Encyclopedia of Propeller Airliners

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THE ILLUSTRATEDENCYCLOPEDIA OF

PROPELLERAIRLINERS

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THE ILLUSTRATEDENCYCLOPEDIA OF

Editor-in-chief BILL GUNSTON

529. 13 129 MA~The il1ustra'te~2e'h~ope,of propeller airliners3 1120 01872 5058

Contents

Humber-Sommer I S-40, Sikorsky 68Benoist Type XIV 2 ANT-14, Tupolev 69Bolshoi, Sikorsky 3 Alpha, Northrop 70CL-4S, Boeing 4 HP.42, HandleyPage 71DH.4A, Airco 5 Kent, Short 72Goliath, Farman 6 Tri-Motor Model A, Stinson 73Salon, Breguet 8 Atalanta, Armstrong Whitworth 74Vimy Commercial, Vickers 10 Orion, Lockheed 750/7, Handley Page II Del ta, Northrop 760/ la, Handley Page 12 Ju 52/3mho 77W.8, Handley Page 13 He 70, Heinkel 78W.IO, Handley Page 14 Scion, Short 79Aeromarine F-5L 15 Boeing 247 80E-4250, Zeppelin Staaken 16 DC-2, Douglas 82Fl3,Junkers 18 P.71A, Boulton Paul 84DH.16, de Havilland 19 Scylla, Short 85DH.18, de Havilland 20 S-42, Sikorsky 86DH.34, de Havilland 21 L-IO Electra, Lockheed 87F.II, Fokker 22 DH.84 Dragon, de Havilland 88Wal, Dornicr 24 DH.86 Express, de Havilland 89Sea Eagle, Supermarine 25 DH.89 Dragon Rapide, de Havilland 90F.VII1I3m, Fokker 26 DH.90 Dragonfly, de Havilland 91F.III, Fokker 29 Wibault 92ANT-3, Tupolev 30 F.XXXVI, Fokker 93Jabiru, Farman 32 V-I, Vultee 94M.20, Messerschmitt 33 Potez 62 95Komet, Dornier 34 SM.73, Savoia-Marchetti 96Merkuf, Dornier 35 SM.74, Savoia-Marchetti 97W34,Junkers 36 SM.83, Savoia-Marchetti 98S36,Junkers 37 Martin 130 99 JArgosy, Armstrong Whitworth 38 Farman F.224 100 (

DH.66 Hercules, de Havilland 39 D.338, Dewoitine 101 1G31, Junkers 40 D.620, Dewoitine 102 IRomar, Rohrbach 41 Monospar ST.4, General Aircraft 103 (

Tri-Motor, Ford 42 Ju 160,Junkers 104 (

Vega, Lockheed 44 S-43, Sikorsky 105 (

Express, Lockheed 45 DC-3, Douglas 106 ~

Boeing 40 46 FK.50, Koolhoven 108 IF.XI Universal, Fokker 47 Empire Flying boat, Short 109 1Boeing 80 48 Ju 86,Junkers 110 IK-4, Kalinin 49 Z.506, Cant III I

Calcu tta, Short 50 ANT-35, Tupolev 112 1F.XII, Fokker 52 DH.91, de Havilland 113 IS-38, Sikorsky 53 Envoy, Airspeed • 114 fFalcon, Curtiss 55 Bloch 120 115 (

Kingbird, Curtiss 56 Bloch 220 116 ILatecoere 28 57 Ha 139, Blohm und Voss 117 IANT-9, Tupolev 58 DC-4E, Douglas 118 ICondor, Curtiss-Wright 59 Ensign, Armstrong Whitworth 120 1G-38, Junkers 62 L-14, Lockheed 122 I-F.XXXII, Fokker 63 L-18 Lodestar, Lockheed 123 11Do X, Dornier 64 Fw 200 Condor, Focke-Wulf 124 AS.66, Savoia-Marchetti 65 Ju 90,Junkers 125 PCommodore, Consolidated 66 AT-2, Nakajima 126 V

DH.95 Flamingo, de HavillandI Lea H.242, Liare et Olivier

Boeing 307 StratolinerMC-20, MitsubishiG class, Short

• SE.161 Languedoc, SNCASEBoeing 314

, C-46 Commando, CurtissYork, AvroDH.98 Mosquito transport, de HavillandDC-4, DouglasSO.30, SNCASOSO.90, SNCASOVS-44A, Vought-SikorskyBv 144, Blohm und VossBoeing 377 StratocruiserLancaster transport, AvroHalton, Handley PageLiberator Express, ConsolidatedTudor, AvroSandringham, ShortSolent, ShortViking, Vickers-ArmstrongBristol 170DH.I04 Dove, de HavillandConsul, AirspeedG.2l2, FiatDC-6, DouglasSM.95, Savoia-MarchettiL-749 Constellation, LockheedCanadair 4Martin 2-0-2L-I049 Super Constellation, LockheedCV-240, ConvairCV-340, ConvairCV-440 Metropolitan, ConvairSaab ScaniaIl-12, Ilyushin11-14, IlyushinBr 763 Provence, BreguetArmagnac, S_ CASEMarathon, MilesHermes IV, Handley PageAmbassador, AirspeedCarvair, Aviation TradersDC-7, DouglasDH.114 Heron, de HavillandL.1649A Starliner, LockheedTrent-Metear, GlosterHermes V, Handley PageMamba-Marathon, Handley PageApollo, Armstrong WhitworthPrincess, SaraViscount, Vickers-Armstrong

127128129130131132133134136137138140141142143144146147148150151152153156158160161162164165168170171174175176178179180182183184185186187188190192193194195196197198

Tu-114, TupolevBritannia, BristolF27 Friendship, Fokker11-18, IlyushinL-188 Electra, LockheedBAe 748, British AerospaceHerald, Handley PageVanguard. Vickers-ArmstrongAn-lO, AntonovAn-24, AntonovCV-580, ConvairCL-44, CanadairGuppy, Aero SpacelinesBr.941, BreguetYS-II, NAMCBeech 99 AirlinerNord 262, Nord-AviationDHC-6 Twin Otter, de Havilland CanadaL-IOO Hercules, LockheedCarstedt]et LinerST-27, SaundersMetro, SwearingenShorts 330]etstream, British AerospaceBe-30, BerievTurbo-Islander, Britten-NormanL-410, LetDHC-7 Dash 7, de Havilland CanadaAR 404, AhrensLT A, DornierTri Turbo-3, Specialized Aircraft

Index

201202204206208210213214216218220221222225226230231234236238239240242243246248250252254255256

257

Introduction

F or the first 30 years of commercial aviation, from1920 to 1950, all airliners had propellers. Over the

next ten years, to 1960,jet airliners slowly and hesitantlypenetrated the extremely conservative and ultra-cautiousairline industry. But by 1960 the airlines had become sopolarized around the jet that efficient and successfulturboprop airliners, such as the Electra and Vanguard,lost their builders a lot of money because the customersthought them obsolete. Then, again very gradually,airline managements began to realize that those who saidturboprops were efficient and burned less fuel weretelling the truth. As oil prices soared, so the propellerbegan to make a come-back. Therefore, though mainlyan account of past history, this volume ends with abuoyant industry that cannot build turboprop airlinersfast enough.

Included in this book are early airliners, amongwhich are those that carried the world's very first fare­paying passengers, and the first small sack of air-mailletters, long before World War 1. After that great war,aircraft were not only more capable but also morereliable; but travel by air was still not far removed fromscience fiction, and something totally outside the lives ofall ordinary people. Those few who did buy airlinetickets were advised to wear a stout leather coat, glovesand if possible goggles and a hat well tied-on. In a spacethat often resembled a small box they bumped andlurched at about the same speed as an express train ­with hardly the slightest concession to comfort, and innoise of unbelievable intensity - until they either reachedtheir destination, or landed to enquire the way, or landedin a precipitate and often disastrous manner because ofengine failure.

Gradually new and more reliable civil engines suchas the Bristol Jupiter and Wright Whirlwind put thestruggling air transport industry on a slightly less shakyfoundation. Though occasionally designers got carriedaway by their enthusiasm and made aircraft that weretoo large and failed to sell - examples were the FokkerF.32 and Dornier Do X - the size and capability ofairliners grew in step with the traffic.

The 1930s saw a never-to-be-repeated transformationfrom fabric-covered biplanes to stressed-skin mono­planes, equipped with retractable landing gear, flaps,variable-pitch propellers and many other new features. Afew of the famous aircraft in that section, notably theimmortal DC-3, were still important in the 1940s, whichtraces the introduction of pressurization, new navigationaids and many other advances, as well as a doubling inengine power from 1000 to 2000 hp and, at the end ofthat decade, still more powerful engines such as the 3250to 3500-hpPratt & Whirney Wasp Major and WrightTurbo-Compound, the latter being·an established pistonengine to which were added three turbines driven by thehot exhaust gas.

These ultimate piston engines were immensemechanical accomplishments, but they could not survivein the face of competition from jets and turboprops. The

first commercial turboprop, and quite a crude engine atthat (its compressor was a scaled-up Griffon piston­engine supercharger), was the Rolls-Royce Dart. Thiswas first run in 1945, and after prolonged developmentand power-growth entered airline service with the out­standing Viscount in 1953. It is an extraordinary factthat in 1980 not only are hundreds of Dart-poweredaircraft still in service but engines almost indistinguish­able from the 1953 model are in large-scale production,and selling briskly to new as well as to existing cus­tomers. But that does not mean technical development isdormant.

Today competition in the turboprop market is in­tense. Rocketing oil prices have thrust propellers backinto favour with the airlines; their doldrums in the 1960sand 1970s were due entirely to fashion, which thoughtthe jet easier to sell to the travelling public. Today mostlarge airline constructors have studies for turboprops,including large long-haul passenger and freight aircraftfor a market where the jet today has more than 99%.Back in the 1960s airlines were often embarrassed at·turboprop equipment and tried by various means to

convey the impression they operated jets. Today thepicture has changed. In 1979-80 the number of com­pletely new jet airliners launched was zero; the numberof com pletely new turboprops four.

Contributors: Dennis Baldr)',Chris Cham,John Stroud

Color illustralions:JohnBatchelor, Terry HadlerLine illustrations: TcrryAllcn Designs Ltd, RayHutchins, l'vlanin Woodford,research by Arthur BowbeerColor realization: HelenaZakrzewska-RucinskaCUlaways: © Pilot Press LtdThree-view drawings: © PilotPress Ltd, © PhoebusPublishing Company

© 1980 Phoebus PublishingCompany/BPC PublishingLimited, 52 Poland Street,London WIA 2JX

First published in USA 1980by Exeter BooksDistribUled by Bookthrift, Inc.:'Jew York, New York

All rights reserved. 1\0 pan ofthis pUblication may bercproduced, stored in aretrieval system, ortransmiued, in any form or byany means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying,recording or otherwisc,without thc prior permissionof the copyright owner

Phototypcset byTradespools Limitcd,Frome, Somerset, England

Printed in Great Britain byRedwood Burn Limited,Trowbridge, Wiltshire

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•Humber-SommerFIRST FLIGHT 1910 /

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T HE place in aviation history of the otherwiseunimportant Humber-Sommer .biplane is as­

sured by the fact that it was an aircraft of this typewhich undertook the world's first carriage of mailby an aircraft. This event was part of the UniversalPostal Exhibition held in Allahabad in Indiaduring February 1911. During the exposition, theFrench pilot Henri Pccquct, on February 18, Ac\....across the Jumna river from Allahabad to NainiJunction, in all some Skm (5 miles) with 6500lelters. This bizarre and isolated journey is gener­ally accepted by philatelists as the world's firstaerial post and some actual examples of thepostmark still exist. Four days later, a 'regular'sen'icc for the duration of the exhibition wasopened by Pcequet and Captain Walter G Wind­ham, the aircraft that they used again being theHumber-Sommer biplane.

Though a number of aircraft types were pro­duced by Humber before World War I, none ·ofthem was designed by the company, whose princi­pal interests lay in the motor industry. The firstmachine produced by Humber, in 1910, was theHum ber-Blhiot Monoplane, a copy of the BleriotXI, followed by the Humber-Le Blon Monoplaneand the Humber-Lovelace Monoplanes, two innumber. The fifth aircraft produced by Humberwas the British version of the biplane designed bythe French pioneer Roger Sommer, and derivcdessentially from the Farman III biplane of 1909.

~ This was itself a reworking of the classic Voisinbiplane, though the concept of inherent lateralstability had been abandoned in favour of positive

~ control by ailerons. Humber appear to havehedged their bet to a certain extent, for theHumber-Sommer was fitted with sloping side­screens between the upper and lower wingtips,outboard of the ailerons, in a fashion similar to theside-screens favoured by the Voisin brothers, Gab­riel and Charles.

The Farman III is onc of the classic aircraft ofall time, and, with the Blhiot XI, was the most

~ popular European aircraft in the period from 1909to 1911, appearing in a number offorms. Sommer'sinterest in the type stemmed from 1909, when henew the second Farman III at the great aviationmeeting held at Rheims under thc auspices of thechampagne industry. During the aviation rally,Sommer's best performance, in about ten flights,was a distance of60km (37 miles).

Top: The rrail aircraft thatpioneered the world's airmailserviceAbove: The Humber-Sommerready ror take-ofT. Flying atthis time was a hazardousexercise normally restricted toshon 'hops'

Humber·Sommer

Type: utility aircrartMaker: Humber LtdSpan: 13.92m (4-5ftBin)Length, 12.19m (4lJft)Height: not availableWing area: 4-7 m2 (506 sq rt)Weight: not availablePowerplant: one 5D-hpHumber 4-cylindcr water­cooled inline enginePerformance: maximumspeed approx 56 km/h(35 mph) at sea level; rangenot availablePayload: 91 kg (200lb); seatfor I passengerCrew: IProduction: not available

Benoist Type XIVFIRST FLIGHT 1913

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Type XIV

Type: transport flying boatMaker: Benoist Aircraft CoSpan, 10.97 m (36 ft)Length' 7.92 m (26 rl)Height: not availableWing area: not availableWeight: maximum 637 kg(1404lb); empty not availablePowerplant: one 75-hpRoberts 4-cylinder inlinewaler-cooled enginePerformance: cruising speed72 km/h (45 mph) at sea level:range 80 km (50 miles)Payload: 100 kg (220 Ib); sealfor 1 passengerCrew: IProduction:approxlO

Above: The Benoist TypeXIV flying boat. Its modestcockpit accommodated onepassenger who paid asurcharge iflhey weighedmorc then 91 kg (2oolb)Left: The start of the world'sfirst airline at 5t Pctersburg,Florida, inJanuary 1914

had negotiated a subsidy 0f 550 per day duringJanuary and $25 per day during February andMarch, in January the airline was able to repay thecity the sum of 5360, and operated at a profitduring February and March. Indeed, so great wasthe demand for the service that late in January alarger Benoist flying boat was put into service,piloted by Roger Jannus.

The airline's contract with the city of St Peters­burg ended on March 31, 1914, by which time 1204passengers had been carried, and the service hadlost only eight days to weather and mechanicalproblems. The airline continued independentlyduring April, but with the end of the tourist seasonand the growing fears of war with Mexico demanddeclined and the service was ended.

T HE world's first airline to operate a scheduledservice with heavier-than-air aircraft was the

5t Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, which hadbeen formed on December 4, 1913 by Paul EFansler. It was promised an operating subsidy bySt Petersburg in Florida on December 13, andsigned a contract with Thomas Benoist for theoperation afthe airline on December 17,1913, tcnyears to the day after the Wright brothers made theworld's first flight in a powered fully controllableheavier-than-air craft.

The whole operation was the brainchild ofFansler and Benoist. Benoist had made himself anextremely rich man in the automobile business,and was now somewhat obsessive in his belief thataircraft could become valuable instruments of civiltransport. To this end he had set himself up as amanufacturer of aircraft in St Louis, Missouri; andin the St Petersburg to Tampa route he found anideal opportunity for an airline. St Petersburg, agrowing town, was separated from the nearestshopping centre by a 2-hour boat trip, 12-hour railjourney, or day-long car trip over very poor roads.

The aircraft used for the service, which operatedover a route of 29km (18 miles) and cost 55 persingle trip, was the Benoist Type XIV flying boat,a conventional pusher aircraft of slim and attract­ive lines based on the Curtiss formula. The firstscheduled flight was made on January I, 1914, thepassenger being A C Pheil and the pilot TonyJannus. The service consisted of two round tripsper day, and the overall profitability of the servicewas soon no longer in doubt. Though the company

2

\

. Bolshoi, SikorskyFIRST fLIGHT 1913

A LTHOUGH the name Sikorsky is generallyt"\..associatcd with the development of thehelicopter as a practical flying machine, Sikorsky isalso notable as a great designer ofAying boats, and

i also as the father of the world's first four-engincdaircraft. The origins of this last title lay in Sikors­ky's appointment as head of the Russo-Baltic\Vagon Works' design department after he hadproduced a number of relatively successfulbiplanes for the Imperial Russian air service. Inthe early summer of 1912 Sikorsky was helped by GI Lavrov with the design of the Bolshoi Baltiskii or'Great Baltic One'. This was a large twin-cngincd

~ airliner fcaLUring accommodation for seven passen­gers and crew in a fully enclosed cabin.

The aircraft, which had been nicknamed the'Tramcar with ''''ings' by the builders, first ftew inMareh 19 I3 on the power ofa pair of IOO-hp Argusinline piston engines, though trials immediatelyshowed that the aircraft was hopelessly underpow-

.. cred. With the facility of aircraft designers beforeWorld vVar I, Sikorsky merely added another pairof Argus engines on the trailing edges of the lowermainplanes in line with the first two engines, anddriving pusher propellers. Flight trials with thisBolshoi Baltiskii Type B began on May 13, 1913and soon revealed a marked improvement com­pared with the original model.

Further improvement was already on the way,however, with the building of another model, theRusski Viryaz or 'Russian Knight'. This definitivemodel was slightly larger than its predecessor, andwas designed with bombing in mind. Span wasincreased by 0.5m (19'V3in) from 27.5m (90ft2% in), the four Argus inlinc engines were nowlocated along the leading edges of the lower wings,

• driving tractor propellers, and maximum take-offweight had risen by 650kg (14-331b) from 3550 kg

\ (7826Ib). The Rllsski Viryaz first flew on July 23,1913 and on August 8, it stayed in the air for I hour54 min with eight people on board.

Yet greater things were afoot with the IlyaMouromets, which was completed in 1913 and first

• 80wn on December II of that year. This aircraftspanned some 34-.5m (113ft 2V4in) and had aweight of 4-800 kg (10582Ib). '<otable were auxili­ary winglets behind the mainplanes, a railed

• promenade deck on the rear fuselage, a large cabin(with sofa, four armchairs and table), a wardrobe,a lavaLOry and cabin lighting and heating.

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Russki Vityaz

Type: shon-range transporlMaker: Russo~BallicWagon\"'orks (RBVZ)Span: 28m (91 ft lOin)Length: 19m (62ft 4in)Height: approx 4 m (13 ftI Y2in)Wing area: 120 m2 (1292 sqIt)Weight: maximum 4200 kg(92S91b); empty not availablePowerpJant: rour 100-hpArgus 4-cylindcr water-cooledinlinc enginesPerformance: maximumspeed approx 9S km/h(S9mph) at 1000m (3280 It);range 402 km (250 miles)

Payload: seals for up to 8passengersCrew: 2Production: I

Top: The Russki Vi£raz or'Russian Knight'Above: The Bolshoi lOuchesdown. It had an observationplatform in the from with asubstantial well-lit cabinbehind

3

CL-4S, BoeingFIRST FLIGHT 1918

T HE Boeing CL-4S holds a unique place in thehistory of civil aviation as the aircraft used for

the world's first International Contract Air MailService, in this instance between Seattle in the stateof Washington, USA, and Victoria in the provinceof British Columbia, Canada, on March 3, 1919.Air mail was not new: since February 18, 1911there had been at least 14 separate air services ineight countries; but the service flown on March 3,1919 was the first formally constituted interna­tional service.

The CL-4S used by Edward Hubbard, withWilliam Boeing as a passenger, was the sole CL­45, which Boeing had built as a personal aircraftunder the designation C-700 as the aircraft fol­lowed on from a batch of 50 Model C (or Model 5)floatplane primary trainers built for the US Navywith the serials C-650 to C-699. The C-700 was atfirst identical with the US Navy's Model Cs, but inDecember 1918 Boeing modified it to accommo­date the new 100-hp Hall-Scott L-4 inline in placeof the 100-hp Hall-Scott A-7A used in the navyaircraft. The aircraft was in no way distinguished,being a conventional machine by the standards ofthe day, though it did have the unusual feature ofhaving no fixed tailplane, longitudinal stabilitybeing catered for by the relative angles of incidenceof the wings, coupled with their heavy stagger. Theelevators were quite small in area.

The flight by Hubbard and Boeing may withsome justice be regarded as the first commercial airservice in the USA after World "Var I, but though60 letters were carried, the operation was in reality

4

a survey flight for the definitive service, whichbegan with a number of trials in July 1920 andbecame a regular operation only on October 15,1920, thus giving Aeromarine Airways the distinc­tion of being the first US operator to initiate aregular service after World War 1. The serviceoperated by Hubbard was part of the mail route tothe Far East, Victoria being the terminus for theJapanese ship Africa Maru. The regular service wasoperated by a B-1 flying boat, which first flew onDecember 27, 19]9.

As th<; CL-4S was operating in Canada, it had tocarry a registration marking, and in the absence ofUS markings at that time, it was registered G­CADR, the G for Great Britain, and the C forCanada.

Left: William Boeing's C-700(ModelS) after modificationto CL-4S in 1918Below: Boeing and EdwardHubbard, who Aew thc firstmail service between Canadaand the USA

CL-4S

Type: fioatplane transportMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 13.36m (43ft Win)Length, 8.23 m (27 it)Height: 3.84m (12ft 7in)Wing area: 45.99 m 2

(495 'q it)Weight: maximum 1086 kg(23931b); empty 861 kg(18981b)Powerplant: one 100-hpHall-Scott L-4 4-cylinderin line water-cooled enginePerformance: maximumspeed] ] 7.4 km/h (73 mph);range 322 km (200 miles)Payload: scat for] passengerProduction: I

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DRAA, AircoFIRST FLIGHT 1919

I N the immediate aftermath of"Vorld War I, the• Allied powers conducted lengthy negotiations

with Germany towards the eventual peace settle­ment embodied in the Treaty of Versailles ofJune1919. At the express request of Bonar Law, there­fore, a number ofDH.4 bombers powered by Rolls­Royce Eagle VII I engines wefe converted toaccommodate a minister and his secretary for high­speed travel between London and Paris.

To this end de Havilland produced the DH.4A.The two passengers were scated face-to-face in therear fuselage in a cabin with sliding windows oneach side. To ensure sufficient headroom, the cabinwas provided with a fabric-covered wooden roofunit, which hinged with the right-hand side toallow the passengers in and out; this was faired intothe tail by a new upper fuselage decking. ASconsiderable extra weight was thus placed in therear fuselage, the wings were re-rigged to restorethe aircraft's centre of gravity, the upper wingbeing moved back 0.305 m (1 ft) in relation to thelower wing.

With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, theRoyal Air Force's requirement for such aircraftdisappeared, the 12 survivors of the 13 DH.4Asconverted for No 2 (Communications) Squadronheing sold to Handley Page in September 1919.

The success of these military examples hadalready prompted civil production, four newDH.4s being converted during July 1919 by Aircofor the Aircraft Transport & Travel Company, thebuilder's airline subsidiary. Of these, one ditchedin the English Channel on October 29, 1919,another crashed at Caterham on December 11,1919, and the two others were scrapped inNovember 1920 when their operating costs becametoo great.

Handley Page also produced DH.4As, threefrom new aircraft, and the last by refurbishing ancx-RAF machine. Two of these were operated byHandley Page Transport, and the other two by theBelgian operator SNETA until they were burned ina hangar fire on September 27, 1921.

The last civil DH.4A was produced by the A VRoe company for Instone Air Line Ltd, receivingits certificate of airworthiness on Febroary 19, 1920as a DH.4 and as a DH.4A in February 1921. Thiswas the last DH.4A to survive, being part ofImperial Airways' inventory when that companywas formed in June 1924.

DH.4A

Type: short- and medium~

range transportMaker: AircraftManufacturing Co Ltd;Handley Page Ltd; A V Roeand Co LtdSpan: 12.92m (42 ft 4¥8in)Length: 9.3 m (30ft 6in)Height: 3.35 m (II ft)Wing area: 4{).32 m2

(434sqft)Weight: maximum 1687 kg(37201b);cmpty 1179kg(26001b)Powerplant: one 350-hpRolls-Royce Eagle VI IIwater-cooled V-12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 195 km/h (l21 mph);range 402 km (250 miles)Payload: seats for 1 to 2passengersCrew: IProduction: 13 (military), 8(civil)

Below: The City ofYork, aDH.4A orInstonc Air Line

Goliath, FarmanFIRST FLIGHT 1919

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T HE Farman Goliath series is of seminalimparlance in the history of air transport, but

unlike other civil developments and conversions ofwartime bombers, the Goliath family was pro­duced in relatively large numbers. The origins ofthe type lay with the FF.60-BN.2 twin-engined,twin-seat night bomber.

Of typically blocky Farman appearance, theF.60 Goliath was appareOlly completed in theclosing stages of 1918, and was notable for itsdistinctly humped rear fuselage, on later models[aired smoothly into the tail unit. Accommodationfor 12 passengers was provided in two fairly roomycabins separated by the open cockpit for the twocrew. Some 1.3m (4ft 4in) wide, the rear pas­senger cabin held eight wicker seats, while the

forward cabin was of the same width but held onlyfour similar scats. The type's origins as a bombermay be discerned in the fact that the prototype hadspanwise diagonal bracing members in the cabin,but these were deleted from production aircraft.Another distinguishing feature of early F.60s wasthe use of two 230-hp Salmson/Canton-Unnc 92watcr-cooled radial piston engines, though thesewcre later replaced by a pair of 260-hp Salmsongem radials. Yet another distinguishing feature ofearly F.60s was the provision of overhangingbalanced ailerons on all four wings; later replace­ment by plain ailerons reduced span from 28 m(91 ft lOin) to 26.5m (86ft 11 in).

The F.GO was extensively tested during 1919,and examples of the type established several world

Above: A Farman Goliath inIhe striking colours or.<\irenion in the early 1920s.\Vhen Ihe first aircrafl wercconvcrted rrom bombers Iheyhad ralhcr crude interiorfittings but Ihe cabins wererairly roomyBelow: A Goliath on a grassairfield during a maintenancecheck. J list visible is the opcncockpit in \\'hieh the crew sat

I

1

records. Perhaps the most notable of these were analtitude or 5100 m (16732 ft) in 75 min with 25passengers, and a non-stop flight of 2050 km(1274miles) from Paris to Casablanca in 18 hours23 min, with a crew of eight.

It was on March 29, 1920 that the Goliathentered service, the Compagnie des GrandsExpress Aeriens inaugurating an irregular servicefrom Le Bourget outside Paris to Croydon outsideLondon. This service was soon supplemented byanother flown with Goliaths, this time of theCompagnie des Messageries Ahiennes. These twocompanies operated 12 and 15 (possibly 16)Goliaths respectively. Other notable operatorswere me Societe Generalc de Transports Aeriens(Lignes Farman) with 18, used mainly on the routeinaugurated on July I, 1920 between Paris andBrussels, extended on May 17, 1921 to Amsterdamand later to Berlin; and the Belgian bne SNETAand Czech operalOr CSA each had six, the Czechaircraft being licence-built by Avia and Letov withthe exception of a single Farman-built aircraft.Some 15 Goliaths from Compagnies des GrandsExpress Acriens and des Messageries Ahienneswere with Air Union on formation in 1923.

As was the case with many aircraft of the period,the basically exterior mounting of the enginesgreatly facilitated the substitution of many otherpowerplanls, this often leading to the adoption ofanother designation. Examples of this in the case ofthe Goliath are the F.60bis with 300-hp Salmson9Az radials, the F.6l with 300-hp Renault 12Feinlines, and the F.63bis with 380-hp Gnome-Rhone

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F.60

Jupiter 9A radials. Other engines known to havebeen fitted arc Maybaeh Mb.IVb inljnes, Lor­raine-Dietrich inlines, Armstrong Siddcley Jaguarradials, and Walter-built Bristol Jupiter radials.Experimental and record-breaking models withfour (two tandcm) or threc Salmson radials wercbuilt, and thc final dcvelopment of the type waspowered by a pair of Gnome-Rhone-built BristolJupiter 9Akx radials. This was the F.169 or 1929.The last Goliath appears to have been withdrawnfrom airline servicc in 1933, and among the type'smany 'firsts' is that of being involved in the firstmid-air collision between two airliners, when F­GEAD or the Compagnie des Grands ExpressAcriens collided with the Daimler Airway's DH.18G-EAWO over Poix on April 7, 1922.

F.63bis

Type: short-range transportMaker: Societe Henri etMaurice FarmanSpan: 26.5m (86rt lOin)Length: 13.9m (45ft lin)Height: approx 5.6 m (18 rt4V2 in)Wing area: 161 m2

(1733sqft)Weight: maximum 5395 kg(II 8941b); empty 3030 kg(6680lb)Powerplant: twO 380-hpGnome-RhoneJupiter 9Aa9-cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: maximumspeed 152 km/h (94 mph) at2000m (6562rt); range400 km (249 miles)Payload: seats for up to 12passengersCrew: 2Production: approx 60

Salon, BreguetFIRST FLIGHT 1919

T HE most prolific aircraft of French origin toemerge from World '\IVar I, the Breguet Bre.14

day bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, eventu­ally ran to some 17 variants with productionexceeding 5500. In common with many othermilitary types, the Bre.14 found itself pressed intocivil service during 1919, in this instance thanks tothe pioneering air freight service inaugurated bythe specially formed Compagnie des MessageriesAhienncs. v\lith the start of passenger servicesbetween Paris and London, CMA found itself inneed of a comfortable passenger aircraft, preferablyone which could be produced virtually on the spot.The result was the Bre.14T2 Salon.

Derived from a standard Bre.14, the Bre.14T2had accommodation for two passengers in a some-

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what cramped compartment located around thepilot's former cockpit. Just sufficient space for thepassengers was provided by heightening the fuse­lage above the upper longerans. Light was pro­vided by windows on each side of the compart­ment's upper sides, and by a third window arealocated at the forward end of the upper decking. Adoor was let into the right-hand side of thecompartment, and the open pilot's cockpit waspositioned just aft of the passenger cabin.

Of basically similar design was the Bre.1STBerline, also first produced in 1919. This waspowered by the 450-hp Renault 12]a V-12 in plaeeof the Bre.14T2's 300-hp Renault unit, and hadaccommodation for four passengers. There was nodemand for the type, however, and the concept was

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Bre.14T2

Type: short-range transportMaker: Societe Anonyme desAteliers d'Aviation LouisBreguetSpan: l4.36m (47ft lY4in)Length: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)Height: 303m (10ft Win)Wing area: 50 m2 (538 sq ft)Weight: maximum 1984 kg(43741b); empty 1328kg(29281b)Powerplant: one 300-hpRenault 12Fe water-cooled V­12 enginePerformance: cruising speed125km/h (78mph) at 2000 m(6562 ft); range 460 m(286miles)Payload: seats for 2passengersCrew: IProduction: minimum 135

••

•therefore developed into the revised Brc.14T2 withseating for three passengers, and the 300-hpRenault reinstated.

So successful were the Bre.14T2s that in 1921 animproved version appeared. This was me Bre.)4This, basically an amalgamation of the Brc.14T andBrc.18T. It was distinguishable from its prede­cessors mainly by the different cabin windows:these now consisted offcur rectangular windows oneach side of the cabin, plus four circular windowson each side of the upper decking.

These civil variants of the Bre. 14 wefe capablcof operations on a float undercarriage, such anaircraft having been displayed at the 1919 Paris AirShow. The main user of this sub-type was theCompagnie des Transports Acricns Guyanais,which had at least five float-equipped Brc.14Tbisaircraft. These machines wcrc carried on a largecentral float, with a smaller float under the tail andtwo stabilizing floats which were located under thelower wings at mid span.

Another variant of the Brc.14 adapted for civilusc was the Brc.14 Torpedo, also known as theBrcgucl LatccoCrc and used in large numbers bythe Ligncs Ahicnncs Latecoere (CompagnieCentrale d'Entrcpriscs ACronautiques) for the car­riage of mail. The payload was carried in twostreamlined pods under the inboard ends of thelower wings. These aircraft wcrc converted war­time Brc.14A2s, and like the passenger conver­sions, these aircraft had a rear cockpit. The fueltanks wcrc fe"moved from the fuselage LO bereplaced by twin streamlined tanks under the

inboard ends of the lower wings, to try to ensurethat in the event of a crash, spilled fuel would notreach the passengers or freight. The removal of thefuel tanks was also designed to provide internalpassenger space in cabin models.

The Belgian airline SNETA also used the Bre.14, but its three aircraft were converted Bre.14A2swith 280-hp Fiat V-12 engines. Being heavier thantheir military counterparts, the aircraft conse­quently had a lower performance. [t should benoted that apart from aircraft converted or pro­duced specifically for airline and air-mail use,many other examples of this very adaptable air­craft were converted by their owners for a variety ofcivil tasks, raising the total of civil Bre. 14s to wellpast the 135 mark.

Left and above: Oneofthe 25Breguet 14'1'2 Salons ofCompagnie des :\1essagericsAerienncs (C),rIA) in 1920.The firm operated bcnveenParis and Lille and lalerexpanded 10 include Belgium,Holland and EnglandBelow [eft: A Salon of LigncsAericnncs Latccoere whichopened its service fromToulouse to Barcelona onChristmas day 1918. Theiroperations reached as far asCasablanca and Algeria

9

Vimy Commercial, VickersFIRST FLIGHT 1919

T HE Vickers Vimy, immortalized as the aircraftin which Alcock and Brown made the first

non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic on June 14,1919, was designed as the FB.27 heavy bomber butwas too late to sec service in \!Vodd War 1. Withthe type's general qualities and load-carrying capa­bilities clearly evident, Vickers in November 1919made the sensible decision to develop a civilvariant of the bomber.

But whereas other manufacturers wefe largelycontent to produce interim airliners by minimalmodification of current military aircraft, Vickersdecided to undertake a more r~dical modificationof the Vimy, replacing the slim, angular fuselage ofthe bomber with an oval-section monocoque pass­enger fare body faired into the box-section rearfuselage of the bomber. Apart from providing aroomy passenger compartment, the 'stressed-skin'plywood-covered fuselage was free of intcrnalobstructions) adding to the comfort of thc tcnpassengers seated in wicker or leather scats.Removal of the seats could also provide a freightcapacity of 1134kg (25001b).

Named the Vimy Commercial, the prototypeappeared in February 1919, and first flew on April13, 1919. Flight tests showed the aircraft to have aperformance marginally superior to that of thebomber, except in range where the extra drag ofthe larger fuselage was a severe penalty. Thismeant that on the standard London to Paris routethe Vimy Commercial had to land once to refuel.Nevertheless) trials were generally satisfactory,though the aircraft was lost at Tabora. in Tanga-

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nYlka on February 27, while attempting thc elusiveLondon to Cape Town flight.

The range deficiency of the Vimy Commcrcialmilitated against the type's sales in Europe) butproduction was assured by an order for 40 of thetype placed by the Chinese government in 1919.Finance at first proved difficult, but the aircraft ofthe Chinese order were eventually built betweenApril 1920 and February 1921. Only three otherVimy Commercials were built: one each forInstone Air Line, Compagnie des Grands ExpressAhiens and the Russian air force. This last wasdelivered in September 1922, and was in fact ahybrid aircraft combining features of the VimyCommercial and Vernon transport, and was pow­ered by Napier Lion engines.

Vimy Commercial

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Vickers LtdSpan: 20.73 m (68 ft)Length: 13m (42ft8in)Height: 4.76 m (15 ft 7V2 in)Wing area: 123.56 m:!(1330,q ft)Weight: maximum 5670 kg(12500 [b), empty 3534 kg(7790Ib)Powerplant: two 360-hpRolls-Royce Eagle VIIIwater-cooled V-12 enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 158km/h (98mph) atsea level; range 724 km(450 miles)Payload; 1134kg (2500Ib),seats lor up to 10 passengersCrew: 2Production: 44

Left: Lord Gorell and GeneralSir Frederick Sykes admiringCity ofLondon, a VimyCommercial of Instone AirLine, while making aninspection of the working ofthe London TerminalAerodrome at CroydonBelow; First flown in April,"919 this Vimy had it briefcareer, crashing at Tabora,Tanganyika in February 1920

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0/7, Handley PageFIRST FUGI-IT 1919

W ITH the Delcnee of the Realm Act effectivelypreventing the immediate implementation of

an Aircraft Transport & Travel plan for a civilsen"icc between London and Paris, in 1917 Fre­derick Handley Page sel about producing at rela­tive leisure civil conversions of the 0/400, 16 ofwhich he bought back brand new from the Minis­try of Munitions. The usc of the 0/400 for 'civil'tasks had already been pioneered by the Royal AirForce's No 86 (Communications) Wing for freightand mail carriage. Orthe 16 new aircraft bought byHandley Page, four were fll1ishcd and the other 12in the last stages of production.

The Act, however, did not preclude the civilcarriage of newspapers, and the four completed0/400s \'IIere convened for this use. The 16-cellbomb bay was altered to a six-cell unit from whichthe newspaper packages could be parachuted toprovincial cities. Provision was also made for sevenpassengers on extemporized scats forward and aftof the bomb bay, while another two passengerscould be squeezed into the nose gunner's cockpit.Six other 0/4005 were sold as transport aircraft tothe government of China.

"Vith the implementation of the Air NavigationAct in February 1919, Handley Page establishedhis company and revealed his proposed civil0/400, with seats for 16 passengers. The definitive0/700, as the type was designated at first, wasbasically similar to the 0/400, but had the fuselagefuel tankage relocated to the rear of the enginenacelles, a rearranged fuselage interior with fiveinward-facing pairs of wicker scats, and aceommo-

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dation for another two in the nose cockpit. Therewere seven windows on each side of the fuselage.

Later redesignated 0/7, the civil 0/400s total­led 11 built as new. Six of these were the aircraftsold to China, and the other five were operated byHandley Page. One of the Handley Page aircraftwas used in South Africa until it crashed onFebruary 23, 1920 and the other four were flown byHandley Page Indo-Burmese Transport Limited.One of these, intended for H H Sir WahjieBahadur, the Thakur Saheb of Morvi, wasdestroyed on the ground by a storm in October1920, but the other three survived until withdrawnfrom service in July 1921. European operationswere the preserve of conversions to 0/7 standardnot actually graced with the designation.

017

Type: long-range transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan, 30.48m (tOOft)Length' t9.t6m (62ftIOV. in)Height: 6.7 m (22 rt)Wing area: 153.1 m 2 (1648sqft)Weight: maximum 5466 kg(12050 Ib); empty 3777 kg(83261b)Powerplant: two 360-hpRolls-Royce Eagle VIIIwater-cooled V-12 enginesPerformance: maximumspeed IS6 km/h (97 mph) atsea level; range approx966km (600 miles)Payload: scats for up to 14passengersCrew: 2Production: II (plusconversions)

Lcfc A Handley Page 017.Six of these aircraft wereexported to China and fourwere operated by HandleyPage Indo-BurmeseTransport

II

0/ 10, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1920

Left: A Handley Page 0 I IO.This particular aircraft,G-EATH, opened a newextension service from Paristo Basle and Ziirich onAugust 16, 1923

OlIO

Type: long-range transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 30.48 m (100 ft)Length: 19.16m (62ft 10i/4in)Height: 6.7 m (22 ft)Wing area: 153.1 m2 (1648 sqft)Weight: maximum 5466 kg(12050 Ib); empty 3777 kg(83261b)Powerplant: two 360-hpRolls-Royce Eagle VIIIwater-cooled V-12 enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 156 kmlh (97 mph) atsea level; range approx966km (600 miles)Payload: seats for up to 12passengersCrew: 2Production: 10

T HE success of the 11 original Handley PageO/7s persuaded Handley Page to produce

another type of 0/400 conversion, the 0111,which appeared in March 1920. The type wasintended principally for the carriage of freight andmail, though provision was made to accommodatefive passengers, three in a small cabin at the rear ofthe aircraft and the other two in the open positionformerly occupied by the nose gunner.

The first three OllIs were used mainly for air­mail carriage to Brussels and Amsterdam, but withthe beginning of a fine summer in 1920, there wasso great a demand for joyrides and genuine passen­ger traffic that Handley Page converted two of the0/11s to passenger standard as OIlOs, withwindows running the full length of the passengercabin. The immediate success of the type, whichcould seat ten, prompted the swift conversion ofanother seven 0/400s into 0/10s.

Perhaps the most noteworthy of these aircraftwas the 0/11 which had been kept in reserve. Thiswas the only civil conversion of an 0/400 availableto meet the Thakur Saheb of Morvi's requirementafter the loss of his 0/7 in October 1920, andHandley Page swiftly converted G-EASX intowhat the Handley Page employees called the 'PinkElephant': the interior was finished to a highstandard in pink silk, and the exterior of theaircraft was gloss painted in pink overall, theengine nacelles being finished in blue.

By the end of 1920 the fledgling British civilaviation was in financial difficulties as it ran onstrictly commercial lines while French airlines were

19

11..•··I ,

government subsidized and British commercial airtraffic was temporarily halted in February 1921.But Handley Page had troubles of its own, largelybecause of the limitations of the 0/400 type forcivil aviation. The trouble lay with the generallyincreasing weight of the civil conversions, and thelimited power of the water-cooled engines. Passen­ger capacity was cut first to eight, and then to fivein an effort to ensure single-engined safety, andthen later in 1921 it was again raised to eight afterstringent checks and engine retuning had beencarried out on the surviving aircraft. Nevertheless,when Imperial Airways was formed in March1924, the reserve 0110 G-EATH was the only0/400 conversion still in 'flying' condition. It wasscrapped in June 1925.

W.8, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1919

DIGHT from the beginning of its 0/4-00 conver­.I\...sion programme, Handley Page had intendedthe type to be no more than an interim airlinerpending the development of a machine with acustom-designed fuselage free of the tie-rods/ tubu­lar bracing of the military and civil 0/4-00s. Theresult was the W /4-00, which flew in 'prototype'form as C9713 on August 22, 1919. The keyfeatures of the new aircraft were wings based onthose of the V /1500 combined with elements of the0/4-00's, and a fuselage based on that of the 0/4-00but considerably revised to do away with internalbracing in the passenger area. The new fuselagethus had an unobstructed floor area of 6.71 m(22ft) by 1.37m (4ft 6in). This allowed a maxi­mum seating capacity of 16 in two longitudinalrows separated by a central gangway.

C9713 was never intended as more than anaerodynamic prototype, and the definitive produc­tion model was to be the W /4-00, later redesignatedW.8. Power for this was to have been provided by apair of 4-00-hp Cosmos Jupiter radials, but the non­availability of these engines led the Air Ministry,which was on excellent terms with Handley Pageand also interested in the Type W to meet itsrequirement for a Large Transport Aeroplane, tolend the company a pair of 4-50-hp Napier Lioninlines. The extra power allowed the chief designer,G R Volkert, to reduce span from 25.91 m (85ft) to22.86 m (75 ft).

The single W.8, registered G-EAPJ, first flew onDecember 2, 1919 and proved to have animpressive performance, establishing a British pay- 'load-to-altitude record on May 4-, 1920 by carrying1674-kg (3690lb) to 4-276m (l4-029ft). The aircraftalso impressed visually, with its glossy whiteexterior and eight circular windows on each sideand an interior featuring a fitted carpet, cane seats,electric candelabra, a clock and a fitted lavatory.Despite the type's commercial potential, and thegranting of a certificate of airworthiness on August7,1920, the W.8 could not be used in airline serviceas its engines were government property until thecompany finally bought a pair of the engines in thesummer of 1921. By this time the maximumpassenger capacity had been reduced to 12, buteven so the government subsidy made the W.8 aviable commercial proposition from its first serviceon October 21, 1921 until it crashed at Poix onJuly10, 1923.

W.8b

Other engines had meanwhile been considered,leading to the proposal for a W.8a with two BristolJupiter radials. This came to nothing, but theW.8b with 350-hp Rolls-Royce Eagle VIn V-12sproved more successful, though performance waslowered by the less powerful engines. Three W.8baircraft were ordered for Handley Page Transportin November 1921. These were similar to the W.8apart from the different engines, rectangularinstead of round windows, and the fuel tanksrelocated to the upper wings from the enginenacelles. The first W.,8b entered service on May 4-,1922 and apart from the three aircraft for HandleyPage, another four W.8b aircraft were built for theBelgian airline SABENA, one by Handley Pageand the others by SABCA.

W.8

Type: long-range transportMaker: Handley Page Ltd;SABCASpan: 22,86 m (75 ft)Length: 18,36 m (60 ft 3 in)Height: 5,64 m (18 ft 6 in)Wing area: 135,26m2

(1456 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5557 kg(I2 250 Ib); empty 3629 kg(8000Ib)Powerplant: two 450-hpNapier Lion IE water-cooledW-12 enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 185 km/h (115 mph) atsea level; range 805 km(500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 12(later 14) passengersCrew: 2Production: I

W.8b

Specification similar to W,8except in followingparticulars:Length: 18,31 m (60 ft I in)Weight: maximum 5443 kg(12000 Ib); empty 3493 kg(7700Ib)Powerplant: two 350-hpRolls-Royce Eagle VIn V-12enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 167km/h (I 04 mph)Production: 7

Above: G-EAP], the originalW,8Below: The Imperial AirwaysW.8b which was operated byHandley Page as Prince Henry

W.IO, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1926

T HE basic soundness a~d. flexibility of theHandley Page 0/400 IS In no way better

attested than in the fact that having stemmed fromthe 0/100 bomber of 1915, it in turn produced awhole series of progeny: the civil 0/400 conver­sions; the prolific W sub-series; and also militarytypes such as the Hyderabad, Hinaidi and Clive.The key to the later developments was the W.8, forthis aircraft led eventually to the W.lO airliner.

The W.lO was a contemporary of the W.9a,Imperial Airways having ordered the type inOctober 1925 just as the W.9a was beginning itsflight trials. But whereas the W.9a was a com­petitor for the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy on theCairo to Karachi route, the W.lO was intended asan improved W.8 for European operations, princi­pally between London and Paris. As the airlineneeded four aircraft which had to be ordered nolater than the end of March 1926, Handley Pagehad to mate the flying surfaces and rear fuselage ofa Hyderabad with the forward fuselage of a W.8.Able to carry 14 passengers in two seven-seatlongitudinal rows divided by a central aisle, theW.lO was powered by two 450-hp Napier Lion IIBW-12 engines. The first W.lO flew on February 10,1926 and received its certificate of airworthiness onMarch 5, followed by the other two W.IOs onMarch 9, and the third on March 13. All fouraircraft were thus handed over to Imperial Airwayson March 30, one day ahead of the contract date.The first aircraft entered service on May 4, 1926and all four machines helped to run a transportservice during the general strike of that year.

14

One of the W.IOs crashed in the English Chan­nel on October 26, 1926, but the other threeaircraft were gainfully employed without furthermajor problem until a second machine crashed,also in the English Channel on June 26, 1929. Thefleet was restored to three again when the W.8fHamilton was brought up to W.lO standard underthe designation W.8g, with two Rolls-RoyceF.XIIA inlines. After only one year in service, itcrashed near Neufchatel on October 30, 1930.

The last two W.IOs (in fact the first two built)soldiered on until 1934, when the first crashed atAston Clinton on September 24, and the secondwas scrapped in Malta during the same year thusheralding the end of 16 years of civil aviation withthe 0/400 and its offspring.

W.IO

Type: long-range transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 22.86 m (75ft)Length: 18.08m (59ft4in)Height: 6.12m (20ft I in)Wing area: 136.56 m2

(1470sq ft)Weight: maximum 6251 kg(13780 Ib); empty 3674 kg(8100Ib)Powerplant: two 450-hpNapier Lion IlB water-cooledW-12 enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 161 km/h (IOOmph) atsea level; range 805 km(500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 16passengersCrew: 2Production: 4

Above: The first HandleyPage W.IO, which made itsmaiden flight at Cricklewoodon February 10, 1926

Aeromarine F-5LFIRST FLIGHT 1920

T HE story of the F-5L used by AeromarineAirways from 1920 is an interesting one. The

aircraft were civil conversions of the F-5L patrolflying boats built in 1918 by Curtiss, CanadianAeroplanes and the US Navy's Naval AircraftFactory. But these F-5Ls were in turn merelyLiberty-powered American-built versions of theFelixstowe F.5 developed in Great Britain.

Compared with the F.5, the F-5L had morepowerful engines, wings of 25.4 mm (1 in) greaterspan, a loaded weight some 144 kg (3181b) greaterat 5897kg (130001b), and a wing area reducedfrom 130.9m2 (1409sq'ft) to 129.8m2 (1397sq ft)by the fitting of parallel-sided rather than inversely

• tapered ailerons.Aeromarine Airways had started by buying war­

t surplus Curtiss HS-2 flying boats, which it con­verted to six-passenger transports for sale and for

• use by the airline on its inaugural New Yark toAtlantic City, New Jersey flight in August 1919.This provided the company with the finance and

• experience to undertake a more drastic modifica­tion of the big F-5L boats, redesignated Type 75 by

• the airline. While the flying surfaces and lower hullremained untouched, the upper fuselage was heav-

• ily altered to provide accommodation for up to 14passengers. The open pilot's cockpit was located in

• the top of a bulged upper decking between theengines, this decking providing a measure of head­room in the hull for the passenger cabins, one

• forward and the other aft of the cockpit.During 1920 Aeromarine Airways bought

• Florida West Indies Airways and with an initial

pair ofF-5Ls, Aeromarine operated the Key Westto Havana mail route with passengers as well asmail. Flights were also made between Miami andNassau, both foreign termini being outside UnitedStates jurisdiction and therefore popular withcustomers wishing to evade the restrictions ofprohibition.

In September 1921 Aeromarine expanded itsoperation to include a 'High Ball Express', with F­5Ls operating a route from New York to Havanavia Atlantic City, Beaufort, Miami and Key West.As such traffic was at its highest during the winter,Aeromarine in 1922 decided to use its F-5Ls ascommuter aircraft between Cleveland andChicago. However, the airline finally went out ofbusiness in September 1923.

F-5L

Type: medium-rangetransport flying boatMaker: Curtiss Aeroplaneand Motor Co IncSpan: 31.64 m (103 ft 9V4in)Length: 15.03 m (49 ft 3%in)Height: 5.72m (18ft9 1/4in)Wing area: 129.79m2

(1397 sq ft)Weight: maximum 6169kg(13600 Ib); empty 3955 kg(8720Ib)Powerplant: two 400-hpLiberty 12A water-cooled V­12 enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 144.8 km/h (90 mph);range 1336 km (830 miles)Payload: seats for up to 14passengersCrew: 2Production: not available

Above: The F-5L Santa Mariaarriving in New York with 12passengers

15

E-4250, Zeppelin StaakenFIRST FLIGHT 1920

A LTHOUGH it never entered airline servicertand was limited in production to a singleexample, the Staaken E-4250 (also known as theE.4/20) built by the Zeppelin concern at Staakennear Berlin has the distinction of being the firsttruly 'modern' airliner in the world. Designedlargely by one of the world's great aeronauticalpioneers, Dr Adolf Rohrbach (the 'father' of all­metal stressed-skin construction), the E-4250 wasconceived as a 18-passenger airliner to operate onthe route between Friedrichshafen and Berlin, andclearly owed much to the all-metal giant bombersbeing developed at Staaken during 1918.

Construction of the E-4250 began in May 1919,using advanced techniques: the fuselage was builtup round formed duralumin profiles rivetedtogether and covered with thin dural sheet. Thewing was of thick section, dearly inspired by theJunkers design philosophy, built up round a mass­ive box-spar, one-third of the wing chord in widthand 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) deep at the root, largelycovered in sheet dural (varying in thickness from4125 in [4 mm] at the leading edge to 0/25 in [2 mm] atthe trailing edge).

Located in the leading edges of the wings werethe four 245-hp Maybach Mb.IVa inline engines, amere two of which were to keep the aircraft in theair. The wing, again as a result ofJunkers inspira­tion, was designed as a cantilever structure, butwas provided as a safety measure with lift-bracingwires running up to the front and rear of the box­spar at two-thirds of the span from points on thelower edge of the fuselage just forward and aft of

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the wings. The tail surfaces were also metalcantilever structures. The undercarriage consistedon each side of a sturdy horizontal V hinged at itsopen end to the lower fuselage and supported at theoutboard end,just beyond the twin mainwheels, bya ~h?ck-absorber strut running out and up into thewmg spar.

The pilot's cockpit was located on top of thefuselage, and was at first open; later the fuselage infront of the cockpit was lowered and a glazedcanopy was added. The passengers entered bymeans of a door in the extreme nose of the aircraftand were seated in pairs under the wings, with fouroblong windows on each side. Aft of the passengercabin were a washroom, lavatory, mail room,baggage compartment and radio room.

E·4250

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Zeppelin-WerkeGmbHSpan: 31 m (101 ft 81/2 in)Length: 16.5 m (54ft 10/3 in)Height: 5.2m (l7ftO%in)Wing area: 106 m2 (1141 sqft)Weight: maximum 8500 kg(18 7391b); empty 6072 kg(13386Ib)Powerplant: four 245-hpMaybach Mb.IVa 6-cylinderwater-cooled inline enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 225 km/h (140 mph);range not availablePayload: seats for up to 18passengersCrew: probably 3Production: I

Left: The unusual passengerentrance in the nose of theZeppelin Staaken. Thepassengers were seated inpairs with a small tablebetween them. The aircraftalso carried a radio room,lavatory, washroom and ahold for mail

The E-4250 was completed on September 30,1920 and its early flight trials showed it to haveexcellent performance, though flight could not besustained on two engines alone as had been hoped.The construction and trials of the aircraft had beenclosely followed by members of the Inter-AlliedControl Commission, and as a result of their reporton the type's potential as a military aircraft, the E­4250 was scrapped on November 21, 1922, thecommission having refused Zeppelin permissioneither to sell or to, give away the machine.

The fate of the E-4250 makes an interestingcontrast to that of the Junkers F13 which wasdeveloped at about the same time. Each projectwas supervised by the Inter-Allied Control Com­mission, but the F13 was deemed to have no

Imilitary potential and so construction was allowed.The Staaken however had been built by a firm thathad produced bombers and the commission saw itas a possible prototype for an advanced bomber.While they were right to suspect the Germans ofwishing to build military types, their decision toscrap the E-4250 held up aircraft design for nearlyten years.

The commission also realized that if Zeppelinhad the jigs and skilled engineers for building alarge aircraft these could be switched to theconstruction of bombers. There was also a suspi­cion that the decision was delayed so that thedevelopment and building costs would bankruptthe Zeppelin company who would be unable torecover the money through sales.

Above: The Staaken, namedafter the Berlin suburb inwhich it was constructed, wasa very advanced design for1919Below: The curious front viewof the E-4250. The pilot sat ina cockpit above the fuselage

17

F 13, JunkersFIRST FLIGHT 1919

T HE Junkers F13 light transport was derivedconceptually and structurally from the Junkers

all-metal monoplane fighters of World War I, buthas a unique place in the annals of civil aviationhistory as the world's first metal airliner. Alsonotable in the F 13 was the provision of a semi­enclosed pilot's cockpit, the provision of seat beltsas standard, and the fact that the type was acantilever monoplane at a time when almost all itscompetitors were braced biplanes.

Key to the success of the F13 was the cleandesign of the aircraft, with its monoplane layoutand absence of any bracing wires, and itsimmensely strong metal structure. The wing, forexample, was based on nine tubular duraluminspars braced to form a metal girder and thencovered with a corrugated dural skin. The fuselage,based on a number of metal frames, was alsocovered with corrugated dural. The structureproved ideally suited for airliners operating in allweathers, and was used on all Junkers transportaircraft up to the equally classic Ju 52/3m. Thestrength of the F 13 is attested by the fact that theprototype, which first flew on June 25, 1919, wasstill used as a Berlin joyriding aircraft in 1939.

This prototype spanned 14.47 m (47ft 5% in) andwas powered by a 160-hp Mercedes D.IIla inline,but production F13a aircraft, of which some 12were built in 1919, spanned 17.75m (58ft 2%in)and were powered by the far more effective BMWIlIa inline. The F13 remained in production until1932 and up to that date was produced in some 70variants on wheel, ski and float undercarriages.

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Powerplant installations were extremely varied:265-hp Junkers L 2 inline in the F 13ba, ca, da andfa; the 380-hp Junkers L 5 inline in the F13be, ce,de and fe; the improved L 5 in the F13dle, fle, ge,he and ke; the 250-hp BMW IV inline in the Fl3bi,ci, di and fi; and the 360-hp BMW Va in the F13co,fo and ko.

Among the many airline users of the F 13 werethe German Junkers Luftverkehr with about 60and Deutsche Lufthansa with 72, Aerolot of Polandwith 16, the Romanian LARES with 9, the SwedishAB Aerotransport with 6, and the Swiss Ad AstraAero with 6. The importance of the F13 cannot beoverestimated in opening up air transport inEurope and in many other parts of the worldlacking any other means of 'modern' travel.

