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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0026.PDF
FLIGHT Aircraft in F THE outstanding difference between the Spitfire IX and earlier marks of this famous single-seater fighter is its Rolls-Royce Merlin LXI engine, which has a two-stage, two- speed supercharger and intercooler, which maintains its per formance up to 40,000ft. Top speed exceeds 400 m.p.h. It also embodies certain modifications to the airframe. To accommodate the Merlin LXI engine the nose had to be lengthened. Other modifications include a lower drag cockpit hood and a straighter leading edge to the wings. The most obvious recognition point, however, is the presence of two radiators, one under each wing. Armament of the Spitfire IX consists of two 20 mm. cannon and four 0.303m. Browning machine guns in the wings. Pro vision for two more cannon is shown by the small protrusions alongside the existing cannon. An auxiliary " slipper " fuel tank is carried under the centre-section. Dimensions: Span 36ft. ioin., length 31ft., height lift. 5m., wing area 242 sq. ft. Supermarine Spitfire IX Single-seater Fighter. HELLCAT (2,000 h.p. Pratt & Whitney) Grumman Hellcat (F6F-1) Single-seater Fighter. VERY similar in general lines to the Martlet, or Wildcat, of which it is a development, the Grumman Hellcat (F6F-1 in the U.S. Navy) is a carrier fighter now also in service with the Fleet Air Arm. It is said to be armed with 0.5m. machine guns, though cannon may also be fitted. Like its friendly rival, the F4U Corsair, it is powered by a 2,000 h.p. 18-cylinder Pratt and Whitney Double Wasp engine, and has a top speed in the region of 400 m.p.h. Besides being some 5ft. greater in span and length than the Wildcat, the Hellcat differs in being of the low-wing type, with a flat centre-section carrying a backwardly retracting under carriage ; previous Grumman designs incorporated an under carriage which retracted into the belly of the fuselage. Cowling and fuselage are oval in section, the former having a crescent- shaped air-intake below the airscrew hub. Dimensions : Span 42ft. ioin., length 33ft. 7m., height 13ft. 6in., wing area 297.6 sq. ft.
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