Aircraft Illustrated Oct 1973

1/24th scale HURRICANE Mk 1.Dur np rhe Secord Wo''d War theHawlEr Hurr cane. powered by a

- rawKer n|-r aa[te. IX)weIe0 D/ d

I ,.o,t r\oyce'r€r.r1 'r

e1p,ne,

I prou"o ro De one o' tr^e io.gnesr anoI most rel'able igrrer a.rcra.rlr ,e"v c e

Now you can build it wrth a greatnew'1 i 24th scale Airilx kit.

IIIT

II

IIIIIIIThe wortd's biggest range of construction kits

L-rrrrrrrrrrrt

Armaments Enginc: Itolls Ro1'ce llerlin XX 1260HPSpccd 329 \IPH at 18.000fi.

I 20mm Hispanoor Ocrlikon guns

HAWKERHURRICANE l1Cl-72nd SCALE KIT

Newfrom mnrcIfEOX;Super-fine detailed aero models

This "MATCHIIOI(" kit contains a choit'e'of ti,vo cle'cals thost'ofR.A.F. No. 87 (Njght Fightcr') Sqttadlorr rvhicl.r spccialised in nightfighter intruder operations tgainst slrch air'ficlds as Claen inocrcupied France and No. 3 (ltigliter') Scltt:rclrot.r Fi.A.l".

If vou're looking fol true atrthenti<'itv ir-r clt'signdetail here it is. This kit er-rjol's thc vt'n' s:rt.nc attetrtiou tt.r

detail that has made "NIATCI{BOX" die c'ast nrotlel c:trsso famous. Each part is nurnbered fbl erisf identificationand two sets of markings huve beern inclr.rded.

Particular care has been tnken in rnoulding toensure each part is a true replicll :rnrl a c'olour plan hirsbeen included as a guide.

The Hawker Hurricane i-s one of'a whole range offinelv dctailed aero models from "\IA'ICHBOX": Hawkei'Furv, Spitfire \{k.1X, Boeing P-I2. Zero Alphn Jet. Lvsander.Gladiator, Huev-Cobra. Strikcmaster. l'ockc-Wulf 190A-3.Northrop F5-A, Mustang P51-D, Corsair F4U-.1. Folland (lnat.

Make modelsto be proud of!''MA I'CHIIOX" is the registered Trade Ntark of Lesney Products & Co. Ltd., London , F,9 ; PA

23precommended

Associate Nlember 1.P.M.S

.J

OCTOBER 1973 Vol 6 No 10

Managing Editor: B. L Cornwell

Editor: PhiliP J. R' MoYes

Graphics: Jonathan A. BinghamDavid J. Kingston

Adaertisement Manager: P. ]. Tallack

The Sopwith sequence-an outlinehistory of the famous Kingston-on-

Thames based aircraft constructor andits line of thoroughbreds,

Cover: The McDonnell Douglas A-4NSkvhawk ll single-seat light attack

bomber.

Frontispiece: Two Hunter F.6s and aHunter T,7 of 3 Sqn. 4 FTS, on a recent

sortie from RAF Valley, Anglesey.Air Visual

Annual subscription rates including post-a ge.AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED: Home f2.40.Overseas (excluding North America)f 3.00. AIR FXTRA: (published quarterly)Home f 1 .20, Overseas (excluding N.America) f 1.40.North American readers should booksubscriptions with Sky Books Inter-national lnc.520 Fifth Avenue. NewYr:rk NY 10036. USA. and the followingrates apply: AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED$8.95: AIR EXTRA 5450

389 Ncws I Views

Alan J. Wr ght 407 BrLtish Civil Aircraft Fegisterphoto feature 40B Flying colours

Jarres Goulding 4i 0 N/odellrng World4i 2 Arrcsted at Bedford4 tr f re Bdr L'rrt-r Sl'.rk

RooertJackson 4i6 Sho@i a p.gz/z

Peter R. Vlarch 424 Airview428 Books

I C osrrrr; date Octolrer 5, I973 This isio efnir c a!rr pctLtors 10 tdke iidvaItageci ihc ( Orr rg c1 :p ;y selson. Lnciiltl ngtsatt r oi 3r ta,n Da7 B aa( and \^"'ltlle

t)'ri:s to irc ll i-"ast 6" x 4 an(j llolii!.r tn:,r i0 x B on ! ossy p.lpcr afdpr-l,.ri5 y ! :izcrl (Negalrves lvtil nor becois dercd )

2 35nrnr trafsparencies m!st be moLrntedafd all trensparenr:ies preferab y shou dl-.-! p,',r'yp \' opo fo'protectlon.Competrtor'! fcme and fu I addresstogether u/Lth pholo ciplron to bewiltt-on orr thc brck of eaarlr printsubrrrtted. or atta(.lred lo cachlransparcfcy or transparency envc opc.

3 A :tarnpcd rodres:-"d !lve opc to beencloscd for thc r!t!'rr oi unsrccessfuicftres

4 Tne wrrnrng cntr c: may be pLrb rshedrn AIRCRAFT I LLUSTRATED.

5 lrI Ailrf Ltrl ma,,/ acqr]ire at rlsd r.r€rlLOf afd !t dr agr-"-"d lee aopyrightoi reprodrL.t on flghts rf all enlrLes

0 Eftle:10 be address-"d to "PhotoCr)mp-"trt on". c/o Idrtor. AIRCRAFTILLUSTFATID. lan Al an L ld. Termrnalllorse, Sireppc 1on, TWlT 8AS.

7 The lucges a:c thc Ed tor aiddcsrgners of A IICRAFT ILLUSTRATED.The r der: s on rs f ra ancl nocoTrespoild-.ntc carn br cntcrcd nto(iot(:arntrg it

B Whrlst rvcry.rare wrll be lakefAIRCRAfT lL LUSTRAIED cannot behe d re:por.slb e for loss or damage.

Janrcs D. Ou 394 L berator introduction to war4OO The versat Le Sk

Kenneth Mcchan 402 Nelr ZcaJand agr cultural Tigcr Moths404 The hardi,r,are revolutlon

COMPETITION

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED is sponsoring a photographiccompetition for amateur photographers. The simpleconditions of entry are given below. There is no entrancefee.

The sublect is the powered aeroplane (including thehelicopter) in action or static, and clearly the more varietyof subject. scene. approach, viewpoint 3nd treatment. thebetter. This should not be diff icult-on the contrary . itshould prove a challenge, for if you are to get the greatestpleasure and satisfaction from aircraft photography. youneed to explore it to the full. Only photographs actuallytaken by competitors are acceptable and there is no limiton the number of entries. There are two groups-Colourtransparencies, and Black and White.

The following prizes wrll be awarded:

Averall (tvto tri each (cne tn eachDr\,, llll for lwo p.r:ons Section) Sectlon)to tir. f rril,.,'r A r Si'o'w lan Al ar bcok lan Allan bookn Aprr 1!)7+ (rt r; iropecl token wortlr f 1 5 token worth f 7.50by Tr Star) OH tire ecqu va ertva ue Lr Llr A aI boo( tokc,ts.

S x annuai subslr plrors to A RCUAFT ltLUSl FATED wrll a solre an,arciecl for ir glr1i, conrTrL'ntlcd prclures

NEWS&VlEtilSGo-ahead for HS146The Government is to invest f46m inthe Hawker Siddeley HS146 shorthaul airliner project which is due to f lyin January 1976 and enter service in1977. Hawker Siddeley will investf40m of its own money in the projectand the Government has written intothe contract the safeguard that shouldthe development cost of the aircraftescalate Hawker Siddeley will have topay the difference. Making the an-nouncement, the Aerospace Minister,Mr Michael l-,leseltine. said he wassatisfied that HSA had the financialresources to undertake the project onthese terms. The HS146 will bepowered by four American-builtAVCO-Lycoming 502 turbofans andthe standard model will seat 71 pas-sengers. while a six-abreast versionwill accommodate BB. There are alsoplans to increase its capacity to 102.

Tanzania buys H5748The Government of the United Repub-lic of Tanzania has bought a HawkerSiddeley 748 tor executive and VIPtransport. The aircraft wiU be suppliedin a 36 executive seat configurationwhich can be changed quickly to in-corporate a VIP comPartment and an1B executive layout. The aircraft waschosen after an exhaustive evaluationof comparable aircraft bY the Tan-zanian Government, which included a

week's demonstration by the 748 inTanzania-flying from airfields whichnormally are not used by aircraft ofthis size.

Tanzania becomes the seventh Afri-

Top to bottom: Vulcans are now beingtitted with a new radar warningoquipment, the presence of which isrevealed by an oblong antenna at the topof the tailplane.

Prototype Jaguar S.07 carrying apractice bomb carrier on the rear stationof the under-fuselage pylon. A colourphoto of this machine appears on page405.

The Harrier aerodynamic test aircraftXY277 is currently being flown with arepresentative Sea Harrier radome,which replaces the normal camera noseinstallation. Protrusion on leading edge offin is believed to house passive radarwarning equipment similar to thatinstalled in the tactical strike Jaguar andVulcan.

First Advanced 727 with maximum grossweight of 208 0001b made its firstflight in August f rom Boeing Field, Seattle,in the red and white colours ofDonmark's Sterling Airways whichh.s ordered three of the trijets.

390 AircraJt Illustrated

can operator of the HS 748 of which275 have been sold and are in servicewith 57 operators in countries aroundthe world.

Third 8.7478 for TAPTransportes Aereos Portugueses (TAP),the Portuguese national airline, hasplaced an order for its third Boeing7478. Delivery is scheduled for June197 4.

Saudia buys B.707sSaudia, Saudi Arabian Airlines, hasbought two Boeing 707-320Cs fromWorld Airways. The aircraft werescheduled for delivery in August. Thedeliveries will bring Saudia's 8.707fleet up to four. The remainder of thecompany's f leet comprises two8.720Bs. f ive 8.737s. six Convair 340sand six DC-3s. Two B.73ls arescheduled for delivery in MaY andJune 1 974.

Singapore Airlines orders third8.747Singapore Airlines has ordered a third8.147-2OOB which will go into servicein October 1974. SIA's first two 8.747swere due to arrive in September andwill enter service on October 1.

Two more 7478s lor OantasOantas has received AustralianGovernment approval to purchase twomore Boeing 7478s. The two aircraftwill go into service in March and May1974 bringing the airline's superjetfleet to eight. They will be identical tothose in the airline's present fleetexcept for higher-power engines. auto-matic braking system and a thrrd galleyunit to improve cabin service toeconomy passengers.

The Oantas order brings the num-ber of 747s ordered by 35 airlines andthe US Air Force lo 237. of which 21 5

have been delivered.

Harriers for SpainThe US Government has extended itsAV-B Harrier contract with HawkerSiddeley to include eight additional air-frames for supply to Spain for use onthe carrier Delado. There may be furthercontracts at a later date bringing totalorders from Spain to 24. The basicairframes will be buih by HSA andshipped with engines to the USAwhere electronics. radio/nav attacksystems and weapons will be fittedbefore supply to Spain. Crews will betrained in the US. Spain went to theUS partly due to political problemsvrith Britain and also because a

October 1973

navalised Harrier existed with theUSMC in the AV-8. The demonstrationby a Hawker Siddeley test pilot of a

British Harrier on Delado last Novem-ber clinched the Spanish decision.

It's the HawkThe "Hawk" has been selected as thename for Hawker Siddeley Aviation'snew HS 1182 two-seat jet trainingaircraft. The Hawk is expected to makeits f irst f light next spring and is sched-uled to enter RAF service towards theend of 1976. The new aircraft willinitially replace the Gnats of RAFTraining Command flying in theadvanced training role, and will even-iually undertake additional jet flyingtraining commitments including theweapon training role in which the air-craft will replace the Hunters presentlyused.

The Hawk is powered by a singleRolls-Royce (1 971 )/Turbomeca Ltdun-reheated (RT 1 72-06) Adour turbo-fan powerplant. Surveys carried out byHawker Siddeley indicate that there isa market for several thousand aircraftto replace existing basic and advancedtrainers. and also provide a groundattack or close-support capability. TheHawk is expected to caplure a sig-nif icant share of the market.

It will be available for overseas mar-kets following initial deliveries to theRAF,

Spey engine hushkitsRolls-Royce is now working with

four airframe companies to quieten alltypes of Spey-powered commercialaircraft-the BAC One-Eleven, FokkerF.2B Fellowship and Hawker SiddeleyTrident airliners and the GrummanGulfstream 2 executive aircraft. Theseprogrammes cover the developmentof Spey engine hushkits for flight test-ing to evaluate their effectiveness. Thehushkits are intended to reduce thenoise of nearly every version oI theseaircraft to levels which meet theexpected noise regulations for existingaircraft in the late 1970s and early'1 980s. The Fokker F.2B Fellowshipalready meets the FAR 36 requirementof the US Federal Aviation Administra-tion without the use of a hushkit, butRolls-Royce and Fokker are engagedin a continuing programme directed atfurther quietening of the aircraft.

A Fokker F.2B Fellowship with SPeyhushkits was flight tested recently.Hushkit testing on a Grumman Gulf-stream 2 will begin later this year andf light tests on a BAC One-Eleven andHawker Siddeley Trident are scheduledfor early 1 974. These tests are a logicalextension of earlier Rolls-Royce pro-

grammes to study Spey noise reduc-tio n.

A complete Spey hushkit consists ofnoise-absorbent linings in the engineintake. in the bypass duct and in thejetpipe as well as a silencing nozzle althe rear of the engine. Kits are designedto quieten Spey engines at minimumweight penalty and effect on costs andengine performance.

Gompass Cope RPV crashesThe USAF's largest remotely pilotedvehicle (RPV). the Boeing-built Com-pass Cope prototype, crashed whilstlanding at Edwards AFB, California,on August 4. The aircraft hbd made a

successful fiist flight on July 2B whenit flew for one hour and attained analtitude of 1O 000ft. The Compass CopeRPV differs from earlier RPVs in thatit is designed to be landed rather thanrecovered by parachute. The aircraft is40ft long and 13ft high at the HE J97turbojet engine which is pod-mountedon top of the fuselage.

Boeing was awarded a contract inJuly 1971 to develop two prototypes.The state of advancement of thesecond prototype is not yet known.

Teledyne Ryan also has a contractfor the construction of two CompassCope prototypes. The first f light of theNo 1 vehicle is not expected to takeplace before next year.

Another Hrinter squadron formedTo provide future Jaguar pilots withexperience of high-speed ground attacktechniques, a second Hunter squadronhas been formed at Wittering. No 58Squadron formed there on August 1

as a result of the splitting of 45 Squad-ron.

Both squadrons will concentrate onoperational training and will also takepart in exercises. They will not beassigned to NATO or given any formalwar role, although they may be ofoperational value in certain circum-sta n ces.

"Blue Angels" setbackFollowing the loss of two F-4J Phan-tom lls of the US Navy's B/ue Angelsprecision flight demonstratior team in a

mid-air collision while practising foran air show in the USA on July 28. theremainder of this year's appearancesby the team were cancelled. This latestcrash, in which two pilots andone enlisted aircrewman were killed,brought the total of Blue Angelsmachines lost this year to six.

Advanced B.727 first flightThe first Boeing Advanced 727 withmaximum gross weight of 208 0001b

391

Top : The task of changing the name onthe fuselage of BEA aircraft to BritishAirways is now well under way, thisTrident Three, seen early in August, beingone of the first to be repainted. The iobof changing liveries will begin inNovember,

Above: The BLEU's Andover XS606 andH5748 XW750 are now engaged ina Government-funded R/STOL researchprogramme. The programme is providingusef ul aerodynamic and operationalinformation for use as guidelines in thedesign of lutute afuqafl. RAE

flew {or the first time on July 26. Theaircraft,destined for Denmark's SterlingAirways. landed at Boeing Field after a

two hour. four minute flight. Sterling.world's largest charter operator, orderedthree of the modern tri.lets in February1912, and holds options on two more.First delivery will be in Novemberfollowing flight test programme andFAA certification. lncreased weight,including additional fuel, will giveSterling improved payload/range capa-bility such as non-stop Scandinavia-Canary lslands, more than 2 500nmwith i Bg passengers.

Another Lancaster for ScamptonLancaster NX61 1 which has from someyears languished at Souires Gate,Blackpool, has been formally handed

over by its owner, Lord Lilford. to RAFScampton. Lincs. where, after refur-bishment. it will stand outside thebase's main gate, replacing "O-Oueenie" now in the RAF Museum atHendon. NX61 1 is now beyond activeflying but it will be restored and re-painted in "authentic" RAF WWllcolours.

700th DC-9 produced . . .

The 700th DC-9 twin-jet transport toroll off the assembly line at the DouglasAircraft Company division of McDon-nell Douglas Corporation was deliveredon J uly 21 . The aircraft is a C-9 Bmilitary version of the commercial trans-port, built for the US Navy. The pro-duction milestone was reached in lessthan eight years after the first DC-9delivery in September 1965. A total of76'1 DC-9s has been ordered to date.

. . . and 100th DC-10 deliveredWestern Air Lines accepted a McDon-nell Douglas DC-'1 0 on July 25. mark-ing the delivery of rhe 100rh DC-'1 0powered by General Electric CF6turbofan engines. McDonnell Douglashas delivered three versions of G E-powered tri-lets:the Series'1 0 pow-ered by the CF6-6 rated at 400001bt;the Series 30 powered by the CF6-50rated at 49 000 to 51 000lbt; and theSeries 30 convertible freighter. alsousing the CF6-50. CF6 engines haveaccumulated more than 700 000 engineflight hours.

ABC helicopter fliesThe first of two Sikorsky S-69 Advanc-ing Blade Concept (ABC) test heli-copters made its maiden flight on July26. The 5-69, which has been given

atrt N

392 Aicraft Illustrated

4..a*.*.

the US Army designation XH-59A,uses a new rotor system requiring notail rotor. The first flight, which con-sisted of low altitude hovering. lastedabout 30 minuts during which analtitude of between 25 and 30ft wasattained. The f irst prototype is poweredby a UACL PTOT-3 Turbo "Twin Pac",but the second machine. now nearingcompletion at Stratford, Conn, is

tentatively scheduled to have twoadditional PAW J 60 turbojets f orauxiliary thrust for high speed flight ofup to 3O0kt.

Cook lslands Airways formedPlans to establish the first domesticairline in the Cook lslands were an-nounced on August 6, by Air NewZealand and the Cook lslands Govern-ment. The first aircraft of Cook lslandsAirways will be a nine-r.lassengerBritten- Norman lslander and servicewill begin in November betweenRarotonga, the main island of theCooks group, and Aitutaki. about 160miles to the north. Aitutaki eventuallywill be developed as a resort island. AirNew Zealand will inaugurate DC-Bservice to the Cook lslands in Decem-ber. a month after Cook lslands Air-ways begins operation.

MiG-25 sets three world recordsThree new world air records have beenset by test pilot Hero of the SovietUnion Alexander Fedotov. FlYjng a

MiG-25 (Foxbat) single-seat fighterhe climbed to an altitude of 36 240metres. an absolute world record foraltitude. Two other records were regts-tered by the instruments when theMiG-25 climbed to an altitude of

October 1973

35 200 metres. 5 000 metres morethan the ceiling of Fedotov's 1 967record. All three results are higher thanthe official world records. Fedotovdeveloped a speed of 3 300km perhour in preliminary flights. but theregistered speed was 3 100km perhour.

First European sale of MU-2JThe first European sale of the Mitsu-bishi MU-2J has been made to MrDennis de Ferranti for delivery in March1974. fhe sale was made by the UKand Southern lreland distributor. Ex-press Aviation Services. Ltd, workingin conjunction with Dismore Aviation.Ltd. The aircraft will be registered inlre la n d.

The MU-2J is the latestof the Mitsubishi twinexecutive aircraft series.250 MU-2s of all modelssold to date.

400th Orion delivered

long modeltu rbo prop

More thanhave been

The 40Oth P-3 Orion anti submarincwarfare (ASW) patrol aircraft to comeoff Lockheed's production line atBurbank was delivered to the U S

Navy on July 30. According to RearAiimiral Herbert S. Ainsworth. Com-mander, Patrol Wings. Pacific. whoaccepted the aircraft, the P-3 willprobably remain in production untilthe 1 980s. ln addrtion to the US Navy.the P-3 is in service with four othercountries of the free world. Ainsworth.who commands the 1.1 P-3 patrolsquadrons assigned to the Pacific, saidhe considers the C model of the Orionseries to be the finest ASW system inthe world. Since 1959. Lockheed hasdelivered 157 P-3As. i44 P-3Bs. 9BP-3Cs including the aircraft deliveredon July 30 and one RP-3D. the Pro-lect Magnet aircraft used by the U S

Navy to map the earth's magnetjc f ield.

Beech and Grumman discussingpossible mergerThe Grumman Corporation and BeechAircraft Corporation. have begunnegotiations looking toward a possiblemerger. The two aerospace com-panies complement each other. His-torically and today the Grummanorganisation is overwhelmingly a de-signer and builder of military aircraft-primarily for the US Navy. Beech Air-craft Corporation, on the other hand. isprimarily a designer and builder ofpropellcr-driven aircraft. sold chieflyfor business and private use.