Fl3a

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: JunkersFlugzeugwerke AGSpan: 17.75m (58ft2%in)Length: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)Height: 3.6 m (II ft 10 in)Wing area: 44 m2

(473.6 sq ft)Weight: maximum 1730 kg(3814Ib); empty 1150 kg(2535Ib)Powerplant: one 185-hpBMW IlIa 6-cylinder water­cooled inline enginePerformance: maximumspeed l77km/h (110mph);range approx 650 km (404miles)Payload: seats for up to 4passengersCrew: 2Production: approx 350

Top: AJunkers FI3 of theBrazilian airline SyndicatoCondor. This airline operatedGerman aircraft exclusively.The FI3 also flew with skis ora wheeled undercarriageLeft: An Fl3 in service withEurasia, a subsidiary ofLufthansa. Because of theatrocious state of the airfieldsin the Far East, FI3s had touse special balloon tyres

DH.16, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1919

T HE Aircraft Manufacturing Company (Airco)was ideally placed for the swift development of

civil aircraft after World War I not only because itmanufactured the easily convertible de Havillandbomber types, but also because its transport andtravel subsidiary could supply the manufacturerwith detailed information about airline needs.

Experience with the DH.4A had shown it tocarry too few passengers for economic operation,and so de Havilland turned his attentions to' theDH.9A bomber as the basis for the DH.16. Theearlier DH.9 had already been used as the basis ofthe DH.9 (Civil) and DH.9B civil conversions, butwith the DH.16 a more comprehensive modifica­tion, of the later DH.9A, was undertaken.

The main modifications necessary were thoseconcerned with the installation of the 320-hp Rolls­Royce Eagle VIII inline, and the widening of therear fuselage to seat four passengers in two facingpairs. The extensively glazed cabin was similar inconcept to the DH.4A's, with the right-hand sideand roof hingeing to the left to allow passengers toboard up a short ladder. However, when flighttrials began in March 1919, the type immediatelyproved far superior to the DH.4A: despite anominal drop of 30 hp, the DH.16 was faster thanthe earlier aircraft, and could carry four passengersinstead of two, thereby more than halving seat-milecosts. It is worth noting that the DH.16 enteredservice with the Aircraft Transport & TravelCompany in May 1920, one year after the receipt ofits certificate of airworthiness, and thus beat theDH.4A into civil service by nearly three months.

Production was limited to nine aircraft beforethe line closed in June 1920, and only one of thesemachines was not sold to the Aircraft Transport &Travel Company, going instead to the SociedadRio Platense de Aviacion of Buenos Aires for itsferry flights across the River Plate to MontevIdeo.The other eight aircraft performed creditably, thetype undertaking the Dutch carrier KLM's firstscheduled flights from Amsterdam to Croydon.

The last three aircraft were powered by the 450­hp Napier Lion W-12, giving the aircraft an amplereserve of power. With the collapse of the AircraftTransport & Travel Company in December 1920,its seven DH.16s were placed in storage: five werebroken up in 1922, but the other two were takenover by de Havilland Aeroplane Hire Service. Oneof these crashed and the other was scrapped.

Top: The de HavillandDH.16 which operated withAir Transport & Travel andde Havilland Aircraft Co Ltdat Stag Lane. I t crashed atStanmore inJanuary 1923Above: Taking baggageaboard at Croydon airport in1920

DH.16

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: AircraftManufacturing Co LtdSpan: 14.17m(46ft5%in)Length: 9.68 m (31 ft 9 in)Height: 3.45 m (II ft 4 in)Wing area: 45.5 m2

(490 sq ft)Weight: maximurn 2155 kg(4750Ib); empty 1431 kg(3155Ib)Powerplant: one 450-hpNapier Lion water-cooled W­12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 218km/h (136mph);range 684 km (425 miles)Payload: seats for up to 4passengersCrew: IProduction: 9

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DH.I8, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1920

DESPITE the relative success of the DH.16, itwas still felt by Airco that mere conversions of

wartime bombers could be nothing more than anexpedient pending the introduction of custom­designed civil transports. Design of a DH.16 suc­cessor to meet this requirement began in 1919,resulting in the neat DH.18.

The aircraft was a conventional biplane, with adeep fuselage filling the complete interplane gap.At the extreme nose was the 450-hp Napier LionW-12 engine, mounted with its bearers, radiatorand oil tank as an easily changed powerpack. Justaft of this was the passenger compartment withseating for eight passengers (two seated by theengine bulkhead facing aft, two by the aft bulkheadfacing forward, and in the centre four single seatswith the two right-hand seats facing forward andthe other two aft). This passenger section was asturdy structure of plywood, with a door on the leftside, waterproofed to provide a measure of protec­tion in the event of a crash landing in the sea, twoescape hatches being provided in the roof of thecompartment. The rest ofthe airframe was conven­tional.

The pilot sat in an open cockpit just aft of thepassenger compartment, with the baggage holdunder him. Provision was also made for the seatsto be stripped out of the cabin for the carriageof7.25m3 (256cu ft) or 998kg (22001b) offreight.A particularly interesting feature of the design wasthe use of very long undercarriage legs, the objectbeing to ensure a minimal landing distance, muchdrag being produced by the wings with theirincidence angle of 17° with tail grounded.

The first DH.18 was built at the beginning of1920, made its initial flight during February, andwas delivered to the Aircraft Transport & TravelCompany on March 5, beginning scheduled servicefrom Croydon to Paris on April 8. I t was wreckedin a crash landing on August 16, 1920.

The next two examples were the first aircraftfinished by the new de Havilland Aircraft Com­pany, and were designated DH.18As as theyincorporated a number of improvements. They hadbeen started by Airco, but the third DH.18A was acompletely de Havilland product. The threeDH.18As were bought for Instone Air Line by theAir Council, and delivered in March, April andMay 1921 to operate the subsidized services to thecontinent. The second DH.18A crashed in May

1921, and the first was withdrawn from service inNovember of the same year when its certificate ofairworthiness expired. The Air Council thereforeordered two more aircraft, designated DH.18Bbecause of their improvements (inertia enginestarting, plywood covering for the rear fuselage andextra emergency exits) for Instone Air Line. Thesewere delivered in December 1921 and January1922, the first ditching in the North Sea on May 2,1924 and the second being scrapped in 1923.

The DH.18A which had been withdrawn wasused for experiments by the Royal Aircraft Estab­lishment until November 10, 1927. The thirdDH.18A was lost in the world's first mid-aircollision between airliners, hitting a FarmanGoliath over Grandvilliers on April 7, 1922.

DH.18B

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: AircrartManuracturing Co Ltd; deHavilland Aircrart Co LtdSpan: 15.61 m (51 rt 2%in)Length: 11.89 m (39 ft)Height: 3.96m (IHt)Wing area: 57.72 m2

(621 sq ft)Weight: maximum 3228 kg(7116Ib); empty 1955 kg(4310Ib)Powerplant: one 450-hpNapier Lion water-cooledW-12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 205 km/h (128 mph);range 644 km (400 miles)Payload: 998 kg (2200 Ib);seats ror up to 8 passengersCrew: 2Production: 6 (includingDH.18andDH.18A)

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Lert: The prototype DH.18 atHounslow in September 1919.It was subsequently deliveredto Air Transport & TravelLtd at Croydon in March1920, but crashed in Augustthat year at "'!allington,Surrey

DH.34, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1922

EARLY commercial operations by types such as. the DH.18, showed that profitable airline oper­

ations would only be possible with aircraft thatwere faster and capable of carrying a greaterpayload per horsepower. After detailed discussionswith two possible users and the Air Council, deHavilland embarked on the design of the DH.34,which was to be a development of the DH.32concept with features of the DH.29.

The fuselage was based on that of the DH.29,with the pilot located between the engine andpassengers to mitigate the effects of engine noise inthe cabin. As with the DH.18, the 450-hp NapierLion W-12 and its· accessories were mounted as adetachable powerpack. The cabin and right doorwere designed to carry a replacement engine foruse on remote airfields.

The type was launched with two orders fromDaimler Hire and seven from the Air Council. Thefirst DH.34 flew on March 26, 1922, was handedover to Daimler Hire on March 31, and flew its firs tservice, from Croydon to Paris, on April 2. InstoneAir Line leased several Air Council aircraft, andone of these also made the airline's inaugural flight,again to Paris, on the same day. Airline servicesoon confirmed the potential of the DH.34 as animmensely sturdy and serviceable aircraft. Thetype's commercial viability was confirmed by thetwo initial Daimler Hire DH.34s, which wereprivately owned and operated successfully on non­subsidized routes such as Manchester to Amster­dam via Croydon. The last of de Havilland's initialproduction batch of ten DH.34s had been orderedby the Russian airline Dobrolet, and was shippedto Russia in June 1922.

By contemporary standards the DH.34 had thehigh landing speed of 113 km/h (70 mph) and aftera fatal crash involving one of the aircraft, deHavilland took the opportunity to fit larger wings(spanning an extra 0.91 ill [3ft]) to an aircraft theywere rebuilding after a ditching. With these wingsthe aircraft became the DH.34B, with landingspeed reduced to 101 km/h (63 mph).

In April 1924 the newly formed Imperial Air­ways took over seven DH.34s for use on its routesto Brussels and Amsterdam. Two of these aircraftwere lost in accidents (including the originalDH.34B), two were converted into DH.34Bs, andthe surviving five aircraft were withdrawn fromservice'in 1926 and scrapped.

DH.34

Type: short-range transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCo LtdSpan: 15.65m (51 ft4in)Length: 11.89 m (39 ft)Height: 3.66m (12ft)Wing area: 54.81 m2

(590 sq ft)Weight: maximum 3266 kg(7200 Ib); empty 2075 kg(4574Ib)Powerplant: one 450-hpNapier Lion water-cooled W­12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 205km/h (128mph);range 587 km (365 miles)Payload: seats for up to 9passengersCrew: IProduction: 12

Below: A DH.34 underconstruction at Stag Laneaerodrome, EdgwareBottom: The DH.34 whichwas delivered to Daimler HireLtd in 1924, was subsequentlytransferred to ImperialAirways in 1924 and scrappedin 1926

F.II, FokkerFIRST FLIG HT 1919

I N the first 15 years after World War I, the twomain European builders of transport aircraft

were Junkers and Fokker: whereas the formerconcentrated on low-wing all-metal monoplanes,the latter concerned itself chiefly with high-wingmonoplanes with wooden wings and steel-tubefuselages. Points in common were that both com­panies believed right from the outset in enclosedpassenger accommodation and in the use of thick­section wings, which were high in drag, butprovided good lift and were sufficiently strong to bebuilt as cantilever structures.

Both companies also developed their aircraftfrom fighters of World War I, the Fokker linedrawing heavily upon the design concepts pion­eered by Reinhold Platz. It was this designer whowas responsible for Fokker's first postwar civildesign, the V.44 which was to have enteredproduction as the F.I. To have been powered by a185-hp BMW IlIa inline, the six-passenger V.44resembled a scaled-up Fokker D.VIII parasol­wing fighter, but only the wing was complete whenFokker decided to forgo the type in favour of theV.45, which entered production as the F.I1. Theopen cockpit for the passengers was replaced by anenclosed cabin, but otherwise the aircraft wasclosely similar to the abortive V.44.

The V.45 first flew in October 1919, and was oftypical Platz design: the wing was made entirely ofwood, tapering slightly in chord and greatly inthickness, covered in plywood and built as a singlepiece that was then bolted straight onto the flatupper surface of the fuselage, which was con-

structed of welded steel tube and covered withfabric. All the control surfaces were aerodynami­cally balanced, and there was no fixed fin. Accom­modation for four passengers was provided in acabin under the wing, with three windows on eachside and a door on the left side. A fifth passengercould be seated next to the pilot.

The F.I1 was built in Germany at Schwerin andafter the first example had received its Germancertificate of airworthiness in March 1920, it wasflown to Holland for evaluation by the Dutchcarrier KLM, which ordered two examples includ­ing the first aircraft. These aircraft entered servicein September 1920. There followed several changesof ownership, but 'one aircraft survived until WorldWar II. A third F.I1 was built for Deutsche Luft-

Above: A Fokker F.Il atTempelhof airport Berlin.Lufthansa had connections to16 cities in Europe and evenoperated a night serviceBelow: A Fokker-GrulichF.Il. Although it had ashorter range, it had a morepowerful engine and could liftheavier payloads

... .

$+d ! I

Powerplant: one 185-hpBMW lIla 6-cylinder water­cooled inline enginePerformance: maximumspeed 149 km/h (93 mph); atsea level; range 1200 km(746 miles)Payload: 400 kg (881Ib);seats for up to 5 passengersCrew: 1Production: 30

F.I1

Type: long-range transportMaker: FokkerFlugzeugwerke GmbHSpan: 16.1 m (52ft lOin)Length: 11.65m (38 ft 2% in)Height: 3.2m (10ft6in)Wing area: 42 m2 (452 sq ft)Weight: maximum 1900kg(4188Ib); empty 1200 kg(26461b)

Reederei, and at least another three examples werebuilt for use in the German enclave in Poland,centred on Danzig. These early F.I1s had theBMW IlIa as standard, though a German exam­ple at one time had the 250-hp BMW IV inline.

After an interval of some six years, the F.I1 re­entered production in modified form as the Fokker­Grulich F.I1, with many improvements and higherweights, powered at first by the 250-hp BMW IV,though some 14 were later re-engined with 320-hpBMW Va inlines under the designation F.I1b. Atleast 19 of this model were built, mainly for use byDeutsche Luft-Reederei, later passing through thehands of Deutscher Aero Lloyd before coming intothe hands of Deutsche Lufthansa in 1926. By thesummer of 1928 Deutsche Lufthansa was using its19 F.I1s for passenger operations on 13 routes,these numbers declining to ten aIrcraft on fourroutes by 1934.

The Fokker-Grulich F.I1 was dimensionallyidentical with the Fokker F.I1, but the extra poweravailable from the lat~r BMW inlines allowedgreater weights. The maximum take-off weight wasin the order of2300kg (50711b) and empty weightabout 1650kg (3638Ib), though on some aircraftthese figures appear to have been lower. Range wasconsiderably reduced, however, that of theGrulich-engineered aircraft being only 600 km(373 miles) with the BMW Va, compared with the1200 km (746 miles) of the Fokker-built F.I1s.

WaI, DornierFIRST FLIGHT 1922

I N many respects the Dornier Do J Wal occupiesthe same place in the development of maritime

civil aviation as does the Junkers Fl3 in that ofland-based civil aviation. It proved itselfimmensely durable and versatile, was built in anumber of models, and helped bring air transportto many hitherto inaccessible areas. In productionfrom 1922 to 1936, the Wal appeared in more than20 civil and military versions.

Evolved from the Dornier Gs I and Gs II flyingboats, the Wal first flew on November 6, 1922 andwas immediately impressive for its relatively largesize and metal construction. The wing was built upof two steel spars with duralumin ribs, with notaper in chord or thickness, and was located abovethe hull by two N-struts. The two engines werelocated in tandem above the centre section. Thehull was of two-step design, built of metal with analloy skin, and featured (in place of stabilizingwingtip floats) a large sponson on each side of thefuselage, the wings being braced to the outer endsof these sponsons by parallel struts.

The construction in Germany of such an aircraftwas prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles, butDornier had already foreseen the problem andarranged for the production of the type in Italy bya Dornier subsidiary, Costruzioni MeccanicheAeronautiche SA. The first CMASA-built Wal flewin 1923, and eventually some 150 of the type werebuilt in Italy by CMASA and Piaggio.

The first operator of the Wal was Spain, whichordered six of the type for delivery in 1923. Themost celebrated of these was an example namedPlus Ultra and powered by two 450-hp NapierLions: between January 22 and February 10, 1926,piloted by Commandante Ramon Franco, PlusUltra covered some 10 072 km (6258 miles) betweenPalos de Moguer in Spain and Buenos Aires inArgentina in a flying time of 59 hours 35 min.Other notable Wal flights included Arctic explora­tion flights by Roald Amundsen.

Early passenger Wals carried up to 12 passen­gers: ten in a cabin in the bows, and another two inan open cockpit under the wing leading edge.Engines for the Wal were extremely varied, rang­ing from the 185-hp BMW III to the 750-hp FiatA.24R via some 20 other types. Four wing spanswere used, ranging from the original 22.5 m (73 ft10 in) to the ultimate 27.2 m (89ft 2%in), andmaximum weight rose gradually from 4000 kg

24

(88181b) to 10 000 kg (22 0461b). The first Wals tobe built as series aircraft in Germany appeared in1932, and were of the Do J II 8-ton Wal type, andwere used mainly for airmail flights by DeutscheLufthansa. The ultimate development of the typewas the Do J II lO-ton Wal, or Wal 33 as it firstflew on May 3, 1933. This version featured anenclosed cockpit.

Ultimate expression of the Wal concept was theDo R Super Wal, which first appeared in 1926.This was basically an enlarged Wal powered bytwo 700-hp or four 450-hp engines. Up to 19passengers could be carried at a cruising speed ofup to 195km/h (121 mph) over a range of up to1000km (621 miles). Some 16 examples were builtin Germany, and an unknown number in Spain.

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Top: The Dornier-builtGranland WalofDeutscheLufthansa in its 1933 livery.This aircraft was flown by vonGronau in an Atlanticcrossing in August, 1930Above: Recovery is made byusing a trailing 'apron', ontowhich the aircraft ismanoeuvred

Wal33

Type: long-range transportflying boatMaker: Dornier WerkeGmbH; CostruzioniMeccaniche Aeronautiche SA(CMASA); ConstruccionesAeronauticas SA (CASA);Aviolanda; Kawasaki;PiaggioSpan: 23.2m (76ft ]I/2in)Length: 18.2m (59 ft 8V2in)Height: 5.35 m (17 ft 6% in)Wing area: 96 m2 (1033 sq ft)Weight: maximum 8000 kg(17 6371b); empty 5100 kg(II 2431b)Powerplant: two 600-hpBMW VI 12-cylinder water­cooled inline enginesPerformance: cruising speed193 km/h (120 mph); range2200 km (1367 miles)Payload: seats for' up to 10passengersCrew: 2Production: approx 300

Sea Eagle, SupermarineFIRST FLIGHT 1923

T HE Supermarine Aviation Works Limited, asPemberton-Billing Limited was renamed in

1916, had considerable experience with naval air­craft before the end of World War 1. With thecoming of peace and the end of lucrative militaryorders, Supermarine and most other aircraft manu­facturers turned to civil aviation. Supermarine'sfirst such venture was conversion to civil use of anumber of A.D. Flying Boats, built by the com­pany in its former guise, bought from the AirMinistry. Re-engined with more economicalBeardmore inlines of 160 hp each, these aircraft,ten in all, became Supermarine Channel Is, andwere the first civil flying boats to receive a Britishcertificate of airworthiness, on July 23, 1919. Theaircraft were used mainly for pleasure trips.

In 1923 Supermarine established a government­subsidized British Marine Air Navigation Com­pany, and for this operator RJ Mitchell, who hadsprung to prominence as the designer of the SeaLion flying boats which had won the 1919 and 1922Schneider Trophy races, designed the neat SeaEagle flying boat. Based on the Linton-Hope typeof hull developed in World War I, the Sea Eaglewas a compact biplane powered by a 350-hp Rolls­Royce Eagle IX located on two N-struts under theupper wing centre section and driving a four-bladepusher propeller. The hull provided excellent sea­keeping qualities, as well as ample room in thebows for a low enclosed cabin for the six passen­gers, who peered out through four windows oneach side of the compartment and two windows inthe front. As with the A.D. Flying Boat and

Channel, the wings were arranged to fold forwardto allow the aircraft to be hangared: in thiscondition the Sea Eagle had a 'span' of 6.43 m(21 ft 1 in). Another notable feature of the boat wasits amphibious capability, the wheels folding upunder the lower wings for flying boat service.

Sea Eagle services from Woolston to the ChannelIslands began in 1923, and were very popular.However, one aircraft crashed on May 21, 1924and this left Imperial Airways, which had takenover the British Marine Air Navigation Companyon April 1, 1924, with only two Sea Eagles.Another machine was lost when it was rammed inSt Peter Port harbour by a steamer and sunk onJanuary 10, 1927. The last Sea Eagle was finallywithdrawn in 1929.

Sea Eagle

Type: transport amphibianMaker: SupermarineAviation Works LtdSpan: 14.02m (46ft)Length: 11.38m (37ft4in)Height: (flying boat) 4.48 m(14ft 8 1/4 in)Wing area: approx 28.8 m2

(310 sq ft)Weight: maximum 2744 kg(6050 Ib); empty 1791.6kg(3950Ib)Powerplant: one 350-hpRolls-Royce Eagle IX water­cooled V-12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 150km/h (93 mph) atsea level; range approx483 km (300 miles)Payload: seats for up to 6passengersCrew: 1Production: 3

Left: The Sea Eagle whichflew in the King's Cup Raceofl923

25

F.VII/3m, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1925

T HE tri-motor Fokker F.VIIs are amongst themost important transport aircraft of all time,

and also featured in a number of classic long­distance flights. As with many other Fokker civiltransports, the F.VIIa from which the first tri­motors evolved was itself derived closely from theoriginal F. VII. Only five F.VIIs, each powered bya single 360-hp Rolls-Royce Eagle, were builtbefore the much cleaner F.VIIa appeared in early1925.

Powered in its prototype form by the 400-hpPackard Liberty 12 V-12, the F.VIIa had roundedwingtips, inset ailerons and a much more refinedundercarriage. This last comprised, on each side, asteel-tube V the open end of which was hinged tothe lower longeron, with the apex just inboard of

the single wheel, supported by a telescopic legrunning vertically up to the wing. Fokker built 37single-engined F.VIIa aircraft for European sale,and an important feature of the type's sales successwas the fact that a variety of engines could befitted, as usual, the aircraft being stressed to acceptpowerplants ranging from 350 to 525 hp.

What was to transform the F.VIIa, however,was the addition of another pair of engines. Theconcept originated as a single aircraft intended forthe Ford Reliability Trial of September 1925. Thiswas intended to promote reliability in aircraftintended for airline use, and Anthony Fokker sawin it a golden opportunity to 'advertize' his F.VIIaby a conclusive success in the tour. An F.VIIa wasaccordingly modified to a tri-motor configura.tion

Below left: Loading cargo intothe forward bay of anF.VIl/3m at London in 1933Right: The F.VIl with itsoriginal single Rolls-RoyceEagle engineBelow right: An F.VIla inservice with Swissair in 1927.It had an improvedundercarriage and could befitted with difTerent engines

F.VIIb/3IllI Right wingtip tie down shackle2 Right navigation light3 Aileron cables.... Aileron control horn5 Right aileron6 Plywood wing skinning7 fixed trailing edge construction8 Rear spar9 Wing ribs

10 Front spar11 Leading-edge nose ribs12 Right engine nacelle mounting

struts13 Engine instruments14 Control cable dUCl to engine

nacelle15 Cooling air louvres16 Right main undercarriage legI 7 Right engine18 Three-bladed propeller19 Exhaust collector ring20 WrightJ6 nine-cylinder radial

engine21 Engine accessories22 Engine mounting struts23 Fireproorbulkhead2+ Oil cooler25 Centre engine oil tank26 Oil tank filler cap27 CockpLt floor le\'cl28 ::\ose baggage comparunent29 Landing/taxiing lamp30 \,'ind driven generator31 Cndercarriage strut mounting32 .\faillocker33 Rudder pedal bar34 Elevator control linkages35 Instrument panel36 Windscreen panels37 Co·pilo(s seat38 Control column handwheel39 Pilot's scat40 Radio41 Cockpit bulkhead42 \"ing spar/fuselage altachment43 Fuel selector cocks44 Aileron cable runs45 Wing lifting lugs46 Fuel tank fillcr cap47 Fuel tanks48 Fuel vent pipes49 Right cabin window panel:')0 Passeng:er sea ts

51 Rear spar/fuselage attachment52 Overhead luggage racks53 Cabin rear bulkhead54 Cabin doorway55 Toilet compartment56 Water tank57 Right baggage door58 Entry door59 Rear baggage compartment60 Stcel-tube upper longerons61 Fuselage stringers62 Control cable runs63 Horizontal spacers64 Right tailplane65 Elevator horn balance66 Right elevator67 Tailfin construction68 Rudder horn balance69 Sternpost70 Fabric-covered rudder construction71 Tailplane bracing wire72 Elevator control horn73 Fabric-covered left elevator

construction74 Elevator horn balance75 Tailplane construction76 Rudder control horn7i Tailplane bracing strut78 Fuselage fabric covering79 Tailplane trim adjustment80 Tailskid81 Elastic cord shock absorber82 Vertical spacers33 Diagonal wire bracing84 Steel-tube bouom longeron85 \Velded fuselage construction86 Rear spar girder construction87 Step88 Spar plywood facing89 Trailing edge ribs90 Left aileron construction91 Aileron control horn92 Wingtip tie down shackle93 \\'ingtip stringer construction94 Left navigation light95 Leading edge construction96 Pitot tube97 Aileron cables98 Plvwood ribs99 Fr'ont spar girder construction

100 Passenger cabin floor level101 Engine nacelle Aoor struts102 :\'ace!le attachment joints

103 Left engine instruments104 Oil tank105 Exhaust pipe106 Oil cooler107 \Vclded stee1·tube nacelle

construction108 Left \I'rightJ6 enginel09 Exhaust collector ringliD Cooling air intake louvresIII :.\-lain undercarriage leg strut112 Elastic cord shock absorber113 :vludguard114 Undercarriage lower V·struts115 Len mainwheel116 Hydraulic brake117 Tyre valve access118 \Vheel disc cover/tyre lacing

Left: The Fokkcr F.VIIa/3mflown by Commander Byrd inthe Ford Reliability Tour. Itwas subsequently flown overthe North Pole in 1926Below: A Fokker F.Xproduction line at the AtlanticAircraft Corporation plant atHasbrouk Heights, NewJersey. The F.x was theAmerican equivalent of theF.VIl/3mBottom: Anthony Fokkerchecks a Wright engine whilethe engine's designer David LLawrence offers assistance

Performance: maximumspeed 207.5km/h (129mph);range 1200 km (746 miles)Payload: 1080 kg (2381Ib);seats for up to 10 passengersCrew: 2Production: approx 145

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Fokker BV; SABCA;E Plage & T Laskiewicz;Avia; Officine FerroviarieMeridionali; A V Roe and CoLtdSpan: 21.71 m (71 ft2%in)Length: 14.5 m (47ft 7 in)Height: 3.9m (12ft lOin)Wing area: 67.6m2 (729 sq ft)Weight: maximL:Jl1 5300 kg(11684Ib); empty 3100 kg(6834Ib)Powerplant: three 300-hpWright R-975 WhiriwindJ69-cylinder air-cooled radialengines

F.VIIb/3m

with three 200-hp Wright Whirlwind J4 radials.Fokker had specified that the two outer engines

were to be located in the wing leading edges, butfor a variety of reasons Reinhold Platz opted tolocate them on the vertical undercarriage memberson simple steel-tube mountings. Completed in lateAugust 1925, the Fokker F.VIIa/3m first flew onSeptember 4, 1925. It was soon dismantled forshipping to the USA, where its performance in theFord Reliability Contest was excellent. On May 9,1926 the aircraft, equipped with a ski undercar­riage, was reputedly flown over the North Pole byFloyd Bennett and Richard E Byrd. It is now in theFord Museum.

Two F.VII aircraft were ordered for the 1926Arctic expedition led by Sir Hubert Wilkins: onewas a typical F.VIIa powered by a 450-hp Liberty,but the other was the precursor of the F.VIIbseries. This had a larger wing, 21.71 m (71 ft 2%in)compared with 19.31 m (63 ft 4lf4 in), and was pow­ered by three 200-hp Wright Whirlwinds. Theexpedition failed, but the second aircraft was soldto Charles Kingsford Smith, in whose hands it wasrenamed Southern Cross to become possibly the mostcelebrated individual aircraft between the wars.On May 31, 1928, Southern Cross took off fromOakland in California and then flew to Brisbane inAustralia, which was reached on June 9, after83 hours 11 min in the air. The flight had covered1189lkm (7389 miles) and had had only twostopping points, in Hawaii and Fiji.

Southern Cross was essentially a hybrid, with thefuselage of the F.VIIa and the wings of theAmerican Fokker F.X. The position was reg­ularized by the production F.VIIb/3m, whichappeared in 1928. The pioneer of the series, apartfrom Southern Cross, was a big-wing F.VII/3m builtin late 1927 for the Byrd Antarctic Expedition andnamed Friendship. The first four productionF.VIIb/3m aircraft appeared in July and August1928, to an order from KNILM, the Dutch carrierin the Netherlands East Indies. As with the F.VII,part of the type's success was attributable to thevariety of engines which could be fitted and to thereliability of having three engines.

The type was widely built under licence inBelgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain(as the Avro Ten), Italy, Poland, and the USA (thebasically similar Atlantic Aircraft and FokkerAircraft F.X. and F.Xa).

0R

F.III, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1921

•,

F.IIlc

Top: A Dutch F.III poweredby a Rolls-Royce Eagle enginewith the pilot's position on theleftAbove: A German F.I1I ofAero Lloyd landing atHamburg. Note the stylizedcrane symbol on the fin, laterretained by Lufthansa

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: FokkerFlugzeugwerke GmbH; NVVliegtuigenfabrik Fokker;DLRSpan: 17.62 m (57ft 9112 in)Length: 11.07 m (36 ft 3% in)Height: 3.66 m (12 ft)Wing area: 39.1 m2 (421 sqft)Weight: maximum 2300 kg(5070 Ib); empty 1550 kg(34171b)PowerpIant: one 320-hpBMW Va V-12 water-cooledenginePerformance: cruising speedapprox 150 km/h (93 mph);range 600 km (372 miles)Payload: 450 kg (992Ib);seats for up to 5 passengersCrew: 1Production: approx 78

T HE Fokker F.IlI was produced as a scaled-upversion of the successful F.Il, with all five

passengers now accommodated in the cabin. Thismeant that fuselage width had to be increased bysome 30 em (114Js in), and the wings were alsoincreased in span. However, the removal of thefifth passenger from the pilot's cockpit allowed thedesigner, Reinhold Platz, to adopt an unusualexpedient of locating the pilot just to the right ofthe nose-mounted engine.

Design took place during 1920, and the pro­totype was built at Fokker's German factory atSchwerin. Powered by a 185-hp BMW lIla, thisaircraft first flew in April 1921 and soon revealedthe performance advantages of this fully cantilev.er'design (the F.Il had featured a certain amount ofwing bracing), though the structure otherwisefollowed the pattern established on the F.II.

The first airline to order the type was the Dutchcarrier KLM, which received 12 F.Ills powered bythe 230-hp Siddeley Puma'inline in 1921 and early1922. The first scheduled service was flown onApril 14, 1921 between Amsterdam and Croydonby two aircraft flying the route in opposite direc­tions. Other notable aircraft of the first productionbatch were a Danzig-registered F.IlI of DeutscheLuft-Reederei, powered by a 350-hp BMW, and anF.I11 of the Hungarian airline Malert with a 230­hp Hiero IVH engine. Malert also had four F.Illswith BMW lIla engines, which flew the regularservice between Budapest and Vienna, and Buda­pest and Graz, from 1923 to 1929 without a singleaccident.

The next model was powered by the 350-hpRolls-Royce Eagle VIII, and had the pilot to theleft of the engine. Some of these sub-models hadtheir wings parasol-mounted, and about ten weredelivered to the Russo-German operator Deruluft.The last F.IIls built by Fokker left the factory in1922. A wide variety of engines was fitted, includ­ing the 400-hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter VI and 240­hp Gnome-Rhone Titan radials.

Subsequent production of the F.IlI followed thepattern established by the F.Il, with DeutscheLuft-Reederei in 1923 beginning production of themodified Fokker-Grulich F.IIl. Most of these air­craft were powered by the 250-hp BMW IV,though examples re-engined with the 320-hpBMW Va were not uncommon, with the reviseddesignation F.IIlc.

29

ANT-3, TupolevFIRST FLIGHT 1925

I N common with several other Russian aircraft ofthe 1920s, the Tupolev ANT-3 shows marked

signs of Junkers influence - hardly surprising inview of the fact that from 1922 to 1927 Junkers hadbuilt aircraft, with the active support of the newSoviet government wishing to use the aircraft andto gain practical experience of modern design andconstruction, at the former Russo-Baltic WagonWorks at Filijust outside Moscow. With the end ofJunkers' lease, the factory was assigned to Tupolevas Factory No 22.

By 1924, with series production of the de Havil­land DH.9A bomber well on the way under theRussian designation R-l, the high command of theSoviet air force issued a specification for a moreadvanced light bomber and reconnaissance aircraftof all-metal construction. With development of hisJunkers-inspired all-metal ANT-2 light transportout of the way, Tupolev was well placed torespond. During the year 1924 Tupolev's team,under the auspices of the Central Aerohydrody­namic Institute (TsAGI) in Moscow, designed theANT-3 (or R-3 as it was designated by themilitary). Th~ design was for a neat sesquiplane tobe built of Kolchugalumin, an aluminium alloydeveloped by the Russians and claimed to bestronger than duralumin.

Completed during the late summer of 1925, theANT-3 was at first powered by a 450-hp Lorraine­Dietrich V-12, but this first example was later re­engined with the Russian-built version of the 400­hp Liberty 12, the M-5. It was this engine whichalso powered the production variants.

Initial flight trials were undertaken during Sep­tember and October 1925 by V N Phillipov, andthen the ANT-3 was piloted successfully throughits state trials by V M Gromov. These trials werecompleted in May 1926, and the ANT-3 immedi­ately entered large-scale production, with theSoviet air force as the initial main customer.

The ANT-3 soon began to appear in the aviationnews as a result of some excellent long-distanceflights. The first of these, between August 31, andSeptember 2, 1926, was flown by a special ANT-3powered by a 450-hp Napier Lion W-12; crewedby M M Gromov and one Radzevich, RR-SOVflew the Moscow-Konigsberg-Berlin-Paris-Rome­Vienna-Warsaw route. One year later anotherANT-3, piloted by the great long-distance flier V PChkalov with a man named Fufayev as hismechanic, flew RR-INT over a course of 22 000 km(13 671 miles) from Moscow to Tokyo and back ina flying time of 153 hours. Taking off on August 20,Chkalov ran into the most appalling weather onthe outward leg of his journey, which thus took 11days, but it says much of the ANT-3's capabilitiesthat the flight was only slowed rather than halted.

This sturdiness evinced by the ANT-3 was ofcourse essential in a military aircraft; but alsoplayed an important part in the ANT-3's civilcareer as a mailplane, where punctuality and areliable service were of paramount importance.Also useful was the ANT-3's triangular-sectionfuselage, with the apex at the bottom, which gavethe pilot a good field of vision downwards, usefulfor landing on airfields in remote areas.

Right: The ANT-3 poweredby an M-5 engine, theRussian-built version of theLiberty 12. It was built fromKolchug - an aluminiumalloy stronger than duraluminBelow: The pilot of an ANT-3checks his parachute beforetake-ofT. This aircraft has aNapier-Lion W-12 engine

ANT-3

Type: mailplaneMaker: Tupolev DesignBureauSpan: 13.2 m (43 ft 3%in)Length: 9.9 m (32 ft 5% in)Height: 3.9m (12ft 9'!2in)Wing arE,a: not availableWeight: maximum 2085 kg(45961b); empty not availablePowerplant: one 400-hp M-5water-cooled V-12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 205 km/h (127 mph) atsea level; range 700 km(435 miles)Payload: 300 kg (661Ib)Crew: 2

Production: approx 80(civil) and minimum 200(military)

variants: the F-4X with three 300-hp Salmson 9Azwater-cooled radials· (two on the stub wings andthe third high on the nose) and the apparently

. undesignated model with two 400-hp Lorraine­Dietrich V-12s.

The Farman Line operated the first four F.121s,and this fleet was matched by that of Danish AirLines (DDL), which ordered two from Farman andanother two licence-built examples from Orlogs­vaerftet.

From the F.121 type was developed the smallerF ..l70 Jabiru, which could carry up to eightpassengers on the 500 hp of its single water-cooledFarman 12We. Production of this model totalled13, while that ofthe marginally larger F.l 70bis fornine passengers reached four.

Jabiru, FarmanFIRST FLIGHT 1923

WHATEVER its other attributes, the FarmanF.121 Jabiru must surely rank as one of the

most ungainly aircraft ever built, thanks largely toits very low aspect-ratio wing set above a gracelessfuselage, its angular tail surfaces, its obtrusiveundercarriage and the location of its four enginesas tandem pairs at the ends of the lower stub wings.

The origins of the F .121, also known as the F­3X, lay in the 1923 Grand. Prix des AvionsTransports, a competition designed to promote thedevelopment of safer civil transports. The F.121was designed specifically for the competition, andcarried off the first prize. Key to the F .121's safetywas the use of a high-set wing of great area: thiswas of wooden construction and strut-braced, anda peculiarly massive unit. Spanning 19 m (62 ft4 in), the wing had a root chord of no less than 6 m(19 ft 8 114- in) and a thickness of almost 76 cm (2 ft6 in); the taper on both leading and trailing edgeswas curved, and most pronounced on the outboardthird of the span; tip chord was 3 m (9ft lOin). Thefuselage was similar to that of the Goliath, built ofmetal and wood, with a nose almost 3 m (9 ft 10 in)tall. In the nose was a cabin for two passengers,behind this a small compartment for a singleoccupant with the open cockpit for the two crewabove it, and behind this the main cabin for six.Cooling for the two rear engines proved difficult,and only the installation of a pair of Lamblinradiators above each tandem set of engines allowedthe F.121 into· service during 1926.

These sustained cooling problems were probablythe reason for the development in 1924 of two

••

c:::

F-3X

~. .

F.121 Jabiru

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Avions H et MFarman; OrlogsvaerftetSpan: 19m (62ft4in)Length: 13.68m (44ft10'/2in)Height: not availableWing area: 81 m2 (872 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5000 kg(II 023Ib); empty 3000 kg(6614Ib)Powerplant: four 180~hp

Hispano-Suiza 8Ac water­cooled V-8 enginesPerformance: cruising speed175km/h (109 mph) at2000 m (6562 ft); range650km (404 miles)Payload: 880 kg (1940Ib);seats for up to 9 passengersCrew: I t02Production: 9 (F-3X) and 4(F-4X)

Below: A Farman]abiru withthree Gnome-Rhone]upiterengines. It has Frenchregistration possibly for pre­export trialsBottom: A four-engined] abiru in service with theDanish airline DDL in thelate 1920s

M.20, MesserschmittFIRST FLIGHT 1928

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: BayerischeFlugzeugwerke GmbHSpan: 25.5 m (83 ft 8 in)Length: 15.9m (52ft2in)Height: 4.2 m (13 ft 91/. in) .Wing area: 65 m2 (700 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5600 kg(10 1411b); empty 2800 kg(6172lb)Powerplant: one 500-hpBMW VIa water-cooled V-12enginePerformance: maximumspeed 175km/h (109 mph);range approx 1000 km(621 miles)Payload: 1500 kg (33071b);seats for up to 10 passengersCrew: 2Production: 14

M.20b

Top: A LufthansaMesserschmitt M.20 with a500-hp BMW VIa engineAbove left: The interior of anM.20 showing some of the tenseatsLeft: The M.20b D-2005Odenwald, one of 12 aircraftwhich operated withLufthansa from 1929 to 1942.They were used on holidayroutes in the mid 1930s

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+

AN attractive aircraft apart from its angularrtengine cowling, the Messerschmitt M.20 wasin basis a scaled-up development of the Mes­serschmitt M.18d, itself an eight-seat developmentof the basic three/four-seat M.18. The M.18 wasdesigned in 1925, and in its prototype form, ofwhich only a single example was built, was pow­ered by the 80-hp Siemens und Halske Sh 11radial. The production M.18a was built of woodand metal, rather than just wood.

The M.18d was the last model of the series withaccommodation for eight passengers, an improvedlanding gear with a vertical shock absorber run­ning up into the wing, and power provided by avariety of engines from the l50-hp Walter Mars tothe 325-hp Wright Whirlwind radial. M.18d pro­duction reached at least eight.

The M.20 resembled the M.18d quite closely,but was chiefly of metal construction. Though thegrowth of the design is clear from the fact that spanhad increased from the M.lSb's 15.6 m (51 ft 2Y4 in)to the M.20's 25.5 m (83 ft 8 in), the most impor­tant factor in the scaling-up process was in poweras the M.20 had a 500-hp BMW VIa V-12.

The first M.20 flew on February 26, 1928 andI unfortunately crashed during this flight. Mes­~ serschmitt was hampered by financial problemsl and so the second aircraft did not fly until some fiveyo months later, when Deutsche Lufthansa were suf-

ficiently impressed to order the. whole productionrun of 13 aircraft.

The first two Lufthansa aircraft were describedas M.20a aircraft, with raked-forward undercar­riages and modified tail surfaces. The remaining 12were operated under the designation M.20b, andhad deeper fuselages, strut-braced tailplanes androunded rather than square vertical tail surfaces.

The M.20 was introduced in 1929, initially onthe routes from Stuttgart to Barcelona via Genevaand Marseilles, and from Basle to Amsterdam viaMannheim, Frankfurt, Kaln and Essen. The typewas also used as a freighter, and remained in

t scheduled service until 1937. Some of the aircraftwere then used for seasonal operations betweenGermany's major cities and coastal resorts untilthe outbreak of World War II, and at the end of1942 there were still an M.20a and an M.20b inLufthansa service. The M.20b2, which appeared in1932, was merely an M.20b re-engined with the640-hp BMW VIu.

33

Komet, DornierFIRST FLIGHT 1921

T HE Dornier Do C III Komet was the land­plane equivalent of the Cs II Delphin trans­

port flyin£; boat of 1920, and first flew in 1921. Theconversion of the basic design to land-plane con­figuration entailed the removal of the planing hull,which allowed the engine to be located at the top ofthe upswept nose rather than in the ugly upwardextension of the Delphin's nose. The undercarriagemain unit consisted of a pair of single wheelscarried on short stub legs projecting almost hor­izontally from the lower fuselage, thus keeping thelower fuselage within inches of the ground.

The passenger cabin was located in the deepestportion of the fuselage, under the strut-bracedhigh-set monoplane wing, and contained two seatsfacing forward, and another pair facing aft. Thepilot's cockpit, of the conventional open type, wasnormally located ahead of the wing, but at leastone instance is known of its location behind thewing. The powerplant consisted of a single l85-hpBMW IlIa, though this engine's altitude perform­ance was in contravention of the limitations placedon German aircraft, and was occasionally replacedby a l80-hp BMW III. One important feature ofthe Komet I was its very large wing which had aconstant chord of 3 m (9 ft 10 in) representing one­third of the aircraft's overall length.

The Soviet Union bought one Komet and theSwiss operator Ad Astra Aero employed two suchaircraft, but most of the limited production total,the number of which is uncertain, were used byDeutsche Luft-Reederei. When Deutsche Luft­Reederei became part of Deutscher Aero Lloyd in

34

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March 1924, the Komets passed to this new owner,and similarly to Deutsche Lufthansa in 1926.

Deutsche Lufthansa's two Komets were sup­plemented by a single Komet II. This variant firstappeared in 1922, and was powered by the 250-hpBMW IV. A year later another type, with the samedesignation, appeared with the 260-hp Rolls-RoyceFalcon. The Falcon-engined Komet II was used inColombia, Spain, the Ukraine and the USSR.Deutsche Lufthansa's Komets were subsequentlyupgraded to Komet II standard, remaining inservice until 1928 on scheduled services, and until1930 for excursion and charter work. The KometIII first flew in December 1924 and, despite itsname, was in fact the land-plane equivalent of theDelphin III flying boat.

Do C III Komet II

Type: short-range transportMaker: ZeppelinwerkDornier Lindau GmbHSpan: 17 m (55 ft 91/4 in)Length: 10.3 m (33 ft 91/2 in)Height: not availableWing area: 50 m2 (538 sq ft)Weight: maximum 2200 kg(4850 Ib); empty 1500 kg(33071b)Powerplant: one 250-hpBMW IV 6-cylinder inlinewater-cooled enginePerformance: cruising speed135 km/h (84 mph) at sealevel; range approx 500 km(311 miles)Payload: seats for up to 4passengersCrew: 1Production: not available

Top: The Komet III fittedwith a four-blade propellerFar left: A Komet I is readiedfor a flight from Berlin toLondon. At the time, thisaircraft was described asbeing 'as luxurious as anAmerican parlor car', anespecially comfortablerailway coachLeft: A Komet II about totouch down

Merkur, DornierFIRST FLIGHT 1925

~\

•• --- ' I

-'.~

DoBMerkur

Above left: A float-equippedMerkur, almostindistinguishable from theDornier Komet I IILeft: An up-engined Merkurwith a four-blade propellerBelow: A Merkur in the liveryofDeruluft. This Russo­German airline began aBerlin-K6nigsberg-Riga­Moscow service usingMerkurs in July 1927

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Dornier WerkeGmbH; KawasakiSpan: 19.6 m (64ft 3V2 in)Length: 12.5m (41 ft)Height: not availableWing area: 62 m2 (667 sq ft)Weight: maximum 3600 kg(7936Ib); empty 2100kg(4629Ib)Powerplant: one 600-hpBMW VI water-cooled V-12enginePerformance: cruising speed180 km/h (112 mph); rangenot availablePayload: seats for up to 6passengersCrew: I to2Production: 70

I N December 1924 Dornier had flown its KometIII light transport as the land-plane equivalent

of the Delphin III flying boat. With accommo­dation for six passengers, a crew of one or two, andthe possibility of using anyone of several engines(it was at first offered with the 360-hp Rolls-RoyceEagle IX, 400-hp Liberty 12, or 450-hp NapierLion), it was immediately attractive to airlines.Like the earlier Komet and Komet II, it had alarge wing without taper in thickness or chord,which ensured a low landing speed, and wasimmensely strong as its structure was of steel andduralumin. Several European airlines bought theKomet III, and the type was also built underlicence in Japan by Kawasaki.

Then on February 10, 1925 Dornier flew the firstMerkur: powered by the 600-hp BMW VI, andhaving a span ofl9.6 m (64ft 3Y2 in) compared withthe Komet Ill's 19m (62ft 4in), the Do B Merkurwas virtually indistinguishable from the KometIII. The position was exacerbated when KometIlls were later re-engined first with the 450-hpBMW IV and later with the 600-hp BMW VIinlines and then redesignated Merkur.

The largest single user of the Komet III andMerkur was Deutsche Lufthansa, which had some36 of the two types, with at least seven of themconversions of the Komet III into Merkur. Of theDeutsche Lufthansa aircraft, about 22 were usedon the night service part of the Berlin to Moscowroute, running between Berlin and Konigsberg.Deruluft, the Russo-German operator, used at leastnine of the type, all ex-Deutsche Lufthansa air­craft, in the Moscow area.

Perhaps the most significant single flight madeby the type was one of some 100 air hours fromZurich to Cape Town between December 7, 1926and February 21, 1927, by a Swiss Merkur. Flownby Walter Mittelholzer and carrying two passen­gers, the aircraft was fitted with twin floats for theflight. Float-equipped Merkurs were also popularin South America.

The two final versions of the design were the DoB Bal, with greater take-off weight, and the Do BBal 2 up-engined model with the 640-hp BMWVlu. This latter had a maximum take-off weight of4100 kg (90391b) and a cruising speed of 193 km/h(118 mph), thus trading increased payload againstslightly reduced cruising speed compared with thebasic Merkur.

-RR-34

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. 35

W34,]unkersFIRST FLIGHT 1926

T HE family relationship of the Junkers W33and W34, both of which appeared in 1926,

with the classic F13 of 1919 is attested by the factthat the two later aircraft were built on the F13production line, using the samejigs. The span of allthree aircraft was the same, at 17.75 m (58 ft 2% in).

The W33 and W34 were basically the sameaircraft with the exception of the engines, theformer being powered by the Junkers L 5 inline,rated at 310 hp; and the latter initially by theGnome-Rhone Jupiter VI radial, rated at 420 hp.Later powerplants included the 540-hp SiemensSh 20 (Jupiter) and the 600-hp BMW Hornet.

The first W33 was produced by modifying anF13, the type it was designed to supplement with agreater load-carrying capability, thanks mainly tothe use of a more powerful engine. The fuselagewas aerodynamically superior to that of the F13,being slightly longer and lacking the marked dorsalhump of the F13. Early models of both the W33and W34 had an open cockpit and lacked anywindows in the fuselage, but later models had awindow in the fuselage, and examples intended forpassenger operations had additional windows.

It was the W34 that was almost invariably usedfor passenger operations. Both types could carrysix passengers, however, or an alternative load inthe cabin, which had a volume of4.8 m3 (169cu ft).

Both models could be operated as ski-planes ortwin-float seaplanes, the fitting of the floats addingsome 30cm (llo/sin) to the 1O.5m (34ft 5Y2in)length of the W33, and 73 cm (2 ft 4% in) to the1O.27m (33ft 8Y4in) of the W34.Production of theW33 was in some 30 versions, while the W34 wasproduced in more than 70 variants.

Both types made some great flights. The W33 inparticular is notable for a world endurance recordof 52 hours 23 min on August 3-5, 1927 and thefirst non-stop crossing of the North Atlantic fromeast to west in 37 hours on April 12-13, 1928between Baldonnel near Dublin in Ireland toGreenly Island off Labrador.

The W33 and W34 played a key part in con­solidating the efforts of the Fl3 in opening up airtransport in remote areas of the world, such asSouth America's less accessible regions. Pro­duction of the W34 ended in Germany during 1934but over 900 served with the Luftwaffe and Luft­dienst during World War II and the last oper­ational W34 was retired in September 1962.

36

Top: AJunkers W34floatplane. One such aircraftin Canada made its last flightin 1962 and because of thisremarkable service period wasplaced in a museumAbove: One of the W34soperated by Lufthansa in thelate 1930s

W34he

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: JunkersFlugzeugwerke AGSpan: 18.48 m (60 ft 7V2 in)Length: 10.27m (33ft8V4in)Height: 3.58 m (II ft 7 in)Wing area: 44 m 2 (474 sq ft)Weight: maximum 3200 kg(7055Ib); empty 1700kg(3748Ib)Powerp1ant: one 660-hpBMW 132A 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginePerformance: cruising speed233 km/h (145 mph); range900 km (559 miles)J>.;ty1oad: 4.8m3 (169cuft);seats for 6 passengersCrew: 2Production: 1791 (W34)

S36, JunkersFIRST FLIGHT 1927

T HE Junkers S36 was produced ostensibly as amailplane, but was merely a subterfuge for the

development of the military aircraft which the 1919Treaty of Versailles had forbidden Germany tobuild. The most difficult task faced by the Germanplanners was the building of the flying hardwareinto which weapons, provided especially by theSoviet Union and Sweden among other countries,could later be added. The restrictions on Ger­many's aircraft production were lifted somewhat in1926, and this helped the country to developmilitary aircraft at home and abroad, the latter bymeans of subsidiary companies closely controlledby the parent organizations in Germany.

It was this political and economic situationwhich led, therefore, to the development of the S36'mailplane' (S standing for Spezial or special, inmuch the same way as other Junkers aircraft weredesignated by numbers prefixed by a letter, Fstanding for Flugzeug or aircraft, G for Grossflugzeugor large aircraft; and W for Wasserflugzeug orseaplane).

Designed in 1926, the S36 appeared in 1927, andit is hard to see how the charade of the type as amailplane could have been entertained with anyseriousness. With its three open cockpits along theupper surface of the typically Junkers fuselage, theS36 was clearly a military aircraft, the nose anddorsal cockpits obviously being unsuitable for anypurpose other than as gunner's positions. Afterearly flight trials the aircraft reappeared as theprototype K37 light bomber (K standing forKampfflugzeug or combat aircraft). In this form theS36 had been updated with more extensive glazingand modified vertical tail surfaces. Another suchaircraft was built by the Junkers subsidiary inSweden, A B Flygindustri, and both machines wereexhaustively tested in their military role at theGermany facility at Lipetsk in the Soviet Union. In1933 the first K37 was handed over to the Germanair force as a bomber trainer, being revised for thisrole with an enclosed pilot's cockpit in an upperfuselage of more pronounced hump.

The Swedish-built model was sold to Japan,which produced an up-engined bomber variant inthree forms: the Kawasaki Ki-1, the Mitsubishi Ki­2-1 and the Mitsubishi Ki-2-II. Production inJapan reached 174 examples. Technically, the S36is of interest as the first Junkers type with aretractable ,undercarriage.

•

S36

Type: mailplaneMaker: JunkersFlugzeugwerke A G; A BFlygindustriSpan: 21.35m (70ft OI/zin)Length: 11.45m (37ft 7in)Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)Wing area: 54.25 mZ

(584sq ft)Weight: maximum 4300 kg(9480 Ib); empty 2570 kg(5666Ib)Powerplant: two 480-hpBristol Jupiter 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 245 km/h (152 mph);range 950 km (590 miles)Payload: 500 kg (1102Ib)Crew: 2 to 6Production: 2

Below: The Junkers S36D-1252 which was eventuallytransferred to the Luftwaffefor bomber training in 1933Bottom: The S36 as amailplane. With its opencockpits and typical Junkersfuselage, it looks every inch amilitary aircraft

37

Argosy, Armstrong WhitworthFIRST FLIGHT 1926

Left: Armstrong WhitworthArgosy I City ofGlasgow flyingnear Croydon in 1927

T HE Argosy was the first civil aircraft designedby Armstrong Whitworth, and was produced

in response to an Imperial Airways requirement fora multi-engined airliner. Formed in April 1924,Imperial Airways had inherited from its prede­cessor airlines a number of single-engined typeswith relatively poor safety records. This safetyrecord, coupled with the need of the new airline tooperate routes over inhospitable terrain, led Impe­rial Airways to revive a 1922 requirement for a'Middle Eastern' airliner able to fly 805 km(500 miles) against a 48-km/h (30-mph) headwind.Issued in 1925, this requirement led to the Argosy,which Imperial Airways considered suitable for itsEuropean routes and so ordered two examples, athird being ordered by the Air Ministry.

As it appeared at the time of its first flight onMarch 16, 1926, the initial Argosy reflected thedegree to which British airliner design had fallenbehind that of European countries. The three 385­hp Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar III direct-driveradials were uncowled, the fuselage was a blockystructure of steel tube covered with fabric, the largebiplane wings were, with the exception of thecentre section, built of wood and covered withfabric, and the empennage consisted of biplanehorizontal and triple vertical surfaces. The contrastwith contemporaries such as the Junkers W33 andFokker F.VIIa/3m is most revealing.

Nevertheless, Imperial Airways did not have tocompete in economic terms with European airlines,and the Argosy was just what was needed, with itshigh safety factor and capacity for 20 passengers.The first three aircraft, later designated Argosy MkIs, entered service in August and September 1926and March 1927, and proved very popular. Withpassenger capacity reduced to 18, there was roomfor a bar at the rear of the cabin, to run which asteward was carried. The type's success is reflectedin the fact that before the Argosy entered service,Imperial Airways had carried only 40% morepassengers than its French rival on the prestigeroute between London and Paris, this figure risingto 100°!c-, after the type's introduction. Ton-milecosts were also only two-thirds of those of theHandley Page W /10 and two-fifths of those of deHavilland DH.34.

In 1928 Imperial Airways ordered another threeArgosys, this figure soon being raised to four. Theaircraft were delivered in May, June, July and

August 1929, and were of the improved Argosy MkII type, with more powerful Jaguar IVA gearedengines in Townend ring cowlings, Handley Pageleading-edge slats on the upper wings to improvelow-speed handling, increased fuel capacity, maxi­mum passenger capacity of 28, and servo-operatedailerons. The Townend rings were removed inservice, but nonetheless the Argosy Mk II couldoperate at higher weights than its predecessor, andhad 306 km (190 miles) more range making a totalof837km (520 miles).

The Argosy Mk I aircraft were re-engined withJ aguar IVA radials, with the intention that they beused for Middle Eastern mail routes. ThreeArgosys crashed, and the others were scrapped in1935 and 1936.

Q

Argosy Mk II

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: ArmstrongWhitworth Aircraft LtdSpan: 27.53m (90ft4in)Length: 20.42 m (67 ft)Height: 6.1 m (20 ft)Wing area: 174.01 m2

(1873 sq ft)Weight: maximum 8709 kg(19200 Ib); empty 5484 kg(12 090 Ib)Powerplant: three 41O-hpArmstrong SiddeleyJaguarIVA 14-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed153 km/h (95 mph); range837 km (520 miles)Payload: 2268 kg (5000Ib);seats for up to 28 passengersCrew: 2Production: 4

DH.66 Hercules, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1926

T HE de Havilland DH.66 Hercules wasdesigned at about the same time as the Arm­

strong Whitworth Argosy, and displayed manysimilarities to the other machine in basic configura­tion, though the general impression left by the deHavilland aircraft was of a much lighter and moregraceful design than that of the Armstrong Whit­worth. The origins of the DH.66 lay in the AirMinistry's 1925 agreement to pay Imperial Air­ways a subsidy of £500000 per year to take over theRoyal Air Force's mail route from Cairo in Egyptto Karachi in India. Imperial Airways thus issueda requirement for a multi-engined aircraft suitablefor this task of fortnightly freight, mail and pas­senger flights across inhospitable territory.

De Havilland's reply was the DH.66: a largebiplane powered by three 420-hp BristolJupiter VIradials, with wings of wooden construction and afuselage built of steel tube, containing two largeplywood boxes. Th..: forward of the two containedseats for seven passengers, the radio o~erator andhis equipment, and stowage for 13.2 m (465 cu ft)of mail; the rear comprised 4.4m3 (155cuft) ofbaggage volume. The design appeared eminentlysuitable, and five of the type were ordered, the firstflying on September 30, 1926. The new aircraft wasnamed Hercules, and in December 1926 it set offfor Cairo where the eastbound service was inaugu­rated on January 12, 1927.

Up to 1929 the air-mail service operated onlybetween Cairo and Basra at the head of the PersianGulf, but in April of that year it was extended toKarachi, and to Jodhpur and Delhi later in 1929.

