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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1718.PDF
, span is noft. with a gross weight of 50,000 lb. Although I described the D.B.7 type in my last article on fighters, it may be worth while to discuss it again in its guise as a bomber. In its latest form, with unspecified engines of greater power, it has achieved in the States a speed of 380 miles an hour. This aircraft was designed essentially for production, the wing being in four parts, the fuselage in three and the tail unit in seven. The D.B.7 differs from the 7A in that the former uses Twin Wasps and the latter Cj^clones. The main criticism to level at an otherwise excellent aeroplane is that the crew of three are located in the slim fuselage in such a manner that none of them can move over in an emergency to any of the other stations. The latest Douglas type is the very large B.19, powered by four Duplex Cyclones of 2,000 h.p. each. In this age of superlatives it is difficult to find comparatives to describe relative sizes, so plain dimensions are the only adequate means of description. The span is 212ft., and the all-up weight 164,000 lb. (empty weight 82,200 lb.). The B.19 has a speed range from 69 miles an hour to 310 miles an hour, a ceiling of 22,000ft., and a normal range of 7,500 miles. A crew of ten is carried and the aircraft can be used to carry 125 troops. Other less important but still remarkable dimensions are: height over rudder 42ft. and main wheel diameter 8ft. 4m. The undercarriage forgings for this colossus were so large that a special turret lathe— the biggest in the world—had to be constructed to machine them. Douglas are also producing several dive-bomber types, and on this subject it is interesting to recall that, although the Germans have '' popularised '' (or is that the right word?) the dive bomber, this type has been in use for a considerable time in the States. It was used as a theme for many of their films '' glorifying '' the United States Air Corps, and we used to be inspired by the very pretty sight of Curtiss " Hell-divers " peeling off from their formations. The two dive-bomber types now being produced by the Douglas are the 8A-3 and the 8A-5. These aircraft are structurally very interesting, as the fuselage is divided horizontally, the lower half being integral with the wing centre-section. Maryland Genealogy The Martin factory, established in 1909, was recently considered the best production unit for metal aircraft in the United States, and has produced some very good land planes and boats. Of land planes, we have already in service with the R.A.F. the Marylands, or Model 167. This aircraft has done remarkably good service in the Near East, and, amongst other things, took the pictures of Taranto Harbour after the Fleet Air Arm had dropped in to pay a call. This type has a very distinctive family history which goes back to the Martin Model 123, which was designed in 1932. It was a very clean design of open-cockpit, two-motor bomber, which, with two 650 h.p. Cyclones, had a top speed of about 200 miles an hour. This was followed by the Model 193 with covered cockpits, then the 146 and 166. and so to the 167, which is powered by two 1,050 h.p. Twin Wasps or two 1,100 h.p. Cyclones. The span of this aircraft is 61ft., its maximum overload weight is 16,600 lb., top speed 280 nn.p.h., h FLIGHT, July 31s/, 1941. BETTER U.S. BOATS AND BOMBERS with a ceiling of 28,000ft. Ameri- can armament consists of four wing-guns and two guns top and bottom in the rear position. Two or three things strike one in examining this aircraft, one being the slimness of the fuse- lage with the disadvantages (in common with the Boston) of the crew's inability to change stations. Another point is the laj'out of controls and gadgets. This is very neatly done, but, on examination, it would seem that the main- tenance and repair people would have to be both contor- tionists and experts at jigsaw puzzles, as everything that one would normally want to get at quickly seems to be covered in—very neat, no doubt, but not too practical for wartime operations! Nice to Handle The position of the tailplane is interesting. It has been set above the normal line of the rear fuselage, which might suggest that Martins originally had trouble, with buffeting and had to raise it out of the region of the turbulent wake of the mainplane. The smoothness of all flying controls, in which they compare favourably with British types, has been a sub- ject of favourable comment by pilots who have flown most of the American aircraft we have over here, including the Maryland; and yet, on examining the control runs of various American aircraft, there seem to be far more changes in direction and cross-shafts than in comparable British types. The Martin Model 162 is a very efficient boat with a gull wing and a pronounced dihedral on the tail plane which carries twin fins and ruddars. Retractable wing-tip floats are again featured—and how pleasantly novel it is to see three turrets incorporated in the design! This boat was designed after a quarter-scale prototype had been tested in 1937. This was the Model 162A, which proved extremely accurate in its forecast of the performance and character- istics of the full-scale 162. It may be remembered that Saunders-Roe and Short Bros, have used a similar method of prototype testing, Saunders-Roe producing that very attractive Model 37 boat with four 95 h.p. Pobjoys. Lockheeds, one of the youngest of the U.S. companies, have provided a very valuable and considerable addition to our air strength in the Hudson, a variation of their Model 14 transport. This aeroplane has been most suc- cessful as a reconnaissance and light bomber type and, equipped with a Boulton Paul power-operated turret, has given a remarkably good account of itself in fighting off and destroying enemy fighters. The original firm was started by the Loughhead brothers in 1916, who produced what was the forerunner of the true streamline aeroplane, and many will remember the lovely lines of the Vega, Orion, Altair and the Sirius, which were outstanding in their time for their good looks and high performance. Most remarkable was the Speed-Vega of 1931 which, as the -..-..'.', . equipped with a Boulton Paul power-operated turret,has given a remarkably good account of itself.
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