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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0298.PDF
252 FLIGHT MARCH 4TH, 1948 Standard equipment in heavy-bomber units of the R.A.F.—the Avro Lincoln, with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. Max. bomb load: 22,000 Ib; armament: 4xO.5in and 2x20 mm guns. BOMBERS of the POWERS British, American and Russian Types : The Lincoln Our Latest : Brabazon-size Bombers in Production IN a memorandum accompanying the Air Estimates for1948-49, the Secretary for Air has stated that specialattention is being given to the training of the R.A.F.'s Bomber Force in the realization that the existence ofefficient striking forces is this country's most effective safe- guard against aggression. He further remarked that theAir Council aims '' to enable a substantial weight of air power to be developed at short notice in any area whereit may be required." Thus the emphasis is on training, mobility and re-deployment. Re-equipment has no placein the programme. The factors governing our present bomber policy are notdifficult to perceive. Skilled manpower and money are in short supply, scales of equipment and re-equipment are pro-portionately low, and the metamorphosis which has be- come apparent in the design of all classes of high per-formance aircraft is of so radical a character that a vast amount of basic research must be undertaken before suit-able new types of bomber can be introduced into service. Britain now possesses a small operational force of Lin-colns and Lancasters, backed, it may be presumed, by fair stocks of wartime Lancasters and Halifaxes andmanned by crews who, though well trained on standard equipment, lack experience of bombers with a higher per-formance than the Lincoln. Though an admirable machine in many ways, the Lin-coln, it must be remembered, is a development of the Lancaster and is itself five years old in design. Post-warimprovements in the type have been of a relatively minor nature and no Mark is known to be capable of the per-formance of the con- temporary AmericanB-29 Superfortress— still less of the laterB-50. It is, neverthe- less, gratifying to re-cord that the maximum bomb load of the Lin-coln is 22,000 lb, and that when this is re-duced to 3,000 lb a range of 4,450 miles is Pressurized for high-alti- tude operation the Boeing B-29 (Wright R-3350 engines) remains in service as a standard U.S. heavy bomber. Maximum arma- ment is ten 0.5in guns and one 20 mm. attainable by the standard Mark II version. The arma-ment is four 0.5111 guns and twin 20 mm guns in a dorsal turret. Though over 300 m.p.h., the top speed is appre-ciably lower than that of comparable American ±ypes. The bomber situation in Britain would be less disturb-ing if service trials were known to be in progress on more modern types than the Lincoln, especially turbine-poweredmachines. Such, however, is far from being the case, though a measure of satisfaction is afforded by a Ministryof Supply announcement that an order has been placed for a medium-range bomber powered with two turbo-jetsand capable of a speed approximately twice that of the Lincoln, and that, subsequent to this, an order was givenfor a heavy four-jet bomber with a similar performance, but having a longer range. Against this solitary state-ment must be set a mass of American releases concern- ing five new types of jet bomber for the U.S. Air Forces,all of which have flown. Ths Boeing B-50 For the present, the greater part of the American bomberforce is composed of B-29S, large number of which have lately been taken out of store, but deliveries of B-50Swill start in the spring. This latest model of the Super- fortress (215 are on order) is claimed to cruise 27 per centfaster than the B-29 over equal ranges; cruise about 50 m.p.h. faster than any other bomber capable of flyin.equivalent distances ; and to have a top speed approai ing 400 m.p.h. Four 3,500 h.p. Wasp Major engines are*fitted and a great deal of structure weight has "been saved-.. " Flight " photograph.
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