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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0002.PDF
FLIGHT, 6 January 1961 Franco-German VTOL Agreement AS briefly recorded last week, during the recent conference of theNATO Council of Ministers in Pans the French and West German Governments reached a preliminary agreement for thejoint development of a VTOL supersonic fighter. In a Bonn announcement on December 30 both countries weredescribed as having prototypes "in fairly advanced develop- ment," and a joint commission will compare their progress andselect one for production. Flight trials are expected to begin in 1965, and production to start two years later. Other nations willbe invited to participate, and Britain is named as a likely supplier of engines. Neany a year ago the British Minister of Aviationtalked with the French and German Governments about such aircraft; a list of projects appeared in our November 11 issue. Vive le Mirage IN last week's issue we reported the decision of the AustralianGovernment to adopt the Mirage III as the next combat aircraft of the RAAF. It is now possible to give further details, and toreport that the same aircraft has been chosen as the next intercepter of the Swiss Air Force.Australia. For a full three years the question of what should succeed the Commonwealth CA-27 Avon-Sabre as the standardfighter of the RAAF has caused heated argument among the Australian Ministry of Defence (Minister, Mr Athol Townley),Air Staff, Commonwealth Aircraft, English Electric Aviation, Lockheed Aircraft, Northrop International, Dassault and others.In spite of the 1958 decision of the Australian Cabinet to integrate American equipment throughout the Australian armed forces, itwas finally announced on December 15 that Dassault had won the day. An Australian observer reports that some CabinetMinisters were against the Mirage owing to the fact that it was not American. To cushion the shock of the decision Mr Townleysaid that "the Government had regard to its policy that Australian equipment should be compatible (our italics) as far as possiblewith that used by US forces." The immediate decision announced by Mr Townley is thatorders will be placed for 30 Mirages, two of which will be imported from France, the remaining 28 being delivered by CommonwealthAircraft Corp at Fishermen's Bend. This is welcome news to CAC, who have delivered the last of 112 Avon-Sabres and arenow existing mainly on contracts for spares. But there are still many decisions to be taken, and it is by no means clear exactlywhat proportion of the aircraft will be built in Australia. In Mr Townley's words, the local content will be "substantial."Most important of the decisions to be taken concerns the power- plant. Although the standard Mirage IIIC is powered by aSNECMA Atar 9C (see data below) Dassault are offering the air- craft with the Rolls-Royce RB.146 Avon 300. The improvedeconomy of this engine confers an appreciable increase in range, and its great thrust (13,2201b dry, 17,4201b with reheat) improvesthe Mirage's already outstanding rate of climb and altitude per- formance. As illustrated in our April 22, 1960, article on theaircraft, an SEPR rocket pack is an optional extra, and it is one which the RAAF may consider worth having. Whichever engineis chosen, it will be made locally by CAC, who have already manu- factured at least 300 first-generation Avons for Canberras andSabres. Conversion of the Sabre to Avon power resulted in such delay that there is a strong body of opinion in Australia in favourof CAC making an exact copy of the French aircraft; but everybody acknowledges that the RB.146 results in superiorperformance. Another major variable is the radar fire-control system. TheFrench Mirage is equipped with the Cyrano, produced by CSF, who on December 20 announced in Paris that the RAAF aircraft"will be equipped with CSF airborne fire-control radar ... the Australian industry . . . will participate in the project." As wtgo to press this decision could not be confirmed; the main com. petitor is the Ferranti Airpass 2. Another major portion of th<_aircraft which may be imported from France is the Messier land ing gear. Martin-Baker at least should be well placed, for thei;lightweight (Mk AM4) seats are used in all Mirages. The RAAF'- standard air-to-air guided weapon is Sidewinder, which has alreadybeen fired from the Mirage; if guns are to be fitted they are likeh to be Adens, and not the French DEFA. CAC are due to deliver the first of their initial batch of 28 aircraflate in 1963, and even this limited programme should ensure production until 1965. In all probability the total quantity pro-duced in Australia will be much greater, for 30 aircraft will equij. only one squadron and an OTU, and would result in a unit cost—even for an exact copy of the present aircraft—of approximately £l.lm. Switzerland. Approximately three years ago deliveries of 10CHawker Hunter F.58s were about to begin, and the Swiss Aii FROM ALL QUARTERS Force began a long-term investigation to determine what type ofaeroplane should next be bought. The requirements were particu- larly stringent, demanding exceptional short-field performanceand good handling in turbulent air at relatively low speeds, in addition to supersonic speed, a high rate of climb and the abilityto operate in both defensive and offensive roles. After rejection of such widely differing aircraft as the English Electric Lightning,Fiat G.91 and Lockheed F-104, the field was narrowed to the Saab-35H Draken (described last week) and Mirage. Announcement of the choice of the French aircraft was made bythe Swiss Federal Council in Berne on December 28. It was stated that the total vote would be 900m Swiss Francs (about £75m).Approximately one-third of this sum is expected to be allocated to the purchase of complete aircraft from Dassault, together witha licence to manufacture the machine in Switzerland. The total number of aircraft being bought is given as 100, suggesting a unitprice considerably less than that for the Australian machines. No details are yet available regarding the aircraft themselves,beyond the fact that the airframe will be "strengthened" and will incorporate an arrester hook. Guns are likely to be Oerlikons.Manufacture of these aircraft in Switzerland will entail an appre- ciable expansion of that country's aircraft industry. Mirage III leading data: Powerplant, Atar 9C, 14,1101b with reheat,plus 3,3001b rocket; span, 27ft; length, 45ft 5in; gross weight, clean, 17,6001b; maximum weight, 22,8601b; peak Mach number, 2.15; take-offrun, clean, 2,300ft; landing run, 1,600-1,900ft; guns, 2 x 30mm (opt); stores: nuclear bomb, or combinations of Sidewinder or AA.20 or AS.25missiles. US Army Order More Caribous AN order by the United States Army for 24 DHC-4 Caribous wasannounced by de Havilland Canada Ltd last weekend. Its value is given as $16m (£5,714,000) and it brings to a total of 51 theCaribou aircraft now on order for the US Army. Of these, the first 27 are in production and the new batch of 24 will come off theToronto line at a rate of four per month during 1962. Including five for the RCAF, the Caribou order-book now stands at 56aircraft. Tom Brooke-Smith Honoured FIRST award of the Air League Founder's Medal—gift of MrStephen Marples, who with Col H. S. Massy founded the Air League of the British Empire in 1909—has been made to MrT. W. Brooke-Smith, until recently chief test pilot of Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. Awarded for "the most meritoriousachievement in the whole field of British aviation during 1960 " it goes to "Brookie" for his piloting of the Short SC.l, which atFarnborough last September gave the world's first public demonstration of VTOL by lift turbojets, and of transitions fromhovering to forward flight. This was the culmination of four years' SC.l test and development flying by Mr Brooke-Smith. His name also appears in the New Year Honours List (see page6) as a recipient of the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. TO FLY NEXT YEAR: Artist's impression—an exceptionally convincing on?—of the Short SC.5/10 Belfast, to be the strategic freighter of the RAF. As reported last week, ten are on order, and advanced military and civil versions are being developed, some with Rolls-Royce Tynes of no less than 9,500 h.p.
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