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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0211.PDF
JANUARY 23RD, 1941. FRIEND or FOE? New Identification Series Continued : Allied and Enemy Types Compared Bristol Beaufort, Twin-engined Bomber Wheels retract into nacelles behind small-diameter engines. Deep forward part of fuselage ends amidships in gun-turret. Oil-coolers in leading - edges. Inset wing-tip lights. Single fin and rudder. IN this, the third, article dealing with the prob- lem of recognising hos- tile aircraft one of the newer types of British twin-engined machines, with which many will not yet be too familiar, is set against a German dive-bomber which su- perficially resembles it. Aircraft already dealt with in the two preced- ing articles were : Hur- ricane and Me 109 ; Spitfire and He 113. Junkers Ju 88, Twin-engined Dive-bomber. Wheels retract into nacelles. Circular noseradiators projecting well forward. Dive brakes below each wing. Faceted nose.Forwardly placed under-turret. Wings taper outboard of engines. Single fin and rudder. s BRISTOL BEAUFORT THE two machines dealt with this week are by no means" opposite numbers " in the strict sense, but they havea sufficiently close superficial resemblance, at a distance, to render confusion possible by the not too ex- perienced spotter. The Bristol Beaufort includes torpedo- dropping among its functions and the Ju 88 is essentially a dive-bomber, so both will be mainly encountered over the sea or in coastal areas—an added reason for pairing them off in this series. Confusion between the two machines is most likely to occur when either is seen approaching head-on, for the Junkers, although fitted with inverted Vee engines, has them enclosed within circular nacelles, which terminate in circular nose radiators, giving every appearance of radial engines similar to those of the Beaufort. This similarity is further increased by the fact that both machines have cooling gills ringing the cowlings. It should be possible, however, given reasonable visibility, to recog- nise the German from a fair distance by its under-turret and its faceted nose, while another if less prominent difference is the Beaufort's di- hedral, which begins outboard of the engine nacelles. A sure sign—though a decidedly late one— that the approaching machine is hostile would be the lowering of the '' venetian- blind '' diving brakes beneath each wing of the Ju 88. At close range, also, it would probably be possible to see the externally stowed bombs carried between the engine nacelles and the fuselage. In- ternal bomb-stowage JUNKERS JU 88 is also provided, however, so the mere absence of external bombs is not a guarantee that the bird has no more eggs to lay. But it is when presenting a side view that the Beaufort and the Ju 88 show up their differences most markedly. In the case of the former the nose of the fuselage projects well ahead of the engines, but the nose of the German is almost in line with its circular radiators. The Beaufort's nose is transparent on top. has two large "eyes" for the bomb- aimer looking forwards and downwards, and is much slimmer than the blunt, faceted snout of the Junkers. The deeper forward portion of the Beaufort's fuselage sweeps, back in a straight line from the pilot's cockpit to terminate in a gun-turret amidships, whereas the Ju 88 has an elongated gun-turret immediately above its under-turret and approximately in line with its engines. Seen in plan, the short, streamlined engine nacelles of the British aircraft are in clearly marked contrast to the long and rather ungainly nacelles of the Nazi, which reach well back - towards the trailing edge in spite of pro- jecting so far for- ward. Their wing- span is also in distinct contrast, that of the Beaufort being gracefully tapered to rounded tips, each having a transparent "light" fore and aft, while that of the Junkers remains parallel to a distance well outboard of the engines, where it sud- denly tapers sharply almost to a point. Next week: TheLysander and the H.S. 126.
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