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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1043.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Editorial Director Editor Assistant Editor - Art Editor - G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. • C. M. POULSEN - MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. WING CDR., R.A.F.V.R.) - JOHN YOXALL FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WbRLD .• FOUNDED 1909 Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines.) COVENTRY: 8-10. CORPORATION ST. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry, Telephone : Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 : £^W ED WSAT °R Z°^¥' Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham'. Telephone : Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3: 260, DEANSGATE. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. GLASGOW, C.2 : 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams: Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : Home and Abroad : Year, £3 I 0. Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper 6 months, £1 10 6. No. 1953. Vol. XLIX. May 30th, 1946. Thursdays, One Shilling; We Outlook A Problem of PenetrationS EVERAL spectators at a recent demonstration of the "Grand Slam" Lancaster and Superfortress were puzzled that the R.A.F., and more particularly the U.S-A.A.F., should be worried over the failure of the ten-ton bomb to achieve its calculated penetration in concrete. Such puny weapons, they felt, have been rendered superfluous by the atom bomb, and no enter- prising air force has any right to be toying with them in this atomic age. An R.A.F. expert seemed disinclined to discuss the potential destructive powers of an atomic charge in a bomb designed for penetration (anyone's guess, of course, was as good as his), but it was obvious from what he said that deep-penetration H.E. bombs ; like " Grand Slam " are gaining rather than diminishing in importance. Had the war continued the failure of early patterns to wreck subterranean and concrete-pro- tected installations might have proved embarrassing, as a major part of the enemy's war potential was going underground. The R.A.F. and A.A.F. are sufficiently concerned about the results of wartime attacks with "Grand Ijfotfns" to experiment on an impressive scale, as de- scribed in this issue, with new types of concrete-piercing bombs. The U.S. component of a joint enterprise has brought over some 4,500 lb rocket-assisted bombs, but the R.A.F., having experimented with weapons of this sort (developed like the ten-tonner in this country) does not appear vitally interested and is obviously not con- cerned that "for technical reasons" no British bomber can carry this type. Results obtained by the Germans with their 500, 1,000, 1,400 and 1,800 kg rocket-bombs were not impressive. These bombs, known as the " PC " series, were carried by dive bombers only (Ju 87 and Ju 88) and were used to a limited extent in the Mediterranean theatre. The PC 1,400 (about 3,000 lb) was capable of penetrating about 6| feet of reinforced concrete, equivalent to some 4J inches of armour plate. The outcome of current penetration tests on the U- boat pens at Farge is a secret, but our unique ex- perience with large bombs, the skill of our armament technicians and the co-operation of the Americans (and, for that matter, of the Germans, in supplying a ready- made target) can hardly fail to establish the reason or reasons why big bombs are not achieving their calculated penetration. Equipment versus Payload WITH the ever-increasing number of safetyrequirements and regulations to fit civil aircraftfor international operation, the moment is rapidly approaching when the evolution of a medium- sized feeder-line type will, far from being the easiest, become most difficult of all projects for the designer. The designer of a civil aircraft of less, say, than 10,000 lb all-up weight is nowadays faced with very con- siderable problems. If the aircraft is to be used on very serious day-to-day services it must carry all "standard " items of equipment, such as radio and de-icing gear, which, with all the myriad odds and ends of ancillary services, are necessarily almost as heavy for an aircraft in this size as they are for one in the 100-tonnor class. He must also design his aircraft so that it will fulfil the full-size safety requirements involved in dealing with possible engine failure immediately after take-off. Consequently, in order to obtain a good proportionate payload in a small aircraft, the greatest possible care must be taken in the choice of means by which the struc- ture and other weights can be kept down without the loss of maintenance ease or an increase in manufacturing costs. In the Dove, which is described in this issue, it may be that the limits, in the balance between payload and modern equipment in such a small size, have been almost reached. Though it is likely that the develop- ment of small-output airscrew-turbines will alter this
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