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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1478.PDF
468 THE INDUSTRY Henderson Safety Tank FIRE in the air or as the result of acrash, perhaps quite minor in itself, has, since the commencement of flying,been one of the most prolific causes of disaster and one of the major problemsto be solved. It was in an attempt to eliminate this bugbear that the Hender-son Safety Tank Co., Ltd., of Elstree Way, Elstree, Herts, embarked on a pro-gramme of research and development over nine years ago. The attempt hasbeen very successful. So much so that the Air Ministry has insisted that all theMiles Master advanced trainers now in production are to be fitted with Hender-son safety tanks further to reduce the already low figure of training fatalities. In practically every air crash petroltanks burst on impact, and shower highly inflammable fuel over hot enginesand exhaust pipes. There are, of course, several causes of crash fires, such asshort circuits in the electrical equip- ment, sparks struck from the ground orstatic discharge, but in many cases fire results from ignited engine oil, greaseor loose petrol or petrol vapour. For this reason it is clear that if fuel tankscan be so constructed as to withstand impact and distortion without burstingin the event of a crash, then the risk of a major conflagration is reduced to aminimum. The walls of the Henderson tank arebuilt up in three layers to a total thick- ness of -rein- and each layer is a com-plete leak-proof unit in itself. Both the inner and outer shells are of thin sheetcopper sandwiching between them a con- tinuous lining of Hencorite—a patentrubber product—which is vulcanised to both the metal casings. In effect, thetank is a flexible bag which is stabilised in all directions by the inner and outershells. The baffles attached to the inner walls of the tank are secured by a specialself-releasing device by which they be- come detached in the event of a crash,thereby enabling the pressure inside the tank to be evened up. Furthermore, asthe tanks are fashioned without any rivets- the Henderson safety tank isdefinitely proof against leakage and seepage, a common source of trouble inpresent-day tanks. The Henderson Safety Tank can be built to any shape HOtt MADE W 203AMMVVmO mncomi CEMMT PATCH TO HEHCOfim it iOLO£R TO OUTER SMLL Henderson construction lends itself to smooth outlines. and has been designed to take any re-quired stress or strain. In spite of the tank's triple skin its weight is unex-pectedly low—between i to i^lb. per gallon for capacities of 50 gallons andupwards, which is little more than that for tanks employed on modern commer-cial aircraft. War is only a temporary condition,and, very wisely, the Henderson Com- pany have concentrated en the crash-proof problem, but it is gratifying to find that this self-same tank has excellentbullet-proof qualities. They have at their works a tank which was shot The four operations necessary to repaira bullet hole in a Henderson Tank. Dented but not disrupted. A Hender- son tank taken from a crash, through and through some two monthsago and yet shows no signs of a leak— not even a weep. The particular formof construction lends itself to very easy repair of bullet-holes; in fact, anyonewho can handle a soldering iron wi h some skill is capable of carrying out thework. This is a very distinct advan- tage in the field where every hour amachine is out of commission is of profit to the enemy. A New Fuel GaugeW AYMOUTH GAUGES AND IN-STRUMENTS, LTD., have de- signed a fuel contents gauge employingthe principle of measuring the specific inductive capacity of the petrol or oil inthe tank. Two plates, one of which may be the usual baffle, between £in. and ^in. apart and insulated from one another, are fitted vertically inside the tank, the plane of the plates being in the direction of flight. These two plates become an electrical condenser the capacity of which varies according to the area of MAY 16, 1940 the plates immersed in the fuel. The dashboard instrument is a direct reading electrical capacity meter. Suitable design of the condenser plates and the use of a switch incorporated in the dashboard instrument, enables the contents of tanks of dissimilar size and shape and containing either petrol or oil to be shown on the same scale. As many as six tanks may be connected to one instrument. Current consumption is I amp. at 24 volts pressure, but as low as 20 volts or as high as 30 volts can be employed without appreciably affecting the reading. There is no direct electri- cal connection between the tank and the electric supply—it is via a condenser— therefore there is no possibility of fire The interior of the Waymouth fuel gauge. being caused by sparking; only about 1/200 volt is used in the tank. British Overseas Airways are equip- ping one of their DH86s with this gauge for trial on regular service, and it is hoped that official approval by the Air Registration Board will be given shortly. The address of the company is 31, Brunei Road, Old Oak Common Lane, Acton, W.3. NEW TITLES FOR THREE I.C.I.COMPANIES The British Dyestuffs Corporation. Ltd., willin future be "known as I.C.I. (Dyestufis), Ltd.; Nobe! Chemical Finishes, Ltd., as I.C.I.(Paints), Ltd. and the Salt Union, Ltd.. as I.C.I. (Salt). Ltd. This designation will bring thesethree associated companies into line with the other manufacturing groups of Imperial ChemicalIndustries, Ltd. The British Dyestufls Corporation, Ltd., has beenan associated company of Imperial Chemical In- dustries since the formation of the combine in1927. Its up-to-date laboratories at Blackley, Man- chester, have done much to make Great Britainindependent of imported dvestuffs. The research covers not only dyestuffs. but rubber and medi-cinal chemicals, pest control, laundry and textile products. Nobel Chemical Finishes. Ltd., of WexhamRoad, Slough, Bucks, was also one of the original constituent companies of Imperial Chemical In-dustries, Ltd. This company has developed the use of nitro-cellulose and synthetic paints. The Salt Union, Ltd., Colonial House, Liver-pool, 2. is the youngest of the I.C.I, groups. When formed in 1888 it consisted of sixty-three saltworks and is now the largest salt-producing com- pany in Great Britain. It was purchased bv Im-perial Chemical Industries. Ltd., in 1937- CHANGE OF NAME IMPERIAL AIRWAYS (AFRICA), LTD., formerly Im-perial Airways (South Africa), Ltd., Airways House, S.W.I.—Name changed to Airways (Africa),Ltd., on April 15. IQ40. At March 22, IQ40. Im- perial Airways, Ltd.. held 00.0Q.5 shares of f.l out of 100,000 issued. IMPERIAL AIRWAYS (ATLANTIC), LTD., AirwaysHouse, S.W.I.—Name,changed to Airways (Atlan- tic), Ltd., on April 15, 1940. At March 22, 1940,Imperial Airways, Ltd., held 0Q5 shares of /i out of 1,000 issued. IMPERIAL AIRWAYS (BERMUDA), LTD., AirwaysHouse, S.W.I.—Name changed to Airways (Ber- muda). Ltd., on April 15, 1040. At March 22,IQ40, Imperial Airways, Ltd., held 9,094 shares of £1 out of 10,000 issued. C. F. AIRCRAFT, LTD., 25, Birchin Lane, E.C.V—Name changed to Fane Aircraft Co., Ltd., on April 16, 1940.
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