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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1292.PDF
"SCOUTS" AND FIGHTERS . . . same height in 3J minutes and carries four 20 mm cannon. Already, the improved Mark 8 is being delivered to the Service. A contemporary of the Fury and Bulldog was the Hawker Demon two-seater fighter, developed from the Hart day bomber and once again following the layout of the old i|-Strutter. That monoplane fighters had not been favoured up -to this time is, in brief, accounted for by their greater weight and lower strength; but by the middle 'thirties the inexorable demands of performance were beginning to prevail. Orders were placed—and the con- tinuance of our world as we know it is largely due to this very fact—for the Merlin-engined Hawker Hurricane and Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire, superb eight-gun mono- planes which came as a revelation to all nations. Though showing a speed increase of 100 m.p.h over their prede- cessors (the Hurricane achieved 330 m.p.h. and the Spitfire 367 m.p.h.), they retained to a remarkable degree the handinesB of the old biplanes; but, naturally, they needed more sky-space for their manoeuvres. Both, in diverse forms, were to see the war out, and even to-day the '' Spit'' continues to serve as a reconnaissance / fighter. One ground- attack version of the Hurricane mounted two. 40 mm guns and both Hurricane and Spitfire operated with rocket projectiles and bombs. The last milestones on the road of development can now be easily discerned. One of these was the pre-war-designed Boulton Paul Defiant, a two-seater of excellent flying qualities, in the i£-Strutter-Brisfit-Demon tradition, but having no front guns, the armament of four 0.303111 Brownings being concentrated in a protective, power-driven turret. The Defiant made its mark over Dunkirk and later served as a night fighter. The need became urgent early in the war for a twin- engined fighter capable of long endurance and suitable for night operation with the then-new " airborne interception " radar. Bristol Blenheim conversions and "cat's-eye" Hurricanes served for a time until the advent of the sturdy, hard-hitting Beaufighter, which stood a long and faithful sentry-go in the night skies before being relieved by the Mosquito. To-day the Mosquito N.F.Mk.38, with two Rolls-Royce Merlin 113 engines, is our standard night fighter. Fine a machine as it is, however, a jet-propelled replacement is already overdue. Even yet three important types are missing from our company of illustrious piston-engined fighters—the Hawker Typhoon and Tempest, and the de Havilland Hornet. The '' Tiffy'' will always be remembered for its summary dealings with fast German sneak raiders and, more especi- ally, for its devastating rocket attacks on ground targets. Even faster was the Tempest, which built up a wonderful record of flying bombs destroyed and which continues in service to-day. Versions were built with the 24-cylinder Napier Sabre liquid-cooled engine, and the 18-cylinder Bristol Centaurus. The Hornet, typified by the F.Mk.3, and built to the same formula as the earlier Westland Whirlwind, is a single-seater with two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, four 20 mm guns and a speed of 472 m.p.h. at 22,000ft. Maximum range is over 2,500 miles. It now remains only 'to record the historic introduction of jet propulsion. In this .connection we may take pride in recalling that the Rolls-Royce Derwent and de Havilland Goblin turbojets now serving the R.A.F. in the Boulton Paul Defiant. Hawker Typhoon.
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