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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 3019.PDF
682 FLIGHT First production-model Chase C-123B Avitruc built by the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation. The engines are Pratt and Whitney R-2800s. MILITARY TRANSPORTS a range of 3,000 miles. Two Boeing KC-97Gs are also undergoing conversion for turboprop power, and under the designation C-133 Douglas have an im proved—and somewhat larger—version of the YC-124B; this is itself an experi mental development of the "A" and "C" models of the Globemaster II, powered with Pratt and Whitney T34 turboprops. Unlike the "A" and "C," the new version is pressurized to give 8,000ft interior at 30,000ft, and a 64,000 lb design payload can be lifted at the gross weight of 200,000 lb. The very large (100,000 lb payload) turboprop aircraft to which reference has already been made is likely to materialize as the Douglas XC-132. Remarkably enough, a machine of this calibre (three examples to be precise) already exists in Gt. Britain as the Saunders-Roe Princess flying boat, designed to fly at a gross weight of 330,000 lb and to cruise at speeds up to 380 m.p.h. Having a capacity for 200 troops and a range of 3,500 miles, the Princess is claimed to be able to carry in one year, on strategic routes, as many troops as three ordinary troopships. Though smaller than the Princess (it weighs about 80 tons all-up) Convair's R3Y Tradewind promises to give a magnificent rendering in the transport role, for it will carry up to 24 tons of cargo on an 88ft by 9ft deck, and this can be loaded through a bow door 8ft 4in wide and 6ft 8in high. Additionally there is a 10ft wide door on the aft port side. The main cabin has been kept clear by a multi-cellular arrangement of watertight bulkheads which extend upward only to floor level; the main deck is made of extruded magnesium throughout, and the cabin is fully pres surized. Typical loads are four 155 mm howitzers, three 2^-ton trucks, six jeeps, or two half-tracks, and maximum speed is in excess of 350 m.p.h. For personnel transport 103 rearward-facing seats can be installed, or for casualty evacuation, 92 stretchers. Known as the "flying LST," the R3Y-2 can be headed straight into a beach for unloading, in which operation up to 40 per cent of the output of the four Allison T40 turboprops can be employed as reverse thrust to get the machine back into clear water. As the nation which pioneered the development of the turbo prop, and its introduction into service, Great Britain is possibly alone among the powers in having no military turboprop transport under development. It is obvious, of course, that the Bristol Britannia has attractive possibilities in this direction, though it could not compare with the Lockheed C-130 in facility of loading and in other operational aspects. Meanwhile, R.A.F. Transport Command will be supplied with a small number of Blackburn Beverleys, powered with Bristol Centaurus piston engines. Precise details of this aircraft are not available, but the civil Universal, which is almost identical, would weigh about 61 tons and have a main cargo hold measuring 40ft X 10ft X 10ft. Ten jeeps could be carried in the main freight compartment in addition to troops. The Beverley is the first British aircraft designed to enable heavy army equipment to be dropped from the air, and for this purpose its rear loading doors Eire removed. The fixed under carriage, with bogie wheels, permits operation without the use of prepared runways, and in a light wind, using its wheel brakes but not its braking airscrews, the prototype has been using less than half the maker's 1,400-yd runway for landing. The Beverley is a comparatively slow, short-range aircraft, and unpressurized. Military experiments continue with France's Breguet 763 double-decker, and on page 679 an AMX tank weighing 13.9 metric tons is shown going aboard this machine, the upper cargo floor of which was removed to accommodate the turret and 5i-yd- long gun barrel. The 763 can carry 4,000 lb of stores, in addition to an AMX tank, for 1,250 miles. For general-purpose transport duties over relatively short ranges a variety of piston-engined machines at present holds the field, and a possible replacement in this category was discussed in an article by Lt-Col. P. A. Tobin in our issue of October 22nd. In R.A.F. service the standard type is the Vickers Valetta C.l (two Bristol Hercules 230s), which has a side loading-door