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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1529.PDF
September 16th, 1948 341 Jet outlet and filet details of the Hawker N.7/46. wing, the place normally occupied by the cannon magazines having been given up to an electrical recording unit. The absence of the £.1/44 left a regrettable gap in the pro- gramme. Another notable absentee was the Supermarine Attacker. Details of this highly developed land- or carrier-based Nene- powered fighter are, however, generally known, and it was hoped (in vain, alas) that preliminary particulars of a development, with swept-back wing and tail surfaces, might be released. There is no apparent reason why a de Havilland Ghost turbojet should not be installed in aircraft of the Attacker family as an alternative to the Rolls-Royce Nene. Though reference to the specialized fighter-bomber Mark 5 Vampire has already been made in Flight, this interesting new variant made its first public appearance. Externally it resembles the Mk 3, but has square-cutjvmg tips of 38ft span (the Mk 3 measures 40ft) and is strengthened locally to handle heavy alternative loads of R.P.s or bombs. The power unit is the Goblin 1 of 3,000 lb static thrust. Representative external loads were disposed on the tarmac beneath the wings of this compact-looking ground-attack fighter, the amputated extremities of wtiich contrasted sharply with the extended, pointed, wings of the special Ghost-Vampire which, with Mr. John Cunning- ham under its special metallic canopy, attained the world's record height of 59,492ft. On that historic occasion, of course, " TG 278 " was stripped of paint, but this deficiency was generously rectified before the display by the applica- tion of an extremely handsome glossy cream finish, relieved by exquisite gold and black markings. It is com- forting to know that in the Ghost-Vampire research air- craft (fitted, incidentally, with a specially rated Ghost "development" unit) we have a potential high-altitude interceptor capable of dealing with any specialized bombers which might be employed against this country, as were the Ju 86Ps during the late war. To help counter that menace, it may be recalled, de Havillands extended the wings of a special pressurized Mosquito. Though the so-called " long-nosed Meteor 4," with addi- tional fuselage tankage, was publicized at Radlett in 1947, the Meteor fighter on display this year was a perfectly standard machine from the Mark 4 production line. (It General arrangement of the N.7/46 Naval fighter. appears tnat the version with the lengthened fuselage is to be allocated a new Mark number—possibly Mk 8—in which case it becomes subject to security restrictions!) From the technical standpoint greater interest attached to the* Meteor 4, powered with Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl axial- flow turbojets in lengthened underslung nacelles, basically of cylindrical form. With the increased thrust of the Beryls (7,700 lb total, against the 7,000 lb delivered by the standard Derwent 5s) and with its very clean airframe (the gun ports were faired over) the Metrovick-Meteor is proving very fast indeed. Structurally the Beryl-Meteor differs from the standard Mk 4 in the main spar arrangement, the characteristic '' banjo'' having given place to an inverted " U " section. The makers point out that information ob- tained with this machine should prove a valuable guide to high-speed applications of the Beryl in future aircraft. It is interesting to recall that a modified prototype of the Meteor, equipped with the forerunner of the Beryl, was the first aircraft with axial-flow turbojets to fly in this country. With two F.2/1 units, this historic machine—to specifica- tion F.9/40—first flew at Famborough in 1943—not, be it said, in public. Once again the sole representative in the heavy bomber category was an Avro Lincoln 2, fully armed with its 0.5m and 20 mm guns. Though there are many faster and more modern bombers now flying overseas, the Lincoln has* so much in common with the Lancaster and is so greatly superior in performance and armament, that for years to come it will stand proud among any assemblage of military aircraft. Nevertheless, some sleeker and lower Avro bomber would make a welcome sight in its company. The Bristol Brigand appeared in its " B.i " bomber form, with full panoply, including two 1,000-lb bombs under the fuselage and two 500-pounders beneath the wings. The fuselage bombs are stowed on the centre line, the forward one being well towards the nose, in the region of the cannon muzzles; those under the wings are suspended from faired carriers, approximately of aerofoil section. Though the Brigand carried its full complement of fixed guns (4X 20 mm) the dorsal-mounted 0.5m Browning was not in evidence. A model on the Martin-Baker stand depicted a proposal for a turbojet fighter of Delta plan form, with the pilot Landing cfter 0 very-high-speed demonstration, the beryl-Meteor shows its nacelle form.
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