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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0517.PDF
MARCH 5TH, 1942 Twenty-eighth of the Second Series FLIGHT 205 FRIEND or FOE ? Sturdy Pair of Yankee Fighters : Buffalo and Martlet THE Brewster Buffalo anckGrum-man Martlet are two single-seater fighters which America has supplied to Great Britain In con siderable quantities. On the former BREWSTER BUFFALO: Large, low aspect-ratio fin and rudder ; elliptical tailplane with "bite" in trailing-edge. Fixed tail wheel. fell the greater part of the attempt to stem the overwhelming Japanese tide in Malaya and Singapore—augmented rather late in the day by a compara tively small number of Hurricanes— but the Martlet is used exclusively by the Fleet Air Arm. Both are excellent little aircraft, and though hardly the dernier cri in fighter design (particularly as regards speed and armament) they were more than welcome at a time when we badly needed every fighter on which we could lay our hands. With their radial air-cooled engines and tubby fuselages, they are very similar in general lines, but can readily be differ entiated from each other by a glance at their tail units. In a word, the tail surfaces of the Buffalo present a series of graceful curves; those of the Martlet present a series of straight lines. The fin and rudder of the Buffalo are particularly distinctive, being of unusually low aspect-ratio. The lead ing-edge, in fact, starts abnormally close behind the cockpit fairing and climbs in an almost gradual slope to the small, round apex, from which the trailing-edge curves down to blend into the pointed extremity of the fuselage .which projects slightly. The tail- f^.ane, mounted symmetrically on the "cone'' of the fuselage's tail, presents an elliptical outline with a " bite "in the centre of the trailing-edge. The vertical surfaces of the Martlet tail group are somewhat reminiscent of the Ju 87 (if Grummans will pardon the observation), for the leading-edge has a concave radius at the foot and then slopes up in a steep straight line to the broad, flat apex ; the trailing- edge is straight and slopes slightly out wards to the heel of the rudder below the level of the tailplane. The lead ing-edge of the tailplane has a moder ate, straight taper, and the trailing- edge a slight (also straight) taper, the tips being fairly broad and square cut. The inner corners of the elevators are given a straight- edged cut-away to permit rudder clear ance. Next Week: Savoia Marchetti 79 and CANT Z jioojbis. GRUMMAN MARTLET : Angular tail surfaces. Straight sloping edges and broad apex to fin and rudder. Tapered straight- edged tailplane with square tips. Fixed tail wheel.
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