In 1928 West Australian Airways had beenawarded the mail and passenger route betweenPerth and Adelaide. The airline not unnaturallyselected the DH.66 as its prime aircraft, andordered four modified examples with an enclosedpilot's cockpit, accommodation for 14 passengersand a reduced mail load. The first aircraft wasready in March 1929 and entered service inAustralia on June 2, 1929.

West Australian Airways' fourth DH.66 wassold to Imperial Airways inJuly 1930 to help makeup for operational attrition. Imperial Airways hadalready ordered two more DH.66s, but the combi­nation of increased demand and the loss of twoaircraft necessitated Imperial Airways' approachto West Australian Airways.

A third DH.66 was lost on April 19, 1931 near

Kupang (formerly Koepang) on the island ofTimor while on the first experimental mail flightlinking Croydon with Melbourne (the mail wasrescued and flown to its destination by CharlesKingsford Smith in his celebrated Fokker tri-motorSouthern Cross). A second Australian aircraft wassold to Imperial Airways in 1931, the Britishairline being short of aircraft with the opening of itsroute to Cape Town from Croydon. The DH.66ssoldiered on in British service until 1935, whenanother crashed. Two were then scrapped, and theother three sold to the South African air force. Thetwo Australian DH.66s were sold to Stephens

. Aviation of New Guinea in 1936 to operate a ferryservice between Lae and Wau. One crashed. andthe other was destroyed by the Japanese.

DH.66

Type: medium-rangepassenger and freighttransportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCo LtdSpan: 24.23 m (79 ft 6 in)Length: 16.92 m (55 fl6 in)Height: 5.56 m (18 tt 3 in)Wing area: 143.72m2

(1547 sq ft)Weight: maximum 7103 kg(15660 lb); empty 4110 kg(9060Ib)Powerplant: three 420-hpBristol Jupiter VI 9-cylinderair-cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed177 km/h (110 mph); range'not availablePayload: 13.12m3 (465 cu ft);seats for up to 14 passengersand reduced mailCrew: 3Production: 11

Top: The massive 5.56-m(18 ft 3-in) biplane tail unitof the DH.66 Hercules. Thename Hercules ~as chosen ina competition run by A1eccanoMagazine in 1926 and waswon by EF Hope-Jones ofEton CollegeLeft: The DH.66 HerculesCity ofCairo which crashednear Koepang, Timor onApril 19, 1931

39

G31 ,JunkersFIRST FLIGHT 1926

payload 1000km (621 miles)Payload: 2500kg (5511Ib);seats for up to 15 passengersCrew: 3Production: 13

Above: AJunkers G31ordered by the Bulolo GoldDredging company in NewGuinea. The aircraft could beloaded through a dorsal hatchLeft: Engine overhaul for aG31 at the Lufthansamaintenance centre at Berlin­Staaken airportBottom: The interior of a G31showing seats and sleepingberths

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: JunkersFlugzeugwerke AGSpan: 30.3 m (99 ft 5 in)Length: 17.28m (56ft8V4in)Height: not availableWing area: 102 m2

(1098 sq ft)Weight: maximum 8500 kg(18 739Ib); empty 5000 kg(1l023Ib)Powerplant: three 525-hpBMW Hornet 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed170km/h (106mph); rangewith a 1005-kg (2216-lb)

G3lfo

T HE Junkers G31 appeared in 1926 as a largerand heavier counterpart to the G24 of 1925,

itself a development of the G23 of 1924. Both ofthese tri-motors were of typical Junkers conceptand construction, available as float seaplanes, andboth of importance in the development of airtransport during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Although basically similar to the G23 and G24,the G31 had twin vertical tail surfaces (laterconnected by an upper tailplane), and accommo­dation for 15 passengers in place of the nine carriedin the two earlier aircraft. The first G31 retained anopen cockpit, and power was provided by a trio of310-hp Junkers L 5 inline engines. During 1927these were replaced by 450-hp Gnome-Rhone(Bristol) Jupiter radials, and it was to be radialswhich powered the production G31s, either theJupiter (usually licence-built by Siemens) or thePratt & Whitney Hornet (usually licence-built byBMW) being used.

With extra fuselage length available, Junkerswere able to provide compartmentalized seating.In the front cabin were five seats, three facingforward and the other two aft; in the centre cabin~ere six seats, with two facing pairs on the rightside and two facing single seats to the left of theaisle and in the rear cabin were the entrance dooron the left and two facing pairs of seats on the right.This basic seating plan could be converted to fivesleeper berths, and another five berths could belowered from the cabin walls for an upper tier.

European customers for the G31 were Deutsche~ufthansa, which operated nine, andOsterreichische Luftverkehr with one. DeutscheLufthansa operated the aircraft between 1928 and1936; the first route was from Berlin to London.

The last three G31s were ordered by the BuloloGold Dredging company (two aircraft for use inNew Guinea) and Guinea Airways. These aircraftwere all specially modified for operations in theheavy freight role in New Guinea, a role theyfulfilled most ably until World War II. As with thepassenger G31s, these three aircraft were some 1m(3 ft 3% in) longer than the prototype, and had acargo hold measuring 7.3 m (23 ft 11 V2 in) in length,1.95m (6ft 4%in) in width and l.75m (5ft 9in) inheight; loading was effected through a dorsal hatch3.6m (11 ft 9%in) in length and 1.52·m (5ft) wide.The fact that this hatch had a domed cover added300 mm (11 o/s in) to the height of the hold.

40

Romar, RohrbachFIRST FLIGHT 1928

T HE Rohrbach Romar (Rohrbach Marine) wasdeveloped in 1927 as a three-engined flying

boat to give Deutsche Lufthansa a transatlanticcapability. The main design parameters of theRomar, which succeeded the unsuccessful Roccoflying boat, were a payload of 1100 kg (2425Ib) tobe carried over a range of 4000 km (2486 miles).

The first Romar flew on August 7, 1928, anddisplayed the extremely advanced design and con­struction philosophy typical of Rohrbach. Thehigh-set wing was an all-metal cantilever structurebased on a wide-chord box spar, the leading- andtrailing-edge sections being bolted to this spar tomake the whole wing watertight. Of considerableroot depth, the wing had pronounced taper in boththickness and chord. The deep duralumin-coveredfuselage had a single-step planing bottom of sharpV shape. In the fashion of contemporary flyingboats, the Romar's three 500-hp BMW VI inlineengines were located on pylons above the wing anddrove pusher propellers. The central engine wasplaced farther forward than the two flanking units.

In the nose of the hull was the compartment forthe navigator and radio operator; behind this wasthe enclosed pilot's cockpit and engineer's station;in the centre of the hull was the passenger accom­modation, consisting of eight- and four-seat com­partments separated by the lavatory.

The first two Romars were delivered to DeutscheLufthansa in 1929, but were found to be unsuitablefor open-ocean operations. They were thereforeused for services in the Baltic, with their base atTravemiinde. The two Romars were followed intoservice by the sole civil Romar II, which waspowered by three 750-hp BMW VIuz V-12s: thisallowed a maximurn take-off weight some 1200 kg(2646Ib) greater than the Romars'18500kg(40 785Ib), and improved cruising speed verymarginally. The greatest improvements of theRomar II compared with the Romars, however,were an increase in passenger capacity from 12 to16 (and at times to 20), and an increase in range of2350 km (1460 miles). The generally poor type waswithdrawn from airline service in 1933.

The fourth boat of the Romar type was amilitary version of the Romar II delivered to theFrench navy as part ofGermany's war reparations.

The main significance of the Romar was itsextremely advanced structure, similar to that ofaircraft 15 years later.

Left: Military visitorsexamine a Rohrbach Romarat Tempelhofairfield BerlinBottom: The Romar in servicewith Lufthansa in 1929 attheir Baltic base atTravemiinde

RomarII

Type: long-range transportflying boatMaker: Rohrbach-Metall­Flugzeugbau GmbHSpan: 36.9m (121 ft I in)Length: 22 m (72 ft 2 in)Height: not availableWing area: 170 m2

(1830sq ft)Weight: maximum 19700 kg(4H31Ib); empty 11625kg(25628Ib)Powerplant: three 750-hpBMW Vluz water-cooledV-12 enginesPerformance: cruising speed178km/h (111 mph); range4350 km (2700 miles)Payload: 1080 kg (2380Ib);seats for up to 20 passengersCrew: 4Production: 2 (Romar), I(Romar II)

Tri-Motor, FordFIRST FLIGHT 1926

A MONG the classic airliners of the 1920s andrtearly 1930s the great Ford Tri-Motors(Models 4-AT and 5-AT) must inevitably have animportant place. The type served for more than 40years as an effective transport, at first with the bigUS airlines and then with gradually more remoteoperators in less accessible parts of the world.

In August 1925 Stout Metal was bought by theFord Motor Company. Stout accordingly set aboutdeveloping a three-engined version of his 2"ATmailplane as the 3-AT. However, after a row,Stout's dismissal, and a drastic design revisionthere emerged for its first flight on June 11, 1926the Ford 4-AT, at the time the largest civil aircraftproduced in the United States. Powered by three200-hp Wright Whirlwind J4 radials, the initial4-AT set the pattern for later examples.

The initial 4-AT-A, of which 14 were built, wasclosely similar, with accommod~tionfor two crewin the open cockpit, and up to eight passengers inan enclosed cabin. The type was an immediatesuccess, entering service with the Ford Motor airservice on August 2, 1926.

In 1927 there appeared the 4-AT-B with 220-hpWhirlwind J5 radials, accommodation for 12 pass­engers, span increased from 22.53 m (73 ft 11 in) to22.56 m (74ft), and increased operating weights.Production of the model reached 35, and the single4-AT-C was identical with the exception that thenose engine was a 400-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp.The three 4-AT-Ds were all different: one hadthree 200-hp Whirlwind J4s and features of the 5­AT-A's wing; the second had two 220-hp Whirl­windJ5s and one 300-hp WhirlwindJ6-9, enablingthe type to carry 15 passengers; and the third hadthree 300-hp WhirlwindJ6 radials. There followed24 4-AT-Es, with three 300-hp WhirlwindJ6s anddetail improvements. The single 4-AT-F wasalmost identical.

Already in production was the 4-AT's mainvariant, the 5-AT: this had a wing spanning23.72 m (77 ft 10 in), an enlarged cabin for 13passengers, and power increased by the fitting ofthree 420-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp radials. Onlythree of this type, the 5-AT-A, were built in 1928before production switched in 1929 to the 5-AT-Bwith seating for 15 and three 420-hp Wasp C-l orSC-l radials (42 produced). This was followed bythe 5-AT-C with seating for 17 (48 produced), andfinally by the 5-AT-D with increased weights andthree 450-hp Wasps (24 produced).

This covers only the main variants of the type,which was used with wheel, s1.i, or float under­carriages and fitted with a considerable variety ofengines. They were used for purposes as diverse aspassenger carrying, freighting, exploration, crop­spraying, fire-fighting, aerial tanker, advertising,and paratrooping. Later variants included the6-AT-A, 7-AT-A, 9-AT, ll-AT, l2-A, 13-A andl4-A civil models, plus a number of militaryderivatives. The only other civil model produced inquantities of more than one was the 6-AT, of whichfour were produced with 300-hp Whirlwind J6radials instead of the Wasps of the 5-AT-C fromwhich the model was derived. Development endedin 1932; however examples are still in service in theUnited States and South America.AC)

5-AT

4-AT·E

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Ford Motor CoSpan: 22.56 m (74ft)Length: 15.19m (49ft lOin)Height: 3.58 m (11 ft 9 in)Wing area: 72.93 m2

(785 sq ft)Weight: maximum 4595 kg(10 1301b); empty 2948 kg(65001b)Powerplant: three 300-hpWright R-975 WhirlwindJ69-cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed172 km/h (107 mph); range917 km (570 miles) .Payload: 782kg (l7251b);seats for up to 11 passengersCrew: 2Production: 78 (4-AT), 117(5-AT), 10 miscellaneous

)

)

5-AT-D

I Right tailplane2 Right elevator3 Rudder4 Tail navigation light5 Rudder horn balance6 Tailplane bracing wire7 Tailfin8 Corrugated tailplane skins9 Elevator hinge control

10 Tailplane bracing strut11 Tailwheel shock absorber12 Tailwheel13 Tailplane incidence screw jack14 Fin attachment15 Rear fuselage construction16 Left elevator17 Left tailpJane18 Incidence control shaft19 Fuselage top decking20 Corrugated fuselage skins21 Tail control cable pulleys22 Flare dispenser23 Wash basin

24 S,ep25 Cabin door:l6 Toilet compartment27 Fire e.xtinguisher28 Rear cabin seating29 Cabin roofluggage racks30 Cabin windows31 Fuselage strut bracing construction32 Bottom longeron33 Right mainwheel34 Shock absorber leg strut~5 Right Pran & Whitney ''''asp engine36 Two-bladed propeller37 NACA cowling ring38 Engine cooling air shutters39 Engine mounting framework40 Oil tank41 Exhaust pipe42 Engine cowling fairing43 Engine pylon struts44 Centre wing panel45 Wing corrugated skins46 Spar attachment joints47 Drop-down mail and baggage

lockers

48 Outer wing panel spars49 "\ling spar strut bracing50 Aileron hinge control51 Right aileron52 Wing rib bracing53 vVingtip construction54 Right navigation light55 Reinforced leading edge56 Aileron cable pulley57 Landing and taxi lamp58 Corrugated leading-edge skin59 Outer wing panel attachment rib60 Fuel tanks61 Cabin rooffairing62 Fuselage main frame63 Passenger seats64 Right undercarriage swing axle65 Cabin floor66 Cabin heater duct fairing67 Centre engine exhaust pipe68 Airvents69 Battery70 External control cables71 Co-pilot's seat72 Cockpit side windows

73 Instrument panel74 Control column hand-wheel75 Cockpit roofwindows76 Sliding windscreen panel77 ''\!indscreen frame78 Centre engine fairing air louvres79 Oil tank80 Centre engine mouncing framework81 Rudder pedals82 Exhaust collector ring83 Centre Pratt & ,.vhitney Wasp

radial engine84 Engine cooling air shuners85 Two~bladed propeller86 Left Pratt & vVhirney 'Wasp engine87 NACA cowling ring88 Engine pylon fairing89 Left landing and taxi lamp90 Reinforced leading edge91 Instrument pi tat head92 Left wing tip93 Left navigation light94 Outer wing panel construction95 Aileron hinge control

Above left: The preserved5-AT-C Ford Tri-MotorKansas ClipperAbove: One of the 11 Tri­Motors operated by TAT inthe USA. The Tri-Motor wasknown affectionately as the'Tin Lizzie' or 'Tin Goose'. Itsurvived nearly 40 years ofservice and some very roughhandling

43

Vega, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1927

A NEAR contemporary of the Ford 4-AT Tri­Motor, the Lockheed Vega of 1927 was an

entirely different aircraft with, at the same time,features markedly in advance or in arrears of the4-AT. For whereas the Ford aircraft had theadvanced features of a multi-engine powerplantand all-metal construction, the graceful Vegamarked the limits of wooden design and single­engined performance, but was better streamlinedthan almost all contemporary aircraft.

It was produced in six months and for minimalcost; it first flew onJuly 4, 1927, and was bought asa racing aircraft. Despite its loss in a race fromCalifornia to Hawaii, the type dearly met therequirements of smaller airlines: with four passen­gers and a pilot, the Vega Model 1 could reach2l7km/h (135mph) on the 220 hp of its WrightWhirlwindJ5. Some 28 Vega Is were built, and ithas been estimated that the seat-mile costs of theVega and 4-AT were almost the same, despite theVega's smaller capacity, thanks to its greater speedand economy.

The Vega entered airline service in September1928, and was soon joined by the improved VegaModel 5, of which 35 were built and another sevenconverted from other models. The Vega Model 5was dimensionally identical to its predecessor, butwas powered by the 450-hp Pratt & Whitney WaspB, giving a maximum speed of266 km/h (165 mph)compared with the Ford 5-AT-C's 217 km/h(135mph). Five Vega Model 5s were fitted asftoatplanes, two were converted into six-seaters forPan American, and nine were produced as Vega

Model 5As for employment in the executive role.Next to appear, paradoxically, was the Vega

Model 2, a five-seater powered by the 300-hpWhirlwind J6. Five of this model were built, whilea sixth was converted from a Vega Modell. Onlyone Vega Model 2A, with accommodation for sixpassengers, was built. The most celebrated markwas the Vega Model 5B, however: with passengerseating for six and power provided by the 450-hpWasp C, this model reached a production total of29, while three landplane and two floatplaneconversions from earlier models were made.

Six Vega Model 5Cs were built, and another 27were converted to this standard. The only othervariant was the Detroit Aircraft Corporation DL-l,which was a Vega with a duralumin fuselage.

DL-l

Vega Model 5

Type: light transportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 12.5m (41 ft)Length: 8.38 m (27 ft 6 in)Height: 3.73 m (12 ft 3 in)Wing area: 25.55 m 2

(275sq ft)Weight: maximum 1829 kg(4033Ib); empty 1130 kg(2492Ib)Powerplant: one 450-hpPratt & Whitney Wasp B 9-

Below: A Lockheed VegaModel DL-I of BraniffAirways. Despite theirreputation as racing aircraftand record breakers, Vegaswere operated with somesuccess by about three dozenUS domestic airlines

cylinder air-cooled radialenginePerformance: maximumspeed 266 km/h (165 mph);range approx 1127 km(700 miles)Payload: seats for up to 4passengersCrew: 1Production: 128 (all models)

Express, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1928

Left: The Lockheed AirExpress was primarily a mailcarrier and was a similaraircraft to the Lockheed Vega

Air Express

Type: mail and passengertransportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 12.95 m (42 ft 6 in)Length: 8,38 m (27 ft 6 in)Height: 2,55 m (8 ft 41/2 in)Wing area: 20.25 m"(288 sq ft)Weight: maximum 1984 kg(4375Ib); empty 1149 kg(2533 Ib)Powerplant: one 450-hpPratt & Whitney R-1340Wasp 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginePerformance: maximumspeed 269 km/h (167 mph);range not availablePayload: 454 kg (1000 Ib);seats for up to 6 passengersCrew: IProduction: 8

;.

;\ LTHOUGH it had not been designed as anrtairliner, the Lockheed Vega enjoyed a success­ful career in this capacity as a result of itsperformance and the fact that it was the rightaircraft at the right time when the US airlinebusiness began to burgeon in the late 1920s.However, the passing of the Air Commerce Act in1926 obviously presaged very considerable growthin the near future, and Lockheed set about prepar­ing an aircraft to take advantage of this. Theaircraft was the Air Express Model 3, based on theVega designed by John K Northrop, but awarded adifferent Approved Type Certificate on November1,1929. Development of the Express began late in1927, and was designed specifically to meet therequirements of Western Air Express on the air­mail route between Salt Lake City and LosAngeles. The same basic plywood monocoquefuselage and cantilever wing as used in the Vegawere retained, but only with, significant changes:the enclosed pilot's position forward of the wingwas replaced by an open position just aft of thetrailing edge, and the high-set wing of the Vegagave way to a parasol wing on short struts raising itjust above the pilot's line of sight. The open cockpitwas designed to appeal to the current air-mailpilots, and this in turn necessitated Northrop'sadoption of a wing position some 45.7 em (18 in)higher than before to ensure foward and downwardvisibility. Payload was accommodated in a cabinunder the wing: up to 454 kg (1000 Ib) of mail orsix passengers, or a mixture of the two. Power forthe new type was provided by a 410-hp Pratt &

Whitney Wasp radial in a neat installation, thecylinders projecting through the sides of the well­faired nose.

The first Air Express was ready in the first partof 1928, and was extensively tested by the companyand Western Air Express. Six other Air Expresseswere built for airlines: two each for New York, Rio,& Buenos Aires Line (NYRBA) and Pan AmericanAirways, and one each for American Airways andTexas Air Transport. The last Air Express wasbuilt as a 'special' for an attempt on the New Yorkto Paris record by a woman, in this case LauraIngalls. Delays during 1931 put Miss Ingalls out ofthe running for the record, but in 1934 she made aclassic flight round South America in the AirExpress.

45

Boeing 40FIRST FLIGHT 1925

WITH its Mode140 of 1925, Boeing brought anew elegance and level of performance to

biplane design for civil aircraft. The origins of theBoeing 40 lay with the US government Post OfficeDepartment which issued a specification in 1925for an air-mail biplane to be powered by the 400-hpLiberty 12 V-12. The Model 40 first flew onJuly 7,1925, but further development of the type wasabandoned when the Post Office Department failedto order the Boeing 40 into production.

The whole airline situation in the US wasaltering, however, with the Contract Air Mail Act(Kelly Act) of 1925 and the Air Commerce Act of1926: the first meant the transfer of the air-mailservice from the POD to private operators, and thesecond formalized the legislative framework inwhich modern airlines could be established. Thenewly formed Boeing Air Transport had the rightaircraft in the Model 40, which Clair Egtvedt de­veloped into the remarkable Model 40A. Poweredby the 420-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial, theModel 40A could carry the same mail load as itscompetitors but with the additional advantage thattwo passengers could also be accommodated in thecompletely redesigned fuselage, now of steel-tuberather than ofwooden construction. Able to take pas­senger fares into account, Boeing could thus makethe lowest air-mail tender possible on the Chicagoto San Francisco route and got the contract.

The first production Model40A flew on May 20,1927, and Boeing Air Transport began serviceswith the type on July 1, 1927. Boeing Air Trans­port operated 24 of the 25 Model 40As built, thelast going to Pratt & Whitney as an engine testbed.This led to the appearance of the Model 40B inearly 1928: the 19 surviving Model 40As wereconverted to the new standard, with 525-hp Pratt& Whi tney Hornet radial. The Model 40B hadslightly higher weights and performance. Two ofthese aircraft were also modified to have tandemcockpits with dual controls.

The Boeing 40C appeared in the middle of 1928,differing from its predecessors in having seating forfour passengers, and power provided by a 450-hpWasp. Production totalled ten, nine going toPacific Air Transport and the last to National ParkAirways. The final production variant was theModel 40B-4 (the earlier Model 40B thereuponbecoming the Model 40B-2) with seating for fourpassengers and powered by 525-hp Hornet.

'\.

C286~

~It'll -

~40A

Above: The novelty of airtravel is reflected in the facesof the passengers about totake off in this Boeing 40Below: A Boeing 40A carryingmail and four passengers onthe San Francisco-Chicagorun in 1930

Boeing 40B-4

Type: light transport andmailplaneMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 13.47 m (44 ft 21/4 in)Length: 10.12 m (33 ft 21/4 in)Height: 3.74m (12 ft 31/4 in)Wing area: 50.92 m2

(547 sq ft)Weight: maximum 2756 kg(6075Ib); empty 1688 kg(3722Ib)Powerplant: one 525-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet B 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginePerformance: cruising speed201 km/h (125 mph); range861 km (535 miles)Payload: 227 kg (500 Ib);seats for up to 4 passengersCrew: IProduction: I (Model 40),25 (Model40A), 43 (Model40B-4, including Canadian­built Model40H-4s)

F.XI, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1929

Left: A British-registeredFokker Universal, part of theSurrey Flying Sen-ices atCroydon in 1932_ G-EBUThad a varied career includingoperations in Africa andAustralia. A few FokkerF.XIs were built in Europe,but it waS mostly famed as aUS-built transport under thenames Universal and SuperUniversal

T HE Fokker F.XI was developed in 1928 tomeet the requirements of small airlines operat­

ing over short routes with a relatively low densityof traffic. In essence the F.XI was a cross betweentwo types produced by Fokker's American subsidi­ary, the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation: the Univer­sal of 1925 and the Super Universal of 1927. Thefuselage of the F. XI was typical of Fokker practicewith its steel-tube construction and fabric covering,but the wings were very similar to those designedby Robert Noorduyn for the Universal, being builtof wood in two halves, which were then bolted tothe upper longeron and braced by parallel struts tothe lower longeron.

The first F.XI was powered by the 240-hpLorraine 7Aa radial, and could carry up to fourpassengers and a crew of one or two. This aircraftfirst flew in early 1929 and was handed over to theSwiss operator Alpar after the completion of itsairworthiness test programme.

The only two other F.XIs built were ordered bythe Hungarian airline Malert, and differed fromthe Alpar aircraft in most details other thandimensions. Accommodation was provided for sixpassengers with two crew with power provided bythe 500-hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter VI radial.

The Universal, designed by Noorduyn for Atlan­tic Aircraftjust before it became Fokker Aircraft onSeptember 16, 1925, was one of the classic trans­port aircraft of the era, and 45 were built in threevariants, powered by the 200-hp Wright Whirl­wind J4, 220-hp Whirlwind J5 and 330-hp Whirl­wind J6. All carried a crew of one or two, plus up to

Universal

four passengers on individual staggered seats.Production of the Universal ended in 1931, but

by this time the Fokker Aircraft Corporation hadintroduced the Super Universal, which had firstappeared at the end of 1927 as the UniversalSpecial. This was essentially a scaled-up U niver­sal, with an enclosed pilot's cockpit, span increasedfrom l4.55m (47ft 9in) to l5.44m (50ft 7%in),maximum take-off weight improved from thel728kg (38l0Ib) oftheJ5-engined Universal to2390kg (5270Ib) of the Nakajima-built SuperUniversal powered by the 450-hp Bristol Jupiterradial. Passenger accommodation was raised to sixby lengthening the cabin. Production of the SuperUniversal reached 123, including 29 built in Japanand 14 in Canada.

-- n-

Super Universal

Type: short-range transportMaker: Atlantic AircraftCorporation; NakajimaAircraft CoSpan: 15.44m (50ft 7%in)Length: 1I.15m (36ft 7in)Height: 29.9 m (9 ft I in)Wing area: 34.37 m2

(370sq ft)Weight: maximum 2390 kg(52701b); empty 1475kg(32501b)Powerplant: one 450-hpNakajima-built BristolJupiter 9-cylinder radialenginePerformance: cruising speed190 km/h (118 mph); range1086 km (675 miles)Payload: seats for up to 6passengersCrew: I to 2PrOtluction: 123

Left: Engine and cockpi tarrangements on theUS-built F.Xls. From theleft is the Universal, withopen cockpit, headrest and aWright WhirlwindJ6; aSuper Universal with enclosedcockpit, reverse-slopewindscreen, and a Pratt &Whitney Wasp; a SuperUniversal with a Waspengine in a Townend ringand enclosed cockpi t

47

Boeing 80FIRST FLIGHT 1928

T HE success of the Boeing 40 on the routebetween Chicago and San Francisco prompted

Boeing Air Transport to reconsider the economicsof its route. Whereas the Boeing 40 had beenconceived as a mailplane able to carry passengersas a supplement, the growing demand for fast,comfortable air transport during the second half ofthe 1920s led Boeing to the conclusion that passen­gers should be the primary payload, with mail as asupplement. The Model 80, which made its initialflight in August 1928, was the result.

Construction was of mixed metal and alloy. Thefuselage as far aft as the rear of the passenger cabinwas of steel tubing, with aluminium tubing aft ofthis, while the wings were of duralumin. Seatingwas three abreast, with a pair of seats to the left ofthe aisle and a single seat to the r.ight, in four rows.At the rear of the cabin was a 'jump seat' for the airstewardess, a feature introduced with the Boeing80: the first such was Ellen Church, who made thefirst stewardess flight on May 15, 1930.

Production of the 80 was just four before it wassuperseded in production by the 80A, of which tenwere built during 1929. The three 41O-hp Pratt &Whitney Wasps were replaced by 525-hp Pratt &Whitney Hornets in low-drag NACA cowlings; thewings were revised, the vertical tail surfaces weremodified, and passenger accommodation wasincreased to 18 carried at a cruising speed of20lkm/h (125mph) in place of the 80's l85km/h(115 mph). All ten 80As were redesignated 80A-lsafter conversion to a mixed-capacity configuration,with seating for 12 passengers and space for 519 kg(1145Ib) offreight or mail. Auxiliary surfaces werealso added to supplement the standard fin andrudder, and fuel capacity was reduced.

Production of the 80A was originally to havebeen 12, but the last two examples were modifiedon the production line into different models. Thetwelfth aircraft became the single 80B, in which thenose was recontoured to provide an open pilot'scockpit with good rearward vision, following pilotcriticism of the enclosed cockpit of the 80 and 80A.Service familiarization convinced pilots of thebenefits of the enclosed cockpit, and the 80B wasreconverted to 80A standard. The eleventh 80Abecame the single Model 226, an executive aircraftfor the Standard Oil Company: seating for sixpassengers was provided, together with a lavatory,stove, refrigerator and de luxe furnishings.

48

Top left: The Boeing 80Awith its enclosed cockpit andearly pattern engine cowlingsTop: The 80B with opencockpit which was highenough for the crew to see tothe rear over the wingAbove: Loading fire-fightingequipment into a Boeing 80Aat Spokane Airport in August1935

Boeing80A

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 24.38 m (80 ft)Length: 17.22 m (56 ft 6 in)Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)Wing area: 113.34m2

(1220sq ft)Weight: maximum 7938 kg(17 500Ib); empty 4800 kg(10582Ib)Powerplant: three 525-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet B 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: maximumspeed 222km/h (138mph);range 740 km (460 miles)Payload: 407 kg (898Ib);seats for up to 18 passengersCrew: 2Production: 10

K-4, KalininFIRST FLIGHT 1928

Left: The prototype K-4 wasreported to have beenpowered by a 300-hp BMWVI engine but a 240-hpengine was standard for theproduction modelsBottom: The K-5 was a scaledup version of the K-4 and wasused by Dobrolet on itsservices within the USSR

K-4

APROLIFIC designer oflight transport aircraftin the time up to his arrest in 1938, Konstantin

Alekseevich Kalinin was an early adherent of theelliptical wing planform and careful streamlining,and these features mark most of the 16 aircraftdesigned by Kalinin up to 1938. Designed as afeederliner for the Ukrainian operator Ukrvoz­dukhput and the national carrier Dobrolet, the K-4appeared in 1928, and was reportedly powered inits prototype form by the 300-hp BMW VI V-12.The design capitalized on the best features of theearlier K-l, K-2 and K-3 light transports, whichwere strut-braced high-wing monoplanes withengines in the 170- to 240-hp range and able toaccommodate three or four passengers.

Russian aircraft design at the time was fairlyinnovative, and the K-4 reflected this. The wingswere of advanced elliptical planform and built ofalloy with a light alloy covering; the fuselage, onthe other hand, was of metal structure with metalskinning as far aft as the rear of the passengercompartment, with the tail section built of woodand covered with plywood and fabric. The pilot'scockpit, just under the wing leading edge, wasopen, but the extensively glazed passenger cabinfor four to six travellers was enclosed.

In production form the passenger variant wasnormally powered by the 240-hp BMW IV inline,though some of the ambulance variants appear tohave 290-hp M-6 V-8s (licence-built Hispano­Suizas) or 310-hp Junkers L 5 inlines.

Production of the K-4 was only on a limited scalecompared with that of its successor, the somewhat

larger K-5, of which about 260 seem to have beenbuilt between 1930 and 1934. Spanning 20.5 m(67 ft 3 in) compared with the K-4's 16.72 m (54ft10 in), the K-5 was essentially a scaled-up model ofthe earlier type, with a crew of two and accommo­dation for up to eight passengers. The prototypewas powered by a 525-hp M-15 radial (licence­built Bristol Jupiter), and may have been re­engined with a Pratt & Whitney Hornet of thesame power, but the engines favoured in pro­duction K-5s were the 500-hp M-17F or 480-hp M­22. Although an enclosed cockpit for the two crewwas provided, the wings reverted to the otherwiseobsolescent construction of wooden structure withfabric covering, though the planform of this andthe tailplane were the ellipses seen in the K-4.

Type: short-range transportMaker: K A Kalinin DesignBureauSpan: 16.72m (54ft lOin)Length: 11.35m (37ft2%in)Height: not availableWing area: 40 m2 (430'/2Sq ft)Weight: maximum 2400 kg(5291Ib); empty 1400 kg(3086Ib)Powerplant: one 240-hpBMW IV 6-cylinder water­cooled inline enginePerformance: cruising speed160km!h (99 mph); range notavailablePayload: seats for up to 6passengersCrew: IProduction: approx 22

(CCP - '14-7

49

Calcutta, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1928

S.8 Calcutta

Right: Short Calcutta City ojAlexandria with early enginesBottom: G-EBVG with TigerVI engines at Rochester in1935

Two more Calcuttas were already under con­struction for Imperial Airways, however, and thesixth example of the type had been ordered byFrance. The Calcutta eventually entered pro­duction in France as the Breguet Bre.53G Saigon,in an enlarged form of which two were built. Oneother Calcutta was built by Short for Breguet.

By 1932 the advent of larger boats allowedImperial Airways to redeploy its Calcuttas toroutes with less traffic, and the route betweenKhartoum and Kisumu in Africa became thetype's main responsibility. One was lost offAlexan­dria in December 1935. During 1936 the threesurviving aircraft became trainers, one being lost inJanuary 1937, another scrapped in the same year,and the last scrapped in 1939.

Type: medium-rangetransport flying boatMaker: Short Brothers LtdSpan: 28.35 m (93 ft)Length: 20,12m (66ft)Height: 7.18m (23ft6%in)Wing area: 169,55 m2

(1825 sq ft)Weight: maximum 10 206 kg(22500 Ib); empty 6280 kg(13845Ib)Powerplant: three 480-hpBristolJupiter IX 9-cylinderair-cooled radial enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 190km/h (1l8mph);range 1046 km (650 miles)Payload: seats for up to 15passengersCrew: 4Production: 7

A LTHOUGH the eventual establishment ofrt major air routes linking Great Britain withAustralia and South Africa had been conjecturedbefore World War I, it was in 1917 that the CivilAir Transport Committee was established to con­sider the prospects for civil aviation after the end ofthe Great War. There followed a period of uncer­tainty as the government vacillated over the ques­tion of whether or not the government itself shouldbecome involved in civil aviation directly or bymeans of subsidies.

The issue was resolved first by paying subsidiesto independent airlines, and then by the formationof Imperial Airways on April I, 1924. The newstate airline was faced with the need for rapid re­equipment for the routes it was to open to thesouth-east, towards India and Australasia, and tothe south, towards South Africa. Clearly multi­engined types would be needed to ensure safetyover inhospitable areas, and equally clearly therewas a demand for flying boats to operate overwater and areas with no airfields.

In 1926, therefore, the Air Council decided toorder two civil flying boats on behalf of ImperialAirways. These were to be derived from the ShortS.5 Singapore I military flying boat, and with thename Calcutta have three engines in place of theSingapore Is' two, but use the same general designand all-metal structure, with only the flying sur­faces covered in fabric.

The basic design was closely akin to that of theSingapore I, though the wings were of slightlygreater area, and the hull was both wider anddeeper. The three engines were 480-hp BristolJupiter IX radials located in the interplane gap onsteel struts and driving tractor propellers. Consid­eration of the need for operations away from basewas reflected in the surfacing of the lower-wingcentre section with duralumin sheet to provide aworking space for mechanics, and the installationof a Bristol gas starter for all three engines in therear of the central nacelle. When not needed in thiscapacity, the gas starter worked the bilge pumpand provided electricity. The open cockpit for thepilots was in the bows, with the enclosed radiooffice just behind it. Passenger accommodation wasprovided for 15 (four rows of three, one row of twoand a single seat aft) in a cabin of ample size:5.18 m (17ft) long, 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) wide and1.91 m (6ft 3in) high.

The first Calcutta was launched on February 13,1928 and made its initial flight on the followingday. It was handed over to Imperial Airways onAugust 9, 1928 and immediately started a series ofproving flights. The second aircraft was handedover on September 21, and differed from the firstCalcutta in having Handley Page automatic slatson the upper-wing leading edges. Cross-Channelflights on a regular basis were operated untilFebruary 1929, fully confirming the Calcutta'scapabilities. Imperial Airways had accepted athird Calcutta on April II, 1929, five days beforeImperial Airways' first Calcutta flight on theprimary route from Genoa to Alexandria on theservice from Croydon (London) to Karachi'(India). This third aircraft was unfortunately lostin a gale off Genoa during October 1929.

50

F.XII, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1931

F.XII

Type: long-range transportMaker: Fokker BV;OrlogsvaerftetSpan: 23.02 m (75 ft 6'/4 in)Length: 17.8m (58ft 43f4in)Height: 4.73m (15ft6in)Wing area: 83 m2'(893 sq ft)Weight: maximum 7750 kg(17 086Ib); empty 4350 kg(9590Ib)Powerplant: three 425-hpPratt & Whitney R-1340Wasp C 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed205km/h (127mph); range1300 km (808 miles)Payload: 1620kg (3571Ib);seats for up to 16 passengersCrew: 2Production: 13

(

delivered in May 1933. The type was successful,and DDL thus ordered an improved model, theF.xIIM. This was about 20km/h (12 mph) fasterthan the Dutch-built F.XIIs. Both aircraft appearto have been scrapped in 1947.

The two F.XIIs operated by KNILM wereprobably destroyed in World War II. Of the sevenF.XIIs used by KLM (the first aircraft havingcrashed in 1935), one was sold to Air Tropic in1936 and then faded from the scene, and theremaining six aircraft were sold to British oper­ators. Four were bought by Crilly Airways in 1936,and two by British Airways. Four were then sold toSpain, one crashed in November 1936, and the lastwas scrapped in 1940, when it had passed into thepossession of BOAC.

T HOUGH it has strong ties with most of theFokker airliner family of the 1920s and early

1930s, the closest relationship of the Fokker F.XIIlies with the F.VIIb/3m. Designed during 1930,the F.XII was intended as a larger and slightlymore advanced airliner than the F.VIIb/3m, butwithout the capacity of the 20-seat F.IX.

Produced to meet a requirement by KLM for amedium-capacity airliner the F.XII was poweredby three of the well-proved 425-hp Pratt & Whit­ney Wasp C radials. The first example flew early in1931, and set off for Batavia on a route-provingtrial on March 5, 1931. This went well, and theF.XII entered scheduled service on the route onOctober I, 1931. Fokker built II of the type: eightfor KLM, two for KNILM (the Dutch East Indiesoperator) and one for the Swedish operator ABAerotransport. This last was powered by 500-hpPratt & Whitney Wasp TID I radials, and hadaccommodation for only 14 passengers comparedwith the Dutch machines' 16. This Swedish aircrafthad Townend rings round the engines to reducedrag, and was originally provided with a spattedundercarriage. These two features were a spas­modic retrofit to the Dutch aircraft. The Swedishaircraft was finally destroyed in a hangar fire at theend of 1946.

The commercial attractions of the F.XII wereinstrumental in persuading the Danish airlineDDL to acquire the type, in this instance a singleexample produced in only three months by Orlogs­vaerftet. Powered by three 465-hp Bristol JupiterVI radials and able to carry 16 passengers, it was

Left: OY-DIG Merkur, aFokker F.xn built byOrlogsvaerftet in Denmark in1933. It operated on a Berlin­Copenhagen and Hamburg­Hanover run

Falcon, CurtissFIRST FLIGHT 1928

T HE name Falcon was applied to a largenumber of Curtiss designs stemming from a

US Air Service competition for an observationaircraft powered by the 400-hp Liberty 12 V-12engine. The Curtiss model designed to meet thisneed appeared in 1924 as the Model 37 XO-lprototype, from which descended a prolific series ofattack, fighter, observation and trainer aircraft forthe US air services, both military and naval.

These Falcons for the armed forces were pro­duced in very considerable numbers, whereas thecivil Falcons were produced in a comparablenumber of variants, but in strictly limited numbersonly. A batch of 20 was started in 1928.

The first of these was the Conqueror Mailplane,a demons tration aircraft similar to the 0-1 Bbut with a 600-hp Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror V-12engine. While on loan to Transcontinental AirTransport it crashed on August 21, 1928.

The Lindbergh Special was built for Charles ALindbergh inJune 1928, based on a standard A-3Bbut fitted with a Curtiss D-12D V-12, later

I changed to a Wright Cyclone radial. The D-12Mailplane was similar to the Conqueror, butpowered by the 435-hp Curtiss D-12D V-12.

The Conqueror Demonstrator was basically anO-lB with the cockpit area of an O-lG, and

I powered by a Prestone-cooled Conqueror. It wasdelivered in September 1928 and sold to an uniden­

I tified foreign customer.The next model, the Liberty Mailplane (or

Curtiss Falcon Cargo), was the most prolific of thecivil Falcons, and 14 of the type were built for

National Air Transport between November 1928and June 1929. At least three of the type were usedfor rum-running during the prohibition era.

The Geared Conqueror Mailplane was producedin August 1929 by converting a Falcon Cargo tothe more powerful 600-hp geared Conqueror.

The PAA Cyclone Falcon was the LindberghSpecial modified in October 1930 with the 575-hpWright R-1820E Cyclone radial for use by PanAmerican Airways in South America.

The last civil Falcon variant was the 1934 FalconII with the 745-hp Wright SR-1820F-53 Cycloneradial, a NACA low-drag engine cowling, a single­strut undercarriage and a glazed enclosure for bothcockpits. The sole example was lost when its wingstore off in a dive on November 6, 1934.

Liberty Mailplane

Type: mailplaneMaker: Curtiss Aeroplaneand Motor CoSpan: 11.58 m (38 ft)Length: 8.38 m (27 ft 6 in)Height: 3.32 m (10 ft II in)Wing area: 32.6m2 (351 sqft)Weight: maximum 2318kg(5110 Ib); empty 1442 kg(3179Ib)Powerplant: one 425-hpLiberty 12A water-cooledV-12 enginePerformance: maximumspeed 235 km/h (146 mph);range 1172 km (728 miles)Payload: 372 kg (820 Ib) ofmailCrew: 1Production: 14

Top: The Falcon mailplanefitted with Ooats. Thisexample was bought byColumbia in 1928 and afterevaluating the 0-1 B theybought 15

53

S-38, SikorskyFIRST FLIGHT 1928

I GOR Sikorsky is now remembered largely as theman responsible for the development of the

helicopter as a practical means of flight, but duringthe 1920s and 1930s his company was concernedmainly with the development of flying boats as asafe method of passenger transport.

Sikorsky's first waterplane was the experimentalS-34, on which were tested many of the features ofthe production S-36. This latter was an amphibianwith seating for eight passengers and powered bytwo 220-hp Wright Whirlwind radials. In the eventonly five S-36s were produced, but one of these wasused in scheduled service for a short time inDecember 1927 and onwards by Pan AmericanAirways. The S-34 and S-36 nevertheless provedsatisfactory aircraft inasmuch as they led directlyto the S-38, whose success established the Sikorskycompany as major manufacturers of flying boats.

The key to the early Sikorsky flying boats wasthe use of a short, elegantly contoured hull with awooden (oak and ash) frame covered with duralu­min: this had adequate planing properties withsmall drag penalties, and provided an adequatestructural base for the sesquiplane wings with thetwin air-cooled radials mounted slightly above themid-gap position. The lower wing had the twostabilizing floats attached by short struts to theirlower surfaces, while from the trailing edges of theupper wing stretched the twin booms holding themonoplane tailplane and twin vertical surfaces inthe most effective position in the twin propellerslipstreams. The retractable mainwheels could beactuated separately, and this feature was of great

use for tight manoeuvring on the water, where theextra drag of a single extended wheel helped toreduce the aircraft's turning circle.

The first S-38 flew onJune 25, 1928, and provedhighly successful apart from a problem that was tobeset the whole family: until the boat rose onto theplaning step during take-off, clouds of spray werethrown up onto the windscreen, effectively blindingthe pilot. The first production model, of which 11were built, was the S-38A with two 41O-hp Pratt &Whitney Wasp radials. The main users of themodel were New York, Rio, & Buenos Aires Line(NYRBA), Pan American Airways for its Carib­bean routes, and Western Air Express for itsPacific route to Santa Catalina island.. Next came the major production model, the S-

Above: A Sikorsky S-38 ofInter-Island AirwaysBel'ow: Although the S-38looked unusual it was well­liked by its crew. Theundercarriage could be usedfor manoeuvring on the waterlike a keel

38B of which some 75 were built. This featured420-hp Wasp engines and greater fuel capacity.This model was available in five different interiorlayouts: for commercial operations with seating forten, nine or eight passengers; and as 'air yachts'with seating for eight or six passengers. The ten­seater had two double bench seats at the front ofthe compartment, four wicker seats in the centre,and two single bench seats at the rear; the nine­seater had a triple bench seat across the front of thecompartment, four armchairs in the centre and twosingle bench seats at the rear; the eight-seater hadsix armchairs and two single bench seats; the eight­seater air yacht had a four-place bench seat alongthe left side of the compartment, two armchairsand a folding table along the right side, and the twosingle bench seats at the rear; and the six-seater airyacht had two pairs of armchairs and foldingtables, and the standard two single bench seats atthe rear. All variants had provision for a lavatoryin the extreme tail of the hull.

The final civil development of the S-38 was theS-38C, which was intended for shorter-haul opera­tions: fuel tankage was reduced, and provisionmade for an extra pair of seats. The main operatorof the S-38C was Inter-Island Airways, which hadfour on its routes linking the various Hawaiianislands; and at least three were operated byColonial Western Airways. The largest user of thewhole family was Pan American, which bought atleast 30 for itself and its subsidiaries. The type wasalso widely used in South America, the Dutch EastIndies and West Africa.

8.38A

S-38B

Type: medium-rangetransport flying boatMaker: SikorskyManufacturing CorporationSpan: 21.84 m (71 ft 8 in)Length: 12.27 m (40 ft 3 in)Height: 4.22 m (13 ft 10 in)Wing area: 66.89m2

(720 sq ft)Weight: maximum 4754 kg(10480 lb); empty 2948 kg(6500Ib)Powerplant: two 420-hpPratt & Whitney R-1340Wasp 9-cylinder air-cooledradial ~nginesPerformance: cruising speed177 km/h (110 mph) at sealevel; range 958 km (595miles)Payload: 748 kg (1650 Ib);seats for up to 10 passengersCrew: 2Production: 120

Left: The simple interior ofthe S-38 amphibian. Theseating arrangement could berevised to almost any planspecifiedBelow: A Hawaiian AirlinesS-38 delivering newspapers tothe island

55

Kingbird, CurtissFIRST FLIGHT 1929

~--- -

Left: A Curtiss Kingbird D-2runs its WrightJ-6-9Whirlwind engines. It wasone of 14 models built at StLouis

Kingbird D-2, Model 55

Type: light transportMaker: Curtiss Aeroplaneand Motor CoSpan: 16.61 m (54ft 6in)Length: 10.59 m (34 ft 9 in)Height: 3.05m (lOft)Wing area: 37.63 m2

(405 sq ft)Weight: maximum 2774 kg(6115Ib); empty 1759 kg(3877lb)Powerplant: two 300-hpWright WhiriwindJ6-9 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: maximumspeed 228.5 km/h (142 mph);range 668km (415miles)Payload: seats for up to 7passengersCrew: 1Production: 16

T HE Curtiss Model 55 Kingbird series of civilaircraft was developed in parallel with the

single-engined Model 56 Thrush, and was basi­cally a scaled-up and twin-engined version of theThrush, with accommodation for eight passengersrather: than the five of the single-engined aircraft,plus improved performance and safety from the useof two engines. The most interesting feature of theKingbird design was the short fuselage' nose andinboard location of the engines, with their propel­lers overlapping the nose. This feature of theKingbird, the first of whose three prototypes tookto the air for its initial flight in May 1929, wasintended to minimize asymmetric-thrust problemsin the event of an engine failing.

The first prototype was designated Kingbird C,and was initially powered by it pair of 185-hpCurtiss Challenger radial engines. It was convertedinto the Kingbird J-l with 240-hp Wright Whirl­wind J6-9 radials. It crashed in 1930.

There followed a pair of Kingbird D-1s, thesecond and third prototypes of the series, poweredby 225-hp Wright Whirlwind J6-7s. The thirdprototype had been the KingbirdJ-2 before becom­ing the D-l, but with no production of the D-ltype, it was converted into a D-2. The secondprototype was developed into the Kingbird J-3.

The main production model was the KingbirdD-2, of which 14 were built as such, and two wereconverted from the D-l prototypes (the secondbefore its conversion into the J-3 mailplane). The14 Kingbird D-2s built as such were used byEastern Air Transport, which was largely owned.'if)

by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The companyhad operated with a miscellany ofFord and Fokkertypes during the first part of 1930 pending thedelivery of the Curtiss types that were to form thedefinitive equipment of the operator: the CurtissCondor and the Curtiss Kingbird D-2. Both typesentered service on December 10, 1930.

The last civil Kingbird was the single KingbirdD-3, powered by a pair of Whirlwind J6-9s eachrated at 330 hp. This model featured a reduction inpassenger capacity to five to allow the carriage ofup to 117 kg (2591b) of mail or freight, increasedfuel and a lavatory. This aircraft entered service inAugust 1931. Production of the series was ended bya sole Kingbird D-2 ordered for the US MarineCorps as the JC-I, later altered to RC-!.

1:=J

Latecoere 28FIRST FLIGHT 1929

T ATECOERE had entered the aviation businessLin 1919 with the Lignes Aeriennes Latecoere,one of the earliest French airlines and a specialistin the carriage of air mail.

By the mid 1920s Latecoere aircraft began toimprove both in looks and performance with theappearance of the Latecoere 17, 25 and 26 series ofparasol-wing monoplanes, of which 120 were built.

In 1929 Latecoere introduced the Model 28, ahigh-wing braced monoplane of commendableaerodynamic cleanliness and appealing lines. Thedesign originated in Aeropostale's need for amodern aircraft with which to operate its joint mailand passenger services in France, and betweenFrance and West Africa. Two initial models wereproduced for competitive evaluation: the 28-0 withthe 500-hp Renault l2Jb V-12, and the 28-1 withthe 500-hp Hispano-Suiza l2Hbr V-12. In otherrespects the aircraft were alike, with two crew andaccommodation for up to eight passengers.

Both models entered fairly widespread pro­duction, though it is difficult to assess exactly howmany of each type as there was a certain amount ofconversion from one to the other. Aeropostialereceived 38 or more, three went to AviacionNacional Venezolana, two to Linea Aeropos talVenezolana and four to Aeroposta Argentina,making a total of at least 47 of the 28-0 and 28-1variants. It is known that some 14 28-0s wereconverted to 28-1 standard.

Other known variants are the 28-3 mailplanewith a twin-float undercarriage, greater wing areaand power provided by a 600-hp Hispano-Suiza

12Lbr V-12; and the 28-5 powered by the 650-hpHispano-Suiza l2Nb but otherwise identical withthe 28-3. The designation 28c6 was given to thethree Latecoere 28s supplied to Aviacion NacionalVenezolana.

The Late 28 was used for several record-break­ing flights. On 'May 12-13, 1930, for example, thecelebrated pilot Jean Mermoz flew the 28-3 Comtede la Vaulx from St Louis in Senegal across theSouth Atlantic to Natal in Brazil, a flying time of21 hours, as part of the first air-mail service fromToulouse to Rio de Janeiro. Also in 1930, Lieuten­ant de vaisseau Paris of the French navy flew a 28-5named La Frigate to nine world records for speed,range and endurance with payloads of 500 kg(1l021b), 1000kg (22041b) and 2000 kg (44091b).

\

~-

,--;-".--- .. ....'"

Bottom: A Latecoere 28 mailand passenger plane in servicewith Aeropostale in the early1930s

Late 28-3

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Forges et Ateliers deConstruction LatecoereSpan: 19.25m (63ft Jl/4in)Length: 13,5 m (44ft 31/2 in)Height: 5,4m (17ft 8 in)Wing area: 58.2 m2 (626 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5017 kg(11060 Ib); empty 2637 kg(58141b)Powerplant: one 600-hpHispano-Suiza 12Lbr water­cooled V-12 enginePerformance: cruising speed200km/h (124mph) at3000 m (9842 ft); range3200 km (1988 miles)Payload: 299 kg (6591b)Crew: 3Production: approx 50

57

ANT-9, TupolevFIRST FLIGHT 1929

N UMERICALLY the most important ofTupolev's designs up to the mid 1930s was the

ANT-9 tri-motor transport, the first of which wascompleted on April 28, 1929. As with otherTupolev aircraft of the period, there were strongJunkers influences apparent in the design, whichhad an all-metal structure with corrugated skin­ning. Unlike Junkers aircraft, however, the ANT-9was a high-wing monoplane, and made extensiveuse of the Russian-developed Kolchugaluminalloy. The divided main undercarriage memberswere reminiscent of Fokker practice, with steel­tube Vs hinged at their open ends to the lowerfuselage, and supported at their outboard ends bytelescopic legs running up to the centre section ofthe three-part wing structure.

The prototype ANT-9 was powered by three230-hp Gnome-Rhone (Bristol) Titan radials, andwas slightly smaller than production aircraft, witha span of 23.7 m (77 ft 9 in) but a length of 17 m(55ft 9Y4in). This prototype was fitted out with thestandard accommodation for two flight crew in anenclosed cockpit forward of the wing, seating fornine passengers in the centre fuselage, and in therear fuselage a lavatory and baggage hold. Thetype returned a maximum speed of 209 km/h(130 mph) and had a range of 1000 km (621 miles).BetweenJune 6 and 12, 1929 itmade an exhibitiontour in the USSR; then between July 10 andAugust 8, 1930, named Krilya Sovetov (Wings of theSoviets) for the occasion, it made a 9037-km (5615­mile) tour of western Europe.

The ANT-9 was produced in two forms, the firstsimilar in size to the prototype but powered bythree 300-hp M-26 radials, and the second withthree 365-hp Wright Whirlwind J6 radials. Thislatter model spanned 23.85 m (78 ft 3 in) and was16.65m (54ft 7Y2in) long, and was at 205km/h(127 mph) some 20km/h (12 mph) faster than themodel powered by the M-26, though range fell by300 km (186 miles) from 1000 km (621 miles).

In 1932 there appeared the PS-9 variant, pow­ered by a pair of licence-built BMW VI V-12s,named M-17 by the Russians. Despite the increasein weight from 6000 kg (13 2281b) to 6200 kg(13 6691b), the PS-9 had much superior perform­ance due to the greater power available and thereduction in drag effected by the elimination of thethird engine. All ANT-9s and PS-9s could operatefrom ski undercarriages in winter.

58

Top: An ANT-9 fitted with aski undercarriage andpowered by M-26 radialsAbove: An ANT-9 with thename of the German airlineDeruluft, in Russian script onthe side of the fuselage. Theaircraft in the background is aJunkersJu 52/3m

ANT-9-M-17 (PS-9)

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Tupolev DesignBureauSpan: 23.73m (77ft 101/4in)Length: 17m (55ft9V4in)Height: 5.5m (18ftO%in)Wing area: 84m2 (904sqft)Weight: maximum 6200 kg(13 669Ib); empty 4400 kg(97001b)Powerplant: two 680-hpM-17 water-cooled V-12enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 215km/h (l34mph);range approx 1000 km(621 miles)Payload: 810kg (1786Ib);seats for up to 9 passengersCrew: 2Production: approx 70

Condor, Curtiss- WrightFIRST FLIGHT 1929

I N the late 1920s and early 1930s, Curtissproduced two quite distinct Condor transports

to meet the needs of airlines requiring higher­capacity aircraft for the longer routes which werebeginning to attract an increasing proportion of thepassenger trade.

The first airliner Condor was essentially a modi­fication of the Curtiss B-2 Condor bomber, ofwhich 12 were ordered by the US Army in 1928and 1929. The design was released for civil use in1928, and Curtiss immediately started to build sixcivil transports. The design of the first threeaircraft, designated Model 53 Condor CO (Condor18), was essentially that of the bomber, with thegunner's positions in the rear of the two enginenacelles faired over, and the fuselage modified for aflight crew of three in an enclosed cockpit, andstretched to seat 18 passengers three abreast in sixrows. The second three were more extensivelymodified, with the fuselage shortened by 58.4 cm(23in) to 16.94m (55ft 7in), taller vertical tailsurfaces, wider-span horizontal tail surfaces andrevised engine nacelles.

All six aircraft remained unsold, despite theattraction of their high seating capacity, untilJanuary 1931 when they were bought by EasternAir Transport, largely owned by the Curtiss­Wright Corporation. The six machines wereretired from airline service in 1934 and four of thembecame the property of Clarence D Chamberlin,who used them for joyriding flights in the middle1930s.

In 1932 Curtiss began to produce its T -32

Condor, so named for its payload of 1452 kg(32001b), but it was often known in service as theCondor II. Although this had certain similarities tothe earlier Condor, it was in fact a totally newdesign produced to give the company a saleabletransport as the airline business began to emergefrom the worst effects of the depression. The chiefdesigner was George A Page, who had also beenresponsible for the Condor CO. Compared withthe Condor CO, the T-32 had a rounder fuselage,single horizontal and vertical tail slirfaces, twoneatly cowled 750-hp Wright SGR-1820-3 Cycloneradials, and a semi-retractable main undercar­riage, the main units of which swung to the rearinto the lower engine nacelles leaving only part ofthe wheels exposed to facilitate wheels-up landings.

Top: A Curtiss Model AT­32-A Condor ofAmericanAirways in 1934. It could beused as a 12-passenger sleeperor day transportAbove: The Condor Model 18in Transcontinental AirTransport livery. TAT testedtwo Condors on its routes buteventually decided not to buythem

59

Despite the fact that far more advanced types,such as the Boeing 247 monoplane, were underdevelopment, Curtiss managed to secure orders forfive Condor IIs, later raised to nine aircraft, fromeach of two airlines, American Airways and East­ern Air Transport. The first Condor II flew onJanuary 30, 1933 and entered service with Ameri­can Airways on May 5, 1933. Both its usersappreciated that the type could not hope to com­pete with the monoplanes in terms of speed, and sothey attempted to capitalize on the type's largeinterior volume by fitting their aircraft with specialsoundproofing and using them on night sleeperroutes, in which speed was supposedly no virtue.Sleeper accommodation was 12. Apart from the 18aircraft for Eastern Air Transport and American

Airways, Curtiss produced another three CondorIIs: two as YC-30s for the US Army, and the lastwith increased fuel tankage and a fixed undercar­riage (intended mainly for floats or skis) to meetthe requirements of the Byrd Antarctic Expeditionof 1933.