Mrs Olive Beech. chairman of BeechAircraft Corporation, said that themerger under consideration could giveBeech stockholders an increased divi-

dend rate coupled with the benef its of a

broader product line in the aerospace.cryogenics. and general avtation fields.ln addition Grumman now has develop-ing interests in such activities as pol-lution control, health systems, leisuretime products and data processing.

X-24B lifting body air-launchedThe X-248 with John A. Manke. pro-ject pilot for NASA's Flight ResearchCentre at the controls. was air launchedfor the f irst time on August 1. from a

B-52 flying at 40 00Oft, and glided to a

landing on the dry lakebed at EdwardsAFB. California. four minutes later. TheX-24B is the latest in a serics of wing-less lifting bodies to demonstrate theability to manoeuvre and safely land avehicle with a shape primarily designedfor space flight. lts configuration is

also representative of advanced air-craft of the future which would becapable of sustained cruise flight athypersonic 3 500mph speeds.

Farnborough lnternational'74The Society of British Aerospace Com-panies, which earlier this year an-nounced the Industry's decision to openthe 1 974 Farnborough Exhibition andFlyjng Display (September 2-B) to theworld's aerospace companies, has nowrevealed plans for the main public days,together with admission charges. Farn-borough International '74, as the showis to be kn6wn. will also break newground in introducing public admissionon the last of the Trade Days, Thurs-day. September 5. This will be the firsttirne that the genera{ public has hadthe opportunity to see the FarnboroughAir Show operating commercially as a

trade shop window for aerosDacemanufacturers. with the emphasis thatday on the normal afternoon tradeflying programme.

Admission charges on the Trade andPublic Day. which are similar for bothseclo's. will be as follows:

Thursday. September 5. Adult orChild-f 1.75. Cars 11 .50. Coaches f 2.Motor Cycles 50p and Grandstand f 1.

Friday, September 6. will be thePublic Premiere when an expandedflying programme will be introduced.incorporating special items o{ publicappeal. Admission charges will be:Adults f 2, Chrld 70p. Cars f 1 .50additional, Coaches 12, Motor Cycles50p, and Grandstand €1.

As in previous years. ad.nission ratesare reduced for the Main Public Days,Saturday and Sunday, September 7and B. These will be as follows: Adultsf 1, Child 6Op. Cars f 1 additional,Coaches f2, Motor Cycles 50p, andGrandstand 11.

393

r.il *

n FTER Adolf Hitler had becomeA Chancellor of Germgny in 1933,British and French rearmament policies

-especially in air power-were ad-

justed in direct relationship to hissabre-rattling gestures and. of course,his efforts to reinforce and expand theGerman state

March 1935 brought the first directreaction from the Britrsh-Hitlerdenounced the limitations of theVersailles Treaty and proclaimedconscription for a target peacetimearmy of 36 divisions; the formation ofthe new Luftwaffe was announcedwith the statement that it was alreadyas strong as the Royal Air Force. ln theprevious year the British Air Ministryhad called up two high performanceintercepter fighters-later to achievefame as the Hurricane and Spitfire;now the retaliatory power of the RAFwas to be strengthened and work onSpecification B 1i 35 (demanding a

heavier and more potent bomber thanhad hitherto been contemplated)-already circulated to the industry beforeHitler's speech-was intensified, thecontract going to Vickers

But hardly had the British and Frenchair re-armament plans begun to creakinto action when Hitler staged his firstovert military manoeuvre and occupiedthe demilitarised zone of the Rhrnelandin March 1936 As a direct result ofthis action, the Air Ministry formulatedtwo new requirements-B 12/36 and

394

P.1 3/36-the frrst of which called forthe heaviest bomber yet envisaged forthe RAF. four-engined and with a

radius of action of more than 1 000miles. The second specifjcation set outrequirements for another new class of"medium-heavy" bomber with twoengines in the 2 000 horsepowerclass. The big bomber prototypecontracts were placed with Shorts andSupermarine. and the P.1 3/36 con-

tracts with Avro and Handley Page.The initial phases of design irrvestiga-tion demonstrated the great improve-ment of the 1936 aircraft over theB.'1 /35 (Warwick) and in consequencethe latter fell from favour and the pro-gramme was allowed to slow down.

But Hitler showed no signs o{slowing down-he concluded theAxis pact with lvlussolinj in October1936, signed the Antr-Comintern pact

LIBEIntroductiontoWarJames D. Oughton

Aircraft Illustrated

Below left: AM259, the first Liberatorto roach England, flown by DavidWaghorn and Maurice Summers fromMontreal via Gander to Squires Gate.The aircraft is seen after landing atSquires Gate on March 14, 1941, withthe twg pilots standing in front of thenose.

Below: The first LB.30A in May 1941with its original serial number (AM259)supplanted by the civil registrationG-AGCD. Tests for a C of A fgranted onMay 15) were carried out by CaptainJ. H. Orrell, BOAG, and it was duringthe course of these tests that theaircraft was found to be unsuitable forthe Scandinavian service of the Ministryof Economic Warfare, for which purposeit had been registerod.

Guy La Chambre-brought some freshimpetus to air re-a.rmament. but byMarch i 938 total French productionwas only some 40 aircraft per month.compared with about 250 by Germany.

And then the cold-or Iukewarm-war began to heat up. The Anschlussresults were announced on April 10and Austria became part of the ThirdFeich; harcily had the dust settledwhen an even greater crisis arose overthe Sudeten German question. and itseemed that Hitler was about toinvade Czechoslovakia.

Real relationships between Franceand Great Britain at this time-April/

May. 1938-were not nearly so closeas many imagined, and as the Sudeten/Czech crisis grew worse Francesuddenly found herself alone. TheBritish Government. in May, told theFrench, rn as many words, that theBritish would not support them in a

loint military action to preserve Czech-oslovakia if the Germans invaded. Thisblow was followed by an even strongerone from Poland. whose Governmentnot only made a similar statement butemphasized that, should the Frenchcall on her other major ally-Russia-thel the Poles would resist passageacross their territory by force.

The French air f orce had f ew. if anY.realistic ideas for strategic bombers-the Allied plans had been basedlargely on the new heavY bomberscoming from Britain. Bul La Chambrehad. in secret. taken out some insurancein the United States and in this crucialmonth of May 1938 the first Frenchheavy bomber requirement was in-vestigated at San Diego, California.

Initial a.pproaches had been made toBoeing. whose XB-17 bomber hadf lown in July 1935, but its design andproductron facilities were under toogreat a pressure for extra work to beundertaken. The Consolidated AircraftCorporation. on the other hand. hadset a pattern of remarkably successfullong range ffying boats a.nd welcomedthe opportunity to study a large Iand-plane design.

The French requirement was in-vestigated by lsaac M. Laddon, Vice-President and Chief Engineer, as a

development of the then-newXPB2Y-1 four-engined flying boat(Consolidated Model 29) and a newModel number was allocated, with a

prefix that underlined the breakawayfrom f lying boats and which can bestbe seen in the list of designs current in1938:Model Military JNameNo Designation

28 P BY Cata lin a29 PB2Y Coronado

* 18.3031 P4Y Corregidor

*"L8" denoting "Land Bombardment"tlt is again recognised that the namesquoted were not in fact adopted untilIater Vears.The L8.30 as first studied was a

shoulder-wing four-engined mono-plane. similar in general layout to theModel 29 flying-boat in that it hadtwin fins and four Pratt & WhitneyTwin Wasp engines. But. almost as soonas the Model 30 was schemed, a newand vitally important factor entered thedesign thinking.

A young aerodynamicist, David R.

Davis. approached Major Reuben H.Fleet. President of Consolidated. with aproposal for a new aerofoil section, oneof several patented in 1934. with verylow profile drag coefficients. Laddonbecame interested and the new wingbased on the Davis patents was firstapplied to the def initive L8.30 in J une1938, emerging as a high aspect ratiotwo-spar structure into which Laddondesigned main integral fuel tanks atthe centre section. But the tenuousnature of the French strategic bomberrequirement led to the L8.30 designbeing temporarily shelved in favour ofthe interest shown by the US NavY inthe Davis wing applied to a f lying boat;the promise of a contra.ct for this newboat seemed more firm and in con-sequence Consolidated began designand construction of the Model 31

twin-engined flying boat with author-isation dating from July 11.1938.

The wing was essentiallY that en-visaged for the Model 30, a 11O-feetspan two-spar structure containingFowler f laps; it differed from theModel 30 in having mountings for twoengines and also underwing floatswhich retracted to Iie f lat against theunderside of the outer wing sections.

By the use of then-advanced loftingand other techniques, the lVodel 31

was built in record time and beganengine runs on April 29, 1939, goingon to make its f irst f light on May 5 thatyear.

395

wrth Japan the next month and inJanuary 1 937 made a speech rnwhich he repudjated all the limitationsof the Versailles Treaty. lt was in thisyear-1 9 37-which had started offwith the scarcely-veiled threats fromNazi Germany. that the first realproblems arose in the new bomberprogramme for the RAF. The engineinherent in the P.13/36 requirements-the Rolls-Royce Vulture-was indicat-ing severe developmerrt troubles andRolls-Royce was already warning theAir Ministry that rt wor,ld be a bettersolution to go to a four-Merlin power-plant. There were some difficulties alsowith the 8.12136 engines (BristolHercules) but in the event they cameout broadly on programme. The engineproblem was eventually resolved in thesummer of 1937 by allowing theAvro P.1 3/1 6-the lvlanchester-to goahead on a calculated risk basis re-taining the two Vultures, while theHandley Page design-the Halifax-went ahead with four Merlirrs. (lt isreal ised that th e na mes for th ese desig nswere not current at the time but theyhave been used for the sake of sim-plicity) .

ln France during these sensitiveyears. the armed forces were-onpaper-much to be 'reckoned with,but in fact were deplorably equippedfor a "modern" war. especially in theair. The arrrval, rn January 1938, of ayoung and energetic Air Minister-October 197-]

But, retLjrning 10 May 1938: theBritish had sent an Air Mrnistry missionto the USA and Canada, and althoughits first task was to make specialpurchases of reconnaissance (Lock-heed Hudson) and training (NorthAmerican Harvard) aircraft in theUSA, there was a major proposalcontained within its terms of referenceto examine the war potential- nomi-nally in Canada-ot ar aviation in-dustry which could produce heavybombers. This was followed by a

second mission in July 1938 whereinthe heavy bomber requirement wasmore clearly spelled out-200 bombersper year on a peacetime footing and500 in the first year of war-withdeliveries across the Atlantic by air.

The British bomber requirementcentred on British designs beingproduced under Iicence and a contractwas approved between the UK Govern-ment and the Canadian AssociatedAircraft Co in November 1938 for apilot programme of Hampdens to befollowed by the mainstream productionof Stirlings. which were to reach a

production rate of 2O per month by thespring of 1 942.

ln the meantime a special French AirMission, led by M. Jean Monnet, visitedthe USA in the winter of 1938-1939and placed many orders. among thema tentative requirement for 100 Con-solidated LB.30s. which type wasbeing re-evaluated in the Iight of animpending requirement for a longrange bomber by the US Army AirCorps.

By nowthe existence ofthe hitherto-secret involvement of the FrenchGovernment wjth the US lndustry inMay 1938 was at least known inpolitical circies. for M Daladier-theFrench Premier. announced in Sept-ember 1 938 that he had been warnedby the US Government that itsNetrality Act would. even if war brokeout, prevent delivery of the aircraftordered by the French the previousMay

By this time the political problemswere acute-the heat had, to an extent.gone out of the Czech crisis by May 23when H itler (af ter the Czechs hadstarted mobilisino) announced that hehad no aggressive intentions towardsCzechoslovakia. But on September 1 2

he made an inflammatory speech atNuremburg and the second. andmaJor, Munich crisis followed as

Neville Chamberlain. the British PrimeMinister, {lew to Berchtesgade n (Sept-ember 1 5). Godesberg (September 22)and finally Munich (September 29) inattempts to appease the Germand ictator.

But the agreernent drawn up at theend of the month ceded the Sudeten-land to German and the German Artnymarched into Czechosiovakia on Oct-ober 1, 1 938.

These political manoeuvres hadprecipitated a telegram from the AirMinistry to the Air Attache in Washing-ton calling for an urgent estirrate oftypes and numbers of aircraft whichcould be bought in the USA fordelivery in the UK within one month.

Jhis was a panic measure whichcould obviously have brought little interms of immediate useful results. butit is significant that the close links thenobtaining between the Air Ministry andthe USAAC brought mention of thelatter's interest in Consolidated's newbomber.

ln January 1 939 this interest harden-ed up into a request for a design studyto an Air Corps Specification under thebombardment sequence number B-24;Consolidated's design team appliedthe same drive and abilrty as they hadshown with the Model 31 and withinthree months had built a. mock-up ofthe new bomber developed from theLB.30 and now styled Model 32-themock-up conference approved basicdesign and performance estimates anda contract was placed-on March 30-for a prototype. the XB-24. This wasfollowed up the next month by theformal placing-on April 26-of a

conl"acl lor a tolal o' sever se vrce lesraircraft. designatcd YB 24. At the endof this month the I\,4odel 31 flyino-boatbeqan enqine runs. and made its firstflight on N/ay 5. At this tjme the firstBritish heavy bomber, the Stirling.made its first flight (on May 14) butthis was an inauspicious occasion forthc arrcraft crashed on landing and wa.swritten off. This rn no way altered theAir Ministry's faith in the design, for rtwas to press for the liccncc building ofStirlings both in Canada and the USA-in the latter case specifically at onetime supplanting the production oiB 24s-f or somc time to come.

396 AircraJt Illtrrrated

frfl:ml**-'-*-'.-- "

Top €t above: Two views of AM910, thefirst LB.30B (B-24A1 Liberator Mk l, atthe A & AEE, Boscombe Down, in July1941. The aircraft has been fitted withASV Mk ll radar and under the forwardbomb-bay, which has been sealed off, isa "pack" of four 20mm Hispano cannon,The modif ications were carried out atHeston by a team of Handley Page andHeston Aircraft engineers and after theBoscombe trials were completed theaircraft was delivered to No. 120Squadron at Nutts Corner.

Left: LB,30A No AM262 about to leaveGander for Ayr with the Canadian PrimeMinister, Mr W. L. Mackenzie-King, onboard on August 1 9, 1 941 .

By now the outbreak of war inEurope was generally regarded asinevitable. British bomber strengthreceived a badly-needed shot in thearm with the f light of the new "medium-heavy". the Avro Manchester, in July1 939, but this very f irst f light showedtrouble with the engines and the needfor a malor wing re-design.

As war broke out in September, theFrench increased their orders for

American aircra.ft to a total of 2 065which rncluded confirmatron of theirarrangements with Consolidated for a

total of 139 LB.30s. British require-ments were for Stirlings to be builtunder licence-and this was still beinginsrsted upon as late as July 1940. withthe Air Ministry openly declaring thatthe B-24 was inferior to the Stirling.However. by October 1940 it hadchanged its tune and stated that if aBritish bomber was to be produced inthe USA then it must now be theHalifax, which had shown itself to be"immensely superior" to the Stirling.To say at this late date that the chancesof the Americans building a.ny Britishheavy bombbr were slight is overstatingthe case-the B-17 was in full pro-duction and the XB-24 had made rtsfirst f light, successfully, on December29. 1 939.

This month-December 1939-hadmarked a disastrous bombing raid byRAF Wellingtons in which more than54 per cent of the aircraft attackingwere shot down, with others badlydamaged. The need for armour, self-sealing tanks and better turrets hadnever been made more tragicallyobvious and was to hold back pro-curement and operational use ofAmerican aircraft which had been builtwithout such operational necessitiesafforded the priorities they needed.

ln October 1939 British and FrenchPurchasing Commissions had been setup in Washington and with the repealof the US arms embargo in November,supplies of armaments began to flowacross the Atlantic. To some extentthere was mutual agreement betweenthe Allies but it appears that the L8.30contract remained officially Frenchuntil the German break-through atSedan and the ensuing collapse ofFrance led to the formal takrng-over ofFrench contracts in the USA by theBritish.

397October 197-]

:' {4c'{,e".* ;,{ :: }s" :

-,,,-.. '_ 'i' -

LB.30B No. AM917 in June 1941 atPrestwick, having been delivered therethe preceding month. This aircraft waslatei modified by Scottish Aviation and,equipped with ASV radar and four 20mmcCnnon, was delivered to No. 1 20souadron in December 1 941 ' lt flew onoierations until 1944 and was thenfLwn to No 51 MU at Lichfield, where itwas eventually sold for scrap value inMarch 1947,

The situation for Great Britain wasindeed grave. and while FighterCommand and the defensive radarnetworks were well-equiPPed andready. retaliatory f orces were lean. TheStirling-al'eady susoect-went intoinitial squadron service in August 1940and the limping Manchester had stillnot received Service clearance; Hali-f axes would not loin Bomber Commanduntil the end of the Year.

On August B. onlY a month after theAir Ministry had described the B-24 as"inferior" to the Stirling. the BritishAmbassador in Washington Passed a

list to the U S a.uthorities showing itemsregarded as the U K's most lmmedia.teand important requirements-in thisshort Iist the second item was "' ' . 50Consolidated bombers

"" This

followed Winston Churchill's firstmessage as Prime Minister to President

Contract USAAC USAACNo Model SerialsA-5068 B-24 40-696/40-701

Roosevelt in which he stated that theBritish needed the Iatest types of air-craf r of which tne Amertcan serviceswere then taking delivery-he wenton ". . these can be repaid by thosenow being constructed in the USA forus." Prophetic words. which weregladly taken literally by the Americansafter the Japanese attack on PearlHarbour, resulting in the reter.ttion ofmany of the original L8.30 aircraft.

But Roosevelt. who believed that theMunich Agreement had been forcedupon the Allies because of their in-feriority in the air. received the Britrshrequests with sympathy and in oct-ober 1940 ratified an agreement torelease twenty B-'1 7s and thirty-f iveB-24s to the British off direct Air Corpscontracts.

The B-'1 7s were production models.but the B-24s comprised almost all theoriginal order for USAAC service testaircraft (YB-24) and most of the firstproduction batch (B-24A). lt wasaccepted by C. R. (latcr Sir Richard)Fairey, of the British PurchasingCommission. that the American bomb-ers would be accepted by the Britishas originally ordered for the USAAC,ie without British equipment as had bynow been specified for the direct-pu:chase LB.30s.

BritishModelLB.3OA

LB 3OB

LB 30B

W,ux,

The first six aircraft off the line atLindbergh Field, San Diego, had beenordered as YB-24s. this designationbeing applied to "service test" aircraft

-but they were in fact passed over tothe British as B-24s. the seventhaircraft retaining its YB-24 nomen-clature and going to the US Army ArrCorps. This initial batch was taken offUSAAC Contract No A-5OOB and paidfor in cash : the next batch of 20aircraft were the f irst off the line ofB-24As, and this contract-again paidfor in cash-was carried on ContractF-677. the origina.l French order forLB.30s. The final batch of nine aircraftmaking up the promised total of thirty-five (under US Requisition No 65) wasin fact never passed on, the aircraftconcerned going to the USAAC as itsfrrst delivery of B-24As. The BritishMinistry of Aircraft Production nowallocated seria.l numbers and at first itwas intended that they should followthose allocated for the LB.3O contract('1 39 aircraft, scrial numbers AL503-641 ) bringing the serial batch up to andincluding AL667. But the markeddifference in the two basic tYPes-18.30 and B-24/B'244-led Io a

change in official polrcy and the ex-USAAC arrcraftwere allocated new andseparate serial blocks. This is perhaps

Notes

6 aircraft. USAAC serialsre-allocated to B-24Ds.20 aircrafr. USAAC serialsre-allocated to B-24Ds.9 aircraft. Not released.Delivered to USAAC.

BrltishSerialsAtv25B/AM263

Arv910/AM929F-6lt 8-244

Req 65 8-244

398

40-2349/40-2368

40-2369/40-2371

Aircraft Illustated

js4;l:,r-'.' ,i;:3f ."'". r''' :rt;gi)t.. .'q '

better explained in the table.As will be seen. the decision had also

been taken on nomenclature-the firstbatch of six aircraft were designatedLB.30A (logically. in a. sense. followingthe first contract which called up theL8.30) and subsequent aircraft of adiiferent pattern again were designatedLB.30B. The situation became a littlemore confusing when the LB.30sentered service and were designated"Liberator M k ll"-the appa.rently laterdesignation r-8.308 then had becomethe "Liberator Mk 1". The genericname, "Liberator". had been formallyadopted by the British in November1941 and was later used by the UnitedStates' and other forces. To clear upthe overall picture of early deliveries. itshould be noted that the US Army AirCorps only received one YB-24. serialNo 40-702. Constructor's numbers forAiV258-263 ran from 1 to 6. and forAM9'l 0-929 began a new series from1 ro 20.

Arrangements were nOW Set in trainto effect delivery of the Americanbombers by air to the U K; at this pointthe story must concentrate on theLiberator picture. for the Boeing B-1 7sreleased by the USAAC were simplydelivered-the Liberator, with its highcapacity fuselage and longer range.assurned a much greater significancefrom the outset. For the record. thefirst B-17C-RAF name Fortress Mk I

-flew to the UK from Gander onApril 14, 1941.

