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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0666.PDF
FLIGHT MAY 13TH, 194S FOREICN SERVICE INTELLIGENCE ~~" -*- LARGEST LANDPLANE? BELGIAN RENAISSANCE i^ US. AIR FORCE BILL SWEDISH STRENGTH AW POWER IN PERSPECTIVE—I: Re- public P 84 Thunderjets o, a U.S.A.F. fighter group pass by with their Gemral fc/actr/c J-35 axial-flow turbojets at high r.p.m. Though having a speed com- parable with that of the Meteor IV, which has 7,000 Ib static thrust against the Thunderjet's 4,000 Ib, these American fighters are inferior in rate of climb. X \ SAID to be the largest land plane in the world (the BristolBrabazon and Consolidated-Vultee B-36 both measure 230ft in span), the Boeing B-52 bomber, now under construc-tion, is to be powered by turbine-airscrew units. Martin and Consolidated-Y ultee have prepared designs for bombers tothe same programme, but work on these types has been cancelled. A TEN-YEAR programme for the reorganization of theBelgian Air Force, which will give Belgium an air arm proportionately stronger than that of any of her partners inthe Five-Power Western Union, has been announced. The nucleus of the present Belgian Air Force was the Belgiansection of our own Royal Air Force, which constituted two fighter squadrons. To-day the total strength is eight first-linesquadrons, including four day-fighter squadrons; one night- fighter squadron; an army co-operation squadron and a trans-port group for the assistance of the Working on British lines, the Bel»r£fc authorities AIR POWER IN PERSPECTIVE—11: The U.S. Air Force Bill, to which reference is made on this page, will doubtless lead to the withdrawal from store of great numbers of wartime types of aircraft, though these may be utilized only for training. This aerial view shows a few of the machinss available. establish several additional squadrons, staffed with a cadreof regular airmen, but manned, in the main, by reservists. Lt. Col Donnet, the Chief of Organization, is a former R.A.F.wing commander who escaped from occupied Belgium in 1941. Belgian day-fighter squadrons are at present equipped withSpitfire XIVs, but by next year it is hoped to have at least one squadron equipped with Meteors. Belgian pilots are atpresent in Great Britain foi instruction on jet aircraft. NO fewer than 12,441 operational aircraft and 502,000 menare the aim of a Bill presented to the U.S. Congress last week. The Bill appropriates funds to finance the first partof a programme for enlarging the U.S.A.F. in two years from the present 55 groups to 70 groups. This will necessitate addingin the first year 804 jet fighters and 49 of the latest bombers— 17 of them jet-propelled. The cost of the whole programme willabout ^1,875 millions—about 2\ times the present appropria- tions. A warning by Mr. James Forrestal, Secretary of Defence,that to spend the extra money might impose "explosive pressure" on the country's already strainedeconomy, has been overridden by Congress. The new force of 70 groups, though a spectacularincrease over pre-war strength, will be only about a quarter of the maximum wartime air strength ofthe United States. Less than four years ago there were 270 groups, with 80,000 aircraft of all types and 2,411,000 men. It seems that Congressional support for the new-appropriation was based on quality rather than quantity, the question having %risen whether theAir Force should be equipped with the latest types of aircraft or with wartime types now in storage. [N.B.—The seventeen jet-propelled bombersmentioned before Congress are almost certainly of the North American B-45 type which, with fourGeneral Electric axial-flow turbojets, has a speed of "over 480 m.p.h." A crew of three is carriedand there is a gunner's position in the extreme tail.] A HIGHER state of preparedness and increasedflexibility are the aims of a new supple- mentary plan for the reorganization of Sweden's military resources. According to the new plan, the fighter forces of the Swedish Air Force are to be considerably strengthened. During the next three financial years, three of the ten day-fighter wings are to be reinforced by 50 per cent and a special night-fighter wing will be established. . The policy is for general conversion to jet propulsion
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