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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0463.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 April 1955 463 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Deck-landing Floatplanes doubting that an aircraft from H.M.S. Resolutionsuccessfully landed on H.M.S. Ark Royal (Correspondence, February 25th) may I put forward the claim that the particularSwordfish on floats, illustrated on your Correspondence page of February 11th, was one of two such aircraft in H.M.S. Valiantflight? The serial numbers of the aircraft were K.8363 and P.4197noon on July 3rd, 1940, at Oran. The two aircraft had been catapulted off Valiant to spot on this unhappy occasion, andbecame short of fuel before the action had concluded—at a time, in fact, when it was impossible for the ships to cease firing ormanoeuvre to pick up aircraft in the normal way. Consequently the Swordfish were diverted to H.M.S. Ark Royal and landed on,as shown—without D.L.C.O., difficulty, or damage. I was one of the crew of one aircraft, together with P.O. Pit.(now Lt-Cdr.) J. E. Breese and Sub-Lt. Starmer. The other air- craft had as pilot Lt. (now Lt-Cdr.) H. S. McN. Davenport, withLt. (now Lt-Cdr., Rtd.) V. N. Graves and Ldg. Amn. Williams. It was to me a novel experience, but both pilots appeared to takeit in their stride. The serial numbers of the aircraft were K.8363 and P.4197respectively, should the numbers be identifiable in the original photographs. Both were known indiscriminately as "Mitzi" (aswere their replacements) for one of them was the original "Mitzi" inherited from H.M.S. Barham and alleged to have been firstembarked in that ship in 1937. After the deck-landing incident both aircraft carried on theirsterling work until, during 1941, after sundry float and mainplane changes as a result of hitting buoys (and on one occasion a ballooncable) at dreary dawn and difficult dusk in Alexandria Harbour, one was retired ashore for spares. The other came to a wateryend near Crete at the time of the German invasion of the island. Her heart was willing but a mishap occurred, and she "went in"off catapult—yet another novel experience. Your correspondents have revived pleasant memories of a periodwhich, oddly enough, now seems almost halcyon. In return the least I can do is to speak up for two ladies who are in no positionto do so themselves. Worcester Park, Surrey. R. P. TOLLEY,Lieutenant-Commander, R.N. Harnessing the Passenger THE conflicting demands of performance and economy makethe design of an airliner a most difficult task, and frequently the virtue of adopting safety features is weighed carefully against thecost in payload. A notable instance of this is the problem of selecting backward- orforward - facing seats, controversy over whichhas raged so long that the salient claims madeon each side hardly need repeating. However, Iventure to raise the ques- tion again to air anoriginal solution. Arguments on thematter invariably accept that only a lap-strap isavailable for the pas- senger. But what isresponsible for the ab- sence of four-point har-nesses on passenger seats ? Although it mightungenerously be suggested that it origin-ated in a saving of weight (for far bigger loads haveto be catered for with a shoulder harness), thereasons usually quoted are embarrassment topassengers and bad psy- chological effects. Theselast points probably have The harness designed by Mr. Prizeman. some truth; but does that justify the use of mere lap-straps in lightaircraft? A survey by the United States Air Force of recorded crash landings by single-engined aircraft revealed that death was six times more probable if only a lap-strap was utilized.I suggest that aircraft occupants could be given extra (and much-needed) protection by the adoption of a harness of a typewhich I have recently provisionally patented; in this, a lap belt of conventional form is supplemented by shoulder straps when extrabody restraint is required. Normally these straps are automatic- ally stowed in the seat-back adjacent to the shoulders, so thepassengers need not be aware of them. The straps may be passed vertically or diagonally down to the lap strap, and may be securedat points on each side or to the central fastening. Should the occupant wish to have little lateral restraint, or be a woman,diagonal fastening is more desirable. In a convenient arrangement shown in the diagram, the shoulder straps (which may be of nyloncord) are passed over hooks or guides secured to the belt before being fastened at the centre. This ensures that the shoulder strapsdo not cause any inconvenience to the wearer when releasing in an emergency. A compact release, less bulky than a Service four-point box, is required. This harness would permit the passenger to travel facing theway he prefers, in safety of a degree equivalent to that possible in a backward-facing seat, whilst, additionally, an immeasurableincrease in comfort and security is offered at all times. Thus passengers might be advised (for their comfort) to fasten theshoulder straps in rough weather or ordered (for their safety) to fasten them should an accident—say ditching—seem imminent. Chalfont St. Giles. R. PRIZEMAN. The Aero Commander HAVING greatly enjoyed reading Mr. C. M. Lambert's finearticle on the Aero Commander Series 560 purchased by Yemen Airlines (December 24th issue) and "C.M.L.'s" furtherinteresting information on this type ("Twins Mean Business," January 14th issue) I thought perhaps your readers might beinterested to learn something of the Commander's background history. Credit for highly successful design and excellent perform-ance of this aircraft goes mainly to Ted R. Smith, brilliant young American aeronautical engineer who has devoted the past eightyears to seeing his "dream" become an accomplished fact. During the war he worked at Douglas Santa Monica, where he wasresponsible for much design work on the A-20 Boston and Havoc series and its development, the A-26 Invader series. In1944 he became closely associated with a small group of engi- neers, including A. H. Moore, R. O. Absher, L. J. Anderson,Harry Barton, Ernest Bahr Williams Hobbs and others. By the end of 1945 they had arrived at the final design drawings togetherwith engine installation, performance data and so forth. In August 1946 they commenced tooling and building the originalprototype, which was actually completed and first flown on April 28th, 1948. Some 32,000 man-hours went into the originaldesign whilst another 10,000 hours was later spent on improve- ments and "mods" for the first production aircraft. Rufus T. Amis, an Oklahoma City business and aviationenthusiast of many years' standing, together with George T. Pew, Philadelphia engineer and private pilot, were chiefly responsiblefor the formation of the company in 1951; these men are presi- dent and chairman respectively. Another of the best brains of thefirm is Carl Wootten, who joined as sales manager in 1951. Even highly critical sections of the U.S. aircraft industry have,I understand, been greatly impressed with the remarkable speed with which the Commander has come off the production linessince 1952. With a total factory staff of only just over 300, over 180 aircraft have already been produced and sold to buyers in theU.S.A. as well as to several overseas. Bearing in mind that the Aero Commander is virtually in thesame executive-class category as the Twin Bonanza and, to a lesser degree, the smaller and less expensive Apache and Cessna310, it once again serves to remind those in the British aircraft industry that if "X" manufacturer has the necessary drive andinitiative plus financial backing (not Government), and no matter how small and compact his little company may be, if he buildsan aircraft of superior design and performance in "Y" category, then he should go all out for Commonwealth and foreign markets,preferably the former. Here in British East Africa there is a great predominance of modern American types such as Cessnas,Bonanzas, Pipers and Stinsons as compared with very few post- war Austers and Chipmunks and a larger number of 1939 VintageMiles, Percival, Avro and de Havilland types. Nairobi, Kenya. DENNIS M. POWELL.
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