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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0958.PDF
FLIGHT, iiMay 1951 EVOLUTION OF THE GUIDED MISSILE . . . pilot can withstand. In the self-homing device we have a "brainunit" capable of making high-g turns and of operating with split second timing and instantaneous control entirely beyond humancapabilities. Because of the high inertia loads involved, radio valves, actuators and other items of equipment have had to beredesigned for this specialized task. The missile having been endowed with "senses", anotherrequirement is a device to ensure the detonation of the warhead at a certain proximity to the target. The British "VT" radio-fuseused in A. A. shells is a good example of the type. Other methods have been employed, however, among them magnetic, photo-electric and acoustic systems The missile's destruction in the event of a miss must also beensured by the incorporation of a safety exploder. The ultimate complication is a device, similar in principle to the familiar IFF(Identification—Friend or Foe) used in aircraft, to turn away or destroy a missile which attempts to "home" on a friendly aircraft. All the electronic equipment must be packed into the smallestpossible space, along with the warhead, propellent tanks, rocket motor and ancillary services. It is naturally of vital importancethat every item is readily accessible for pre-flight testing and that the layout is so arranged as to facilitate the rapid tracing of faults.If the disposition of equipment in a modern fighter is considered a problem, then the complication in a missile can be imagined. If the B-36 can be effectively fitted with rocket armament, thenthe controversy as to the alleged vulnerability of this aircraft should ease considerably. Certainly, in the self-homing air-to-air missile,the U.S.A.F. will have a more practical defensive weapon than the formerly envisaged "parasite" fighters to be launched from thebomber and recovered in flight. The missile's ability to operate as effectively under all weather conditions, night or day, is a pointhigh in its favour. Apart from belt-fed rockets, the Hughes MX-904, a missile with a Mach Number of 2.5, an estimated grossweight of 75 1b, and a 10 lb warhead, has also been mentioned in connection with the B-36 tests. Preliminary research with bi-fuel air-to-air rockets has been con- 599 Fig. 12. Ryan Firebird complete with jettisonable booster rocket at the tail. The Firebird is, perhaps, the most compact and "intelligent" air-to-air guided missile so far devised. Fig. 13. Twin Mustang carrying Ryan Firebird rockets; America's first radar-controlled self-homing air-to-air missiles. ducted with the Firebird (Fig. 12), the product of a two-year experi-mental programme by the Ryan Aeronautical Co. It is being used by U.S.A.F. armament experts to prove methods of launching,radar-guidance and self homing. The present missile has an over- all length of 10 ft with a maximum diameter of 6 in; a finlessrocket booster, 2.5 ft long, forms a streamlined tail and is jettisoned by a charge. Sustaining power is supplied by a bi-fuel rocket unit.The aerodynamic surfaces are arranged in a double cruciform, the four wings (of 3 ft span) being located about half-way along themain body approximately 2 ft. ahead of the four tail-vanes. The wings assume an "X" attitude in flight. At the Holloman Air Force Base, Alamogordo, two aircraft, anF-82 Twin Mustang (Fig. 13) and a Douglas B-26 have been specially fitted with radar equipment and under-wing racks forrocket launching. The missiles can be fired singly or in multiples of two or four. The Firebird carries a compact but very completeradar navigational system and, having been aimed initially by radar from the launching aircraft, homes on its objective. Aproximity fuse ensures that the missile detonates close enough to the target to ensure its destruction but, should the target be missed,the warhead explodes automatically. Stowage Problems One great advantage of the installation of rocket armament in abomber is that heavier, longer-ranging missiles can be carried than is possible in an opposing fighter; the comparative ease with whichthey can be stowed internally is another important factor. They can be more effective over long ranges because size is not socritical and more complete radar navigational equipment can be fitted. Indeed, the future use of air-to-air rockets—even of modesttype—by an intercepter will set some tricky problems of stowage, launching and control. The position is such that the interceptermay soon be at a disadvantage in dealing with the high-altitude bomber. To be an effective answer, the fighter must not only possess theclimb of a rocket, but must carry a complete radar control system for its missiles. If aerodynamic efficiency is not to be impaired, themissiles must be stowed internally, And if it is possible for a bomber, by virtue of its superior gunlaying and fire-power, to killat long range, then the intercepter will count for little if it does not carry similar controlled ammunition. Even with jet power, the time taken to reach combat height isstill excessive. The use of an afterburner and or auxiliary rocket boosters will help to reduce the time to closure, but the extraequipment that the fighter must carry (and its increased complexity requiring a second crew member as radar operator) presents thedesigners with problems that are impossible to solve with present configurations. It is a state of affairs that can be effectively remedied only by theground-launched guided-missile. A further period of time, how- ever, must elapse before the fighter is displaced by fully automaticweapons, and the airframe and armament designers will need to call forth all their ingenuity to keep abreast of the situation. Indeed,one is inclined to wonder whether the stage has not been reached when we could consider a breakaway from the orthodox fighter tosomething more in the nature of a vertically-launched rocket intercepter. No one in his right mind would suggest thatsuch a development could entirely replace the jet fighter, but it would certainly be a valuable addition to the defences ofthis island. The Mei63 and the Ba349 represent widely different
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