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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0806.PDF
814 FLIGHT, 10 June I960 CORRESPONDENCE. . . salt water at high tide. After about six months the Duralumin wasspotted very evenly with corrosion, but it did not penetrate into the metal. On the other hand, the mild-steel plate was rusted rightthrough at the centre, though only rusty on the,rest of the plate. It occurred to me that there was a transference of electrons from theDuralumin plate to the steel plate and of ions from the latter to the Duralumin. Therefore I carried out another experiment. Tothe centre of the Duralumin plate I attached a copper tube, at the end of which was fitted a zinc plate liin square. After about threeweeks the zinc had almost disintegrated, but the Duralumin plate was quite free from any corrosion spits. The Sarafand was entirely my conception. It was not built toan Air Ministry specification. For some reason or other the technical department of the Air Ministry were opposed to the useof engines above a certain horsepower and were also opposed to big flying-boats. They contended that the increase of structureweight would prevent any increase of performance. I had already built the all-metal hull for F.5 and it was flying in December1924. The hull embodied my second patent, No 241,362 (applica- tion date November 28, 1924, complete acceptance December 31,1925). From these dates it will be seen that I had this hull well under construction before applying for a patent. It was the successof this hull which led the technical department to order six stressed-skin metal hulls for the Supermarine Aviation company'sSouthampton flying-boat. The Air Ministry technical department had thus abandonedthe theory of intercrystallization of light alloys at this early date. Prof Leslie Aitchison, who was consulting metallurgist to the AirMinistry, left in 1924 to become superintendent of James Booth & Co Ltd, who were making Duralumin under licence from theGermans. Sir Arthur Gouge was present when I convinced him by test that the tiny spots of corrosion on the plate did not penetrateinto the metal, and enlarged in that supposed process. If at any time in trying mixtures of non-ferrous metals with aluminiumJames Booth & Sons had used zinc, then I think intercrystalliza- tion might have occurred. Following my experiments with zincattached by a copper tube to a plate of Duralumin, I employed this method later on the wing-tip floats of the Sarafand when I hadput on a stainless-steel bottom, rather to appease the technical department of the Air Ministry than any other reason. Mr Gougealso designed and built the stainless-steel tube upper spar of the Sarafand. The stainless-steel bottom set up pinpoint corrosion onthe Duralumin wing-tip floats. I reminded Mr Gouge of my early experiment, so a slot was made to take a small zinc plate at the endof the wing-tip floats, and this cleared all pinpoint corrosion from the floats. The zinc plates could readily be replaced. I did not produce a flying-boat made of Duralumin until 1923.This was the single-seater Cockle built by Mr Lebius Horden of Australia, but later purchased by the Air Ministry. My first mili-tary-type all-metal hull was tested in wooden model form in the NPL tank at Teddington. The tank was not always easily avail-able, so at a cost of £4,000 I built our own tank at Rochester. Mr Gouge designed the tank on the lines of that of the NPL, thoughit was much smaller. I placed him in charge of this tank, with Mr Lower and a model-maker to help him. Thus we could workday and night if necessary, and we made great progress. In 1934 the Singapore III was flying, and six were ordered. As aguest of the Air Ministry I flew with four of these boats from Pembroke Dock to Karachi and made the first non-stop flightdown the Persian Gulf from Basra to Ras-el Khima. We now had what was known as the "standard" flying-boat of the RAF. Success after 14 years of financial risk and considerable financialloss, to prove that Duralumin and stressed-skin construction could be safely used in aircraft construction! Haslemere, Surrey OSWALD SHORT DC-1 at WorkH AVING greatly enjoyed the Editor's fine report "South byDC-8" on page 467 of your April 8 issue, I hope he won't object if I take him to task on his remarks "all, I find, exceptDash One, who never got around to going to work anyway." Most certainly, although the revolutionary Douglas DC-1 nevergot beyond the prototype, it certainly