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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1616.PDF
133 "Britain First"—the 282 m.p.h. Bristol 142 of 1935. THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS . . . 1935 We now begin to find ourselves in company with machines which were to win their spurs in the war still four years off. The Bristol Type 142 Britain First (133), for instance, was the prototype of the Blenheim, which, when it entered service in 1937, was the pre-eminent light bomber and which served in the early phases of the struggle as a long-range fighter also. Built to the order of Lord Rothermere, Britain First was justly named for its speed of 282 m.p.h. was unequalled in its class. In the design of the general-purpose Vickers Wellesley (134) range rather than speed was accentuated, and the fame of the type is principally founded upon the achievement of two Wellesleys of the R.A.F. Long Range Development Unit, which, in November 1938, set up a world record of 7,157.7 miles from Egypt to Darwin. The Wellesley was the first heavier-than-air machine to incorporate B. N. Wallis's system of geodetic construction. At 135 and 136 we have Willy Messerschmitt's Me 109 and the Hawker Hurricane designed by Sydney (now Sir Sydney) Camm. The Me 109 we show is an early model, with Jumo 210 engine (later versions had the D.B. 601 or D.B. 605), and the Hurricane is the original machine with Merlin C engine and fixed-pitch wooden airscrew. The Messerschmitt eventually proved the faster, but the Hurricane had the advantage in manoeuvrability and fire power, as Me pilots were to learn in many a grim duel. 1936 The redoubtable Hurricane was to be followed during 1936 by the prototypes of three other famous British warriors: the Handley Page Hampden and Vickers Wellington bombers (137 and 139), and that most renowned of all fighters the Supermarine Spitfire, masterpiece of R. J. Mitchell. Of the bombers, the Wellington was to have the longer career, and the type was serving until recently as a trainer. Even today the Spitfire is active on second-line duty. The first example, which we illus trate at 140, had a top speed of 346 m.p.h. at 17,500ft, and in the first production version this had been raised to 362 m.p.h. at 18,500ft. The final development was die Mk 24, which was good for 450 m.p.h. at 19,600ft. The "Spit" appeared in dozens of variants, including fighter/bomber, fighter/reconnaissance and P.R. models. The deck-landing adaptation was the Seafire. The German bomber seen flying on one "fan" (138) is a proto type Domier Do 17, with Daimler-Benz engines. Dubbed the Flying Pencil, the Do 17 was the counterpart of the Blenheim, though, unlike the Blenheim and its own compatriot the He 111 it was not developed for civil use originally. From the start it was very much a bomber and it provides an excellent example of a machine in which a light, axially restricted armament was tolerated in deference to speed. The Hampden was similarly armed, but the Wellington mounted powered turrets. 138 The "Flying Pencil"—Germany's Do 17 bomber of 1936. 134 Long span, long range—the Vickers Wellesley of 1935. 135 This early-model Messerschmitt Me 109 was flying during 1935. 137 Prototype of the Hampden was this Handley Page H.P.52 of 1936. 139 Photographed in 1936, the Wellington prototype had no gun turrets.
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