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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0905.PDF
4 April 1952 411 efficient) power condition. Among the incidental advantages of the gas turbine is that it solves the flame-damping problem. Noise level is relatively low, and radio and inter-communication systems are therefore more efficient. Vibration is also low and the service ability of instruments, radar and radio are correspondingly improved. The only major compromise in the design of the Gannet is seen in the positioning of the radar. Ideally this would be in the extreme nose of the aircraft and would necessitate a conventional twin-engine arrangement; in point of fact, it is mounted retractably at the rear end of the bomb bay—the only location possible. Strike weapons—some of a secret nature—are stowed in the bomb bay, and sonobuoys and other service loads can be disposed under the wings. Built to meet the same requirements (as laid down in the G.R.17 specification) the Blackburn and General Aircraft Y.B.i is similarly powered and is likewise notable for ingenuity of design and excellent performance. The S.B.3 is a development of the Sturgeon, with two Armstrong Siddeley Mambas, and differing further in that complete nose section has been redesigned to house additional crew members and search radar. Pending the introduction of the Gannet into Royal Naval service, a quantity of Firefly Mk 7s will be delivered. It should be explained that whereas anti-submarine duties occasionally fell to the lot of earlier marks of Firefly, the Mk 7 has been developed specifically for the work. Like the Gannet, it is a three-seater; no guns are carried but there is external stowage for sonobuoys and offensive weapons. The radio and radar are officially described as being "appropriate for the latest anti-submarine detection devices." At the last Farnborough Display a prototype of the Firefly 7 appeared with large containers slung beneath the wings, inboard of the radar housing and auxiliary tank, and it was disclosed that these were heated sonobuoy containers—for the delicate trans mitters in the buoys demand warmth. On that particular machine eight R.P.s were carried inboard of the containers. Certain basic differences distinguish the Grumman AF-2 Guardian, nearest American counterpart of the Gannet described earlier—notably that the power plant is a piston engine (Pratt and Whitney Double Wasp). Of the Guardian there are two distinct versions, and one of each—a hunter (AF-2W) and a killer (AF-2S) —work together in pairs. On the hunter a massive radome, housing search equipment, is located under the cockpit. With this installed no armament whatsoever is carried, but the killer variant has internal stowage for a variety of weapons, including guns (2 X 20 mm), torpedoes, depth charges and bombs. Other loads can be slung beneath the wings in addition to a searchlight and a radar scanner. The hunter carries a crew of four—pilot, co-pilot and two radar operators—whereas the killer is manned by only three men, namely, pilot, navigator bomb-aimer and radar operator. Not withstanding its bulk (the span is 60ft and the gross weight 25,000 lb) the Guardian has a maximum speed of over 300 m.p.h. in the clean condition. Endurance and slow-flying characteristics are reported on favourably. In spite of the high efficiency shown by fixed-wing aircraft like the Fairey Gannet and Grumman Guardian, there is no longer any doubt that such machines may eventually be largely, if not wholly, superseded by helicopters. These, of course, would not demand special aircraft carriers for their operation for they could work from the decks of merchant ships. They would be developed for all-weather flying and should be ideally suited for the utiliza tion of special detection apparatus. In this connection it was disclosed early this year that a new device, known in the U.S. Navy as the "sonar ear," has been tested in North Atlantic trials. Lowered into the water while the helicopter carrying it hovers at about 50ft over a suspected area, it is capable of detecting submarines at well below periscope depth, and three or four helicopters, working as a team over a wide area, could quickly pin-point a submerged craft. Details of British experiments may not be divulged, though it is known that both the Bristol Sycamore and Westland-Sikorsky S-55 have been utilized in anti-submarine trials. In his lecture Military Aspects of the Transport Helicopter, delivered last August, Mr. F. N. Piasecki expressed the pride of his company in the fact that their HUP-2 helicopter had been selected as the standard A model of the Bell XHSL-1 (P. and W. Double Wasp) anti-submarine helicopter designed for the U.S. Navy. The blades are shown folded. anti-submarine helicopter of the U.S. Navy. A large portion of the Piasecki helicopter programme has, in fact, resulted from tests by the United States Navy near Key West, wherein a helicopter was studied as an aerial platform from which submarines could be hunted and attacked. Mr. Piasecki mentioned mine clearance as a secondary function. The tandem-rotor HUP-i has folding blades and, with a Con tinental nine-cylinder engine of 525 h.p., achieves a maximum speed of 117 m.p.h. and an initial rate of climb of 1,200ft min. It is already in service. A somewhat similar, but larger, machine, the Bell XHSL-i, will have a Double Wasp engine. A hunter killer team of Grumman Guardians (hunter nearer camera). Above : The AD-5 version of the Douglas Skyraider, adaptable for anti submarine warfare. Below are Piasecki HUP-2 anti-submarine helicopters.
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