FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0170.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY-25TH, 1945 WITH THE HIGHER UPS was felt, needless, as it turned out, since all the machines took off with runway to spare. There is, of course, plenty of urge to get them unstuck. The lift flaps are put down 10 to 15 degrees and the 70-series Merlins revved up to 3,000 r.p.m. with +12 showing on the boost gauge. In case of an emergency, the throttle can be pushed " through the gate" and +18 boost immediately obtained. It is somewhat difficult to assess the exact length or time of a Mosquito take-off. There is always a distinct tendency to swing to port on the take-off, and to counteract this, or rather to prevent the swing starting, the throttles are opened very gradually in the early stages. Despite this, a Mos- quito with sufficient fuel for a return trip by devious-routes to Berlin and back (four hours plus) is airborne after run- ning between 1,200 yards and 1,500 yards. The time elapsed is two or three seconds over the half-minute. HOLES, BOMB-AIMERS FOR THE USE OF : A perfectlycircular hole in an extensive strato-cumulus sheet of cloud which had no other breaks for some hundreds of miles.No explanation of its formation is known. It is suggested that one of these holes should be issued to each aircrewthrough which to drop their bombs. At the height at which these Mosquito attacks are carried out, it is surprising that they should be troubled by flak at all. The Germans have, however, some special A.A- guns which can put up quite a respectable barrage over 30,000ft. high. TnjjT mnnthnr it j^nrmntr or inaccurate would probabk/«^5e""telling the enemy"s«ariething which he would veyy*much like to knSw. The nuyber of Mosquitoes brought" down by this form of defend? cannot give him — // 10' ~*~ Overweather to the Target Once the machine is in the air with the flaps up and the undercarriage re- tracted, the engines are throttled back to 2,650 r.p.m. with from 4 lb. to 6 lb. on the boost clock. This gives a good climbing speed and rate of climb. At somewhere between 20,000ft. and 35,000ft. altitude, overweather conditions are always to be found. Here a clear run to the target, free of icing, is ensured, whereas heavy bombers, unable to make the height, would have to fly blind in ten-tenths cloud, suffering all the while from icing of airframe, intakes and— perhaps most important of all—the radio aerials. WAITING 01. .. i-ATHER : The aircrew of the Met. Flight D for Dog. They have both flown over 60 sorties each.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
