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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1481.PDF
FLIGHT, 26 August 1960 Correspondence The Fditor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the viewsoresr-ed by correspondents in these columns. Names and addresses of rtier'i not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Let's be Fair to the Hurricane IN the current flood of books and newspaper articles on who wonor lost the Battle of Britain, little has emerged that gives newlight on that classic air battle, but one fallacy is being quoted so frequently as to run the risk of becoming accepted as historical fact' this is the question of the comparative performance of the Hurricane. In the two latest references, Alexander McKee's Strike from the Skv and Kurt Tank's biography, much space is given to emphasiz- ing the relative inferiority of the Hurricane (and even, to a lesser extent, the Spitfire) to the BflO9. Galland also sneers at the Hurricane while admitting the superior manoeuvrability of the Spitfire. Now let us get the record straight. To one who was privilegedto fly throughout the Battles of France and Britain in Hurricanes, and who subsequently flew both the Spitfire and the BflO9, thefollowing impressions remain completely clear and unchanged. The Hurricane I with c.s. aircrew was a magnificent fightingmachine, with excellent qualities of gun-platform stability, manoeuvrability up to 20,000ft, ruggedness and ease of control intake-off and landing. In climb and level speed it was slightly slower than the 109 (but no more than 20-30 m.p.h.), which meantthat it was not always easy to get away from a 109—but that was not the object of the exercise. Once in combat the Hurricanecould easily out-manoeuvre the 109. Above 20,000ft the 109 was better; but when correctly employed against the bomber forma-tions and close escorts below 20,000ft the Hurricane was magnifi- cent for the task. When in September 1940 there was talk in mysquadron (No 87) of replacement by Spitfires there was nearly a riot—if our Hurricanes were inferior, no one had told us aboutit! This tremendous spirit and confidence in their aircraft was typical of Hurricane squadrons at that time.In direct comparison I found that the Hurricane could out-turn Spitfires I and II at low and medium altitude, and could veryeasily do this to the BflO9. When flying the latter subsequently I was impressed by the very restricted vision in all directions fromthe cockpit, and by the extremely heavy longitudinal control characteristics in the dive. I formed the impression that with theexception of the 109's slight edge in speed and climb performance we had had the benefit of quality in every way. It is simply not true to say, as is now often implied, that theBattle of Britain was won not only against superior odds (which was true), but also in spite of inferior equipment. It is perhapssignificant that none of the criticisms of the Hurricane in this context that one has read has been written by a Hurricane pilot. The Luftwaffe fighter arm very definitely did not have a tech-nical lead in 1940, and credit for the victory must be shared between the Royal Air Force and those responsible for theconception, design, construction and testing of the world's two best fighter aircraft in 1940, the Hurricane and the Spitfire. West Clandon, Surrey ROLAND BEAMONT [Wg Cdr R. P. Beamont, DSO, OBE, DFC, is a special director of EnglishElectric Aviation Ltd and is their chief test pilot. This month he was additionally appointed deputy chief test pilot of British AircraftCorporation.—Ed] Unwanted Farthings Wanted From AVM Sir John W. Cordingley, KCB, CBE, RAF(Retd). yylTH the current level of prices, few people will miss theestimated 200 million farthings that are to be withdrawn from circulation. We at the RAF Benevolent Fund know a great dealabout the rise in the cost of living that has made this tiny coin an anachronism. It is also one of the factors causing us to spendabout £1,400 a day on relief of distress among serving and ex-Service personnel. I therefore suggest that your readers might care to send theirnow useless farthings to us [at 67 Portland Place, London Wl] so mat we can cash them in and put the money to good use in this>ear that marks the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. London Wl JOHN W. CORDINGLEY.Controller, RAF Benevolent Fund Light-aircraft Delivery to NZ yf ITH reference to the letter [August 12] under the title "Light- olH faircr?ft Delivery to NZ," I hesitate to set out to correct my ia tnend Bill Shackleton in his most emphatic statement in theiast paragraph of his letter, but in 1936 Jean Batten bought a ^ercival Gull and flew it from England to New Zealand ("thewrioie way ) that same year. Jean is a New Zealander and delivered r aircraft home. The fact that later she brought it away againum there ]s probably beside the point. 