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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0710.PDF
286 FLIGHT MARCH I8TH, T943 THE MC 131 It supersensitive impact fuse and is com- pletely bore-safe; the armour-piercing projectile is a hardened, pointed-nose bullet. The tracer charge of both pro- jectiles is located in a drill cavity at the rear end of the body and burns for about 1.7 sec. Weight of the explosive shell is 1.2'oz. (34 gr.); that of the ex- plosive charge 0.043 oz- i1-2 gr-)> an<^ that of the explosive cartridge 2.65 oz, (75 gr.)- On the Me2ro the MG131 is in- stalled in two power-operated "bar- bettes," one op each side of the fuselage, with a total provision of ammunition of approximately 1,000 rounds. Both guns are sighted and remotely controlled by the rear gunner, and can be elevated approximately 35 deg. above or below centre. Laterally each gun can fire from dead astern to 45 deg. rearwards. The MG131, mounted on an electrically operated gun ring, showing the chute forspent cartridge cases and belt links and the reflector sight. This installation and operation of the MG 131, discussed in detail in the review of the Messerschmitt Me 210 A-i in Flight of February nth, 1943, is typical of the ingenious and yet complicated German approach to the solution of technical problems. ARMY HELLDIVEK IN PRODUCTION /QUANTITY production of a new Curtiss dive-bomber VsJ has been under way for some time at a plant of the Curtiss-Wright Corp in Missouri, U.S.A., and Guy W. Vaughan, president of the Corporation, announced late in January the delivery of the first craft to the U.S. Army Air Forces last Christmas Eve, following "very satisfac- tory " flight tests made by Harvey Gray, the company's veteran test pilot and manager of flight operations at the Missouri plant. This new model, designated the Curtiss A-25, is an Army version of the U.S. Navy SB2C-1 Helldiver, previously and also now in production by the company, and, it is said, "has been recognised by American naval officers and British aviation experts as the best dive-bomber in the world." The present design of the A-25 *s so similar to the SB2C-1 that minor changes which can be made in the field will adapt it for naval use. It is a two-seat, mid-wing monoplane powered with a 1,700 h.p. Wright Cyclone engine and is equipped with a Curtiss three-bladed electric variable-pitch airscrew and a retractable undercarriage. All details of bomb capacity, armament and performance are withheld, as is usual in introducing new U.S. types; it is claimed to have higher speed, longer range and greater striking power than any dive-bomber now in service. Dive bomber for the U.S. Army Air Forces. These pictures supp.ement one published in our issue of February 18thU.S. Navy's Helldiver is dealt with on page b of this issue. Externally there is little difference between the two r The engine, a 1,700 h.p. Wright Cyclone, drives an electrically-operated airscrew. Themodels.
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