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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0074.PDF
JANUARY QTH, 1941. THE CONSOLIDATED B-24. also known by the firm's designation of Model 32, in flight over sunny California. difficult it can be to see a low-flying bomber from the air. CONSOLIDATED B-24 Early Delivery Expected of Fast American Four-engined Bomber Observe how THE delivery of the first of the 26 Consolidated Model32 four-engine bombers, which would have becomethe United States Army's D-24 type, is expected about March of this year. These aircraft are similar to theConsolidated prototype Model 32, first flown late in 1939, which marked Consolidated's return to the landplane field.The - are said to have incorporated in them the latest mili- tary features designed to meet the combat requirementslearned from the present conflict. While performance figures have not been released, various statements havebeen made that the top speed is over 300 m.p.h., range is approximately 3,000 miles, and bomb-carrying capacity isabout 4 tons. Such a bombei would be capable of carrying from Eng- land a full bomb load to almost any sector in the Europeanarea and return non-stop. It is a cantilever, four-engine, all-metal, high-wing monoplane, with high aspect ratiowings and retractable landing gear. Fowler wing flaps are fitted to aid in take-off and landing. The undercarriageis of the nosewheel type. Approximate dimensions are : Wing span, no feet; fuselage length, 64 feet; height ;<jfeet. As full a description as it is possible to publish a*1,; present of the B-24 was given in Flight of August 22, 1940,!page 145. As well as such information as engines and air- screws, the formula for the Davis aerofoil section wasreleased. Great claims have been made for the aerodyna- mics of this section and it is said to have low drag for thelift generated. Crossing the Tasman Sea THE new air link of Empire between Australia and NewZealand which crosses the 1,340 miles of the Tasman Sea is now firmly forged. In the first four months of operation thetwo flying-boats Aotearoa and Awarua made forty-five trips, a total of 60 300 miles. To begin with, the timetable was forone return flight per week, but already the service has been increased to three return nights a fortnight, on account of thedoubling of British Overseas Airways' "horseshoe route" from Durban to Sydney, and the starting of a Pan American servicefrom San Francisco to Auckland. ' Now it is likely that the trans-Tasman crossings will be further increased to two ser-vices a week each way. The flights have been made with close adherence to timetable owing to the reliability of the boatsand to the improved meteorological services, a regularity figure of 97.6 per cent having been achieved. The average flyingtime for the crossings has been olir. i4min. Fifteen passenger crossing.Pas- arried,freight seats are available on the boats for this long crossinOther particulars for the 45 return trips made, are: P;i sengers carried, 331; passenger-miles, 443,540; mails carrieI5.G2I lb.; freight, 4,507 1b.; mail ton-miles, 8,935; ^re'g ton-miles, 2,682. Flight Superintendent of Qantas /T*HE name of " Scotty " Allan is well known throughout -L aviation in Australia and there will be many others else-where in the world who will know him well enough to be glad to hear of his appointment as Flight Superintendent of QantasEmpire Airways. Captain G. U. Allan first flew in the l^oyal Flying Corps in 1917 and, after being in the R.A.F., joinedthe old Australian National Airways under Kingsford Smith to fly the Avro Xs between the Australian capitals. He has beenwith Qantas Empire since 1934 ar>d his log book shows the very impressive total of over 10,000 hours.
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