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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0585.PDF
30 March 1951 359 Located far forward, the Meteor 8's cockpit affords an exceptional standard of visibility. The enclosure is electrically operated and closed by a push button. A Martin-Baker ejector seat is standard equipment. (I) Elevator trim. (2) Rudder trim. (3) Fuel balance cock. (4) Low-pressure fuel cock. (5) High-pressure fuel cock. (6) Camera-footage indi- cator. (7) V.H.F. controller. (8) Starting panel. (9) Brake-pressure gauge. (10) Air-brake control. (II) Throttles. (12) Cabin pressure and heating control. (13) Flaps. (14) Undercarriage. (15) Ventral-tank jettison. (16) Gunsight raise/retract. (17) Gunsight emergency retract. (18) Hood jettison. (19) Engine-fire extinguisher. (20) Hood open/shut. (21) Ox/gen regulator panel. (22) Armament and external lighting panel. (23) Guns. (24) Hydraulic hand-pump. (25) Under- carriage emergency lower. (26) Emergency oxy- gen. (27) Gunsight rockets/guns switch. (28) Windscreen de-icing pump. (29) Seat-adjusting lever. (30) Windscreen heating elements. (31) Machmeter. (32) Undercarriage position. (33) A.S.I. (34) Altimeter. (35) Artificial horizon. (36) G4F compass indicator. (37) Kate of climb. (38) Turn and slip. (39) R.P.M. (40) Jet-pipe tem- perature. (41) Cabin-pressure altimeter. (42) Panel lamps dimmer. (43) Ultra-violet lamp dim- mer. (44) Oil-pressure gauges. (45) Fuel gauges. (43) Brake lever. without doubt accommodate wea- pons of 30 mm bore if desired. Various mixed loads are possible. Fully loaded, the P.V. ground- attack Meteor requires the assistance of four RATOG bottles—two under the fuselage and two on the fuselage sides. Provision is made for an arrester hook, for land use, mounted well forward beneath the fuselage. j The maximum fuel tankage is 795 gall. The main fuselage tank holds 330 gall; a smaller tank, forward, holds 90 gall; the ventral tank, 175 gall; and the two wing tanks, 200 gall. With all tanks full (in which condition the all-up weight is 19,040 lb) the aircraft has a maximum endurance of 3.2 hr at 30,000ft, the equivalent range being 955 nautical miles. At an all-up weight of 15,675 lb (internal tanks only) the Meteor 8 has a sea level speed of 516 knots. At 10,000ft the speed is 508 knots, at 303000ft, 482 knots, and at 40,000ft, 464 knots. Maximum permissible speed is 520 knots e.a.s., and the maximum permissible Mach number 0.82. The rate of climb at sea level is 7,oooft/min, at 10,000ft 5,630 ft/min, and at 30,000ft 2,760 ft/min. The time of climb to 30,000ft. is 6.5 min. Service ceiling is 44,000ft. 20 21 SIR ROBERT SAUNDBY ON AIR POWER fTTHAT air power is the most effective insurance against the risk ••• of war is an assertion that is no less true for its frequent re- iteration. It is now the theme of an article in The Daily Telegraph by Air Marshal Sir Robert Saundby, written on his return from a visit to the United States. •:- The Air Marshal feels that this country must guard against three possible dangers, which are, in order of importance: (i) a quick and decisive blow from the air; (ii) slow strangulation due to inter- ference with our sea communications; (iii) seaborne invasion. To guard against these we require, in the first place, fighters for home defence and bombers to interrupt the enemy's air attacks by destroying the vital components of his war machine. To meet the second threat, air and seaborne forces capable of dealing with air, seaborne and submarine attacks against our merchant shipping are required; and to counter the third danger adequate air power and sea power are needed, for an invasion of this country would be practicable only if our air and sea forces were overwhelmed. Sir Robert reports a widespread belief in the United States that the recent test in the desert near Las Vegas has shown that small- size atom bombs are now practicable. The Americans, he says, are inclined to think that such weapons would be especially effective in dealing with the traditional Russian tactics—the mass- ing of huge quantities of infantry and artillery for a breakthrough. The Air Marshal believes that there is a difference in viewpoint between America on the one hand and this country and the West- ern European nations on the other: while Americans are apt to stress the importance of winning a war, we are prone to concentrate on the importance of preventing it. In present circumstances it is inevitable that the largest national air force in the Atlantic Treaty organization should be that of the U.S.A., writes Sir Robert, and goes on to state that he was privileged to visit a number of U.S.A.F. bases and to talk to many officers, from generals to junior aircrew. He was deeply impressed. Standards of flying, navigation and airmanship, he reports, are such that the U.S.A.F. had nothing to fear from comparison with any air force in the world. Standards of intelligence and physique are outstanding; discipline and training are excellent. In aircraft and technical equipment the U.S.A.F. in some important respects leads the world. Their fighters and radar equipment are in the front rank for quality and performance. But it is in the realm of the long range bomber that their greatest advance is to be found. In the B-50, and still more in the B-36, they have bombers of outstanding range, carrying capacity and defensive qualities. Air Marshal Saundby remarks that the Americans have paid a compliment to the R.A.F. by choosing for their uniform-colour a light blue-grey very similar to Air Force blue. "A COMPLIMENT TO ENGLAND" C< PEAKING at the annual general meeting of the English Electric ^ Co., Ltd., last week, Sir George H. Nelson, the chairman, referred with justifiable pride to the 4 hr 40 min crossing of the Atlantic by a Canberra; he also paid a warm tribute to all who had been connected with the venture, from the employees at Preston to the R.A.F. crew, and including the R.A.E. and N.P.L. for their share in the development of the type. Sir George went on to say that he looked upon the agreement with the Glenn Martin Com- pany to manufacture the Canberra in the United States as "a compliment to this country." In other parts of a detailed review of English Electric's work in 1950, the chairman described his recent tour of the company's branches and associates in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan, and then went on to speak of the associated concerns at Home, notably Marconi's and Napier's. He reminded his audience that the latter company's activities were not confined to aircraft power units, but included many other types of internal- combustion engines and associated compressors, together with exhaust turbo-superchargers for Diesel engines. Government work, details of which he was not permitted to disclose, represented a substantial part of Napier's business,
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