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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1675.PDF
: English Electric ' Canberra THE Canberra B.2 bomber, as now inproduction for the Royal Air Force, differs from the prototype demonstratedat the previous S.B.A.C. Display in having a redesigned, partially transparent, nose.The essential design features, however, remain the same. Especially notable is thewing, characterized by a low aspect ratio, extremely smooth construction, and amoderate thickness/chord ratio. To a large degree these qualities endow theCanberra with its exceptionally high performance at altitude, upon which itrelies for its defence. It may be noted that sweep-back was not found to be necessaryat the Mach numbers which could be ob- tained when carrying a useful militaryload with the thrust likely to be available Gloster Meteor F.8 from the twin Rolls-Royce Avon turbojetswithin the life of the airframe, though this thrust will be very high. Its compactness notwithstanding, theCanberra is a capacious machine, and its internal tankage can be supplemented bytwo large wing-tip tanks. Technical ob- servers at Farnborough will not fail tonotice the variable-incidence tailplane, designed to give positive control at highMach numbers, and the "finger" type dive brakes on the mainplanes, outboardof the nacelles. Several prototypes of the Canberra arealready flying and it is evident that the performance and capacity of the type aresuch as to suit it for development in many military roles. Manoeuvrability is of anexceptionally high order, and all normal fighter manoeuvres, including upward rolls,are possible. Span, 64ft; length, 65ft 6in; height, 15ft 7in. Gloster Meteor 8T HE newest development in the lineof Gloster single-seat jet fighters, this mark of Meteor appears to display an all-round superiority in performance and handling qualities over its forerunners.Characteristics which distinguish it from the widely-used Meteor 4 include alengthened fuselage, redesigned tail unit, and an improved cockpit enclosure, elec-trically opened and closed by a push- button. A Martin-Baker ejector seat isstandard equipment. Two under-wing auxiliary tanks can be fitted to supplementthe internal tankage and ventral tank. The standard armament of 4 x 20 mmguns is retained (with provision for bombs or rocket projectiles) and as on previousmarks, the two turbojets are Rolls-Royce Derwents. Span, 37ft 2in; length, 44ft 7m; height, 13ftlOin. V •mM
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