On the f irst day of August 1940.Captain A. S. Wilcockson (who hadcaptained the flying boal Caledoniaon the first tra.nsatlantic survey flights

October 1973

in 1 937) and Lt Colonel H. Burchall (asenior off icial in BOAC). arrived inCanada to arrange flight delivery of allthe American aircraft capable of f lyingthe North Atlantic. the work to becarried out under the auspices of theMinistry of Aircraft Production incollaboration with Canadian PacificRailways. An Air Service Departmentwas set up within CPR and ColBurchall became general marrager withCaptain Wilcockson in charge ofoperations. Shortly a{terwards some ofthe star BOAC captains arrived inNlontreal-among them Captains R. H.Page, l. C. Ross. and the incomparableD. C. T. Bennett, who became FlightSuperintendent in charge of flying andtraining. An extremely valuable additionto the team was Captain G. J. Powellwho was. as Bennett later put it. foundteaching navigation as a squadronleader in the RCAF; Captain Powellwas of course, a highly experienced exlmperial Airways caplain. The base ofoperations was to be the Montrealairfield at St Hubert. used until thenewer and much larger airfield atDorval was completed.

Captains Bennett and Page werefirst given the task o{ ferryrng arrange-ments for the pre-war contract Lock-heed Hudsons, and they brought backto Montrea.l the first two of these air-craftfortraining ; among the many otherproblems was the organisation ofground support services both atMontreal and at Gander (prevrously"Hattie's Camp"). But Bennett workedhard and well. and in November '1 940led the first delivery flight of sevenH udsons across the Atlantic f romMontrea.l. via Gander, to Aldergrove inNorthern lreland.

As the CPR Air Service Departmentgot under way. it was suggested-inSeptember i 940-that BOAC shouldtake the frrst batch of Liberators(LB.30As) to start a transatlanticservice in view of the excellent rangecharacteristics demonstrated by theprototype xB-24-this was eventuallyagreed in basic principles and byNovember 25, 1940, the British AirCommission was signalling the MAPtha.t the first LB.30A was being pre-pared f or f light delivery to the U K. andthat the next five aircraft would be"stripped for transatlantic work" fordelivery by the end of the year-Consoiidated had forecast the firstdelivery date as December 5. 1 940.

This first LB.30A was then destinedfor "turret work" in the UK, but somedelays were encountered when the USauthorities refused to release the thenhighly-secret Norden bomb-sight, and

the British Liberators were held untilthe situation was eventually resolvedwith the release of the Sperry O-1bombsight and also the decision of theMAP to accept the LB.30As in thestripped condition referred to pre-vio u sly.

In January 1941 the organisation atMontreal was changed-Mr C. H.Dickens of Canadian Airways was putin charge of the CPR Air ServiceDepartment and Col Burchall went tothe British Air Commission in Wash-ington ; Captain Wilcockson becameTraining Superintendent and CaptainBennett remained Flight Superinten-dent. The scene was now set for thedelivery of the Liberators.

But staff complications made them-selves apparent at this juncture, forSquadron Leader David Waghorn andFlight Lieutena.nt Maurice Summersarrived. charged with the task of test-flying the first LB.3OA and delivering itto the UK. only to find that ColonelBurchall had placed the same task onCaptain S. T. B. Cripps of BOAC ;

Summers and Waghorn arrived at SanDtego on January 1 5, 1 941. and thefirst LB.3OA (AN/258) was rolled outtwo days later. An arrangement wasthen reached between Summers, Wag-horn and Cripps. whereby the lattertook over this a.ircraft after an initialflight had been made by Consolidated'stest pilot. Captain Cripps-one ofBOAC's m6st experienced pilots-carried out fuel consumption and coldweather performance trials on AM258.and then Summers and Waghorn tookover the second aircraft (AM259) andevaluated handling characteristics andgeneral performance parameters.

By the end of February '1 941 AN/259was at lMontreal/St Hubert, where ithad been delivered on February 23.AM25B remaining on test at SanDiego. The third to sixth aircraft wereexpected to be delivered at the rate ofone per week from mld-March 1941onward although the feeling a.t Mon-treal vras that Consolidated was being"Very off-hand and . . . refused to doanything but push the first six out ofthe hangar . . ." Summers and Waghornhad experienced something of thisa.ttitude. for the company ha.d taken a

strong line about the initial deliveryflight to Canada from the West Coastand insisted that its own pilots {lewAM259 to Montreal. Although therewas some truth in Ihe siruation asdescribed a.t San Diego at this time.the pressures on the company weresevere and certainly there were fewcauses for complaint in later dealings.

To be conttnued

399

THE versatile Skvhawk military atr-I craft is in production al the Douglas

Aircraf t Company division of theMcDonnell Douglas Corporation foruse as an attack bomber. strike fighteror advanced jet trainer. Seven di{ferentversions of the small but powerful A-4.effective either as a bomber or quick-response strike fighter. and the TA-4,a two-seat trainer. have been deliveredto the United States Navy for carrieroperations and operationdl training and

for Marine Corps use as a tactical air-craft. ln addition. with the authorisationof the US Government, SkYhawks in

several versions have been exportedoverseas ior operation by the lsraeliAir Force. Royal Australian Navy, RoyalNew Zealand Air Force and the Argen-tina Navy and Air Force.

More than 2 700 SkYhawks havebeen built. One of onlY a handful ofUS military aircraft to reach that levelof production since World War ll. theSkyhawk is manufactured at the Doug-las Aircraft CompanY division ofMcDonnell Douglas in Long Beach.Torrance and Palmdale. California.

One of the latest of the tacticalSkyhawks in US military service is theA-4M Skyhawk ll, the most powerful ofthe family of rugged. bantamweight air-craft. Built for operation by the MarineCorps, the A-4M is Produced undercontract to the Naval Air SYstems

Command.The multi-mission armament of the

A-4M includes air-to-air missiles andguns for fighter assignments or bombsand guns for close air suPPort ofground forces from forward airfields orfrom carriers. lncorporated in the A-4M are a number of improvements overits predecessor Skyhawks. Chief a-mong the advances is a new and morepowerful Pratt E WhitneY engine-

400

the J52-P-40BA. generating 11 2001b

of thrust for take-off. The additionalpower increases the SkYhawk's man-oeuvrability, rate of climb and acceler-ation. enhancing its already impressiverecord of combat survivability. Sp.eed

of the A-4M is in the high subsonicrange-about 700mPh. Another A-4Mfeature, a ribbon-tYPe drag chute.combines with wing-lift spoilers andlhe more powerful engine to irrprovethe Skyhawk short-field landing perfor-mance, making it the f irst of th,', serieswith combat operational capabilityfrom 4 000-{oot landing fields.

Other A-4M changes include a great-er ammunition caPacitY for the twointernally mounted 20mm or 30mmguns, a more Powerful generator, a

self-contained enqine starter and a

larger windscreen and pilot canopy,providing greater head room and visi-bility. Also incorporated in the A-4Mare basic Skyhawk design features ofearlier models, such as nose-wheelsteering. in-flight refueling capabilityand the McDonnell Douglas ESCAPAC1 -C-3 zero-altitude. zero-speed emer-gency eiection system.

Weighing only 1O 600lb emPtY, theA-4M can take off f ully loaded at a

gross weight of 24 5001b. includingB 2001b of all types of modern tacticalarmament. lt is 40.3 feet long. 1 5 f eethigh and has a wing sPan of onlY 21 .5

feet. As with other SkYhawks, thrssmall wing span permits it to be housedcomfortably in carriers without foldingthe wings.

Flight characteristics of the A-4M,particularlV its high-speed stability andits excellent controllabilrty. make it an

effective platform for the sophisticatedweapons oelivery systc'tt i1 calies.The A-4M made its maiden flight onApril 1 0. 1 970. and was f irst delivered

Above: The A-AC, f irst flown on August21, 195a.

Right: An A-4C leaves the flight deck ofUSS Enterprise, world's first nuclear-powered attack carrier, during US SixthFleet exercises in the Aegean in 1 964.

Bottom left: Striking head-on study ofan A-4K as supplied to the RNZAF.

Bottom right: Two-seat TA-AF Skyhawk,first of which began to reach the USNavy in May 1966.

to the US Navy on November 3, 1 970.Newest and most sophisticated in-

ternational version of the Skyhawk is

the A-4N Skyhawk ll, which containsseveral advanc-os over its predecessors.These improvements include a naviga-tion and weapons delivery systemdescribed as equal to or better thanany operational system today, two 30-millimeter cannon. a redesigned a.nd

simplified cockpit layout and a newSundstrand constant speed drive. Ma-Jor elements o'tne navigation-weaponssystem are a Lea.r-Siegler digitalcomputer. Kearfott inertial platformand an Elliott head-up displaV.

A-4|\/l features incorporated into theA-4N include the Pratt I WhitneYJ52-P-4084 engine, as well as theself-starter, landing drag chute, wing-lift spoilers and larger windscreen andpilot canopy. Maiden flight of the A-4N took place on June 12, 1972, andthis model is in production for the [-rS

Navy ano tl-e lsraeli Ai'Fo'ce.Another version of the Skyhawk in

production at Douglas is the TA-4Jlet trainer. lt is built without combalequipment, resulting in a lighter aircrafland simplifying mairtenance require-ments. Flown by NavY oPerationaltraining squadrons. the TA-4J has a

maximum ranqe of about 2 000 mileswhen equipped with external fuel

Aircroft Illustrated

tanks and an endurance of more thanfour hours, nearly double the flighttrainrg i.rre ol elrlre' ,et t'atnrrs.

Othcr TA-4 versions of the Skyhawkpossess the perforrnance and arrna-ment capab lities of the tactical Sky-hawk. in addition to their trainingfunction. Designed to operate fromcarriers or {rom forward landing stripsthese two-place models can carrYbombs. rockets, missiles anci guns.

pp5ig- ot tnn Skyhawk trainer is es-sentially the samc as that of the basicSkyhawk. with the exception ot a 28-inch extensjon of the fusclage to ac-commodate the second seat and a dualset of controls-

Left: Maiden f light of the A-4M skyhawkI I was made from Palmdale (California)Airport on April 10, 1970.

Since the initial deliverl, of the firstSkyhawk in 1956, the durable 1et air-craft has logged more than 3! millionflight hours in all versions. ln theVietnam conflict it was used by theUS Navy and Marrne Corps on morecombat missions than any other opera-tional aircraft. This high utilisationstems {rom its f lying simplicity. its lowmaintenance requirements. its multi-missron capability and the agility.small size and ruggedness which pro-ducc its superior survivability record.

Basic Skyhawk versions and theyear each became operational :

A-4A in 1956, A-48 in 1957, A-4Cin 1 959. A-4E in 1962. TA-4F in 1966.A-4F in 1967, TA-4J in 1969. A-4MSkyhawk ll in 1970 and A-4N Skyhawkll in 1 972.

. --...d,.._,i'i;s,,

. ,-. d.,,':t$'

.-1.,'*. .;,::. i .,,.,- @- *-*Mi

Ouober 1973 401

N I EW Zealand a.gricultural products are well known for| \ their quality, but to achieve this standard. large tonnagesof trace elements. ie superphosphate, must be added to thesoil. As much of the country is hilly and mountainous, there

are only two methods of application of the superphosphate-by hand and from the air.

During 1949. commercial operators began top-dressingwith aircraft. f ollowing a short period of trials by government

aqencies. The only aircraft available in numbers was the de

H-avilland B2A Tiger'Moth. This was not an entirely suitablechoice but. with a unique breed of pilots, later to be referred

to as the "supermen", the industry soon became established

as an integral part of the {arming scene.Five operators began trials early in 1949 : Airw'ork (NZ)

Ltd, Aircraft Service (NZ) Ltd, James Aviation Ltd. Rural

Aviation Ltd, and Gisborne Aerial Topdressing Co Ltd'

They were quickly followed by others until. by the peak

period in 1 957, there were more than 60 operators.

The Tiger Moth was the most prolif rc NZ-registered aircraftand top-dressing operators obtained their equipment from

a number of sources. A small number of Tiger Moths were

delivered to aero clubs pre-war anC the survivors wereimpressed into the R NZAF when hostilities began' Three

hundred and thirty five aircraft were delivered during thewar. some new from RAF orders. the London AeroplaneClub's fleet, some built at Hatfield to RNZAF orders, some

Harfield-built but New Zealand-assembled, and some builtby DH New Zealand and DH Australia' After the war a large

number of Tiger Moths were overhauled and released to

aero clubs and private owners. Although the RNZAF con-

tinued to retire the trainers, the mounting top-dressing boom

with its high attritron rate,made it obvious that other sources

would need to be found.ln 1950 the British and Australian imports began to arrive'

However with the appearance of more modern agriculturalaircraft such as the Super Cub. Cessna 180. Fletcher FU-24'

and Pawnees, the Moth quickly faded from the farming

scene. A small number were retained for spraying operations,at Ieast two still being used for this work during 1970' As

well as top-dressing and spraying. Tigers were used fordropping poisoned rabbit bait and f or seed sowing.

l was-an engineer with Aircraft Service from the time itcommenced ag work until the introduction of the FU-24, and

the history of this operator is typical of this period' lt was

obvious from the start that the Tiger was far from ideal'

its availability being its main attraction. Superphosphate is

an extremely fine powder and it entered any openings in the

aircraft structure. Corrosion of the metal, rotting of the

fabric and deterioration of the glued ioints resulted. and itwas a constant battle to keep the ingress of dust to a mini-mum.

With the problems of the hopper installation overcome.

further modiiications then followed. A fabric fillet was f itted

to the lower wing. a metal cover fitted over the rudder bars,

a chamois leather bag sealed the bottom of the control

column. where it came through the f loor. and the lacing

under the rear fuselage was taped over. The bottom wingsstill had to be opened up regularly however, and one

operator f itted a plywood panel between the.bottom wings'Loading the aircraft was accomplished by the loader

jumping on the wing walk, undoing the hopper lid, guiding

ifre loaaing hopper, pulling a handle to release the dust'

securing the lid. and jumping off the wing as the Tiger

moved away, in about the time it takes to tell. The wingstructure under the walkway quickly deteriorated but a

heavy plywood panel covering the platform ribs proved a

satisfactory remedY.Many landing strips were on the side of a hill. landings

402

lleuZeulundIorirulturolIi-gerlllothsKenneth Meehan

- -- nr!*" f'"'flr': d1ibs P* X"al h f 3*tud&F dffiffiffi#

Airoaft Illustrated

being made upwards, take-offs downwards. The under-carriage took a pounding it was never designed for andbroken springs and bent bolts were a constant worry. Thealuminium fork ends were replaced by steel ones, thecompression leg fairings were removed and a safety chainwas fitted between.the leg and the axle.

The tailskid had an old file blade welded vertically to itto give better steering. but then the lower rudder ribs andfin post had to be strengthened. The top wing trailing edgewas cut back at the root to give more clearance to theloading hopper. All flying wires were encased in plastic.

The main modif ication. of course, was the f itting of thehopper. The front seat and control box was removed, andthe decking from the rear centre section struts back to therear cockpit was replaced with an aluminium one fitted aspart of the hopper. Various outlets were tried, a. shallowfull width one being most widely used. Enlarged windshieldsof various shapes were fitted and, later. headrests too.

Manager of Aircraft Service was D. A. Grieg, a wartimefrghter pilot and a brilliant flier wilh exceptional engineeringability. Some of his ideas included in the Tiger Moth experi-mental modif ications were: Corsa.ir tail wheel oleos formain undercarriage legs. Corsair rudder pedals. adjustableseat, torch battery-operated stall warning device and wind-driven agitator. The fitting of brakes was also consideredbut was considered too expensive. The standard exhaustmanifold gave a lot of trouble and individual stacks weref itted. Fairey- Reed metal propellers were used on a f ewaircraft, although care wa.s needed to prevent overspeeding.

Owing to the rugged nature of the landing strips andnumerous accidents a large number of spare componentswere held in stock. Even though lworked there lsoon losttrack of the true identity of some of the 13 Tigers we had.These aircraft came from aero clubs and private owners.spare components being obtained in England and Australia.Twelve sets of parts were obtained from Sydney. most stillin RAAF colours. with one that had been used as an ambu-lance by the RAN.

The configuration of the Tiger did not change greatly.although McGregor Aviation planned a project that featuredthe litting of a Auster wing in parasol position.

The ag Tiger's hopper carried between 500 and 6001b ofmaterial. Loading. which was initially by hand. quicklyprogressed from Heath Robinson-like structures fitted to a

variety of trucks and tractors, to sophisticated. self-containedunits. Pilots and drivers lived in caravans and the loadingtrucks also carried a ref uelling unit. with tools and spares.

Agricultural Tiger Moths continue to survive. theMuseum of Transport and Technology has several awaitingrestoration for static display and James Aviation kept itsfirsr aircraft. ZK-AJO. which flew 6 914 hours between1949 and 1959.

Facing page, top left, centre left and top right: Valiations inhopper styles. James Aviation (ZK-ARB), McGregor,Aircraft Services (NZ) Ltd (ZK-BDG).

Facing page, bottom: Another of James Aviation's Tigers,ZK-AKO ex N21419, with seed outlets fitted to the hopper.

This page top to bottom: ZK-BDG ex A17-105 used by AircraftService (NZ) Ltd 1953-1961. Colour scheme was silver and red.

ZK-ALP ex N2654 of Aerial Farming (NZ) Ltd,1950-1959. Hillsin background are typical of the country top-dressed,

First topdressing trials in South lsland were made byZK-ASO ex N2688 in 1949'

This silver and green, spray-equipped Tiger, ZK-AUT exvH-BEO, was used by Weedair Ltd between 1956 and 1960 andincorporated parts from the fuselages of three other Tigers.

October 1973 403

Ihe llardtuare fleuolution

n T rhe outoreak of tne 1914/18 WarA Lne f li'nsy military ae'oplares o{ theRoyal Flying CorPs and RoYal NavalAir Service. predecessors of the RoyaiAir Force. were exPerimenting withnew aerial mines and grenades 1o use

against enemY airshiPs and groundforces. lt was thought thal up to 40lbof explosives could be dropped froma height of 350ft without damage tothe carrier aircraft. To launch smallerweapons the pilot or observer leanedover the side of the cockpit and droppedthe Iethal devices f rom his grasP !

Today, less than sixtY Years later,

one RAF strike fighter can deposit a

bo.nb loao of I 6 0001b on lo a movinqtarget with pin-point accuracy. Such

is the "hardware revolution" that has

changed the tactics of warfare waY

beyond the dreams of yesteryear's

science f iction writers.When the Buccaneer low Ievel strike

aircraft first entered service in the early

sixties it could carry a maximum weap-

401

Right: A Jaguar releases a 1 0001bretarded bomb during weapon deliverytrials made f rom West Freugh, Scotland.

Below: Phantom FGR2 of 6 Squadroncarrying two groups of SNEB rocketpods, three Sparrow air-to-air missiles'a strike camera in one of the forwardmissile bays, auxiliary tuel tanks and acentre-line cannon Pod.

ffi

Aircraft Illustrated

..4ir'l::.:tri*!:a::::.!&.!.il

,.&._

t. ,..,.19Eq,.t:r.*._

ons loai of B 0001b. \A/irir progre ssivr:c^vt'iopn ' nt ,nd L: L -ciori on c' n',,v\ /capoirs pylons, thc iaie st vr:i-sions ofthe Buccaneer can now lift coubiethis loacl. SimilarLy tlrc Phanionrs,Harricrs ancl Jaguars that havc suc-ceedoi thc Fiunrer and Canberra in['or, li-.' s. vic, o' JrL ruoJt ruentcr scrvice, can carfy wcapons loadsmany iiincs grcatcr tiran iirc oLclcrrrachincs.

Wrth tire cost,rf new aircraft rncreas-ing in ciirect proportion io tho increasoin sophrstication domancicci, it is ob-vious that oach roplaccment rnachinenrusi bc very cost effective anrt abic to"carry the nrcsiest". A gocd cxarlplcof this is thc llarricr. Dcsoite its ciirnrnu-tivc size it c:rries a vci'y gooci w€ri:rponscielivcry system ard can cairy 5 0C0lbcf orcinance. T hi-q is aoout doublr ihcloac.i of rhe iluntor \^/ircn rt r-cpii:ccc1 iirsorvico, and rs likcly to be irncrovcdUpofl uS u;llJt' ci lr,,:ri s, r'l^: i rvicL.Aithcugir nurnbers of net"nr aiicra{i en-

Ottober 197-i

tering servrce oo not numericilly rc-Dlace ihe tyoes or:inq retireo, iiroymore tiran nrakc up ior-this by tircircxrra narci hitting capabriitres. Onrrsquaciron of Bticcanccrs can carrytwice as rnucir weaponry as a Canircrrasouaciron. A Phantom sou".ciron has a

gr.rarer puncn thar five l-lunter squaci-rons I

This morc :'ccent \,!calpons rcvc;lutionhas cornc aboui l.:rgcly as a rcsult oftwo clcvcloomcnts. I'he firsr is thec)(tra tlrrust io weigirt raiios now avail-lol! [ron' 'rnu' n. , 'ii, ,' a: -uL t:qi , s.

The liarrier's Pcgasus iuibo{an pro-cluccs cnough pcw.r to ver-iic.:liy iiftits own rveigirt plus that of the aircrait.plus a heavy rnrar load. l\ fcw ycars agosuch a feat was tecnnrcaliy irnpracticalfor an operational nrachine.

