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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1983.PDF
November iph, 1947 FLIGHT 549 AMERIC Douglas Skystreak—the world's fastest aircraft. Diverse Military Applications : Two, Four, Six and Eight-Jet Bombers VALUABLE though it undoubtedly is, the world'sair speed record, held by the American pilot of aDouglas Skystreak research aircraft, is less significanttechnically than are the numerous turbine-powered prototype aircraft which have been unveiled during recent months in the U.S.A. Possession of these machines means that America will gain flying experience with various power-plant layouts and combinations in aircraft ranging in size from small single-jet fighters to large six- and eight- jet bombers. Urgent problems concerning the operation of high-speed military aircraft, notably the large jet-pro- pelled bomber types, may now be studied in practice. To a large extent this undeniable American advantage is offset by the recognized superiority of Britain's comprehensive range of turbine power units. The installation of Pratt' and Whitney-built Rolls-Royce Nenes in American airframes is in progress, and a Nene-powered Grumman fighter —the XF9F2—should soon take the air. Unfor- tunately, a photograph of this type, which will probably correspond to our own Hawker N. 7/46, is not yet available to supplement the views of recent turbine-powered aircraft presented on these pages. ^"Whereas the American Army is now concentra- ting on pure-jet aircraft (though it has experi- mented with the Consolidated Vultee XP-81, having one airscrew turbine and one turbo-jet), the Navy is seriously interested in '' mixed power units, and three examples of aircraft so powered are illustrated. Unlike our own "fly- ing test beds," with piston engines and turbine units, these American machines were designed with specific operational roles in view. Standard piston-engined aircraft adapted for the flight- testing of turbine units are less known than the British Lancasters and Lincolns which have?' been modified to take the A.S.X., Nene, Ghost, Theseus, Dart, Mamba and Python, but several test installations have been made in America. In particular, the Boeing B-29 (Superfortress) and Douglas A-26 (Invader) airframes have rendered valuable service as "test beds." So far as is known, no rocket-propelled • military aircraft has yet been flown in America, but rocket experience is being acquired with the Bell XS-i transoni# researprir aircraft. Mention has been made of rocket-assisted turtto-jet interceptors, including the Lock- heed XP-90, and the design of pure-rocket fighters has, been studied in detail. Not the smallest of the problems attending the develop- ment of jet-f>ropelled military aircraft is that of armament. Unorthodox gun installations are being studied, but it will be gathered from these pages that for the present the 0.5m Colt (Browning) gun continues • in popularity, a typical fighter armament being six guns of this type. Some jet b»mbers wul have/barbettes,, likewise with 0.5m guns. Sweep-bock on the wing and tail surfaces of the North-American XP-86 should allow it to attain a higher critical Mach Number than the XFJ-\ Navy fighter by the same firm (see page 551). The power unit is a General Electric TG-180. ,*=>
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