giving access to its cabin of 1,565 cu ft volume. A range of about 1,400 miles is attainable at the economical cruising speed of 172 m.p.h., and typical loads are 34 troops, 11,380 lb of freight, 20 troops plus six 350 lb containers, or 20 stretcher and two sitting cases. Exported to certain overseas air forces, the military version of the Bristol Type 170 is a very attractive proposition by reason of its nose-loading doors, giving access to the cargo hold of 2,020 cu ft capacity. Height is sufficient to accept a loaded three-ton lorry, or there is room for three jeeps, a Bofors gun and a jeep, of four engines of Hercules or Merlin size. In the heavy-dropping role the Type 170 is at the same disadvantage as other British transports, except the Beverley. With an admirable grasp of requirements America many years ago produced the famous Fairchild Packet, with its now-familiar twin-engined, twin-boom, rear-loading layout. Numerous ver sions have been built and are in service, but representative is the C-119F, with two Wright R-3350 engines. The Packet's cargo hold measures 36ft llin long, 9ft lOin wide, and 8ft high, giving a volume of 3,150 cu ft. From machines of this type U.S. Army anc Air Force crews have parachuted such equipment as a 21,000-11 tractor, with bulldozer, an 18,000-lb grader, a 17,500-lb dumj truck, and a 13,000-lb scraper. Normal seating capacity is 67, fo: emergency evacuation up to 78 can be taken. In the cas. evac. role provision is made for 35 stretchers, and a monorail is provided to handle 20 dropping containers each of 500 lb. Range is 2,300 miles. The C-119H is an experimental development with new wings of high aspect ratio (photograph on page 680), new tail surfaces and undercarriage, and Wright Turbo-Compound engines. All fuel is carried in external under-wing tanks, and maximum cargo capacity is increased to 27,200 lb. No production order for this machine has been announced, nor has development of the Fair- child Pack-Plane (with detachable fuselage) proceeded, though the principle of that design is still under consideration. Fairchild are reported to have under development a turboprop transport for operation from unimproved fields, and it is known that they have been conducting experiments with a J44 turbojet of their own make mounted on the fuselage of a C-82 Packet. This is expected to allow an increase in maximum take-off weight of between two and three tons, and the mounting of multiple J44 "packages" on the fuselage or wings is in view. A specialized casualty evacuation machine in U.S.A.F. service is the Convair C-131A Samaritan, with provision for 27 stretchers and seven seats, and for iron lungs and special oxygen equipment. Laid out according to the Packet formula, but smaller and lighter, and powered with two Bristol Hercules engines, the Nord 2501 Noratlas, now in service with the French Air Force, has a stowage capacity of 1,800 cu ft and is suitable for heavy dropping. Gross weight is just over 43,000 lb. Standard Russian equipment in the same class is the 11-12, which, having only side-loading facilities, is unsuitable for heavy dropping. Cruising speed is about 200 m.p.h., and Il-12s are still extensively used for glider towing. The military value of the glider has, however, diminished vastly since the war, but there is still an American requirement for an "assault" transport, i.e., one capable of operat ing from short or unprepared fields with troops, cargo and military equipment. The type in production (at the Fairchild plant) is the Chase C-123B Avitruc, which has a top speed of 240 m.p.h. It can carry 61 fully equipped troops, or 50 stretcher cases and ix walking wounded, together with five nurses and 1,300 lb of medical equipment. Assault loads include guns and vehicles. The engu>cs are two Pratt and Whitney R-2800s and stalling speed is believed to be as low as 75 m.p.h. With maximum load a range consicf "- ably in excess of 1,000 miles is attainable. A large rear-load; ig door is one of the numerous practical features. . Also mooted as an assault transport is France's Hurel-Dubois H.D. 32, fully described in Flight of June 18th, 1954. Although this review has not been concerned with the hg-*• >r types of transports for military use, final reference may be ma* to the projected rear-loading military development of the Scon Aviation Twin Pioneer, and to the Folland light transport, w 1,050 cu ft capacity and four Gipsy Queen engines.
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