Tirc secorrd devoiopment is theevolut jon of rluitiplc carriage \,/eaponspylonr. 'rt prur,.ie uf c(,n. ill l.loifcnsive siorcs v.ritirin an intcgralbcmb bay iras go'rc oui of fashion

'."'.

largcly foi-',rvcigirt reasons. it uscd io beunihirrkirille to coi',sicicr any bomDcrlacr<ing a bonrb bay. bui ihe siri:pe otthe bay was very restricting on tiretyp,: of oronance cerriori, crzcn thoughi' tnln,'i ' , ri .g, oo' > cr,i cuw: e :t ur..lano marginally rncrease specci.

-lire aci-

ried conrpiicatiorr ancl wcight oi aninLcrnal bornb bay is not lustif iabic on a

smali attack aircraft ilrougir ii i:ccomesmorc viabie on largcr bornircis suchas ihe lJuccanccr. Vulcan. anci Vicior.

i\4uliiple weapons cariage vv.rs anobv,uus oLvp.clrlr'' nL is suon li In

creaseC power gave grcater load cai'ry-i,r3 crr,b,liiy. Insi.-.d oi ( r rV' r! o'|:iysinglc bombs or wcapon pods on eilcilcf the airci'aft pylons, ihe laiicr are now{iitecl with multiplc carricrs. whicl't pcr-mit tlre ioading ol morc llran one\,veapon on caoit pvion. t he tilr'oc iypesof cariicr nov.r in FAF usc can (rarry

LWu VVn..DUnS i.t t,:rO, m. i\VO riCru Oy-side cr three in a ciovcr leai grouP,clepenciinq on thcir dosign and ihe

405

aircraft to which they are f itted. Theweapon release units are of the stan-dard NATO pattern and so virtually any

type o{ weapon can be carried All ofoui'front line ground attack aircraft. theHarrier, Phantom and Buccaneer. are

equipped with multiple weapons car-riers and so will be the Jaguar andN/ RCA.

It is not just the ordnance lift capa-

bility of modern RAF aircraft that has

improved. The firepower itself has been

developed dramatically over the last

decade. Heavy. but inaccurate, ground-attack rockets, dating back to WorldWar ll, continued in use until compara-tively recenlly but have now beetl

totally replaced by podded rockets ofvery compact externaJ dimensions.These armour piercing rockets are ofthe high velocity type and are ftitedwith hollow charge warheads whichwill penetrate with ease the armour ofany modern tank or warship. Over 2OO

such rockets can be carried bY one

aircraft and they can be fired either in a

battleship-lrke salvo, or rippled off a

pod at a time. dePending on the tYPe

of target being attacked.New bomblng techniques have re-

sulted from the introduction of retardedbombs. These weaPons are slowcddown in flrght bY smali Parachuteswhich deploy immediately after release'Tlrey can be dropped safely f rom vctylow altitudes and this minim ses the

aircraft s vulnerability to encmy de-

fences and still ensures accuratede livery.

Another new weaPon ParticularlYeffective against enemy armour is theCluster bomb. This ls similar in size

and shape to the standard 1 0001b

bomb but shortlY after release itscasing peels away, reieasing a Iarge

number of armour piercing bomblctswhich fall in a high densitY cioud.saturating the target area. Dropped insticks along an advancing column o{

enemy armour these cluster \/eaponswould create havoc. Although de-

signed primarily as anti-armour weap-ons. the bomblets are also exception-ally effective against personnel.

The Hawker SiddeleY N,4artel air toground missile will shortly become a

highly effective addition to the RAF's

armoury. The missrle will serve in theTV guided version as a stand offweapon agalnst land or ship targetsand in the automatically homing ver-sions as an anti-radar weapon blindingenemy corltrol stations and making lif e

easier for other attacking aircraftThe RAF's abilitY to navigate accu-

rately to its targets and release its

weapons with precision has been im-provcd in step with the weapons them-

406

sclves. fhe new attack systems are

based on inertral navigation principlesusing space gytos; they are indepcnd-cnt of grourrd stations and are thereforesecure and can be used worldwid-".Using built in computers they providevery accuratc navlgation information,which eases the task of fincling thetarget and thus permitting the ctcwto concentrate on tactics. Once thel:'g.1 ,r rot oloo. rr' ll\AS Lliv s DI L l'eweapon ainring rnformation makrng all

the necessary calculations such as air-

craft speed, firing range and surfacewind. wlrich previously had to be as-

sessecl and allo',ryed for by thc pilot.So sophisticated is this equiprncnt thatit can even release weaPons auto-matically. The Harrier and Phantomare f ittcd with a f irst gerreration INASwhich is an analogue system, theJaguar and MRCA are bcing equiPPedwith second gcneIation digital systems.which wi I have even greal-'r capability.

The Harrier and Jaguar urtll soon be

fitted \/rth the Ferranti Laser Range

Above: Some of the modern ordnancewhich can be carried by a Phantom (top)and Jaguar.

Below: Harrier armed with two radar-homing versions of the Anglo-FrenchMartel air-to-surface missile.

Finder and Marked Target Receiver(LF|\ITE) which Performs two func-tior.rs. First it provrdes the pilot withextrermely accul'ate range f inding whichhas previously been the one thing11-" ground attack pilot has lacked;this innovation will therefore greatlyincrease w,:apon delivery accuracy. lts

second functiot-t is to enable targets,,vhich arc designa.ted on the groundby a Forward Air Controiler to be

located and identified by the pilot;this will greatly enhance the speed and

efficiency of close air support opera-tions.

With al these new weapons and theincrease in lifting capabilities of thelatest combat aircra{t it can be seen

that the RAF's conventional teeth are

sharper thalr ever !

Aircraft Illustrated

AIBCBAFI- BEGISTER

Registration Type C/n

G-BBCVC, B BCW

G BBCX

G. BBCYG- BBCZG BBDAG BBDB

G- BBDC

G BBDD

G-BBDE

G_BBDF

G.BBDG

G BBDH

G-BBDI

G BBDJ

G-BBDK

G.BBDL

G BBD]\4

G-BBDNG BBDO

G-BBDPG BBDR

G,BBDS

G BBDT

G- BBDU

G BBDVG BBD\^/

G.BBDX

G BBDZ

G-BBEAG BBEB

G-BBEC

G BBED

G BBEEG-BBEF

G BBEG

G BBEH

Cessna A.1 888PA E23 Aztec 250

Airship (Hot Air)Radio ControLledLrton LA-44 MrnorAA 5 Trave erAA-5 Trave erPA-28 Cherokee180PA 28 Cherokee140PA-28 Cherokec140PA-28R CherokeeArrow 200 2PA 288 CherokecArrow 200-2Concorde

Cessna F.1 72 M

PA-18 Super Cub150Thunder balloonAX6 56V scount B08C

AA- 5 Traveler

AA 5 Traveler

Taylor MonoplanePA E23 Aztec 250

Robin DR.400/1 00PA 31 Navaio

PA 3'1 Navalo

Cessna 1 50H

PA-31 Navajo

SIPA S.903BN-2A 9 lslander

BN 24 I ls ander

BN-2A'2 ls ander

BN-24 I ls arrdr:r

A-4A382Jd J

305361

325437

325444

335250

7335255

1 00 002

1 I 5336

'10857

7 - 4800

407

A.14373051 20

531 -0056

3009 56

8839

1 537

Luton LA-4A

+2

43

x4

AK 1

PA 28R CherokeeArrow 200 2PA 28 Cherokee180MS.B94B Rallyel\4inervaLearlet 258PA-28 Cherokec144Be I 206,4 JctBafgerPA 28R CherokeeAnow 200-2

7 335292

/305478

12.091

25 1357325527

442

7 335297

October 1973 407

BBIIISF] CIVIL

Compiled by A. J. Wright

Owner or Operator

n SUPERSONIC Concorde, a couple of subsonic LutonA Minorc and in between mainly Pipers. Cessnas andlslanders comprise the allocations this month. The c/n ofG-BBCY looks highly suspect and no doubt in the passageof time will be amended. The Viscount B0B was deliverednew to Aer Lingus in 1958 and was later converted to a

freighter by Scottish Aviation. The Swiss airline SATAacquired it in 1969 and later was expected to join the nowdefunct British company Air lnternational. Arislng from theashes, Nor-Air, a new airline at Southend, is now believedto be the future operator of G-BBDK. Finally it is to be

hoped that the Fan Jet Falcon stays a little longer thanthe f irst one. F-BAOA.

Registrction Type Cln Owner or OperatorMindacre Ltd (N21865)Scotcourt Executrve AirLrd (N14251)

E. A. Wills I G. W. MogerC. H. DiffordGenerai Aviaiion Sales LtdGeneral Aviation Sales LtdSpooner Avration Ltd

Spooner Aviation Ltd

Spooner Avration Ltd

Spooncr Aviation Ltd

Spooner Aviation Ltd

BAC Ltd CommercialA rcraft DivrsionLeicestershire AeroClub LtdJ. E. Honrewood

S. W. D. Ashby IH. B. Ashbyl. McCle land IPartners Ltd(HB,lLR/Er-AJK)Genera Avration SalesLtdGenera Aviation SalesLtdD. A. NrceSeai-.d MotorConstructron Co Ltd(N40361 )Avons Robin (UK) LtdMann Aviatron Ltd(LN,NPG)Belanr Bulk Buying Ltd(N75651)Eastern Avrat on Ltd(N2321 2)Efl-. Electronics Ltd(N67901)B. Pr cc (F-BEYJ)Br tten Norrnan( B,"rnbridge) LtdBrittcf Norman(BemDr dgc) LtdBrittcn-Norlran(BembrLdgc) LtdBritten Nornran( Bembridg.") LtCS. A KnightNorthern ExocutrveAviatrof LtdSpooner Av atron Ltd

Air Tourng Servrces Ltd

CSE Aviat on LtdCSE Avrat on Ltd

Alan Mann He icoptersLrdSpooner Aviat on Ltd

PA 31 Navalo 131

-1 20

PA-31 Navalo 350 17305058Fan Jet Falcon 186PA 2BR cheroke-. l3OB77Arrow 180 I

Beechcra{t B 55 lfC.t Ot O

Bcttanca 7GC ec l+go zsI

Cessna FRA l50L 10205Not yet dllacated I

Bell 47G-5A 1251 31Beil2068Jer ltto+_tHanqel I

Ber2068Jet 11102Ranger I

Bell 2068.J-"t 11121Ranq.r I

PA 28 Cherol'ee 17125340

lX9r. o,,"" zso lz:osozscessna 1 B5A lO+ctPA,F23 ATtec 250 173051 60Skvvan srs 3 lSH.1 9l 8variant 2OO I

Stvvan srs 3 lSH.191 9vailant 4OO I

BeL 2008Jer lttzgRanqer I

AA-18 Trarner 10245

PA 28R cherokee lrrrrrO,Arrow 2OA-2 I

Bell 2064 Jel IZSBdnqer I

PA 34 Seneca 200 17250076I

BN 2,A 6 ls ander l7O1

BN 2A-6 t.t"no", lTOz

BN-24 6 t.t"nl", lzOE

BN 24-6 t, "na", lz0+

BN-2A o trtuno", lzosI

Nat yet allacated I

RN-.rA.6 lsland-"r 1706

BN 24 6 trt.na", lzoz

BN-24 6 trt.no", llog

BN 2A,6 t.L"no", lzog

BN-24 6 trtunou, lu to

Free b:ttoon ltuCessna A 188B lOtZlOrPA E23 Aztec 250 173A'J124PA-32 Cherokee lgz llgSix 260 I

PA E23 Aztec 25o 121 219PA-34 Seneca 200 17250109

Cannon Electronics IAuiomation LtdWebster Aviation LtdTrader Airways LtdMann Aviation Ltd

Eagle Aircraft ServicesLrdAirways AeroAssociation LtdLonmet (Aviation) Ltd

CSE Aviation LtdCSE Aviation Ltd

Ben Turner I Son(Helicopters) LtdB-.n Turner I Son(He icopters) LtdJ. E. Fricker (LN-l\4TM)

Ellerman Lines LldShackleton Aviation LtdCSE Avration LtdShort Bros IHarland LtdShort Bros IHarland LtdCSE Aviatlon Ltd

General Aviation SalesLtdTruman Av ation Ltd

Astra Arrcraft Ltd

Amercan Airspeedlncorporated Ltd(N1 077U)Britten-Norman(Bembridge) LtdBrtt-.n-Norman(Bembridge) LtdBritten- Norman( Bembridge) LtdBr tt-.n Norman(Bembridge) LtdBritten-Norman(Bembridge) Ltd

Britten-Norman(Bembridge) LtdBr tten Norman(Bembrldge) LtdBritten Norman(Bembricige) LtdBritten-Norman(Bembr dge) LtdB ritten'N o rma n(Bembridge) LtdA. J. F. Sm thLonmet (Aviation) LtdNot knawn (N40364)Spooner Avration Ltd

Not known (5Y-KRB)Nat known (sY-APJ)

G-BBEI

G-BBEJG.BBEKG,BBEL

G-BBEN4

G-BBEN

G-BBEOG,BBEPG BBERG BBES

G. B BET

G,BBEU

G-BBEV

G BBEWG BBEXG-BBEYG-BBEZ

G-BBFA

G-BBFB

G BBFC

G-BBFD

G BBFE

G-BBFF

G-BBFG

G, BBFH

G.BBFI

G-BBFJ

G-BBFK

G BBFLG. tsBF[,4

G BBFN

G-BBFO

G BBFP

G-BtsFR

G-BBFSG BBFiG BBFUG-BBFV

G BBFWG BBFX

FbinsColoursAbove: One of the Hunter FGA9S whichlllo 45 Squadron at RAF Wittering,Hunts, is using for training pilots for theRAF's new Jaguar tactical strike fightotphotographcd last Decembor. Wingedcamet badge commemoratss tho fact thatNo 45 flew the famous Sopwith Gamelfighter in the Filst World War.John Tweddell, HSA (Kingston Divn)

Above rightr A Halrier of ltlo I Squ.dronfrom Wittering in tompotary "snowcamouflage" during Exetcise "Sky Mist"which was hetd in northern Scotlandlast winter.John Tweddell. HSA (Kingston Divn)

Right: Fly-by-wirs Hunter: the RoyalAi?craft Establishment's unique greenHunter T12, seen here during a sortielast April, has now embarked on a tostprogramms in which it makes completeilights usin-g quadruplex olsctrically- 'signalled flight-contlol equipment whichis boing developed bY the RAE.Peter Hudson, RAE Bedford

408 AirtaJt Illustrated

-t-"t **h liq

,{:*'C,qt&rt

3".s

{

a

t.

{,

r.4' :.

F+f'1iii.:l

{* r"

ii19,1

li.'f .'

'@

i.':l r*'!*&fr :':"t. ;-J;:]r

t+-.- 3e-

MODELLINGWOBLDJames Goulding

Frog's Hellcatcontinued from last month

The whole of the engine cowling is

removable to permit the engine to be

viewed. the propeller only being a push-f ton the propeller shaft to make this possible'

Seoaraie windscreens are prov ded foreirher the F6t-3 or F6F-5 versrons'

A ventral drop tank installation addsinterest to the model if required, and six

underwing rockets are included for the

FOF-b va'rant. lf these lattet ite-ns are

installed, holes in the wings have to be

opened uP.The wheels and tyres on this model are

fine mould ngs and add additional realism

to what is a very beautiful model Com-

oa.trq thrs rrooe' w th Feve't s So'tf"e,i-tutt,iun" a'd Typroon. one rea ses .us1

what a hefty piece of machtnery was the

Hellcal-but functionally shapely tooTransfers in the kit permit the selection of

one of two alternatlves One is an FOF-3

Hellcat I of BO0 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm.in Temperate Sea scheme, based on HMSEmperorin '1 944. The other is an FOF-5 of 1

FIotille, Aeronavale, tn French Indo-Chinaduring 1945. This was finished in overalloloss-Sea Blue. I am delighted these davs

iuitf, Frog's British aircraft markings,

which are now extremely accurate In

colour. lwould respectfully suggest thatother manufacturers could well refer to

them for colour guidanceThe cost of the Frog/Hasegawa Hellcat

kit is t2.50 and the Bf1 09E is f 1 '54

A big HarrierBeino a lntq.e aeroplane l1 ma.tV vvays

it wJs inev'tanle that lne Haw'er Fat ter

GR Mk1 would become afavourite subiect

for the kit manufacturer' So far w'e have

had 1112 scale models from Frog and

Airfix. with a thrrd from Matchbox to

come. We have had a 1/48 scale Harr er

from Tamiya. The biggest of all will be

Airfix's massive 1124 scale kit, which is

due later this vear'Biggest Harrier to be released at the tlme

of going to press is Revell's i/32 scale

GR'l A single-seater. This model makes an

interesting- comparison with other 1/32scale models-notably Revell's H awkerTyphoon and Hurricane. lt is interestingto note how the proportions of fighter a r-

cra'l have e\anged over llae vca15. espe( i-ally with the advent of the iet engtne andthe swept or deita wing. D mensronally theHarrier is lltt e bigger than the Typhoon,but whereas frghters tn earlier years had a

wing span conslderably greater than theiroverall Length, the modern let flghter has

an overall length greater than lts wir-lg

span. But it is in the respectlve fuselagelengths that the greatest contrast exlsts.and which makes the modern iet f ighter

410

such a massive piece of machinery com-pa,ed wrth the rvpical pistor'-engtned{rohter of World War ll.

Revell's Harrte'kit makes uP into a

oenerally good mode' bf tmpress ve s ze

but it is not without items that requlre

attention to bring it up to the latest stan-

dard. Tl'e gply m3.o' irem requlr,ng

modification is in the appearance of the

f orward jet outlet fairing, which in the kit

is shown in the form used on the Pre-production Harrlers This fairlng originallyaDoea eo as a separdle slreamlined bulge

.nrred.ately dIt ol the enqr-e l11a\es, bJtearlv tn lLe O'odr, lion ' fe of tne Harrte'it was smool*ed 'nto l1e sur oJndlngfuselage structure and has remained in this{orm e'ver since. Modifrcatlon of the Revell.I]ooc' ts edsy. Jcllg body o.ltty or slmtlar

f ller to smooth out the bulged f arring intothe fuselage.

Unfortunately, Revell has merely en-

oraved the two main nose undercarriageioors instead of supplying them as separ-

iG it"tt. This is. lfeel. making life diffrcultfor the modeller. On early productlonHarriers these doors remained closed whenthe nose undercarriage was either re-

tracted or in the "down" position' .onlyooent-q oJilnf th^ letra'lion or exle'ltion.o^"o^io Pnolooraol's Taken i1 rer ent

"".'t "t-ulfv snoiw rnar ltsPSe door a'e

'e{t oper ',ril^i e rhe ai'( ra't ls standtrg on

the ground. This may be for servicing

reusons, but it may also be that the retrac-

tion system has been modified Either

way it would have been an advantage to

have these doors as separate items in orderthat the modeller could have the option of

fltting the doors in either manner' Per-

sonally, I Prefer to see them oPen

Irr my opinion the Harrier is one of themost difftcult and tedtous models to make,in any scale. Because of the side JetexnaU.l .O17 ?< anO exr PSs ve wlnganhedraL, painting after w ng assembly is

very diffrcult. lt is therefore advisable tocomp ete and paint the fuselage before-hand. leaving wing assemb Y and theaddrtion of the let nozzles untll later' Be-cause the camouflage of the upper surfaceextends around the wino leading edgeonto the under surface and because theanhedral makes it difflcult to paint into thewrng roots on the under srde. lt is advisableto Complete the wing before assembly'The underwing serial transfers must alsobe addeo before the underwing storesare cemented into posit on These stores,which rn Revell's krt lnclude rocket pods

and drop tan ks. must be painted separatelybefore cemer'rtinq Ln place bcr:ause theyare so close together or.r the short-span,.r,ing. The tarlplane and main under-currLge unlt are aLso better completedand patnted Defore assemblY.

The fuselage of Revell's model has a

removable enQlne bay door through whichthe detailed engine may be vlewed The

engine is a good representat on of thePegasus 6, nsLde of which s a linktngreihrn'st which enables all the letexhaust nozzlcs to rotate together' This

mc, l-anr .n ts .r 11 e'nerk ot r^.tl rl oro

duct orr Revell kits and I ur)derstarrd that itis being strengthcned.

ln addition to the underwtng stores,this model has the underfuselage gunpacks included as optional items.

All panel and skin lines on this model are

engraved as raised lines to cut costs, butpersonally I would have preferred to seeat least some of the panels indentedrather than raised-although I appreciatethat thjs is more costly. ln a modeL of thlssize indented panels do add realism.

The transfer sheet provides markings fortwo versions, a Harrier GRIA of '1 Squad-ron, Royal Air Force, and a US MarineCorps AV-BA. The transfers are of goodquality, but early kits have a fault on thered and blue fin flash for the RAF version,which is being corrected. I found difficu tyin laying the fuselage RAF roundel downflat on the double curvature of the areaaround the engine tntakes. Eventually itwas found easier to match paints to thecolours in the decals and paint the roun-dels bV hand, using ink bow compassesfilled with the respective colour paint todescribe the circles. The upper and lowerwing roundels on the transfer sheet wereused wtthout trouble, hence the need tomatch the patnt co ours accurately Thefault in the fin flash, which perm ts onlyone side to be used. necessitated paintingthis item by hand.

