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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1617.PDF
FLIGHT, 11 December 1953 771 It happens by coincidence that the first four aircraft illus trated on this page are marine types, and of contrasting design. Number 141 is the Hamburger (later Blohm and Voss) Ha 139, of which three examples were built, and which, by late June 1939, had completed 40 North Adantic and 60 South Atlantic flights! The engines were four Junkers Jumo 205 diesels, and fuel was stored in the tubular wing spar. The large twin-float seaplane has always been something of a rarity, though less so in Italy than elsewhere, and a typical Italian specimen was die Cant Z.506B shown at 143. This was a torpedo/bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, with a top speed of well over 200 m.pJi. Both the Hamburger and the Cant were efficient designs, but neither rivalled in any degree the phenomenal success of the Short Empire flying-boat (142), which accommodated 17 passengers in real luxury, with their luggage and two tons of freight and Empire Air Mail. These majestic machines cruised at all of 160 m.p.h., and, although the normal range was 800 miles or so, it was extended in Caledonia and Cambria to over 3,700 miles, enabling pioneer commercial flights to be made over the North Atlantic. After the original 28 machines had bejn delivered, seven more, powered with Bristol Perseus instead of Psgasus engines, were put in hand. With two of these—Cabot and Caribou—the first com mercial flight refuelling (from Handley Page Harrow tankers) was undertaken. There followed the three 33-ton "G"-class boats, with Hercules engines. I 142 World leadership for Britain—the Short Empire boat of 1936. Germany's diesel-engined, transatlantic Ha 139, of 1936. Upon the basic "Empire" design was founded die military Sunderland, which had a hull of broader beam, power-driven gun-turrets and very complete Service equipment. With a heroic war record behind it, the Sunderland continues its vigilance today as the standard R.A.F. patrol and reconnaissance flying- boat; indeed, it seems destined to grace the skies of die Common wealth for several years to come. An American military flying-boat which matched die Sunder land's record was the Consolidated Catalina, the XPBY-1 proto type of which is shown at 144. An amphibian version remains in service today with civil operators. It was the XPBY-1, inci dentally, which set the fashion for retracting the lateral stabilizing floats to blend with the wing tips. On its introduction, the Westland Lysander army co-operation monoplane (145) was the finest machine of its class, offering a speed range of 55-223 m.p.h. with unrivalled field of view. In die war years it proved a useful vehicle for delivering secret agents. Westland fighters, built subsequently, were the twin- Peregrine, low-akitude Whirlwind and die twin-Merlin, high- altitude Welkin. The Welkin was the largest single-seat fighter ever built, having a wing of 70ft span. The radial-engined monoplane at 146 is the Bristol 138, and the fixed undercarriage is explained by the fact that this was a high-altitude research machine in which every pound of weight had to be saved. In 1936 the 138 reached the record height of 49,967ft, and in the following year a modified version ascended to 53,937ft. 1937 The Albatross airliner (147) was not the first four- engined de Havilland, for this had been the D.H. 86 biplane of 1933. It has, however, a strong claim to fame in that it was the cleanest four-engined machine of its day, and was able to cruise at 210 m.p.h. with only 320 h.p. being taken from each of its Gipsy Twelve engines. A German effort in the same field was the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor (148), later developed for military service and dubbed the "Tinfoil Bomber" by its aircrews. 143 The Italians favoured floatplanes: shown is the Cant Z.506B (1936). 144 Prototype of the Catalina was the Consolidated XPBY-1 of 1936. ^1 Mifc'ftfiri "imaf'""*"""*"""""' ii''*'-"-^"- . 14S Slotted and flapped—the Westland Lysander (1936). M* A high altitude record-breaker of 1936—the Bristol 138. 147 In the Comet tradition—the de Havilland Albatross of 1937. 148 Liner—and commerce raider—the Fw 2O0 (1937). -'mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm D-AERE
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