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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 2745.PDF
NOVEMBER 2OTH, 1941. Thirteenth of the Second Series FLIGHT FRIEND or FOE ? Two Distinctive Bomber Tails : Wellington and Heinkel IIIK MOST aircraft have some par-ticular feature of design whichconstitutes an outstanding characteristic—the Spitfire's elliptical wings, the Defiant's triangular fin and rudder, the Roc's gun turret, to quote some familiar examples—and chief among such easily recognised peculiari- ties is the tall, shark-like fin and rudder of the Wellington bomber. German aircraft are no exception to this rule, and it so happens that the Heinkel 111K, which may be taken as the Wellington's opposite number in the operational sense, also provides a distinctive aid to identification in its tail unit. In this case both vertical and horizontal surfaces are equally easy to spot at a glance, for the tail- plane, with its elevators, forms a per- fect ellipse, while fin and rudder con- stitute a half-ellipse. No other military aircraft, British or German, has a tail unit of this particular shape, although those of the obsolescent Heinkel 70 and Heinkel 118 resemble it fairly closely. Both these machines, however, are single-engined aircraft, which still leaves the He. 111K in a class by itself so far as tail design is concerned. An- other typically Heinkel feature visible from a rear view is the '' bite '' in the trailing-edge of each wing root. '"•_ The Wellington fin and rudder also matches the form of its tailplane in general appearance, but with this difference, that whereas the trailing- edge of the horizontal surface is straight, that of the rudder has a slight but unmistakable taper. Both, however, are of similarly high aspect ratio, have a moderately tapered lead- ing-edge and small rounded tips. Incidentally, the rudder of the Wel-lington has mass balances placed near the apex and a trimming tab whichoccupies the lower two-thirds of its traihng-edge. The elevators also havelong, inset tabs and horn balances which preserve the uniform outline ofthe complete horizontal surface. The tailplane is mounted in the mid-wingposition and immediately behind it is the power-operated rear gun turret. The Heinkel fuselage, having no'' stinger'' turret, tapers to a sharp point, the base of its "rudder beingshelved up a little to give adequate clearance to the inner edges of theelevators, which have no "bite" in their trailing-edge. Another important difference between these two bombers when seen from below and behind is that thebelly of the Wellington makes a smooth, unbroken curve from nose totail, whereas the Heinkel has a stream- lined under-turret approximatelyamidships. Next Week . Curtiss Mohawk and Macci C 200. WELLINGTON. A tall,shark-like fin and rudder, wide-span tapered tailplaneand a power - operated "stinger" gun turret. WELLINGTON HEINKEL 111K HEINKEL 111K. A perfectlyelliptical tailplane with fin and rudder forming a half-ellipse. Thefuselage terminates in a sharp point and has a streamlinedunder-turret flanked by "bites" in the trailing-edge wing roots.
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