Incidentally, in the rnstruction sheet it is

suggested that the exhaust nozzles shouldbe painted "flat metallic grey". ln fact.the forward nozzles, which only exhaustcoLd arr, are painted dark green. The rear

exhaust nozzles should be burnt metalPrice of Revell's 1 /32 Harrier is t1 70

Matchbox's Strikemaster andBell AH-1 G HueYCobraTwo further Matchbox kits in T /12 scalenot previously reviewed are of the BAC'l 67 Strrkemaster and the Bell AH-1GHueyCobra attack hellcoPter.

The BAC StrLkemaster is a very welcomemodel and it js surprising that this aircrafthas not been prodlced in a kit before now

-although it would be equally surpris no

if one of the rnore established manu{ac-turers does not release another Strike-master kit before long.

An excelient choice of sublect. lvlatch-box's kit is accurate, well-moulded and has

an excel ent fit of parts. The cockp t hoodmouldtng is a beautiful p ece of work'Thc external and cockpit detail is limited.and because the hood is so largc andclear Ithink this is a case where a littlemore detail on such items as the ejectorseats and the nstrument panel ',^;ouldnave been o'. raole Del;tlis ^ol ro 16'6'-sary w,here it is largeLy hidden. Thc nose

landing 1lght is also very prominetrt on the

full size sublect. and thLS is aqain an ltemthat shou d have been detalLed, wLth a

,epdrdTe lra'1. pd art , OVet.

The under',r, ng stores on this model are

confjned to the multi-t er single ro',v ofrockets under each w ng A feature of the

Strikemaster is that it has four strong-points on the wing for the carriage ofbombs. rocket pods, multi-tier rockets ordrop tanks. I feel that a combination of

loads shouLd have been supplicd with thiskl1. but their omission is not serious be-

AircraJt Illustrated

cause such weapon loads can easlly betaken from. say, the Airfix Jaguar orHarrier kits and adapted for use on thismodel. Four well-filled pylons added tothis model make t look in character.

Adaption of this model to produce a JetProvost Mk5 should be simple enough,by cutting off the wlng tip tanks andaddrng ordinary wing t1ps, and by addingthe strokes around the nose. There areseveral exciting colour schemes for JetProvost L4k 5 aerobatrc teams.

Transfers in the krt are for a SlrikemasterMk B0 of the Royal Saudi Arabran AirForce and a Mk 88 of the Foyal NevvZealand Air Force.

The New Zealand Strikernasters arepainted in three-tone canrouflage stmtlarto that used by the USAF, r,r,hereas thosein Saudr Arab an service are either camou-flaged in dark earth and lght stone or'r theupper surfaces or are alunr niunr overaThe transfers show var ance f|orn ohoto-g "ol's o'rne5o a'r'"it a-d i, . , e ."'yto check the sty e and posrt on of nrar,<-rngs on actual aircraft before appLyingthose supp ied. One notrceable alteratlonrequrred is that the words "Royal SaudiArr Force" should be on a 'rvh,a r".16ngLeon carnouflaged a rcraft and thts'rui lhaveto be added to the mode before applicat onof the decal. As it is the decal is correctfor an alum nium-paiftcd a rcraft.

N,latchbox's Bel AH-1G HueyCobra isanother useful sublect for those vvisiring todepict a Vietnamese scene, and one thativi I probably appeal to the schoolboyma rket.

Tl- ' rode i' g"reratly a!.v'o o I I oU -

lrne and nicely nroulded, but the tndentedskrn lines are rather on the heavy side.

The tail rotor surpr singly appears to bemounted on the wrong s de of the {in.photographs clear y sho'.ving this to beusually fitted to port. This can fair y easilybe corrected.

Gun pods and rocket launchers are pro-v ded for Tnount ng on the stub wings andthe gun barbette under the nose rotates.Cockpit Cetail is adequate and the g azedcanopy is a beautiful p ece of moulding.The rotor head is rather simplif ed. but theblade hubs are n ce y detai ed.

'rdn)re's arP prov deo'o'lwo v€lr.o1sOne s from the US Marine Corps and theother from No 235 Attack HelicopterFlrght, US Army.

Each of these models costs 23p.

Above right: Four brand new Bell AH-1GHueyGobras on test prior to delivery toFort Stewart, Georgia, for use in pilottransition training.

Right: Snow Harrier, A Harrier of No 1

Squadron in snow camouflage duringExercise "Sky Mist", See also centre-spread.

.{dt

,8#Y

**--*%Eabi

*---'--.i*.*

Otrober 1973411

:!

't .:

ia

>g=aEoo9g,=oo+'E F.as5eao io

-EoE +'rFgEo 6.=II CLG

ra=,5Etrlrt61-lz=tL:-'

r=)nFwv,l '-,=,l '-t--1t-J

{;j;li.,.EA*giI

*ls*.!l

t6 tliI

It

!eicoL!{cc

o€\\aqo-eA)ooa-

1,

ffi

t

*

n{

{

i

\- '',trl ,t,f

t il,

{

'r' .

s:co c('o;H9oacEEu;:ouoc o->Y."lusoooo;0F=- 6oi,!a9-23>abEa[jg 6.-=,]3--!ibE39!o: --O-*Y*PaC;-;;r:=p oO-(Eo;5>n,S.-l?=I l3ga3--;?€":e==9 : :-t *i:Ei*a=E=.! F-ote!"r:b-FE'H E' U q -. -53I6 Y -e 6 t.E" 93t9-*;;:=b;-f *e s=;!F.bf;;iE6U_,Lo"c!=6_=;?<===X.i6 c > 9::^, o;j" o! - Q-u >r^*;_a F;@:l c i, ^E

!.) u! > vl-X - Oc')' O -'- o 9c rr o o;'i;E d9 s_6- ot=uori'- c e OUC O= o c O., c - Y:d dr O X O d:u > O():: o-.-+i-*oou-ooO;9;_.xtr.>.ru.E-.Ct-./ ';47 o::-OOo !:o:)c36A;;.c;:o+-ra -= = -* = o ;i ; - "- ? og.i-;-*x>coci-- :')-\u c oc a.;:o -ot€93-;-Ei"

"11 I

.::

F=;e: :: =

g€"€ =

*:E F+ E:: e AI:;+:::;;:Cg;E'F ,i t: g; FEt*=-i; :ii ;:;;e: isa=e =-t!;c":ibg*:gE!;l:EI!;;;rf;:'*tEI i !;E gi;Ee;; ii:i fE:g5 q; E: i:;;,i IiC::;;li!: Eit ;;!:;::FE i:ii:;::a*: ;t!;iE*#:;srt;:;i;tiiE Ei:f;it!;;; g i i :

= : : ; ; 3 i s g E ; ! ; : ! : 5 F ; ; i ; t e t i i I I f ! ; ; * ; $ iE ; i : E ;

* E: EIl; i:l::l: i E: i ?il= =;=ii;:

t:= r3;:Es:tii:;;: a;€

d r : : i ;j s! i:: ! : : * E E J ; ; i;;l ; ; ;a ; i g i e e; i:: c i ;: i FgE E:

413October 1973

BlacklrunnShankn EVELOPED as a private-ventureu prototype, the Blackburn B-6Shark prototype two/three seattorpedo - spotter- recon naissa nce(TSR) aircraft first flew in August1933. and following successfulService evaluation trials '1 6production aircraft, designated Sharkl. were ordered for the Fleet Air Arm.The Shark I officially entered servicein May 1935 with B2O Squadronaboard HMS Courageous replacingthe squadron's Fairey Seals. This markwas followed by 126 lVk lls and 95Mk llls in turn, the latter featuring a

glazed canopy over the cockptts. By1938, however. the Shark was alreadyobsolete and was relegated to otherduties such as target towing, f orwhich purpose many aircraft wereequipped with a winch and wind-driven re-wlnding gear on the portside of the rear cockpit controlling a

cable drum.Six Shark seaplanes, designated

llA, were sold to the Portuguese Navyin '1 935. three of them being f ittedwith a huge 160-gallon long rangeventral fuel tank. The RCAF alsoadopted the Shark and. afterpurchasing seven Mk lls fromBlackburn, Canada arranged for 1 7

M k llls to be built under ltcence inCanada by a subsidiary of theAmerican firm of Boeing known as

Boeing Aircraft of Canada.

Brief Specif ication (Shark l)Power plant; One 700hp ArmstrongSiddeley Tiger lV; Span (upper) : 46ft.(lower). 36ft Oin. (foLded) 15ft 0rn;Wing area:489sq ft; All-up weight(torpedo landplane) : 8 05Olb: Speed atsea level (torpedo landplane) : 533mph;Armament: One fixed forward-firing Vickers machine gun and oneVickers- Berthier machipe g'rn in rearcockpit. One 1 500-lb torpedo oncrutches beneath fuselage or anequivalent weight of bombs on racksbeneath wings.

Top to bottom: The prototype BlackburnB-6 armed with a torpedo.

Third production Shark I in the markingsof 810 Squadron. A Zippatone drawing ofthis particular machine, plus a head-onview to complement the drawingsopposite, will appear in next month'sissue-

The Shark lll prototype.

First Shark for the Portuguese Navy atBrough in March 1936, Third aircraft,seen in the background, is fitted with a160-gauon long-range ventral fuel tank.

414

" *lre&1 \

Airctaft Illustated

\

0510turr.

BLACKBURN SHARK sHrET r oF 2

415

lighter. twin-engined C-46s and C-47s. The runway held, and by nightfallon July 4 the Wing had flown in thetwo battalions of the 24th Division. aswell as the Divisional Headquartersand a Regimental Combat Team of the21st lnfantry Division.

All told, the airlift had proceededwith remarkably few hitches. ln fact,il was one of the very few ope'atiorsthat did unfold with any reasonabledegree of efficiency during this initialphase of the Ame.ican commitment;activities during the {irst week of Julyrevealed a regrettable lack of co-ordination at most Ievels, and it wasto be some days-in some cases.weeks-before the machine began tofunction more or less smoothly.

Nowhere was this deficiency moreapparent than in relations between theArmy and Air Force. The vital import-ance of tull ground-air co-operation. a

lesson learned the hard way duringthe grim days of World War ll. appeared1o have been forgotten in the space offive short years. Military and air com-manders quickly realised to their dismaythat no firm plans existed either for thedeployment of troops to Korea by air,or for the support of those troops bytactical aircraft once they enteredcombat; a formula for eff ective air-ground co-operation had to be thrashedout from scratch and in the meantimethe American effort was sustained

largely as the result of personal initiativeon the part of certain commanders. Agood example of this was the decisiontaken by General Hoyt S. Vandenberg,rhe usAF's chief of staff . ro authorisethe immediate move of hryo mediumbombardment groups-the 22nd and92nd-to the Far East from their basesin the United States. Both these B-29Groups belonged to the Strategic AirCommand's Fifteenth Air Force, and al-though their transf er meant that SAC'sstriking capability would be tempora-rily depleted, General Vandenberg be-lieved that he was justified in takingthe risk. On July B the two groups-together with the 1gth BombardmentGroup and the 31st Stralegic Recon-naissance Squadron-were formed in-to a Far East Air Forces Bomber Com-mand at Yokota under the command ofMajor-General Emmett O'Donnell. Jr.

The lack of co-ordination was par-ticularly apparent in the time it tookto get messages from the ADCOM inKorea to the Advance Headquarters ofthe Fifth Air Force at ltazuke. Fequestsfor air support of any kind had to fol-low a tortuous route through GHOin Tokyo and FEAF bef ore they f inallyreached ltazuke; and delays of up to{our hours, even involving urgenImessages, were normal.

On July 4. in a determined effortto overcome this ridiculous situation.General MacArthur ordered the estab-lishment of a new ground command,United States Army Forces in Korea(USAFIK), under the command ofMajor-General William F. Dean. Thelatter was ordered to by-pass thetusual circuitous channels a.nd com-municate directly with the Commandersof FEAF and Naval Forces Far Eastwhenever he needed air and navalsupport. The next essential step wasthe creat{on of a loint operationscentre; this opened on July 5 inTae.on, and consisted oI two opera-tions sections, one run by the AirForce and the other by the Army. Theirfunction was to collate and co-ordinate all available intelliqence;actual conrrol of tactical air power wasto be exercised by a tactical air controlcentre, operating in close conlunctionwith the Joint Operations Centre. lnthese early stages, however. the JOCwas run almost entirely by Air Forcepersonnel-some 45 in all, under thecommand of Lieutenant-Colonel JohnR. Murphy-and there was little in thenature of a joint enterprise about it. Thesituation at the battlef ront was so con-fused that it was almost impossibleto draw an accurate intelligence pictu'e.and, because Lhe communicaiionsproblem was still far from solved, such

sHOOTTNG STARatwar

The f lrst jet aircraft accepftd for opera-tional service by the USAAF, theLockh eed F - B0 (oi gi na I I y P- B0) S h oot-ing Star was lust too late to see servlcein World War /l but was on hand whenthe Korean conflict began in 7 950 andwas then gtven the opportunity to gointo action for the ftrst trme. Thrsaccount of some of rts early operattonsis drawn from Robert Jackson's newbook Ai War Over Korea. to be pub-lished this month by lan Allan Ltd.

n LTHOUGH the 3741h l ransportA Wing', tlept of C-46s. C-47s ano C-54s was standing by at ltazuke fromdawn on July 1, 1950, plans for therapid airlift of the 24th Division toKorea were initia.lly hampered by badweather. Six C-54s managed to getthrough to Pusan with their loads oftroops during the afternoon. but thenthe weather deteriorated to such anextent that the malor part of the opera-tion had to be postponed until thefollowing morning.

Then another problem arose; Pusan'sprimitive runway took such a poundingfrom the heavily-laden C-54s duringthe morning of July 2 that by now itwas virtually unusuable. Major-GeneralEdward J. Timberlake, Acting Com-mander of the Fifth Air Force in thetemporary absence of General Part-ridge, accordingly ordered the 374thWing {o continue the operation with

416 Aircraft Illusttated

information as was available was moreoften than not out of date by the timeit filtered through to Fifth Air ForceAdvance Headquarters at ltazuke.

By the end of the f irst week of July.it was apparent that the plan to stiff'enthe resistance of the ROK forces withthe aid of the 24th lnfantry Divisionhad failed. Lightly armed Americaninfantry, outnumbered by ten to one.lacking supporting artillery and armour,were no match for the North Koreans'T-34 tanks. On July 6 the Americanforces. dazed and bewildered by thebattering they had received. were in fullretreat towards Chonan. This positionalso had to be evacuated less thantwenty-four hours later; the situationwas now ,extremely critical, and Gen-eral MacArthur expressed his fear tothe joint Chiefs of Staff that unlessmore American combat units could berushed to Korea with the least possibledelay the Allies might not be capableof holding the Pusan perimeter. Tacti-cal air power was now the only trumpcard the Americans had left, and theywere prevented f rom using even this tothe fullest advantage by the everpresent problem of range.

It was an unfortunate handicap, forthe North Korean People's Army-strung out as it was in long convoysalong the country's roads in its head-long drive southwards-was extremelyvulnerable to hostile air attack. TheNorth Koreans appeared to be com-pletely unaware of the havoc thatcould be wrought by ground attackaircraft or else they chose to ignore it;more often than not. when Americanfighter-bombers appeared. the enemyinfantry-instead of diving for cover-stood up in their trucks and fired backwilh every available weapon. Americanpilots seldom returned from a missionwithout reporting some success againstenemy ground forces. Among the mostsuccessful of all were the crews of the3rd Bombardment Wing, whose B-26scarried suffrcient fuel to permit aleisurely reconnaissance of enemy ter-ritory and selection of the most likely-looking targets.

A good seventy per cent of allcombat missions over Korea during thef irst two weeks of July, however. wereflown by the Fifth Air Force's F-BOShooting Stars. Although they had nextto no experience in ground attacktechniques the F-80 pilots quicklybuilt up a high degree of prof iciencyin their unaccustomed fighter-bomberrole, particularly in the use of the 5inhigh velocity aircraft rocket (HVAR)against the enemy armour. EachShooting Star could carry up to sixteenof these projectiles in addition to its

Octobet 1973

primary armament of eight 0.5 machineguns. The Fifth Air Force pilots wereunanimous in their praise of the F-80as a ground attack aircraft; the highspeed gave it the all-important elementof surprise. and because there was nopropeller torque to cope with it was a

far better gun platform than any con-ventional propeller driven machine.

The F-BOC could also carry a pairof 1 0O0lb bombs in place of its 165gallon tip tanks, but this reduced itsradius of action to approximately 100miles. Normally, with a full fuel loadand sixteen rockets the radius of actionwas 225 miles; in this configurationthe aircraft had a loiter time over thetarget of something like f ifteen minutes.It was not enough, and GeneralPartridge-conscious of the fact that a

few more minutes in the target areawould double the F-BOs success rate-gave the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wingthe task of working out some kind ofso lutio n.

It was not Iong before the 4gth'sengineer officers came up with ananswer. They found that the two centresections of a Fletcher fuel tank couldbe f irted into the middle of the standardLockheed tank carried by the ShootingStars, creating a longer tank capableof holding 265 gallons of fuel. Testsshowed that the F-BO was quitecapable of carrying the modified tanks.and although there were fears that theheavier load would overstress the air-craft's wing tips, Far East Air Forceordered manufacture of one pair oftanks for every Shooting Star in the FarEast Command to go ahead. Abouttwenty-five per cent of the Japan-based F-80 units had received themodified tanks by the end of July,and pilots now found that they wereable to spend up to forty-f ive minutesin the combat area.

The problem of range and endurancewould have been overcome far moresatisfactorily had the Fifth Air Force'sI BO g'6Lrpt been able to re-equipwith the more modern Republic F-B4EThunderjet. a type which-in 1950-equipped a large proportion of theUSAF's fighter-bomber units. Wjth ilsability to carry up to 32 HVAR rockets.coupled wrth a combat radius of B5O

miles. the F-84 E would have more tha.nadequately f ulf illed the Fifth Air Force'sground attack requirements in Korea;the only thing that prevented its opera-tional deployment in Japan was the in-adequacy of the Japanese airfieldsthemselves. only four of which hadthe 7 000-foot runways necessary forthe safe opera.tion of aircraft of thistype. For the time being, the ShootingStar-with all its inadequacles -was

the most advanced combat aircraft theFifth Air Force was capable of handling.

A request for an additional 1 64 F-80Cs. in {act, headed the list of urgentaircraft requirements sent to Washing-ton by General Stratemeyer on June 30.The list also included an additronal 64F-51 Mustangs and 21 F-82s. bothof which types were eminently suitablef or long range ground attack work. TheMustangs were to be used to build upa new fighter-bomber group, whichwas to be based at lwakuni; mean-while General Stratemeyer ordered theThirteenth Air Force to form an F-51Squadron at Johnson Air Base withthe aid of thirty Mustangs pulled outof storage. All the other aircraft onStratemeyer's iist were needed forexisting FEAF units. some of whichwere seriously under strength; a

second requirements message. datedJuly 1. requested the immediate des-patch to Korea of one Medium Bom-bardment Wing. two Mustang Wings.two F-82 all-weather Squadrons. a

B-26 Wing and finally two B-26Squadrons to reinforce the 3rd Bom-bardment Wing. A few days later therequirement was extended to includean FF-51 Reconnaissance Squadron,an RB-26 Night Photographic Recon-naissance Squadron and a TacticalAir Control Squadron.

Meeting these requirements. how-ever, presented a maJor problem. For a

start, [-B0C Shooting Stars were inshorr supply. and although there weremore than 300 F-BOAs and F-BOBsthat could be brought up to C standardby Lockheeds. this could only be doneat a rate of 27 a month. Also the USAFwas totally unable to meet the requ ire-ments for additional F-82 Twin Mus-tangs. there were only 168 of theseaircraft in USAF service, and this fact-together with a critical shortage ofspares-prevented any hope of makinggood combat attritlon suffered by theFifth Air Force's F-B2s in combat overKorea. As far as the F-51 Mustangswere concerned, the posiiion was a

little rosier . 164 of these aircraft werein service with Air National Guard units.and a Iurthe' 794 were in storage.Upon receipt of Stratemeyer's require-ments list 145 F-51s were recalledfrom the Air National Guard, and madeready for shipment to Korea aboardthe aircraft-carrier USS Boxer Togelherwith their pilots and ground crews.The plan was to deploy a proportionof these aircraft on the South Koreanairfields as soon as possible after theirarrival in the Far East.

Before this deployment could takeplace. however. steps would have to betaken to remedy the deplorable con-

417

dition of the South Korean airf ields stillheld by the Allies. ln July 1950 theonly South Korean airfield suitable foroperations even by piston-enginedcombat aircraft was Taegu, and eventhat had little to o{fer; the IUnwaywas a bumpy pilot's nightmare ofpacked earth and gravel. and amenitiesconsisted of a few ramshackle build-ings. Since June 30 Taegu-knownalso under the military designation ofK-2-had been the home of the tenworn-out Mustangs supplied to theRepublic of Korea on the request ofPresident Rhee. This unit. manned bya mixed bunch of South Korean andAmerican pilots under the command ofMajor Dean Hess. was in action al-most continually during the early daysof July. although its effectiveness washampered by the fact that many of theSouth Korean pilots lacked sufficientexperience to handle the F-51 and alsoby the lack of a suitable tactical aircontrol system.

