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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1125.PDF
FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD FOUNDED 1909 and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER No 2483 Vol 70 FRIDAY 24 AUGUST 1956 Editor MAURICE A. SMITH D.F.C. and BAR Associate Editor H. F. KING M.B.E. Technical Editor W. T. GUNSTON Production Editor ROY CASEY Iliffe and Sons Ltd Dorset House Stamford Street London, S.E.I Telephone • Waterloo 3333 (60 lines) BRANCH OFFICES Coventry 8-10 Corporation Street Telephone • Coventry 5210 Birmingham 2 King Edward House, New Street Telephone • Midland 7191 (7 lines) Manchester 3 260 Deansgate Telephone • Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines) Deansgate 3595 (2 lines) Glasgow C.2 26B Renfield Street Telephone • Central 1265 (2 lines) Toronto 2, Ontario 74 College Street Telephone • Walnut 4-5631 New York 6, N.Y. Ill Broadway Telephone • Digby 9-1197 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas • Twelve Months, £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00 in this issue 271-282 News of the Week 283 Commonwealth Aviation 284 Progress in Research 286 Commonwealth Aircraft 292 Commonwealth Engines 293 Northern Route 296 A Growing Air Power 298 The Canadian Industry 314 Australasian Air Transport 317 The Australian Industry 323 Indian Industry 324 New Zealand Industry 325 Commonwealth Directory Commonwealth PerspectiveT HE British Commonwealth is a state of mind. However unfashionable a concept it may appear to some people—particularly, it seems, to some who have rarely if at all left the shores of this country—it is a live and vigorous family. This issue of Flight is the third to be devoted to some aspects of the aviation activities of this group, and in particular to the work of the various companies which make up the Commonwealth aircraft industry. What is shown in the progress reports for the year just completed? Canada displays three new projects, variously advanced. Already complete and about to enter service with the Royal Canadian Navy are Canadian-built Grumman CS2Fs, first products of a widespread co-operative programme, with de Havilland as prime contractors. Progressing steadily in the production shops at Canadair is the first CL-28 maritime reconnaissance version of the Britannia; while a little further away is the new all-Canadian delta, Avro's Mach Two CF-105. Continued production of the types being built last year is reported from Australia, where the aircraft companies are hampered by Government delay in selecting the aircraft types to follow the Avon-Sabre and Canberra in service with the R.A.A.F. A decision was overdue at this time last year; the difficulties of planning for production can only be aggravated by such a lack of a long-term programme. New Zealand, home of aerial farming, has achieved a status in this field directly comparable to that of Canada in aerial surveying of all types, and forthcoming developments on the manufacturing side are foreshadowed by the appearance of new British agricultural aircraft. Meanwhile, India's own HT-2 trainer is now being shown to a wider world market. One of the most heartening impressions absorbed by a visitor from the United Kingdom to the factories of the Commonwealth countries is the combination of a fresh approach to new problems and an almost embarrassing concern for the success of the industry back home. It is an impression at once reassuring and humbling. The Mirror of the SeaI T may be an impertinence to appropriate to this brief topical note the title of Joseph Conrad's masterful collection of salt-water reminiscences; but the cause is one that Conrad himself would not have despised, namely, the promotion of safety and efficiency at sea. In any case, the title was coveted firstly for its literal suitability, for our main concern is the British mirror-landing aid for carrier-based pilots. This device, shown on page 282 in use by the U.S. Navy aboard the British carrier H.M.S. Eagle, is one of two invaluable technical con- tributions made by our own Admiralty to the Allied cause (the second, of course, being ±e steam catapult, which alone enables the atom-bombers of ±e U.S. Navy to achieve their full potential). In earlier years, it is true, we ourselves have been much indebted to the American Navy; but the mirror aid, now dubbed OGPI (it renders a no-longer-secret service as the "optical glide-path indicator"), together with Britain's titanic steam sling-shot, go very far towards squaring the account. Not the least valuable result of such standardization is that the aircraft of two great Services can now operate without difficulty and to mutual advantage from each other's carriers, and from this association a breezy rivalry has arisen. But though Britain has lately been paying her way in terms of technical contri- bution, it is often felt (and doubtless sometimes with justification) that a marked disparity persists in the technical qualities of British and American naval aircraft. In this matter, however, we appear to have little cause to hang our heads, for it is credibly reported that one of our fighters—the familiar straight-wing Hawker Sea Hawk—has proved, in several "operational situations," its definite superiority over swept-wing American machines of later design. The British sea dog has not yet had his day.
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