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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0232.PDF
230 FLIGHT SHARK is the U.S.A.F. name for the Northrop SM-62 strategic missile now on test at Patrick Air Force Base. As seen here, it is in the nature of a pilotless bomber, turbojet-powered. Speed is about 600 m.p.h., range 5,000 miles, navigation by "automatic celestial means." FROM ALL QUARTERS British MissilesO F all Britain's efforts in the sphere of defence, that of guided- weapon development has been particularly closely wrapped in secrecy. This has had results which have been at once advan- tageous and frustrating, but there are now signs that security in this sphere is being eased as weapons reach the production stage. It is now clear that this country deliberately gambled on the maintenance of peace (or, at worst, a state of cold war) between World War 2 and some period after the end of this year. This is dear from the fact that our missile thinking has been aimed solely at the evolution of advanced types of weapon; we have deliber- ately ignored a whole generation of earlier missiles (such as Nike) whose performance will probably not be sufficient for the require- ment of future warfare. Guided-weapons systems involve new and precise techniques in diverse scientific fields. Three years ago it was announced that over 100 British firms were heavily engaged in the missile business, and they are supported and guided by the research establishments of the Ministry of Supply. Chief of these establishments are the R.A.E. Farnborough, together with the Rocket Propulsion Development station at Westcott, the Radar Research Establish- ment at Malvern, the National Gas Turbine Establishment at Pyestock, the Explosives R.D.E. at Waltham Abbey and the Admiralty Signals R.D.E. at Portsdown. Field trials began on limited ranges at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain and are now being intensified at Aberporth on Cardigan Bay and Woomera, made available by the Australian government. The latter facility is officially considered "second to none". Surface-to-air missiles have now reached the point at which production orders have been placed for one type of weapon. An air-defence weapons system has been evolved which, in theory, should be able to operate independent of human aid. Early- warning radar is the first vital factor in providing what its name implies and in offering information from which a rough assessment of the raid can be obtained. Tactical control radar can then take over and count the enemy aircraft, calculate their speeds and direction, and pin-point each target with sufficient accuracy for the final stage. The latter comprises tracking radars associated directly with the guided-weapons systems. These sets will lock on to individual targets and control individual missiles. A great variety of possible guidance systems is available to the surface-to-air missile designer. One of our earliest test vehicles, RTV-1, (illustrated in Flight on July 15th and August 26th, 1955) was used for extended trials of beam-riding systems. In the course of these trials, on April 7th, 1954, a round with a proximity fused warhead was fired at a Firefly 8 target flying at approxi- mately 10,000ft altitude and 8,000yd range. This was the first target destroyed by a fused missile warhead in British develop- ment. The miss-distance at which the warhead exploded seems to have been about 35ft. Altogether, more than 1,000 test vehicles have been fired at Aberporth alone. These involve not only ground-to-air missiles but also air-to-air, ship-p-air, air-to-ground, ground-to-ground and other types of missile. Ship-to-air development has been assisted by a device officially termed Clausen's rolling platform, comprising a structure reminiscent of a Thames-estuary fort float- ing in a man-made basin and constrained to pitch and roll, simu- lating a cruiser or other vessel in a heavy sea. Missile systems, "FLIGHT" - As the continuance of the dispute in the printing trade necessitates amendments to printing schedules, this issue is reduced in size and copies may be late in reaching readers. To all who are inconvenienced in any way we offer our sincere regrets in circumstances beyond our control. including their guidance functions, can then be evaluated under realistic conditions. The air-to-air weapon now described as "Fireflash," evolved by the Fairey Aviation Company's Weapons Division at Heston, is now in full production and is soon to enter service associated with a special mark of Supermarine Swift. It is certain that there must be a large number of actual weapon- development programmes at present in an active stage in this country. The Controller of the Weapons Research Establishment near Adelaide (Flight, August 26th, 1955) said recently that increasing numbers of staff at Woomera were now being trans- ferred from range development to actual test firings. Joseph Smith ^ record with regret the death, at Chandler's Ford, Hamp- shire, on February 20th, of Mr. Joseph Smith, C.B.E., chief designer to the Supermarine Works of Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. He was 58. Mr. Smith was born on May 25th, 1897, and was educated at Yardley Secondary School and Birmingham Municipal Tech- nical School. After serving an apprenticeship with the Austin Motor Company he was appointed a junior draughtsman in the aircraft section, and in 1921 transferred to Vickers- Armstrongs, Ltd., as senior draughtsman. Five years later he became chief draughtsman. Under R. J. Mitchell he was responsible for much of the original design of the Super- marine Spitfire, and after Mit- chell's death in 1937 was appointed chief designer. All subsequent development work on the Spitfire was under his Mr. Smith. leadership and since the end of the war he had been associated with the Spiteful, Seafang, Attacker, Types 510 and 535, Swift, Types 508 and 525, and the new N.113, adopted as a standard day fighter/strike aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm. In 1948 Mr. Smith was appointed a special director of Vickers- Armstrongs, Ltd. He served as chairman of the technical board and technical executive committee of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors from 1948 to 1951, and in 1950 was awarded the silver medal, of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Major C. F. Abel! also record with regret the death of Major C. F. Abell, O.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., M.I.M.E., who retired at the end of 1954 as service manager of the Bristol engine division after 28 years' service with the company. He died at his home at Budleigh Salterton, Devon, on February 18th, after a long illness. Educated at Sherborne and Leeds University, from 1915 to 1919 Charles Francis Abell served in the R.N.A.S. and R.F.C. After the war he joined the editorial staff of The Automobile Engineer, leaving in 1922 to become works manager of Sheffield-Simplex, Ltd. He joined the Bristol engine division on January 1st, 1927. For some years manager of the experimental department, he later became service manager, an appointment he held until his retirement. One of the first tasks undertaken by Frank Abell for Bristol was to supervise the installation of the Mercury engine in the Short Crusader for the 1927 Schneider Trophy race. Before he retired, he had seen the Proteus turboprop installed in the Britannia and the Olympus turbojet in the Avro Vulcan. Maj. Abell leaves a widow.
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