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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0042.PDF
42 FLIGHT Top, a Douglas RB-26C used for special reconnaissance by the 42nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, U.S.A.F. The squadron forms part of the lOth Tactical Reconnaissance Wing based at Spangdahlem, Germany; a description of the RB-Sls flown by another of the Wing's squadrons is on page 40. The second machine is the 8-year-old Supermarine 510, originally VV106 and now (as a ground trainer at R.A.F. Station Cardington) numbered 7175M. It has a variable-incidence tail cone and tailplane. AIRCRAFT INTELLIGENCE Great Britain Hunting Per aval Pembroke C(PR).l. This is the designation of the survey Pem- brokes now being operated from Seletar, Singapore, by No. 81 Sqn. The aircraft are used for reconnaissance concerned with the anti-bandit campaign and for mapping or casualty and freight flying. The same squadron operates Meteors. U.S.A. Boeing B-47. Last month the Boeing plant in Wichita, Kansas, delivered the last of more than 1,300 B-47s to the U.S.A.F. Strategic Air Command. At the end of production more than 3,800 suppliers and sub-contractors were feeding the Wichita plant. Production is continuing— although on a progressively reduced basis— at the Douglas plant at Tulsa and the Lock- heed plant a; Marietta, both of which have built a comparable number. All three fac- tories are heavily committed to follow-on programmes. Convair F-106A. The first all-weather intercepter of this type (a development of the F-102) was test-flown from Edwards Air Force Base on December 27. It is claimed to be equipped with the most advanced electronic fire-control system and armament yet developed for a U.S.A.F. intercepter. The initial $83 million con- tract for F-106As was announced by Con- vair last summer. Douglas C-133A. The third of these giantmulti-purpose U.SA.F. transports is now well advanced in acceptance trials atEdwards A.F.B. The second machine flew for the first time on September 22 and,after logging 91 hr 30 min, has been returned to the Douglas plant at LongBeach where it will be prepared for climatic tests at Wright-Patterson A.F.B. and in thefreezing hangar at Eglin A.F.B. Lockheed CL-251. The foregoing is the designation of a project for a new early- warning Super-Constellation intended to succeed the developments of the 1049 now in service. A saucer-shaped radome, now being tested experimentally on a WV-2E, will be mounted on this new Super Connie. North American F-86 Sabre. Nine years'continuous production of the F-86 Sabre closed a few days ago when the lastmachine of the type (an F-86F) left the North American assembly line at LosAngeles. Production is still continuing, however, in four other countries, and morethan 6,000 Sabres, built by North American at Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, con-tinue in service with the U.S.A.F. and Air National Guard units. The first Sabre wasflown on October 1, 1947, and the first production model—the F-86A—was in theair seven months later. Production of the F-100 Super Sabre continues at bothNorth American plants. The F-86F lines have been converted to F-lOOFs (two-seater Super Sabres) without the lay-off of a single worker or the loss of a day'sproduction. Sikorsky H-31A. Known commerciallyas the S-56 and bearing the U.S. Navy designation HR2S-1, the Sikorsky H-37Afor the U.S. Army is expected to have a normal useful load of nearly 9,500 lb. Themaximum load will be well in excess of 11,000 lb. The empty weight of 19,704 lb,reports Aviation Week, will bring this heli- copter well within the 20,000 lb limit setfor Army helicopters by the Defense Secretary. Stroukoff YC-134. A development of the C-123 Provider, this "pantobase" transport incorporates boundary-layer control. In a recent demonstration at Trenton it was air- borne in 418ft. France Fouga CM.nO Magister. Air Fouga formally announce an agreement with the German Government for the supply of 382 CM.170 Magister twin-jet trainers. A quantity of these will be made by Fouga at Blagnac, near Toulouse, and the Ger- man Heinkel company will manufacture the type under licence. At first major assemblies will be delivered by the French firm, but later all components will be Ger- man-built. All items of equipment will be supplied by France. The German con- tract brings the total of Magisters now on order to 577. Nora1 2501 Noratlas. The first of 25 Noratlas twin-engined transports for Ger- many left Le Bourget on December 17 for Memmingen (Bavaria). The delivery of these machines will precede the construc- tion under licence of 112 examples by Flugzeugbau Nord (Norflug), which is an organization formed by the Hamburger, Weser and Siebel companies. All 137 Noratlas will be fitted with Bristol Hercules engines built by SNECMA. Half of the accessories are being supplied by France and half by Germany. S.E. 210 Caravelle. The second Caravelle twin-Avon jet transport is undergoing test- ing of its ventilation, pressurizing, air- conditioning and soundproofing systems. The radio is also involved. Some 250 hours1 flying already stands to the credit of this machine. Italy De Bernardi Aeroscooter. Col. Mario de Bernardi, the famous Italian pilot, is fly- ing the link Aeroscooter which he designed. He is now performing aerobatics with it and is trying to solve the problem of finding a good 30-40 h.p. engine; he also intends to develop a two-seat version. The lines of the diminutive first prototype have been considerably cleaned up for production, but there is no news of when the autogiro rotor (which was earlier proposed for this machine) is to be fitted. Nardi FN.333. The first prototype, which completed a series of test flights from Bergamo airfield last month, is back in the factory so that advantage can be taken of bad weather for inspections and modifications. Japan Helicopter Production. Home production of S-55 and S-58 helicopters is now being studied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Reorganized, Ltd. Hitherto the company had been studying the production of only S-55 components. Already sixteen S-55s (twelve for the ground forces and four for the maritime forces) are to be imported under the current Defence Agency budget. Netherlands Trainer Evaluation. Now undergoing evaluation by the Government Aviation School at Eelde, in the north of Holland, are a Beechcraft Mentor, a Piaggio P-149 and a Saab-91C. Machines of the finally selected type will replace Tiger Moths and Harvards. It may be recalled that the P-149 has been ordered by the German Air Force and that the type will be built in Germany by Focke Wulf. Argentina Beechcraft T-34 Mentor. The Govern- ment of Argentina has signed a contract valued at $4 million with the Beech Air- craft Corporation for the production of T-34 Mentors. The first licensing and technical-assistance agreement between a United States aircraft manufacturer and Argentina since the war, the contract calls for the purchase of about ninety T-34s and spares under a programme extending well into 1959. Argentina thus becomes the seventh foreign country to acquire Mentors for military applications (others are Japan, which also holds manufacturing rights, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Turkey and Canada—another licensee). The T-34 is a standard primary trainer of the U.S.A.F. and U.S. Navy, and was developed by Beech as a private venture.
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