Meanwhile, there were indicationsthat the Communists were at last be-ginning to f eel the effect of the growingweight of air power that was beingdirected against them. This was ap-parent in the fact that they were forcedto rest and regroup after the captureof Chonan on July B; had they beenable to push on immediately. theymight well have succeeded in rollingup the remnants of the 24lh Divisionand annihilating them. Since July 2,

the Fifth Air Force's fighter-bombershad been joined by naval aircraftf rom the carriers USS Valley Forge andHMS Triumph on station in the YellowSea. The Valley Forge and her escortsformed a fast carrier striking force,known as Task Force 77. the offensivepower of which had virtually beendoubled with the arrival of H MSTriumph from Hong Kong on June 30.together with two cruisers, two des-troyers and three frigates.

The carrier aircraft-Corsairs andSkyraiders from the Valley Forgetogether with Fireflres and Seafiresf rom Triumph-launched their f irststrikes of the war on July 3. For twodays they pounded the Communistairfields at Pyongyang and Onlong-ni.and in addition to the damage inflictedon ground installations. naval pilots-Lieutenant J. H. Plog and EnsignE. W. Brown, flying F9F Panthers ofVF-51-shot down two Yak-9s anddamaged ten other Communist aircrafton the ground.

The naval air strikes against theCommunist airfields early in Julyheralded the start of a determinedeffort by the United Nations to elimi-nate North Korea's small air force once

418

and for all. The importance of such a

step was underlined on July 10 whenfour Yak-9s attacked elements of theUnited Sta.tes 19th Regiment nearChongju and inflicted some casualties.The following day. more Yaks attackeda flight of F-80 Shooting Stars engagedin strafing ground targets in the samearea. and the American pilots-short offuel-barely managed to escape un-harmed. This incident was repeated thefollowing day, near Chochiwan; onceagain the American pilots were able toget away. but a B-29 of the 1 9thGroup. engaged in bombing railwaytargets near Seoul. was not so lucky.It was trapped by three Yaks, and aftera brief one-sided encounter was shotdown in f lames. A small L-4 liaison air-craft was also destroyed by a pair ofYaks towards the end of the day. OnJuly '1 5 two more Yaks came up tointercept a fliqht of four B-26s overSeoul; they harried the bombers forten minutes with a series of determinedattacks. severely damaging one of them.

American lntelligence indlcated thatseven or erght Yaks were operatingout of Kimpo. and in the afternoon ofthe 1 sth. on the orders of GeneralPartridge, this was attacked by a f lightof F-80s. Later in the day Kimpo wasalso bombed by three B-29s. Themajority of the Communist aircraft.however, were reported to be concen-trated on the airfrelds of Pyongyangand Yonpo, and on July 1 B and 1 9 thesewere the targets of the carrier aircraftof Task Force JJ. ln two days ofoperations. the naval pilots claimed a

destruction of 32 enemy aircraft on theground, together with thirteen dam-aged. Also on the 1 9th. seven F-BOsof the Bth Fighter- Bomber Groupla.unched a concentrated strike on thesatellite airfjeld near Pyongyang, des-troying fifteen aircraft in one whirlwindfiring pass. The next day, fourteen B-29s followed up these strikes bybombing the runways of the Communistairfields clustered around Pyongyang.During this same period-between July17 and 20-F-80 pilots of the BthCroup also destroyed six enemyf ighters in the air to air combats overthe front line.

By July 21. although the NKAFhad still not been totally destroyed. ithad become almost completely in-effective as a f ighting force. Whereverreconnaissance located enemy aircraft,they were immediately neutralised byair strikes. By August 10 allied pilotshad claimed the destruction of 1 10Communist aircraft in the air and on theground. There was some doubt as tothe validity of this figure, for jt wasknown that some of the enemy aircraft

claimed as destroyed ha.d in fact beendummies deployed by the Communistson their airfields; nevertheless the ab-sence of the North Korean Air Force incombat during the f irst week of Augustindicated that the enemy had, to allintents and purposes, been knockedout of the fight. Communist aircraft didin fact continue to put in an occasionalappearance-on August '1 5, for exam-ple. a solitary La-7 attacked a B-29of the 307th Bombardment Groupwithout inflicting any damage-butsuch incidents were few and farbetween.

The elimination of the NKAF meantthat the FEAF's medium bomber groupscould now ranqe freely over the wholeof North Korea without fear of inter-ference from hostile aircraft. The firststrategic mission of the newly consti-tuted Far East Air Forces BomberCommand had been f lown on July 13.when B-29s of the 22nd and 92ndBombardment Groups bombed themarshalling yards and oil re{inery atWonsan. through cloud with the aid ofradar. The number of strategic missionsof this kind was stepped up during theremainder of July, as the increasingsuccesses of the Fifth Air Force'sfighter-bombers against the advancingCommunists enabled more mediumbombers to be diverted from the tacticalsupport role, a task for which theywere totally unsuited.

Although the Japan-based fighter-bombers of the Fifth Air Force werealready inflictrng great devastarion onthe North Korean columns by the endof the second week in July-on July10, for example, a convoy of 150enemy vehicles was wiped out nearPyongtaek in a massive air strike byB-26s, F-B2s and F-BOs-the realturning point in the air-ground offen-sive came in mid-July, wilh theestablishment of the Mustang-equip-ped 51st Fighter Squadron at Taegu.This squadron. which also absorbedthe battle-weary surviving aircraft ofMajor Dean Hess's composite SouthKorean/Amerlcan Unit, flew its firstground attack mission on July 1 5.

Meanwhile Air Force engineers hadbeen working f lat out to extend therunway facilities of an old wartimeJapanese airfield near the town ofPohang, on the east coast of Korea.Their work was completed by July 14.and two days later the IVlustangs of the40th Fighter-Squadron flew in fromAshiya. This squadron was the firstFifth Air Force U nit to exchange itsF-80 ,1ets for piston-engined F-51s.and the pilots had completed theirconversion to the older type in recordtime.

Aircraft Illustared

TlreBoulton Paul P92 &P92lZ

n VIATION. li<e vrnrculture. i^as both vintage andn non -vintage years depending upon the degree ofsuccess achieved by aircraft manufacturers and operators.The year 1 937 can be regarded as vintage. particularly forthe variety and rnterest of the specifications of that year.Judgement on its success would have varied, however.depending upon whether one viewed it from thestandpoint of General Aircraft whose GAL3B FleetShadower to Air Ministry Specrfication 5.23/31 was oneof the "all time greats" in the ugliness stakes; or GlosterAircraft busy planning twin-engined fighters to F.9/37; orBlackburn Aircraft (whose elderly Shark torpedo bomberwas produced to Specif ication 31 /37 in Canada by Boeing)who was busy putting a four-gun turret in a Skua toSpec 0.1 5/37 to produce the Roc naval fighter. and thenf itting it with f loat alighting gear to meet Spec 20137.

For Boulton Paul Aircraft at Wolverhampton. however,1 937 was a vintage year for several reasons. Theprototype Def iant turret-armed f ighter f irst f lew onAugust 11 and the Defiant Mk I was ordered intoproduction later in the year to Specification F.5/37 (andwho could foresee the events of June and July 1 940 ?).Of particular interest to this company was the issue, onMay 26, of Specification F.11137 to cover the requirementfor a two-seat day and night f ighter for home def enceand to operate with a f{eld force.

While the Defiant was the malor preoccupation of theLompany's productron and [{,ght test deoartmenrs.John D. North, Boulton Paul's General Manager and ChiefEngineer, was concerned with preparing a submissionto meet this challenging specification.

He was not alone; f ive other companies were similarlypreparing F.11 137 projects. They were Hawker.Supermarine, Armstrong Whitworth with a twin "pusher"Merlin-powered design. Bristol and Shorts.

lntended as a counter to fast hostile bombers. theemphasis of this requirement was on a very high top speedand heavy armament. Four 20mm Hispano cannon in a

power-operated turret, to provide protection f or thegunner, were specified with the cannon being capableof being fired through 360 degrees of azimuth-includingstraight ahead-and with large angles of elevation and

October 1973

depression. The gunner was to have an unimpeded viewof the upper hemisphere for effective search and gunfiring, and his field of view was to exceed that of the fieldof fire. His seat was to be coupied to the turret androtate with it and to have at least four inches verticaladlustment. ln addition to the four-cannon turret theaircraft had to carry internally a 2 5001b bomb load tobrpak up nostile bomber 'ornations.

The pilot was to have an adJustable seat and rudder bar.full night flying equipment n,as required and electricstarting was specif ied for the englnes. The cockpit was tohave easy emergency escape facilities, a good f ield ofvision for night flying and be fitted with a blind flyinghood. Good manoeuvrability and low speed handlingcharacteristics were mandatory plus the ability to be asteady gun-f iring platform. A maximum speed of 370mphat 35 0O0ft was required. together with a 320mphcruising speed at this height and the ability to maintain15 000ft altitude on one engine. The design was to be

Top: The Boulton Paul P.9212 half scale flying version of theprojected P.92 turret-armed fighter. Noteworthy in thisview are the leading edge slots and the small clear view panelin the fuselage sides to assist downward and sideways vision'

Above: This view of t.he P.9212 clearly shows the largediameter turret mounted in the centre section. Thefoul cannon atmament was not simulated in thewooden turret.

419

such that the airframe could be produced rapidly on a

dispersed basis and engine changes could beaccomplished within two hours.

The Big TurretBoulton Paul's submission to Specif icalion F.11/37

was dated August i 937 and the project vvas designatedP.92 in the company's design senes. Drawing No.X1576/f (unfortunately not clear enough forreproduction-ED) shows what, at f irst. appears to be a f airlyconventional shoulder-wing monoplane of clean designwith a very slim fuselage, a single fin and rudder andpowered by two '1 760hp Rolls- Royce Vulture enginesdriving three-blade propellers. Further examination,however. reveals that the centre section "has beenthickened and so developed that a portion of the topsurface forms a. solid of revolution and is used to form theturret main cupola. A secondary small transparent cupolais f itted . . . for general observation and sightingpurposes '.

The 13ft diameter low drag iurret was intended to befitted between the wing spars which enabled this turret.necessarily large to accommodate ihe four big cannon, tobe housed internally without the need f or a large f uselage.cupola or retracting mechanism. Being located near to theaircraft's centre of gravity. it was in the best possibleposition for dealing with the imposed loads. With thecannon depressed near to the wing surface the largediameter turret would have almost completely covered thebarrels and thus reduced the induced drag, while shutters,operated by the cannon elevating gear, covered the slotsin the turret itself to present a clean surface to thes lipstrea m.

Boulton Paul carried out,model tests in its own 4ftwindtunnel on a 1/20th scale model and found that thedrag of the centre section and turret was well withinacceptable limits.

lvletal skin construction with interchangeable unitsadapted for machine riveting and spot welding, wasenvisaged. The 52ft 3in long fuselage was of monocoqueconstruction and was to have been built in f ive bolted-together portions. the front fuselage and cockpit, thecentre f uselage, the rea.r f uselage built in two lateralhalves. the complete tail unit and the tailfa.iring. The62ft 6in span wing was simply a centre section and twoouter panels carrying split-type flaps and Frise aileronswith trim tabs. A heavy gauge rrng stiffener was providedin the centre section between the spars to form a rigidbase for the turret. Lockheed hydraulically-operatedlanding gear, with all three units being retractable. wasspecifi ed.

Two 1 710hp Rolls-Royce Vulture S 24-cylinder Xliquid cooled engines were chosen initially for the P.92"because they enable the desired performance to beachieved and ma.ke a clean installation possible". Fittedwith "rams horn" type elector exhausts, the Vultures wereto have driven 13ft diameter three blade de HavillandHamilton Standard (sic) variable pitch propellers.

Crew ComfortThe general layout provided for "the comfortable

accommodation of both crew members . . . for efficientoperation and minjmum fatigue". The design embodiedan enclosed and sound-proofed pilot's cockpit wtthsliding canopy, which was located ahead of the propellerdiscs in the front fuselage to give a good all-round view,particularly forward and downward. Full cockpttinstrumentation was provided for, rncluding a blind flyingpanel. a.lthough a detailed panel layout was not

420

Top: Although the two Gipsy Major engines obscuredmore of the pilot's view sideways than would have thevultures in the full-sized aeroplane, there is no doubt thatthe P.92 pilot's vision would have been restlicted.

Centre: The very slim fuselage and swollen centre sectionare very apparent in this head-on view of the P.92l2 on thecompass swinging bed at Boulton Paul'sWolverhampton factory.

Above: Mockup of the P.92's centre section and turret inBoulton Paul's Experimental Department. Note the smallcross sectional area of the fuselage, the silhouette ofthe starboard Vulture engine and the four cannon shown atmaximum elevation.

AictaJt Illustrated

p!'oduced. Hot air from behind the radiators was to havebeen pumped into the cockpit and turret usingelectrically-driven fans. An adlustable seat. wjth arm rests,and an adjustable rudder bar were specified. ln anemergency thc pilot would have baled out of the P.92either in the orthodox manner, after jettisoning the canopyor by tilting his seat backwards through 110 degrees andsiiciing headfrrst on his back through an emcrgency hatchin the fuselage. Operation of the catches to allow the seatto tilt in this manner also opened the hatch doors.Boulton Paul's test pilots recornmendeci this latter methodof making an emergency exit in view of the proximity ofthe propellcrs to the cockpit. lt rs reported that J. D.North, in his zeal to try this means of escape. tilted theseat in the mock up and was uncerenroniously dumpedhead first through the hatch onto sonre sacks on the floorbeneath the fuselage I

General equipment detailed in this submission incluciedan oxygen supply for the pilot and gunner. a TBX.14radio set, niglrt flying equipment incluoing v,.,rng-mountedLarrding lights and tubcs for launching flares, a Gravinerfire extinguishing system in each engine nacclle, anti icingand turret ventilation to clear fumes after the cannon hadbeen fired.

Most of these design featurcs \,,vere to have beenexpected in a high performancc acropiane of that period;it was. however. the hcavy armamcnt anci the turret whichmade the Boulton Paul P.92 uniquc.

Below: The P.92/2 airbosne. Note that the roundels onthe wings and fuselage and the fin flash have been altered toconform to the camouflage and markings of the periodand that the tuselage carries the yellow prototype letter.

Turret DesignThe ounner was seated comfortably in the centre of

the turret under a small transparent cupola. The four 2Omm

Hispano cannon were mounted side-by-side and weredesigned to be attached to a shock absorbing mechanismfixed to a large diameter crankshaft carrted in bearingson the main mounting plate. Boulton Paul earlier had

built a turret for one 20mm cannon using this shockabsorbing system. which had been fired and foundsatisfactory by the Hispano company.

The design made provision for 120 rounds per cannon(four drums of 20 rounds each) to be carried. Spare

drums were carried on rails in the turret roof and could be

slid into position on the breech end of the cannon. Thisrelieved the gunner of the problems of lifting the heavydrums from storage racks.

The main turret was designed to be built up f rombraced ribs covered with a light alloy skin. lt wouldhave been power operated by an electro-hydraulic systemalready proven in earlier Boulton Paulturrets but modifiedto cope with the heavier loads involved. A rotatingbrush gear was to have been provided at the turret base

for taking electrical power. and other electrical services,into the turret. The whole structure was designed to be

attached to a main turret ring and to a secondary outerrrnq to deal with slight structural deflections.

Cannon firing was by the standard pneumatic method.and special electrically-operated valves through an

interrupter device prevented the propellers and fin beingshot away.

The smaller upper cupola was a Perspex mouldingattached to a rotating ring by simple clamps which couldbe released quickly for emergency lettisoning. The gun

I

ln,**fl

1lIt

i1

*

Abovs: Wooden mockup of the P.92 turret belore the plywoodcovering was attached. Spaie rmmunition drums canbo 3o6n botween the woodgn framgs at thc left of thepicturo and one drum is being moved along its mounting railtoward the cannon breech.

sight rrvas mounted on the same ring. Azimuth correctionwas applied by rotating the smaller cupola relative to themain turret. The whole turret was a self-contained unitrequiring only the removal of the main holding downbolts and disconnection of the electrical brushes for rapidremoval from the aircraft.

Boulton Paul's submission ultimately was chosen fromamong the six F.1 1 /37 contenders and a contract forthree prototypes was plac6d in March 1938. The fjrst ofthese prototypes was to have been powered by 1 760hpRolls- Royce Vulture ll 24-cylinder X liquid cooledengines. the second by 2 055hp Napier Sabre I 24-cylinderhorizontally opposed I liquid-cooled engines and the third.which was intended for armatnent and turretdevelopment trials. was to have had Vultures. At an all-upweight of 17 6971b the Vulture-powered P.92 variant wasexpected to have had a top speed of 371 mph at 1 5 000ftand a cruise speed of 320mph at this height, at whichalso, the maximum rate olclimb oI 3220ft per min 'rvasachieved. Service ceiling was calculated to be 3B 00Oftwith a 23 O00ft single-engined ceiling. Take-off run with30 degrees of flap was 260 yards at a speed of 79mph,landing distance over the 5Oft screen was 1 9O yards at a

landing speed of B2mph. With 270 gallons of fuel theduration would have been around 1] hours allowing for1 5 minutes f ull power at sea level.

These. then. were the plans and dreams for an unusualand exciting aeroplane. Reality, initially, was far less

exciting even though the concept was sound enough. In

order to establish and assess the aerodynamiccharacteristics of the projected P.92 fighter the design of a

half-scale flying version was prepared. Because BoultonPaul's factory was almost whoLly concerned withproduction of Defiants the manufacture of this aeroplanewas passed to Heston Aircraft.

The Wooden MiniDesignated P.92/2 il was of all wood construction

with a plywood monocoque f uselage and ply-coveredwings. The rudder was fabric covered but all other controlsurfaces were of wood. Metal was used for cowling thetwo 1 30hp de Havilland Gipsy Malor ll six-cylinder in-lineair-cooled engines-which drove two blade fixed pitchpropellers-f or the nose cone, the fairings of the f ixed

122

landing gear a.nd for a number of access panels andfairings at the tail including that over the anti-spinparachute. Like the f ull sized design the P.92/2 Iearuredthe large low drag turret in its centre section. Built ofwood. it lay almost f lush with the upper surface of thewing but the f our cannon armament-even in half size-was omitted. Normal all-up weight of the aeroplane was2116tb.

Design work was stabilised in mid-1939 andconstruction of two P.92 prototypes began a.t

Wolverhampton while construction of the P.92l2 gotunder way at Heston. Work at both factories proceededwell but during March 1940 the Air Staff decided torationalise the aircraft industry's design and developmentwork and concentrate its f acilities on fewer types. Thus.on May 26. even while some detail design of the halfscale version was still in progress. the F.11l37 project wascancelled with about 5 per cent of the two prototypes'structure already completed. lt was decided. however. toproceed with the ?.92/2 and during the spring of 1941this aeroplane was readied for its first flight from Hestonpiloted by FIt Lt E. Feather. Boulton Paul's chief testpilot.

One problem inherent in scaled down aircraft is thatof accommodating full scale piiots and thus little morethan a back rest was provided in the P.9212 for the pilotwho sat on his fighter type parachute pack. The canopy,too, could not be of the sliding variety but had to befitted and removed by the ground crew before and afterflight.

Following some preliminary and satisfactory initialhandling and familiarisation f lights Ihe P.92/2, serialledV3142, was flown to Boulton Paul's Wolverhamptonfactory where the upper centre section and the turret weretufted and pressure pick-off'tubes were installed. Withthis equipmentV3l42 undertook a programme of f lyingto deterrnine the effect of the large turret on performanceand other aerodynamic qualities. In June 1943 Lhe P.9212moved to the Aircraft and Arrnament ExperimentalEstablishment at Boscombe Down where. during thefollowinq month, it underwent f light trials. Report 812.issued on August 25, confirms the discomfort of thecockpit oI Y3142 which was described as "long, narrowand cramped". lt could be entered only with the enginesstopped and then only with the aid of steps. However,once in the air, the handling characteristics wereconsidered to be pleasant but both the ailerons and flapscame in f or some criticism. Lateral control wasinadequa.te and additional area was called for on thethree-section trailing edge flaps to steepen the very flatglide angle. The view forward a.nd upward to the rearwas considered to be good but sideways and downwa.rdthe engines obscured the view almost completely. ln thefull sized aircra.ft this latter point would not have been soapparent although the view would not have been verygood. The noise from the comparatively small Gipsyengines was not unduly obtrusive but Boscombe Downpilots were of the opinion that in the P.92 the proximityof the two 2 00Ohp engines and their exhausts would havepresented some noise and fatigue problems. This is

understandable as the inboard exhausts of the Vulturewould have been only a little more than Sft from thepilot's ears I

The earlier cancellation of the F.1 1/37 ended the needfor further flight trials oI the P.g2l2.lts ultimate fate isuncertain but it is reported that it was flown back toBoulton Paul and there broken up in the latter months ofthe war.

AircraJt Illustrated

Above: An Avro Tutor at A & AEE,Martlesham Heath, for trials.

Left: Fairey lllC G-EARS ex N9256 atHamble following its return from Canadawhere it was registered G-CYCF.

