FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1895.PDF
AUGUST 2IST, 1941. Thirty-third of the Series FLIGHT FRIEND or FOE? Two Naval Catapult Aircraft : Vickers Walrus and Meridionali RO.43 Vickers Walrus : Biplane amphibian ; backswept parallel wingsof equal span ; no stagger, single bay. One radial engine mounted between the planes in streamlined nacelle, pusherairscrew. Single-step hull with gun positions in nose and amid- ships. Fixed wing-tip floats, undercarriage retracts into lowerwing. Combined tail-skid and sea-rudder. Strut-braced rectangular tail-plane high on tail-fin. y*LTHOUGH the Italian Meridionali RO.43 's not, /-% perhaps, among the really familiar types of aircraft, •*• •*• it is nevertheless an opposite number ot the familiar Walrus from the operational viewpoint, being the standard shipboard reconnaissance type of the Duce's navy—a part of which, we understand, is still floating. The Vickers Supermarine Walrus was originally designed as a fleet spotter for the Australian Navy, to whom it is known as Seagull V. It was adopted by the British Admiralty in 1935 for the Fleet Air Arm and, even to-day, is regarded with affection by its pilots and crews, who appreciate its sturdy reliability. It is, of course, one of the very easiest aircraft to recog- nise in flight, being the only biplane amphibian with a single pusher airscrew. Its backswept wings with parallel edges and rounded tips arc- identical in plan, and its Bristol radial engine is mounted between the centre-section planes in a streamlined nacelle. As the wings fold for easy stowage aboard ship they are fitted with jury struts, and these can either be removed or left in position during flight; as speed is leisurely by modern stan- dards there is not much to be gained by their removal. Fixed, wire- braced floats are mounted immediately below the inter-plane struts of the single-bay wings and the undercarriage, comprising oleo legs with radius arms, folds outwards, lifting the wheels into recesses be- • neath the lower wings. The single-step hull pro- jects well ahead of the wings and has a gunner's Meridionali RO.43 : Single-float biplane with fixed wing-tipfloats. Top wing gulled and of greater span and chord than lower wing. Slight stagger and backsweep ; single bay,parallel edges* Two fixed forward guns and one free gun in aft cockpit. Rather small, rounded fin and rudder ; strut-braced tailplane with backswept leading-edge and rounded tips and elevators. cockpit right in the prow, and an enclosed cabin tor the pilot and navigator in front of the leading-edge. An open cockpit behind the wings mounts additional armament. The tail assembly is also distinctive. Fin and rudder are large and have a broad, rounded apex, and immediately beneath the projecting trailing-edge of the rudder is a combined tail-skid and sea-rudder. The tailplane, which is approximately rectangular, is mounted exceptionally high on the fin and is externally braced with double struts. A "bite" in the trailing-edge of the elevators allows for normal rudder movement. The wings of the RO.43 are of the single-bay type, the upper pair being of greater span and chord than the lower ones. They are very slightly backswept and have a small degree of stagger, the inter-plane struts also sloping out wards at the top An un- usual feature of the top wing is that the centre- section dips sharply down to meet the fuselage, giv- ing a gulled effect, and the pilot looks directly for- ward through the V so formed. The fuselage, mounting a radial engine on the nose, has two tandem cockpits, and the tail unit is oi normal de- sign. Fin and rudder are rather small with a nicely rounded apex and trailing- edge, and the strut-braced tailplane has a pronounced backsweep to the leading- edge and rouuded tips; the elevators have a '' bite '' for rudder clear- ance at the trailing edge. Next week begins a new phase of "Friend or Foe?" which will deal mainly with tail design.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