In 1934 Curtiss took advantage of technical de­velopments to introduce the AT-32, with variable­pitch propellers (compared with the T-32'sground-adjustable units), supercharged WrightSGR-1820F-2 or -3 Cyclones of 720 hp (in place ofthe earlier R-1820F of 720 hp), full NACA low­drag cowlings, and increased tankage. Eleven civilAT-32s were built in four variants: three AT-32Asfor American Airlines (ex-American Airways) forsleeper or day transport; three AT-32Bs for Ameri-

Right: The Condor IIappeared during a change inengine cowling design. Its720-hp Wright Cyclones werefirst installed with theTownend ring (left) and laterwith the long-chord cowlingswhich became the standardpractice in the 1930s. Bothinstallations featured a cabin­heating take-off from theengine exhaustBelow: An AT-32-C Condor15-passenger day transport.The Swiss bought this aircraftand operated it on the Zurich­Berlin service for a fewmonths before it crashed in1934

-r------__.

-

(

can Airlines with improved engines; one AT-32Cday transport (15 passengers) for Swissair; andfour AT-32Ds with unsupercharged engines forAmerican Airlines. It should be noted that ten T­32s were later brought up to AT-32 standard withthe designation T-32C. Final US production was oftwo AT-32£ l2-passenger VIP transports for theUS Navy and Marine Corps under the designationR4C-1. Of the other 11 Condor lIs built, eightwere BT-32 bombers for export, and the last threeCT-32 heavy military freighters, also for export.

The Condor II was withdrawn from US sched­uled service by 1936, but then enjoyed a longcareer in ever more remote parts of the world. Thelast Condor II was apparently operated by thePeruvian air force up to 1956.

G38,JunkersFIRST FLIGHT 1929

T HE firm ofJunkers began work on the G38 in1928. This was essentially a large flying wing,

accommodating the payload, fuel and engines,stabilized to the rear by fairly vestigial tail surfaceson a short fuselage. Wing span was 44 m (144 ft4l/4in) chord 10m (32ft 9l/2in) and thickness about1.7 m (5 ft 7 in). In the wings proper were, locatedthe engines, fuel and seating for four passengers,while the section of the fuselage between the wingshoused the other 26 passengers. The short fuselageof this all-metal aircraft terminated in biplanehorizontal and triple vertical tail surfaces, andalthough the tandem-wheel main undercarriageunits were at first spatted, the fairings were subse­quently removed.

The G38 was also notable for its use of theimportant slotted ailerons (or 'double wing')characteristic of most Junkers aircraft for the nextten years, and first tested on the T29 trainer of1925. The use of the combined flaps and aileronskept the G38's landing speed down to a remarkable78 km/h (48 mph).

Powered by two 400-hp Junkers L 8 inlinesoutboard and two 800-hp L 88 V-12s (coupledL 8s) inboard, the G38a first flew on November 6,1929. Registered D-2000, this aircraft was handedover to Deutsche Lufthansa in June 1930 for route­proving trials. The G38a was never used forregular commercial services, which were left to theonly other G38 built, the G38ce. This was handedover to Deutsche Lufthansa on September 1, 1931,and featured several modifications compared withthe G38a. The slotted .ailerons covered the entire

trailing edge, rather than the portion outboard ofthe engines; the fuselage was deeper, with accom­modation rising to 34 thanks to the provision of atwo-deck layout.

In the extreme nose were two seats and on eachside of the centre section were three more seats,with windows let into the wing leading edges toprovide a magnificent view. The G38a was laterbrought up to the same standard as the G38ce,these designations in fact being applied in 1932when the first aircraft was re-engined with two 800­hp L 88 and two 800-hp L 88a engines, and thesecond with four L 88as. In 1934 the G38a wasfitted with four 750-hp Junkers Jumo 204 dieselengines, and in 1935 the G38ce was fitted with thesame powerplant.

G38

Type: long-range transportMaker: JunkersFlugzeugwerke AGSpan: 44m (144ft 41f.ifl)Length: 23.2 m (76 ft P/. in)Height: 7.2 m (23 ft 7'/2 in)Wing area: 300 m2

(3229 sq ft)Weight: maximum 24000 kg(52910Ib); empty 14880kg(32804Ib)Powerplant: four 750-hpJunkers J umo 204 6-cylinderwater-cooled in line enginesPerformance: cruising speed208 km/h (129 mph); range1900 km (1181 miles)Payload: 3000 kg (66141b);seats for up to 34 passengersCrew: 6Production: 2

Far left: D-AZUR Deutschlandwhich crashed at Dessau in1936Left: The spacious interior ofa G38 which included its ownsmoking areaBelow left: The cockpit andcontrols of the Junkers G38Below: The G38 had seats inthe wings which gavepassengers a unique forwardview in flight

F.XXXII, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1929

DESIGNED by the American Fokker company,the F.XXXII marked a departure from earlier

Fokker practice in not being numbered in consecu­tive sequence from the previous model (this wouldhave made the type the F.XII, the previous modelhaving been the F.XIA amphibian), but rather toindicate the seating capacity.

The F.XXXII was desIgned to the requirementsof Western Air Express, part of General AviationCorporation which had acquired a controllinginterest in Fokker Aircraft in early 1929. The newowners wished to expand their airline interests,and so required a new type with a higher capacitythan their current equipment.

Intended for operation as a day airliner with 32passengers and as a night sleeper with 16 passen­gers in berths, the F.XXXII was the last USFokker design, and showed that the company hadfailed to appreciate that by 1930 - in the UnitedStates, at least - the writing was on the wall for thetype of aircraft traditionally produced by Fokker,with composite construction and relativelyunsophis ticated aerodynamics. Two features of theF.XXXII are of interest, however: the four engineswhich were located in two tandem pairs braced bya plethora of light struts but fixed mainly to themain landing gears; and the use of a layer of balsawood in the construction of the fuselage to providea means of soundproofing. The engine arrange­ment was one of the type's worst features, produc­ing a large amount of drag, and making it all butimpossible for the rear engine of each pair to becooled adequately. The problem was never solvedin the type's short service career, though Farmanand others persisted with it. Drag was also aproblem with the fixed landing gear. Various typesof spat and trouser were tried, but Fokker did notretract the wheels into the nacelles as did Farman.

The F .XXXII nevertheless entered service withWestern Air Express on April 1, 1930. By this timethe order had been reduced to two. Passengerswere pleased with the comfort of this new airliner,currently the world's largest civil transport, butwere less pleased with the type's almost continualproblems with overheating engines. The failure ofthe aircraft was confirmed when Universal AirLines System's first F.XXXII crashed, and thecompany cancelled its order for another four of thetype. The US Army tested one example as the YC­20 transport, but made no orders.

Top: A \'\Testern Air ExpressF.XXXII. The use of thenumber '32' in the aircraftdesignation was the result of arequest from the airline whowanted to give customers anidea of the seating capacity ofthe aircraft. The mostsuccessful route operated wasSan Francisco-Los AngelesAbove: A Western AirExpress F.xXXII being putto good use as a stage duringthe company's fourthbirthday celebrations

F.XXXII

Type: large-capacitytransportMaker: Fokker AircraftCorporationSpan: 30.18m (99ft)Ler.gth: 21.29m (69ft lOin)Height: 5.03 m (16 ft 6 in)Wing area: not availableWeight: maximum 11000 kg(242501b); empty 6441 kg(14200Ib)Powerplant: four 575-hpPratt & Whitney R-1690Hornet 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerforInance: cruisingspeed 225 kmjh (140 mph) ;range 805 km (500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 32passengersCrew: 2Production: 10

63

Do X, DornierFIRST FLIGHT 1929

Above lefL: The Do X againstLhe Manhattan skyline duringLhe proving flight in 1930Left: The recreation anddining rooms or the Do X.The designers attempted tocopy the luxury or oceanlinersBelow: The Do X Louehesdown

DoX

Type: long-range transportflying boatMaker: AG fUr Dornier­FlugzeugeSpan: 48 m (157ft 5%in)Length: 40.05 m (131 ft4%in)Height: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) overpropellersWing area: 450 m2

(4844sq ft)Weight: maximum 48000 kg(105820Ib); empty 29500kg(65 0361b);Jupiter 28250 kg(62280 lb); other engines34820kg (767641b)Powerplant: twelve 525-hpSiemens J upi tel' 9-eylinderradials, or 640-hp CurtissConqueror or 580-hp FiatA.22R water-cooled V-12piston enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 215.6 km/h (134 mph);range 2800 km (1740 miles)Payload: Jupiter, 17050 kg(37 588Ib); other engines13180kg (290561b); seats for66 passengersCrew: 6Production: 3

... ,-!~!c

O NE of the most ambitious aircraft ever built,the Dornier Do X flying boat proved unsuited

for its task, and was built in only two prototypeforms. The aircraft was designed in 1926 to satisfyDr Dornier's wish to scale up the proven Walformula to the greatest possible size. The first Do Xwas built at the new Dornier works at Altenrhein inSwitzerland, and when it appeared in 1929 it wasthe world's largest aircraft, and by far the heaviestand most powerful. The Do X first flew onJuly 25,1929, and on October 21 of that year carried intothe air a record-breaking number of people: 169,made up of 150 passengers, 10 crew and 9 stow­aways.

Of typical Dornier design, the Do X was ofmodern all-metal construction, and consisted of atwo-step hull, with stressed duralumin skin; a high­set monoplane wing of low aspect ratio, withouttaper in chord or thickness, covered with fabricexcept on the leading edge and the walkway underthe engines. The tail surfaces were a complex affairwith single vertical surfaces, sesquiplane horizontalsurfaces and a number of auxiliary surfaces. Wingand tailplane were strut-braced, the wings to thelarge waterline sponsons by means of triple parallelstruts. The elevators and ailerons were balanced byenormous 'park bench' auxiliary surfaces locatedabove and forward of them.

Built up from the wing were six pylon struts,connected at their upper ends by an auxiliary wing.These push/pull nacelles could be entered from atunnel inside the wing to allow the engineers accessto the engines mounted in tandem pairs. Theoriginal powerplant comprised 12 Siemens-builtBristoL Jupiter radials, each of 525 hp, drivingfour-blade propellers. This arrangement was notentirely successful, and though there was no trou­ble in practice Bristol never sanctioned the Jupi­ter's use as a tandem pusher. Dornier weredissatisfied with the poor ceiling of only 420 m(1378ft). The jupiters were accordingly replacedby even more powerful Curtiss V-1570 ConquerorV-12s, with frontal radiators. The auxiliary wingwas removed and the nacelles supported ondouble-N struts. The effect of the change was toprove that the fault lay in the basic design with ashort-span heavily loaded wing, ceiling rising by amere 80 m (270 ft). The heavy engines reducedpayload, making revenue service impossible.

Accommodation was spacious and luxurious,with several cabins, usually with 32 double seatsand two singles, on the main deck of this three-deckaircraft. The lower deck contained fuel and stores,while the upper deck housed the enclosed cockpit,captain's cabin, navigation office, engine controlroom and the radio office.

On November 2, 1930 the Do X left Friedrich­shafen for a transatlantic proving flight, but NewYork was reached only on August 27, 1931 after aneventful and inauspicious flight. Transferred toDeutsche Lufthansa, the Do X was almost immedi­ately handed over to the German aviation researchestablishment DVL. It was destroyed in a Berlinmuseum by an air raid in World War II.

The only other Do Xs were two built for Italy,and powered by Fiat A.22Rs with streamlinednacelles and radiators in the pylons.

64

S.66, Savoia-MarchettiFIRST FLIGHT 1932

5.66

Type: passenger transportflying boatMaker: Societa IdrovolantiAlta ItaliaSpan: 33 m (108 ft 3'!4in)Length:16.63m (54ft6%in)Height: 4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)Wing area: 126.7 m2 (1364 sqft)Weight: maximum II 500 kg(25 3531b); empty 7960 kg(175481b)Powerplant: three 750-hpFiat A.24R V-12 water-cooledenginesPerformance: cruising speed222 km/h (138 mph); range1185 km (736 miles)Payload: seats for up to 18passengersCrew: 3Production: 24

Top and above: The SM.66which operated with AlaLittoria, SAM and AeroEspresso until remainingaircraft were pressed intoservice with the Italian AirForce in 1940

~.... ~ ..

T HE three-engined twin-hull S.66 flying boatwas a direct development of the smaller twin­

engined S.55 which had been built as a torpedo­bomber and a civil passenger carrier and madefamous by Balbo's mass-formation North andSouth Atlantic flights.

The S.66 had a large thick-section taperedwooden wing mounted above two single-stepwooden hulls. Booms running aft from the hullscarried the tailplane, one-piece elevator and thefins and rudders. The three Fiat engines were strut­mounted side-by-side above the wing and eachdrove a four-blade pusher propeller.

The cockpit, fully enclosed, was in the wingcentre section and a tunnel gave the crew access tothe hulls, each of which had seven or nine seats,some being double units.

The prototype, with 550-hp Fiat A.22R engines,first flew in 1932 and 24 examples were built, allwith 750-hp engines. Aero Espresso Italiana andSA Navigazione Aerea (SANA) both used S.66s ontheir Mediterranean services, and their successor,Ala Littoria, employed at least 23.

The S.66s took over from S.55s on the Rome­Tunis route in April 1934; they also workedbetween Rome and Tripoli, and from April 1937operated the Brindisi-Athens-Rhodes-Haifa ser­vIces.

At various times the first S.66 was used by ItaloBalbo and the second was assigned to BenitoMussolini. One Ala Littoria S.66 is known to havebeen lost between Cagliari and Rome at the cost of20 lives, and others are believed to have beenwritten off, but 16 were still in service early in 1939.In 1940 five passed to 613 squadron of the RegiaAeronautica, some remaining in service until atleast 1943 as transports and for air-sea rescue.

Aichough Ala Littoria planned to replace theS.66s with more modern SM.87 three-enginedseaplanes and Macchi C.100 flying boats, Savoia­Marchetti did produce the prototype of an im­proved S.66. This was the SM.77 with revised hullsand three 800-hp Alfa-Romeo 126 RC.lO air­cooled radial engines mounted in much cleanernacelles, fitted with streamlined cowlings anddriving three-blade tractor propellers.

It is believed that two were laid down but onlyone completed, in 1937, and that this was deliveredto the Regia Aeronautica. Unfortunately the designwas too outdated for airline operation.

65

Commodore, ConsolidatedFIRST FLIGHT 1929

Commodores,and the type

T OWARDS the end of February 1928 theUnited States Navy ordered a long-range

patrol flying boat from Consolidated. This was theXPY-l Admiral powered by two 425-hp Pratt &Whitney Wasp engines. The XPY-l was not putinto production, but it had been designed so that acommercial variant could easily be built and it wasthis civil boat that New York, Rio and -BuenosAires Line (NYRBA) ordered for the operation ofits planned service between Miami and Brazil andthe Argentine.

The civil type was the Consolidated 16 Commo­dore and the first example appears to have beencompleted in September 1929, its type certificatebeing awarded on November 20 that year.

The Commodore closely resembled the Admiralbut had well-appointed passenger accommodationand was powered by 575-hp Pratt & WhitneyHornet engines. In layout the Commodore was aparasol monoplane with untapered wing mountedon struts above the hull. The engines were strut­mounted beneath the wing and a further system ofstruts carried the large stabilizing floats and theouter wings.

The hull appeared to be relatively shallow butwas of sufficient volume to provide cabins 2.43 m(8 ft) wide and 1.52 m (5 ft) high. A superstructureon the rear of the hull carried the strut-bracedtailplane, one-piece elevator and twin fins andrudders - the fins being strut-braced to the tail­plane.

The entire structure of the Commodore was ofmetal. The wing leading edge was metal-skinned,

as was the hull, but the remainder of the wing andthe tail surfaces were fabric-covered. The engineswere uncowled driving three-blade propellers.

Initially the pilots' cockpit, with side-by-sideseats, was open but soon it was enclosed by a raisedstructure with large windows. Rudder pedals wereprovided for each pilot, and the control wheelcould be swung over for use by either man. Therewere three passenger cabins with facing pairs ofseats on each side in the two forward cabins andaccommodation for four in the rear cabin, althougha full load of 20 passengers could be carried only onshort stages. Forward of the main cabins were alavatory and a radio compartment.

NYRBA ordered a fleet of 14although only ten were delivered,

Above and below: TheCommodore's main operator,with ten aircraft, was the NewYork, Rio and Buenos AiresLine, which was founded in1929 specifically to provideair service to major SouthAmerican citiesBelow right: Commodoresunder construction at theConsolidated Aircraft factory,then at Buffalo

\Type: long-range transportflying boatMaker: Consolidated AircraftCorporationSpan: 30.48m (100ft)Length: 20.73 m (68 ft)Height: 4.77 m (15 ft 8 in)Wing area: 103.1 m2 (l1l0 sqft)Weight: maximum 7983 kg(17600 Ib); empty 4763 kg(105001b)Powerplant: two 575-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet 9­cylinder air-cooled rad.ialenginesPerformance: cruising speed173.8 km/h (108 mph); range1609km (1000 miles)Payload: seats for up to 32passengersCrew: 3Production: 14

Commodore 16

<:

hh

'r'

entered service on February 18, 1930, with the firstdeparture from Miami. The first four NYRBAflying boats were named Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro,Havana and Cuba. The last of this batch wasreported to be a slightly modified Model 16-1 ofwhich nine are believed to have been built, and thefirst Model 16 was converted to this standard with30 to 32 seats and a lengthened hull.

The Commodores proved highly successful overthe 14484-km (9000-mile) route from Miami toBuenos Aires, which they covered in seven days,but in September 1930 Pan American Airwaysacquired the assets of NYRBA and took over theten Commodores which had been delivered. Theremaining four on order were delivered direct toPan American. Two of the Pan American 'boats

were Commodore 16-2s, essentially like the 16-1 sbut with cowled engines.

One of the main features of the Commodore wasits long range and when Pan American acquiredthe type it was able to operate non-stop servicesbetween Jamaica and the Panama CanaJ Zone.

During its brief existence NYRBA had set up aBrazilian subsidiary known as NYRBA do Brasil.In October 1930, after the Pan American takeover,this concern became Panair do Brasil, and whenthe Commodores were replaced by more modernaircraft at least six were transferred to Panair doBrasil for Brazilian operations.

Some Commodores are known to have beenflying in 1935 and one served Pan American as anavigational trainer but their final fate is unknown.

67

S-40, SikorskyFIRST FLIGHT 1931

T HROUGHOUT the 1920s Sikorsky designedand built a series of flying boats and amphib­

ians of rather antique concept, not unlike the NC-4which had made the first transatlantic flight in1919. The Sikorskys had moderately short hullsand carried high tail units mounted on boomsattached to the main wing and strut-braced to therear of the hulls. The early designs were biplanesbut later struts replaced the lower wings.

Pan American Airways had already taken an S­36, a few S-38s and a couple of S-41s. All were ofmodest size, and Pan American required a biggeraircraft with considerable range.

To meet these requirements Sikorsky built thelast of this series, the S-40 which appeared after theSAL Cons truct.ion of the first hull began in 1930and the aircraft was completed early in 1931, withits type certificate being granted that October. Inthe following month it left Miami on its first flightto the Panama Canal Zone and proved its abilityby flying the 966-km (600-mile) overwater sectorfrom Kingston, Jamaica, to Panama, which wasthen claimed as the longest sector on a scheduledair service. From Panama, Consolidated Commo­dores completed the flight to Buenos Aires, thusopening the entire route to the Argentine.

There were only three S-40s, American Clipper,Caribbean Clipper and Southern Clipper, but they werethe first of a long line of aircraft to carry the PanAmerican copyrighted Clipper title.

The S-40s had two-step metal hulls divided intoseven watertight compartments, and in a numberof separate cabins wider than Pullman railway

carriages had accommodation for 32 passengers.The crew had an enclosed cockpit in the bow andthere were fore and aft entry hatches in the hull.

The fabric-covered wing (with metal-coveredleading edge) was strut-mounted above the hulland the tailplane, twin fins and rudders werecarried on twin booms. Originally there wereretractable undercarriages but to save weight thesewere removed. The four 575-hp Pratt & WhitneyHornet engines were strut-mounted beneath thewing driving two-blade metal propellers.

I t is thought that all three S-40s remained inservice until 1939 and it is known that CaribbeanClipper became a US Navy navigational trainer,remaining in operation until 1944 and flying a totalof nearly 13000 hours.

Left and below: The SikorskyS-40 operated on PanAmerican Airways'Caribbean routes. Thewheeled landing gear was forbeaching or possible forcedlandings. PanAm lateradopted the largerS-42 for longer routes

S-40

Type: passenger flying boatMaker: Sikorsky AviationCorporationSpan: 34.75 m (114ft)Length: 23.37 m (76 ft 8 in)Height: 7.26 m (23 ft 10 in)Wing area: 161.6m2 (1740sqft)Weight: maximum 15422kg(34000 lb); empty 9526 kg(21000lb)Powerplant: four 575-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed185 km/h (115 mph); range1448 km (900 miles)Payload: seats for 32passengersCrew: 3 to4Production: 3

......

ANT-14, TupolevFIRST FLIGHT 1931

CCCP NIDDI

ANT-14

Type: passenger transportMaker: Tupolev DesignBureauSpan: 40.4 m (132 ft 61/2 in)Length: 26.49 m (86 ft 11 in)Height: 5.4 m (17ft 81/2 in)Wing area: 240 m2 (2583 sqft)Weight: maximum 17530 kg(38 646Ib); empty 10828 kg(238711b)Powerplant: five 480-hpGnome-Rhone 9AKX]upiterVI 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed195 km/h (121 mph); range900 km (559 miles)Payload: seats for 36passengersCrew: 3Production: 1

Top: The ANT-14Pravdawhich joined the MaximGorki Squadron on its prewarpropaganda flightsLeft: The versatile ANT-14operated on skis as well assingle and twin-wheeledundercarriages

round the rear section of the engines. The propel­lers were two-blade wooden units. Later the enginecowlings were removed and two-blade metal pro­pellers were fitted. The undercarriage was of thedivided type, non-retractable, and fitted withlarge-diameter Palmer tyres. There was a sprungtail skid and the tail unit comprised single fin andrudder and wire-braced tailplane. Skis were fittedfor winter operation.

The pilots' cabin was well forward, and abovethe wing was an engineer's position with stream­lined canopy, reached by a ladder from the maincabin which had 36 seats.

The ANT-14 was named Pravda, used for propa­ganda tours and finally put on show in Moscowwhere the fuselage served as a cinema.

SOON after the 1914-18 war two events tookplace in the USSR which had a major influence

on the design of Soviet aircraft. The first was theestablishment of a Junkers factory near Moscow;the second, the appointment of Andrei NikolaevichTupolev (chief engineer of TsAGI [the CentralAero- and Hydrodynamic Institute]) to head thecommission to organize the design and construc­tion of metal aircraft in the USSR.

The outcome was a succession of aircraft de­signed on Junkers' principles, with multi-sparwings, metal-framed fuselages and tail units allcovered with load-bearing corrugated metal skins.The early examples were small single-enginedaircraft but from 1925 a series of bomber typesemerged with the twin-engined ANT-4 (TB-l) andfollowed in 1930 by the four-engined ANT-6 (TB­3). Then in 1929 came the ANT-9 three-enginedhigh-wing monoplane transport which served De­ruluft (the Russo-German airline) and, in anumber of versions including one with twin en­gines, the Soviet air services.

Looking rather like a much bigger ANT-9 butwith five engines, the ANT-14 first flew on August14, 1931. Its main claim to fame is its five-enginedlayout, very few aircraft ever having been designedfor this number of engines.

The ANT-l4 was a very large thick-wingedaircraft with a fuselage wide enough to take pairs ofseats on each side of the central aisle. The engines,four along the wing leading edge and one in thenose, were 480-hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter VIradials, initially with a form of Townend ring

