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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1462.PDF
226 FLIGHT AUGUST 25TH, 1949 Russia's Jet Progress connection a comparison of the M-003 unit with the Nene is' instructive: — Weight/thrust ratioFuel consumption Oil consumptionThrust rating (max) M-003 0.66 lb/lb thrust 1.20 lb/hr 6.50 Ib/hr 2,030 1b Nene 0.33 lb/lb thrust 1.06 lb/hr i.5lb/hr 5,000 lb. .".. 1 . This use of German knowledge allowed the Soviet Union to reach in 1947 the level of development which had been at- tained by the Germans themselves in the 3rears 1941-3, so it is not an exaggeration to say that the U.S.S.R. was probably ten years behind the world's foremost exponents of jet development. Having awakened from their slumbers, those responsible suddenly realized that they had strayed into a dangerous blind-alley. But the way out appeared quite unexpectedly: the British authorities sold to the Soviet Government a certain number of British jet units—the excellent Nenes! I know that Minister Khrunichev and Stalin were very grateful for this unexpected favour. We need not doubt that very soon their studies of the Nene will allow Soviet constructors to create excellent combat aircraft, for which they will be awarded many a Stalin prize. The U.S.S.R. does not possess as yet any jet-propelled bombers, if one excludes a certain number of German Ar.234 and Ju.287 ; but jet-propelled fighters went into service in 1947. The first and best of them was the single-seater Mig-9, powered with two M-003 units. This aircraft is of all-metal construction and has a tricycle undercarriage. It was de- signed by Major-General of the Air Force Artem Mikoyan (chief designer and brother of the Politburo member), Mik- hail Gurevich (acting chief designer), and Nilolai Matyuk (chief of the general planning and aerodynamics group at the designs office). The maximum speed of the Mig-9, Iuny. armed, does not in practice exceed 515 m.p.h., but it has^ a very powerful armament in cannon (1x53 mm+2x' 20 mm or 13 mm), and that makes it a formidable fighter, although piloting is not as simple as might be desired. • The second fighter is the Yak-15. Its armament is the same as that of the piston-engined Yak-9, and it is powered by two M-004 units, placed in the same way as in the Mig-9. Its maximum speed is 560 ni.p.h. The La-15 fighter appears to be less successful ; it has not reached its final stage of construction, and therefore it is still too early to speak of it. The Junkers group at Dessau, headed by the Engineer Baade, deserves special attention. This group produced a completely new gas-turbine-propelled aircraft (something like the Stormovik), which was turned down by a Soviet Governmental Commission in 1946. Baade continued to work towards the perfection of this machine. It is difficult to say what stage his work has reached at present, but, given units of the Nene type, the Baade group is capable of producing good aircraft. What I have written so far does not disclose any secrets. I do not want to divulge Stalin's real secrets, although I am an enemy of his regime; that signifies that I do not want to describe in detail the precise nature of the work carried out by Baade's group. I will, however, men- tion that the Soviet Government took special care of the design office of the Siebel firm at Halle, which was work- ing on a project for a 1,680 m.p.h. craft. The design office was transferred complete to the U.S.S.R., where it is con- tinuing its work. Special interest also attaches to the Ju.263 rocket-propelled interceptor, developed from the Me. 163 under the direction of Baade. One of these days the Ju.263 may become standard equipment in the Soviet Air Force. MONOPROPELLANT FOR ROCKETS A LARGE number of rocket propellants have been examinedand tried out during and since the war, and one which has several attractive properties was the subject of a paper" Nitromethane Excels as Rocket Propellant," presented earlier this year at an S.A.E. meeting in New York. The authorswere Dr. Fritz Zwicky and Mr. Chandler C. Ross, respectively director of research and chief engineer in the liquid enginedepartment of Aerojet Engineering Corporation. Summarizing from the Journal of the Society it may bestated that ease of handling makes nitromethane a more attrac- tive rocket propellant than common bipropellant combinations.Nitromethane is a monopropellant containing all the con- stituents in the proper ratio for heat release at high-explosiverates, and it will not decompose under temperature and pres- sure conditions likely to be met. Tests, it is said, have shownthat the liquid is relatively insensitive to shock—although the point has been argued vigorously by rocket specialists. Containers, pipe lines and fittings for nitromethane presentno special problems; corrosion is negligible, and low vapour pressure and low viscosity simplify pumping. All these goodhandling characteristics of nitromethane contrast with the sensitivity, high vapour pressures, corrosivity, toxicity, andfire hazard of the oxidizers commonly used in bipropellant systems; even so, the performance characteristics are com-parable. Properties of Nitromethane (CH,NOJ are as follows: It isa clear, colourless liquid of the nitroparaffin group, having a slight and not disagreeable odour. It decomposes to carbondioxide, carbon monoxide, water, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Molecular weight of the liquid is 61: specific weight is70.96 lb/cu ft at 700 F and 68.07 lb/cu ft at 1300 F. DIEPPE RAID ANNIVERSARY SIX Hornets of the R.A.F., which made two runs over theSquare du Canada—the site where the Casino once stood —provided the sole contribution to the Dieppe raid (1942) Commemoration Ceremonies held at Dieppe last Friday. The Canadian Ambassador in Paris, Major General Vanier, and numerous high-ranking Canadian officers, including General Crerar and General Robertson, made this a Canada Day rather than a truly representative anniversary. Early as was its occurrence, the Dieppe raid—it was much more than the limited word "raid" implies—brought hope ofliberation to millions of Frenchmen. The Royal Navy, in more than 200 ships, brought the 6,000-odd troops to theirlanding points, and the R.A.F. gave close support cover in more than 2,000 sorties from dawn to dusk. The chances ofsuccess were negligible: 6,000 troops, however gallant, could not take on the German armies in France. But the raid cameas a rude shock to the German complacency and succeeded in pinning down large enemy air and land forces over an ex-tended littoral. It was, also, the first British and Allied attempt to co-ordinate land, sea and air forces on a plannedattack. Present at the ceremonies, which combined Hommagc auxMorts with honour to the Canadians and the award of the Croix de Guerre avec Palmes to the town of Dieppe, were contingentsof the French Army, Air Force and Navy; but, perhaps sig- nificantly, neither French aircraft nor warships were anywhereto be seen. The R.A.F. Hornets on fly-past completely obliter- ated for several moments the broadcast of an impassioned poemon the subject of liberation, delivered by a Shirley-Temple-type French radio star, 12-year-old Lucie Valnor. One looked irivain for a Union Jack, a White Ensign or a Light Blue Ensign. ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS MANY of the most striking photographs reproduced inFlight are taken by staff photographers; those of the Vickers-Supermarine 510 (issue of July 28th) and HawkerP.1052 (July 14th) are recent examples. Readers are reminded that photographic prints of all suchpictures (as denoted by the word "Flight photograph" used in conjunction with the published illustration) are obtainable;prices for various sizes are as follows: — Glossy or TonedSize semi-matt sepia hin x 4n 2s 3s 3d8in x 6in 3s 4s t)d ioin x 8in s 6s 3di2inxioin 5s 8s 15m x I2in 8s 6d us2oinxi6irt us fid 15s There is also an extensive series of postcards (price Sd)illustrating historical and modern British Service aircraft. Application should be made to Flight Publishing Co., Ltd.,Dorset House, Stamford Street, London, S.E.i. E iS
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