Below: First American iet bomber tofly (on March 17,1947, from Muroc)-the North American XB-45 Tornadoprototype, 45-59479. Behind the tail canbe seen the f irst Production TwinMustang, P-828 44-65160, buzz numberPO-160

O:tober 1973

A monthly look at thehome aviation scene

will be recruited each year from theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst. Bothgroundcrew and aircrew employmentswill be open to soldiers. The formerincludes driving, radio operating andclerical duties. whilst aircrew f ly as

observers. air gunners in anti-tankhelicopters and pilots. Opportunities alsoexist for groundcrew to become aircrew.

Within the next few Years ArmY AirCorps officers and soldiers will be fillingall non-technical groundcrew posts andtwo-thirds of the aircrew posts. REM E

will continue to be responsible foraircraft servicing and repairs. This morepermanent structure wrll allow the ArmyAir Corps to develop and retain a fargreater level of expertise than hitherto.

Middle Wallop, the first true home ofArmy Aviation, is appropriately placed onSalisbury Plain, where so much of thepidneering of British Army f lying wasdone. Even as an FAF statlon it waslong associated with army f lying, beingthe home of the Light Aircraft Schoolfor nearly ten years, and before that in1 942 being used bY the 67 TacticalReconnaissance Group of the 9th AirForce. USAAF.

The centre includes HeadquartersArmy Air Corps, the FlYlng Wing and7O Field Workshop (Aircraft) REME.

Headquarters Army Air Corps. commandedby Brigadier M. W. Sutcliffe. OBE. is thefocal point for the ArmY Air CorPs

worldwrde and is responsible for themaintenance of flying standards and forthe technical supervision and directionof aircraft servicing wherever there are

Army Air Corps units. Flying Wing isresponstble for the training of all Armypilots. The Aircraft Engineering TrainingWing is responsible for the training ofREME servicing personnel. 70 Field

Workshop (Aircraft) provide second lineand third line servicing facilities for theCentre and UK.

Under Headquarters ArmY Air CorPsthere rs the Demonstration and TrialsSquadron which r-arries out evaluationtrials of new aircraft and ancillaryequipment. The Army's new Gazelle, is

undergoing intensive flying trials in thissquadron before entering service withthe Army Air CorPs in 1974

Early in 1970 the Drrectorate of ArmyAviation moved to Middle Wallop fromthe Ministry of Defence. The presentDirector is Major General T. A.Richardson, M BE. and his headquartersis sited in the old officers'messnorthwest of the 4343.

New equipment. Gazelle and LYnx.and a new status within the Army, willassist the raptd expansion of the Air Corpsin the second half of the 70s to meet thesteadily increasing tasks allotted to it,

N orthern Aircraft PreservationSociety

So rapid has been the development ofaviation that material is frequentlydestroyed before its historical significancehas been appreciated. Yet relics a mere60 years old are already near-priceless.Only in the last decade has the realisationspread of the need to preserve this

heritage. The NAPS grew around a 1928Avro Avian, which was "adopted" in1962 as a wreck woithy of {estoration.Since then a number of 3ircraft havebeen acquired, together with enginesand other ancillaries. Work continues torebuild these to exhibition condition,and to secure additional items. lt ishoped one day to see a regionalaviation museum built, but until suchtime, aircraft are placed in other suitablemuseums on extended loan. ln thls waythe work of the society will be seen byand will benef it a large number of people.

NAPS is anxious to welcome newmembers who will undertake part of thework of restoration. Enthusiasts withoutskills in that direction are also needed toorganise "background" activtties such asdisplay planning. photography.maintenance of records, storage ofequipment and magazines, model-making,etc. Especially wanted are people willingto accept the responsibility ofadministration of an organisation which isbecoming increasingly complex. Giftsof aircraft parts. photographs. log-books,literature are always received withgratitude. ltems on loan are equallVwelcome. Conversely, the society IS

prepared to make material available on a

temporary basis to interested groups orindivrduals; requests to exhibit at localdisplays are met wherever possible.

Weekly meetings are held to discusscurrent work and f uture plans.Reconstruction takes place either atmembers' homes, in the society's lrlamand Eccles premises, or wherever elsemay be convenient to a group ofhelpers. A number of air displays andother events are attended as fund-raisingand publicity exercises.

The society was responsible, in 1967,for forming the British AircraftPreservation Council, and is affiltated tothe Transport Trust and the Popular FlyingAssociation. For those interested inmembership the annual subscription is13, or f2 for members under 1 8. Thisentrtles you to receive the magaztneControl Column with NAPS supplementeach month, and to take part in allsociety aclivrties. Membership enquirtesshould be addressed to Mrs Olive M.Robinson, 25 Cromwell Grove.Manchester M19 3OD and offers ofmaterial and general correspondence tothe hon chairman. l\4r Peter Schofield,8 Greenfield Avenue, Urmston,Manchester, M31 1XN.

Service newsThe production/conversion line of

Victor K2s is now well under way atHawker Siddeley's Woodford factory. lnaddition to the prototype. XL231,already flying. there are XLl Bg (2).xL1 91 (3), xL1 92 (4). XL1 63 (5).xL1 90 (6), X1513 (7), XM715 (8).x1511 (9).X1l60 (10).X1188 (11),XL51 2 (1 2), XL1 5B (1 3). Ultimately theremaining Victors will be wrthdrawnfrom SR duties, their role being takenover by modified Vulcans. Work on thelatter will take place at HSA's Bitteswellworks.

Peter R. March

Away from it all ?

At last a couple of weeks to break awayfrom the busy summer round of airdisplays, briefings and visits to Serviceestablishments. As usual mid-August is a

quiet time and rightly peoples' attentionhas turned to holidays. Surprisingly theweather is hot and sunny and even thecool water of the English Channel isinviting after an hour-on the bakeb sandof the Dorset coast. A skyward glance as

a familiar drone rises above the growl ofpower boats and there, winging dow'nirom the sun like a quartet of SESAsover the battlefields of France. theunmistakable Pitts S2As of the Rothmansteam. For the followlng quarter of an

hour they entertain the unsuspectingpublic with their fantastic manoeuvres,all the more spectacular as the whitesmoke trails contrast against the bluesky. Manx KellY and his team have

reached a peak quite unsurpassed byanv other civrlian aerobatrc team, aidedof course by the splendid lrttle Prtts S2A,big brother of the Pitts SPecial.ih"roughout the summer mohths they are

not only givtng performances at alr

displays up and down the country but,like the Red Arronls, at many seasideresorts around the coast.

Along certain stretches of the southcoast. o{ which Dorset ls no exception,there is a good deal of interestingaviation activity. On one afternoon noless than seven dif{erent tYPes ofhelicopter were seen at low level overthe west of the county-Sea King, Waspand Wessex 1, all from Portland;Enstrom, Jet Ranger and Sioux/Bell 479proDably all civil ; and a Lynx irom Yeovtlusing Lyme Bay for 'rovertng trials Thelow-level route which comes inlandnear Swanage produced a miscellany ofmilitary types, ranging from Vulcan andBuccaneer to Hercules and Andover.while the aPPearance offshore ofCanberras, Sea Vixens and Huntersshowed that the FRADTU at Yeoviltonwas active. lt seems you never really canget right awaY from it all !

Army Air Corps developmentsAt present the ArmV Air Corps con-sists

of a small number of officer and NCOpilots. Most pilots and all non-technicalground crew sPend onlY three Yearswith army aviation before returning totheir own units, whilst REME officersand soldiers are responsible for theservicing and repair of army aircraft.From October 1 this year soldiers are

able to join the Army Air Corps' 0ither as

recruits from civilian life or by transferringfrom other regiments and corps of thearmy; a small number of officer pilots

424 Airctaft lllustrated

'.4 K*'

3

*

Bulldog T1 s now in service with 2FTSat Church Fenton have been coded insequence from (1 ) XX5 1 9. includingxx522 (4).lt is reported that the cFSwill operate its Jetstreams from Shawburywhen the f irst aircraft are delivered in theautumn, and 5FTS, the advanced pilotiraining unit, will move from Oakingtonto Finningley with the new tYPe.

Leconfield, currently the operating basef or the Binbrook Lightning wing whilethe runways are reconstructed at theLincolnshire base. has been host to theLightning F6s of 56 Sqn f rom Akrotiri.Cyprus. ln addition to ten F6s, includingXS928 (E) and XS919 (R). thesq.adro'r also operated target CanberraB2 WJ681 I Irnrshed In tne latest mattcamouf lage, red/blue roundels, with a

mini red and yellow phoenix on the f in.Also moved in to Leconfield is theTarget Facilities Flight with LightningFlAs XM173, XM1B1 and XM183.Leconfield is the home of 60MU whichoverhauls Lightnings for the RAF'ssquadrons in the UK and GermanY.

Tne Open Day neld at the RAEFarnboro.lgh rn June gave an opportunityio see some of the aircraft in use at thiszirfield and other RAE establlshments:ncluding Comet 4C (modified. with'iimrod-type fin) XV814. Meteor T7XF274. Hunter T7 X1563, Lightning T4XM967. Sea Vixen FAW2 XS577.

t')-taber 1973

Shackleton T4 VP293. Canberra BO

WT?12. Hastings C2 WD480. Devon C2XG496. Scout AH1 XP1 66. GazelleXW276. Wessex HASl X1728.Buccaneer S1 XN926 (from WestFreugn) and BAC One-Eleven XX105from Bedford. Other aircra{t present onthe airfield, some in a distinctly non-airworthy conciition, were Meteor T7WL405. Provost T1 XF844, Scout AH1XP1 65, COmet 4 XV144, Comet 2XN453. Shackleton M F3 WR972.Hastings C2 WJ327 , Scimitar F1 XD219.Sea Vixen FAW2s XJ580. XN649.XN052 and XS524.

Finally, some brief items for the record.The Waddington Vulcan wing hastemporariLy moved to Fairford, Glos,while runways are re-surfaced. Theiormer FN Aircraft Yard at Sydenhamwas formally handed over to the RAF atthe beginning of July. The prototypePhantoms. YF-4Ks XT595 and XT596and YF-4M XTB53, are currently atHSA's Holme-on-Spalding Moorairfield, where all malor work on thistype is carried out.

On displayThe Second World Helicopter

Championships were held at MiddleWallop, Hants, during the last week inJuly. Sponsored by the Helicopter Clubof Great Bntain, they attracted an

, .,' f

interesting range of competitors. thestars of which were the four teams f romRussia. On the milrtary slde there wereentnes from our own navy with a WessexHASl from Portland, the RAF with a

Whirlwind HAR10 from Ternhill and theArmy with an Alouette and two SiouxAHl s from Middle Wallop; the AustrianAir Force with three Alouette llls from1 Wing. 2 Sqn, 1 Regt (photo 1); theGerman Air Force with an Agusta-Bell47G Ill from FFS-S at Fassberg; and theGerman Army with an Alouette ll fromBucheburg. On the civil side allthecompetitors f lew British- registeredhelicopters which included Jet Fangers.Brantly B2B. Hughes 300 and 500. Bell47G, Enstrom F-28A and Skeeter.

The competition, which was designedto test the skill of the crews in f lightplanning, navigation, precisionmanoeuvres and exercises to demonstratetherr expertrse rn harrdli'rg theirhelicopter in all phases of rts flightcapabilitres, was decisively won by theRussian team of Chekalov and Kapralov.Flying one of the three Mil Mi-1s(photo 2) brought over for the contest.they scored 847 points, with the runnersup being the FAF's CFS team with 828pornts and the Austflan Air Force teamwith 822.

Following the championships the ArmyAir Corps presented its bi-annual Air

425

Davs (27-28 July). As well as flypastsfrom the competitors an internationalelement was maintained by the BlueEeer the Belgian Army helicopterdisplay team from the 1 7th LA Squadronbased at Werl in West Germany, flyingAlouette lls. Newcomers were presentedin the form of Gazelle AHl s from theIHTU and a Lynx from Westland atYeovil. Needless to say the Army wasrepresented 6y the Blue Eagles and theubiquitous Skeeter. Sadly on this Armyoccasion main support for the programmecame from the RAF and good as it wasfrom a spectator point of view it doesnot measure up to the superb set-piecebattle displays put on by the Air CorpsCentre in the past. We look forward tothe Army really f lying at its own displayin 1975.

The RAFA display at Gaydon onJuly 28 was a very disappointing event.No effort was made by the organisers togive the large Midlands crowd attendingmore than the minimum entertainmenteither on the ground or in the air. Theonly aircraft parked near to the publicenclosure was the Falcons' Hercules,while the flying display. marred by badweather and a farlure of the air trafficcontrol system, had only routine items,the only exceptions being a splendidHarrier display (from 233 OCU) and theRothmans team with their Pitts S2As.

The air races and display held atShobdon. Herefordshire, on July 22 wereagain a well planned and intBrestingevent. The Formula One races with sixlaps of a very close circuit attracted theusual Cassutts, Betas and Cosmic Wind,wlth the addition of a third Cosmic Windto the scene. R. S. Voice's G-BAER(photo 3). The pylon turns by theskilled race pilots produced an excitingspectacle for the large crowd. The mainevent, the strongbow Trophy air race,over a conventronal long distance circult,brought in some 30 co.npetltors, rangrngfrom Turbulents through to Ron Paine inthe Hawk Speed six G-ADGP and acouple of "hot" Cessna 31 0s. ln an

exciting finish the Bonanza G-ARZNpulled through to first place by defaultof two earlier f inishers who had turnedon the wrong aerodrome pylon, right infront of the judges. The flying displaywas well supported by the RAF andvisiting light aircraft produced somecolour to the occasion, not leastMessenger RG333 (G-AIEK) painted as

Lord Montgomery's wartime fieldaircraft (photo 4).

The latter machine also appeared in thestatic park at the lnternational Air Displayheld at St Mawgan on August 8. Takingover from the highly successful Chivenorshow. this Cornish display lived up to itsforerunner with partrcipation by theFrench Navy, Canadian Armed Forces,Belgian and Danish Air Force in thef lying programme a.nd additional aircraftfrom the Dutch Navy. USN and GermanAir Force in a large static park. Ofparticular interest was the maritimeaircraft group which comprised an

Orion (USN). Neptune (R Neth NavY),Atlantic (R Neth Navy). CL28 Argus

426

(CAF) and our own Nimrod. The starappearance came for the third yearrunning f rom the R Danish AF. ln 1971the St Mawgan Battle of Britain displayfeatured A-35 Drakens of 725 Sqn, in1972the first S-35 Drakens of 729 Sqn(the FR version) and this Vear a two-seatSk-35 Draken trainer, also from 729 Sqn

The CAF CF-104 Starfighters in thef lying display were the f irst to appear inthe uK wilh the new style nationalinsignia and bilingual titling either side ofthe roundel. A well balanced programmeincluded the welcome appearance ofCanQerra B2s and a TT1 B from theresident 7 Sqn. lt's a pity that StrikeCommand has not permitted anaerobatic routine to be worked up by oneof the Canberra unrts; the memories of23i OCU's aircraft being manoeuvredthrough a full sequence without leavingthe airf ield boundaries. still live on. TheRed Arrows again gave a sparklingperformance as did the Belgian S/lversF-104s and were well supported by theRAF's vintage aircraft, and a good rangeof front-line types. Returning to thestatic display, the organisers are to becommended in bringing down to thesouth-west such a variety of types-Hastings, Argosy, Buccaneer, Sioux,Beaver, Puma. Vulcan and Hunterincluded, and as a final tribute toChivenor giving the f inal display slot to a

f lypast by 12 Hunters from 229 OCUand an aerobatic display by a Hunter F6from this unit.

Another RAF display was held atValley. Anglesey, on August 1 1. Homeof 4 FTS (Gnats and Hunters) itnaturally featured the resident aircraft.Surprise items came f rom RAF Germany inthe shape of a Harrier GR'1 A from 3 Sqnand a Lightning F2A oI 92 Sqn. TheUSAF Open Day at Lakenheath onAugust 18 was also well supported byRAF Lightnings with F3s from 11'1 Sqn(XR713-A), 5 Sqn (XR749-O) and226 OCU (XP737). Overseas participationcame from the Patrouille de France, lheBelgian Air Force's Diables Rouges,421 Sqn Canadian Armed Forces, theGerman Air Force (G-91s and F-104Gs)and for the second time in a month a

SR-35XD Draken (AF-153) from 729Sqn, RDAF. American servtce aircraftpresent included C-141 . F-4D, O-2A,P-3A. C-1A. UH-1 H and C-i 30.

October diaryWrth the drsplay season now coming

to an end there are just two autumnevents notified at present, open to thepublic-on October 14 the lmperial WarMuseum is holding a Vintage Air Displayat Duxford, Cambs, and on October 28the Shuttleworth Trust will have its "endof season" f lying day at Old Warden.Beds.

A non-public event is the ROC displaVbeing held at Ternhill. Salop, onOctober 7.

For some of this month's contributionswe are indebted to Messrs. P. J. Bish,D. Conway, P. Cuniffe, A. J. Cunningham,J. Guthrie. G. D. Herbert. R. Levy,N. P. Macknight. G. M. Nason.

S. G. Richards, E. A. Shackleton,D. Spurgeon, A. J. Wright and R. Wright.Also the pubhcations "Air-strip","Anglia Aeronews", "BlackbushAviation Review", "Circuit 73". "Flypast","Hawkeye", "Scottish Air News","Skyward", "South East Arr Review'","Tristar" and "Ulster Air Mail".

':w:t,

*tu"9T..^Y -'!r

va

AircraJt Illustated

I

427

Bu Edward HortonSldgwick {t Jackson Ltd, 1 T'attistochChambers, Bloomsbury lYay, LondonWC1price f"2.95

Most people consider the airship tobe a curious relic from the past-astrange mode of transport that wasflawed in conception and doomed tofailure. Even if this is true, and thecolossal "liners ofthe sky" ncver appearagain, the age of the airship still formsa fascinating chapter in aviation history,and in this book Edward Horton hasproduced the most readable and enter-iaining account of the airship's life andtimes yet to appear. He describes inhilarious detail the trials and tribula-tions of the carly pioncers of the airship,including those of Santos Dumont, andchronicles the extraordinary exploits ofZeppelin and Eckcner. Therc are chap-ters on airships in the First World War,on the marathon trips over the oceansand the poles in the twenties and thir-ties, and on the hideous disastcrs whichput paid to the great age of the airship.The photographs are outstandingly goodand some of them are nothing less thanremarkable; full marks to Mr Horton'spicture researcher Annie Watt. A splen-aid book for airship buffs and fullydeserving a place on the shelves ofpublic libraries.-P.J.R.M.

By Peter lV. BrooksHugh Eztelyn Ltd, 9 F'itzroy Sqtnre,Londort lY/1P sAHprice d5.00

Coffee table-style book of large for-mat and, although seemingll, thin, jam-packed with facts and figures on everytype of historic airship one could wishfor. This book analyses the evolutionparticularly of the rigid airship and dis-cusses the reasons for its failure and forits final cclipse by the aeroplane. 'fhenarrative has all the signs of being asthoroughly rescarched as anyonc couldhope for-the bibliography, in fact runsto well over a page of titles-and thereare highly dctailed appendices providingsuch material as operlting stalistics)designations, and manufacturing data-even down to development time, chiefdesigner's name s, direct design andconstruction man hours, cost rvhen builtand at 1972 values, etc. Complementingal1 this are sixtccn beautifully repro-duced full-colour profiles of represen-tative types, from the Giffard stcamdirigible of 1852 to the Zeppelin LZI29Hindenburg of 1936. This book also con-tains many exccllent half-tonc illustra-tions and line drawings and can beregarded as a truly definitive rvork.-P.J.R.M.

428

By Gordon SwanborougltIan Allan Ltd, Terminal House, Shep-pertott, TW17 8ASprice f,2.75

Everyone likes the P-51 Mustang-or so it seems from the number of bookson the type that continue to appear-but perhaps this highly commendablebook by Gordon Swanborough willresult in many other North Americanplanes gaining a share of admirers, too.Principally a producer of military air-craft during its past 40 years, NorthAmerican's output has covered every-thing from primary trainers to super-sonic fighters and, maintaining a leadin advanced technology, it has gonc onto exotic research air-craft like the X-15and the B-70 and is today building thefree world's most advanccd strategicbomber, the swing-wing B-1. The rvholerange of types produced by NA is cov-ered in this 128-page book and, to getback to thc Mustang, there are no lessthan 30 pictures of this particular type,including some rare shots of evaluationtrials aircraft on test from A and AEE,Boscombe Down. Rounding off thework is a type and production list pro-viding information on North AmericanCharge fType] Numbers ailocated from1935 to 1967 and a few more recentnumbers available for publication.-P.J.R.M.

By Christopher F'. ShoresIan Allan Ltd, Tennhnl House, Shep-perton, TlYl7 8ASprice {,3.00 (p{ep 30p VAT irtclusioe)

This work covers the period fromjust before the assault on Pantellaria andLampedusa in June Jg43 to the end ofthe war and is basicall-v an account ofthe exercise of air porver in support ofarmies on the ground rvith an air super-ioritl' already rvon, and of the mainten-ance and impror"'ement of this supportdespite a dccline in strenqth ofthe forcesavaileble as thc call: ol orhcr, more im-portant arcas took their toll. Somcthingof a sideshorv to thc main course of thccan-rpaign rvas the RAF's own "privatewar" over thc Aegear-r fought by EastcrnAir Command, and the advcnture ofthese operations is told in some dctail,opening up a fascinating but little knownaspcct of thc air war. The birth andgrolvth of the Balkan Air Force is alsotraced. The narrative is complementedby a 96-pagc photo section containingmany hitherto unpubiishe d picturesfrom the files of the Imperial WarMuseum and elservhere, including ahigh proportion of SAAF subjects. Thccaptions are mines of information inthemselves and Nlr Shores deserves thethanks of all enthusiasts for producingrvhat is altcgether a most absorbingbook.-P.J.R.M.