69

Alpha, NorthropFIRST FLIGHT 1930

/2 •

fTITTl1 c:::s- -~t':rl

I I

~~~ JIIcr~~c;, I

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W HILST it was not particularly well knownand built only in small numbers, the North­

rop Alpha was an important aircraft because it setthe pattern for the modern all-metal stressed-skinlow-wing cantilever transport monoplane. It wasdesigned by John K Northrop and embodied hismulti-cellular wing construction.

Northrop had previously designed the woodenhigh-wing Lockheed Vega which was a very ad­vanced aircraft, but in the Alpha design heswitched to metal and a low-wing layout, withequally impressive results. The monocoque fuse­lage was of near circular section, the tail surfaceswere cantilever and the undercarriage was of thedivided non-retractable type. The original enginewas a 420-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-C Wasp,driving a two-blade metal propeller.

The Alpha flew in May 1930 and the Alpha 2and 3 were awarded their type certificates inNovember that year. The Alpha 2 could have six orseven passenger seats or be used as an all-cargoaircraft and the Alpha 3s were combination aircraftfor three passengers and cargo. In both models thecabin was right forward, with the pilot occupyingan open cockpit aft of the cabin.

One Alpha 2 went to National Air Transport,several were acquired by Transcontinental &Western Air (which in May 1950 became TralhWorld Airlines), three went to the US Army AirCorps as C-19s, and one was used by the U~

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics.The Alpha was further ,refined and was certi­

ficated in September 1931 as the Alpha 4 with a

70

450-hp Wasp SC 1 engine and cantilever mainundercarriage enclosed in streamlined fairings. Afew Alpha 4s were built as new aircraft and some ofthe early models were brought to this standard ­several being used by TWA. In addition to theaerodynamic refinements these aircraft had in­creased span and wing area, greater maximumweight and better performance.

The final development of the type was the Alpha4A. This had the passenger accommodation re­moved, most of the cabin windows blanked out andwas used as a cargo and mail aircraft. A radio wasfitted and there was a tall radio mast just aft of thecockpit. The Alpha 4As were certificated in Febru­ary 1932 and were among the first aircraft to haveleading-edge rubber-boot de-icing.

Alpha 3

Type: passenger, mail andcargo transportMaker: Northrop AircraftInc; Stearman Aircraft CoSpan: 12.75m (41 ft lOin)Length: 8.65 m (28 ft 4'12 in)Height: 2.74 m (9 ft)Wing area: 27.4 m2 (295 sqft)Weight: maximum 2041 kg(4500 lb); empty 1207 kg(2660Ib)Powerplant: one 420-hpPratt & Whitney R-1340-CWasp C 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginePerformance: cruising speed233.3 km/h (145 mph); range966 km (600 miles)Payload: 211 kg (465Ib) andseats for up to 7 passengersCrew: IProduction: approx 17 (allmodels)

Top: One of the three Alpha2s in service with TWA in1931Above: The Pratt & WhitneyWasp nine-cylinder radialengine, which had a longbackground ofmilitary andcivil useBelow: Loading mail onto anAlpha 2

HP.42, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1930

HP.42

Far left: Heracles which carriedover 160000 passengers in 8 V2yearsLeft: The passenger cabinswere well forward and aft ofthe wings to minimize noiseand vibrationBelow: Engine location wasdesigned for smoother, silentflying

Type: passenger transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 39.62m (130ft)Length: 27.35m (89ft9in)Height: 7.62 m (25 ft)Wing area: 277.8 m2 (2990 sqft)Weight: maximum 12701 kg(28000 Ib); empty 8047 kg(17740Ib)Powerplant: four 490-hpBristol Jupiter XI.F 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed153 km/h (95 mph); range805 km (500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 24passengersCrew: 4to5Production: 8 (HP.42 and45)

designated HP.42W, (Western Type) and knownas the Heracles class. Much later it was discoveredthat the Hannibals were in fact HP.42s and theHeracles HP.45s.

Hannibals began working the Cairo-Kisumusector of the African route early in 1932 and theCairo-Karachi route sometime in the winter of1931-32. Two of the Heracles class were convertedto Hannibals and in 1937 Hanna was convertedfrom eastern to western type.

These aircraft gave wonderful service and nonewas involved in a fatal accident until March 1940when Hannibal, with eight people on board, waslost in the Gulf of Oman. Hengist was destroyed in ahangar fire in 1937 and the remainder were writtenoff on war service.

I N THE spring of 1928 Imperial Airways invitedtenders from the British aircraft industry for the

supply of three- and four-engined aircraft forservice in Europe and the East. Handley Pagetendered for batches of three, four and six aircraftto meet each of the requirements and receivedorders for eight four-engined aircraft.

The Handley Page design was for a largeunequal-span biplane of metal construction with ametal-skinned forward fuselage but with a fabric­covered rear fuselage, wings and biplane tail unitwith triple fins and rudders. The engines werearranged two on the upper centre section and twoon the lower wing, the wings being braced byWarren girder struts. The propellers were woodenfour-blade fixed-pitch units. The passenger accom­modation was in two large cabins with crewcompartment in the extreme nose.

The first aircraft flew on November 14, 1930. Itwas destined for the eastern and African routes,was named Hannibal, and bore the type numberHP.42. There were six seats in the forward cabinand 12 in the rear, with large mail and baggageareas, lavatories, bar and steward's position amid­ships. Later, each cabin had 12 seats. Hannibalbegan the London-Paris route on June 11, 1931.

The European model, with 20 seats in the aftcabin and 18 in the front cabin, began service onthe same route on September 11, 1931.

Throughout their working lives all these aircraftwere known as HP.42s, the eastern examples beingcalled HP.42Es, or Eastern Type, and having theclass name Hannibal. The European aircraft were

71

Kent, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1931

I N APRIL 1929 Imperial Airways began operatingtrans-Mediterranean fligh ts as part ofits England

to India services, and used three-engined Short S.8Calcutta flying boats. That autumn political prob­lems enforced a change in the route and introduceda requirement for an aircraft capable of non-stopoperation between Crete and Alexandria.

In outlining its specification the airline requiredfour engines for greater security, improved seawor­thiness, increased mail capacity and better passen­ger comfort. The resulting design was the ShortS.17 Kent which was really a scaled-up andimproved Calcutta. The structure was of metal butthe flying and tail surfaces were fabric-covered.The four 555-hp Bristol Jupiter XFBM engineswere arranged side-by-side between the wings, thecrew accommodation was completely enclosed andthe passenger cabin was well appointed.

Imperial Airways ordered three S.17s, Scipio,Sylvanus and Satyrus, and operated them under theclass name Scipio. The first was launched onto theMedway at Rochester on February 24, 1931 andmade its maiden flight the same day. The secondaircraft flew on the last day of March and the thirdon May 2.

On May 16 Imperial Airways began flying amodified trans-Mediterranean route betweenGenoa and Alexandria and on that day introducedthe S.17s into service, with Satyrus flying fromGenoa and Scipio from Alexandria. Although suf­fering some mishaps, the Scipios continued tomaintain the Mediterranean services, but onNovember 9, 1935, Sylvanus was sabotaged andburned out at Brindisi. The one fatal accidentinvolving a Scipio happened on August 22, 1936,when Scipio herself alighted heavily at Mirabella inCrete, killing two and injuring nine. Satyrus main­tain~d the services with assistance from the surviv­ing Calcuttas until the introduction of the EmpireC class flying boats two months later.

After its withdrawal from passenger serviceSatyrus was used to survey the routes on which theC class 'boats were to replace or supplement land­planes, flying to Lindi in Tanganyika (now Tan­zania) in April 1937 and surveying the Alexandria­Singapore route in June and July 1937. A furtherSingapore flight, over a different route, was madein October and November 1937 after which Satyrusreturned to the United Kingdom and was brokenup at Hythe on Southampton Water in June 1938.

S.17 Kent

Type: transport flying boatMaker: Short Brothers LtdSpan: 34.4 m (113 ft)Length: 23.9 m (78 ft 5 in)Height: 8.5 m (28 ft)Wing area: 245.3 m2 (2640 sqft)Weight: maximum l45l5kg(32000lb); empty 9280 kg(20460lb)Powerplant: four 555-hpBristolJupiter XFBM 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerforman.ce: cruising speed169km/h (105mph); range724 km (450 miles)Payload: seats for up to 16passengersCrew: 4Production: 3

72

Above left: The interior of theS.I 7. I t was considered themost comfortable transport ofits time and had a galley forcooking hot meals in midflightAbove: The Kent had four555-hp BristolJupiter XFBMengines. The engine and wingstructure was handed on tothe landplane ScyllaLeft: G-ABFB which wassabotaged by an Italian atBrindisi in November 1935

Tri-Motor Model A, StinsonFIRST FLIGHT 1934-

STINSON is best remembered for its long seriesof single-engined high-wing monoplanes, but

the company built a number of three-enginedtransport aircraft, starting with the SM-6000 in1930 and followed by the Model U in 1932.

American Airways had issued a specification fora nine-passenger aircraft with a take-off run of244m (800ft), ability to clear 15m (50ft) in 366m(1200ft), and costing not more than $35000.Stinson designed the Model A three-engined low­wing monoplane to meet the requirement and iteasily met the take-off performance demanded andwas within the price. After some trial hops the firstproper flight was made on April 27, 1934-.

The Stinson A was of metal construction, mostlyfabric-covered, with a single-spar wing that hadnormal taper on the outer sections and inversetaper on the centre section, which was strut-bracedto the top of the fuselage. Power was provided bythree 260-hp Lycoming R-680 radial engines, andin the rear of the wing-engine nacelles were lockersfor mail and baggage. The wing had trailing-edgeflaps, and the main undercarriage units wereretractable but with a portion of the wheels ex­posed to minimize damage in a wheels-up landing.Normal accommodation was for two crew andeight passengers.

American Airways demanded a number ofchanges in the Stinson A and as a result the firstoperator was the Delta Air Corporation (now DeltaAir Lines) which introduced them on the Dallas­Atlanta-Charleston route in July 1935. Central AirLines had five and American Airlines (successor toAmerican Airways) had a fleet of 15. Delta with­drew the Stinsons in 1937 and American in 1938.

Airlines of Australia took delivery of four in1936. Two were lost and the City ofGrafton and CityofTownsville passed to Australian National Airways(ANA) which, during the war, converted them toheavier twin-engined aircraft with 600-hp Pratt &Whitney Wasp engines.

CNAC in China and some private operatorsacquired Stinson As before production ended in1937. As the aircraft began to be withdrawn by itsoriginal operators, it was passed to a number ofother airlines.

Tata Air Lines (later Air-India) obtained fourthree-engined Stinson As in 194-1 and kept the typein service until 194-4-. One Stinson A was restoredto airworthy condition in 1979.

o

Top: An American AirlinesModel A in 1936. The typewas used by, amongst others,Central Airlines who operatedit on a five-a-day each-wayservice between Detroit andWashingtonAbove: A Stinson on wartimeservice in India

Model A

Type: passenger transportMaker: Stinson Division,Aircraft ManufacturingCorporationSpan: 18.29 m (60 ft)Length: 11.23 m (36 ft 10 in)Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)Wing area: 46.45 m2 (500 sqft)Weight: maximum 4513kg(9950Ib); empty 3184kg(7020Ib)Powerplant: three 260-hpLycoming R-680 or two 600­hp Pratt & Whitney WaspS3HI 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed252.7 km/h (157 mph); range644 km (400 miles)Payload: seats for 8passengersCrew: 2Production: 35

73

Atalanta, Armstrong WhitworthFIRST FLIGHT 1932

I N 1930 Imperial Airways issued a specificationfor a four-engined aircraft to operate over the

southern section of its planned route to SouthAfrica. This was a particularly difficult route, withsmall aerodromes, mostly at high altitude andsubject to high temperatures. The new aircraft hadto be able to cope with these conditions, haveaccommodation for three crew and nine passen­gers, a payload of 1361 kg (30001b), cruise at aminimum of 185km/h (115mph), have a normalrange of 644 km (400 miles) extendable to 966 km(600 miles), and be able to maintain an altitude of2743 m (9000 ft) with one engine inoperative.

To meet this specification Armstrong Whitworthdesigned the AW.XV Atalanta as a high-wingcantilever monoplane with four 340-hp ArmstrongSiddeley Double Mongoose engines mounted onthe leading edge - later the engines were known asServal Ills. There was a single fin and rudder andinitially the mainwheels were enclosed in stream­lined spats. The main undercarriage structure waswithin the fuselage and the aircraft sat at a shallowangle and very close to the ground.

The AW .XVs were of a mixed construction withmetal-framed fuselages covered with ply in thecabin area and fabric aft; the wing spars weremetal but the ribs in the outer sections were ofwood. The wing skin was ply back to the rear spar.

Eight AW.XVs were ordered and the first exam­ple flew onJune 6, 1932, by which time the Londonto Cape Town service had been opened, with deHavilland Hercules biplanes operating the south­ern sector. On September 26, 1932, ImperialAirways introduced AW.XVs for a short time onthe London to Brussels route and later betweenParis and Basle and Zurich. Soon after the provingflight in January 1933, the type began working theKisumu-Cape Town route.

On May 29, 1933, the Astraea left London on aproving flight to Australia before taking up duty onthe trans-India route. Atalantas began operatingbetween Karachi and Calcutta in July 1933, toRangoon that September and to Singapore by theend of the year. When the route was extended toAustralia in December 1934 the Atalantas workedto Darwin until Qantas was able to take over thecomplete Brisbane-Singapore sector with DH.86s.

During the war the surviving Atalantas wereused by the RAF and the Indian Air Force. Thelast two were struck off charge in June 1944.

74

AW.XV Atalanta

Type: passenger and mailtransportMaker: Sir W G ArmstrongWhitworth Aircraft LtdSpan: 27.43 m (90 ft)Length: 21.79 m (71 ft 6in)Height: 4.27 m (14 ft)Wing area: 119.4m2 (1285sqft)Weight: maximum 9526 kg(21 OOOlb); empty 6728 kg(14832Ib)Powerplant: four 340-hpArmstrong Siddeley ServalIII lO-cylinder air-cooledradial engines .Performance: cruising speed190km/h (1l8mph); range1030km (640 miles)Payload: 2495 kg (55001b);seats for up to II passengersCrew: 3Production: 8

Top: Artemis prior to take-offfrom an Indian airfield. Thebulk of its service was seen inAfricaAbove: Atalanta was takenover by the Indian Air Forcein 1941 and damaged beyondrepair at St Thomas' Mount,Madras in 1942

~o

.~o 0

Model9D

Far left: The Orion flown bythe aviators Post and RogersLeft: Orion was very probablythe first transport aircraft touse a retractingundercarriage; themainwheels retractedsideways and into the wingBelow: One of the twoSwissair Orions

Type: express passengertransportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 13.05m (42ft lOin)Length: 8.48 m (27ft lOin)Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)Wing area: 24.3 m2 (262 sqft)Weight: maximum 2449 kg(5400 Ib); empty 1508 kg(33251b)Powerplant: one 550-hpPratt & Whitney Wasp SIDl9-cylinder air-cooled radialenginePerformance: cruising speed32.2km/h (200 mph); range1207 km (750 miles)Payload: seats for 6passengersCrew: IProduction: 35 plus 5conversions

Wyoming Air Service. Transcontinental & West­ern Air (later Trans World Airlines) also used theOrion.

Varney used Orions between San Francisco andLos Angeles with a 1 hour 55 min schedule and isreported to have offered passengers a one dollarrefund for every minute the Orion was behindschedule. Air Express used Orions on US transcon­tinental freight services in 1933-34 with averagetimes of 16 to 17 hours.

It was Swissair that specified the 575-hp Cyclonewhen it ordered two Model 9Bs and put them ontohigh-speed Ziirich-Munich-Vienna services inMay 1932. One Orion found in the United Stateswas restored in 1979 to represent one of theseSwissair aircraft.

Orion, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1930

I N the late 1920s, Lockheed produced the Model8 Sirius two-seat low-wing monoplane designed

by Gerald Vultee but owing much to the Vegadesign. The best-known Sirius was that owned byCharles Lindbergh and used as a floatplane tosurvey Atlantic and Pacific air routes. From theSirius was developed the Altair with retractableundercarriage.

To meet airline needs for an express airlinerLockheed designed the Model 9 Orion whichappeared in 1930 and was certificated in May1931. The Orion owed much to the Sirius andAltair and was known as the six-passenger Siriusand Altair D before being given its final name.

Like the earlier Lockheeds the Orion was ofwooden construction with ply skinning, was of veryclean design and capable of high performance. Ithad accommodation for a pilot and six passengersand was almost certainly the first transport aircraftwith retractable undercarriage - the mainwheelsretracting sideways and inwards into the wing.

There were 35 newly-built Orions and fiveconverted from Sirius/Altair models. There wereseveral versions, differing mainly in the type ofengine fitted. The first aircraft had the 450-hpPratt & Whitney Wasp C, the 9B had a 575-hpWright Cyclone R-1820-E, the 9D a 550-hp Wasp,the 9E a 450-hp Wasp and the 9F a 645-hpCyclone.

Bowen Air Lines was the first Orion operator,introducing the type in May 1931. The biggestUnited States operators were American Airways,Varney Speed Lanes, Northwest Airways, and

Delta, NorthropFIRST FLIGHT 1933

I N AUGUST 1932 Northrop completed the firstGamma all-metal single-engined low-wing

monoplane and developed it in parallel with thesimilar Delta which first flew in May 1933. TheDelta had a larger fuselage than the Gamma andwas intended to meet airline requirements for ahigh-speed transport; but a restriction was put onthe use of single-engined aircraft for passengeroperations at night and over difficult terrain, andas a result most examples were privately owned orused for executive transport.

Only 13 Deltas were built by Northrop - allDelta Is, with the suffixes A, B,. C, D, and E. Theyhad faired-in non-retractable undercarriages andmost had six or eight passenger seats. They werefitted with a variety of nine-cylinder radial engines,including 775-hp Wright SR-1820s and 700-hpPratt & Whitney Hornets. The pilot's cockpit waswell forward and a fairing ran back from thecockpit to the base of the fin, but on later aircraftthe depth of the fuselage was increased to incor­porate a wider cockpit.

The first Delta, the lA with 7l0-hp SR-1820-F3engine, was leased to Transcontinental & WesternAir and used as a mailplane between Kansas Cityand Los Angeles, but it had an inflight fire andcrashed; the second, the IB with 660-hp HornetT2D-l went to Aerovias Centrales in Mexico butthat, too, was soon lost; the third, the lC, went toABA (Swedish Air Lines), and was named Halland;the fourth aircraft, a ID, was an executive aircraft;and the fifth, the IE with 660-hp Hornet, wasmuch closer to the Gamma, having enclosedtandem cockpits over the trailing edge. It was usedby ABA as a night mail aircraft.

The other Deltas were mostly privately owned;some passed to Spain during the Civil War whereone was used by the Spanish airline LAPE. Onewent to the Royal Australian Air Force. The USCoast Guard purchased the 12th Delta as the RT-land the 13th was sold to Canadian Vickers whoacquired a manufacturing licence and built 19Deltas for the Royal Canadian Air Force. TheNorthrop-built example, used for photography,became the Delta I and two more were built.

Next came nine Delta lIs with additional win­dows and provision for armament, and finally eightDelta Ills with modified tail units. These Deltaswere operated with wheel, ski and float undercar­riages and the last six were withdrawn in ·1945.

Delta IE

Type: passenger/mailtransport and photographicsurvey aircraftMaker: Northrop AircraftInc; Canadian Vickers LtdSpan: 14.55 m (47 ft 9 in)Length: 10.44 m (34ft 3 in)Height: 2.95m (9ft8in)Wing area: 33.7 m2 (363 sqft)Weight: maximum 3175 kg(7000Ib); empty 1860kg(4100Ib)Powerplant: one 660-hpPratt & Whitney HornetT2D-I 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginePerformance: cruising speed300.9 km/h (187 mph); range2494km (1550 miles)Payload: seats for 8passengersCrew: IProduction: 13 (USA), 19(Canada)

Left: The Delta had a fixedundercarriage which wasalmost completely enclosedby 'trousers'. Northroppioneered modern stressed­skin cantilever monoplanesBelow: The Delta supplied toAerovias Centrales SA ofMexico in 1933

]u 52/3mho, junkersFIRST FLIGHT 1930

T HEJunkers company was an early constructorof aero-engines as well as airframes. In 1923

Junkers Motorenbau was founded, and in July1936 the airframe and engine companies merged asJunkers Flugzeug-und-Motorenwerke.

Apart from designing and building orthodoxgasoline engines, Junkers embarked on a longdevelopment programme of what were known asSchweral (heavy oil) or Rohal (crude oil) engines­in other words diesels.

The five-cylinder FO-3 was produced in 1926and this was followed in 1928 by the 750-hp six­cylinder FO-4 also known as the J umo 4 and laterJumo 204, and the 545-hp Jumo 5 of 1932.

The Junkers diesel engines were flight-tested in anumber of aircraft and in 1932 J umo 4-poweredJunkers F24s were put into service on Lufthansa'sBerlin-Amsterdam route and nine of the airline'sF24s were fitted with Jumos.

Jumo 204s were also installed in the Junkers G38and later, Jumo 205s were used in a number ofDLH flying boats and seaplanes and in the JunkersJu 86. A Jumo 204 was also fitted to one of thesingle-engined Junkers J u 52s.

Most of the many thousands ofJu 52/3ms werepowered by air-cooled radial gasoline engines buttwo were fitted with 550-hp J umo 205Cs. Changesto the airframe made them Ju 52/3mhs and, theJunkers suffix for the J umo being the letter 0, thecorrect designation became.Tu 52/3mho.

One of these aircraft was the landplane EmilSchaefer. Apart from its Jumo engines and two­blade propellers it was a standard aircraft. Then at

the 1934 Paris Air Show a Jumo-powered Ju 52twin-float seaplane was exhibited. After the show itwas converted to a landplane and entered Luft­hansa service as W HohndorJ. As far as is knownthese aircraft were identical and it is presumed thatthey were used to get operational experience ofdiesel engines and compare their performance withBMW-powered Ju 52/3ms.

There is evidence to suggest that Emil Schaeferwas re-engined with BMW 132 radial engines andthat the J umo 205Cs in W Hohndorf were replacedby Jumo 206As, since these engines were listed asin the aircraft in 1940 and 1941.

The Jumo diesels, although having lower fuelconsumption, were not an unqualified success andwere noisy, heavy and smoky.

Above: D-ALAN EduardDostler in its prewarLufthansa liveryLeft: The threeJunkersJumo5 heavy-oil engines ofD-AJYR Emil SchaeferBelow left: SOdermanland, a12-seat floatplane version

Ju5213mho

Type: passenger transportMaker: J unkers­Flugzeugwerk AGSpan: 29.25 m (95 ft II V2 in)Length: 19m (62ft4in)Height: 6.1 m (20 ft)Wing area: 110.5 m2 (1190sqft)Weight: maximum 9500 kg(20 944Ib); empty 6050 kg(133381b)Powerplant: three 550-hpJunkersJumo 205C 6­cylinder liquid-cooled dieselenginesPerformance: cruising speed240 km/h (149 mph); rangenot availablePayload: seats for 17passengersCrew: 2Production: 2

Ju52/3m

~.-~o,. ~.. .~ . ..

77

He 70, HeinkelFIRST FLIGHT 1932

T HE He 70 was created to meet DeutscheLufthansa's requirements for faster aircraft

following the appearance of Lockheed's very ad­vanced Orion in the autumn of 1931. Heinkel's firstdesign to meet this challenge was the 285-km/h(177-mph) He 65 with non-retractable undercar­riage, but this was abandoned when, in May 1932,Swissair introduced Orions on the Zurich-Munich­Vienna route. DLH then demanded an aircraftcapable of 300km/h (186mph) and the Gunterbrothers designed the beautiful He 70 with ellipti­cal planform wooden wing, streamlined metalmonocoque fuselage with flush riveting, single finand rudder and outward retracting main undercar­nage.

The He 70 was originally powered by a 630-hpBMW VI 6,Oz glycol-cooled engine and its radiatorretracted into the underside of the fuselage justahead of the wing. There was a cabin for fourpassengers and the pilot's cockpit was offset to theleft. The radio operator was at a lower level and tothe right. It first flew on December 1, 1932.

The second aircraft, the He 70A (V2) forLufthansa, carried the name Blitz (,Lightning')and, although unofficial, this name was generallyapplied to the type. The prototype achieved377 km/h (234 mph) and the He 70 was claimed tobe Europe's fastest passenger aircraft.

Lufthansa had a mixed fleet of He 70As, Ds andGs. The D model had a 750-hp engine and the Ghad a lengthened fuselage with the cockpit on thecentreline and no second crew member. The airlineoperated 14 He 70s, introducing the type on

78

He70G

express services linking Berlin, Hamburg, Cologneand Frankfurt-am-Main from June 15, 1934.

Although the He 70s had impressive perform­ance, single-engined aircraft did not prove entirelysuitable for scheduled airline operation in Europeand by the end of 1937 the fleet was reduced to fiveand DLH withdrew its He 70s in 1938.

However, the He 70 had shown the potential ofthe clean streamlined monoplane with retractableundercarriage and in 1934, to provide increasedcapacity with greater safety and reliability, Luft­hansa had ordered the He III twin-engined de­velopment which could carry ten passengers.

Numerous military versions were produced ofboth the He 70 and He III and there was a total of324 He 70s built together with derivatives.

He70G-I

Type: high-speed passengertransportMaker: Ernst HeinkelFlugzeugwerke GmbHSpan: 14.8m (48ft6%in)Length: 12 m (39 ft 4'12 in)Height: 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)Wing area: 36.5 m2 (393 sqft)Weight: maximum 3460 kg(7628Ib); empty 2530 kg(5577lb)Powerplant: one 750-hpBMW VI 7,3Z V-12 glycol­cooled enginePerformance: cruising speed305 km/h (189'12 mph); range'1000km (621 miles)Payload: seats for 4passengersCrew: I to 2Production: 28 (civil)

Top: In 1933, the He 70 wasnamed as the fastestpassenger transport inEurope. Lufthansa operatedan express service on so-called'Blitz routes'Far left: One of the 28 He 70sin Lufthansa serviceLeft: The small butcomfortable passenger cabin

..

Scion, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1933

T HE Scion was a rather unexpected aircraft toemerge from the works of a company specializ­

ing in large flying boats, but early in the 1930s thecompany decided that there was a market for afive-passenger light transport powered by two ofthe small 80-hp Pobjoy R radial engines.

One of the main concerns in designing the Scionwas economy, both in original cost and flying costsand maintenance, and it was decided to use afabric-covered steel-tube girder fuselage ratherthan the cleaner but more expensive monocoqueform. A high-wing layout was chosen, with theengines slung from the leading edge. The tailwheelundercarriage was non-retractable.

The prototype S.16 first flew on August 18, 1933and after some modifications and improvements,was granted its certificate of airworthiness onFebruary 14, 1934. A batch of five productionaircraft, with 90-hp Pobjoy Niagara III engines,was laid down, the first going to Aberdeen Airwaysand the third appearing as a twin-float seaplane foruse in Papua. The last of the batch was producedas the Scion II with a number of improvementsincluding six passenger seats.

Ten Scion IIs were put into production and thetype saw some airline duties in the United King­dom, including an hourly service on the Rochesterto Southend ferry, and also in Australia. One ofthis batch of Scion IIs was kept by Shorts forexperimental work and was fitted with a taperedwing with high-lift flaps in order to assess featuresof the C class flying boats that were then underconstruction. The wing was a scale model of thatfor the C class and the flaps proved that take-offrun and alighting speed could be reduced.

As production of C class 'boats gatheredmomentum so the Scion became something of anembarrassment and an agreement was madewhereby Pobjoy, as Pobjoy Airmotors & Aircraft,would take over licence production. The first twoPobjoy Scions were delivered to Palestine AirTransport in 1937 and the sixth, and last, was

• completed as a seaplane for Elders Colonial Air­ways' Bathurst to Freetown service.

Several Scions were impressed for RAF wartimeservice and none of these returned to civil use, buttwo in Australia remained airworthy until the mid1960s, one belonging to Connellan Airways havingbeen fitted with 90-hp DH Gipsy Minor inlineengines in 1946.

Top: G-ADDT, a Scion IIwhich was operated byPobjoy Airmotors andAircraft Ltd. It crashed atPorthcawl inJuly 1936Above: The PapuanConcessions Scion Ifloatplane, flying over theMedway, February 1935

Scion II

Type: light transportMaker: Short Brothers Ltd;Pobjoy Airmotors & AircraftLtdSpan: 12.8m (42ft)Length: 9.5m (31 ft4in)Height: 3.2m (IOft4V2in)Wing area: 23.8 m2 (256 sqft)Weight: maximum 1452 kg(3200 lb); empty 851 kg(1875Ib)Powerplant: two 90-hpPobjoy Niagara III 7-cylinderair-cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed186.7 km/h (116 mph); range628 km (390 miles)Payload: seats for up to 6passengersCrew: IProduction: 22 (all Scions)

79

Boeing 247FIRST FLIGHT 1933

-------

I N May 1930, Boeing took a major step forwardin the development of mail service operations

when it flew the first Model 200 Monomail mailand cargo low-wing cantilever monoplane of all­metal construction and with retractable undercar­riage. The Monomail was single-engined and it didnot go into production although, as the Model221 A, it was fitted out for passengers.

To meet a specification for a bomber, Boeingdesigned and built the Models 214 and 215 (B-9).These were all-metal low-wing monoplanes withtwo engines and retractable undercarriages.

At about that time there was a requirement for amuch improved aircraft to replace such types asthe Ford Tri-Motor, Boeing 80 and the variousFokkers. It was decided to base a new design on theMonomail and B-9 and use the same all-metalstructure with smooth duralumin skin.

The new type was the Boeing Model 247 pow­ered by two 550-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp enginesand having a retractable main undercarriage.Boeing Air Transport was a component of UnitedAircraft & Transport which included Pacific AirTransport, National Air Transport and Varney,and early in 1932, while the 247 was still in themock-up stage, this group ordered 59 of the newaircraft - a comparatively massive order for con­temporary transport aircraft.

The Boeing 247 was a cantilever low-wingmonoplane, and in planform its tapered wing andtailplane resembled those of the later B-17 FlyingFortress although the 247's wing had less taper.The wing was built in three sections and was' notfitted with flaps. The semi-monocoque fuselagehad accommodation for two pilots, a stewardessand ten passengers, plus mail and baggage.

The engines were enclosed in drag-reducingcowlings and drove three-blade fixed-pitch metalpropellers. The mainwheels retracted into theengine nacelles and there was a non-retractabletailwheel. The windscreens were sloped forwardfrom base to top, there were landing lights in thewing leading edge, radio communication was fittedand there were de-icers.

The first 247 flew at Seattle on February 8, 1933,received its type certificate on March 16, and isreported to have entered service with Boeing AirTransport on March 30, 1933.

On May 1, 1934, United Air Lines was formedout of the constituent airlines and it took over the

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Boeing 247

I Right elevator2 Elevator tab3 Tailplane constructiont} Tailcone5 Tail navigation light6 Ruddertab7 Tab hinge control rod.8 Rudder construction9 Rudder hinges

10 Sternpost11 T ailfin cons rruction12 Rudder hinge control13 Tailwheel shock absorber strut14 Tailwheel mounting struts15 Castoring tailwheel16 Rear fuselage skin plating17 Fin/tailplane fixing double frame18 Left tailplane19 Fuselage frame and stringer

construction20 Tailplane control cables21 Access door to rear fuselage22 Rea< bulkhead23 Left baggage compartment door24 Baggage compartment25 Water tank26 Wash basin27 Toilet co~partment28 Passenger en try door29 Door latch30 Trailing-edge wing rOot fillet31 Toilet compartment door32 First aid box33 Rear aerial masts34 Curtained passenger windows35 Passenger compartment floor level36 Right window panels37 Centre/rear fuselage joint frame38 Right wing fuel tank39 Fuel filler cap40 Main undercarriage wheel housing41 Stub wing girder construction rib42 Outer wing panel rear sparjoint43 Rear spar girder construction44 Trailing-edge ribs45 Right aileron46 Wingtip construction47 Right upper and lower navigation

lights48 Wing stringers49 Leading-edge nose ribs

•

50 Front spar51 Lattice rib construction52 Right landingltaxiing lamp53 Landing lamp glare shield54 Outer wing panel front sparjoint55 Main undercarriage leg pivot point56 Retraction strut57 Main undercarriage leg struts58 Wheel hub cover59 Tyre valve access60 Right mainwheel61 Cabin heater intake62 Exhaust pipe shroud63 Exhaust collector ring64 Pratt & Whitney

SIHI-GWaspsuperchargedradial engine

65 Propellerreductiongearbox

66 Three-bladed propeller67 Propeller hub pitch change

mechanism68 Detachable engine cowlings69 Oil cooler intake70 engine bearer struts71 Engine oil tank72 Fireproofbulkhead73 Oil cooler74 Engine cowling support struts75 Oil cooler outlet louvres76 Centre/forward fuselage joint frame77 Passenger seats78 Fuselage main longeron79 Cabin soundproofing and trim

panels80 Cabin heater air duct81 Overhead luggage racks82 Aerial cables83 Left aileron trim tab84 Aileron hinge control85 Left aileron86 Aluminium wing skin plating87 Left wingtip88 Left navigation light89 Left engine nacelle90 Landing/taxiing lamp91 Front aerial mast92 Cockpit roofemergency escape

hatch93 Sloping cockpit bulkhead94 Sliding cockpit side windows

/

/iC/3347

• SOONO..'J '.

95 Co-pilot's seat96 Control column97 Pilot's seat98 Forward raked windscreen panels

(early model-later aircraft withrearward sloping windscreens)

99 Instrument panel100 Rudder pedals101 Cockpit floor level102 Cockpit front bulkhead103 Battery104 Radio transmitter and receiver105 Electrical equipment rack106 Flare launchers107 Left propeller108 Nose compartment construction109 Nose compartment mail locker110 Ventral instrumentation mastIII Pitot tube112 Hinged nose cap access door

Left: The use of two enginesand the modern structure ofthe Boeing 247 providedexcellent aerodynamicqualities and also reducedoperating costs, which wascrucial to airline survival inthe depression yearsBelow left: A 247 preserved atBoeing Field, Seattle andphotographed in 1976

247s. The 30th example was converted to theModel 247A executive transport with l4-cylinderTwin Wasp Junior engines.

Although the Boeing 247, as the first of themodern all-metal twin-engined monoplane air­liners, provided new standards and saw verywidespread use, it had two disadvantages. Thespars passed through the passenger cabin causingrestricted movement and its performance at highelevation aerodromes left something to be desired.Nothing could be done about the spars but im­provement in performance was achieved with theModel 247D which went into service with Unitedin April 1934.

The Model 247D had geared Wasp engines withcontrollable-pitch propellers whch provided better

take-off and a higher cruising speed. Other changeswere the fitting of NACA engine cowlings, ofbackward sloping windscreens, and fabric- insteadof metal-covered control surfaces. Thirteen 247Dswere built and many of the 247s were brought to Dstandard although not all had their windscreenschanged.

As the 247Ds replaced 247s and as both weresuperseded by DC-2s, they passed to a variety ofairlines, but United still had a fleet of the Boeingsuntil 1942 when they were taken by the USAF asC-73s. One Model 247D flew in the England toAustralia race and one was fitted with armament,as the 247Y, and sold to China.

At least one Boeing 247, in United Air Lines'livery, has been preserved in the United States.

Boeing 247

Type: passenger transportMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 22.56 m (74ft)Length: 15.65m(51ft4in)Height:4.7m (15ft5in)Wing area: 80.18 m2 (863 sqft)Weight: maximum 5738 kg(12650 Ib); empty 3810kg(84001b)Powerplant: two 550-hpPratt & Whitney Wasp SlDl9-cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed249.4km/h (155mph); range781 km (485 miles)Payload: seats for 10passengersCrew: 3Production: 75

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DC-2, DouglasFIRST FLIGHT 1934

I N 1931 the US Bureau of Air Commerce issueda directive for frequent inspection of all trans­

port aircraft with wooden wing spars. This led to arapid phasing out of wooden aircraft and a searchfor metal-structures to replace them.

Although Transcontinental & Western Air(which in 1950 became Trans World Airlines) hadbeen a very early negotiator with Boeing for its all­metal Model 247, Boeing would not supply theairline before completing the 59 ordered by theUnited group which included Boeing Air Trans­port. TWA's Jack Frye therefore decided that theairline would issue its own specification anddrafted this for a three-engined all-metal mono­plane with 550-hp engines, accommodation for twocrew and at least 12 passengers to be carried overstages of 1738 km (1080 miles) at 241 km/h(150mph). The performance requirements were

.very detailed but the most difficult was the demandthat the aircraft should be able to take off at fullload from any TWA-used airport with one engineinoperative - and some of the airports were at highaltitude and experienced high temperatures.

In August 1932 TWA invited five companies tosubmit designs to its specification. Douglas ac­cepted the challenge but decided to design a muchmore advanced twin-engined aircraft to be superiorto the Boeing.

This first flew on July 1, 1933, as the DC-l(Douglas Commercial No 1). It was an all-metallow-wing cantilever monoplane with taper on theleading edge of the outer wings, a single fin andrudder, retractable undercarriage and two 690-hp

Wright SGR-1820-F nine-cylinder air-cooledradial engines driving three-blade propellers. TheDC-l had seats for 12 passengers and from theirpoint of view the great advantage over the Boeing247 was the uninterrupted floor which was abovethe main spar. The wing employed Jack North­rop's extremely strong multi-cellular construction.

After some modifications and with more power­ful engines, the DC-l demonstrated its outstandingperformance by flying from Los Angeles to Newarkin 13 hours 4 min, and is said to have operated afew scheduled services with TWA. From October1938 the sole DC-l flew with LAPE in Spain andafter passing to SATA was damaged beyond repairin December 1940.

TWA ordered 20 production aircraft. These

Above and below: NCI3711(serial number 1237) whichmade its maiden flight withTWA on May 11,1934. Itwas the prototype DC-2 andwas the first of32 to beoperated by TWA

Ir

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l

IIia>

I

tI

were designated DC-2, were powered by 71O-hpCyclone SGR-1820-F3s, had slightly longerfuselages, and seats for 14 passengers. Thefirst DC-2 flew on May 11, 1934 and the typebegan service with TWA on May 18 with regularoperation starting in July. About 200 DC-2s werebuilt for civil and military use by Douglas andNakajima.

DC-2s rapidly established themselves on UnitedStates domestic routes, American Airlines, EasternAir Lines and TWA being the main operators ofnew aircraft. Pan American bought DC-2s, mainlyfor Panagra and CNAC. KLM and ~wissair werethe first European operators and it was the firstKLM aircraft which made a great flight in the1934 England to Australia race.

. NCI371J

301

L

CLS in Czechoslovakia, LAPE in Spain, ALI inItaly, KNILM in the Netherlands East Indies andHolyman's in Australia all bought DC-2s. Luft­hansa evaluated one, and the Polish airline LOThad two DC-2s powered by Bristol Pegasusengines. There were a number of privately ownedDC-2s, and the type was supplied to the US Navyand Marine Corps as the R2D and to the air forceunder a number of designations, C-33 being thecargo version with enlarged tail surfaces. Inaddition, numerous airline DC-2s were takenover by the United States Army Air Force andredesignated.

DC-2s were hard-working and durable aircraftand remained in use for many years after WorldWar II.

Far left: Loading freight andbaggage aboard a TWA DC-2in October 1934Centre: DC-2 cabin lookingforward towards the cockpitaccess doorAbove: The cockpit ofaDC-2. The large dark centralpanel is the autopilot, then aninnovation

DC-2

Type: passenger transportMaker: Douglas Aircraft CoInc; akajima HikokiKabushiki KaishaSpan: 25.91 m (85ft)Length: 18.89m (61 ftll%in)Height: 4.97 m (16ft 3%in)Wing area: 87.2m2 (939sqft)Weight: maximum 8419kg(18560 Ib); empty 5628 kg(12408Ib)Powerplant: two 875-hpWright Cyclone SGR-1820,720-hp Pratt & WhitneyHornet R-1690 or 750-hpBristol Pegasus VI 9-cylinderair-cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed318km/h (198mph); range1609 km (1000 miles)Payload: seats for 14passengersCrew: 3Production: approx 200

83

cowlings. In place of the mail hold there was acabin for seven passengers which could be con­verted for ambulance work.

There were two P.71As, Boadicea and Britomart,delivered early in 1935. Although given consider­able publicity because they were faster than mostBritish transport aircraft of the time, they were notan outstanding success, neither were they particu­larly well liked. In fact, they were slower than theP.64 and had shorter range.

Britomart was damaged beyond repair in a land­ing accident at Brussels while carrying passengerson October 25, 1935. Boadicea continued in opera­tion mainly as a mail carrier but was lost in theEnglish Channel during a mail flight on September25, 1936. Little of the wreckage was ever recovered.

P.7IA, Boulton PaulFIRST FLIGHT 1934

T HE Air Ministry, in 1932, placed an order fora high-speed mail carrier to carry a 454-kg

(lOOO-lb) payload over a distance ofl609km (1000miles) at a cruising speed of not less than 241 km/h(150mph). It was to be a landplane but capable ofhaving floats fitted if required. This type was theBoulton Paul P.64 Mailplane which was intendedto be tried out over the Empire routes.

The P.64 was an equal-span strut- and wire­braced biplane with deep fuselage occupying theentire gap between the wings, single fin and rudderand tailwheel undercarriage with the mainwheelspartially enclosed in fairings attached to the lowerwing. The engines, slung from the upper wing,were two 555-hp Bristol Pegasus radials in nine­sided cowlings and driving two-blade woodenpropellers. The entire structure was of fabric­covered metal except for the ply covering on thenose.

The P.64 first flew in March 1933 and wasclaimed as the fastest British civil aircraft, but itcrashed during a test flight that October. However,Imperial Airways had a requirement for a high­speed charter and secondary-route aircraft provid­ing standards of comfort similar to those in thelarger main-route aircraft. To meet this specifica­tion Boulton Paul designed the P.7lA as a directdevelopment of the P.64 Mailplane.

The two types were of similar layout, dimensionand weight. The structures, too, were similar butthe P.7lA had metal skinning to the cabin area ofthe fuselage, triple rudders without fins, and 490­hp Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engines in circular

<~:

84

P.71A

Type: passenger and mailtransportMaker: Boulton Paul AircraftLtdSpan: 16.46 m (54ft)Length: 13.4-6m (44ft 2in)Height: 4.62m (15ft2in)Wing area: 66.75m2 (718Y2sqft)Weight: maximum 4309 kg(9500 Ib); empty 2767 kg(6100Ib)Powerplant: two 490-hpArmstrong SiddeleyJaguarVIA 14-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed241 km/h (150mph); range966km (600 miles)Payload: seats for 7passengersCrew: 2Production: 2

Left: G-ACOY Britomartwhich was delivered toImperial Airways at Croydonin 1935. It was damagedbeyond repair when it crashedat Haren Aerodrome,Brussels later the same year

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Scylla, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1934

EARLY in 1933 Imperial Airways, due toaccidents and increasing traffic, was extremely

short of aircraft for its European routes. At thattime there were no British production lines fromwhich to order small numbers of proven aircraft.The airline tried to buy two more Handley PageHeracles-class aircraft but without success andtherefore asked Short Brothers to build a land­plane version of the Short S.17 Kent flying boatwhich the airline was using as the Scipio class. Thenew landplanes were to use the wings, engines,engine mountings and tail unit of the Scipioscombined with a new high-capacity fuselage andland undercarriage.

Short designed the 'new' aeroplane as theS.17/L (for S.17 landplane) but later simplifiedthis to L.17. The fuselage mock-up for a 38­passenger landplane was approved in April 1933and two examples were ordered.

The fuselages were of rectangular section andwide enough to contain pairs of seats on each sideof a central aisle. In order to save time a bracedstructure with unstressed corrugated metal skinwas adopted, and it was hoped that the two aircraftcould go into service early in 1934.

Because of lack of facilities, the two large bi­planes had to be erected in the open; high windsand low temperatures delayed completion, but onMarch 26, 1934, the first aircraft, later namedScylla, made its first flight. The second example,Syrinx, flew on May 17, the day after Scylla hadmade its first London-Paris service flight.

Passenger accommodation was divided into

three cabins and there were two lavatories and asteward's pantry. With the lower wing attached tothe top of the fuselage the L.17s sat at quite a steepground angle which made them vulnerable instrong winds. In the summer of 1935 Syrinx had itstwo inboard Jupiter engines replaced by Perseussleeve-valve units but that November the aircraftwas blown on its back by a gale after which it wasrebuilt with Pegasus XC engines, as used in the Cclass flying boats, and its cabins used as trial mock­ups for those with seating increased to 39.

When the war started the L.17s were put to workon National Air Communications but Scylla wasoverturned and wrecked in a gale in April 1940.Syrinx had already been condemned and its fuse­lage served as offices at Exeter Airport.

L.17 Scylla

Type: passenger transportMaker: Short Brothers LtdSpan: 34.4m (113ft)Length: 25.6 m (83 ft 10 in)Height: 9.6m (31 ft 7in)Wing area: 243 m2 (2615 sqft)Weight: maximum 15196kg(33500Ib); empty 10 274kg(22650Ib)Powerplant: four 555-hpBristol]upiter XFBM 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed169 km/h (105 mph); range724km (450 miles)Payload: seats for up to 39passengersCrew: 5Production: 2

Below: Scylla, a Short L.I 7which first flew in 1934 andafter operating on theEuropean service ofImperialAirways was wrecked at RAFDrem in Scotland during astorm in 1940

85

S-42, SikorskyFIRST FLIGHT 1934

I N 1932 the airline Pan American Airways issueda specification for a modern long-range trans­

ocean flying boat. Sikorsky produced the S-42 tomeet this specification, Pan American placed anorder for three, and the first example made a shorthop on March 29, 1934, and its first test flight wasmade the following day.

The S-42 broke with Sikorsky tradition in havinga full-length two-step all-metal hull with the strut­braced wing mounted above the hull on a shallowsuperstructure. Another similar structure on therear of the hull carried the strut-braced tailplaneabove which were mounted twin fins and rudders.The wingtip floats were carried on two struts andwire-braced. Power was supplied by four 700-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet engines which weremounted side-by-side on the wing leading edge,enclosed in drag-reducing cowlings and drivingthree-blade controllable-pitch propellers. At a laterstage flaps were fitted to improve the take-off andalighting approach.

The wing was a two-spar metal structure withmetal skin except aft of the rear spar which wasfabric-covered as were the tail surfaces. The pass­enger accommodation was divided into four com­partments each with eight seats, and the crewaccommodation was at a higher level and wellforward.

On August 16, 1934, the S-42 entered service onthe Miami-Rio de Janeiro route. Four improved S­42As and three S-42Bs were built, and ground wascleared at Hamble on Southampton Water for afactory for British Marine Aircraft to build S-42Asunder licence, but the project was abandoned.

In preparation for its trans-Pacific services, PanAmerican had one of its S-42s modified to increaseits range and in the first half of 1935 it made anumber of survey flights over the route. However,the type could not carry a payload over the longstages and did not operate services. The first S­42B, delivered in 1937, made a survey flight to NewZealand and then worked the Manila to HongKong extension of the Pacific route. On June 16,1937, the S-42B Bermuda Clipper began working aregular New York-Bermuda service.

In 1937 the S-42B Clipper III undertook NorthAtlantic survey flights and in 1940 S-42s beganoperating Pan American's new Seattle to Alaskaservice. Four S-42s survived the war and werescrapped in mid 1946.

S-42

Type: passenger flying boatMaker: Sikorsky AircraftSpan: 34.79 m (114ft 2 in)Length: 21.08m (69ft2in)Height: 5.28 m (17ft 4 in)Wing area: 124.5m2 (1340sqft)Weight: maximum 17237 kg(38 000 1b); empty 10886kg(240001b)Powerp1ant: four 700-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed273.6km/h (170 mph); range1931 km (1200 miles)Payload: seats for 32passengersCrew: 4 t05Production: 10

.Top: A Hornet-poweredS-42 skims the water justbefore take-ofrBelow: A PanAm S-42 ClipperIII at anchor in Lisbon afterflying from New Yo;k via theAzores

L-IO Electra, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1934

Model lOA

Above: An Electra ofNaplesAirlines, a subsidiary of theProvincetown-Boston Airlineformed in 1960 to operatebetween Naples and FortMyersBelow left: Hanging the firstWaspJunior on the firs tElectraBelow: This aircraft wasdestroyed in a 1940 Germannight raid on Hendon

87

Type: passenger transportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 16.76m (55ft)Length: 11.76 m (38 ft 7 in)Height: 3.07 m (10 ft I in)Wing area: 42.6 m2 (458 sqft)Weight: maximum 4581 kg(10 100 Ib); empty 2869 kg(6325Ib)Powerplant: two 450-hpPratt & Whitney Wasp JuniorSB 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed314km/h (195 mph); range1304 km (810 miles)Payload: seats for 10passengersCrew: 2 to 3Production: 148

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Four United States military Electras were desig­nated C-36 and C-37 and the US Navy and CoastGuard each had one under the designations R20and R30.

A number of Electras were privately or corpor­ately owned and some were used for long-distanceflights. Major James Doolittle flew an Electra fromChicago to New Orleans in 5 hours 55 min in 1936- two hours quicker than the previous fastest time­and it was in an Electra that Amelia Earhart waslost during an attempted round-the-world flight.

Pacific Alaska Airways and at least one Cana­dian operator had Electras with non-retractable skiundercarriages, and one very special Electra wasthe pressurized XC-35 used for high-altituderesearch.

T HE first Model 10 Electra was flown onFebruary 23, 1934, and on August 11 that year

it entered service with Northwest Airlines as thethird of the modern low-wing all-metal twin­engined airliners· to go into service.

Unlike the earlier single-engined Lockheedtransports, the Electra was of all-metal construc­tion with monocoque fuselage and metal-skinnedwing and tail surfaces. The inside of the wingcovering was corrugated. The tail unit had twinfins and rudders, and the mainwheels retractedinto the engine nacelles. The aircraft was laid outfor two pilots and ten passengers.

There were four main versions - the Model lOAwith Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior SB engines, theModel lOB with Wright Whirlwind R-975-E3s, theModellOC with Wasp Junior SCls, and the ModeltOE with Wasp R-1340 S3Hls. All had constant­speed two-blade metal propellers.

The first order for the Electra was placed byNorthwest Airlines, previously an Orion operator,and the second customer was Pan American Air­ways with part of its order for Cubana. Braniff,Continental, Chicago & Southern, Delta, Mid­Continent and National all acquired Electrasdirect from Lockheed and British Airways,Aeroput, LARES and LOT were among the Euro­pean customers. Ansett and Guinea Airways inAustralia bought Electras; Trans-Canada AirLines began operation using Electras; and LAV inVenezuela took a number of the aircraft. Lockheedbuilt 148 between June 1934 andJuly 1941 and thelast four were delivered to LAN in Chile.

DH.84 Dragon, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1932

Left: G-ACOR Fiona, aDH.84 Dragon II whichoperated from Croydon, andlater Gatwick, in the mid1930s. It was sent to Australiain February 1938 where it wasre-registered VH-AEA

Dragon I

Type: light transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCoSpan: 14.43m(47ft4in)Length: 10.5 m (34ft 6 in)Height: 3.07m (lOft I in)Wing area: 34.9 m2 (376 sqft)Weight: maximum 1905kg(4200Ib); empty 1043 kg(23001b)Powerplant: two 130-hp deHavilland Gipsy Major 4­cylinder inverted air-cooledinline enginesPerformance: cruising speed175.4 km/h (109 mph); range740 km (460 miles)Payload: seats for 6passengersCrew: IProduction: 202 (allDragons)

T HE first DH.83 Fox Moth was flown by deHavilland at the end ofJanuary 1932. It could

carry a pilot and four passengers on the power of asingle 120-hp de Havilland Gipsy III engine. FoxMoths, mostly with 130-hp Gipsy Majors, soonfound favour as light transports but there was aneed for a bigger 'double Fox Moth' to serve as aneconomic transport for small airlines. The newlycreated Royal Iraqi Air Force wanted a lighttransport capable of being used also for bombing,army cooperation and other duties.

The DH.84 was a simple wood and fabric equal­span biplane with two 130-hp Gipsy Majors, non­retractable undercarriage and folding wings. Thesimple cabin normally had six seats and the pilot'scabin was in the nose. The aircraft was originallyknown as the Dragon Moth but soon becamesimply the Dragon.

The prototype flew at Stag Lane on November24, 1932, was delivered to Hillman's Airways onDecember 20 and the airline began London toParis services with Dragons on April I, 1933, witha return fare of £5.50 (then £5.10 shillings). Thenext two Dragons went to Hillman's and the eightDH.84Ms, with guns and bomb racks, made theirdelivery flight to Baghdad in May 1933.

The slightly improved Dragon II followed in1934 and a total of 115 were built in the UnitedKingdom up to 1937, with a further 87 being builtin Australia for the Royal Australian Air Force in1942-43. The Australian Dragons were built asradio and navigational trainers, and had modifiedwindows and wider doors.

88

Dragons played a major role in developingBritish domestic air services and proved equallyuseful in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, EastAfrica and Egypt. They were cheap to operate,easy to fly and maintain, and could operate fromsmall rough fields. A rare sight was the entireJersey Airways fleet of eight flying across theEnglish Channel in fonmation in order to land inJersey at low tide - the beach serving as Jersey'sairport until 1937.

Among the more notable flights made byDragons were two with long-range tanks. TheMollisons' Dragon Seafarer made a 39-hour non­stop flight from Wales to Connecticut, and SeafarerII, renamed Trail of the Caribou, flew non-stop fromOntario to London in just under 31 hours.

DH.86 Express, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1934

89

DH.86 Express

Type: passenger transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCoSpan: 19.66m (64ft6in)Length: 14.05m (46ft PI, in)Height: 3.96 m (13 ft)Wing area: 59.55 m2 (641 sqft)Weight: maximum 4649 kg(10250Ib); empty 2859 kg(6303Ib)Powerplant: four 205-hp deHavilland Gipsy Six 6­cylinder inverted air-cooledinline enginesPerformance: cruising speed233km/h (145mph); range724 km (450 miles)Payload: seats for up to 17passengersCrew: 2Production: 62

Left: This aircraft completedthe through scheduled route,for Qantas Empire Airways,from Britain to Australia, firstfrom Singapore to Darwinand Brisbane and later toSydney

DH.86B

and the Imperial Airways DH.86s, known as theDiana class, worked European routes and thetrunk route extensions to Hong Kong and WestAfrica.

A slightly improved model, the DH.86A, ap­peared in 1935, and in 1937 came the DH.86B withbetter controls including vertical fins attached tothe outer ends of the tailplanes. Most of the Amodels were brought to B standard. The DH.86ssaw much war service and particularly dis­tinguished themselves with Qantas in New Guineawhere they were used for evacuation from remoteareas and for supply dropping.

A few DH.86s survived the war, some continuedflying for RAS, but the last survivor was damagedbeyond repair in September 1958.

FOLLOWING long negotiations, agreementwas reached on the operation of an England to

Australia air service and Qantas Empire Airwayswas the designated operator of the Singapore­Brisbane section, with other Australian airlinesproviding connecting services.

At that time de Havilland's new 2.00-hp GipsySix engine was being successfully developed and asimple economic ten-passenger wood and fabricbiplane was designed to use four of the newengmes.

The new aircraft was the DH.86 Express AirLiner, rather like an enlarged and refined Dragonwith tapered wings and faired-in undercarriage.The prototype, with short nose and room only forone pilot, made its first flight on January 14, 1934and achieved certification with one day to spare.

Qantas ordered six, under the class name Com­monwealth, Holyman's Airways ordered some forthe Melbourne-Tasmania service, and ImperialAirways ordered a batch including two for RailwayAir Services.

The prototype was modified with a longer noseto accommodate two pilots and the undercarriagefairings were redesigned. All but the two RailwayAir Services' aircraft were built with the longernose but one of them was later modified.

Holyman's Miss Hobart was lost at sea in Oc­tober 1934 and one of the Qantas aircraft crashedon its delivery flight the next month. As a result thetrim tab on the rudder was removed. Thereafterthe Qantas aircraft gave good service, the RASaircraft maintained United Kingdom trunk routes

t

DH.89 Dragon Rapide, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1934-

T HE prototype DH.89 was flown on April 17,1934- as a development of the DH.84- Dragon

but incorporated the experience gained in design­ing the DH.86 Express Air Liner to meet Austra­lia's requirements.

In layout and size the DH.89 resembled theDragon but had finely tapered wings and stream­lined undercarriage housing as on the DH.86. Likethe DH.86 it was powered by 200-hp Gipsy Sixengines although like the Dragon it was twin­engined.

The new aircraft was initially known as theDragon Six but was soon renamed Dragon Rapideand in time became known universally simply asthe Rapide. The Rapide was heavier than theDragon, could carry up to eight passengers, andhad a higher cruising speed - the first productionaircraft averaging 254- km/h (158 mph) in the 1934­King's Cup race.

The first three Rapides were delivered to Hill­man's Airways and these were followed by two forRailway Air Services namely the City ofBristol andCity of Birmingham. Orders quickly built up andRapides were delivered to British internal airlines,LAPE in Spain, KNILM in the East Indies, Misrin Egypt, DHY in Turkey, and many other air­lines, oil companies and private owners.

The Rapide did not have quite the same landingperformance as the Dragon, so in 1937 a versionwas built with trailing-edge flaps under the lowerwing. This was the DH.89A which became thestandard aircraft, and many of the earlier exampleswere modified to conform.

Rapides saw worldwide service, a few on twinfloats, and did much to develop air transport.Many of the British-owned Rapides were taken forwar service in 1939 and 194-0. A major boost toRapide production came in 194-0 with an order for150 trainers for the RAF. Further orders formilitary Rapides followed, with a total of 523 ofwhich 200 were built by Brush Coachworks. Therewere two versions, the radio and navigationaltrainer known as the Dominie Mk I and thecommunications version known as the DominieMk II. Incidentally, the RAF name for the GipsySix engine was Gipsy Queen and production of theaircraft ended in 194-6.

Numerous Dominies were converted for civil useafter the war and some Rapides were still flying atthe end of 1979.

90

Above: G-AHKV was aDH.89B Dominie convertedto a civil DH.89A. It first fie'as such in 1946 and waswithdrawn from service in1969Left: Lord Shafiesbury was parof the Islander class, whichflew on the BEA Scottish,Scilly and Channel Islandsroutes. It ended its career in1956 in the Laos Air Service

DH.89 Rapide

Type: light transport andradio and navigation trainerMaker: de Havilland AircrafCo; Brush Coachworks LtdSpan: 14.63m (48ft)Length: 10.5 m (34 ft 6 in)Height: 3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)Wing area: 31.3m2 (337sqflWeight: maximum 2495 kg(5500Ib);empty 1518kg(3346Ib)Powerplant: two 200-hp deHavilland Gipsy Six or Gips)Queen 2 and 3 6-cylinderinverted air-cooled inlineenginesPerformance: cruising spee<212.43k~/h (132mph);range 930 km (578 miles)Payload: seats for up to 8passengersCrew: I t02Production: 731

DR.90 Dragonfly, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1935

Left: The G-AEDT Endeavourwas one ofonly twoDragonflies airworthy in the1970s. In 1963 it wasoverhauled in the UK andthen flown to join theTallmantz collection inCalifornia

DH.90 Dragonfly

Type: light transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCoSpan: 13.1 m (43ft)Length: 9.65 m (31 ft 8 in)Height: 2.79 m (9 ft 2 in)Wing area: 23.78 m2

(256 sq ft)Weight: maximum 1814kg(4000 lb); empty 1128 kg(2487Ib)PowerpIant: two 145-hp deHavilland Gipsy Major 4­cylinder inverted air-cooledinline enginesPerformance: cruising speed201 km/h (125 mph); range1424 km (885 miles)Payload: seats for 4passengersCrew: IProduction: 67

HAVING produced a very successful series oflight transport aircraft with the Dragon,

Express Air Liner and Dragon Rapide, de Havil­land decided to build a five-seat private owners'touring aircraft using the experience gained on theearlier types. This was the DH.90 Dragonfly.

Although the Dragonfly's ancestry was obvious,it was a very different aircraft to its predecessors. Itwas smaller and had unequal-span wings with aninverted V-strut arrangement aft of the enginesand single outboard interplane struts. In order togive easy access to the cabin there were no bracingwires on the inner-wing bays. The Dragon, DH.86and Dragon Rapides had fuselages constructed aswooden boxes with fabric covering stretched overthe outside stiffening structure, but the Dragonflyhad a monocoque shell of preformed plywood. Thecabin had two pilot's seats, a double seat at therear and a single seat on the right side.

The Dragonfly was powered by two l45-hp deHavilland Gipsy Major engines which weremounted on the lower wing and drove two-bladepropellers. The mainwheels were housed in fairingssimilar to those of the Dragon Rapide. The firstflight took place at Hatfield on August 12, 1935,and the prototype averaged 231.34 km/h(144 mph) in the 1936 King's Cup race.

The Dragonfly originally cost £2650, which wasregarded as high at the time and initial sales on thehome market were modest, but some were sold tooverseas private owners including HM King FeisalofIraq. Although the aircraft's capacity was strict­ly limited, the Dragonfly was ordered by a surpris-

ingly large number of airlines including Qantas,LARES in Romania, DTA in Angola, Misr Air­work in Egypt, DHY in Turkey, Ala Littoria inItaly, Wearnes Air Services in Malaya, PLUNA inUruguay, and RANA (Rhodesia and NyasalandAirways). The Royal Canadian Mounted Policehad four, and another Canadian Dragonfly, ownedby Gold Belt Air Services, operated on twin floats.

Dragonfly production ended in 1938 and duringthe war some were impressed for military use. Asmall number survived the war and a few sawpostwar airline service with Connellan Airwaysand Bush Pilots Airways in Australia and DETAinAfrica. One continued to fly in the United King­dom until 1961 but by the early 1970s only two ofthe type remained in flying condition.

91

WibaultFIRST FLIGHT 1930

Left: F-AMHK was used tCIDNA on their Paris­Warsaw-Prague runBelow left: A Wibault­Penhiiet 282 without the'trousers' and central engircowling common in the 28:Below right: The 282T, LaGlorieux F-AMYD

Wibault 282.TI2

Type: passenger transportMaker: ChantiersAeronautiques Wibault;Wibault-Penhoet; Societed'Aviation Louis BreguetSpan: 22.61 m (74ft 2 in)Length: 17 m (55 ft 9V.in)Height: 5.57 m (18 ft 3V.inWing area: 64.4 m2 (693 sqWeight: maximum 6200 kg(13 668Ib); empty 4097 kg(90321b)Powerplant: three 350-hpGnome-Rhone Titan MajOl7Kd 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising spe200km/h (124mph); range1050 km (652 miles)Payload: seats for 10passengersCrew: 2 to 3Production: 18

283T

gines were uncowled and there were no under­carriage fairings. Later, the wing engines andfinally all three engines, were cowled, while at leastseven were fitted with drag-reducing streamlinedundercarriage fairings. One 282.T12 was for a timefitted with an experimental retractable undercar­riage. There was also a number of tail changeswhich included increasing the rudder chord, strut­bracing the originally cantilever tailplane, and theaddition of two small vertical fins above thetailplane. Two aircraft were converted to long­range versions with higher gross weight and ac­commodation for only two passengers.

In 1932 there was a twin-float version, soonwritten off, and a Wibault fuselage served as thefirst experimental rail-car on the French railways.

W HEN the biplane was still in widespreadairline service, Michel Wibault developed a

very advanced all-metal three-engined low-wingmonoplane which achieved a remarkable perform­ance with low power. This was the Wibault280.TlO which appeared in 1930.

Although the type numbers ranged from 280 to283, these were essentially the same aircraft andindividual aeroplanes were operated under varyingdesignations. The prototype was powered by 300­hp Hispano Suiza 9Qa engines but the secondaircraft had 350-hp Gnome-Rhone Titan Major7Kd engines. Bringing the first aeroplane to thisstandard made it the 281.T10.

In 1931 the Wibault concern merged with Chan­tiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoet and production ofthe 280 type began. Later the company wasabsorbed by Breguet but production continuedwith the first six 282.T12s. One aircraft enteredservice with CIIJNA on the Paris-Prague-Istanbulroute, and at least two, under the fleet name laVoile d'Or ('Golden Clipper'), went into service onthe Paris-London route with Air Union in 1933.The whole batch had been delivered by the timeAir France officially took over the earlier airlines inOctober 1933. The 282.T differed from the 281.Tonly in having cowlings on the engines.

In 1934 Air France took delivery of ten Wibault283.T12s with increased fuel capacity, higherweights and different propellers, for its main Euro­pean routes.

During their working lives the Wibaults under­went numerous modifications. Originally the en-

92

F.XXXVI, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1934

FOKKER built five three-engined F.XVIIImonoplanes in 1932 for KLM and these went

into service on the Amsterdam-Batavia (nowJakarta) route. Although larger, the F.XVIIIfollowed the tradition of the early Fokker trans­ports with rectangular-section straight-sided fusel­ages, and on the eastern route could carry only fourpassengers. KLM realized that bigger aircraftwould be required and in 1932 placed an order forsix four-engined monoplanes known as the F.Y.Construction began in 1933 and the first aircraft,flew, as the F.XXXVI, onJune 22, 1934. It was infact the only example built, although the 1935F.XXII was a scaled-down version.

