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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0154.PDF
70 FLIGHT. JANUARY 19, 1939 THE MERLIN goes to SEA Mr. Hubert Scott - Paine Installs Three in New M.T.B. The British Power Boat Company's new M.T.B. at speed. It has three Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of about 1,000 h.p. each. The absence of even short masts is a noteworthy feature. The three deck turrets are out of sight in this picture. PRIVATE ventures have ever been a passion with Mr. Hubert Scott-Paine. The first—at any rate so far as his aeronautical career is concerned—was the buying, with Cdr. James Bird, of the Supermarine company from its founder, Mr. Noel Pemberton-Billing, during the early part of the war. That venture turned out a great success. The firm made money, and some years later Mr. Scott-Paine sold his share to Vickers at, one may assume, a handsome profit. In between, he had many private ventures. For instance, one may recall that he financed, without assistance from the Government, the Supermarine participation in the Schneider Trophy contests which in the end brought the trophy to this country. The ultimate winner was a Supermarine S.6 B monoplane. True, it was built after Mr. Scott-Paine severed his connection with the firm, but if he had not initially supplied the machine on which Henri Biard was able to bring the trophy to Eng land, the Italians would have retained it. Since he founded the British Power Boat Co., Ltd., Mr. Scott-Paine has retained his enthusiasm for private ventures. It will suffice if we recall his sporting challenges in motor boat racing at home and America. And now we have another private venture which it took courage to decide upon. This time the venture has taken the form of a triple aero-engined motor torpedo boat, the sort of versatile little craft which could cause a lot of unpleasantness in such waters as the North Sea, for example. The new craft was demonstrated in Southampton Water on Tuesday of last week. The day was calm and there was a smooth sea, so that there was little opportunity for judging the seaworthiness of the craft. However, Mr. Scott-Paine has had the boat out in winds of about 75 m.p.h. and in really rough seas, and has found that she handles perfectly, even at high speed. " Torpedoed " in the Mist If the smooth water and the thick haze prevented rough- wither demonstrations from being given, they gave an opportunity to show how the craft could creep up on an enemy vessel. Aftejr giving proof of the amazing manoeuvr ability of the boat at high and low speeds, Mr. Scott-Paine disappeared in the mist, and we were asked to keep a sharp look-out for him. He had intended to sneak up on us from the Hamble shore, but so thick was the weather that he could not find the buoy and had to be content with approaching us from the Calshot direction. The first sign of the approaching motor boat was a bow-on view. One could not be certain, for a long time, whether it was a buoy that had become visible through the mist or whether it was in fact " Scottie" getting ready to torpedo us. Gradually it became obvious that the object seen was approaching. Strain our ears as we would, we could detect not the slightest trace of engine noise. When the boat was very close one could hear the hissing sounds of the hull cut ting through the calm water, but the engine was inaudible until the vessel was within 100 yards or so of the Medina, on board which were the guests invited to see the demonstration. It was not difficult to imagine the torpedo boat creeping into torpedo range at night without being spotted. On an overall length of 70ft. the new boat, powered by three Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of approximately 1,000 h.p. each, will do its 40 knots or so. The acceleration and decelera tion are simply astounding, and the manoeuvrability is an eye- opener. It was revealed afterwards that the silent approach had been effected with two of the Merlins stopped and the third throttled to give a speed of 8-ro knots. The Sting in the Tail Armament may include two 21-inch or four 18-inch tor- pedos. In addition there are three anti-aircraft guns in deck turrets, and depth charges, and smoke-screen apparatus can be carried as well. Withal the craft has a range, at a cruis ing speed of about 20 knots, of 1,000 miles. That is a rather staggering range when one remembers that the Merlins can give a maximum speed of over 40 knots, and there should be many uses for such a vessel which, with a crew of two officers and seven ratings, could do a great deal of harm to an enemy in the narrow seas. Two countries, Holland and Sweden, have already recognised its potential usefulness, and the British Admiralty is now examining its suitability for work with the Royal Navy. The three Merlin engines are installed near the stern, the two outer ones driving direct and the centre one through a vee drive. Comparatively few modifications of the engines have been necessary, except those connected with the propeller drive, the carburetters and the alteration of the supercharger gear ratio. A notable feature' of the engine installation is that at no speed is there any appreciable vibration. Another noteworthy aspect is the silence of the three Merlins. The lack of noise when creeping along on one engine has already been men tioned. But even with all three engines going all out the noise is slight and curiously non-directional. When heard in the haze the other day it was impossible to judge the direction from which the engine noise came. Nor could one be certain whether the hum emanated from the torpedo boat or from an aircraft flying overhead in the mist. This latest aeromarine co-operation between the British Power Boat and Rolls-Royce companies promises to add a weapon which may be destined to play an important role in our defences. ABOUT AIRPORTS CURRENT during the Airports Exhibition, FLIGHT ol February 2 will be a SPECIAL AIRPORTS NUMBER containing articles by experts on the subject together with 8 detailed guide to the exhibits.
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