Edited by John W. R. l'aylor and KennetllMunsonNeu Englislt Librarj,, .Barnards Inn,Holborn, Lottdort ECIN 2JRprice d10.50 (UK otillt)

For those who can afford to lay outf, 10.50 lor a :inglc book. this \umptuoustome is very good value, lor it providesthe pick of the material from the original,much longer (72 part) Ilistory of Aoiationand, what's more, presents it on reallygood glossy paper which givcs the illus-trations a sparkle they previously lacked.Every aspcct ofhuman flight is recordedin 500 pages of highly-factual narrativcand pictures (mostly in colour) con-tributed by a multitude of internationalrvriters, photographers, and artists-many of thcm pilots, aircraft designersand technicians. All told there are 113separate featurc articles in this bookand there is certainly somcthing foreverybody. whatcver their tastes inaviation litcrature. Thc beautifully-reproduced pictures alone are wellworth d10.50 in thesc days whenoriginal 8in by 6in prints cost 30p ormore each and this book can be un-reservcdly rccommcndcd to anyoneseeking a really good insight into avia-tion both past and present.-P.J.R.M.

Edited bl,John IY/. R. T-a;'lor and Kenrtetlt.LIttnsonNeu: English Librar-1,, Barnards Inn,Holborn, Londort EClN 2JRprice {,3.95 (UI{ ortl1,)

This rvork, designed as a ready-reference gr-ride to signifrcant aircraftold and nerv. from the I'Iontgolfier hot-air balloon of 1783 to the GrummanToncat and McDonnell Douglas F--15Eaglc, covers 270 types of all nationali-ties. Each typc is briefl-v described andillustrated by one photograph, or, in aferv cases, a drarving, plus multi-viervsilhouettes and the book is fullyindexed.-P.J.R..Nl.

B.t, Juntcs J. Hallc;H.yltort LacSt Publislters, Cobn'g House,SlLeet Street, lY/itdsor, Berks.price {,3.25

Second ofthe author's books on RAFsquadrons in this landscapc-formatseries, this rvork deals rvith Nos 22,2Q1,202, 204 and 206 Squadrons and in-cludes historical narratives, lists ofbases, aircraft and COs, half-tone illus-trations and colour plates of urritbadges, StanJard. and rcfrescnldtivcaircraft, the lattcr in proIile. Researchedfrom Squadron Operations RccorclBooks (RAF Forn-rs 540 and 5-11) andother prime sources, tl-rese historiesmake fascinating reading and rvill bc ofgleat interest to ex-squadron mcmbers,enthusiasts and modcllcrs alike .-P.J.R.Nl.

AirctaJr Illusrruttl

-l-he scene: New York' MaY 1969'I Th" "te.rtt

The DailY Mail Trans'atlantic Air Race.

A small, stub'winged jet fighter swoopsin from the sea and heads for Manhattan'As it nears the cluster of Skyscraperbitcks it begins to slow down . . . slower

".,J.lo*"", ".r.til it's hardly moving at a1l'

It hanss. incrediblY, waY above thes.o,r.rd; engines whining' dwarfed byEtn-"*ii buii"dings. Then, io the astonish't-""t "f

watching Americans, it slo,wlyd"ii""d" to tf,e ground. Hawker'Siaalt"u'r Harrier -- first operationalVfOL .o*b"t aircraft in the world - has

arrived.The oilot, Squadron Leader LeckY'

Thomoson IIAF, *on first prize for thefastest^ overall London to New Yorktime . . . just 6 hours 11 minutes 57

seconds !

The startinc point was London's GPOTower - so-Lecky'ThomPson hoPPedinto his Harrier in a disused coalyard atnearbv St. Pancras station. The finish wasat the Empire State Building in New.York

altitude! A further four prototypes weremade for the Ministry of Supply and onSeotember 12th 1961, the P.1127 demon'

"tr'"i.J ttt" swivel'nozzle transition from

Up date your collection with Revell'ssuoei detailed l/32nd scale Harrier.

hevell's choice of 1/32nd scale givessuoerb reproduction of authentic detailin&de and outside the aircraft, a modelleneth of l?1" and a wingsPan of 9t".Th; kit includes extra decals, to enableRAF or US Marine CorPs variant to bebuilt; two missile pods, two cannonoods'and two droD tlnks. A removableianel reveals the intricate detail of theit.g.rot engine and the unique swiveliet- nozzles. Other features includemovable wheels, a wealth of cockPitdetail including instrumentation andpilot in flying kit.-

The Harrier kit, priced at €1.70' isterrific value for money and is the latestaddition to the Revell range of nearly250 models, in which manY famousaircraft, past and present' are featured.To find out more about the range send20p to Revell for their full colourcaialogue. For immediate action, takeoff for your local stockist and get theHarrier into service with your squadron.

minute away from the Pier on- lust one mlnute awaY rr9lrl llrc prsr urr*iri.h h" landed! 50 years after Alcockand Brown's first Tiansatlantic flight,Lecky-Thompson made history with a

' JBT""ufl'.i" middle fifties, Harrier, then

desisnated the P'l 127, was a private deve'loprient by the Hawker'Siddeley- andBristol Ensine comDanies. And, incommon iith many other highlYresarded aircraft produced in Britainsiice the war, spent its formativeyears being jeered at by politicians andAir Staff. Eventually, two ptototypeswere ordered, and on October lst 1961'the first 'hovering' flight was made - at a

tightly tethired ft inches off the ground

aboxfullof action!Revell (GB) Ltd., CranbornePotters Bar, Herts. Tel: 5826 I

h.'VM*

Use an attractiveEASIBINDER

to build up month by rnontha bound volume of

*******Hard covered binder*Takes twelve issues

*Finished in blue*Silver lettering on spine

*Keeps issues clean and tidy+Always handy for reference

*When full looks exactly like a book

Only dl.30 inc. p&p & VAT

ITLUSTRATED

FOTO HUNTERThe international photographic collectionespecially for aviation enthusiasts.Whatever your interests in aviation, be they civil ormilitary. modern or vintage, our collection has plenty tointerest you.We supply colour slides and prints, b*w postcardsand enlargements; top quality fotos at competitive pricesArrailable f rom March onwards, our comprehensivecatalogue is an absolute must ! Together with severalillustrations it lists the entire collection (about 2,000fotos) and gives details of all our services.Send for your copy today; price just 25p.

FOTO HUNTER (AI)29 Ridgeway Dr., l-ydiate, Liverpool (L31 ODE),England.

VHF AIRCRAFT BAND RADIOSSharp. FX1 84AU. iV]W/VHF t10 00Vantone. MW/VHF e1 2'00Flight 4. MW/FM/VHF/Public Service (88-174) f 14 00Flisht 5. MW/FM/VHF/PS/SW t16 006 Band. MW/FM/VHF/PSB/SW/Marine f 20 00Standard. MW/LW/FM/VH F 124'008 Band. MW/FM lLW/Sw1 12/MB/VHF/PSB f 30 00Koyo 1661 . SW1 t2lMBlLW/MW/FM/VHF/PSB f 40 00Koyo 1664. Sw1 /2lMB/LWIMW/FM/VHF/PSB f 45 00Koyo 1663. Sw1 /2lMB/LW IMW/FM/VHF/PSB 146 00Koyo ll. SW1 -4/MB/IWlMW/FN4/VHF/PSBI -2 f65 00

Lanqtons Radio. High St, Rocester. Staffs. 088 923 388

Money-Back Guarcntee Full Lists Free

History - ReferenceModelling - EngineeringComputers - NavigationFlying - ConstructionWe carry a comprehensive U.K.and lnternational range ofbooks on all aspects of aviationand armour.

resTel:01-836 5376

33 {AM) St. Martin's Ct., L0ndon WC2

CLASSI FI ED ADVERTISEM ENTS

Announcements in these columns including name and address costs 6p perword; use of Box Number l5p extra. Semi-displayed classifieds {4.50per single column rnch. SAE if an acknowledgement is required. Ad-vertisers are reminded that the provisions of rhe Trade Descriptions Actapply to all advertisements and any misrepresentation is an offence underthe Act, Also, the publisher retains the right to refuse or withdrawadvertisements at its discretion without tivinS a reason and lhar it does notaccept liability for omissions, clerical or prin!ers errors or for the bona fidesoI advertisers, although every care is taken to avoid mistakes and advertise-ments from doubtful sources.Copy wirh remittance (strictly pre-paid) to AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED,Classified Advertisements Dept,, Terminal House, Shepperron, Middx.

AVIATION AIRSHIPS Ballooning Books (Nerv/Used) magazines.Sales Catalogue 5p (25 cents airmail). Bohemia Bookshop' 116 BohemiaRoad, St. Leonards, Sussex.

FOR SALE: Black and White photos and colour slides from the civiland military scene. Please write to Jurgen Yalley, 5142' Huckelhoven,Allensteinerstr 12, W, Germany.

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED Vol. 3 Nos. 3, 8, 9' 11, 12. Vol. 4,Vol. 5 Nos. l-7. 15p each. S. J. Maddocks, 7 Moorland Road, EllesmerePort, Wirral, Cheshirc.

HAVE YOUR FAVOURITE aircraft types painted and framed for youat reasonable prices. Enquiries to Anthony -N{ycrs (Pars.i\lember),16 Greenbank Avenue, St. Judes, Plymouth, Devon.

AVIATION BOOKS, magazines and radios sent post free for C.W.O.Sae for lists to The Bicester Book Shop Ltd.,37 Sheep Street, Bicester,Oxon. Tel. 41852, Personal callers q'elcome-not Thursdays.

150 COLOUR NEGATMS Civil aircraft, vintage, modern, British,foreign. Over 90 different types. Ideal for collectors, printing, enlargingetc. Offers, Moore, 14 Heather Lane, Worthing, Sussex.

LATEST TITLES I

Biltrsh Aviatron-Adventuring I

Years 1920 29 f10.00 |

Brrt sh Crvil Aircraft Vot 2 f8.50 I

Lockheed Constellation f3.95 |

Douglas DC-10 f1 .75 I

Prc. History of Northwest Orrent f4.50 |

World Aircratt in Colour Vol 2 f 6.00 |

Sqdn Signal Skyhawk, F100. Ju5l I

Crusader. Phantom eacn f1.50 i

Vintage and Veteran UK DIr. 50P I

'1 973 JP World Airline Markings f 1 .50 i

Story of El-,Al f2 25 |

Plastrc Kits o{ the World Dr'. 75p I

Arr Enthusiast Bound Vol. 4 f325 |

AVIATION BOOKS

since 1 91 1

since 1 91 3ENTH U SIASTSPUBLICATIONS

MAS US Navl' S:t : :

VHF SUPPLIES INVITES YOUORDER WITH CONFIDENCE

BY MAIL ORDER

or call at our Aviation showroom

l,\ ',:: Orc.r-Add 109! to cover postage.-j : \ -l c- boo".. Lt, etc to a maxi---::: -lp Cr:rs:as \'iailOrder-Add 10%

':1- -^-: or 20To lor:" ...:::::i ( i:6dd 20;6 for surface mail.

A'--: -A-:ir: ? and New Zealand-

AVIATION KITS

eaclt t2.2O

TO

Arcraft of RAF since 1 9i B t4 2at4 2A

The Wolld's Strke Alrcr:': f' iaThe Wo'los A port E' ,4German Aircraft of \\\'.2 et ::A rlrnPs oi USA 'i,lc' 1::: ar- ilArmstrong Whltwoiih A':':':

Debden Eaqles f3'1 5

Legrcy of Leadership( H rstory of TWA)

Lrncolnshire Air War!Vhite Rose Base

PUTNAMS AERONAUTICALBOOKS

Avro Aircraft since 1 908 f3.1 5Airspeed Aircraft srnce 1 931 12.50Blackburn Aircraft sin 1 909 e5.25Bristol Aircraft since '1 910 14.20Gloster Aircraft srnce 1 91 7 e5.50Hawker Aircraft since '1 920 f4.20Miles Aircrafl since 1925 15.25Shorts Aircraft since 1-oO0 f.4.20Vickers Aircraft sLnce 1 908 f5.25Polish Aircraft 1 893-1 939 f7.50British Fighters s nce 1 91 2 C3 1 5

British Bombers since '1 91:1 f 3 15United States Mil tary Arrc'::i

since 1 908 16.50United States Navy ArcIsil

M AC D O I.!ALDS A\-/IATIO NT IT LES

..,,,::-:: ^- -- : i.:- fl0.00:^:'.':-: ::-:':::: 1425i;-::'3---:: :-::' ::: f6 00

JA\E S-AL]. THE WORLD'SAIi C RAFT

-:-:: 'll! :r: -: f12 50

-:-::':'::i:'': f1050,:-:: ':l: :::'-: €10 50

AIALI\:S :.\D AIRLINERSS: R I!S

Complete British CivilRegister '1 91 9-1 969. SPecialolfer {was f2.50) f1.00

Sp,ii re Special f1.50Tne Seaiire f4 25H:ndlev Paqe Arrcraft Album f2.00He nkel Aircraft Album t2.25r,'iesserschmrtt Aircraft Alb. f2 25L:ncaster at War f3.00H:\",ker ALrcra{t Album f2.1OBoeing Aircraft Album t2.25;5e Dakola f4 20Avro Aircraft Album f3.00A rcrait of WW2 f1 .35RAF Jet FLqhter Flvpast fl.801,1 ssries of the World f2.5OLuftwaffe at War f3.80Bristol Aircraft Album f2 50Norlh American Album 83 00DC-3 Plane that changed

the \'vorld f2.25

AIRLINERS

1/150 Douglas DC-7 (BOAC) 55P1/120 DC'g (SAS) 47P1/200 Dc'8-61 (JAL) 99P1/'1OO Boerns 727 (All NiPPol 85P11100 Boerng 721 \JAL) 85P1/125 DC-8 (UTA) f1.63'1 /1 25 Boeing 707 (AFrence) f1.63

1/'IOO AIRLINERSBoeins 727-200 (JAL) f2.55Boeing727 200 (All Nippon f2 55Boeing 737 (All N ppon) f1 80Boeins 747 (JAL) f10.90Douslas DC-8-62 (JAL) t4 25Concorde (JAL) f4.25Viscount 800 (Lufthansa) f1 10Convair 440 (Lufthansa) f1.10Concorde (Air France) f2.2O1/103 DC B (Eastern) f1.00'l1103 DC-8 (Delta) fl 001/103 DC-8 (United) f1.001/96 Boeing 127 (JWA\ f1 00I /96 Boeing 727 (United) f1.00'1 /96 Boeing 727 (Eastern) f1.001/96 Douglas DC-3 (Sabena) 47P1 /96 Boeing 727 (American) f1.00'tl100 Dc-10 f5.75

1/72 AIRLINERSB.N.2lslande,(Aur'gny) 25PD H. Heron (Shell) 35PFokker F27 (Braathens) 68PBristol 1 70 (BUA) 68PYS 1'1 (Piedmont) f3 05DC-g (KLM-TWA) t1.o2Boeing 737 (United) f1 02

OTHER LIGHT AIRCRAFT1 /20 FA-2OO Aerosubaru f8 50'1 33 P.per Ir 'Prcer 75P1141 Ceqsra 180 75P1 /50 Supper Broussard 92P1 /43 Jodel Ambassadeur 99P1 /72 Cessna 172 30P'1172 Cessna 172 Floatplane 30P1 172 Bonanza 30P1 /72 Aerosubaru 30P1 /20 Cessna 1 72 f8.501 /36 Cessna 1 72 fl 85A rline Ttansfets send for list.AERO-MlNl melal a II ncr modelswith retractablc undercatrlages1 /23gth scale in var ous iiveties747 is 1 /290 scale.DCB-61 Eastern f3 50Boeing 747 Eastern f4.85Boeing 727 Easlern f22ODCg TWA, Ozark, Eastern ea f1.95Boeing 707 TWA. PAA,

Northwest, American ea f2 20Boe no 727 TWA, A'l N,PPon,

Amei,can Brdniil Recl. Blu^ PAA,

5op5op6op5op50p50p5op

6op60p

o\

: i'95i2 75

f4.50

f1.80fl .8043p

75p9op

History of Fleet Air Arnr f3 00Aircraft '1974 Annual f2,25

rranean Air War

LAAS

c-:

lleditef -1 .05 Vol 2

A':'he .coiii, r

Bonbersl!ir 1- ;Fighters 1 91 4-1 91 aBombers 1939''1945Fighters 1 939-1 945Pioneer A icraitFighters 1 91 9-1 939Bombers 191-q 1939Flying Bc::: e SErplanesAir rer: 1 9'9-33

fi.i5

f 1.00f1 .00f1 .15f1 .25

f3.0c

1973 Scandinavran Register 60pBiltish lndependent

Arrlines srnce 1 946 f '1 .10DC-3 Prod List I to 6 each 38PDC-3 Product on List 7 30PDC6/7 Froduct on List 50P. -g Proouclron L st 25Pi-::r: :/New Zealand Req. 50PC,i6 Frod. list Part 1 I 2 each 40P

-::".1.:cj Elrctra Prod. List 2OPCtr-.:. r 240-990 Prod. List 90P

'-:-41 i€g:ster 90P:. . -- - J t,"y 1912-72 75p- :::'. o: A'.'atron B.l Vol. f10.50'3::-SACrlReg.

:': Cc: ) app. f15.00Eastern

Super VC 1 0 BOAC f3.50

VHFSUPPLIES

PANCRATIC TELESCOPE 25-40 '. 40 f72-65 - 25p P &

LATEST KITS/'1 44 DC-10-10 Deltai 144 DC-8 United120 Cessna 172/36 Cessna 172172 Cessna 112 (LandlFloat)172 Beech Bonanza/100 Douglas DC-'1 01144 Boeing 707 AviancaI 1 44 Boeing'721 Avianca/1 44 Boeing 727 Lufthansa/144 DC-8'61 United

i /72 Letov 5328

E1 .75f1 .00c8.50e1 .85

3op3op

f5.75f1 .50f1.25

85pf1 .25

56p

World Airl ne lnBARG Wyve1 973 Heathro\I\i]AS UK ABlz Jets 1 9731973 0

Scol

: 90p75p

.: 75p

9op90p

L, U5

NOBLE CORNER, GREAT WEST ROAD, HOUNSLOvv, MIDDX' rer.0r-5720225

Siluated on the main A4 road to Lc:l:r-rtxl to tl"e Master Robert Mocel and opPosite Ace of SPadesService Station-on final approach ro Runw:y 28 right at London AirPort.

ffr ll[ar lluEr lhrua R.be*racks.n

r

power on a massive scale as East and \West hurled their latest military aircraft into the arena; a war that foundAmerican Sabres and Soviet MiGs locked in a deadly thrust of combat close to the speed of sound six milesabove the Yalu River, while elderly piston-engined Mustangs braved the nightmare meshes of enemy flak tofly in continual support of United Nations ground forces.It is a story of individuality-of cold, ruthless skill skill that turned fighter pilots in their thirties into jer acestwice over.The illustration above taken from the book show United States 5th Air Force F86 Sabreiets ofthe4th Fighter Interceptor Wing preparing for sorties in 'MiG Alley'.9" x6" l28pp approx (plus 24pp illustrations) p.s5

Pictorial History of the

Fleet Air ArmJohn D. R. RawlingsThe story of a force that has had to fight for survival asmuch with government and its sister services as withthe King's enemies. This review covers the glories, thetraumatic birth of naval flying, the successes during!7orld rtrilar 2, the victory at Matapan, the sinking ofthe Bismarck, and the attacks on Japanese naval andshore installations in the Far East. The sordid problemsof budget restrictions, vacillation in high places andjealousy are also recorded in detail to produce a bookthat is essential reference for both the naval and airhistorian, .rmateur and professional.9" x 6" 80pp (plus 128pp illustrations) {3.00

NovemberBombers of the WestMosquito at WarBattle Over the ReichAir Defence of Great BritainSee'Book News' Next Month

Aircraft rg14Edited by lohn W. R. TaylorThe industry of the twentieth century is aviation.As aeronautical research becomes more extensiveand sophisticated and space. exploration more far-reaching, the aerospace field extends even moresignificantly into and influences the destiny of thetwenty-first century and beyond. The innovationsin equipment and technology are vast, and Aircraft1974 keeps pace with the important developmentsoccurring in the international arena.9!" x 7" 128pp (fully illustrated plus8pp colour) 12.25

Noth American-an aircraft albumGordon SwanboroughThe Sky PiratesJames A. AreyMilitary Aircraft of the WorldI. !f. R. Taylor & G. SwanboroughThe Day the Red Baron DiedDale M. Titler

Boohs are obtainable ftom leading booksellers o from our Retail Department (address abooe). When ordeting direct, please send remittance, addiwIOp in-the f, (up to a 40p maximum) to coaer postdge and packing. Small paperbacks require rhe addition oJip for pistage and packing. (AII ptic;squoted for postage end packing are VAT inclusioe.)

^/

Printed bv lan Allan Printing Sheppeilon Middlesex TW17 8AN