The F.XXXVI was Fokker's first four-enginedaircraft; it was the biggest until the appearance ofthe postwar F27 Friendship. In layout theF.xXXVI followed Fokker tradition in having athick high-mounted all-wood cantilever wing, onthe leading edge of which the engines weremounted. The fuselage was of welded steel-tubeconstruction, like earlier Fokkers, but of ellipticalsection built up on a pyramidal girder frameworkas in the three-engined F.XX of 1933. There was alarge single fin and rudder and the undercarriage,including the tailwheel, was non-retractable.

The passenger accommodation was divided intofour eight-seat cabins and it was the total of 32seats plus four crew members which provided theaircraft's type number. The flight-deck was de­signed to provide the best possible view for thepilots and resulted in a somewhat strange layoutwith the first pilot on the centreline and secondpilot further aft and to the right. The radiooperator was on a lower level on the left side. Thefourth crew member was a steward.

The availability of the much more modern all­metal Douglas DC-2 led KLM to abandon itsintention of using the F.XXXVI on the Indiesroute, the cancellation of the other five and the useof the sole example on European services, mainlyon the London-Amsterdam-Berlin route. Actualdelivery to KLM was in March 1935.

Shortly before World War II, having re-equip­ped with DC-2s and DC-3s, KLM sold theF.xXXVI to Scottish Aviation as a navigationaltrainer. It was damaged in 1940 and scrapped.

Of the smaller F.XXIIs, KLM had three andSwedish Air Lines (ABA) one. Two were lost inaccidents and two passed to Scottish Aviation.

F.XXXVI

Type: passenger transportMaker: NV NederlandscheVliegtuigenfabriekSpan: 33 m (108ft 3'Ain)Length: 23.6 m (77 ft 5'/4 in)Height: 6 m (19 ft 8'14 in)Wing area: 170 m2

(1830 sq ft)Weight: maximum 16500kg(36 376Ib); empty 9900 kg(21 8251b)Powerplant: four 750-hpWright Cyclone SGR-1820­F2 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed240km/h (149mph); range1350km (839 miles)Payload: seats for 32passengersCrew: 4Production: I

Left and below: PH-AJA,built by Fokker for KLM, waseventually sold to a Britishfirm and ended its daysduring World War II as anavigational trainer with theRAF jn Scotland

V-I, VulteeFIRST FLIGHT 1934

FOR many years us airlines made widespreaduse of single-engined aircraft and operated a

wide variety of types. The last of the high-perform­ance single-engined types, and the fastest, was theVultee V-1A. This design had appeared in 1932 or1933 as the V-I designed by Gerard Vultee,formerly chief engineer of Lockheed, and built bythe Airplane Development Corporation.

The V-I was an all-metal low-wing cantilevermonoplane with two-spar wing, stressed-skincovering and inward-retracting main undercar­riage. The enclosed cockpit high in the nose hadthe pilot's seat on the left and a mail hold on theright. The passenger cabin had eight seats. Theengine was a 700-hp Wright Cyclone F-2 enclosedin a NACA cowling. It appears that only one V·1was built.

From the V-I was developed the V-IA whichwas generally similar but slightly bigger andheavier, with 850-hp Cyclone R-1820-G2 and im­proved performance. I t also had trailing-edgeflaps. The V-IA maintained the accommodationfor eight passengers but carried two crew.

American Airlines ordered 20 and introducedthe type on September 9, 1934. Bowen Airlines alsoused the V-lA, and it was reported that at least onewas sold to Canadian Colonial Airways.

The 1934 production programme contemplatedthe building of 50 V-lAs a year but the days of thesingle-engined transport were nearly over and onlylimited numbers were built.

There were a number of V-I A variants and one,believed to have been the V-IA '8', was flown

94

across the United States from Burbank, California,to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, in 11 hours 59min by Major James Doolittle in 1935. Another ofthe same type, with long-range tanks and blanked­off windows, was flown across the North Atlanticby Dick Merrill and Harry Richman in 1936. ThisVultee was the well known Lady Peace.

There was also a twin-float example known asthe V-IA-S, and there were numbers of militarydevelopments including the V-11, V-12 and YA­19. The military Vultees were used by the UnitedStates Army and others were exported to Brazil,China, Turkey, and the USSR.

The V-lAs did not long remain in airline servicebut at least seven of American Airlines' aircraftwent to Spain during the Civil War.

Above: The Vultee V-lA, N16099 at Oshkosh, WisconsiAfter it had ceased to be useas a transport it remainedpopular as a racing andsporting aircraft

V-IA

Type: high-speed passenge!transportMaker: AirplaneDevelopment CorporationSpan: 15.24m (50ft)Length: 11.28 m (37ft)Height: 3.09 m (10ft 2 in)Wing area: 35.67 m2

(384sq ft)Weight: maximum 3856 kg(8500 Ib); empty 2407 kg(5307Ib)Powerplant: one 850-hpWright Cyclone R-1820-G2cylinder air-cooled radialenginePerformance: cruising spel339.6km/h (211 mph); rang1609 km (1000 miles)Payload: seats for 8passengersCrew: I t02Production: not available

Potez 62I FIRST FLIGHT 1935

Potez 62-0

Type: passenger transportMaker: Societe desAeroplanes Henri PotezSpan: 22.45 m (73 ft 7%in)Length: 17.32m (56ft lOin)Height: 3.9m (12ft9'/2in)Wing area: 76 m2 (818 sq ft)Weight: maximum 7500 kg(16 5341b); empty 4895 kg(107911b)Powerplant: two 870-hpGnome-Rhone 14Kirs MistralMajor 14-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed280km/h (174mph); range1000km (621 miles)Payload: seats for up to 16passengersCrew: 2 to 3Production: 23 (bothversions)

Above: F-ANPG Albatroswhich entered Air Franceservice in 1935Far left: F-AOTU,delightfully named LaSiduisante (the Seductress)Left: The spacious cabin waswell decorated, soundproofedand had heating and air­conditioning systems

Potez 62-ls and also had three 62-0s re-engined to62-1 standard. In 1937 the unmodified 62-0s werefitted with 900-hp Gnome-RhOne 14N 16/17s withmodified cowlings.

The Potez 62 fleet, in blue and silver livery,worked many of Air France's European servicesand in May 1936 two 62-ls began operating overthe Buenos Aires to Santiago route which involvedcrossing the Andes.

For their period the Potez 62s were quite fast buthad mostly been replaced by more modern aircraftby the start of World War II. One had been lost inIndia in 1938 and at least one served with the FreeFrench forces.

The Potez 65 troop transport, flown in 1937, wasa direct development of the Potez 62.

TOWARDS the end of 1933 the Potez 54 twin­engined military aircraft began flight testing

and more than 200 were built. From this designwas developed the Potez 62 civil transport whichwas very similar to the 54 bomber, but without theugly and bulky lines. This aircraft was destined toform a major part of Air France's fleet, and sawservice around the world in the years before theoutbreak of World War II.

The Potez 62 had a high-mounted strut-bracedwing, untapered except on the detachable tips,single fin and rudder, and retractable tailwheelundercarriage. The ply-covered wooden fuselagewas rectangular in section but of streamlinedprofile; the wing was a metal structure with fabriccovering except on the leading edge; and the tailsurfaces were of wood with fabric covering.

The two 870-hp Gnome-Rhone 14Kirs MistralMajor supercharged radial engines were cowledand carried on a supporting structure attached tothe fuselage lower longerons. They were strut­braced to the top of the fuselage. The engines drovethree-blade propellers and the main undercarriageunits retracted aft into the engine nacelles.

The Potez 62 had seats for 14 to 16 passengers intwo cabins, smoking being allowed in one. Theprototype flew on January 28, 1935, and in June,Air France began operating the type on its Paris­Marseilles-Rome services. The airline operated 12of these aircraft under the designation Potez 62-0.

In 1935 Potez produced the 62-1 with slightlyswept-back wing and nO-hp Hispano-Suiza 12Xrsliquid-cooled engines. Air France operated ten

95

SM.73, Savoia-MarchettiFIRST FLIGHT 1934

Left: One of the 12 SM.73s inservice with SABENA in the1930sBelow: The robust spattedundercarriage of the SM.73

Type: passenger transportMaker: Societa IdrovolantiAlta Italia; SABCASpan: 24 m (78 ft 9 in)Length: 17.45 m (57 ft 3 in)Height: 4.6 m (15 ft I in)Wing area: 93 m2 (1001 sq ft)Weight: maximum 10430kg(22 994Ib); empty 6930 kg(15278Ib)Powerplant: three 700-hpPiaggio Stella X.RC 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed280 km/h (174mph); range1600 km (994 miles)Payload: seats for 18passengersCrew: 5Production: 40 (Italy) 7(Belgium)

SM.73

T HE SM.73 was the first of the ser~es of Savoia­Marchetti three-engined low-\', mg cantilever

monoplanes to go into airline service. It had a thickwing, tapering in chord and thickness, built as awatertight three-spar wooden structure with ply­wood covering. The ailerons and flaps, like the tailsurfaces, were of metal construction with fabriccovering. The fuselage, also fabric-covered, was ofwelded steel-tube construction.

The main undercarriage was of the divided typewith the wheels enclosed or partly enclosed in largestreamlined spats. Passenger accommodation, for18, was divided between two cabins, a main 14-seatcabin and a small forward cabin at a higher levelover the wing spars. The crew normally consistedof two pilots, and one engineer, radio operator andsteward. An interesting feature of the SM.73 wasthe unusually large amount of the fuselage occu-pied by payload, as the cabin extended well backtowards the tailplane.

The prototype first flew on June 4,1934. It had acontinuous row of cabin windows, a tall S.71-typetail unit and four-blade propeller on the centreengine. Production aircraft had individual cabinwindows, modified tails and three-blade propellerson each engine.

The first production batch of SM.73s went toSabena which introduced them on European ser­vices in 1935. These SM.73s were powered by 600­hp Gnome-Rhone 9Kfr Mistral Major engines.There then followed a series of SM.73s for AlaLittoria and Avio Linee Italiane, and three types ofengine were fitted to these Italian-owned examples ____- 700-hp Piaggio Stella X.RC, 800-hp Alfa Romeo126 RC.lO and 760-hp Wright Cyslone GR-1820.

The Czechoslovak state airline CSA took deliv­ery of three SM.73s in 1937 and these werepowered by 615-hp Czechoslovak Walter PegasusIIM2 engines built under licence from Bristols.

It is believed that 40 SM.73s were built in Italyand in 1936 and 1937 the Belgian companySABCA built seven more Mistral Major-poweredexamples for Sabena. The acquisition of moreSM.73s enabled Sabena to replace the elderlyFokker F.VIIb/3ms on the services linking Brus­sels with the Belgian Congo, from October 1936.

Some of the Italian examples were used duringthe war by the Regia Aeronautica and someSabena SM.73s were used by the RAF. Noneappear to have survived the war.

96

SM.74, Savoia-MarchettiFIRST FLIGHT 1934

SOCIETA Idrovolanti Alta Italia is probablybest known for its series of three-engined low­

wing monoplane transports and twin-hulled flyingboats, but the company also built two types ofhigh-wing monoplane that saw airline service. Thefirst was the Savoia-Marchetti S.71 which generallyresembled the three-engined Fokkers in widescaleuse when the S. 71 first flew late in 1930.

The S.71 had accommodation for eight to tenpassengers and was powered by three 240-hpWalter Castor or 370-hp Piaggio Stella radialengines. Then during the years 1934 and 1935SIAl built three SM.74s. These were similar to theS.71s but much bigger and powered by fourengines, 700-hp Piaggio Stella X.RCs in the firsttwo aircraft and 845-hp Alfa Romeo Pegasus Illsin the last one. The engines were enclosed inNACA cowlings and drove three-blade two­position controllable-pitch metal propellers. In1938 Alfa Romeo 126 engines were fitted.

Like the S.7Is, the ·SM. 74s had thick one-piecethree-spar wooden wings covered with plywoodwith a final covering of fabric; welded steel-tubefuselage with ply and fabric covering; and metal­framed tail unit with fabric covering. The wing wasfitted with split flaps. The main undercarriageunits were attached to the inboard engine mount­ings, and the wheels were fitted with brakes andpartially enclosed in streamlined spats.

The crew cabin was high in the nose just forwardof the wing and the main cabin, with full-lengthwindows, had eight single seats on the left side and16 on the right. There was a bar and lavatory aft

and the baggage was carried in underfloor holds.The prototype SM.74 flew for the first time on

November 16, 1934. All three aircraft were deli­vered to Ala Littoria during 1935 and were em­ployed on the Rome to Paris route. This involvedcrossing the Alps and passengers were suppliedwith oxygen via leads hanging from the overheadbaggage racks, the same system being used afterWorld War II on the Savoia-Marchetti SM.95four-engined low-wing monoplanes used byAlitalia.

During the war the SM.74s were used as militarytransports by the~ia Aeronautica, serving firstwith 616, and then later with 604 squadron. Thelast of the SM.74s was damaged in a bombing raidon Rome's old Urbe Airport on July 19, 1943.

SM.74

Type: passenger transportMaker: Societa ldrovolantiAlta ItaliaSpan: 29.68 m (97 ft 4'/2 in)Length: 21.36 m (70 ft I in)Height: 5.5 m (18 ft 01/2 in)Wing area: 118.54 m2

(1276sq ft)Weight: maximum 14000kg(30 865Ib); empty 9600 kg(21164Ib)Powerplant: four 700-hpPiaggio Stella X.RC or 845­hp Alfa Romeo Pegasus III or800-hp Alfa Romeo AR 1269­cylinder air-cooled enginesPerformance: cruising speed300km/h (186mph); range1000 km (621 miles)Payload: seats for 24passengersCrew: 3 t04Production: 3

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Left and below: I-URBEwhich, with I-ROMA andI-ALPE, made up the AlaLittoria SM. 74 fleet. Theaircraft's passengers hadindividual oxygen maskswhen the aircraft flew over theAlps

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97

SM.83, Savoia-MarchettiFIRST FLIGHT 1937

T HE SM.83 was the smallest of the three­engined Savoia-Marchetti transports and was

the civil airliner development of the RegiaAeronautica's standard bomber - the SM.79 Spar­viero. The first civil example was described as anSM.83 but registered as an SM.79. The true civilprototype, I-LUCE, was exhibited at the 2ndSalone Aeronautico Internazionale in Milan inOctober 1937 and made its first flight onNovember 19 that year.

In general appearance the SM.83 resembled theSM.73 but had a retractable undercarriage. Thethree-spar watertight wing was of the traditionalwooden construction and incorporated camber­changing flaps and Handley Page leading-edgeslats. The fuselage also followed establishedSavoia-Marchetti principles but had a metal-skin­ned nose, and the top surface was covered partly bymetal and partly by plywood. The sides andundersurfaces were fabric-covered.

Twenty-three SM.83s were built in three mainversions - the standard type, the SM.83A and theSM.83T with increased fuel capacity.

The SM.83s were used on European services andoriginally had accommodation for ten passengersbut the SM.83A and SM.83T were intended foroperation of passenger and mail services betweenItaly and South America, the SM.83A having sixseats and the SM.83T being a mail carrier.

It seems that at least 13 SM.83s were used byAla Littoria SA Linee Atlantiche and LATI (LineeAeree Transcontinentali Italiane) on South Atlan­tic operations. Three others were acquired by theRomanian airline LARES, and these and oneowned by Prince Bibesco of Romania all appear tohave been powered by 750-hp Alfa Romeo 126RC.34 engines. However, the three operated bySabena on its services between Brussels and theCongo had lOOO-hp Wright Cyclone GR-1820-G2engines. On the Congo route the SM.83s cut theflying time to 24 hours and the journey time to 3 V2days.

On December 21, 1939, one of LATI's SM.83sleft Rome to inaugurate the Italian mail service toRio de Janeiro. The operation was maintained to aweekly schedule until 1942.

At least 16 of the SM.83s saw war service withthe Regia Aeronautica, ten from LATI, three fromSabena and three Romanian. The last airworthySM.83 made its final flight in 1945.

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98

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SM.83

Type: passenger and mailtransportMaker: Societa ItalianaAeroplani Idrovolanti'Savoia-Marchetti'Span: 21.2 m (69 ft 6'12 in)Length: 16.2m (53ft I%in)Height: 4.6m (15ft I in)Wing area: 60 m2 (646 sq ft)Weight: maximum 12165kg(26 819Ib); empty 6800 kg(14991Ib)Powerplant: three 750-hpAlfa Romeo 126 RC.34 or1000-hp Wright Cyclone GR­1820-G2 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed400 km/h (249 mph); range2000 km (1243 miles); rangeofAtlantic SM.83 4800 km(2983 miles)Crew: 4Payload: 1000 kg (22001b);seats for up to 10 passengersProduction: 23

Above left: The SM.83's crewaccess and hatches to thebaggage areaLeft and below: The civilSM.83 differed little from thebomber, except for the revisedinterior which could take tenpassengers

•

Martin 130FIRST FLIGHT 1934

H AVING established a network of air servicesin the Caribbean and South America, Pan

American Airways was eager to develop air ser­vices across the North Atlantic and the Pacific.Charles Lindbergh made survey flights over bothroutes and for the Pacific route to the Far Eastrecommended the northern way round. This wasruled out because o[ political reasons and theairline was [aced with opening a mid-ocean routewith, for that time, very long stages.

In mid 1935 Pan American made route surveyswith a modified Sikorsky S-42 but this was incap­able of carrying any payload over these long trans­ocean stages. For the operation of the route PanAmerican had issued a specification for a flyingboat capable of carrying [our crew and at least136kg (300Ib) of mail over 4023-km (2500-mile)stages against a 48-km/h (30-mph) wind. Martin'sM-130 design was given an order for three, and thefirst flew on December 30, 1934.

The M-130 was a large strut-braced monoplaneof metal construction. It had a single fin andrudder, sponsons or sea-wings instead of wingtipfloats, and used [or the first time four 950-hp Pratt& Whitney Twin Wasp radial engines drivingthree-blade metal propellers.

Pan American normally employed a 14-seatlayout with triple seats on the right side and singleseats on the left side, but maximum seating was 4l.The crew accommodation was at a higher level.

The M -130s were originally named China Clip­per, Philippine CLipper and Hawaii Clipper and thefirst of them inaugurated trans-Pacific serviceswhen it left Alameda, San Francisco, on November22, 1935. The first service took 59 hours 48min.

The renamed Hawaiian Clipper was lost in Oc­tober 1938 and the other two passed to the USNavy in 1942. Philippine Clipper crashed in Califor­nia but China Clipper was returned to Pan Ameri­can and used on South Atlantic operations until itwas destroyed whilst landing at night in Trinidadin January 1945.

In 1937 Martin built a much larger developmentof the M-130. This was the M-156 with twin finsand rudders, [our 1000-hp Wright Cyclone enginesand accommodation for 46 passengers. It went tothe Soviet Union where it was designated PS-30and is believed to have been used by Aeroflot in1942 on services between Vladivostock and Pet­ropavlovsk-Kamchatski.

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Left: A Martin 130 clipperBelow: Passengers board theChina Clipper in 1937. Thethree Martin clippers made itpossible for PanAm to startthe first air service fromAmerica to China

Martin 130

Type: long-range passengerand mail Oying boatMaker: Glenn L Martin CoSpan: 39.62m (130ft)Length: 27.7 m (90 fl 10 '/2 in)Height: 7_49 m (24ft 7 in)Wing area: 201.6 m2 (2170 sqft)Weight: maximum 23 702 kg(52 252Ib); empty II 164 kg(24611Ib)Powerplant: four 950-hpPratt & Whitney R-1830Twin Wasp 14--cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed252_7 km/h (157 mph); range5150km (3200 miles), (withmail only) 6437 km (4000miles)Payload: scats for up to 41passengersCrew: 5Production: 3

99

Farman F.224FIRST FLIGHT 1937

EARLY in the 1930s Farman began develop­ment of a series of large high-wing braced

monoplanes each with four engines mounted intandem pairs on either side of the fuselage. Thefirst of these rather ugly aircraft was the F.220bomber powered with 600-hp Hispano-Suiza12Lbr engines. One modified F.220, without mili­tary equipment, was used by Air France on SouthAtlantic mail services in 1935.

The heavier Gnome-Rhone-powered F.221 and222 bombers followed, and Air France had fourF.2200 and one F.2220 civil developments for itsSouth Atlantic mail operations. After evaluatingthese aircraft Air France ordered six of a newdevelopment from these types. The F.224 waspowered by four 815-hp Gnome-Rhone 14K 14­cylinder two-row air-cooled radials mounted intandem. The wings, engine installation and under­carriage were similar to the F.222 but the F.224had a larger tail due to its longer fuselage.

Passengers were accommodated in pairs of seatsfour abreast with a central aisle. Their baggagewas stowed in a compartment in the nose andbelow the floor of the main cabin. The crewoccupied a cockpit on a higher level.

The aircraft was exhibited at the Paris Salon in1936 where its seating for 40 passengers provokedsome interest. However Air France were disap­pointed with the F.224 and the Armee de l'Air tookthem into their transport groups in 1939. Theirsubsequent fate following the fall of France in 1940is not known.

After the F.224 Farman built the aerodynami­cally cleaner F .2231 or 223-1 a high performancemail carrier.

The last of the line was the F.2234 which firstflew on March 15, 1939. It was a direct develop­ment of the F.2231 but was cleaner and heavier.With a slender three-spar all-metal wing, braced tothe fuselage by a single strut, it was fitted with full­span flaps and ailerons. The main undercarriageunits retracted into the nacelles between the 1000­hp Hispano-Suiza engines which drovethe three-blade propellers.

They were intended for experimental high-al­titude North Atlantic flights by Air France-Trans­atlantique but the outbreak of war prevented theseoperations. They were modified as bombers and inJune 1940 one became the first Allied aircraft toraid Berlin.

100

Above: The Farman 224 wasvery similar to the F.222bomber, but due to its greaterlength it had a larger tailLeft: Cockpit interior, inwhich the crew positions werehigher than the passengercabin

F.224

Type: passenger transportMaker: Avions Farman(SNCAC)Span: 36 m (118 ft I in)Length: 23.35 m (76 ft 7 in)Height: 5.19m (17ft)Wing Area: 186 m2

(2002 sq ft)Weight: maximum 16270 kg(35 869Ib); empty notavailablePowerplant: four 815-hpGnome-Rhone 14K 14­cylinder two-row air-cooledradialsPerformance: maximumspeed 300 to 310 km/h (186 to193 mph); range up to2000km (1242 miles)Crew: 4Payload: seats for 40passengersProduction: 6

i

D.338, DewoitineFIRST FLIGHT 1936

SOCIETE Aeronautique Fran~aise, formerlyConstructions Aeronautiques E Dewoitine and

nationalized in 1936 as Societe Nationale de Con­structions Ahonautiques du Midi, completed theD.332 in 1932. This was the first of a series of three­engined all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplanetransports. It had eight seats, weighed 9350 kg(206141b) loaded, cruised at 250km/h (155mph),had a range of 2000 km (1242 miles) and had three575-hp Hispano-Suiza 9V radials.

The D.332 was followed by three eight- to ten­passenger D.333s which had increased wing areaand greater maximum weight. The D.333s wererequired for the Toulouse-Dakar sector of theSouth America route. The first, Antares, was lost onthat route in October 1937 and the other two weretransferred to South America.

Sabena had plan~ed to use a D.335 on itsBrussels-Malmo services but it was not built andthe next type to appear was the D.338 which firstflew in the summer of 1936. This was slightlybigger than the earlier designs, heavier, morepowerful and faster. The D.338 was essentiallysimilar to the D.333 but had a longer fuselage, withaccommodation for up to 22 passengers. In addi­tion, its mainwheels retracted into the enginenacelles whereas the D.332 and D.333s had non­retractable undercarriages with large streamlinedfairings.

Air France took delivery of the prototype D.338in 1936 and soon ordered another 21, later in­creased to 29, requiring them for European, FarEastern and South American services. The pro-

totype went into service on the Parls-Marseilles­Cannes route in the summer of 1936, the firstproduction aircraft flew in August 1937 and tenhad been delivered by June 1938. It was a D.338which opened Air France's Paris to Hong Kongservice in August 1938.

For a short time after the start of World War IID.338s were operating the Paris to London(Heston) service. Two were at Beirut when theFranco-German armistice was signed and thesewere used for military transport between Beirutand the French Congo. Nine D.338s survived thewar and Air France still had eight in December1946. In Europe the D.338s had 22 seats, onAfrican services 15 and on the Far East rou te 12including six sleeper-seats.

Below: The D.338 Villed'Orleans in Air France coloursat Le Bourget in 1938. Thetype was used on routes toAfrica and the Far EastBottom: The slender eleganceof the D.338 which wasnotably larger than itspredecessors, the D.332 and333

D.338

)

=~-o 0

~._~o

,-_......_.....AIR FRANCE

Type: passenger transportMaker: Societe Nationale deConstructions AeronautiquesduMidiSpan: 29.35 m (96 ft 3'/2 in)Length: 22.13 m (72 ft 7V. in)Height: 5.57m (I8ft3V.in)Wing area: 99 m2 (1066 sq ft)Weight: maximurn II 150 kg(24 581Ib); empty 8053 kg(17753Ib)Powerplant: three 650-hpHispano-Suiza 9V 16/179-cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed260 km/h (161 mph); range1950km (1211 miles)

Payload: seats for up to 22passengersCrew: 3 t04Production: 31

101

D.620, DewoitineFIRST FLIGHT 1936

D.620

Above left: The cockpit ofa620, with co-pilot's seatcushion removedLeft and below: The D.620with the earlier landing-gearfairings

Type: passenger transportMaker: Societe AeronautiqueFranr;:aiseSpan: 29.36 m (96 ft 3% in)Length: 23.59 m (77ft 41/2 in)Height: 5.725m (18ft9,!sin)Wing area: 99 m2 (1065 sq ft)Weight: maximum 12760 kg(28131Ib); empty 7800 kg(17196Ib)Powerplant: three 880-hpGnome-Rhone 14N 14­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed270km/h (168mph); range900km (559 miles)Payload: seats for 30passengersCrew: 4Production: I

T HE Dewoitine D.620 is something ·of a mys­tery. It appears to have been completed during

1936 just before the Societe Aeronautique Fran­<;:aise was nationalized, becoming part of theSNCAM (Societe Nationale de ConstructionsAeronautiques du Midi). This suggests that itcame chronologically between the prototype and .production D.338s, which were perhaps the finestcivil transports built in France before World WarII.

The D.620 had the same all-metal wing as theD.338, with trailing-edge flaps. The fuselage lengthof the two types was the same but initially theD.620 had eight square windows in each side of thefuselage instead of the D.338's long rectangularwindows. Later, the D.620 was modified and hadan almost continuous row of windows along eachside of the cabin area.

It appears that the D.620 was designed forEuropean routes because it had 30 seats. Nine ofthese seats were located in the forward cabin, and21 in the main rear cabin which also contained abar thus necessitating a steward, lavatory andbaggage hold. Few airliners at that time hadaccommodation for so many passengers, and it isquite possible that this over-ambitious approachcontributed in no small measure to the aircraft'slack of success.

The D.620 was powered by three 880-hpGnome-Rhone 14Krsd 14-cylinder radial enginesdriving three-blade controllable-pitch propellers.There were close-fitting cowlings which were laterchanged for cowlings similar to those on the D.338.The mainwheels retracted into the engine nacellesand the undercarriage doors were hinged to letdown in front of the wheels, but were laterexchanged for side-hinged doors, which were foundto be less drag-producing which in turn improvedthe performance of the aircraft.

The D.620 was heavier than the D..338 andslightly faster but it had less than half the range.With one engine inoperative it had a ceiling of5200m (17060ft). The aircraft was not put intoproduction, was never used and its fate isunknown.

A last example of this Dewoitine layout was theD.342 of 1939. This was powered by three 915-hpGnome-Rhone 14N engines, had accommodationfor 24 passengers and was delivered to Air Francein 1942.

,...,. .-

Type: light transportMaker: General AircraftLtdSpan: 12.24m (40ft2in)Length: 8.02 m (26 ft 4 in)Height: 2.13 m (7 ft)Wirig area: 20.3 m2 (219 sqft)Weight: maximum 1157 kg(2550 lb); empty 617 kg(1360Ib)Powerplant: two 85-hpPobjoy R 7-cylinder air­cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed185 km/h (115 mph); range869 km (540 miles)Payload: seats for 3passengersCrew: IProduction: 29

103

Monospar ST.4

Left: G-ABUZ a privatelyowned Monospar ST.4, withexperimental larger finBelow left: G-AEDY afterbeing rebuilt as the prototypeST.25 Universal, with twinfins and folding wingsBottom: G-AEDY theprototype of the MonosparST.25 De Luxe. There wasonly one other De Luxe built

THE ST4 four-seat twin-engined monoplanewas the first type to go into production with

the patented 'Monospar' wing which had beendesigned by H J Stieger in the 1920s.

Stieger had been concerned with the problems ofproducing a cantilever metal-structured wingwhich combined adequate strength with an accept­ably low weight. The result was a single spar builtup as a tapering girder strengthened with a Warrengirder system of tie-rods to prevent both blendingand twisting.

The success of the ST3, built by Gloster Air­craft, led to the setting up of General Aircraft andthe design and production of the ST4. The ST.4'sentire structure was of metal with fabric coveringand both the wing and fuselage were constructedon the Monospar system. The wing centre sectionhad an untapered leading edge and reverse taperon the trailing edge. It tapered from the very thinsection at the root to maximum thickness at thejunction with the outer wings, which themselveswere of normal taper in thickness and had taper inplan on both leading and trailing edges. The uppersection of the spar was visible at the centre section,being revealed by the wing's thinning at the root.Aft of the spar. the. centre-section panels foldedupward against the fuselage to allow the main wingpanels to fold aft.

There was a single fin and rudder, the under­carriage was non-retractable, and the engines were85-hp Pobjoy R seven-cylinder radials driving four­blade wooden propellers.

The first ST.4 flew in May 1932, seven werebuilt and these were followed by 22 improved ST4Mk lIs. E E Fresson's Highland Airways used onefrom Inverness to Wick and Orkney, VASP usedtwo for airline work in Brazil, and Commercial AirHire employed ST4s on the Inner Circle airlinelinking Croydon and Heston.

Three ST4s were converted to ST6s withretractable undercarriages. Another developmentwas the STIO which had a fixed undercarriage andwas powered by Pobjoy Niagara I radials. Alsobuilt were two STlls, ten ST.12s and the one,much bigger, STl8 Croydon.

The ST.25 was developed from the STIO andwas the last built in numbers. There were threeversions of the ST25 - the ST25 Jubilee, De Luxeand Universal. There were· 30 Jubilees built, 29Universals but only one De Luxe.

Monospar ST.4, General AircraftFIRST FLIGHT 1932

Ju 160,JunkersFIRST FLIGHT 1934

T HE Ju 160 stemmed from the same require­ment as the Heinkel He 70, namely Lufthan­

sa's need for an aircraft to match the performanceof the Lockheed Orion. Junkers' first attempt tomeet the specification was the Ju 60 which isthought to have been built in 1933.

The Ju 60 broke with Junkers' tradition inhaving a two-spar instead of multi-spar wing,although still covered with a corrugated metal skin,and a smooth-skinned metal fuselage with ovalsection. It had a single 600-hp BMW Hornet Cradial engine, tandem seats for the two crew, and acabin for six passengers.' The only known examplehad a forward-retracting main undercarriage butthere is some evidence of an earlier example withnon-retractable undercarriage. The J u 60 sawlimited service with Lufthansa but did not go intoproduction.

From the J u 60 was developed the generallysimilar Ju 160 which can be regarded as theproduction version. The Ju 160's wing was ofmodified planform and smoothcskinned, as werethe tail surfaces .. The crew's cockpit was morecleanly faired into the fuselage, the main undercar­riage retracted inwards and was completely en­closed, and the 660-hp BMW 132E was enclosed ina close-fitting NACA cowling. The prototype had adeep rudder and a tail skid but production aircrafthad shorter rudders and were fitted with tail­wheels. Full-span Junkers 'double wing' flaps andailerons were fitted.

The prototype and 20 production aircraft,named after animals, were used by Lufthansa, thetype entering service in 1935 and being used almostentirely on domestic routes. The type was operat­ing over a dozen routes in 1937 and at least 16 werestill 'in service when World War II' began inSeptember 1939.

Two Ju 160s are known to h,ave been exported.They were to Manchurian Air Transport in 1937.The German Air Ministry operatedJu 160s, 26 areknown to have been on the German civil registerand total production according to reports, was asmany as 48.

Just as the He 70 experience' was embodied inthe twin-engined 'He 11'1, so the experience gainedin the design and development of the J u 60 and J u160 was to prove useful to Junkers in producing the

- twin-enginedJu 86 which saw limited civil use andwas produced in large numbers as a bomber.

Ju 160A

Ju 160

Type: high-speed passengetransportMaker: Junkers Flugzeug­und-Motorenwerke AGSpan: 14.32m (46ft ll%in:Length: 12m (39ft4Y2in)Height: 3.92 m (12 ft IOY2irWing area: 34.8 m2 (374Y2sft)Weight: maximum 3550 kg(7826Ib); empty 2320 kg(51151b)Powerplant: one 660-hpBMW 132E 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginePerformance: cruising spee,315 km/h (196 mph); rangeapprox 1020 km (634 miles)Payload: seats for 6passengersCrew: 2Production: 48

Below: The slightly crankedwings oftheJu 160. Whereasin the J u 60 the wing coveringwas ofcorrugated metal, inthe 160 it was of polishedaluminium sheetBottom: Lion opens up itsengine prior to take-off

S-43, SikorskyFIRST FLIGHT 1935

Left: An S-43 in service withits largest operator, PanAm,with whom the type werenicknamed 'Baby Clippers'

Type: passengeramphibianMaker: Sikorsky AircraftSpan: 26.21 m (86 ft)Length: 15.59 m (51 ft 2 in)Height: 5.38m (l7ft8in)Wing area: 72.5 m2 (781 sqft)Weight: maximum 8845 kg(19500 lb); empty 5783 kg(12750Ib)Powerplant: two 750-hpPratt & Whitney R-1690Hornet 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed267 km/h (166 mph); range1247 km (775 miles)Payload: seats for up to 19passengersCrew: 3Production: 53

S-43

Far left: The retractingmainwheel of the S-43 whichfitted snugly into the hullwhen the aircraft was in flightLeft: One of the 53 S-43sunder construction in the mid1930s

the Hawaiian Islands, Aeromaritime used four inWest Africa, and DNL-Norwegian Air Lines hadone. In addition, Iloilo-Negros Air Express oper­ated Philippine inter-island services· with S-43s,and one, operated in Alaska by Reeve AleutianAirways, was still to be seen, although unair­worthy, at Anchorage in 1958. One S-43 was soldto the Soviet Union and there was at least oneprivately owned example. During World War II,S-43s were used in Brazil to transport rubber.

Apart from the civil S-43s, the United StatesArmy Air Forces had five, known as YIOA-8s, formilitary transport work and bought one from acivil operator and redesignated it OA-ll. TheUnited States Navy had 15 S-43s and the USMarine Corps two.

THE Sikorsky S-43 made its first flight on June1, 1935. It was a twin-engined amphibian of

about half the weight and capacity of the four­engined S-42, although in appearance it resembleda much refined version of that aircraft. The S-43was a high-wing monoplane with the wing sup­ported on a pair of N struts above the hull;outboard of these struts, which were in line withthe engines, the wing was a cantilever structure.

The hull, of pleasing shape, was a two-step all­metal structure into the sides of which the main­wheels retracted, the tailwheel being aft of the rearstep. The wing was a metal structure but thetrailing-edge flaps, occupying 48% of the span and20% of the chord, were fabric-covered as were thetail surfaces which comprised strut-braced tail­plane, divided elevators and single fin and rudder.

The two engines, mounted ahead of the wing,were 750-hp Pratt & Whitney Hornets enclosed inNACA cowlings and driving three-blade constant­speed variable-pitch metal propellers. Normal ac­commodation was for two pilots, a steward, and 15passengers in two separate cabins.

Pan American Airways bought 14 of theseamphibians and put the first of them into service inApril 1936 in Brazil where they replaced Commo­dore flying boats. Pan American called the S-43s'Baby Clippers' and some were operated by theairline's associated Panair do Brasil. In August1938 Pan American used the type on provingflights between Seattle and Juneau in Alaska.

Inter-Island Airways (later Hawaiian Airlines)operated four S-43s on internal services throughout

+

t105

DC-3, DouglasFIRST FLIGHT 1935

Forty DSTs were built, 21 with the originalCyclone engines and 19 as DST-As with 1000-hpPratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830s. Before theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Douglas hadbuilt nearly 400 DC-3s of which about a quarterwere exported. Wright Cyclones and Pratt &Whitney Twin Wasps were used as powerplant,with Cyclones finding most favour at that time.

The first 20 went to American Airlines, the 21 stwent to the USSR, and the next went to KLM ­the first non-US airlines operator. Alternatebatches then went to United Air Lines, Eastern AirLines, American Airlines and TWA.

With the United States' entry into World War IIlarge-scale military production of DC-3s began.These were to be used for almost every conceivable

Left: A DC-3 of the Finnishairline Kar AirRight: A DC-3 in the livery ofTWA before the company'stransition fromTranscontinental & WesternAir to Trans World Airlines.The'S' was added to the word'Airline' after May 17, 1950when.>the company namechanged officiallyBelow right: DC-3 night planewith Sleeper berths forwardon each side of the aisle

T HE Douglas DC-3 was one of the most impor­tant transport aircraft ever built. The type

probably did more than any other to establish airtransport as a normal means of travel and to openup communications in remote areas, while duringthe war variants had a vital world role.

The DC-3 was a direct development of the DC-2and it came into being to meet the requirements ofAmerican Airlines. That airline and Transconti­nental & Western Air (TWA) were both operatingUS transcontinental services. TWA was using DC­2s. But American's route was longer and it had tooperate sleeper services with Curtiss Condor bi­planes because the DC-2s did not have sufficientspace for sleeping berths. However, the Condorswere much slower than the DC-2s.

By the summer of 1934 American Airlines hadforeseen this problem and decided that it requiredan aircraft with the performance and economics ofthe DC-2 combined with the space of the Condor,room for sleeping berths on each side of the aisleand the ability to fly non-stop in both directionsover the New York to Chicago route.

Douglas was not anxious to embark on a newaircraft but American insisted and the result wasthe DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) - an aircraftbased on the DC-2 but with increased span andlength, wider fuselage, more powerful engines andmodified tail for better directional stability.

The new aircraft was to appear in two versions,namely the DST (sleeper) with 14 berths and theDC-3 (day plane) with, initially, 21 seats.

The first DST, with 1000-hp Wright CycloneSGR-1820-G2 engines, made its first flight onDecember 17, 1935, and the type entered servicewith American on June 25, 1936, but initially as aday plane, between New York and Chicago. InAugust 1936 American Airlines began receivingDC-3s and this released DSTs which then, onSeptember 18, began transcontinental sleeper ser­vices to a 16 hours eastbound and 17 hours 45 minwestbound schedule.

The DC-3, or DST, was a very clean low-wingcantilever monoplane with single fin and rudderand retractable main undercarriage. It had the bythen traditional Northrop multi-cellular wingstructure and was very strong. The type wasdestined to be produced in many civil and militaryversions with a wide range of engines and sufferedvery few fatigue problems.

106

DC-3

107

Above left: The cockpi t ofatypical prewar DC-3Far left: BEA was one ofanumber of airlines who foundthat the DC-3 was not onlyreliable and safe but was thefirst airliner to return a profitwithout the support of mailcontracts or subsidiesCentre left: The main landinggear was stronger than that ofthe DC-2 and operated moresmoothlyLeft: The nine-cylinderWright Cyclone SGR-1820­G2 was by far the mostpopular DC-3 engine in the1930s

Type: civil and militarytransportMaker: Douglas Aircraft Co;Nakajima Hikoki KK; ShowaHikoki Kogyo KK; SovietState AircraftSpan: 28.96 m (95 ft)Length: 19.65m (64ft 5'12 in)Height: 5.16 m (16 ft 11'18 in)Wing area: 91.692 m2 (987 sqft)Weight: maximum 10 886 kg(24000 lb); empty 7802 kg(172001b)Powerplant: two 1000-hpWright Cyclone SGR-1820­G2 9-cylinder or 1000-hpPratt & Whitney Twin WaspR-1830-SICG 14-cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed333 km/h (207 mph); range3420km (2125 miles)Payload: berths for 14passengers (night) and up to36 seats (day)Crew: 4Production: 10 655 (USA),approx 2500 (licence)

duty, fitted with a variety of engines and had manydesignations. Two of the most widely used were theC-47 Skytrain series with double loading doors andthe C-53 Skytrooper. The US Navy designationwas R4D.

Military DC-3s were used by most of the Alliedair forces and after the war thousands becamesurplus and passed to civil operators with the resultthat almost every airline operating postwar ser­vices had DC-3s. In the UK BEA operated twowith Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops.

Douglas built a total of 10 655 DC-3 series andabout 2500 were built under licence in the SovietUnion (PS-84s later redesignated Li-2s) and inJapan (L2Ds) by Nakajima and Showa. Consider­able numbers of DC-3s are still in service.

FK.50, KoolhovenFIRST FLIGHT 1935

FREDERICK Koolhoven was a designer ofsome reputation in the 1920s and 1930s. In

1922 he had designed the FK.31 two-seat fightermonoplane and later the FK.41 three-seat cabinmonoplane. In 1934 the NV Koolhoven Vlieg­tuigen was formed and in the same year producedthe six-passenger twin-engined FK.48 which wasused by KLM on the Rotterdam-Eindhoven routeand also for taxi work and training.

Only one FK.48 was built but in 1935 it wasfollowed by the bigger FK.50 of similar layout andconstruction with two-spar all-wooden cantileverhigh-mounted wing, fabric-covered welded steel­tube fuselage and metal-framed tail unit, alsofabric-covered. The tailwheel undercarriage wasnot retractable.

The FK.50's enclosed cockpit was ahead of thewing and housed a crew of two and the main cabinhad seats for eight passengers. The engines weretwo 400-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Juniors drivingtwo-blade adjustable-pitch propellers. The NACAcowlings enclosing the engines, however, gave theimpression of being too large for the relativelysmall aircraft.

The first FK.50 left the factory in September1935 and was delivered later that year to AlparLuftverkehrs in Switzerland. A second FK.50joined the Alpar fleet early in 1936.

In 1938 the third, and last, FK.50 was com­pleted and this differed in a number of respects tothe first two aircraft. It had twin fins and ruddersinstead of a large single fin and rudder, a longernose, modified cockpit, larger-diameter wheels,

increased weight and much slimmer engine na­celles. The nacelle and tail changes suggest that theoriginal aircraft had some shortcomings.

These unique aircraft served Alpar's domesticservices based in Berne although only two wereever in service together, the second aircraft havingcrashed in September 1937. There were presum­ably adequate spares because the other two surviv­ed the war and in the summer of 1946 operated aweekly Berne-Paris-London (Croydon) service.

The original FK.50 was broken up in 1947 andthe sole survivor crashed in Liberia in 1962. Thereis reason to believe that the third example withtwin fins and rudders was known as the FK.50A.There was also a projected military version desig­nated FK.50B but this was never built.

Left: The Swiss airline AllLuftverkehrs operated theFK.50 on a route betweenBerne and GenevaBelow: The last FK.50, wihad a modified fuselage artwin rudders

FK.50

Type: light transportMaker: NV KoolhovenVliegtuigenSpan: 18 m (59 ft 0% in)Length: 14m (45ft llll.i,Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 1112 inWing area: 44.7 m2 (481 sft)Weight: maximum 4100~

(9039Ib); empty 2505 kg(55221b)Powerplant: two 400-hpPratt & Whitney WaspJuTIB 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising sp260 km/h (161'/2 mph); ra1000km (621 miles)Payload: seats for 8passengersCrew: 2Production: 3

108

Empire Flying boat, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1936

•

Above: Canopus takes off fromthe Medway with RochesterCastle keep in the backgroundBelow: Canopus in wartimelivery

S.23 C class

Type: passenger and mailflying boatMaker: Short Brothers LtdSpan: 34.7m (114ft)Length: 26.8 m (88 ft)Height: 9.7 m (31 ft 9% in)Wing area: 139.4m2 (1500sqft)Weight: maximum 18371 kg(40500Ib) S.23; 21 773 kg(48 000 lb) S.30 and S.33;empty 10 660 kg (23500 Ib)5.23; 12239 kg (27180 lb)5.30 and S.33Powerplant: four 920-hpBristol Pegasus XC, 890-hpBristol Perseus XIIC or 1010­hp Pegasus XXII 9-cylinderair-cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed265.5 km/h (165 mph); range2414km (1500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 24Crew: 5Production: 42

and the same aircraft flew the first through servicefrom Southampton to Durban in June 1937. OnJune 26, 1938, Camilla and Cordelia left Southamp­ton to inaugurate flying-boat services to Australia,Challenger taking over at Singapore on July 2.

The C class maintained essential services duringthe war, undertook some military duties in Europeand the Mediterranean and played a major role inthe Pacific war.

Nine heavier Perseus-engined S.30s were built,and four were equipped to enable flight refuellingfor North Atlantic operation.

In 1938 three high-weight S.33s were ordered toreplace aircraft lost in accidents. Two werelaunched at the end ofApril 1940 but the third wasnot completed.

G-

I N 1934 the British Government announced theEmpire Air Mail Programme under which most

first class mail for British territories was to becarried by air without surcharge. Imperial Airwaysinvited Shorts' proposals for an improved Kentflying boat to carry 24 passengers and 11/2 tons ofmail, and cruise at 241 km/h (150mph) over a1287-km (800-mile) stage.

The Air Ministry had also invited Shorts totender for a four-engined long-range flying boat.After studying biplane designs, Shorts submittedclean high-wing cantilever monoplanes to meetboth requirements. These were the S.23 (later Cclass) and the S.25 (later the Sunderland). Impe­Orial Airways ordered 28 C class 'boats and the AirMinistry a prototype Sunderland.

The S.23 was of very advanced design with adeep hull, single fin and rudder, cantilever wingwith camber-changing flaps, and fixed wingtipfloats. The four fully-cowled 920-hp BristolPegasus XC engines were mounted on the leadingedge and drove three-blade propellers. The lowerdeck contained four passenger cabins with aninitial total of 24 seats and the flight-deck and mailhold were on the upper deck.

Canopus, the first S.23, flew on July 4, 1936 andthe order was changed to provide a total of 31 ofwhich six were for Qantas Empire Airways whiletwo of Imperial Airways' 'boats, Caledonia andCambria, were to be built as long-range aircraft forNorth Atlantic trials.

Canopus made the first C class scheduled flight,from Alexandria to Brindisi, on October 30, 1936

109

Ju 86, JunkersFIRST FLIGHT 1934

T HE German Air Ministry and Lufthansa col­laborated in 1933 on the specification for a

twin-engined aircraft which could serve as abomber for the still secret Luftwaffe and as a high­speed transport for the airline. The design to meetthis specification was the Junkers J u 86 whichincorporated the experience gained in designingthe single-engined Ju 60 and Ju 160. '

The J u 86 was a low-wing cantilever monoplanewith the wing tapered in both chord and thickness.There were two .main spars, between which werethe fuel tanks, the covering was a smooth stressedmetal skin and on the trailing edge were Junkersauxiliary-wing ailerons and flaps. The fuselage wasof oval section and covered by a flush rivetedduralumin skin. The tailplane was strut-bracedand there were twin fins and rudders. The mainundercarriage units retracted outwards to be

; housed in, the wing.In the civil aircraft there was accommodation for

two crew and ten passengers. Because of theconfined space the passenger seats were slightlystaggered and turned inwards.'

The Ju 86 was ti.e first aircraft to be designed. specifically for diesel power, 600-hp Junkers Jumo

205Cs being the chosen engines. But when the firstprototype of the military version flew on November4, 1934, it was powered by Siemens radial engines.The first civil aircraft, although the second proto­type, was the third to fly in April 1935, and the firstwith Jumo engines,

The first production J u 86s were the J u 86Abomber and the Ju 86B airliner which Lufthansabegan operating on domestic services in 1936.

There were numerous versions of the civil J u 86,and several types of engines were fitted. Theseincluded BMW 132s, PJ;'att & Whitney Hornetsand Rolls-Royce Kestrel XVIs.

Swissair used both Jumo- and BMW-poweredJu 86s, ABA in Sweden used a Hornet-powered,example on night mail services, and Southern

, Airlines and Freighters in Australia had a Jumo­powered J u 86. LAN in Chile took three of theaircraft with Jumos, Lloyd Aereo Boliviano hadtwo Hornet-poweredJu 86s and ten BMW-enginedaircraft were used on Manchurian air services;three of them were re-engined with MitsubishiKinsei radials. A Jumo 205 Ju 86 made anendurance flight of 52 hours in 1939 but overall thetype was not a great success.

Ju 86

Type: passenger, freight <mail transportMaker: Junkers Flugzeugund-Motorenwerke AGSpan: 22.5 m (73 ft lOin)Length: 17.41 m (57ft 1'AHeight: 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)Wing area: 82 m2 (882 sqWeight: maximum 8000 k(17 637Ib); empty 4960 kg(10935Ib)Powerplant: two 800-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet SG 9-cylinder air-cooled ra<enginesPerformance: cruising sp360 km/h (224 mph); rang1100 km (684 miles)Payload: seats for 10passengersCrew: 2Production: approx 1000(civil and military)

Above left: Theaccommodation for tenpassengers in theJu 86. N<the leather seats and theabsence of head racksLeft: LufthansaJu 86 withearly Jumo 205 heavy-oilenginesBelow: AJu 86 ofSouthAfrican Airways

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Z.506, CantFIRST FLIGHT 1935

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CANTIERI Riuniti dell'Adriatico built an at­tractive three-engined twin-float mail-carrying

seaplane in 1935 to the designs of Ing FilippoZappata. This was the Z.505, powered by Isotta­Fraschini Asso XI RC.15 liquid-cooled engines.

From the Z.505 design Cant developed the verysimilar Z.506 passenger carrier which first flew onAugust 19, 1935. The Z.506 was a low-wingmonoplane with all-wood wing built round threebox spars, divided into a number of watertightcompartments and ply-covered. Long-spancamber-changing flaps were fitted. The fuselagewas a well proportioned wooden monocoque struc­ture and the tail unit was also built of wood withply covering; the tailplane was originally wire­braced to the fuselage and fin but later the lowerwires were replaced by struts.

The large floats were single-step metal structurescarried on N struts and strut- and wire-braced tothe fuselage. Each float had a buoyancy equal tothe maximum loaded weight of the aircraft.

Passenger accommodation was in two cabinsdivided by the entrance on the left side andlavatory to the right. Initially each cabin had sixseats but later 15 or 16.

The prototype Z.506 had Pratt & WhitneyHornet engines but the first production batch, builtfor Ala Littoria, were powered by 760-hp WrightCyclone GR-1820-F52s.

The production Z.506s were followed by theZ.506B which was produced in quantity as atorpedo bomber and the Z.506C civil airliner with750-hp Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34 or 800-hp Alfa

Romeo 126 RC.lO engines. Ala Littoria had a fleetof Z.506s and the type set a large number of speed,altitude and distance records.

In Ala Littoria service the Z.506s operated overthe Rome-Benghazi, Rome-Palma-Melilla-Cadiz,Rome-Genoa-Marseilles and Trieste-Brindisiroutes. There was not a standard colour schemebut all the seaplanes were brightly painted.

There were about 40 civil-registered Z.506s andAla Littoria is believed to have operated at least 19of them. Seventeen civil aircraft were operatedunder military serials during the war. Some of themilitary Z.506Bs were converted to Z.506S air-searescue aircraft. There was one Z.506 landplane,and one Z.506 derivative was the bigger Z.509transatlantic mail floatplane.

Z.506

Type: passenger f10atplaneMaker: Cantieri Riunitidell'AdriaticoSpan: 26.5 m (86 ft 1l '14 in)Length: 18.92 m (62 ft I in)Height: 6.77 m (22 ft 2'12 in)Wing area: 85 m2 (915 sq ft)Weight: maximum 10500kg(23 1481b); empty 7200 kg(15873Ib)Powerplant: three 760-hpWright Cyclone GR-1820 F52or 800-hp Alfa Romeo 126RC.lO or 750-hp Alfa Romeo126 RC.34 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed320km/h (199mph); range1300 km (808 miles)Payload: seats for up to 16passengersCrew: 3Production: approx 40(civil)

Above: The Cant Z.506 wasone of the most successfuldesigns of the talented FilippoZappataLeft: I-FANO in service withAla Littoria before the war .

III

ANT-35, TupolevFIRST FLIGHT 1936

T HE Soviet Union's first attempt at designingand building a clean twin-engined low-wing

all-metal monoplane transport with retractableundercarriage resulted in the ANT-35. Althoughthe aircraft bore Tupolev's initials, A A Arkangel­skii was responsible for the design.

The ANT-35 had accommodation for two crewand ten passengers, the same as the LockheedElectra, but in size it came somewhere between theElectra and the Douglas DC-2 and the Russianaircraft was faster than the American types.

The all-metal wing, with wide-span split flaps,was based on that of the SB-2 light bomber and theouter panels may have been the same on bothtypes. There was a single fin and rudder and therather stalky main undercarriage units retractedbackwards in to the engine nacelles. The power­plant comprised two 800-hp M-85 14-cylinderair-cooled radial engines based on the FrenchGnome-Rhone 14K series, and drove three-bladepropellers.

The ANT-35 made its first flight on August 20,1936, and on September 15 flew from Moscow toLeningrad and back in 3 hours 38 min at anaverage speed of 376 km/h (234 mph). At the endof that year it appeared at the Paris Salon, poorlyfinished and without any de-icing equipment,which was of course essential.

A small production batch was delivered toAeroflot in 1937 and the type, as the PS-35, beganworking a Moscow-Riga-Stockholm service onJuly1. PS-35s were also introduced on the Moscow toPrague route. The production aircraft were geIler­ally similar to the prototype but had 850-hp M­85A engines which were based on the Gnome­Rhone l4N engine.

PS-35s were considered to have too little ca­pacity and were regarded as uneconomic and it isbelieved that only a few were built. However, itseems that a further attempt was made to improvethe PS-35 and that a new version appeared in 1939with 1000-hp M-62IR nine-cylinder engines basedon the Wright Cyclone engine. This version wasslightly heavier and had an improved payload butreduced range. There are reports of PS-35s, poss­ibly the 1939 version, going into service betweenMoscow and Lvov and Moscow and Odessa in1941. No further development of the PS-35 tookplace, although there were a few transport versionsof the SB-2 series bombers.

Above and below: Theprototype ANT-35. Before tiwar it operated on Aeroflot'~

Moscow-Riga-Stockholmroute

ANT-35

Type: passenger transportMaker: Tupolev DesignBureauSpan: 20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)Length: 15 m (49 ft 21/2 in)Height: not availableWing area: 58 m2 (624 sq ft)Weight: maximum 6620 kg(14 594Ib); empty 4710 kg(10384Ib)Powerplant: two-800-hp M85 14-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising spee350 km/h (217 mph); range2000 km (1243 miles)Payload: seats for 10passengersCrew: 2Production: 11 (estimated)

112

DR.91 Albatross, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1937

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THE fact that a standard DC-2 could only bebeaten by a special DH.88 racing aircraft in

the 1934 MacPherson Robertson race convinced deHavilland that Britain must produce a much moreadvanced transport aircraft. The Air Ministryplaced an order for two experimental transatlanticmailplanes. These were the beautiful DH.91 Alba­tross airliners.

The Albatross was a low-wing monoplane withfinely tapered wing, circular-section fuselage, fourslim closely-cowled engines, retractable under­carriage and twin fins and rudders. The onlyjarring feature was the inset strut-braced fins andrudders, but the design was soon modified toincorporate endplate fins.

The structure owed much to the Comet racersand the wing was a one-piece cantilever structurewith marked dihedral and comprised a woodenbox-spar with two layers of spruce planking form­ing the skin. The fuselage was built as an unob­structed shell in the form of a sandwich with plyinner and outer skins and a balsa centre. Theengines were specially developed 525-hp GipsyTwelves created by joining two Gipsy Sixes to forman inverted V-12. They drove two-blade metalpropellers.

The first aircraft flew on May 20, 1937, andalthough it suffered a few troubles, proved to haveoutstanding performance. Imperial Airways or­dered five shorter-range 21-seat passenger aircraftfor its European services and the first of these flewin June 1938.

As the first of the F class, Frobisher began

operation in November 1938 and promptly set anumber of records including London to Paris in53 min while the Falcon flew from London toBrussels in 48 min. Regrettably the F class suffereda number of problems, mainly connected with theirretractable undercarriages, and they had not fullysettled into service when the war began.

The passenger aircraft were then mainly used onBristol-Shannon services, on flights to Lisbon, andfor a short period operated military services be­tween the United Kingdom and Egypt and India.The long-range pair went to No 271 (Transport)Squadron, RAF and operated between the UnitedKingdom and Iceland where both were destroyedin accidents. The Frobisher class was finally with­drawn in July 1943 and the survivors broken up.

Above and below: G-AFDIFrobisher which was deliveredto Croydon in 1938 andbecame the flagship of theImperial Airways F class. Itwas destroyed by a Germanair raid on the F class base atWhitchurch, Bristol in 1940

DH.91

Type: passenger transportand mailplaneMaker: de Havilland AircraftCoSpan: 32 m (105 ft)Length: 21.79m (71 ft6in)Height: 6.14 m (20 ft 2 in)Wing area: 100.15m2

(1078 sq ft)Weight: maximum 13381 kg(29500 Ib); empty 9207 kg(202981b)Powerplant: four 525-hp deHavilland Gipsy Twelveinverted V-12 air-cooledenginesPerformance: cruising speed338 km/h (210 mph); range1674km (1040 miles)Payload: seats for 21passengersCrew: 4Production: 7

113

Envoy, AirspeedFIRST FLIGHT 1934

Envoy III

Envoy I

Specification similar to SeriesI except in followingparticulars:Weight: maximum 2994kg(6600 Ib); empty 1969 kg(4340Ib)Powerplant: two 350-hpArmstrong Siddeley CheetahIX 7-cylinder or 260-hpWalter Castor or 290-hpWolseley Scorpio III9-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed274km/h (170mph); range998 km (620 miles)

Type: light transportMaker: Airspeed (1934) Ltd;MitsubishiJukogyo KKSpan: 15.95m (52ft4in)Length: 10.52 m (34 ft 6 in)Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)Wing area: 31.5m2 (339sqft)Weight: maximum 2404 kg(5300 lb); empty 1396 kg(3077lb)Powerplant: two 185-hpWolseley A.R.9 Mk 19-cylinder or 220-hpArmstrong Siddeley LynxIVC or 277-hp Cheetah V7-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed241 km/h (150mph); range644km (400 miles)Payload: seats for up to 8Crew: 1Production: 62 (all types)

Above: The seating was forsix to eight passengersLeft: The prototype Envoyoverflying the Queen Mary. Itwas modified to a series IIaircraft and lost in 1936 whenit crashed into amountain inbad weather in Spain

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also the Convertible Envoys built for the SouthAfrican Air Force. These, together with four sold toSouth African Airways, could be converted inabout 30 hours from civil to military use, in thelatter form having a dorsal gun turret, a fixedforward-firing gun and bomb racks.

In Britain a well-known Envoy was the King'sFlight example in red, blue and silver. NorthEastern Airways had Envoys on routes linkingLondon with north-east England and Scotland;Japan Air Transport and Manchuria Air Trans­120rt used British and Japanese-built examples;CSA used them on Czechoslovak services.

For the 1934 England to Australia race the AS.8Viceroy variant was built, and military Oxfordswere a direct development of the Envoy.

WITH the AS.S Courier of 1933, Airspeed hadcompleted the first British aircraft with re­

tractable undercarriage to go into production.From this type the company developed the largertwin-engined AS.6 Envoy and this first flew onJune 26, 1934.

The Envoy was a low-wing cantilever mono­plane of wooden construction with mixed plywoodand fabric covering. The mainwheels retracted intothe engine nacelles but were partially exposed inflight. The pilot's cabin provided very good visibili­ty and the main cabin could seat eight passengersor six if a lavatory was provided.

The Airspeed design was based on the use of twoWolseley nine-cylinder radial engines and exam­ples of the Envoy flew with Wolseley AR.9, Ariesand Scorpio engines. But the development of theWolseley engines was cancelled and most British­operated, as well as number'i of export Envoys,were powered by Armstrong Siddeley Lynx orCheetah seven-cylinder engines. Envoys sold toCzechoslovakia had Walter Castor engines, onesold to Ansett in Australia was re-engined withWright Whirlwinds, and at least some of theEnvoys, built under licence by Mitsubishi as theHina-Zuru (Young Crane), are thought to havehad Mitsubishi-built Lynx engines.

Apart from the variety of engines fitted, andindicated by suffix letters to the type number, therewere three main variants - the Series I withouttrailing-edge flaps, the Series II with flaps, and theSeries III with split flaps and some other changesincluding stressed-ply wing skinning. There were

114

..,

Bloch 120FIRST FLIGHT 1934

Bloch 120

Type: passenger and mailtransportMaker: Avions MarcelBlochSpan: 20.54 m (67ft 4% in)Length: 15.3 m (50 ft 21/2 in)Height: not availableWing area: 61 m2 (657 sq ft)Weight: maximum 6000 kg(13 228Ib); empty 3600 to3700kg (7937 to 81571b)Powerplant: three 300-hpLorraine Algo19Na 9-cylinderair-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed230 km/h (143 mph); range inexcess of 1207 km (750 miles)Payload: 800 kg (1763Ib);seats for up to 10passengersCrew: 3Production: 12

Left: F-ANTK Ville de Paris,one of the two Bloch 120soperated by Service de laNavigation AerienneMadagascar from 1935 onAfrican routes. In 1937 all theAfrican routes were assignedto the Regie Air Afriquewhich took over the seven120s in commercial use

French Government made a Bloch 120 available toService de la Navigation Aerienne de Madagascarfor its Tananarive-Broken Hill route, a secondBloch being used from July of that year andpassengers being carried from August. InNovember 1935 the service from Madagascar wasextended to the Congo and by exchanging loadswith Air Afrique, mail was flown over the entireroute between Tananarive and Paris. Passengerswere carried between Brazzaville and Tananarivefrom April 19, 1936.

In September 1937 Air Afrique took over thewhole operation together with the two MadagascarBloch 120s, giving the airline a fleet of at leastseven, some of which served until September 1939.A total of 12 Bloch 120s was built.

T HE Bloch 120 was one of the lesser knowntransport aircraft of the 1930s but it gave good

service under very difficult operating conditions. Itwas a three-engined high-wing monoplane of all­metal construction, with non-retractable undercar­riage, and the aircraft proved to be particularlyhardy and robust.

France was anxious to develop its air servicesthrough Africa and in May 1934 the Governmentfounded Regie Air Afrique to establish servicesacross the Sahara into Black Africa, and the Bloch120 was chosen to equip the airline, its characteris­tics of reliability and sturdiness being essential inthe Africa of the 1930s.

A route was established from Algiers to theFrench Congo via Niamey and Fort Lamy, withnumerous intermediate stops for refuelling, thelongest sector being the 1207 km (750 miles) be­tween Aoulef and Gao. Carrying only mail andcargo, the service began on September 7, 1934.After some experience was gained however, pass­engers were carried from April 27, 1935. The Bloch120 was originally designed to accommodate tenpassengers but because of the long stages and hightemperatures only five seats were fitted and thepassenger load was normally restricted to three orfour with average payload 800 kg (17631b).

The crew compartment was beneath the lead~ng

edge of the wing and fully enclosed. Beneath thelarge passenger cabin windows, on the slab-sidedfuselage, the Blochs carried the legend 'Ligne AlgerCongo'.

In May 1935, to aid further development, the

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115

Bloch 220FIRST FLIGHT 1935

T HIS clean all-metal low-wing monoplane de­signed for Air France's main European routes

may be regarded as the French answer to the newDouglas transports. It flew first in December 1935,as did the DC-3, and in power and weight theBloch 220 came somewhere between the DC-2 andDC-3.

The Bloch's span was shorter than that of theDC-2, the fuselage was close in size to the DC-2's,but performance was inferior to the Americantypes. The Bloch had 16 passenger seats comparedwith the DC-2's 14.

The Bloch's wing had a flat untapered centresection while the outer panels had dihedral andtaper on the leading edge. Split flaps were fitted.The two 985-hp Gnome-Rhone 14N 16/17 radialengines were mounted on the wing leading edge,enclosed in low-drag cowlings, and drove three­blade controllable-pitch propellers. The main­wheels retracted forward into the engine nacellesand were fully enclosed.

The rectangular-section fuselage and the tailsurfaces were all metal-skinned. After some time inservice rubber-boot leading-edge de-icers werefitted to the wings, tailplane and fin.

Air France ordered 14 Bloch 220s and in­troduced the type on the Paris-Marseilles routeduring the winter of 1937-38. When Bloch 220sbegan operating Paris to London services in thespring of 1938 they cut the scheduled time by15 min to 1 hour 15 min.

By mid 1938 ten Bloch 220s had been delivered,which were operating as far as Stockholm and

Bucharest, and Air France ordered two more.During World War II some of the Bloch 220s wereseized and passed to Lufthansa, but at least 11were registered as owned by the French State in1943 and five were still in service six years later bywhich time they had been fitted with 1200-hpWright Cyclone R-1820-97 engines and redesig­nated Bloch 221.

Air France used Bloch 221s on early postwarservices between Paris and Geneva, Strasbourgand Prague, and four aircraft were being operatedin 1949 by Societe Auxilaire de NavigationAerienne (SANA).

Although 220s were mainline aircraft, none hadflown 3000 hours by the autumn of 1945 - a lowannual use for a modern airliner.

Bloch 220

Type: passenger transportMaker: Avions Marcel Bloch;SNCASOSpan: 22.82 m (74ft 10'/2 in)Length: 19.25m (63ft 13f4in)Height: 3.9m (12ft9!/2in)Wing area: 75 m2 (807 sq ft)Weight: maximum 9500 kg(20 9441b); empty 6807 kg(150071b)Powerplant: two 985-hpGnome-Rhone 14N 16/1714-cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed280 km/h (174 mph); range1400km (870 miles)Payload: seats for 16passengersCrew: 4Production: 16

