FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1861.PDF
FLIGHT, 25 Jme 1954 de Havilland D.H.110 (two Rolls-Royce Avon). Military Aircraft 1954 fighters MULTI-SEAT CARRIER-BASED GREAT BRITAIN de Havilland D.H. 110. The D.H. 110 first flew—as a land-based, all-weather fighter—in September 1951, and in April of the following year achieved supersonic speed in a dive. There after a Mach number of 1 was frequently exceeded and the aircraft displayed such qualities of all-round performance and handling as to attract the patronage of the British Admiralty. Accordingly a prototype aircraft is now being adapted for deck operation, with arrester gear, folding wings and a new leading edge, having increased camber, as on the Comet. No production order has been announced, but clearly the 110 is foreseen as a Sea Venom replacement. The two Rolls-Royce Avons are fed from root intakes, in characteristic de HaviUand fashion, and it is evident that after burners could be installed if demanded. The pilot's cockpit is offset well to port, and the radar operator is housed to starboard in a cabin, for which there are windows on the starboard side. The tailplane is unswept but of very thin section, the main wing flaps have rearward travel and are in four sections; and the dive brakes, conforming to the shape of the engine nacelles, are mounted on the central body. Span, 51ft; length, 52ft. de Havilland Sea Venom FAW21. The Sea Venom is the Naval counterpart of the N.F.3, as supplied to the Royal Air Force, and differs superficially from the earlier FAW20 in having a redesigned tail. Both are identified by an arrester hook, stowed in a prominent fairing on the rear end of the central nacelle. Arma ment is four 20 mm guns, and it has been announced at a Royal Naval flying display that a range of 1,000 miles is attainable. Fighters of this type are being manufactured under licence in France by the S.N.C.A.S.E. concern, under the name Aquilon. Span, 41ft 9in; length, 35ft 3in. U.S.A. Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight. This side-by-side, two-seater, all- weather dates from 1948. Powered with two Westinghouse J34-WE-38 turbojets in underslung housings, its built-in arma ment is four 20 mm guns, though, as the photograph shows, four Sparrow air-to-air guided missiles can be carried as external stores. The main under-wing finings are suitable for jettisonable tanks, 2,000 lb bombs, or Tiny Tim rockets. The cockpit itself is arranged along U.S. Navy "standard cockpit" lines, and all letters and numbers are etched in Lucite and lit from behind by red light. Controls for flaps, under carriage, arrester hook, etc., are designed in the shape of the component they represent, with a view to reducing pilot error. No ejector seats are provided, emergency exit being by way of an escape chute running from the rear wall of the cabin through the under-side of the fuselage; the hydraulicaUy operated hatch acts as a wind-break. Development of a swept-wing derivative has been abandoned. An American writer remarks, a propos the Skyknight, that although the U.S.A.F. is attempting to perfect the single-seat all-weather fighter, both its own engineers and those of the U.S. Navy recognize that maximum radar effectiveness can be guaranteed only by the use of a special radar operator, skilled in the use of the equipment and interpretation of its display. This, he avers, needs a two-man crew. Gross weight is little short of 30,000 lb. Span, 50ft; length 45ft Sin. de HaYilland Sea Venom FAW21 (D.H. Ghost). Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight (two Westinghouse J34-WE-38). -o
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
