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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 2499.PDF
OCTOBER 23RD 1941. FLIGHT AN AIRACOBRA SQUADRON 1 LATEST ACQUISITION. A squadron oi Airacobras lined up on an R.A.F. aerodrome and ready for action. American Fighter Aircraft in the Royal Air Force A SQUADRON Leader, who won the DistinguishedFlying Cross in the Battle of Britain and has hadeight confirmed victories over enemy aircraft, now commands a famous fighter squadron which has recentlybeen equipped with the Bell Airacobra fighter aircraft. He is very proud of the distinction, and so are his pilots ; theyinclude men from all parts of Great Britain, from three of the great Dominions, several Czechs, and recently therewas also a Singalese pilot. To a representative of Flight the Squadron Leader explained that the Airacobra is insome ways the most modern aircraft in the world, at any rate the most modern fighter, It isa specially designed machine, full of new ideas. Its outstanding features(with which readers of Flight are already familiar) are the position ofthe liquid-cooled Allison engine (of :.i50 h.p.) behind the pilot, with shaft drive to a tractor airscrew in the nose,and a nose-wheel undercarriage. There are other features, but not all of themare yet for publication. Naturally, two questions which theSquadron Leader was asked were whether the nose-wheel stood up well*° rough landings, and whether the engme showed any tendency to ihe figures beyond the wing indicatethe small size of this neat fighter. Note the air-intake behind the cockpitfairing and the fillets at the wing roots. move forward into the small of the pilot's back. To bothhe was able to give satisfactory answers. The Airacobra was designed to work off runways, and the aerodromewhere his squadron is stationed is far from resembling a croquet lawn, but all the same the nose-wheel has stoodup well. It ought to do so, for its strut looks very solid, not to say heavy; and, as a. matter of fact, the machinealtogether is heavier than British standard single-seater fighters. The squadron has had one breakage of this mem-ber from an unusually heavy landing at night, and three other cases of damage, which were not serious. I
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