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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0844.PDF
Fourteenth of the Series APRIL IOTH, 1941. FRIEND or FOE? American and Italian Single-seater Fighters . Buffalo and G 50 Brewster Buffalo. Mid-wing, moderate dihedral trom roots,slight taper on both edges, rounded tips. Radial engine. Short, tubby fuselage with enclosed cockpit amidships ;wheels retract inwards into underside of fuselage. Elliptical tailplane ; straight sloping leading-edge to fin and roundedtrailing edge to rudder. THE Brewster Buffalo is a typical example of theAmerican single-seater fighter which is now aug-menting the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the R.A.F. in increasing numbers, and its blunt nose and fat fuse-lage will no doubt be seen in certain parts of the country contrasting with the sharp-nosed slenderness of the familiarBritish machines. Somewhat similar in general appearance to these radial-engined Americans is the Fiat G50 whichis superseding the Cr 42 biplane in the fighter squadrons of the Regia Aeronautica, and is, as yet, far more frequentlyencountered than the appreciably cleaner and faster _ Macchi C 200. Although its blunt entry and deep oval fuselage, accentu-ated by the abnormally low aspect-ratio of its fin and rudder, give the Buffalo an extremely short, tubby appear-ance (especially from a side view), it is a very well stream lined job, and has a maximum speed in excess of 300 m.p.h.Its wings, which have a moderate dihedral from the roots and a slight taper on both edges to fairly broad, roundedtips, are set a little below the centre-line of the fuselage, but still come in the mid-wing category. They are, inci-dentally, mounted well for- ward, thus stressing thesnub-nosed characteristic imparted by the big radialengine. The transparent top of the pilot's cockpit,which is faired smoothly into the fuselage, extendswell back, almost, in fact, to the root of the leading-edge of the fin which slopes sharply back, and, with itsrudder, provides vertical surfaces of abnormally lowaspect-ratio. The tailplane is elliptical but with ashallow bite in the centre of the trailing - edge. Thewidely spaced cranked legs of the undercarriage foldinwards into the undersides of the wings, carrying thewheels into circular re- cesses in the belly of thefuselage. BREWSTER BUFFALO FIAT G. 50 Fiat G 50. Low-wing ; anhedral to upper surface only ofcentre-section (giving very thick roots) which also tapers sharply on both edges, outer panels have moderate dihedraland taper on trailing edges to rounded tips. Radial engine. Hump-backed fuselage, Undercarriage retracts inwards.Elliptical tailplane. Turning now to the Fiat G 50, the wings are of unusualdesign. What may be termed the wings-proper are attached to a centre-section which not only tapers sharplyon both edges but which tapers in section, from a very thick root, on its upper surface only. This gives the effectof a wing cranked on its upper surface only and having a normal dihedral beneath. The wings-proper, outboardof this unusual centre-section, have a straight leading-edge and a tapered trailing edge. The undercarriage is retract-able and folds inwards. It may or may not have fairing plates attached to the outer sides of the single oleolegs. The underside of the fuselage makes a clean curve from cowling to tail, but its upper line is markedlyhump-backed, there being a pronounced convex bulge from the rear of the cowling to the base of the windscreen andanother from the top of the cockpit cover to the "after- deck" of the fuselage. This places the pilot rather'high,and gives him excellent visibility, but at the cost of a certain amount of drag, as indicated by a maximum speedof less than 300 m.p.h. The tailplane is elliptical and the fin and rudder fora an inverted "U" with at«more pronounced slope to the leading-edge. Twinmachine guns project from the forward convexity ofthe fuselage, their muzzles lying in troughs in the topof the engine-cowling. Types previously com-pared : (1) Hurricane and Me 109; (2) Spitfire andHe 113; (3) Beaufort and Ju 88; (4) Lysanderand Hs 126; (5) Hudson and Me no; (6) Anson andFw 187; (7) Hereford and Do 215 ; (8) Blenheim IVand He 111K; (9) Skua and Ju 87B; (10) Swordfishand Ar 95 ; (u) Sunderland and Do 26; (12) Gladiatorand Cr 42; (13) Bombay and Ju 86K. Next week: Wellingtonand Fiat Br. 20.
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