Farleft: The interior of aBloch 220 on Air France'scontinental serviceLeft: Loading mail intoF-AOHE SaintongeBelow: F-AQNM Provencepart of the fleet whichoperated in the late 1930s

116

Ha 139, Blohm und VossFIRST FLIGHT 1937

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W HEN the airlines set out to operate the firsttransatlantic services they were severely

handicapped by the limited range and payload ofthe contemporary aircraft. Lufthansa's answer wasto catapult its aircraft from depot ships, thusenabling them to take off at greater weights thanthe aircraft could achieve under their own powerand at the same time providing refuelling stations.

At first Lufthansa employed Dornier Wal flyingboats but in 1935 and 1936 the technical director ofBlohm und Voss's associate company, HamburgerFlugzeugbau, designed the Ha 139 long-rangetrans-ocean floatplane for the airline.

The Ha 139 was an all-metal low-wing mono­plane with sharp anhedral angle on the innersections of the wing, which was built up on a large­diameter tubular spar. There was a slender mono­coque fuselage and a high-mounted tai1plane withtwin fins and rudders. The metal floats (each with12 watertight compartments) were attached to thewings by streamlined mountings which carried theradiators for the inboard pair of the four 605-hpJunkers Jumo 205C heavy-oil engines.

It was required that the Ha 139 should be able tocarry a 500-kg (1102-lb) payload over a stage of5000km (3107 miles) at 250km/h (155mph), bestress~d for catapult launching and be able to alighton and take off from rough water at a weight highenough to allow a range of 1000 km (621 miles).

Two Ha 139s were built, Nordwind ('NorthWind') and Nordmeer (,North Sea'). The first wascompleted in 1936, and in 1937 both made experi­mental flights between the Azores and New York,

operating from the depot ships Schwabenland andFriesenland. Seven return flights were made and in1938 there were a further 13 return flights by thetwo Ha 139s and the bigger and aerodynamicallyimproved Ha 139B Nordstern ('North Star').

Following these successful experimental NorthAtlantic operations, the three seaplanes were trans­ferred to the South Atlantic where they sharedregular operation of the mail service with theDornier flying boats.

The war brought Lufthansa's South Atlanticoperations to an end and the Bv l39s (as theybecame) were taken over by the Luftwaffe. TheNordstern was fitted with a magnetic degaussingring for minesweeping and all three served astransports during the Norwegian campaign.

Ha 139A

Type: long-range mail­carrying seaplaneMaker: Blohm und Voss;Hamburger FlugzeugbauSpan: 27 m (88 ft 7 in)Length:19.5m (63ft II%in)Height: 4.8m (15ft9in)Wing area: 117 m2 (1259 sqft)Weight: maximum 17500 kg(38580Ib); empty 10 360kg(22840Ib)Powerplant: four 605-hpJunkers J umo 205C 6­cylinder upright liquid-cooledheavy-oil enginesPerformance: cruising speed260 km/h (162 mph); range5300 km (3293 miles)Crew: 4Payload: 480 kg (1058Ib)Production: 3

Far left: The view forwardfrom the flight engineer'sposition behind the pilotLeft: The Nordmeer prepares tolaunch from her base ship theSchwabenlandin autumn 1937.Below: D-ASTANordstem, thethird Ha 139 to be built

DC-4E, DouglasFIRST FLIGHT 1938

EVEN before the DC-3 had made its first flight,Douglas and United Air Lines (now United

Airlines) were discussing a four-engined aircraft ofdouble the capacity - the first of the great UnitedStates family of metal four-engined transportmonoplanes.

In 1936 American Airlines, Eastern Air Lines,Pan American Airways and Transcontinental &Western Air (TWA) decided to join United andeach put up $100000 towards the cost of designingand building one prototype DC-4. Later PanAmerican and TWA withdrew.

When it appeared, the DC-4 looked somethinglike a big DC-3 but was a very big aircraft with four1450-hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Hornet R-2180two-row 14-cylinder closely cowled enginesmounted on the swept-back leading edge of thewing centre section. Each engine drove a three­blade propeller. The wing was fitted with wide­span trailing-edge flaps. It was of multi-cellularconstruction with flush-riveted stressed-skin cover­ing except for the fabric-covered ailerons.

The large-volume metal monocoque fuselagewas divided into a number of compartments, themain cabin having seats for 40 passengers or berthsfor 28 on night flights. An aft stateroom, with its

. own lavatory and washbasins, could accommodatetwo day or night passengers. There were men'slavatories, washbasins and hand-baggage spaceforward and similar amenities for women betweenthe main cabin and the stateroom, and also a galleyand underfloor cargo and baggage holds. Therewere small sleeper windows high in the fuselage for

the upper berths. Production aircraft were to bepressurized.

The tail unit comprised a-dihedral tailplane withtriple fins and rudders. These were of metalconstruction with metal-covered fixed surfaces andfabric-covered control surfaces.

An outstanding feature of the DCA was itsretractable nosewheel undercarriage, the largesingle mainwheels retracting sideways and inwardto be housed in the wing and the nosewheelretracting aft.

The DC-4 first flew on June 7, 1938 and, aftercertification in May 1939, was handed over toUnited Air Lines which had been scheduled to takedelivery of the first six. The aircraft was painted inUnited's livery and began a series ofdemonstration

Below left: The prototypeDC-4, later called DC-4E,comes in to land in autumn1939. Note the inward­retracting single-wheel maingearsBelow: The prototype at NewYork's Floyd Bennett Field in1939. After receiving its TypeCertificate it was painted inUnited Air Lines colours

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DC~4E

Type: experimentalpassenger transportMaker: Douglas Aircraft CoSpan: 42.14m (138ft3in)Length: 29.74 m (97 ft 7 in)Height: 7.48m (24ft6V2in)Wing area: 200m2 (2155sqft)Weight: (during day)maximum 30 164kg(66500 Ib); empty 19307 kg(42564W)Powerplant: four 1450-hpPratt & Whitney TwinHornet Rc2180-S1AI-G 14­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed322 km/h (200 mph); rangeC

3540km (2200 miles)Payload: seats for 30passengers (night) and for upto 52 (day)Crew: 5Production: 1

and the new DC-4 went into military service as theC-54 Skymaster.

After the decision to build the smaller DC-4, theoriginal aeroplane was redesignated DC-4E, thesuffix standing for Experimental.

United returned the DC-4E to Douglas andtowards the end of 1939 it was sold to the MitsuiTrading Company allegedly for operation by Grea­ter Japan Air Lines. There were reports that theDC-4E had crashed near Tokyo but apparently itwas handed over to Nakajima for study and used asthe basis for the Japanese Navy's Nakajima G5NIShinzan four-engined long-range bomber. Six pro­totypes were built but Shinzan was not a success.In Japan the DC-4E was known as the NavyExperimental Type D Transport.

and proving flights, frequently attracting largecrowds at the places visited.

The big Douglas showed something of its per­formance when it took off from Cheyenne inWyoming at an elevation ofl890 m (6200 ft) on thepower of only two engines.

Although the DC-4 was an impressive aircraft,some aspects of its performance were disappoint­ing. It was something of a maintenance nightmare,and its economics were not attractive even afterseating capacity had been raised to 52 and theloaded weight increased. As a result of the trialswith United, the sponsoring airlines fa'voured asmaller and less complicated derivative, alsoknown as the DC-4. However, by the time the newaircraft was ready the US was in World War II

Ensign, Armstrong WhitworthFIRST FLIGHT 1938

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W HEN the British Government announced theEmpire Air Mail Programme in 1934, Impe­

rial Airways had to plan for an adequate fleet tocarry the extra mail as well as to cater forincreasing passenger traffic. The main operationswere to be undertaken with flying boats but it wasdecided to maintain a landplane route between theMiddle East and India and it was necessary toacquire a suitable, large aircraft.

A specification for an eastern route aircraft wasissued in May 1934 and to meet this ArmstrongWhitworth designed the AW.27 four-engined high­wing cantilever monoplane which, when it enteredservice, was known as the Ensign class. ImperialAirways ordered one AW .27 in September 1934and specified that it should be delivered within two

years. At the end of May 1935 the order wasincreased to 12, with delivery of the extra 11 at arate of one a month from March 1937. Finally, inJanuary 1937, two more AW.27s were ordered toprovide a fleet of 14.

It had been decided that there should be twoversions, one with accommodation for 27 passen­gers for the eastern route and the other capable ofcarrying 40 passengers on European services. Theaircraft became known as Eastern and Western butdid not have separate type numbers.

The thick cantilever wing was a metal structurebuilt up on a box spar. It had split flaps and wasmetal-covered back to the aft face of the rear spar,with fabric on the rear surfaces. The fuselage was afairly slender metal monocoque structure and' the

Above: The AW .27 Ensign IG-ADSR had a comparative!unproductive career flying2099 hours before it waswithdrawn from service atAlmaza, Cairo in September1944 and scrapped in 1945Be!ow right: Euterpe is loadedwith first-class Empire mailprior to a f1igh t in the daysbefore World War IIBottom right: Ensign, flagshipof the Imperial Airways FleetIt was scrapped at Cairo in1945

I

• 120

tail unit was of metal with fabric-covered controlsurfaces. Four closely cowled 800-hp ArmstrongSiddeley Tiger IX moderately supercharged 14­cylinder radial engines were mounted on theleading edge and drove the three-blade metalpropellers. The massive mainwheels retracted intothe inboard engine nacelles.

In the Eastern type there were three nine-seatcabins and on the left side a 'promenade deck'linking the mid and forward cabins. On the rightside was a large mail and freight hold. In theWestern type there were 12-seat cabins, and a four­seat coupe behind the main aft cabin.

Although Imperial Airways had taken adequatesteps to acquire a modern landplane fleet ready forthe Empire Air Mail Programme, things went verywrong. Britain was being forced to re-arm to meetthe German threat and priority had to be given toproduction of Armstrong Whitworth's Whitleybomber. Eventually the prototype AW.27 made itsfirst flight, at Ramble, on January 24, 1938.

TheAW.27 proved to have a number ofshortcom­ings including a very poor initial climb due to thelength of time taken to retract the undercarriage.Some improvements were made and on October 24,1938, Ensign began operating ad hoc London to Parisservices following a demonstration flight over theroute on October 20. That December Egeria, Elsinoreand Euterpe were selected to help with the heavyChristmas mail loads' to Australia but all three suf­fered failures and none got beyond India.

All the A W .27s so tar delivered were returned toArmstrong Whitworth for improvement and the

Specification similar to Mk IIexcept in following:Weight: maximum 22000 kg(48500Ib); empty 14932kg(32920Ib)Powerplant: four 800-hpArmstrong Siddeley Tiger IXor 850-hp Tiger IXC14-cylinder radialsPeformance: cruising speed274km/h (170mph); range1384 km (860 miles)Payload: seats for 27(Eastern); 40 (Western)

MkI

MkII

Type: passenger transportMaker: Sir W G ArmstrongWhitworth Aircraft LtdSpan: 37.49m (123ft)Length: 33.83m (III ft)Height: 7 m (23 ft)Wing area: 227.6 m2 (2450 sqft)Weight: maximum 25 175 kg(55500Ib); empty 16597kg(36590Ib)Powerplant: four 950-hpWright Cyclone GR-1820­G102A 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed289.7 km/h (180 mph); range2205 km (1370 miles)Payload: 5443 kg (12000Ib)Crew: 5Production: 14 (total)

engines were changed for 850-hp Tiger IXCs.Delivery of modified aircraft began in the summerof 1939 and II were received before the start ofWorld War II.

The Tiger engine continued to give trouble andit was decided to install 950-hp Wright Cycloneengines. The last two aircraft had still not beendelivered and one of them first flew, with Cyclones,as the prototype Mk II on June 20, 1941.

The re-engined aircraft served BOAC in Africa,the Middle East and India but still gave trouble.Eddystone flew the last AW.27 passenger service,from Cairo to Rurn, in June 1946. The sevensurvivors returned to the United Kingdom in 1946and were all broken up at Ramble, where they hadbeen built, in 1947.

48 Dorsal freight hatch49 Upper freight compartment50 Promenade deck (left)51 Forward cabin (9 passengers)52 Control cables (above false cabin

ceiling)53 Flight-deck door54 Flat windscreen55 Control yoke56 Nose landing lamp57 Pitot head58 Corrugated bulkheads and flooring59 Pilot/co-pilot seats60 Radio-operator's position61 Forward cabin bulkhead62 Double seats to right throughout63 Single seats to left throughout64 Forward cabin/freight bulkhead65 Main freight hold66 Right freight loading hatch67 Pantry/galley position68 Forward toilet/washroom69 Mail compartment beneath wing-

spar70 Fuel cocks71 Box-spat/undercarriage attachment72 Individual oval windows per seat

row73 Aerial pas t74 Split flaps75 Undercarriage nacelle76 Retractionjack77 Main undercarriage legs78 Mainwheel79 Radius rods80 Engine mounting81 Engine-bearer frame82 Wing construction83 Right aileron servo tab84 Right aileron85 Wing ribs86 Right navigation lamp

I Rudder servo and trim tab2 Tail bias mechanism3 Mass balance4 Aerial attachment point5 Rudder post6 Rudder structure, fabric-covered7 Tail lamp8 Elevator trim tab9 Right elevator, spring balanced

10 Tailplane box-spar construction11 Tailplane metal skinning12 Fin structure, fabric-covered13 Box-spar/fin brace14 Non-retractable tailwheel15 Shock-absorber strut16 Catwalk access to tail17 Aft fuselage construction18 Corrugated bulkhead (with hatch)19 Aft freight hold (right loading)20 Aft toilet/washroom21 Dorsal hatch22 Aft passenger entry door (left)23 Aft passenger cabin bulkhead24 Aft cabin (9 passengers)25 Aft midships cabin door26 Midships cabin (9 passengers)27 Wing fixing points28 Box-spar internal bracing29 Box-spar corrugated skin30 Wing fixing points31 Wing fabric covering (aft ofspar)32 Aerial33 Aerial post34 Left aileron servo and trim tab35 Left aileron, mass-balanced Frise

type36 Wing light-alloy skinning lOrsion

box and leading edges37 Left navigation lamp38 Landing lamp39 Left outer oil tank40 De Havilland variable-pitch

propeller41 Engine exhaust stubs42 Left fuel tank43 Left inner oil tank44 Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX engine45 Aerial mast46 Cabin ventilation intakes47 Forward passenger/crew entry door

Ensign

121

L-14, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1937

Model 14

Above left: Checking theCyclone engines on aNorthwest Model 14Left: Part of theaccommodation for 14passengersBelow: The Model 14 used byChamberlain in 1938

Type: passenger transportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporation; KawasakiKokuki Kogyo KabushikiKaisha; Tachikawa HikokiKabushiki KaishaSpan: 19.96m (65ft6in)Length: 13.47 m (44ft 2'12 in)Height: 3.49m (11 ft5'12in)Wing area: 51.2 m2 (551 sqft)Weight: maximum 6804 kg(15000 lb); empty 4393 kg(9685Ib)Powerplant: two 750-hpPratt & Whitney HornetS1E2G or 760-hp WrightCyclone GR-1820-F62 or 820­hp Cyclone GR-1820-G3 9­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed387.8km/h (241 mph); range1609 km (1000 miles)Payload: seats for 12passengersCrew: 2 to 3Production: 112 (USA) 119(Japan)

~o

T HE Model 10 Electra having proved success­ful, Lockheed designed a larger, heavier, faster

and more refined aircraft of similar layout. Thiswas the Model 14 which first flew onJuly 29, 1937.In its early days the Lockheed 14 was known as theSuper Electra, Electra Senior and Sky Zephyr, butthese names were soon abandoned and throughoutits working life the aircraft was generally known byits type number.

The L-14 had a deep elliptical-section fuselage, awing with compound taper on the trailing edge,twin fins and rudders and retractable under­carriage. Unlike the Electra, the L-14 was a mid­wing monoplane and it had Fowler trailing-edgearea-increasing flaps. Slots were built into the wingnear the leading edge of the outer sections. Normalaccommodation was for two crew and 12 passen­gers.

The Lockheed 14 was available in a number ofversions, the main differences being the engineinstallation - Pratt & Whitney Hornets andWright Cyclones being the original installations.

Northwest Airlines introduced Lockheed 14s onits Twin Cities-Chicago services in October 1931,and the type was adopted by a number of airlinesin the United States, Canada, Europe, Australiaand Asia. British Airways operated a mixed fleet ofLockheed 14s and Electras on its main services andsome passed to BOAC.

In 1938 Howard Hughes flew a Lockheed 14round the world in 3 days 19 hours 14 min, and AirAfrique set a record by flying one from Paris toAlgeria in 3 hours 55 min. Also in 1938, it was in anL-14 that Chamberlain flew to Munich for hishistoric meeting with Hitler.

Lockheed built 112 Model 14s and Japan ac­quired a licence for manufacture. Kawasaki andTachikawa built these with 900-hp Mitsubishi Ha­26-II engines. The Japanese designation for theLockheed 14 was La. In addition the Japanesecompanies developed the aircraft and built 121under the designation Ki-56.

From the Lockheed 14 was developed theHudson maritime reconnaissance bomber for theRoyal Air Force. The USAAF operated Hudsonsas A-28s, A-29s and AT-18s and the US Navy usedthe type under the designation PBO. A furtherdevelopment of the model was the L-18 Lodestar,which had a longer fuselage but was basically verysimilar to the L-14.

L-18 Lodestar, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1939

L-IS Lodestar

123

Type: passenger transportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 19.96m (65ft6in)Length: 15.18m (49ft 97/ain)Height: 3.62 m (II ft 101/2 in)Wing area: 51.2 m2 (551 sq ft)Weight: maximum 7938 kg(17500 Ib); empty 5532 kg(12195Ib)Powerplant: (amongstothers) two 1000-hp WrightCyclone GR-1820-G205A(18-56) 9-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed344 to 404km/h (214 to251 mph); range 2736 to3267 km (1700 to 2030 miles)Payload: seats for up to 26passengersCrew: 3Production: 624 (480USAAF and US Navy)

Above: A Lockheed Model 18Lodestar ofStar Lines,AnchorageLeft: Preparing aircraft fordelivery in 1941Below: Fowler flaps, one ofthe innovations which earnedthe designer the 1937Lawrence Sperry Award

THE Lockheed 18 Lodestar was generally simi­lar to the Model 14 but with a longer fuselage

with accommodation for two pilots, a stewardessand 14 passengers. The prototype first flew onSeptember 21, 1939.

The Lodestar was a mid-wing all-metal mono­plane with single-spar three-piece wing fitted withFowler flaps and built-in leading-edge slots. Likethe 14, the Lodestar had an elliptical-sectionmonocoque fuselage and twin fins and rudders.The mainwheels retracted into the engine nacelles.

There were six main production models - the 18­07 with 750-hp Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines;the 18-08 with 900-hp Twin Wasps; the 18-14 with10S0-hp Twin Wasps; the 18-40 with 900-hpWright Cyclones; the 18-50 with 1000-hp CycloneG202As; and the 18-56 with 1000-hp CycloneG20SAs. All versions had three-blade controllable­pitch fully-feathering metal propellers.

Lodestars entered service in March 1940 withMid-Continent Airlines. Although in EuropeWorld War II was already in progress, in the USairlines were still operating under peacetime condi­tions and Continental Airlines, National, Pennsyl­vania-Central and Pan American all boughtLodestars. Alaska Star Airlines and Pacific AlaskaAirways also acquired the L-18. In Canada CPAand TCA operated the type, BWIA took them andother Lodestar operators in the Americas werePanair do Brasil, TACA and LAV.

Sabena, Regie Air Afiique and South AfricanAirways used Lodestars in Africa, BOAC operateda total of 38 mostly in the Middle East and Africa,and postwar operators included East African Air­ways, New Zealand National, Trans-Australia,Kar-Air in Finland and Airtaco in Sweden.

Although most airlines used the orthodox 14­passenger layout, National Airlines converted atleast one to carry 26 passengers on bench seatsalong the fuselage walls. This layout was for PuertoRican operations by Caribbean-Atlantic Airlines.It was also National Airlines that in 1940 flew aLodestar from Burbank to Jacksonville, with onestop, in 9 hours 29 min.

Apart from civil operations, military Lodestarswere operated by the USAAF as C-56s, 57s, 59sand 60s and by the US Navy and Marine Corps asRSOs. In military service some Lodestars served asglider tugs. The 1940 Vega Ventura bomber was adirect development of the Lodestar.

Fw 200 Condor, Focke-WulfFIRST FLIGHT 1937

T HE Focke-WulfFw 200 Condors are probablybest remembered for their attacks on Allied

shipping during World War II when operatingfrom bases in France and Norway. But the typebegan as a request from Lufthansa for an airlinerand its design was begun in 1936.

The Condor was a rather beautiful four-enginedlow-wing cantilever monoplane with single fin andrudder and retractable undercarriage. It was ofmetal construction with metal skin except for thecontrol surfaces which were fabric-covered. Thefuselage was quite slim, and seating was arrangedin pairs on the left side with single seats to theright. The main cabin had 16 or 17 seats and therewas a forward smoking cabin with nine seats.

The prototype Condor was powered by 760-hpPratt & Whitney Hornet SlE-G engines and firstflew onJuly 27, 1937. It was followed by the secondprototype and a batch of Fw 200As with 720-hpBMW 132G engines. The second prototype went toLufthansa which also took delivery of five Fw200As. The second of the pre-production batchbecame Hitler's personal aircraft D-2600, twoothers went to DDL (Danish Air Lines) as Daniaand Jutlandia and were delivered in July andNovember 1938, and two went to SyndicatoCondor in Brazil.

DDL and Lufthansa both began operatingCondor services in the summer of 1938 but it is notknown which was first to introduce the type.

The Fw 200A was followed by the Fw 200B with830-hp BMW 132H engines, three-blade propellersinstead of the two-blade previously used, andincreased weight. Lufthansa took at least three.

Aero O/Y, now Finnair, ordered two Condorsbut the war prevented their delivery. A Condoroperated Lufthansa's last scheduled flight in April1945, one ofDDL's models flew until 1947, and theBrazilian Condors passed to Cruzeiro do Sol, werefitted with Pratt & Whitney engines and remainedin service until April 1947.

In August 1938 the modified first prototypeshowed its potential by flying non-stop from Berlinto New York in under 25 hours and in Novemberthat year flew from Berlin to Tokyo in 46 hours 18min. The Japanese were interested in a bomber­reconnaissance version and the Fw 200 VlO wasproduced as a long-range prototype for the militaryFw 200C - one at least of which served Lufthansaas a transport.

124

Fw 200 Condor

Type: passenger transportMaker: Focke-WulfFlugzeugbau GmbHSpan: 33m (108ft 31/4 in)Length: 23.85 m (78 ft 3 in)Height: 6 m (19 ft 81/. in)Wing area: 120 m2

(1292 sq ft)Weight: maximum 17000 kg(37 478Ib); empty II 300 kg(249l2lb)Powerplant: four 830-hpBMW 132H 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed365km/h (228 mph); range1500km (932 miles)Payload: seats for up to 26passengersCrew: 3 to4Production: minimum 280(civil and military)

Top: Nordmark, a Condorpowered by 750-hp BMW132L engines, was allocatedthe Versuchs number 6Above left: D-ACON at NewYork's Floyd Bennett Field in1938Left: The compact cockpit ofthe Fw 200 Condor

Ju 90,]unkersFIRST FLIGHT 1937

~I

r

Type: passenger transportMaker: Junkers Flugzeug­und-Motorenwerke AGSpan: 35.02m (ll4ft 10%in)Length: 26.3 m (86 ft 31/2 in)Height: 7.3m (23ft 1P/2in)Wing area: 184 m2

(1981 sqft)Weight: maximum 23 000 kg(507061b); empty 16000kg(352731b)Powerplant: four 830-hpBMW 132H 9-cylinder air­cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed320 km/h (199 mph); range2092 km (1300 miles)Payload: seats for 40passengersCrew: 3 to 5Production: 14

Above left: D-AALU DerGrosse Dessauer, the prototypeJu'90Left: The capacious cockpit oftheJu 90Below: The third prototypewhich had 830-hp BMW 132H engines

Ju90

o

I N 1935 a Luftwaffe strategic bomber force wasproposed and orders were placed for prototype

Dornier Do 19 and Junkers J u 89 four-enginedbombers. The Ju 89 flew in December 1936 andwas followed by a second prototype but before thethird aircraft was completed the strategic bomberprogramme was cancelled.

Junkers obtained permission to embody themain components of the third Ju 89 in a largetransport for Lufthansa, and this first flew in thesummer ofl937 as theJu 90 VI Der Grosse Dessauer.It was powered by four llOO-hp Daimler-Benz DB600 engines and broke up in flight.

Nevertheless, Junkers went ahead with the J ugOB version powered by 830-hp BMW 132H radialengines and these began flight trials early in 1938.The second Ju 90B, Bayern, went into service withLufthansa on the Berlin to Vienna rou te in thesummer of 1938 and a few Ju 90s were seen atCroydon in the following summer. The type didnot become fully operational before the start ofWorld War II, however. Lufthansa did have 10 or11 Ju 90s but two ordered by South AfricanAirways were never delivered. These aircraftwould have had Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasps.

The J u 90 was a large aircraft with a loadedweight of 23 tonnes. It was a low-wing monoplaneof all-metal construction, with the wing built in fivesections. There was marked sweepback on theleading edge and on the trailing edge of the

ioutersections. The typical Junkers 'double wing'flaps and ailerons were fitted.

The fuselage of the J u 90 had parallel sidesthroughout the length of the cabin, where the

tinterior width was 2.83m (9ft 3V2in). There weretwo interior layouts. One had five equal-sizedcabins in which there were pairs of facing seats oneach side and the other had a main cabin with sixrows of forward-facing seats (pairs each side of theaisle) and a forward smoking cabin with 16 seatsarranged in facing pairs on each side. The normaloperating crew consisted of two pilots and a radiooperator. There were large holds fore and aft andunder the cabin between the centre-section spars.

Ju 90s were operating Berlin to Belgrade servicesin 1940 but all the Lufthansa aircraft were takenover as military transports - operating in Norway,the USSR and the Mediterranean theatre.Developments oftheJu 90 were theJu 290 and six­engined J u 390 military transports.

AT-2, NakajimaFIRST FLIGHT 1936

318 and of these 299 were built by Tachikawa withproduction continuing until 1942.

The Nakajima AT-2 received further designa­tion changes when some of the army's Ki-34s werehanded over to the Japanese navy which calledthem Navy Type AT-2 Transport and NakajimaLIN!. All versions of the aircraft were known tothe Allies by the codename Thora.

The Ki-34s retained the small left-side entrancedoor and, compared with most types of aircraftused for paratroop dropping, must have beendifficult aircraft from which to jump, the techniqueused being a power reduction and shallow descent.

At least one Ki-34 which had been based inChina was given Chinese markings and used by theChinese air force.

AT-2

Top: The AT-2 was used byDai Nippon, Koku KK andManchurian Air Lines forshort-range commercialflights. It was the first twin­engined commercial transport ~

built in Japan to an entirelyoriginal designLeft: A line-up ofAT-2sbefore the war

Type: civil and militarytransportMaker: Nakajima HikokiKabushiki Kaisha;Tachikawa Hikoki KabushikiKaishaSpan: 19.91 m (65ft4in)Length: 15.3m (50ft2'!4in)Height: 4.15m (13ft 7'!2in)Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5250 kg(11574Ib); empty 3500 kg(7716Ib)Powerplant: two 71O-hpNakajima Kotobuki 41 or Ha- •I b 9-cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed31Okm/h (193 mph); range1200km (746 miles)Payload: seats for 8passengersCrew: 3Production: 351

o

I N 1935 Nakajima began design ofa small twin­engined transport for use on routes where traffic

potential was limited. Japan had already boughtmanufacturing rights for the Douglas DC-2, andthe Japanese design resembled a scaled-down DC­2 and which employed the same multi-cellularwing construction.

The design began as the AT-l but underwentextensive changes and the prototype appeared in1936 as the AT-2, making its first flight onSeptember 12. The aircraft was of metal construc­tion and metal-skinned except for plywood controlsurfaces. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplanewith two 580-hp Nakajima Kotobuki 2-1 radialengines, had a retractable tailwheel undercarriageand accommodation for three crew and eightpassengers.

After curing some minor shortcomings, the AT-2was put into production with 71O-hp NakajimaKotobuki 41 engines and 32 were built for DaiNippon Koku KK (Greater Japan Air Lines) andManchuria Air Transport. They remained in ser­vice until 1945. These production aircraft hadvariable-pitch two-blade metal propellers in placeof the fixed-pitch wooden units of the prototype.

In 1937 the Japanese army air force adopted theNakajima AT-2 as a paratroop transport andcommunications aircraft. The AT-2 was given thearmy designations Ki-34 and Army Type 97Transport. This version had 71O-hp Nakajima Ha­l b engines with modified cowlings and 19 werebuilt by Nakajima from 1937 to 1940.

The total requirement for military AT-2s was

1%

t

•IItIi1II.,I••I

i

•I+

l..I

iiI

j

T HE DH.95 Flamingo was a complete breakwith de Havilland tradition, being an all-metal

aircraft resembling a high-wing version of theLockheed Electra, and it was probably designed asa result of the import of Lockheed Electras andModel 14s by the prewar British Airways.

The wing was a cantilever metal structure withslotted flaps, the fuselage had a stressed-skin metalcovering and the tail unit was also of metal. Thecontrol surfaces and the rear part of the wing werefabric-covered. The tail unit comprised a cantilevertailplane with endplate fins and rudders but forinitial flight trials there was also a central fin.

The two 890-hp Bristol Perseus XIIC sleeve­valve radial engines were closely cowled and drovethree-blade constanf-speed controllable-pitchpropellers. The mainwheels retracted aft into theengine nacelles. The flight-deck housed two pilotsand a radio officer and the main cabin could have12 to 17 seats and possibly 20 if required.

The prototype flew on December 28, 1938,obviously too late for the Flamingo to achieve anyworthwhile success before the start of the war,although J ersey Airways and Guernsey Airwayseach ordered one. Jersey Airways used the pro­totype during the summer of 1939 and in less thantwo months carried 1373 passengers in it with71.25% load factor.

There was an unfulfilled Egyptian order for theFlamingo and a batch of 13 was built, three goingto the RAF with two of them to the King's Flight,and seven went to BOAC in 1940-41. EventuallyBOAC was to have eight and they were operated,

as the King class, mainly in the Middle and NearEast and East Africa. These aircraft had 930-hpPerseus XVI engines.

The first two aircraft were operated by No 24Squadron RAF, mainly for the use of the PrimeMinister and other Government officials. The RAFwas also interested in a troop-carrying version and30 were ordered as the Hertfordshire, with circularwindows instead of rectangular, but there was onlyone prototype built and four production aircraftstarted before the order was cancelled.

At least six of the 16 DH.95s built were lost inaccidents and most of the others scrapped duringor soon after the war, but one BOAC aircraft waspassed on to British Air Transport and used forcharter work until withdrawn in 1949.

DH.95 Flamingo

Type: passenger transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCoSpan: 21.34m (70ft)Length: 15.72m (51 ft 7in)Height: 4.67 m (15 ft 4in)Wing area: 60.48 m2

(651 sq ft)Weight: maximum 7983 kg(17600 1b); empty 5137 kg(113251b)Powerplant: two 890-hpBristol Perseus XIIC or 930­hp Perseus XVI 9-cylinderair-cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed328.3km/h (204mph); range2165 km (1345 miles)Payload: seats for up to 17passengersCrew: 3Production: 16

Top: G-AFYH which wasfirst flown in 1940 and wasfinally scrapped at Redhill inMay 1954Left: G-AFUE of Guernseyand Jersey Airways, wasimpressed into RAF service in1939 and struck off after anaccident in October 1940

127

LeO H.242, Liore ef OlivierFIRST FLIGHT 1934

U NTIL World War II a high proportion of thetrans-Mediterranean air services were oper­

ated by flying boats and seaplanes. In 1928Aeropostale had introduced the CAMS 53 twin­engined four-passenger biplane on its Marseilles toAlgiers route. Air Orient and Air Union alsoacquired fleets of these flying boats.

Although the CAMS flying boats gave goodservice they were of wooden construction and hadlimited capacity and performance. Air Union hadordered a replacement fleet of ten to 15-passengerfour-engined Liore et Olivier H.242 flying boatswith metal hulls although the thick-section can­tilever wings were built of wood.

The first H.242 was completed in 1933 but bythe time the type was ready for service in 1934, AirFrance had succeeded Air Union. Two H.242swere built, Ville de Tunis and Ville d'Alger, and theirfour 350-hp Gnome Rhone Titan Major engineswere uncowled and mounted above the wing intandem pairs, the nacelles being flat-sided. Anumber of minor modifications were made to theH.242 and the type was followed by a productionbatch of 12 H.242-ls with increased weight andrange. These had circular-section engine nacelles.Originally the front engines had NACA cowlingsbut these were later removed and replaced withexhaust collector rings.

Until the war brought the trans-Mediterraneanservices to a halt, the H.242 series gave goodservice and operated between Marseilles and Al­giers; Marseilles, Ajaccio and Tunis; and on theMarseilles-Athens-Tripoli-Beirut sector of the FarEast route. Four were lost in accidents but the fateof the remainder is not known.

In 1935 a specification was issued for aLeO H.242 replacement and this was designed asthe 31.72-m (104ft O%-in) span, 9800-kg (21605­Ib) Liore et Olivier H.246 which was a develop­ment of the H.47 transatlantic 'boat which neverwent into airline service. With metal two-step hulland cantilever wooden wing, the prototype H.246flew in September 1937, and Air France ordered sixproduction H.246-ls fron SNCASE of which Liorehad become a constituent. These could take up to2~ passengers and were powered by four 720-hpHispano-Suiza 12Xir engines.

The war prevented full operation of the H.246s,three were taken to Germany, but two were still onthe Marseilles to Algiers route late in 1945.

128

H.246LeOH.242

Type: passenger transportflying boatMaker: Liore et OlivierSpan: 28 m (91 ft 10'12 in)Length: 18.45 m (60 ft 7'12 in)Height: 6.1 m (20 ft)Wing area: 116.25m2

(1251 sqft)Weight: maximum 8400 kg(18 519Ib); empty 5056 kg(11146Ib)Powerplant: four 350-hpGnome-Rhone Titan Major7Kd 7-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed180 km/h (112 mph); range750km (466 miles)Payload: seats for up to 15passengersCrew: 4t05Production: 14

Above: An Air France Lioreet Olivier 242 which operatedon the Mediterranean routesBelow: An LeO 246 overMarseilles

I

I Boeing 307 StratolinerI FIRST FLIGHT 1938

II

1

!-J__ :!Jh.1 &15 CONTINENTAL

TRAlvII

••

Boeing307B

Top: A Transcontinental &Western Air Stratoliner;production started afterorders from TWA andPanAmAbove left: Loading mail intoa PanAm Boeing 307Left: The flight-deck of theStratoliner showing pilot, co­pilot and flight engineer

Type: long-range transportMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 32.69m (107ft3in)Length: 22.65m (74ft4in)Height: 6.33 m (20 ft 9 in)Wing area: 138m2 (1486sqft)Weight: maximum 20415kg(45000 Ib); empty 13610 kg(30000Ib)Powerplant: four IIOO-hpWright Cyclone GR-1820­GI02 (Model 307) or 1200-hfGR-1820-G666 (Model SA­307-Bl) enginesPerformance: maximumspeed 387.8 km/h (241 mph)at 1830 m (6000 ft); range2815km (1750 miles)Payload: 2990 kg (6590Ib);seats for up to 38 passengersCrew: 5Production: 10

-e.qJ

Boeing 307THE Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the first pro­duction airliner with a pressurized cabin. Full­

scale development of the Model 300 (as the Model307 was originally known), began towards the endof 1934. This emerged as a transport version of theModel 299H/B-17C bomber. The wings, engines,nacelles and original tail surfaces all came from theB-17, and an enormous new fuselage of circularcross-section gave the 307 a distinctive whale-likeappearance.

The prototype, one of four 307s ordered by PanAmerican Airways and registered NX19901, madeits maiden flight on December 31, 1938. Unfortu­nately, NX19901 broke up pulling out of anunintentional spin with a KLM delegation onboard. Boeing added a new fin and rudder ofgreatly increased area to improve directional sta­bility. Later the B-17E introduced this tail to thebomber.

Pan American's remaining three aircraft (desig­nated PAA307/S-307) were delivered in 1940 and

I named Clipper Flying Cloud, Clipper Comet andClipper Rainbow. Externally, these aircraft could bedistinguished from other 307s by the absence ofexternal flap hinges. All three PAA307s were basedat Miami, for use on Latin American routes. Thefive SA-307Bs ordered by TWA (Transcontinental& Western Air) were also delivered in 1940. In1942 all five were impressed as C-75s into theArmy Air Transport Command and flown byTWA crews.

In 1944 the SA-307Bs went back to the factoryfor rebuilding. They were returned to TWA as SA­307B-ls with B-17G wings, nacelles and tail­surfaces. More powerful Wright Cyclone engineswere introduced, the cabin pressurization systemwas removed and a B-29 type electrical system wasinstalled. The Stratoliners were later sold to theFrench airline Aigle Azur in 1951. They thenentered a decade of intensive work flying to Indo­China and on other routes, several withAeromaritime.

The single SB-307B was purchased by HowardHughes and specially equipped to his specificrequirements. He wanted to beat his own 3-day 18­hour record for a flight around the world set inJuly1938, using a Lockheed Model 14. The outbreak ofWorld War II cancelled this project and Hughesspent $250000 converting the SB-307B into aflying palace.

129

/

MC-20, MitsubishiFIRST FLIGHT 1940

T HE Mitsubishi MC-20 had its origins in abomber design, in common with several other

transport aircraft developed in Japan before WorldWar II. The basis of the design lay in a require­ment, issued early in 1939, by Nippon Koku KKaapan Air Lines), for an airliner based on theMitsubishi Ki-21 and able to operate on theairline's international route network.

In August 1939, the Imperial Japanese ArmyAir Force took the opportunity to capitalize on thework already done by Mitsubishi. It called for anaircraft able to operate as an airliner and also as amilitary staff transport or paratroop aircraft.

The basic joint requirement called for an aircraftable to carry II passengers and 300kg (661Ib) ofcargo over a range of 1400 km (870 miles) at acruising speed of 300km/h (186 mph). In civilservice the new aircraft was to be designated MC­20, and in military service Ki-57. The new trans­port was based on the Ki-21-I, from which itinherited its wings, tail, cockpit section, landinggear and powerplant. The new fuselage was sleekerthan that of the Ki-21-I, and was without thebomber's dorsal 'glasshouse'. To provide an unim­peded fuselage, the wing of the MC-20 wasmounted in the low position, rather than in the midposition of the bomber. Accommodation for the 11passengers was provided in rows of single seatsalong each side of the aircraft.

The prototype was rolled out in July 1940, andflight trials started in August. Despite the loss ofanearly aircraft, the type was adjudged highly satis­factory, and ordered into production, initially inthe MC-20-I form with a pair of 850-hp ArmyType 97 radial engines. Some of the aircraft weretransferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy AirForce with the designation Mitsubishi L4Ml.

In May 1942 there appeared an improvedvariant, the MC-20-II. This had some detailimprovements to equipment, but differed from itspredecessor in having two 1050-hp Army Type 100(Mitsubishi Ha-102) radials in place of the earlierArmy Type 97 (Nakajima Ha-5 KAI) radials.Weights rose slightly, but maximum speed wasincreased from 430 km/h (267 mph) to 470 km/h(292 mph), and service ceiling was increased by1000 to 8000m (3280 to 26240ft).

Only a few of the type survived the war,operated by Dai Nippon Koku KK until allJapanese flying was banned on October 10, 1945.

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MC-20~

Top and above: TheMitsubishi MC-20 was usedby Dai Nippon Koku KK(GreaterJapan Air Line CoLtd). During the war, theseaircraft operated incamouflage and, as shown,with military Hinomaru (TheSun's Red Disc) markings

MC-20-II

Type: light transportMaker: MitsubishiJukogyoKKSpan: 22.6m (74ft I%in)Length: 16.1 m (52 ft lO in)Height: 4.86 m (15 ft II V2 in)Wing area: 70.08 m2 (754 sqft)Weight: maximum 9120kg(20 106Ib); empty 5585 kg(12313Ib)Powerplant: two lO50-hpArmy Type 100 (MitsubishiHa-102) 14-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: maximumspeed 470 km/h (292 mph) at5800m (19030ft); range3000km (1865 miles)Payload: seats for up to IIpassengersCrew: 4Production: lOl (MC-20­Is/Ki-57-Is); 406 (MC-20­IIs/Ki-57-IIs)

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G Class, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 19:59

FOLLOWING the complete success of the S.23Empire Flying Boat, Imperial Airways in late

1937 discussed with the Air Ministry the possibilityof using the powerful new Bristol Hercules 14­cylinder sleeve-valve engine in aircraft with trans­atlantic range. Three S.26 flying boats wereordered. The first was flown in June 1939. NamedGolden Hind it was the first of the so-called G class,the sisters becoming Golden Fleece and Golden Horn(G-AFCI to CK).

Though strikingly similar to the S.23 and rela­tives, the S.26 was a much larger and heavier boatand had more than double the range/payloadcapability. Among the more important changeswas the four-man flight-deck of the Sunderlandand the latter's tall vertical rear step and higherstern.

These fine boats had not entered revenue servicewhen World War II broke out. Though they wouldhave been valuable civil transports the need forlong-range Atlantic patrol aircraft was pressing.They were impressed into the RAF in 1940, withtheir crews, and given serial numbers X8273-5.Major rebuild followed in the course of which theywere equipped with Boulton Paul four-gun turretsat the tail and two dorsal positions, a largeSunderland-type weapon bay under the wing in thehull and a complex ASV.II radar installation.

At the end of 1941 the two survivors were re­eivilianized (though their tailcones had been lost,so the rear turret was simply faired over). Theybegan the long Poole-Lisbon-Bathurst-Accra­Freetown-Lagos service, Lisbon-Bathurst alone

being a 13-hour sector. On the northbound runfrom Lisbon refugees and RAF escapees wereaboard on every trip. but on January 9, 1943,Golden Horn eaugh t fire in the air on an air-test andcrashed into the Tagus losing 12 lives.

The survivor, the original boat, was completelyrebuilt in 1944 and as a 38-seater with crew ofseven operated the route Durban-Lourenc;:o Mar­ques-Beira-Mombasa and Kisumu-Mombasa­Pamanzi-Madagascar-Seychelles, the latter soonextended via the Maldives to Ceylon. In late 1945she was rebuilt again by Short & Harland atBelfast as a luxurious 24-seater with HerculesXIVs and flew Poole-Augusta-Cairo until 21 Sep­tember 1947. She was sunk in a gale at HartyFerry, England, in May 1954.

S.26

Type: long-range flying boatMaker: Short Brothers(Rochester and Bedford) LtdSpan: 40.94 m (134ft 4 in)Length: 30.89m (101 " 4in)Height: 11.45 m (37 ft 7 in)Wing area: 20 I m" (2160 sqft)Weight: maximum 33340 kg(73500 Ib); empty 17100 kg(37700 Ib)Powerplant: four 1380-h pBristol Hercules 1\' or Xl\'air-cooled radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed290km/h (180mph); range5150 km (3200 miles)Payload: seats for 38passengersCrew: 4Production: 3

Brlow: G-AFC [ Golden Hindon the :\ledway following hermaiden flight in June 1939,She was piloted by JLankester Parker. This 'boatwas retired in 1947 and it wasplanned to use her on touristflights abroad, HO\\T\'er shesank in a gale in :\la\' 195+

SEe 161 Languedoc, SNCASEFIRST FLIGHT 1945

T HE origins of the Languedoc can be tracedback to a short-range passenger airliner, the

MB 160. This was a short-range transport for usein the colonies and powered by four 720-hpHispano-Suiza 12 Xirs engines. However, it didnot enter production. Instead, the MB 161 wasadopted for use by Air France as a 33-seat passen­ger airliner on their medium-range routes.

It was developed in parallel with the MB 162heavy bomber and wartime production of the MB161 was taken over by the Germans and plans for20-seat and l6-seat variants of this model had to beabandoned. Twenty were ordered to be built at theSNCASE factory at Toulouse for use by Lufthansabut no production aircraft were completed until thewar ended.

The first SE. 161 was flown on September 17,1945 and was powered by four 1150-hP Gnome­Rhone l4N 44/45 engines. France at this time waseager to modernize its air services and Air Franceordered 40 Languedocs for use on their Europeanand North African routes. The first 13, which weredelivered in late 1945 and early 1946, were used inexperimental services to the United Kingdom andAfrica and by late 1946 Languedocs were beingused on all major European and African routes.

At the end of 1946 several improvements weremade, including the replacement of the Gnome­RhOne engines by l200-hp Pratt & Whitney R­l830-SlC3-G engines. De-icing equipment andinterior cabin heating was also installed. Themodified aircraft designated SE. l6l-P7 was popu­lar with several other operators. These includedAir Atlas, Air Liban, Iberia, Misrair, LOT andTunis Air. Several of the aircraft supplied to theexp?rt customers retained their Gnome-Rhoneengmes.

In the late 1940s several Languedocs wereemployed in the flying testbed role for experimentswith aero engines. Four SE. l6ls were used forcarrying the Leduc ramjet research aircraftmounted on top of their fuselages.

By the end of 1947, 62 Languedocs had beencompleted and several were ordered by the Armeede l'Air and Aeronavale. Some of these were still inservice with Aeronavale for aircrew training as lateas 1960. By this time Air France had withdrawn itsSE. l6ls from all major passenger routes and theLanguedocs in service with Aviaco of Spain werethe only ones left in civil use.

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Top and above: The Sud EstSE. 161 Languedoc was usedby Air France on routes toNorth Africa and later onEuropean !lights, includingLondon to Paris. With Pratt& Whitney Twin Waspengines it was sold to thePolish airline LOT whichtook delivery of five between1947 and 1948

SE.161

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: SNCASESpan: 29.38 m (96 ft 4% in)Length: 24.25 m (79 ft 6% in)Height: 5.13 m (16 ft 10 in)Wingarea: 111.3m2 (1198sqft)Weight: maximum 22940 kg(50573Ib); empty 12651 kg(27890Ib)Powerplant: four 1200-hpGnome-Rhone 14N 68/6914­cylinder air-cooled radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed405km/h (252mph); range1000 km (620 miles)Payload: 3970 kg (8752Ib);seats for 33 passengersCrew: 4Production: 67

Boeing 314FIRST FLIGHT 1938

"",. Boeing 314A~-

Abm'e left: Assembling theengines of the first Boeing:\lodel 314 at SeattleLeft: The flight-deck of aClipper with the pilot. co­pilot, na"igatoi', radiooperator and Flight engineerBelow: G-AGCA Berwick inBOAC sen'ice on the Atlanticroute during World War II

Type: long-range flying boatMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 46.33 m (152 ft)Length: 32.31 m (106ft)Height: 8.41 m (27ft7in)Wing area: 266.3 m" (2867 sqft)Weight: maximum 38 102 kg(84000Ib); empty 21930kg(48400Ib)Powerplant: four 1600-hpv\'right GR-2600 Cyclone 14­cylinder two-row radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed303 km/h (188 mph): range5930 km (3685 miles)Payload: 74 daY passengersor 40 with sleeping berthsCrew: 10Production: 12

]...

SUCH was the rate of progress with large long­range flving boats in the United States in the

mid 1930s that within two years the Martin 130made the Sikorsky S-4·2 obsolete, and within a yearof the 1935 maiden flight of the great Martin, Pij.nAmeriean Airways was talking with Boeing about aboat to eclipse the Martin. By Deeember 1936 theBoeing Model 314 hSld a firm speeification.

Structure was to be entirely of light-alloy stressedskin. The chosen engine was the new 1500-hp14-cylinder Wright two-row Cyclone GR-2600, themost powerful then available. The wing was simi­lar to that of the giant XB-15 bomber.

By late 1937 the seating had been revised to 50sleeping and 75 by day, (previously 82 and 40),with a crew often, with sleeping quarters above thepassenger cabins and just under the wing. Behindthis crew sleeping compartment were baggageholds along the upper rear of the hulL The forwardpart of the upper level had a flight-deck, navigationcompartment, radio officer's cabin, chartroom,map and library room, and a large compartmentfor engineers. Stability on the water was providedby two-spar sponsons, called sea wings, from whichfuel was pumped up to the main wing tanks.

The first fligh t took place in June 1938. Direc­tional stability was the chief problem and eventu­ally two additional fins and rudders were added tothe tail. All six 314s were delivered in 1939. One,Dixie Clipper, opened the first regular non-stopNorth Atlantic service on June 28, 1939; YankeeClipper and American Clipper soon joined. The otherthree operated on the Pacific, with conspieuoussuccess and passenger appeaL

In 1940 Boeing sold six improved 314A Clippersto PanAm, and three were turned over to BOAC(which had ordered from Boeing anyway). The314A had many changes including more powerfulversions of the G R-2600 engines, larger HamStanpropellers of improved efficiency, and greater fuelcapacity making possible unprecedented ranges.(The original Dixie Clipper had Hown non-stopLisbon to New York in 25 hours in 1939.) PanAm'sthree 314As were requisitioned by the USAAF asC-98s in 1942, soon being transferred to the navywhere as B-314s they operated with PanAm crews,BOAC named their aircraft Bristol, Berwick andBangor, the first taking Prime Minister Churehill tothe US and back in 27 hours in mid 1942. Six werescrapped in 1950.

C-46 Commando,CurtissFIRST FLIGHT 1940

T HE Curtiss C-46 Commando will always beassociated with the 'Hump' run from India to

China during World War II. After overcomingearly mechanical problems caused by low technicalsupport and high utilization, the Commandobecame a prime mover of material in every Alliedtheatre of operations. A total of 3182 C-46/R5Cswere delivered to the US Army, Navy and Marinesbetween 1942 and 1945.

The Commando began life as the CW-20 com­mercial airliner. Designed to operate on routesaround 1000km (600 miles) in distance (90% ofthe US domestic network), the CW-20 would havecompeted head-on with the Douglas DC-3. Desig­nated CW-20T, the prototype (NXI9436) made itsmaiden flight on March 26, 1940. The CW-20

Above: This C-46 CargoClipper was inaugurated intoPan American service onDecember 1,1948Right: Fred Olsen of orwayoperated the C-46 on cargoservices. The airline companywas a subsidiary of themassive shipping consortiumof the same nameFar right: A RichInternational Airways C-46A.The airline began operatingin]anuary 1971 and by 1980worked five aircraft onCharter services from Miami,Florida, mainly to theBahamas

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featured a double lobe or 'double-bubble' fuselagewith accommodation for 36 passengers in theupper lobe and 3719kg (8200lb) of cargo in thelower. Two of the new Wright Cyclone R-2600two-row radial engines were installed, each de­veloping 1700 hp for take-ofT. Rather surprisingly,a tailwheel landing gear was chosen.

In July 1940, the US Army ordered 40 un­pressurized cargo versions of the CW-20. The C-46Commando was born. The Army also bought the

. CW-20T as the C-55 for $361556 in June 1941.Strangely, the C-55 was soon returned to Curtiss,who then sold it to British Overseas Airways(BOAC) in September 1941. Registered G-AGDI,the aircraft was named St Louis after its birthplace,and was scrapped in Britain on October 29, 1943.

Above: An Andes Airline C­46, HC-AC2. An all-cargocarrier, this airline wasestablished in 1961 byCaptain Alfredo Franco. Inits first few years variousfreigh t charters wereundertaken in South Americausing DC-3s and C-46s

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The first C-46 was delivered to the US Army inJuly 1942. Early production aircraft· were littledifferent from the CW-20T. Cabin windows werereduced to four on the left side and five on theright. Except for a small section at the rear, thefairing over the fuselage 'crease' was dropped forlack of any aerodynamic advantage. Four-bladedCurtiss fully-feathering electric propellers werefitted. The C-46A (CW-20B) had a reinforced floorfor 6804 kg (15 000 Ib) of cargo, loaded through alarge two-segment cargo door on the left side.Power was provided by two 2000-hp Pratt &Whitney R-2800-51 engines. Subsequent versionsdiffered chiefly in door configuration (eg paratroopdoor on C-46D) and stepped windscreens. Someversions featured the R-2800-34W engine withwater injection.

After the war Curtiss tried to launch a newpassenger transport version of the Commando ­the CW-20E. With thousands of surplus transportson the market, this project never stood any realchance of success. Even civil C-46 conversionsfailed to attract orders from US trunk carriers.They preferred newly demobbed DC-4s, Constella­tions and DC-3s. The majority of C-46s bought byUS operators were used as freighters. US cargooperators in the 1970s included Rich International(3), American Flyers (I), Miami Air (I) and TransContinental (4).

One Curtiss project that literally never got offthe ground was the XC-113 - a C-46 converted totest the new General Electric TG-IOO turboprop.The TG-IOO could not be installed in the nose

because the cockpit was too far forward, so theengine was mounted in the right nacelle. The leftR-2800 was retained, but the power gap betweenthe two powerplants and their different reactiontimes to throttle movements combined to make theaircraft virtually uncontrollable.

Passenger and freighter versions sold very well inSouth America. There were over 600 working therein 1959 and around 50 machines remain activethere. LACSA, the Costa Rican national airline, isunique among other operations in that its three C­46s carry passengers according to daily domesticschedules. One C-46 has been flying with LACSAfor 31 years. In 1980, 80 Commandos were still inregular operation, the largest fleet being operatedby Air Haiti (5).

C-46

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Curtiss-WrightCorporationSpan: 32.92 m (108ft)Length: 23.26 m (76 ft 4 in)Height: 6.62 m (21 ft 9 in)Wing area: 126.34 m2

(1360 sq ft)Weight: maximum 21 772 kg(48000 lb); empty 13608 kg(300001b)Powerplant: two 2000-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800-51Double Wasp 18-cylinderradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed278 km/h (173 mph) at3050 m (10 000 ft); range5069km (3150 miles)Payload: 4536 kg (IOOOOlb);sea ts for 40 to 62 passengersCrew: 4Production: 3341 (originallymilitary)

It

Above: The CW-20 version ofthe C-46 had a pressurizedfuselage in a double-bubbleconfiguration with the flooracting as a tie between thetwo arcs. Though it had beendesigned for pressurization,the CW-20 at first appearedwithout it

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York, AvroFIRST FLIGHT 1942

T HE Avro 685 York was a high-wing transportderivative of the Lancaster bomber, Roy

Chadwick designing a new square-section fuselagewith twice the volume of the original. The proto­type LV626 made its maiden flight on July 5, 1942-only five months after the drawings were deli­vered to Avro's experimental department.

Only three prototypes were built in 1943 how­ever, and most early production aircraft were VIPtransports; LV633 Ascalon, for example, becameWinston Churchill's flying conference room. (Asca­Ion was replaced in 1946 by MW295 Ascalon II ­destined to become the RAF's last operationalYork.) All Yorks built after the second prototypeincorporated a central fin to compensate for theincreased fuselage side-area forward of the CG(centre of gravity). The prototype also collected acentral fin when it became the only York poweredby Bristol Hercules VI engines.

Yorks were produced at three per month in 1944,and BOAC were allowed to take five from RoyalAir Force production. These aircraft carried 12passengers in the rear cabin with mixed freightforward, and inaugurated the first UK to Cairoroute on April 22, 1944. After World War II,BOAC shared 25 Yorks with the RAF until jointservices were handed over to the corporation. FullBOAC livery was applied and M class names (suchas Mersey, Manchester and Montgomery) were allotted.Thirteen were equipped as 12-berth sleepers for theUK-Johannesburg 'Springbok' service. The entirefleet was withdrawn from passenger services onOctober 7,1950, but York freighters remained withBOAC until November 22, 1957. The York carried90 000 passengers and flew 71 million km (44million miles) with BOAC, and their discardedfleet joined the surplus RAF Yorks bought bysmaller operators. Overseas operators includedSouth African Airways and FAMA.

War Office trooping contracts provided Sky­ways, Surrey Flying Services, Air Charter andScottish Airlines with valuable revenue. Hunting­Clan Air Transport and Dan-Air Services alsoacquired Yorks. During the Berlin Air Lift, mili­tary and civil Yorks flew thousands of sorties, G­AHFI Skyway flying 147 sorties before crashing atGatow on March 16, 1949 and G-AHLV flying 467sorties. Another York which flew 467 sorties wasO-ALBX Sky Dominion, the only York built byVictory Aircraft (later Avro Aircraft) of Canada.

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Top: A BOAC Avro 685 YorkG-AGNL Mersey which, afterservice with LancashireAircraft Corporation Ltd, wasused for troopingAbove: A clear view of theslab-sided fuselage and threefins of an Avro York

685 York

Type: long-range transportMaker: A V Roe LtdSpan: 31.09m (102ft)Length: 23.92 m (78 ft 6 in)Height: 5.44 m (17 ft 10 in)Wing area: 120.5 m2 (1297 sqft)Weight: maximum(passenger-freighter version)32206kg (71 OOOlb); empty18872 kg (41 6051b)Powerplant: four 161O-hpRolls-Royce Merlin 502 V-12liquid-cooled enginesPerformance: cruising speed404km/h (251 mph) at4572 m (15000 ft); range4345 km (2700 miles)Payload: 14307 kg(31 542Ib); seats for 12 to 65passengersCrew: 4Production: 257

+DH.98 Mosquito transport, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1940

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DURING World War II, British OverseasAirways Corporation operated a 'commercial'

service between the UK and neutral Sweden. By1942, BOAC's Lockheed Hudsons and Lodestarswere becoming increasingly vulnerable to intenseenemy activity along their routes, and the airlinebadly needed a new light merchantman withsufficient speed and altitude performance to eludeprowling German fighters, and flak batteries.

On August 6, 1942, a Royal Air Force Mosquitofrom 105 Squadron made a secret flight to Swedenwith a consignment of special mail. To BOAC thepossibilities were obvious, but the Air Ministrywere less than enthusiastic.

For the corporation it was Mosquitos or nothing.Finally a B Mk IV, DZ4ll, was allotted. Regis­tered G-AGFV, the aircraft was delivered onDecember 15, 1942" and Captain Houlder andRIO Frape guided 'FV to Stockholm for the firsttime on February 4, 1943. (Houlder went on totrain all BOAC's Mosquito captains.) On April 12,BOAC was allotted six more Mosquitos (FB MkVIs) registered respectively G-AGGC to AGGH.The introduction of the Mosquito 'airliner' did notpass unnoticed by the Luftwaffe. An Fw 190intercepted G-AGFV over the Skagerrak, andthough his aircraft was severely damaged, CaptainGilbert Rae made a successful wheels-up landingat Barkaby near Stockholm. Services promptlyceased until the Mk VIs arrived.

Following the American bombing raid on theGerman ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt, twoMosquitos were hastily modified to take one pass-

enger each in the bomb bay. The two Britishnegotiators flown to Stockholm purchased Swe­den's entire production of ball-bearings; therebyeliminating an alternative source of supply to theGermans. Previously, BOAC's Mosquitos had car­ried only small freight and special mail, butpriority passengers now became a regular featureof operations. Passengers wore full flying-kit andreclined on a mattress. A reading lamp, head­phones, (for communication with the pilot) andtemperature control was provided. On average, theflight from Leuchars to Stockholm lasted 3 hours,compared with up to 9 hours for slower aircraftsuch as the Dakota. Some crews made three singletrips in one night. All BOAC's Mosquitos werereturned to the RAF or scrapped.

FBMkVI

Type: high-speed transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftCo LtdSpan: 16.5Im(54ft2in)Length: 12.34m (40ft6in)Height: 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in)Wing area: 41.99 m2 (452 sqft)Weight: maximum 10 096 kg(22 258Ib); empty 6506 kg(14344Ib)Powerplant: two 1460-hpRolls-Royce Merlin 21 or 23,or two 1635-hp Merlin 25liquid-cooled V-12 enginesPerformance: cruising speed410km/h (255 mph); range3035km (1885 miles)Payload: up to 907 kg(2000Ib); I passengerCrew: 2Production: 7 (conversions)

Below: The first civilMosquito which wasdelivered to BOAC in 1943. Itwas operated from Leucharsairfield, in Scotland, on theStockholm route, andreturned to the RAF in 1945

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DC-4, DouglasFIRST FLIGHT 1942

BOTH the five .sponsoring airlines and DouglasAircraft lost rather heavily on the original

DC-4, later called DC-4E (for Experimental),which was judged too big and uneconomic afterprolonged service testing in 1939. Undaunted, andrecognizing it had to build a four-engined trans­port, a team under Edward F Burton at SantaMonica started again and draJted a much neaterand rather smaller design, using the R-2000 ver­sion of the familiar Twin Wasp engine.

Other modern features included the first trans­port fuselage with a long parallel section of con­stant diameter (years later this was to prove a boonin 'stretching' the same aircraft, first into thevarious types of DC-6, and then into the evenlonger DC-7 family). The tail had a tall single finand rudder and the main landing gears had twinwheels and retracted forwards, as did the steerablenose unit.

In 1940 the same sponsoring airlines placedcombined orders for 60 of the re-born DC-4 off thedrawing board. Though still larger than any exist­ing equipment, with seating for 42 day passengersand sleeping berths for 30 by night, it looked. soattractive that with rising traffic it seemed well­matched to future needs. Production began in 1941but even before Pearl Harbor, on 7 December thatyear, the project was slowed by urgent expansion ofmilitary output. In December 1941 the programmewas taken over by the USAAF and the designationchanged to C-54, as a long-range military trans­port. By late 1942 nearly 1000 had been ordered bythe USAAF and Navy.

During World War II there were nine militaryand naval versions, while Douglas planned for civilvariants to be sold after the war. The standardpostwar DC-4 was planned to be a 44-seater, witha crew of five, though for a time the old idea of asleeper persisted and Douglas offered (but did notsell) a model with 22 passengers in sleeping berths.Little space was then accorded to cargo in civilairliners, and though there were two small under­floor compartments, the main freight hold was asmall cubicle just in front of the passenger cabin onthe right side. Postwar DC-4s, and the Merlin­powered version built under licence by Victoryaircraft at Montreal (later taken over byCanadair), were without pressurization. LaterCanadair did build a pressurized DC-4M version,the Argonaut for BOAC.

In 1945-46 the US government sold or leasedapproximately 500 wartime C-54 and R5D Sky­masters to the civilian market, and this obviouslyhad a major effect on sales prospects for newaircraft from Douglas. Despite this the SantaMonica plant did manage to build 74 new civilDC-4s - the Douglas Model 1109 - after VJ-Day,the last going to South African Airways in August1947. The civil DC-4 followed exactly the structureand systems of the wartime machines, thoughwithout a freight floor or large loading doors.Usually the fuel capacity was reduced, thoughzero-fuel weight and maximum landing weightswere raised to allow payload to increase. For thenext 20 years civil DC-4s worked alongside thevastly more numerous civilianized C-54s andR5Ds, externally almost indistinguishable.

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liijiiIa

DC-4-1009

97 Passenger entry door98 Rear underfloor freight hold99 Aft emergency exit window

100 Wing root lrailing~edge fillet101 Left single-slotted flap construction102 Flap shroud ribs103 Inner wing panel rear spar104 Left fabric~coveredaileron105 Aileron hinge control106 Single-spar outer wing panel

construction107 Wingtip fairing108 Left navigation light109 Leading~edge de-icing boots110 Wing rib constructionIII Outer wing panel joint rib112 Inner wing panel 3~spar

construction113 Nacelle tail fairing114 Nacelle firewall115 Engine bearers116 Engine mounting ringlI7 Oil-cooler air duct118 Left ou ter engine nacelle119 Twin mainwheels120 Mainwheel doors121 Main undercarriage leg strut122 Wing stringers123 Left wing integral fuel tanks124 Left inner engine nacelle125 Nacelle oil tank126 Main undercarriage hydraulic

retraction jack127 Engine air intake128 Exhaust collector ring129 Oil-cooler air duct130 Pratl & Whitney R-2000-SDI3G

Twin Wasp, 14~cylinder, two~row

radial engine131 Propeller hub pitch change

mechanism132 Propeller~blade de~icing boots133 Hamilton-Standard three-bladed,

variable pitch propeller

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Type: long-range transportMaker: Douglas Aircraft CoSpan: 35.81 m (117ft 6in)Length: 28.6 m (93 ft 10 in)Height: 8.38 m (27 ft 6 in)Wing area: 135.639m2

(1460sqft)Weight: maximum 33113 kg(73000 Ib); empty 19641 kg(43300Ib)Powerplant: four 1450-hpPratt & Whitney Twin WaspR-2000 14-cylinder air-cooledradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed451 km/h (280 mph) at4265m (14000ft); range4025 km (2500 miles)Payload: 5190kg (11 440Ib);seats for 44 passengersCrew: 4Production: 79 (civil)

50 Right navigation light51 Right fabric~coveredaileron52 Aileron hinge control53 Aileron tab54 Right single~slottedflap55 Flap hydraulicjack56 Cabin heater air distribution roof

duct57 Forvvard cabin seats58 Left overhead luggage rack59 Floor beam construction60 Wing centre~sectioncarry through61 Fuselage frame and stringer

construction62 Right emergency exit window63 Wing/fuselage attachment main

frames64 Left emergency exit window65 Main cabin, 4~abreast passenger

seating, 4-4~seat layout66 Right overhead luggage rack

67 HF aerial cable68 Fuselage skin plating69 Food and coat stowage locker70 Aft toilet71 Fin root fillet72 Right tailplane73 Right elevator74 Leading~edge de~icing boots75 Tailfin construction76 VHF aer-ial cable77 Fin tip fairing78 Fabric~covered rudder construction79 Rudder tab80 Rudder and elevator hinge controls81 Tailcone fairing82 Tail navigation light83 Elevator tab84 Left fabric~covered elevator85 Leading~edge de~icing boot86 Tailplane construction87 Tail bumper88 Tailplane centre~sectioncarry~

through89 Fin mounting frame90 Tailplane fillet9 I Rear fuselage frame and stringer

construction92 Aft cabin bulkhead93 Wash basin94 Ladies cloakroom95 Wardrobe96 Buffet unit

DC-4

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I Nose cone2 Radio homing aerial3 Fire extinguisher bottles4 Nosewheel doors5 Nose undercarriage bay6 Cockpit front bulkhead7 Pitot tubes8 Windscreen panels9 Instrument panel shroud

10 Instrument panelII Rudded pedals12 Nosewheel hydraulic retraction

jack. 13 Steeringjacks

