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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 2146.PDF
25o FLIGHT Sixty-fourth of the Latest Recognition Series Aircraft Types and DEFIANT II TARGET TUG TARGET towing has, in the past, been one of a varietyof jobs given to obsolescent aircraft.But aerial combat takes place to-day at such high speeds that it has been necessary to use much faster tugsthan hitherto so that pilots can be trained under conditions approximating more closely to those they will experiencein actual operations against the enemy. Few of the older types adapted for drogue towing meet present-day require-ments except the Hawker Henley (which was originally designed as a fighter but never went into service as such)and the Miles Martinet, which was specially designed for target towing comparatively recently. To augment the Henleys and Martinets, the BbultonPaul Defiant II has now been modified for drogue towing, and it is the first modern fighter so to be employed. Thetype, Jhowever, is still in service with the R.A.F. as a day and night fighter, and yet another version, with atwo-gun turret, functions as a gunnery trainer. While the main characteristics of the Defiant, particu- larly its informative triangular fin and rudder, have clearlysurvived the adaptation, the tug version does present a numbei of important changes in outline. First and fore-most, the once fa'miliar four-gun Boulton Paul turret has disappeared and in its place there is a slightly raised trans-parent cockpit cover. A winch projects from the starboard side of this cockpit, there is a short arm projecting fromthe bottom of the fuselage just behind the radiator, and immediately aft of this arm is the long shallow containerhousing the drogue target itself. This container extends to within a few inches of the tailwheel. The cable from the air-driven winch passes through the aim to the drogue. The small projections seen on the tailplane tips are wires toprevent accidental damage from the cable when the drogue is in tow. Powered by a 1,260 h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engine,the top speed of the Defiant with drogue in tow is about 260 m.p.h. at 20,000ft., as compared with 306 m.p.h. at13,500ft. for the turret fighter version. TRIANCULAR FIN AND RUDDER TAPER RECTANGULAR CENTRE SECTION RADIATOR \ TO PROTECT TIPS TOWINC ARM I) DROGUE CONTAINER •*=—^Q\ TAPER DIHEDRAL FROM VERY WIDE CENTRE SECTION Span Length Height W/'nj area DIMENSIONS ,39ft. 4in. ... ..* 35ft. Oin. lift. Oin. 250 sq.ft.
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