FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0357.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Editorial Director G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Editor • -CM. POULSEN Assistant Editor - MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.c. (WING CDR.. R.A.F.V.R.) Art Editor - JOHN YOXALL FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD •• FOUNDED mo9 Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices • DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Flightpres, Seditt, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (60 Unas.) COVENTRY: 8-10, CORPORATION ST. Telegrams ." Autocar, Coventry. Telephone : Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2: KING EDWARD HOUSE, NEW STREET. Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone : Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : 260, DEANSGATE. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone : Blackfriars 4412. GLASGOW, C2: 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow Telephone : Central 4857 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Abroad : Year. £3 10. 6 months, £1 10 6. No. 2047 Vol. Llll March 18th, 1948 Thursdays, One Shilling c7Ae Outlook Naval Air Equipment ; AVIATION having been dismissed in the Navy Esti-mates with little more than a catalogue of carriersand a chapter of accidents, the time is opportune to consider the technical quality of our naval flying equipment. One of the most notable events in naval flying since the war—the successful deck trials of the Sea Vampire —must first be recalled. Here was a most meritorious and promising achievement, but those (and there were many) who foresaw squadrons of Sea Vampires or other jet fighters quickly forming up in the Royal Navy have been bitterly disappointed. Very few, if any, naval jet aircraft are in service, nor have orders yet been an- nounced for the Supermarine Attacker, which has com- ,^*ed its initial deck trials, or for the Hawker N.7/46. ^^/iewing the American scene, as we must if we are to obtain an idea of what can be achieved where financial resources are commensurate with technical skill, we find that, following carrier trials with the Fireball and Shoot- ing Star, quantities of Grumman, North American, McDonnell and Vought jet fighters have been ordered, and that useful numbers have already been delivered to the U.S. Navy. A long-range shore-based type with piston engines and turbo-jets is also on trial, not to mention jet-assisted strike aircraft. We in Britain may consider ourselves fortunate that, in the absence of jet machines, the piston-engined fighters now being supplied to our own Naval Air Arm^-the Hawker Sea Furies, D.H. Sea Hornets, Supermarine Seaftie 47s and Fairey Firefly IVs—are of such sound quality. They are, nevertheless, multi-purpose machines, and would be sorely tried in attempting to stem an attack on the Fleet by even a small number of let aircraft. Similarly, when used for reconnaissance, they would fare badly if opposed by jets. Our naval strike machines—Firebrands and Sea Mos- quitoes—seem adequate for the present, though the / are available only in small quantities. Neither type was designed for carrier operation, as were the Wyvern and Firecrest, both piston-engined types, still in the proto- type stage. Should the picture not brighten before the Debate on the next Estimates, we must hope and expect that the House will give the same attention to our naval . !r equipment as it lately paid to our ageing and depleted bomber force. - ,.-.- — . • - - The Technical PressM ODESTY is a virtue which can be overdone. At least that appears to be the opinion of Mr. Roland E. Dangerfield, who read a paper be- fore the Royal Society of Arts on March 10th, under the titl; " The Trade and Technical Press." Mr. Dangerfield quoted a passage from the leading article of a well-known journal and commented : "Such modesty may be a wel- come contrast to the blatancies of the headline and the loudspeaker; yet one is tempted to comment that although it may be magnificent, it is not business." He had previously stated that we of the technical press, who spend our lives portraying the performances of others, have always been singularly reticent upon the subject of our own achievements. In very truth, the British technical and trade press might be forgiven for blowing its own trumpet a little more than it does. Its importance has increased with the years, and by no means the least of its merits is that provided by its foreign circulation, which plays such a useful part in connection with export. In the aviation industry, this has been realized for many years. At one of the Paris shows between the wars the Editor cc Flight chided the head of one of the largest British aircraft firms for not showing. The reply was : '' Why should we? One of your detailed descriptions of one of our machines brings in more real business than any Paris Aero Show." -
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
