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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 2081.PDF
Blackburn NA.39 BLACKBURN AIRCRAFT LTD. Brough, Yorks. Telephone: Brough 121 NA.39 No fewer than seven NA.39s have Sown during the past IS months out of the batchof 20 pre-production aircraft ordered four years ago; and each has flown precisely in accordance with the original schedule. Orders have now been placed to enable quantity production for theAdmiralty to begin, and efforts have also been made to sell shore-based NA.39s to NATO air forces. Designed to survive sustained operation at low level and high speeds, the NA.39 is now beingrapidly developed for its primary role as a low-level strike aircraft capable of operating from Standard British aircraft carriers. At any operating altitude it can maintain near-sonic speeds anddeliver weapons accurately in all weathers over a radius of action of about 500 miles. It is powered by two de Havilland Gyron Junior turbojets mounted beside the fuselage and arranged to providebleed air for extensive supercirculation over both the wings and the slab taUplane; a Gyron Junior DGJ.l equipped with two large bleed nozzles was exhibited at the S.B.A.C. display in 1957 andthe thrust of this engine has been officially revealed as 7,000 lb dry. An NA.39 seen at the Paris Salon last June was provided with full-span blowing slots immediately aft of die leading-edge,ahead of the flaps and large ailerons and also beneath the tailplane, near the leading edge. An elevator-like trimming surface is unlocked at low speeds and the ailerons droop. To overcome theconsiderable residual thrust when high engine r.p.m. are needed to provide supercirculation on the approach, the 8ft-long tail-cone splits open to form extensive airbrakes of extreme effectiveness.With these special features the NA.39's wing attains the highest lift coefficient yet obtained from a fixed-geometry surface. Landing and take-off performance is superior to that of any comparableaircraft. To withstand the severe aeroelastic problems occasioned by operation at low level the NA.39 structure is particularly strong and fatigue-resistant and makes extensive use of integrallymachined components. To reduce drag at high speeds the whole airframe is markedly area-ruled, with the result that the fuselage is sharply bulged aft of the wing. The long internal weapon bayin the belly is probably large enough to accommodate a wide range of nuclear weapons, and further space might house electronic equipment associated with air-to-air or air-to-surface guided missileswhich might be carried for either offensive or defensive purposes. No guns are fitted. The crew of two sit in tandem beneath a sliding canopy and have a comprehensive assortmentof navigation aids, as well as bombing and mapping radar. It is obviously important that, while flying at high speed low down, the position of the aircraft and obstaces in its path should beprecisely known. Doppler radar would probably be used for the former and bombing radar for the latter purpose. An automatic map plotter, with means for providing warning or control signalsat specific points, has been developed by Kelvin Hughes. The NA.39 could approach its target at a variety of levels, although the final run-up would doubtless be made beneath the enemy radarand missile cover. A LABS system would probably be used for the delivery of a nuclear weapon. Powtrplant Two de Havitiand Gyren iunior Span 42ft «i" Ungth «2ft*in
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