FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1628.PDF
230 Inter-continental troopship: the Douglas Globemaster II (1949). THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS . . . (1949 Cont.) Although the Douglas Globemaster II (230) is not the world's largest military transport (that distinction belongs to Convair's C-99) it is a machine of great size and importance. Its size is best gauged by the figures for span and weight—173ft and 175,000 lb—and its importance by the fact that large numbers are in service with the U.S.A.F. A 231 Bomber load, fghter characteristics: Canberra prototype of 1949. 232 The Bristol Brabazon 1 (1949)—written off as "experience." 234 Original thinking, manifest in the Chase XC-123 (1949). 236 An A.S. Double Mamba turboprop powered the Fairey C.R.17 (1949.) 782/783 FLIGHT, 11 December 1953 feature is an electrically operated lift in the cargo hold. Having acknowledged the success of this great aircraft, it is sad to have to write off our own Bristol Brabazon (232) as an expensive experiment. It was, however, a very notable achieve ment, even in its Mk 1 (piston-engined) form. The Mk 2— the largely completed airframe of which has now been broken up, together with the first machine—was to have been powered with Coupled Proteus turboprops and to cruise at 330 m.p.h. A resounding success from the outset was the English Electric Canberra (231), now a standard light bomber in four air forces and in quantity production in America as well as in five factories in the British Commonwealth. The Canberra is -normally powered by two Rolls-Royce Avons and was the first jet aircraft to fly the Atlantic without refuelling. Fitted with two Bristol Olympus two-spool turbojets, a slightly modified example estab lished a world altitude record of 63,668ft on May 4th this year and about six months later a photographic reconnaissance ver sion was victorious in the England-New Zealand Race. Manned by an R.A.F. crew, it covered the 11,796 miles to Christchurch in 23 hr 51 min. In past pages we have illustrated a number of aircraft with "mixed" power plants at 233 is one more. It is the Republic XF-91 intercepter which, in addition to its turbojet, has rockets. The wing has inverse taper and variable incidence. One distinction attaching to the Chase XC-123 military trans port (234) is that the basic airframe has been flown as a glider, with piston engines and with jets. Of more practical interest is the machine's capacity (e.g., 60 fully equipped troops), combined with ease of loading (through rear doors), relatively low power (two 2,300 h.p. Double Wasps), and good speed range (75-245 m.p.h.). An aircraft which proved that rotary-wing machines, too, are invaluable for military transport was the Sikorsky S-55 (235). As the picture shows, a feature is the accessibility of the power plant—a special version of the famous Pratt and Whitney Wasp. Grouped together (236 and 237) are two outstanding Naval turboprop machines—the Fairey G.R.17 from which the present- day Gannet was developed, and the Westland Wyvern. The Gannet is an anti-submarine aircraft and benefits greatly from its ability to cruise on one "half" of the Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba turboprop, reserving full power for take-off, strike and emergency. Features of the Python-engined Wyvern strike aircraft visible in the picture are the contra-rotating eight- blade airscrew and Youngman flaps. Note torpedo and rockets. 233 With turbojet and rockets: the Republic XF-91 (1949). 235 The Sikorsky S-S5 (1949) is greatly superior to the S-51. 237 Designed to strike: the Python-powered Westland Wyvern (1949).
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
