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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0317.PDF
FEBRUARY 14TH, 1946 FLIGHT i6g FAIREY SPEARFISH •1 tank. The Spearfish has a structural safety factor of ; at its operational weight. Compact Centaurus Installation The unusually neat engine installation embodies some •resting features. For normal flying the top forward- ;a,ing air intake is used, but on lowering the wheels, or by a separate control, an underside air intake can be hruught into use which incorporates an air filter. This intake is through a series of parallel transverse shrouded K'lls, flush with the cowlings, which reverse the flow of *''• air as it enters, thus giving a good measure of centri- cal filtering. A third internal hot-air intake may also used, and the system includes two ducts with flaps as protection against back-firing. The oil tank is wrapped iii glass wool and mounted high up on the engine side of the fireproof bulkhead. The oil cooler in the port leading is>e is of the same type as that used for the Firebrand. The Spearfish is intended for medium-altitude operation, I the Bristol Centaurus 58, which has interconnected Main, servo and trimming controls on the rudder. The dogon the centre sprocket engages with a corresponding slot on the trimming controls in the fuselage wedge so that bias maybe set on the torsion bar. In view of the unusuallyroomy fuselage and bomb bay, emergency transportationmight be added to the already numerous duties of theSpearfish. throttle and airscrew controls, gives a combination of economy and high cruising power at altitude. At 21,250ft. 1 539 b.h.p. is delivered for a consumption of 0.455 It)./ b.h.p./hr., and at the same altitude in rich mixture the power output is 2,060 b.h.p. These and the take-off power are well within the capacity of the engine. It cannot be said that the performance of the Spearfish is outstanding by comparison with other specialist air-craft, nor that the general specification is very advanced. The machine is, however, a sound mechanical job withlavish equipment and good range. It is more than capable of doing the work to be assigned to it and is an aircraftfrom which much useful experience will be gained in con- nection with auxiliary flying controls. "HUMP" FINALE IN our issue of January 17, we referred to the closing of the"Hump" route to China. Although this route was pioneered by the U.S. Air Transport Command and the ChineseRational Aviation Corporation, the R.A.F. put in a very con- Hderable effort in flying supplies over this route to China,ijarticularly during the later stages. When American participation ceased in September last year,No. 52 Squadron, R.A.F. carried on, completing 15,000 hours over the route in eighteen months with the loss of only oneaircraft. Between July, 1944, and December, 1945, this Squad- ron made 830 crossings of the " Hump " <o Kunming, carrying3,277 passengers, 1,916,443 lb. of freight and 44,834 lb. of mail. Other R.A.F. units which have taken part in theseoperations into China are Nos, 298, 257, 159, and 31 Squadrons and 1,341 Flight. In 1042, No. 31 Squadron made 150 (ripsover the route. From its inception, early in 1942, the "Hump" servicesteadily developed until it attained a frequency of more than 200 aircraft a day. The original route forced aircraft well tothe north over mountain peaks seventeen thousand feet high, in an attempt to avoid Japanese interception, but later, as theJapanese were pushed south and more airTields became avail- able, it was possible to fly a more southerly course where amaximum height of 13,000ft. proved sufficient to clear the mountain ranges. One development of the " Hump " route was the efficient air/land rescue service which came into operation under American control. Doctors and nursing orderlies with complete surgicalequipment were parachuted down to stranded crews, whose forced march back to India or China was covered each dayby a friendly umbrella of aircraft dropping comforts and in- structions Even the head-hunting Naga tribesmen werepersuaded, in many cases, to render valuable assistance to airmen iorced down on the route. TURBINES & RECIPROCATING ENGINES COMPARED J\JEXT week's issue of Flight will contain a four-page1 v coloured supplement with a graphic description oj rhe action of a gas turbine compared to a four-stroke reciprocating engine.
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