315 If Jean's was not considered to be the first delivery flight to NZ,of any aircraft irrespective of size ("the whole way"), then Mr Ernie Clark is entitled to the claim. He bought his Percival Gullin 1936 at about the same time as did Jean and delivered it home to NZ ("the whole way") about two weeks after Jean Batten'sflight. There can be no dispute about this being a delivery flight because, like Jean, Ernie Clark is a New Zealander and kept hisaircraft in that country. Incidentally, the first two aircraft ever to fly from England toNew Zealand were Percival Gulls—the two flights mentioned above, in 1936. Great credit indeed is due to the two pilotsconcerned. London Wl N EDGAR PERCIVAL TJOW interesting and pleasing to note that we have "stirredx A it up" with regard to the Apache that we sold to the Canter- bury, New Zealand, Aero Club and delivered there. It appearsthat we are wrong! Not to worry, though; every time there is a first, someone cleverly reveals that there was a first before Mm.I have a feeling that there must be individuals who go round record-seeking for the express purpose of keeping it a secret untilsomebody else does it, and then nip in smartly and knock the wind out of his hydraulic system. Anyway, well done CaptBradshaw, and full marks—he deserves them, doing it in a Proctor —and he's welcome to it, too!I feel, however, that any flight of this distance by light aircraft is worthy of mention, in particular when they are normal salesdelivery flights as opposed to acts of adventure! Our chief pilot, Capt Peter Nock, who did mis trip, is havinga quiet chuckle about it all, though the situation was somewhat tense when, having passed through "some of the worst weatherexperienced" en route for Norfolk Island (5 miles by 3 miles in the middle of 1,200 miles of unpleasant Tasman Sea) the penduloussystem in the compass leapt off its mounts and jammed some 400 miles out from Norfolk Island. Weather conditions wereso bad in the westerly direction that return to Australia with an unserviceable compass was out of the question. From here on thesun was used and bearings taken on the wind-lanes on the sea surface against the forecast wind. Some 250 miles out from Norfolk Island, Bill Lear's ADF-14worked wonders by picking up the Norfolk Island beacon. This little instrument was 100 per cent reliable and homed the Apacheall the way. The remainder of the trip was somewhat simpler. We are at least sure that it was the first Apache delivered fromthe UK to New Zealand, and even surer that it was the first Apache delivered there by us; but, we hope, not the last. London SW1 KEITH E. JOHNSTONE, R. K. Dundas Ltd Historical Accuracy I SUPPORT Roger Bacon's criticism of the accuracy of aviationinformation (Flight, July 22, page 126). The majority of books on aviation, particularly those which cover early history, containerrors of fact which are repeated by other writers. The Spandau guns of German aircraft of 1914-1918 are a goodexample. In an effort to set the record straight may I suggest that all recorders and writers of fiction use the term "Maxim" whenreferring to the fixed guns of German fighters of that period? I refer to the Maxim Model 08/15 7.92 mm machine gun as modifiedfor synchronizing. This appears to be the gun most used for fixed installations; movable guns for use by observers wereusually Parabellums. Incidentally, the Maxim 08/15 was manufactured at theSpandau arsenal near Berlin. London NW2 L. F. E. COOMBS FORTHCOMING EVENTS Aug 27 Luton Flying Club Display, Luton Airport. Aug. 28. Oxford Aeroplane Club At Home, Kidlingron. Aug 28- Sept. 4 Czech Aero Club: Wcrld Aerobatic Championships. Aug. 3l! Kronfeld Club: Lectures on the Coventry and London National Gliding Weeks. Sept. 3-5. French and Savoy Aero Clubs: International Centenary Rally, Aix-les-Bains. Sept 4 Wolverhampton Aero Club At Home. SeDt 5-11. SBAC Display and Exhibition, Farnborough. Sept 7 Kronfeld Club: "To over 25,000ft," by Fit Lt G. Rondel and Pit Off I. Strachon. Sept 8-12 AGARD and Instituto Lombordo di Scienze e Lettere: Seminar on Propulsion for Astronautics, Varenna. Sept 9-12 Popular Flying Association Rally, Cranfield. Sept 11 International Landing Contett, St Nicholas Maes. Sept. 12-16. Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences: Second International Congress, Zurich. Sept. 12-18. Battle of Britain Week ,,.,,.,. ... Sept. 14. Kronfeld Club: Film of German Wcrld Championships, by Sept. 21. Kronfeld Club: "Flying in the US Nationals," by Philip Milan Aero Club: Helicopter Rally.Kronfeld Club: Meteorological Discussion.Sept. 25. Sept. 28. Oct i_ AGARD Structures and Moteriols Panel Meeting, Athens.
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