enjoyed for itself and its FORTHCOMING EVENTS June 10. RAeS Rotorcraft Section: "Helicopter Vibration" hv Dr.J. P. Jones. ' June 11. College of Aeronautics, Cranfield: Public Open Day. Also Cranfield Society a.g.m. and Dinner. June 11-12. Cholet Aero Club; Touring Aircraft Meeting. June 12. International Landing Contest, Brussels. June 12. Wolverhampton Aero Club: Competitions Day. June 12-18. International Institute of Welding: Annual Assembly in Liege. June 17-18. Lozere Aero Club: Rally, Mende-Brenoux. June 18-19. West Aero Club of France: 14th International Wine Rally Angers. June 19. French Aero Club: Rotorcraft Grand Prix. June 19. Yorkshire Aeroplane Club At Home, Yeadon. June 22-28. FAI: Aerial tour of Europe (provisional date). June 25. RAFA Air Display, Staverton. June 25-27. RAeC: Invitation Air Rally, Escoublac/La Baule. June 28. Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators: Presentation of Meteorological Office awards. several owners something of a unique and not altogether undis-tinguished career between the years 1933 and the end of 1940 Having made its historic first flight on July 1, 1933 (piloted bvCarl Cover with Fred Herman as co-pilot and flight-observer) it was handed over to TWA in December of the same year. Theairline operated it on most of their main routes, mainly for proving and a great deal of experimental work, including the testing of anew Sperry autopilot and Kreusi radio compass, on behalf of the (then) US Department of Commerce and the USAAC. In April 1935 the DC-1 was loaned by TWA to the NAA forAmerican attempts on various FAI recognized world records, for speeds, loads carried, and distances covered. Between May 16and 18 (flown by TWA Captains Tomlinson and Barries) it set no fewer than 19 new world and USA records. In 1936 Howard Hughes intended to use the DC-1 on around-the-world flight he and his team were then planning. Extensive modifications were carried out on the aeroplane, andfuselage tanks were fitted giving it an (estimated) still-air range of about 6,000 milts: the powerplants were also changed to WrightCyclones F.25s, developing 875 h.p. Later, Hughes and his team decided to use a specially builtLockheed Super Electra, and on May 27, 1938, Hughes sold the DC-1 to Viscount Forbes. It was shipped to the UK on a freighter,unloaded on a lighter to the Ford Motor Company's dock at Dagenham. There it was assembled by KLM engineers, andwas flown from Dagenham Common—a mere football pitch—to Croydon Aerodrome, piloted by the late Capt W. Rogers ofImperial Airways. It seems its distinguished British owner didn't keep it long, because he sold it to an (undisclosed) French operatorin about August of the same year. Likewise, the French owners quickly sold the DC-1 and inSeptember 1938 it became EC-AAE on the Spanish register, and owned by LAPE, the government airline at that time. Withthe Spanish Civil War coming to an end, in April 1939 and with a party of Republican Spaniards aboard, the DC-1 was flown toToulouse. Upon capitulation of the Republican Forces, a party of Spanish Nationalist Air Force personnel collected the aeroplaneand flew it to Madrid, where it was given a much-needed Check 4. In the new colours of Iberia it went into regular service on theSeville/Malaga/Tetuan route until early in December 1940 it made a belly-landing due to engine-failure on take-off, and waswritten-off, being broken up by Spanish Air Force men. During its colourful and indeed varied career this distinguishedancestor of all the DCs had at least three very near misses in several hundred flights it made: also, back in its birthplace (Santa MonicaField, California) whilst it was parked on the tarmac near its hangar, a stunting Biicker Jungmeister flown by famous Col ErnstUdet (he was visiting the small Douglas factory, having taken part in the National Air Races at Clevelands in 1932) narrowlymissed hitting the DC-1 when his engine cut whilst looping. In conclusion, I am much indebted to David Spurgeon (lateBEA and now with Transair) for making available much of this little-known data regarding the DC-l's ownership in the UK andSpain, and its final "resting place." Enclosed are two rare photographs of the good old "Dash One"when she was being assembled at Dagenham: her UK registration was G-AFIF, for those who keep such records. Nairobi, Kenya DENNIS M. POWELL. First of a world- famous series, the Douglas DC-1 '» England (see Mt& above from Dennh An. Powell)
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