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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2011.PDF
52 FLIGHT MARTIN MATADOR Transonic Pre-fabricated Missiles of the U.S.A.F. ONE does not normally expect to receive even portions of pilotless bombers through the post, but Flight recently accepted a small metallic object bearing a 10-cent stamp and a Washington postmark which turned out to be a specimen portion of the Martin B-61 Matador. It had been sent by the Editor during his recent global tour, and provided much diversion in the efforts that wf re made to damage it. The basic structure, and most of the skin, of this remarkable aircraft is formed from an all-metal sandwich, consisting of an inner layer of lighlfalloy sheet, a honeycomb of metal foil and a thick outer skin, the whole being heavily bonded together with a thermosetting resins The sheet is supplied in bulk to the Martin B-61 plant, and it $ there simply "cut to size" with a bandsaw. The portion in our|pffice, measuring 2in by 3in by ll/16in, and weighing about loz&resisted all our attempts to effect permanent distortion—except, ot course, at the corners. This novel structure not only lends itself well to a very high rate of production, but akp facilitates division of the aircraft into sub-assemblies. In fact, quoting Martin, "For the first time in the history of the aircraft industry, a" combat-type aircraft is being built in sections which are assembled in the field?*v ,,, Before discussing the structure further, it may be re&ajled that the Martin B-61 Matador is a shoulder-wing monoplanej*<with a span of 28ft 7in and a length of 39ft 6in. Power is providechby a special version of the Allison J33 centrifugal turbojet, delivering about 7,000 lb thrust. Owing to the expendable nature of trie aircraft the engine is run very hot, uses few critical materials^ and has much simplified accessory systems. The Allison com pany have also revealed that tolerances are eased, compared with those of "normal" J33s, and no inspection is required after the initial test-stand run-up. The engine is fed with air from a ventral flush intake. The Matador is made in seven portions. These are then packed in weatherproof crates, and shipped to the appropriate U.S.A.F. pilotless bomber unit. Final assembly may take place thousands of miles from the Baltimore factory, and years after the compo nents have left the assembly line. A particular point worth noting/ Martin describe the Matador launcher as "the world's smallest airport." Bethot as it may, the B-61 A certainly makes an awesome picture during -. its rocket-boosted take off. The rocket is under the rear fuselage. is,that Martin have at last managed to achieve complete inter-c/iangeability, on a par with that long practised by the car jhdustry. No portion of a Matador is made expressly for any other portion, and each component is regarded solely as a com- /ponent, and not as a portion of any particular aircraft. / The Matador was first flown at Holloman A.F.B., New Mexico. f Operations here were restricted by the limited size of the range, and the missiles were flown in figure-8s and circles. It was only The Matador surface-to-surface missile is made in seven components which are weatherproofed and crated for distribution to U.S.A.F. units.
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