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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0589.PDF
-LIGHT International, 18 April 1963 567 | ANY of the readers of this journal sometimes feel a trifle lost in the mighty ramifications of the aero space scene which we describe week by week, and have not yet learned to pick their way through a forest of Kruger flaps, orbital docking stations and thrust-vector control To them we offer this page as a refuge in which we describe two aeroplanes which, although they have only been deve loped within the past few months, are essen tially similar to World War 2 aircraft. Co-in, or "coin," is Pentagon jargon signifying "counter insurgency" or "coun ter invader." It is related to such other exquisite examples of modern military jargon as "conventional arms," "brush- fire conflicts"—or is it "bush-fire" or "brushwood"?—and "suppression before escalation." The last word is the dreaded euphemism describing the supposed transi tion from a local shooting affray at a frontier post to all-out nuclear war. Such escalation is to be prevented by the Co-in aircraft. The Co-in is intended to deliver "con ventional" (i.e., non-nuclear) ordnance against an unsophisticated enemy. At first glance the reader might feel that the world was surfeited with aeroplanes capable of fulfilling this role very well—and of doing little else. Nevertheless, manufacturers in the United States, Canada and France can see new business in this idea, and the US Department of Defense has even issued draft specifications which are attracting a motley assortment of answers. One of the proposals has four Allison T63 turbines, each uprated to 290 s.h.p., arranged in two pairs each pair geared to one propeller. The Y8-26K can carry 8,0001b under its wings and up to 4,0001b in the bomb bay, up to an aggregate of ll,000lb. Above it is seen with (reading inboard) a rocket pod, gun pod, 7501b bomb, and napaim or fuel tank, plus six O.Sin guns in the wings and eight more in the nose CO-IN AIRCRAFT Counter-invader Invader The aircraft pictured here are less costly, and both are modifications of familiar piston-engined types. Many will already have recognized the twin as a species of Douglas B-26 Invader, and it is, in fact, designated YB-26K. It is the creation of On Mark Engineering Co, of Van Nuys, Calif, who have already converted many Invaders for "executive" roles. Powered by more powerful Pratt & Whit ney Double Wasps—2,500 h.p. R-280O- 103W engines with reversing and auto- feathering propellers—the YB-26K can carry no less than 8,0001b of stores extern ally, and includes in its 11,0001b armament loads 14 0.5in guns. Its amazing perform ance includes a clean speed at sea level of 345kt, the ability to operate at near to gross weight from 3,000ft strips and a ferry range of 3,250 n.m. Running through the YB-26K brochure one concludes that it could operate without outside assistance from the tropics to the Arctic. It first fiew on January 28. The single-engine machine unfortunately crashed on March 27, as a result of struc tural failure during flight test. It is known as the YAT-28E, and is a modified T-28 trainer. More than 2,000 T-28s were built for the USAF (800 h.p.) and USN (1,425 h.p.), and many are already serving in a Co-in role with the French Air Force. The YAT-28E is a complete redesign, with a 2,450 s.h.p. Lycoming T55 turboprop and equipment for all-weather delivery of a great variety of weapons. W.T.G. The YAT-28E was produced by North American Aviation's Columbus, Ohio, division
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