Wapiti theme and completed the Witch parasol mono plane day bomber. Bristols with their 118 and 120 g.p. types de parted somewhat from the beaten M, track. The central photograph shows a Blackburn Ripon releasing a torpedo, while that below is of a Singapore III flying boat of the type which now forms the equipment of a number of R.A.F. units. By 1932 Westlands had developed the Wapiti into the Wallace and Hawkers were busy on Hart variations. Handley Pages, with their G.P. machine of 1935, showed how careful aerodynamic design and the incorporation of slots and flaps could benefit performance, while to meet the same requirements Vickers produced the G.4/31 bi plane and the fully geodetic Wellesley, now in production ; other G.P. types were submitted by Blackburns, Hawkers, Parnalls, Faireys and Westlands. A number of Rotas (Autogiros) were ordered for Army co-operation. Machines on test or in production to-day are the Fairey Battle and P.4/34, a Hawker to the latter specification (all cantilever monoplanes with Merlin engine), the Arm strong Whitworth medium bomber and the Westland Lysander with its advanced installation of slots and flaps. Multi-engined Landplanes.—The big bombers of early post-war years were, generally speaking, of creditably ad-
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
