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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0033.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 January 1960 33 the whole of the profits have been used for research and develop-ment. Recently the time came to look elsewhere for financial support, and accordingly the chairman and managing director,J. E. bolton, approached C. W. Hayward, chairman of Firth Cleve- land, whom he has known for many years. Mr Hayward is tobecome chairman of Solartron and Gordon Harries, secretary of Firth Cleveland, will join the board. Mr Bolton becomes deputychairman and managing director. The Firth Cleveland Group, which itself came into existence only in 1953, now owns nearly60 companies. Among these are Firth Cleveland Instruments Ltd and Simmonds Aerocessories. More Martin-Baker Seats MOST recent of the Martin-Baker ejection seat conversions forthe German Air Force was inspected by German officials at Chalgrove Airfield last month. The fully automatic Mk GU5 wasshown installed in a Lockheed T-33 trainer. Although this seat retains all the automatic features, including the personal-equipment connector, the parachute has been relocated in the seat pan and the dinghy pack omitted. In this way the occupant sitsfurther back and the ejection angle can be made greater than the 14° of the original American installation. The two Mk 5 seats inthe T-33 are interchangeable. Last August a German team inspected the installation of theMartin-Baker Mk GW5 seat now fitted in German Sabre 6s and the installation of the Mk GQ5 seat in German F-104s wasdiscussed during the more recent visit. •Continental Round-up §A PERIOD of fairly intense political bargaining within NATOIhas turned certain French aircraft and missile projects into political Ibargaining counters—a situation which often leads to unexpected results. For her domestic reasons France has been holding back [from the proposed NATO integrated air defence system, and the[adoption by foreign air forces of the Mirage III fighter /bomber | may be an important consideration in this attitude. The US, for[its part, has apparently refused technical assistance for a French t IRBM—also a reasonable bargaining point. Although the Swiss Government is reported to be consideringthe Mirage III, the recent Dutch adoption of the Lockheed F-104G seems to have confirmed the latter as an almost universal choice.The Mirage III should enter service with the French Air Force at the end of this year but the type will probably not be available forexport until late 1961. The cost of a fully equipped Mirage III is stated to be "well under a million dollars." To the RAAFDassault have offered a special Anglicized version powered by a Rolls-Royce RB.146. French first-generation nuclear delivery has now been entrustedto the smaller version of the Mirage IV and the larger version, powered by SNECMA-built P & W J75s, has been abandoned infavour of the lighter "strike and escape to neutral territory" concept (the J75 licence has been abandoned). It is intended thatdelivery of the first 50 Mirage IVs will be made by the end of 1965, with three pre-production and seven production aircraft in1963 and 22 more in 1964. Where international co-operation is less directly involved inpolitics the French aircraft industry is faring a great deal better, considerable resources being devoted to the Franco-GermanTransall and the Breguet 1150 ocean patroller (both powered by two Tynes) and the Sud-Fiat crane project. French electronicscompanies are associated with Marconi and Decca radar, and both Rolls-Royce and Bristol Siddeley are providing engines for variousNATO joint-venture aircraft. Beyond this, Britain seems to be as unwilling to join in NATO aircraft projects as France is tocommit herself unreservedly to certain NATO requirements. British contributions to the German and Dutch F-104s will includeMartin-Baker ejection seats, and Ferranti Airpass fire control might possibly be supplied for the Dutch machines. Airpass, probably in a combined ground-attack and interceptionform (a version of Airpass is already installed in an NA.39), stands a very good chance in any exported Mirage III, particularly thosewhich might go to Switzerland and Australia. The same applies to the Saab Draken which is now being inspected by the Swiss.Sweden's own Drakens might also be equipped with Airpass, and this fire control could also be accommodated even in the lightestfighters. IN BRIEF The contract recently awarded by the Canadian Department of Defence \ to de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd, for 27 Otters for the RCAF, is [worth £1,068,000. Chance Vought have received a $58m follow-on contract for F8U-2N; Crusaders from the US Navy. Previous F8U-2 contracts were valued [ at $25.6m and $10m. The -2N is equipped with Martin-Baker "ground-t level" ejection seats. Dr George Macfarlane, a deputy chief scientific officer at the RRE Malvern, has been appointed Deputy Director of the National Physicalr Laboratory. He succeeds Dr Edward Lee, who becomes Director of I Stations and Industry Divisions at the headquarters of the D.S.I.R. Bristol Siddeley Engines give news of the retirement of C. M.[ Tunstall, assistant works manager, development manufacturing (aero). |His association with the organization dates back as far as 1916, when he[first joined Siddeley Deasey Ltd., which later became Armstrong Siddeley I Motors. Well remembered as an RFC and RAE pilot and as Hawker chiefJtest pilot from 1933 to 1945, Gp Capt P. W. S. ("George") Bulman, EE, MC, AFC, FRAes, has been forced by ill-health to resign from Bryanseroquipment Ltd after 14 years as a director. He is succeeded by [Kenneth J. Wilson, son of K. H. Wilson, who was until recently thechairman of Albright & Wilson, the manufacturing chemists. Following a successful sales campaign during 1959, all the firstatch of the new Hiller 12E helicopter (US Army designation, H-23D Javen) have been sold and increased production has been planned forthis year. A price reduction to $55,950 ex-works also comes into effect nediately. British agents for Hiller are Helicopter Sales Ltd, 2owndes Street, London, SW1. Allied International Corporation, of 230 Park Avenue, New York, have been appointed distributors for theUnited Arab Republic, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq. Powered by a 305 h.p. Lycoming VO-540, the 12E cruises at 82 m.p.h. for almost threehours, carries a useful load of 1,0001b and has a service ceiling of 15,000ft. The last three squadrons of US fighter-bombers based in France werebeing transferred to Lakenheath, Suffolk, last Wednesday. Equipped with F-lOOs, they are the 492nd, 493rd and 494th Squadrons of the48th Tactical Fighter Wing. The Yugoslavia Purchasing Commission which recendy visited Britainhas signed a contract with G.E.C. Overseas Services Ltd. for airport lighting equipment, valued at about £75,000, to be installed at Belgradeand Zagreb airports. A British-made film based on Thunder Above, the novel by A. J. Wallisand Brig-Gen Charles F. Blair, Jr, referred to on this page recently, is to have its London premiere this spring. Entitled Beyond the Curtain,it stars Richard Greene as an airline captain and Eva Bartok as a stewardess. The film is being distributed by the Rank organization. An attractive offer of free flying training for purchasers of Jodel D.I 17aircraft from Rollason Aircraft & Engines Ltd of Croydon (UK agents for Soci6te Aeronautique Normande) was announced on January 1. Costof the aircraft, including automatic starter for the 90 h.p. Continental and an eleven-channel VHF two-way radio, is £2,600. The flyingtraining, covering the syllabus for the Private Pilot's Licence, will be carried out on the aircraft purchased and will be made available at anyflying club, school or centre in the United Kingdom. The company are aiming particularly at making this type of flying attractive to executivesof small and medium-size companies with interests in this country and on the Continent. iSHORT SNORT: The rocket-propelled sled to be used in high-speed Rejection tests for the Blackburn NA.39, described opposite. The site, California, is the Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT). There is no sled track in the British Commonwealth ON OFFER to several countries as a relatively inexpensive Mach 2 fighter /bomber is the Marcel Dassault Mirage III (reheat SNECMA Atar), seen in this recent picture with tandem-slung bombs and under-wing rocket packs. (See "Continental Round-up" on this page)
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