14 Nosewhee115 Torque scissors16 Battery bay17 Cockpit floor level18 Control column handwheel19 Captain's seat20 Opening side window panel21 1st Officer's seat22 Right side crew entry door23 Navigator's folding chart table24 Cockpit bulkhead25 Fonvard upper deck cargo hold26 Astrodome observation hatch27 Radio racks28 Radio operator's seat29 DIF loop aerials30 ADF sense aerial cable~l Forvvard underfloor cargo hold32 Lower section fuselage frames33 Forward toilet34 'Wash basin35 Men's cloakroom36 Cabin bulkhead37 Aft facing forward seat row38 Heater intake39 Cabin combustion heater40 Right inner engine air intake duct41 Right wing integral fuel tanks42 Wing panel walkways43 Right outer engine nacelle44 Engine~coolingair outlet flaps45 Detachable engine cowlings46 Hamilton standard, 3~bladed

propeller47 Engine air intake48 Outer wing panel joint rib49 Leading~edge de~icing boots

Above: This Qantas DC-4was operated on the airline'strans-Pacific routes. With theopening of a rou te throughManila on April 24, 1950,Qantas was represented inevery major city in South­East AsiaLeft: A Balair DC-4 cargoaircraft. This Swiss companywas formed in 1953, initiallyas a flying schoolRight: A DC-4 night planecomplete with AmericanAirlines booklets andblankets. It could carry 28passengers

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SO.30, SNCASOFIRST FLIGHT 1946

Left: An SO.30 of Air Algerthis French airline operatedservices between Marseillesand Oran and AlgiersBelow left: The functionalin terior of the Bretagne as acommercial airliner. I twasalso used as a militarytransportBelow: An SO.30 Bretagnetakes off from an RAF airfie'

T HE SO.30 was the largest of the projectstackled by the Groupe Technique de Cannes,

and was started at Chiiteauroux in March 1941.The idea was to create the first French pressurizedairliner, using the same kind of ultra-streamlinedfuselage as that adopted for the SO.90 on a biggerscale. Stressed-skin construction was adoptedthroughout, and the chosen engines were theGnome-Rhone N48/49s. Designated SO.30N, theN reflecting the engine model, it was tailored tocarry 23 passengers and 1200 kg (2640 Ib) freight.The prototype was ready for tests in November1942, but the Italo-German Armistice Commissionrefused permission for flight.

Undeterred the group continued with a muchmore powerful development, the SO.30R Bellatrix.This had Gnome-Rhone 14R-5 engines, each ratedat 1650 hp, and a larger wing, tricycle landing gearand single fin and rudder instead of a twin-finnedtail. Another change was incorporation of hot-airanti-icing on wings and tail. The 30R aboundedwith novel or up-to-date features, such as largehinged cowl panels giving access all round eachengine. It was fitted with 30 passenger seats (or 16sleeping berths) in three pressurized cabins. Firstflight took place in March 1946.

By 1948 however, the SO.30P Bretagne wascoming off the assembly line, with Pratt & WhitneyDouble Wasp R-2800-B43 engines of 2000hp,driving Curtiss electric propellers. In September1949, with the tenth aircraft, the engine changed tothe 2400 hp R-2800-CA18, driving HamStanpaddle-blade propellers. This was ordered by Air

140

France as a passenger airliner with luxuriousseating for 30 but with usual accommodation forup to 45 in 'coach' comfort. Goodrich pulsating­rubber or thermal de-icing on wings and tail wasbacked up by electric anti-icing of propellers andengines. The tail went back to a twin-finned form,and for the first time the pilots' windscreen hadupright panels giving a better forward view thanthose of the perfectly streamlined nose on previousvariants.

Several operators including Air France' usedBretagnes from 1951 until at least 1959. Oneoddball was the SO.30C cargo model, offered withGR 14R or R-2800 engines, in which the lower rearpart of the fuselage was a pair of large doors', likethose for a bomb bay.

SO.30P-2

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Societe Nationale d,Constructions Ahonautiqutdu Sud-Ouest (SNCASO)Span: 26.9 m (88 ft 2 in)Length: 18.95 m (62 ft 2 in)Height: 5.9m (19ft4in)Wing area: 86.2 m2 (927.5 sft)Weight: maximum 19500 k:(42900 lb); empty i3 600 kg(30 000 Ib)Powerplant: two 2000-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800-B4Double Wasp 18-cylinderradial enginesPerformance: cruising spee4[5 kmh'(258 mph); range1200 km (746 miles)Payload: 4350 kg (9570 [b);seats for 45 passengersCrew: 5Production: 45 (all types)

ISO.gO, SNCASOIFIRST FLIGHT 1943

Left: The SO.90 Cassiopee.The SO.90 was a largerversion of the SO.80 whichfirst flew in July 1942Below left: An SO.94 in thelivery of the French navy. TheSO.94 is instantlydistinguishable from theSO.95 in having a nosewheel,the latter being equipped witha tailwheellanding gear

T HE clandestine GTC (Groupe Technique deCannes) carried through five major aircraft

projects during World War II under extreme dif-.ficulty. One was a neat twin-engined light transport,powered by two 375-hp Beam six-cylinder invertedinline engines, with crew of three and payload of1200 kg (2640 Ib). Except for the control surfaces theskin was entirely of stressed light alloy, and thelanding gear and flaps were operated hydraulically.The type was intended as a replacement for theCaudron 440 Goeland, and it was called the SO.80.

This flew in July 1942, before the south of Francehad been occupied. It was successful, but the GTCdecided it should be made larger, and the resultwas the SO.90 Cassiopee. The prototype waswheeled out into the sun in August 1943, but bythis time Cannes was occupied by Italian troops.The latter looked on as no fewer than nineengineers, and much baggage, went on board forthe first taxi test. At the controls was M Hurel,chief engineer of the former CAMS company and aleading French designer. He opened up the enginesand took straight off. Italian fighters were scram­bled but failed to catch the new aircraft, which onits first flight crossed the Mediterranean toPhilippeville, North Africa, and the Allies.

From April 1946 SNCASO built 25 Cassiopees,while via the 93 the much more powerful 94 and 95were derived. Both were powered by the formerGerman Argus As 410 inverted V-12 air-cooledengine, which the nationalized group SNECMAwas preparing to build as the Renault 12S (laterSNECMA 12S). While the SO.94 had a nosewheel,

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the SO.95 had a tailwheellanding gear. Both couldcarry up to 13 passengers, with separate toiletforward and baggage compartment aft, makingthem considerably larger than the otherwise simi­lar British Dove. By 1947 a total of 75 SO.94 andsmaller numbers of SO.95 Corse II transports hadbeen ordered, some being for military training andliaison duties, notably with the Aeronavale(French navy). Both the 94 and 95 saw consider­able service in the 1950s, the Corse II being thepredominant civil transport version. Productionaircraft, delivered in 1948-52, had a large ex­tended dorsal fin, prominent direction-finding looparea above the humpbacked fuselage, and exten­sive provision for flight at night or in icing condi­tions.

SO.95

Type: light commercialtransportMaker: Societe Nationale deConstructions Aeronautiquesdu Sud Ouest (SNCASO)Span: 17.9m (59ft)Length: 12.35 m (40ft 5 in)Height: 4.29m (14ft I in)Wing area: 376 m'(4047 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5605 kg(12 346Ib); empty 4024 kg(8863Ib)Powerplant: two 590-hpRenault 12S-02-201 invertedV-12 air-cooled enginesPerformance: cruising speed335 kmh (208 mph) at 2700 m(8860ft); range 1300km (810miles)Payload: 882 kg (1943Ib);seats for 13 passengersCrew: 2Production: minimum 60

141

VS-44A, Vought-SikorskyFIRST FLIGHT 1937

VS-44A

Top: NC-41881 Excambianwhich was renamed Excaliburwhen it was operated byAvalon Air Transport from1957 to 1967Above left and left: NC-41881at Long Beach, California,where it was overhauled andconverted to carry 47passengers

Type: transport flying boatMaker: Vought-SikorskyDivision, United AircraftCorporationSpan: 37.8m (124ft)Length: 23.21 m (76 ft 2 in)Height: 8.4m (27ft 7 in)Wing area: 155.14 m2

(1670sq ft)Weight: maximum 22018kg(48 540Ib); empty 11978kg(26407Ib)Powerplant: four 1200-hpPratt & Whitney R-1830­SIC3-G Twin Wasp radialenginesPerformance: crusing speed282 km/h (175 mph) at3048 m (10000 ft); range7314km (4545 miles)Payload: seats for up to 16(later 47) passengersCrew: 6Production: I (XPBS-l), 3(VS-44A)

T HE origins of the Vought-Sikorsky YS-44Acivil flying boat lay in a 1935 United States

Navy requirement for a four-engined long-rangepatrol boat. Powered by four 1050-hp Pratt &Whitney XR-1830-68 Twin Wasp radials, thesingle XPBS-l prototype first flew in August 1937,and although it was in every way adequate, thecompany received no further US Navy orders. TheXPBS-l, armed with single l2.7-mm (0.5-in)machine-guns in the nose and tail positions andone 7.62-mm (0.3-in) gun in each of the two waistpositions, remained in US Navy service until itsank in San Francisco Bay during 1942.

Further development of the basic type resultedfrom the ambitions of a major US shipping com­pany, American Export Lines, to break into theincreasingly lucrative long-haul airline business, towhich end it had formed American Export Airlinesin April 1937. In May 1939 this company appliedfor a licence to operate a flying-boat service fromNew York to the United Kingdom and France.The chosen boat was a civil development of theXPBS-l, designated the YS-44A Excalibur.American Export Airlines ordered three examples.

The outbreak ofWorld War II led to a postpone­ment of American Export Airlines' plans, but inJuly 1940 the airline secured presidential per­mission to operate a transatlantic service from NewYork to Lisbon. American Export Airlines con­firmed its order with accommodation for up to 16passengers over transatlantic routes.

The situation was once again changed when theUnited States entered World War II as a result ofJapan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.OnJanuary 12, 1942 the US Navy thus contractedwith American Export Airlines to operate its YS­44s on behalfof the Naval Air Transport Service onthe North Atlantic route, operating from New Yorkto Foynes in Ireland. The three YS-44As weredesignated JR2S-l by the US Navy, but flew incivil markings, the first transatlantic flight beingmade on June 20, 1942. The first YS-44A hadflown on January 18, 1942 and all three had beendelivered by June 1942.

One YS-44A crashed on take-off on October 3,1942, but the other two made 405 transatlanticcrossings before be.ing retired by American ExportAirlines in October 1945, to be sold to smalleroperators. The two boats survived for some time asshort-haul transports seating up to 47 passengers.

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I Bv 144, Blohm und VossFIRST FLIGHT 1944

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T HE Blohm und Voss Bv 144 was one of the fewGerman civil aircraft to undergo any real

measure of development during World War II.The aircraft was designed in the early part of thewar, and its origins lay in a Deutsche Lufthansarequirement for a Junkers Ju 52/3m replacementon the airline's short- and medium-range routes.

In 1942 Deutsche Lufthansa ordered two proto­types· of this· interesting Blohm und Voss aircraft,which was basically conventional but with twoparticularly notable features. The wing, of typicalBlohm und Voss design, was located in the shoul­der position, giving the propellers of the two wing­mounted radial engines adequate ground clear­ance, even with the adoption of a relatively shorttricycle landing gear configuration.

The net effect of such a design was that thebottom of the fuselage was close to the ground,facilitating passenger boarding, ang the straightlower fuselage was also parallel with the ground.

There were difficulties at take-off and landing.Blohm und Voss selected the unusual solution of avariable-incidence wing. By means of electricallyactuated jacks under the centre-section leadingedge the angle of incidence could be increased fromthe low-angle low-drag cruising position to thehigh-lift high-drag position for take-off and land­ing. This feature was extensively tested, during1940, on the Blohm und Voss Ha 140 V3 seaplaneprototype. In practice, the outer wing panels couldbe moved through 9° of incidence, apparently withhighly successful results.

The other unusual feature of the Bv 144's design

was the use of the tubular main spar patented byDr Richard Vogt, the chief designer of Blohm undVoss. Light in weight but possessing admirableload-carrying characteristics, such a spar couldalso be used as the aircraft's main fuel tank, withconsequent saving in weight.

Construction of the two prototype Bv 144s wasat the Louis Breguet factory. It is hardly surprisingthat progress was ·slow. The first prototype Bv 144VI made its maiden flight in August 1944. By thistime, however, the German engineers were in theprocess of evacuating the plant and little flying wasaccomplished before the French took over. Breguetcontinued the programme and completed thesecond aircraft but it is not known whether it flewbefore the project was abandoned.

Bv 144

Type: short-and medium­range transportMaker: Blohm und VossSchiffswerft, AbteilungFlugzeugbauSpan: 27 m (88 ft 7 in)Length: 21.8 m (71 ft 6l/4in)Height: 5.01 m (16ft5'/4in)Wing area: 88 m2 (947 sq ft)Weight: maximum 13000kg(28660 Ib); empty notavailable.Powerplant: two 1600-hpBMW 801 MA 18-cylinderradial enginesPerformance: estimatedmaximum speed 470 km/h(292 mph); estimated range1550km (963 miles)Payload: seats for 18passengersCrew: 3Production: 2 (prototypes)

Top: The Bv 144 after theLiberation, sporting Frenchmarkings and the Cross ofLorraine

143

Boeing 377 StratocruiserFIRST FLIGHT 1944

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T HE Boeing B-29 Superfortress programmecatapulted aviation on to a new plateau. of

technology, and it was na.tural to translate it intotransport aircraft, just as had been done with theB-17 (307 Stratoliner) and XB-15 (314 Clipper).

Boeing began working on studies of transportderivatives of the B-29 in 1941, but 1942 openedthe floodgates of military money and in January ofthat year the USAAF ordered three XC-97 proto­types. Called Model 367 by Boeing, they weredesigned in the course of 1942, using as many B-29parts as possible but with a completely newfuselage, pressurized throughout, whose dimen­sions at that time looked fantastic. The front lookedbluff and unstreamlined, but in fact maximumspeed was calculated to be as high as for thebomber. Boeing had to tailor the basic machine tomilitary needs, but from the start had one or twoengineers working on the differences needed forcivil applications after the war under the designa­tion Model 377.

Little effort could be spared until VJ-Day inAugust 1945, by which time the military XC-97was flying. Pan American suggested the bold moveof fitting the new Wasp Major engine (alreadyordered by the airline for its intended fleet of DC­7s, the civil version of the C-74 Globemaster). By1946 Boeing had refined the 377 with this engine,increased gross weight and fuel capacity, fullairframe anti-icing, structure of 75ST high­strength light alloy and modified and augmentedsystems, tall and foldable vertical tail (as on theXB-50) and an attractive two-deck interior with

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luxurious furnishing and spiral staircase to adownstairs bar/lounge. Typical day seating wasfor up to 100 passengers, though sleeper versionswere studied.

PanAm ordered 20, to be named Stratocruiser,in June 1946, cancelling its DC-7s. Further orderscame from Northwest, American Overseas, SAS,BOAC (after battles in Parliament) and United.The Northwest and United aircraft were built to aslightly different standard, the most obviouschange being that passenger windows were square.Total production of the 377 was only 55, mostairlines fighting shy of the complex Wasp Majorwith its twin General Electric turbos and HamStanhollow-steel square-tipped propellers.

The airlines that did operate this aircraft suf-

Boeing 377

Type: long-range transportMaker: Boeing Airplane CoSpan: 43.05 m (141 ft 3 in)Length: 33.63m (1I0ft4in)Height: 11.66 m (38 ft 3 in)Wing area: 164.35 m2

(1769 sq ft)Weight: maximum 64638 kg(142500 lb); empty 37 876 kg(83500Ib)Powerplant: four 3500-hpPratt & Whitney R-4360-B6Wasp Major 28-cylinderradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed547 km/h (340 mph); range4426 km (2750 miles)Payload: 10 855 kg(23930 lb); seats for up to 112 •passengersCrew: 5Production: 55 (civil)

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Far left: A Pan AmericanStratocruiser. At one timePAA had 27 of these greattransportsLeft: The characteristic'double bubble' fuselage isdearly shown as this C-97comes in to landBelow left: The aircrew (flightengineer, with pilots behind)do a pre-flight check in aStratocruiserBelow: G-ALSA Cathay, aBOAC aircraft which was lostwhen it crashed at Prestwickin 1954, five years after thisHeathrow photograph

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Left: The Boeing Model 377Stratocruiser with itssubstantial fuselage allowedairlines to install featuresnormally found only in flyingboats. The upper deck couldbe converted into sleeperaccommodation for 28passengers with seats for 5others. The lower deck,reached by a spiral staircase,could be used as a lounge orfor 14 seats or as a bar andrest room. While thesefeatures were popular withpassengers, the aircraft waswelcomed by operatorsbecause of its long range

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fered many problems, though these were no worsethan those that caused prolonged groundings of therival Constellation and DC-6. SAS never in facttook delivery, preferring a succession ofDC-4, DC­6 and DC-7 versions; their four aircraft were addedto the BOAC order, which eventually grew fromthe original (controversial) six to no fewer than 17by the mid 1950s. Apart from United nearly all the377s were initially fitted with folding sleeper bunksfor at least some of the passengers. PanAm usedtheir 20 aircraft, soon supplemented by the ex­AOA machines plus the prototype, for all theirchief trunk routes including 'The President' first­class service, as did BOAC with its rival servicecalled 'The Monarch'. Both operators installedextra tankage for non-stop North Atlantic services

in 1950-55, BOAC even buying one aircraft fromPanAm in 1954 to help fill the gap caused by thegrounding of the Comets. By 1956 Stratocruiserswere fast being replaced by jets on the originalroutes, but most continued with new owners, oftenwith as many as 112 passenger seats. Among themore important second-hand operators wereRANSA of Venezuela, which used three convertedfor all-cargo operations with weather radar like aC-97, and Transocean whose fleet of ten remainedin service until 1963. In 1962 five Stratocruiserswere bought by Israel Aircraft Industries whichrebuilt them as refuelling tanker/transport/elec­tronic-warfare aircraft with the Israeli air force.Others were grossly rebuilt as the outsize 'Guppy'freighters.

145

Lancaster transport, AvroFIRST FLIGHT 1941

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/I N production as a bomber in 1942, the Lancas­

ter was notable for its reliability, good altitudeperformance and excellent handling. In 1943 Brit­ish Overseas Airways (BOAC) created a Develop­ment Unit to conduct research to support civiloperations after the war, and one of its first aircraftwas a Lancaster I delivered to the unit at Hurn inJanuary 1944. Though camouflaged, it had itsthree turrets replaced by metal fairings, and for 21/2

years carried out many test and trials programmesincluding proving the Merlin 102 powerplants ofthe Tudor I.

Soon after VJ-Day six of the vast number ofsurplus nearly new Lancasters were handed to thenow British South American Airways. They lookedrather like Lancastrians, with long pointed nosesfor carrying cargo, but had blufffaired tails and nofuselage windows. Only four were put into service,freighting between Hurn and then Heathrow andSouth America until the end of 1947. One of theother pair went to BOAC, and the last BSAAmachine was taken over by Airtech at Thame andfitted with a large ventral freight pannier forcarrying bulky loads on the Berlin Air Lift.

Flight Refuelling Ltd at Tarrant Rushton,Dorset, took over four ex-RAF Lancaster Ills in1946 (G-AHJT toJW). They put in a great deal ofvaluable development flying with the looped-hosemethod of aerial refuelling, and routinely madenon-stop flights between Heathrow and Bermudawith a refuelling (by one oftheirnumber} based in theAzores. By mid 1948 they were heavily involvedin the Berlin Air Lift, making 757 round trips.

146

However, the 'Lane' was even less of an economicpeacetime vehicle than the redesigned bomberssuch as the Lancastrian and Halton.

Various other civil Lancasters were used astrainers, notably G-AJWM and AKAB. Theformer was one of the Lancaster Is with a bulgedweapon bay with a capacity of 9979 kg (22 000 Ib);it did not have provision for the Earthquake bombwhich was carried semi-externally. With turretsstill fitted it was flown out to Rome in summer 1947by BEA to train crews of Alitalia Lancastrians. Atthe end of 1948 it passed into Alitalia ownership,having long since been repainted in their livery.AKAB was operated as a conversion trainer atDunsfold by Skyways, one of the new Britishindependents, and named Sky Trainer.

683 Lancaster

Type: medium- and long­range transportMaker: A V Roe and Co LtdSpan: 31.09 m (102 ft)Length: 21.18m (69ft6in)Height: 6.09 m (20 ft)Wingarea: 120.5m2 (1297sqft)Weight: maximum 29484 kg(65000 Ib); empty 16738 kg(36900Ib)Powerplant: four 1640-hpRolls-Royce Merlin T.24liquid-cooled V-12 enginesPerformance: cruising speed338km/h (210mph); range2670km (1660 miles)Payload: 10000 kg(22 000 Ib)Crew: 4Production: 20

Above: A CanadianLancaster transport built atthe Victory Aircraft plant atToronto. Seven of theseaircraft were used on awartime transatlantic routecarrying mail, high prioritypassengers and freight

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Halton, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1946

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I N late 1945 it became clear that the Avro T.udorwould not be ready for BOAC operatIonal

service in 1946 as planned. It was therefore impera­tive that the airline should receive an interim typeenabling it to meet its route targets for the year.

The model selected was the Halifax C.8, andduring the first half of 1946 12 such aircraft wereconverted in Belfast by Short & Harland intoHalton Is. An entrance door was fitted into theright side of the rear fuselage, which was fitted withseating for 12 passengers and with small rectangu­lar windows. The large ventral pannier was re­tained for the carriage of up to 3629 kg (8000 Ib) ofbaggage, freight and mail, this stowage beingsupplemented by space in the nose where theglazed nose of the C.8 was replaced by metal skin.The pannier, which produced little extra drag,allowed the volume ofwhat had been the bomb bayto be more than doubled.

The first Halton I, G-AHDU, was christened atthe Handley Page airfield at Radlett on July 18,1946. The 12 Halton Is were soon in service withBOAC, operating the difficult route from Londonto Accra in the Gold Coast, flying over theinhospitable Sahara. The Halton Is proved theirworth in one year of operations with BOAC, afterwhich they were retired.

The Halton Is were then kept at London Air­port, one subsequently being sold to the Frenchmanufacturer Louis Breguet, and the others wentto Aviation Traders Ltd for servicing before sale tothe Egyptian air force together with 22 Halifax A.9paratroop aircraft. During 1950, however, an em-

bargo was placed on the sale of weapons to Egypt,and the deal fell through. The Haltons had mean­while been used in the Berlin Air Lift: betweenJune 24, 1948 and August 15, 1949 seven freightoperators used some 41 civil Halifax conversions,including the Haltons, to make 4653 freight sortiesinto Berlin - a major share of the total British civ:i1contribution. The survivors were mostly scrappedin Southend.

There was also a single Halton II, registeredG-AGZP. This was originally a VIP Haljfax usedby the Maharajah Gaekwar of Baroda, which wasconverted into the special Halton II in 1946. Itthen spent some time in South Africa, and was thenoperated by Lancashire Aircraft Corporation:>efore being scrapped in 1953.

Above: A Handley PageHalton II which was operatedby British American AirServices on behalfof theMaharajah Gaekwar ofBaroda. It then went to AlphaAirways in South Africa andended its career with theLancashire AircraftCorporationLeft: The prototype Halton Iwhich was named Falkirk byLady Winster, wife of the AirMinister, at Radlett in July1946

Halton!

Type: interim civil transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 31.6 m (103 ft 8 in)Length: 22.43 m (73 ft 7 in)Height: 6.91 m (22ft8in)Wing area: 118.4m2 (1275sqft)Weight: maximum 30845 kg(68000 Ib); empty 17 123 kg(37750Ib)Powerplant: four 1800-hpBristol Hercules 100 14­cylinder radial sleeve-valveenginesPerformance: cruising speed418 km/h (260 mph); range4072 km (2530 miles)Payload: 3629 kg (8000 Ib);seats for up to 12 passengersCrew: 5Production: 13

147

Liberator Express, ConsolidatedFIRST FLIGHT 1944

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D URING World War II the US aircraft indus­try supplied the bulk of transport aircraft to

the Allied air forces, and towards the end ofhostilities it was clear that in their C-54 and C-69Douglas and Lockheed had the makings of excel­lent four-engined heavy transports for civil oper­ators.

The two designs eventually appeared in civilguise as the DC-4 and L-049 Constellation. Con­solidated-Vultee tried to develop another airlinerfor the civil market, in the form of the Model 39. Ofthe four types, the Model 39 was the least success­ful, only a single prototype being built.

This is all the more surprising in that the basicLiberator bomber had been adapted as a transportaircraft of notable success used in large numbersduring World War II. The LB-30 and the LB-30Awere unarmed ad hoc transport conversions of theLiberator II and Liberator I (B-24A) respectively,only small numbers being converted. Properlyexecuted conversions of the B-24 series were pro­duced for the USAAF as the C-87 series, for the USNavy as the RY series, and for the RAF as theLiberator C.VII and C.IX. The C-87 was amodification of the B-24D with a crew of five andaccommodation for 20 passengers or large tanks offuel; 276 were produced for the USAAF. TheRAF's C.VII, of which 24 were supplied under theterms of the Lend-Lease Act, was basically similar,as were the five RY-2s supplied to the US Navy.The C-87 was succeeded by the C-87A, of whichsix were supplied to the USAAF. This model wasderived from the B-24D again, but was powered byPratt & Whitney R-1830-45s instead of R-1830­43s, and was used as a VIP transport with tensleeper berths. The US Navy used three similaraircraft under the designation RY-l. The C-87Cwas to have been a transport version of the single­finned B-24N, but no production under this desig­nation took place.

Given this background, therefore, it was notunreasonable for Consolidated-Vultee to regardwith optimism a specialized civil derivative of theLiberator bomber, especially as the wing of thebomber and its derivatives was still highly efficient.Designed for Consolidated-Vultee by David RDavis, for the XP4Y-l flying boat (Consolidated31), this wing was of high aspect ratio, withconstant taper in chord and thickness from root totip, and offered very low drag at both low and highspeeds. The Model 39 thus had the wings, power­plant and landing gear of the Liberator, and single­finned tail surfaces of the PB4Y-2 Privateer, but atotally new fuselage of circular section with thecockpit let into the hemispherical nose in a fashionsimilar to that pioneered on the Boeing B-29Superfortress.

The single prototype was moderately successful,being used by American Airlines for air-freightoperations with a maximum load of 5443 kg(12000 Ib), but the type could not compete inperformance with current civil aircraft, and wasmuch less powerful than the DC-6, Constellationand. the more advanced Boeing Model 377. Inpassenger configuration the Model 39 was to havecarried 48 passengers and 544 kg (1200 Ib) of mailover a range of 4023 km (2500 miles).

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Model 39

Type: long-range transportMaker: Consolidated-VulteeAircraft CorporationSpan: 33.55 m (110 ft)Length: 27.45 m (90 ft)Height: 9.14m (30ft)Wing area: 97.36m2 (1048sqftl

Weight: maximum 29030 kg(64000 Ib); empty notavailablePowerplant: four 1200-hpPratt & Whitney R-1830-65Twin Wasp radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed386km/h (240 mph);maximum range 6437 km(4000 miles) at 322 km/h(200 mph)Payload: 5443 kg (12000 Ib);seating for up to 48passengersProduction: I

nmerlcan ~/aqshif1.Ci

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Above: The Model 39 duringevaluation flights fromSalinas and El CentroCalifornia to cities east of theMississippi including NewYork and Boston. Cargoincluded soft fruit andengineering parts which couldbe loaded direct from trucksthrough large fuselage doorsLeft: One of the manyLiberator bombers whichwere converted after the war.Unlike the Liberator Expressthese aircraft had been builtas bombers and after 1945had their turrets removed andthe nose position faired over.This aircraft has a Britishregistration and was in servicewith Scottish Airlines

149

Tudor, AvroFIRST FLIGHT 1945

Above left: The British SouthAmerican Airways G-AHNKStar Lion, a Tudor 4 initiallyused on the London toBermuda route until theunexplained loss of the twoother BSAA Tudors in 1949,when it was relegated tofreighting dutiesLeft: Interior of a BSAATudor 4 typical oflate 1940sfurnishingBelow: The BSAA Tudor 4Star Leopard

Tudor 4

Type: commercial transportMaker: A V Roe and Co LtdSpan: 36.58m (120ft)Length: 25.98 m (85 ft 3 in)Height: 6.38 m (20 ft 11 in)Wing area: 132.02m2

(1421 sq ft)Weight: maximum 36288 kg(80000 Ib); empty 22 426 kg(49441Ib)Powerplant: four 1770-hpRolls-Royce Merlin 621 V-12liquid-cooled enginesPerformance: cruising speed338 km/h (210 mph); range6437 km (4000 miles)Payload: seats for up to 32passengersCrew: 5Production: 31

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Tudor IT HE Avro Tudor originated in 1943 as an ideafor a postwar transatlantic transport derived

from the Avro Lincoln bomber. Detail designbegan in 1944, but the Tudor then developed into asignificantly different aircraft, retaining only thegeneral configuration of the Lincoln, with a single­fin tail.

The first prototype flew on June 14, 1945 andwas soon followed by two production aircraft, all ofwhich underwent rigorous testing, which revealedthe need for extensive modification to the nacelles,undercarriage, wing root fillets, empennage, en­gines and the airframe generally. Apart from thesegovernment-inspired modifications, moreover, theBritish Overseas Airways Corporation insisted onanother 343 alterations at the final developmentmeeting held on March 12, 1946, finally cancellingits order on April II, 1947.

Apart from the three development aircraft,another 21 Tudors ordered in April 1945 were thenin production, and in an attempt to find a niche forthe type development was diversified within thetwo main strands already in existence. Under theoverall designation Avro 688 appeared the TudorI, Tudor 3, and Tudors 4 and 4B; under thedesignation Avro 689 appeared the Tudor 2, Tudor5, Tudor 6 and Tudor 7.

The Avro 688 Tudors were all powered by the1770-hp Merlin 621. The two Tudor 3s were nine­seat government VIP transports converted byArmstrong Whitworth and so used between 1950and 1953 when they went to Aviation Traders forconversion into Tudor Is for charter work up to1956. The main Avro 688 variant was the Tudor 4,lengthened by 1.83 m (6 ft) and with the flightengineer's position removed to accommodate 32passengers.

The Avro 688 Tudor was designed to carry asmall payload over a long range; the Avro 689Tudor, on the other hand, was intended to carry alarge payload over a shorter range.

Original orders totalled 79, but these wereeventually reduced to six, of which only five werecompleted. The prototype crashed in 1947, one wasre-engined with 1715-hp Bristol Hercules radials asthe prototype (and single) Tudor 7, one was usedas a testbed and the other two were used fortrooping up to 1959. The six Tudor 5s were usedfor miscellaneous trooping, freighting and charterwork up to the mid 1950s.

Sandringham, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1946

S.25 Mk5

Type: long-range passengerflying boatMaker: Short Brothers LtdSpan: 34.37m (112ft9V2in)Length: 26.28 m (86 ft 3 in)Height: 6.97 m (22 ft IOV2 in)Wing area: 156.7m2 (1687sqft)Weight: maximum 27216kg(60000 lb); empty 17917 kg(394981b)Powerplant: four 1200-hpPratt & Whitney R-1830-92DTwin Wasp 14-cylinder two­row radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed283 km/h (176 mph); range3943 km (2450 miles)Payload: seats for up to 22passengersCrew: 5Production: 26 (all types)

S.25Mk7

refusal to accept more of the type, BOAC founditself so short of aircraft in 1947 that it took nineSandringham Mk 5s as the Plymouth class, theseboats having accommodation for 22 day or 16 nightpassengers on the routes from the UK to theMiddle and Far East, and that between HongKong and Singapore. Four Sandringham Mk 6swere produced for Norwegian Air Lines, withseating for 37 passengers on two decks for serviceon the route between Oslo and Tromso. The finalvariant was the Sandringham Mk 7, of which threewere produced for BOAC in 1948 as the Bermudaclass with seating for 30 passengers.

After successful careers with these airlines thesurvivors were generally passed on to lesser oper­ators, the type remaining in service up to the 1960s.

ANTILLES AIR BOATSV''tC'N ISLANDS

Right: LN-IAV, aSandringham Mk 6, wasdelivered as the Kvitbjom tothe Norwegian airline DNL in1948, for the Oslo-Tromsoservice, and later los t in acrashBelow: Southern Cross a ShortSandringham ofAntilles AirBoats

By the end of World War II the conversion ofthe Sunderland III flying boats into the S.25

transports proved that superior operating econ­omics could be gained by the development of thebasic Sunderland design along the lines of theprewar Empire class flying boats. In 1945, there­fore, the Hythe class boat G-AGKX Himalaya wasextensively rebuilt by Short Brothers. By the timeit made its appearance at the Victory Air PageantonJune 22, 1946 this single S.25 Sandringham Mk1 had smoothly faired nose lines, a neat tailconereplacing the rear gun turret, and accommodationfor 22 passengers on two decks, together with apromenade deck, dining room and cocktail bar.This single aircraft, powered by four 1030-hpBristol Pegasus 38s, was retained by BOAC, whichdid not order any more of the type.

With a plethora of war-surplus aircraft to hand,however, Short set about producing a number ofSandringhams, all basically identical on the out­side, but varying considerably in internal disposi­tions and flying equipment. There were threeSandringham Mk 2s (Argentina, Paraguay and Uru­guay) for the Argentinian operator Dodero, withseating for 45 passengers and a cocktail bar. Thisversion was powered by four 1200-hp Pratt &Whitney Twin Wasps. Dodero also received twoSandringham Mk 3s (Brasil and Inglaterra) withseating for 21 on the lower deck, and a galley anddining room on the upper deck. Four SandringhamMk 4s were produced to the order of TasmanEmpire Airways, with seating for 30, with a pantryand bar on the upper deck. Despite its earlier

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Solent, ShortFIRST FLIGHT 1946

T HE Short S.45A Solent was the civil version ofthe S.45 Seaford, itself originally known as the

Sunderland IV and intended for service largely inthe Pacific theatre. The Seaford was too late to seeservice in World War II, and the 30 originallyordered were cut back to six. One of these aircraftwas lent to BOAC in 1946 for evaluation as a civiltransport, and so successful was this that theairline ordered 12 production Solents from ShortBrothers.

The conversion from Seaford to Solent resem­bled that of the Sunderland to Sandringham, witha sleek nose replacing the bluff lines of the turretedmilitary nose, a new tailcone replacing the rearturret, and all military equipment removed. At thesame time the 1800-hp Bristol Hercules 100s of theSeaford were replaced by civil 1680-hp Hercules637s on the production Solent 2, the first of whichwas launched on November II, 1946.

The Solent was the most powerful British civilflying boat to enter service, and was thus wellappointed: accommodation was on two decks for amaximum of 34 passengers. On the upper deckwere a cocktail bar, a large cabin and loungecombined, a steward's compartment and a galley;on the lower deck were three passenger cabins, apromenade, a library, wardrobe compartments,dressing rooms and lavatories. A spiral staircaseconnected the two decks, whose upper one had theflight-deck at the forward end.

All the Solent 2s were owned by the Ministry ofTransport and Civil Aviation, and leased to BOACfor the airline's route from Southampton to ]ohan-

nesburg. In November 1950 BOAC ended itsflying-boat operations, but by this time the 12Solent 2s had been joined by six Solent 3s con­verted on the production line from Seafords andable to carry 39 passengers.

The last Solent type was the 4, introduced on theroute between Auckland and Sydney by TasmanEmpire Airways in 1949. The four Solent 4s wereproduced specifically for long-range operations,and could carry 44 passengers on the power of theirfour 2040-hp Hercules 733 radials.

Aquila Airways ceased operating Solents on itsMadeira route on September 30, 1950, endingBritish commercial flying boat services. The threeboats were taken over by Aerovias Aquila and theMadeira route was re-opened by the Portuguese.

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Solent 2

Type: long-range passengerflying boatMaker: Short BrothersLtdSpan: 31.36m (1l2ft9in)Length: 26.7 m (87 ft 8 in)Height: 11.16 m (37 ft 7 in)Wing area: 156.7 m2

(1687 sq ft)Weight: maximurn 35 381 kg(78000 lb); empty 21 661kg(177601b)Powerplant: four 1690-hpBristol Hercules 637 radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed393 km/h (211 mph); range2897 km (1800 mile';ts,;;;;;;;;;=:;;;,."...

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Payload: seats for up to 31passengersCrew: 7Production: 22 (all types)

Above: A Short S.15 Solent 1G-AOBL, which was re­registered ZK-AMC when itwas sold to Portugal in 1958.Abandoned in the Tagusestuary, it was finallyscrapped in August 1971Below: A Short Solent 1 ofAnsett, the Australian airlinestarted in 1936 by ReginaldMiles Ansett. This freight andpassenger carrier nowoperates services throughoutAustralia in competition withTAA

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Viking, Vickers-ArmstrongsFIRST FLIGHT 1945 -

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W ITH an end to World War II in sight, therewas an urgent need for Britain to produce an

interim short-haul airliner to supplement theDouglas DC-3. In 1944 Vickers studied three civildevelopments of existing bomber designs - theWindsor Empire, the Warwick Continental andthe Wellington Continental. The latter was con­sidered the most promising and duly designatedVC.l (Vickers Commercial One), and later namedViking.

Being an interim type, the Viking did not comeunder the auspices of the Brabazon Committee,and Government Specification 17/44 was issued inOctober 1944. Construction of the prototype beganin early 1945, and lead time was kept to aminimum by using Wellington wings and WarwickMk V tail surfaces. Bristol Hercules 100 radialengines were selected after successful trials in aWellington. Vickers' design team knew that afabric-covered geodetic fuselage would be unac­ceptable to postwar airlines, and a new stressed­skin fuselage was introduced. The Viking becameBritain's first postwar airliner to fly when MuttSummers took the prototype, G-AGOK, aloft forthe first time on June 22, 1945.

The first 19 production aircraft were deliveredwith fabric-covered wings (of geodetic type derivedfrom the Wellington) and tail surfaces. Theseaircraft were later designated Mk lAs, 11 of whichwere operated by British European Airways. Thecabin was unpressurized but controlled for tem­perature and ventilation. Apart from the rampacross the main spar, the accommodation was of a

Viking IB

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Vickers-ArmstrongsLtdSpan: 27.2 m (89 ft 3 in)Length: 19.86 m (65 ft 2 in)Height: 7.32 m (24ft)Wing area: 81.92 m2 (882 sqft)Weight: maximum 15422kg(34000Ib); empty 10433kg(23000Ib)Powerplant: two 1690-hpBristol Hercules 634 14­cylinder sleeve-valve radialengines

Performance: cruising speed423 km/h (263 mph) at3048 m (10 000 ft); range2736 km (1700 miles)Payload: 4989 kg (II 000 Ib);seats for up to 36 passengersCrew: 3 t05Production: 163

Below: The Vickers Type 610Viking IB in BEA markings.Designated G-AIVM, itentered service inJuly 1947and was called Vigorous (ashere), and later GeorgeMonck, before beingtransferred to Germany inDecember 1955

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Above left: The Viking used ageodetic-construction wingfixed to the fuselage near theleading and trailing edgesLeft: The passenger cabins ofa BEA Viking IB,photographed in April 1947.Note the seats facing eachother at the forward end ofboth cabinsRight: The relatively spartaninterior cockpit of an AdmiralClass Viking. The classrepresen ted a new departurefor BEA in October 1952, andcarried 36 instead of27passengersFar right: Two BEA engineerschecking a 1690-hp BristolHercules sleeve-valve radial

Left: A Cunard EagleAirways Viking; in 1960 the

Cunard Steamship Companyjoined with British EagleInternational AirwaysLeft: The Viking had theusual underfloor stowagearea, and was notable for itspassenger comfort andfreedom from vibrationRight: A Type 635 Viking IBG-AMGG which enteredservice with BEA in 1951 asSir Robert Calder, and waspassed on to Eagle AviationLtd in 1955Below: G-AMNR, a VickersType 635 Viking IB whichfirst flew in 1952 and waswithdrawn from Service in1961. In BEA service it wasnamed Lord Beresford

high standard. The flight-deck was spacious,modern, and provided very good visibility - par­ticularly important when taxiing the tail-wheeledViking at busy airports. The Viking was the firstpostwar design to comply with new Icao (Interna­tional Civil Aviation Organization) regulationsgoverning engine-ou t performance during take-off.

On April 5, 1946, the Ministry of AircraftProduction ordered 50 Vikings and certificationfollowed on April 24. On September 1, BEA(formed only a month earlier), operated its firstViking service from Northolt to Copenhagen withG-AHOP Valerie. Services to Stavanger, Oslo andAmsterdam began the day after.

In December 1946 a serious icing problem forcedBEA to ground its Viking fleet. Heavy ice accretionon the leading edge of the tailplane had been foundto cause overbalanced elevators. Altering theasymmetrical horn balance areas of both elevatorsand increasing the flow rate of de-icing fluid curedthe problem, and BEA resumed normal servicesduring April 1947.

The first of 45 Viking lBs were introduced byBEA in April 1947, and these began to replace'Pionair' class DC-3s on main routes. The length­ened fuselage of the Mk 1B increased passengercapacity from 21 to 27 and later 36.

A dramatic incident occurred on April 13, 1950,when a saboteur's bomb exploded in the rear toiletof Vigilant over the English Channel. After success­fully bringing his passengers back to NortholtCaptain Harvey was awarded the George Medal.

The Viking became BEA's workhorse and laidthe foundations of its route network and operatingprocedures. When replaced by Viscounts in 1954,the type had flown nearly 500 000 hours andcarried 3 million passengers. For some 18 years theViking had been the backbone of the Britishaviation industry.

Other UK Viking operators included: Airwork,Eagle Aviation, Hunting Air Transport, AirSafaris, East Anglian Flying Services, PegasusAirlines, Orion, Invicta Airways, Field AircraftServices, Autair and the King's Flight. Vikingswere also sold to many other airlines including AerLingus, British West Indian Airways, Indian Na­tional Airways, DDL (Danish Air Lines), CentralAfrican Airways, South African Airways, IraqiAirways and the air forces of Pakistan, Argentinaand Jordan.

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Bristol170FIRST FLIGHT 1945

WORK was begun on the Bristol 170 bytechnical director L G Frise (of aileron

fame), and A E Russell, in 1944. It was to be aprivate venture design, suitable for short-rangegeneral duty transport work. The Mk I Seriesemployed a wing of the same section and taperratio as the 1936 Bombay, but with a swept-backleading edge, and a straight trailing edge ofsimplified two-spar construction. Power was to beprovided by an improved model of the sleeve-valvePerseus. The fuselage was flat-sided, the aircraftbeing loaded through a trap door in the nose, andthe undercarriage was fixed.

When the design came to the attention of the AirStaff, they recalled recommendations made a fewweeks earlier by Orde Wingate for a transportcapable of carrying vehicles and supplies to jungleairstrips in Burma during World War II. Ac­cordingly, two prototypes were ordered. An en­larged fuselage allowed a standard 3-ton (3048-kg)truck or equivalent load to be carried. Morepowerful Hercules 630 engines were specified.

The prototype Freighter, G-AGPV, made itsmaiden flight from Filton on December 2, 1945 - alittle late to have any effect on the Burma Cam­paign. The second prototype, G-AGVB, con­figured as a 32-seat Wayfarer, received the firstunrestricted Certificate of Airworthiness granted toa new postwar aircraft.

Wayfarer customers included British-AmericanAir Services (who operated 2), REAL of Sao Paulo(2), Dalmia Jain Airways of Delhi (3), BharatAirways (2), Skytravel (2) and Indian National

Mk31

Type: short-range specializedtransportMaker: Bristol Aeroplane Co

. Span: 32.92 m (108 ft)Length: 20.83 m (68 ft 4 in)Height: 6.56 m (21 ft 6 in)Wing area: 138 m2 (1485 sqft)Weight: maximum 19958kg ~

(44000 Ib); empty 12247 kg(27000Ib)Powerplant: two 1980-hpBristol Hercules 734 14­cylinder sleeve-valve radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed311 km/h (193mph) at3048 m (10 000 ft); range withmaximum payload 1320 km(820 miles)Payload: 5670 kg (12500 Ib);seats for 15 to 23 passengersdepending on configuration;up to 60 in Mk 32Crew: 2 t03Production: 214 (all types)

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Airways (2). The first of 15 Freighters weredelivered to the Argentine government on October25, 1946. Other Mk I Series Freighters went toHunting Air Survey, Airwork and Shell. Silver Citychartered a Mk IIA Wayfarer for evacuatingrefugees following the partition of India.

At the 1947 SBAC Show at Radlett, the MarkXI (later Mk 21) was unveiled. This featured the32.92-m (108-ft) span round-tipped wing tested onthe prototype, which together with the availabilityof Hercules 672 engines, increased gross weight by1361 kg (30001b). Two versions were offered; theunfurnished Mk 21 and the convertible Mk 21E,which had seating for 32 passengers and thecomforts of cabin heating and sound insulation.The Pakistan air force ordered 30 Mk 21s, and

Left: The Mk 32 Voyager,originally a 31 E, was used forshort-haul trooping in 1954with military serial XH385,and converted to Mk 32standard in 1958 withlengthened nose andincreased fin area. It wasfinally scrapped in 1967Top: A Channel AirwaysFreighter 21E, which sawservice with Central AfricanAirways in 1948 and thenwith West African Airways,until 1957. It was finallywithdrawn in 1966

• Above: This 170 Mk 32 beganlife as the Silver City City ofLeicester before beingtransferred to Cie Air

the Royal Australian Air Force three Mk 21Es.Certification of the Mk 31 was delayed when G­

AR]] crashed on March 21, 1950, after the rudderhad locked during single-engined climb. G-AIFFwas lost off Portland Bill on May 6, 1949 in similarcircumstances. Freighter G-AGVC was modifiedto Mk 31 standard with Hercules 734 engines, anda new fin prevented rudder-locking in the extremeyaw condition. The Pakistan air force bought 38Mk 31 Ms - the largest single order for Freighters.Other Freighter Mk 31 operators included: AirVietnam, Silver City, Aviation Traders, Iberia,Wardair, SAFE, and the air forces ofCanada, Iraqand New Zealand. The last Mk 31 delivered new,went to Dan-Air on March 25, 1950.

The last variant of the Bristol 170, the Mk 32,was developed at the request of Silver City Air­ways. Silver City inaugurated the first Lympne toLe Touquet car ferry service with G-AGVC onJuly 13, 1948. Volumetric capacity was increasedby lengthening the nose, to carry not two cars butthree, plus passengers. Silver City took delivery ofthe first of the 14 Mk 31s, on March 31,1953. Thisaircraft was later converted into a Super Wayfarerwith accommodation for 60 passengers. In October1962, Silver City and Air Charter were merged intoBritish United Air Ferries with many intensiveroutes between Britain and Europe.

In 1980, Bristol 170s were still being operated bySafe Air (9), Norcanair (1) and Air Express (1). Itwas a tough, dependable performer, and it isunfortunate that Bristol, and later BAC, neverproduced a modern version.

Transport of France in May1961 as F-BKBD QuatorzeJuiUetRight: The clamshell doors ofthe Bristol Freighter whichcould take two cars with theiroccupants seated to the rear.Silver City Airways Ltd ran a25-minute flight betweenLympne and Le Touquetwhich was inaugurated onJuly 13,1948 and proved verysuccessful. The hold of theBristol Freighter was used toaccommodate less thanpeaceful cargo when achartered aircraft ferried lighttanks into the French fortressofDien Bien Phu in Vietnamin 1953

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DH.I04 Dove, de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1945

UNTIL the advent of the Britten-Norman BN­2 Islander, the de Havilland DH.104 Dove

was the most successful civil transport ever pro­duced in the UK. It was conceived in 1943 as areplacement for the prewar DH.89 Dragon Rapide,to serve as a feederliner on British internal routeswith a load of eight passengers. The type wasproduced in conformity with the Brabazon Com­mittee's Type 5B specification, and was thus asmaller contemporary of the Miles M.60Marathon, with the emphasis placed on lowoperating costs combined with good air and fieldperformance.

The prototype, G-AGPJ, appeared in 1945, andimmediately impressed with its attractive lines andobviously functional configuration: low-set can­tilever wings, neat retractable landing gear (basedon that of the Vampire), twin de Havilland GipsyQueen 71 engines and an all-metal stress-skinnedstructure. This prototype flew at Hatfield onSeptember 25, 1945. Flight trials were completelysatisfactory apart from the need to increase fin areato remedy asymmetric control problems.

Despite de Havilland's intention of supplying aDH.89 replacement for British customers, the highpurchase cost of some £20000 made this impossiblefor all but a few British operators in the difficultyears immediately after World War II. Neverthe­less, the Dove entered wide-scale production de­spite the fatal crashes of the second prototype andthird production aircraft. Early users were the IraqPetroleum Transport Company and Sudan Air­ways, and the first British Dove in commercial

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service was G-AHRB of Skyways, which receivedits certificate of airworthiness on October 7, 1946.Other early British users were Hunting, Olley andMorton Air Services, and BOAC.

These initial production aircraft, with seating foreight passengers, were Series 1 machines. The nextmodel to appear, in 1948, was the Series 2,configured as a six-seat executive aircraft. The typeproved immediately popular with large industrialconcerns. Series 1 and 2 Doves were powered bytwo 330-hp Queen 70-3s, while the 340-hp Queen70-4s led to the designations Series IB and 2B.

The Series 4 took physical form as a militarycommunications aircraft, entering service with theRAF as the Devon C.l and with the Royal Navy asthe Sea Devon C.20.

Far left: The tall Heron-typecockpi t canopy of a RoyalJordanian Air Force Dove 8.The engines of the Dove 8 arerecognizable by their oil­cooler intakes above andthrust augmentor tubes belowLeft: The Dove had a nosewhich gave easy access to thewiring for the controls andradio, and the pneumaticsystem which operated thenosewheel. The wheel wasfully castoring, but non­steerable. Ground crew couldalso reach the batteries andelectrical junction box withease

Left: A de Havilland Dove 6which served as ademonstration aircraft forSmiths Industries' Para­Visual Director system. Thismachine made its first flightin September 1959 and wasused by Smiths for over 13years

Above: A DH.104 Dove I ofTrans National Airlines, anAmerican operator absorbedby the North AmericanAirlines Agency in 1950Righ t: A DH .104 Dove ofBalair, photographed atBerne in July 1964. Based atBasel-Mulhouse, this smallairline does passenger, cargocharter and inclusive-tourflights. It also flies extensivelyfor the Red Cross

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The Dove 5 and 6 of 1953 were essentiallysimilar to the Series 1 and 2, but engined with theQueen 70-2, rated at 380 hp. The use of two suchengines allowed an increase in maximum take-offweight of 136kg (300Ib) to 3992 kg (8800Ib), andallowed the Series 5 and 6 to carry 20% morepayload over a stage length of approximately805 km (500 miles).

The final Dove models were the Series 7 and 8,similar to the Series 1 and 2 but powered by the400-hp Queen 70-3. A sub-variant of the Series 8was the 8A, sold in the United States as the DoveCustom 600. These final models were externallysimilar to their predecessors, with the exception ofa higher cockpit roof modelled on that of theDH.114 Heron, but the increased power availablefrom the uprated engines permitted yet anotherincrease in maximum weight, this time to 4060 kg(8950 lb), while still increasing speed and range:the maximum speed of the Dove Series 1 and 2 was323 km/h (201 mph) compared with the 378 km/h(235 mph) of the 7 and 8, the equivalent rangefigures being 1609 km (1000 miles) and 1891 km(1175 miles).

The success of the Dove is attested by the factthat production lasted almost 25 years, the 542nd(the last Dove), a Series 8, being delivered toDowty Group Services on September 20, 1967; itshould be noted that the penultimate Dove, also aSeries 8, was delivered to Martin-Baker Ltd only inFebruary 1968, bdnging to an end the productionof this classic type. Today, most Doves haveAmerican engines.

Series 7

Type: feederliner andcxecutive aircraftMaker: de Havilland AircraftCo LtdSpan: 17.37m (57ft)Length: 11.99m(39ft4in)Height: 4.06 m (13 ft 4in)Wing area: 31.12 m2 (335 sqft)Weight: maximum 4060 kg .(8950 Ib); empty 2985 kg(6580Ib)Powerplant: two 400-hp deHavilland Gipsy Queen 70-3six-cylinder inverted inlincair-cooled enginesPerformance: cruising speed261 km/h (162 mph); range1891 km (1175 miles)Payload: seats for up to 8passengersCrew: lor2Production: 542 (all types)

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Consul, AirspeedFIRST FLIGHT 1946

EVERY Airspeed Consul was a civil conversionof a surplus Oxford trainer, itself derived from

the civil Envoy. The Consul retained all majorOxford components, but the cabin was redesignedto accommodate six passengers. Other changesincluded the installation of extra windows, doubledoors fitted to the cockpit bulkhead and luggagespace at the rear of the cabin. Thus modified, theprototype G-AGVY (converted from the de Havil­land-built Oxford V3679), was certificated onMarch 15, 1946.

Baggage space was transferred into an elongatednose in all subsequent Consuls, and this arrange­ment provided more cabin space and extended theCG range (limits within which the centre of gravitymust be located for safe flight). This modificationalso gave the Consul a more pleasing appearance.Airwork were appointed official distributors, andtheir demonstrator, G-AHEG, was delivered toHeston in April, 1946.

Despite an obvious lack of refinement, theConsul came on the market at the right time, at theright price, and satisfied the immediate postwarneed for charter-class aircraft, until the arrival ofmore modern equipment. Cockpit layout resem­bled the Oxford, and single-engined performancewas poor. Points in its favour, however, were goodvisibility from the cockpit, low maintenance re­quirements and reliable operation.

Large UK Consul fleets were operated by thefollowing: Morton Air Services (who flew 8),British Air Transport (5), Chartair (9), AtlasAviation (4), Westminster Airways (7), Lancashire

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Aircraft Corporation (6), International Airways(5), Air Enterprises (7), British Aviation Services(4), Hornton Airways (3), Steiner's Air Service (6),Transair (5) and the Ministry of Aviation.

The Consul was also popular overseas. AirMalta leased several for services to North Africa,Sicily and Rome. Eight were sold outright to AirJordan. Consuls operated in the Near East, Burma,Central Africa and French Indo-China. Two wererefitted with Oxford noses and exported to FrenchWest Africa for aerial survey work. The soleambulance version, G-AJWR, was displayed at the1947 SBAC (Society of British Aircraft Construc­tors) Show at" Radlett, and later sold to FrenchIndo-China. Consul G-AKCW undertook the orig­inal flight testing of the Alvis Leonides engine.

AS.65 Consul

Type: light-transport andbusiness aircraftMaker: Airspeed (1934) LtdSpan: 16.25 m(53 ft 4 in)Length: 10.77m (35ft4in)Height: 3.09m (10ft 1'/2 in)Wing area: 32.33 m2 (348 sqft)Weight: maximum 3742 kg

. (8250 lb); empty 2743 kg(6047Ib)Powerplant: two 395-hpArmstrong Siddeley CheetahX 7-cylinder radialsPerformance: cruising speed251 km/h (156mph); range1448 km (900 miles)Payload: 997 kg (2203Ib);seats for 6 passengersCrew: 2Production: minimum 150Oxford conversions

Top: G-AJWR, an ambulanceversion of the Consul, whichwas re-registered F-BEDPwhen it was passed to theSociete Indochinoise deTransports Aeriens. It wasdestroyed by fire at Saigon inOctober 1950

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G.212, FiatFIRST FLIGHT 1947

THE Fiat G.212 was a logical evolution from theFiat G.12, which had first flown on October

15, 1940 as the G.12C tri-motor civil transport.The G.12 was produced in a number of variants,all notable for their high speed and long range.

The G.212CA prototype first flew on January 19,1947 and immediately revealed a close familyresemblance to the G .12 series. The main points ofdifference between the two types were the G.212'sincreased span, considerably larger fuselage andbigger tail. The G.212CA had a typical flight crewof three, and could accommodate up to 30 passen­gers seated three-abreast, compared with theG.l2's 14 passengers seated two-abreast. Powerwas provided by a trio of 860-hp A1fa Romeo128RC18 radial engines, and maximum take-offweight was 16000kg (35274Ib).

During 1947 the G.212CA was followed by thefirst examples of the two planned productionvariants, the G.212CP Aeropullman Monterosaand the G.212TP Aviocargo Monviso. TheG.212CP, which was the only variant to entercommercial service, was the definitive passengermodel, with seating for 34 passengers; aft of thepassenger compartment were a lavatory, galleyand baggage hold, this last supplemented by threelarge freight holds under the floor and extracompartments in the wing leading edges outboardof the engines. The G.212TP did not enter service,but was planned as a pure freighter. Both modelswere powered by three 1065-hp Pratt & WhitneyR-1830-S1C3-G Twin Wasp radials.

The first and main operator of the G.212CP was

Avio Linee Italiane, which received six in 1947-48,four subsequently going to Ali F10tte Riunite. Theonly other airline to use new G.212CP airliners wasServices Aeriens Internationaux d'Egypte(SAIDE), which accepted three of the type in 1948for use on the North African littoral route fromCairo to Tunis via Benghazi and Tripoli. The onlyother two G.212s for civil use were bought by theCompagnie Air Transport, but were apparentlynot actually placed in service. Other G.212s wereprocured by the Italian air force for transport andtraining duties.

The G.212 was the last civil air transport aircraftto be developed by Fiat until the early 1960s, whenwork began on design of the twin-engined AeritaliaG.222.

G.212

Type: passenger transportMaker: Fiat SpASpan: 29.34 m (96 ft 3 in)Length: 23.05 m (75 ft 7Y2 in)Height: 6.5 m (21 ft 4in)Wing area: 116.6 m2 (1255 sqft)Weight: maximum 17400 kg(38360 Ib); empty II 200 kg(246921b)Powerplant: three 1065-hpPratt & Whitney R-1830-S IC3-G 14-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed300km/h (186mph) at4500 m (14 764ft); range3000 km (1864 miles)Payload: 3250 kg (7165Ib);seats for up to 34 passengersCrew: 3Production: 12 (civil)

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Above: A 1949 SpanishFreight Company G.212Left: The Fiat G.212 CPMonterosa, which wasdesigned for commercial use.It differed from the prototypemainly in having three Pratt& Whitney R-1830-SIC3-GTwin Wasps. The G.212 CPwent into service with ALI in1948 and operated mainly oninternational freights, fromMilan

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DC-6, DouglasFIRST FLIGHT 1946

T HE DC-4 had been designed for civil use, butit was overtaken by World War II, and the

bulk of DC-4 production was therefore of the C-54transport version, many of which were de­militarized after the war for airline use. Douglasrealized in the closing stages of the war thatalthough the type was a considerable improvementon prewar types, and would certainly enjoy a rosycommercial future, the presence of rivals such asthe L-049 made it essential to stretch and improvethe basic DC-4. Thus there appeared the DC-6,which was essentially the DC-4 with much morepowerful R-2800 engines, a fuselage stretch of2.11 m (6 ft II in), providing accommodation foranother ten passengers, and with the essentialadvantage of pressurization to enable the aircraftto fly at fuel-economical high altitude, where it alsoavoided the worst weather. At the same time theDouglas design team introduced other refinements.As these improvements were planned during thewar, it is not surprising that the DC-6 prototypewas in fact produced to a USAAF requirement,under the designation XC-112. But by the time thisaircraft first flew, on February IS, 1946, themilitary's finances for such an aircraft had disap­peared, and so the bulk of Douglas production wasavailable for the civil market, for which the initialorders had started to come in during September1944. First off the mark was American Airlines,which ordered 50 DC-6s, soon followed by UnitedAir Lines with an order for 20.

Douglas flew its first production DC-6 in June1946, with deliveries to the first two customers

following in November of the same year. Unitedhaa the honour of introducing the DC-6 in sched­uled operations, with the launch of its transconti­nental service on April 27, 1947: this service had asingle stop, and the coast-to-coast flight took only10 hours, compared with the II hours taken by thenew Constellation in service with TWA, and the 14hours needed by the DC-4. Production of the DC-6reached 175, the last going to Braniff on November2, 1951. As the type was replaced by later models itwas relegated to freight operations, modified withlarge doors in the rear fuselage. The one drawbackin the DC-6's early career was a four-monthgrounding from November 12, 1947 following twointernal fuselage fires. The problem was eventu­ally solved however, and no permanent damage

Left: A DC-6B of Alitalia'sformer charter subsidiarySocieta Aerea Mediterranea(SAM). The DC-6B waswithout the reinforced floorand main deck cargo doors ofthe DC-6A and was producedin larger numbers than anyother version in the DC-6seriesBelow: A Guest AeroviasMexico DC-6 on the runwayat Paris in 1959

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was done to the DC-6's overall sales prospects.In 1948 the availability of a more powerful

version of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 withwater/methanol injection persuaded Douglas tointroduce yet another stretch, this time of 1.52 m(5ft), to produce the DC-6A Liftmaster. This wasan all-cargo model without windows, and the morepowerful R-2800-CBI6 engines with 'paddle-blade'propellers allowed an increase in maximum take­off weight from 44090 kg (97200 Ib) to 48535 kg(107000 Ib), the payload being 12786 kg(28 1881b). The first DC-6A flew on September 29,1949; the last of 74 was delivered in early 1959.

Produced in parallel with the DC-6A was theDC-6B passenger equivalent. Original standardaccommodation was for 54 passengers, although102 could be seated in high-density configuration,compared with the 52 and 86 of the DC-6. The firstDC-6B flew on February 2, 1951 and the firstscheduled operator was American, which in­troduced the type on its transcontinental route onApril 29, 1951. Production of the DC-6B reached288, the last being delivered on November 17,1958. The type was the most successful of thewhole DC-4, 6, 7 series, and its operating econ­omics were the best ever recorded for a piston­engined airliner in the 1940s and 1950s. Passengersalso appreciated the type for its quietness, smooth­ness and general comfort.

The DC-6C was basically a convertible versionof the DC-6A. Cabin windows were fitted, and theinterior was designed for the easy installation andstripping of passenger facilities.

DC-6B

Type: long-range passengertransportMaker: Douglas Aircraft CoSpan: 35.81 m (117ft 6 in)Length: 32.18m (105ft 7in)Height: 8.74 m (28 ft 8 in)Wing area: 135.91 m2

(1463 sq ft)Weight: maximum 48 535 kg(107 000 lb); empty 26 595 kg(586351b)Powerplant: four 2400-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800­CBI6 Double Wasp or 2500­hp R-2800-CB 17 DoubleWasp 18-cylinder two-rowradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed507 km/h (315 mph) at6279 m (20600 ft); range withmaximum payload 4835 km(3005 miles)Payload: II 143 kg(24 565Ib); seats for up to 102passengersCrew: 5Production: 175 (DC-6), 74(DC-6A and DC-6C), 288(DC-6B)

Above: HK-1276, a DC-6A ofTampa Colombiaphotographed in February1978. Several DC-6As and -Bsare still in service for smallSouth African airlines. Thereare no fuselage windows andtwo upward-opening freightdoors on this aircraftLeft: An American AirlinesDC-6A freighter with itswater-methanol injection2400-hp Double Wasp CBI6engines

163

SM.95, Savoia-MarchettiFIRST FLIGHT 1942

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T HE origins of the SM.95 began in World WarII, when SIAl Marchetti initiated preliminary

studies for the production of a four-engined long­range transport, capable of being used as both amilitary and civil aircraft. By May 8, 1943, the firstof four ordered by the Italian air force was readyfor its maiden flight.. Before the end of the war, however, only twoother examples were completed, by SAl Ambrosiniat Perugia. In the civilian role, these were equip­ped to carry 18 passengers on transatlantic routesand were, in fact, requisitioned by the GermanLuftwaffe. One of these wartime aircraft operatedfor a while in 1945-46 between the United King­dom and the continent of Europe bearing postwarI talian air force insignia.

The initial powerplant of the prototype SM.95comprised four 850-hp Alfa Romeo 131 RC 14/50radials, but these were later replaced by four930-hp Alfa Romeo l28RCl8 engines whichwere also used to power the two other wartimeaircraft.

After the war the SM.95s were built with alonger fuselage (increased from 22.25 m [73 ft] to24.77m [81 ft 31/4in]), to operate over short-rangecontinental routes; the aircraft was now designedto accommodate up to 30 passengers. These air­craft handled well and had, as interchangeableengines, Alfa Romeo l28s, 740-hp Bristol Pegasus48s or 1065-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SlC3-Gs.Six of the updated SM.95s were ordered by theItalian air force, but this order was cancelled andthe newly created national airline Alitalia acquired

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them and they were redesignated SM.95C.On August 6,1947 Marco Polo (I-DALM) inaug­

urated the first Alitalia international service fromRome to Oslo. On April 3, 1948, the Rome toLondon (Northolt) route was started. InJuly 1949three SM.95Cs inaugurated a weekly flight toCaracas, Venezuela, with an extremely testing lastleg. Alitalia later acquired three ex-LATI Twin­Wasp-engined SM.95s, and continued to operatethem until 1951. ThreeSM.95s, reportedly seatingas many as 38 passengers were also operated bySAIDE of Egypt.

The SM.95C proved itself to be a robust aircraft.Despite this, production of the aircraft was ex­tremely limited, and probably totalled little morethan 12 civilian aircraft.

SM.95

Type: long-range transportMaker: Societa I talianaAeroplani Idrovolanti'Savoia-Marchetti'Span: 34.28 m (112 ft 51/2 in)Length: 24.77 m (81 ft 31/4 in)Height: 5.25m (17ft 21/2 in)Wing area: 128.3 m2 (1381 sqft)Weight: maximum 24000 kg(5291OIb); empty 14500kg(31970Ib)Powerplant: four 1050-hpPratt & Whitney R-1830­SIC3-G Twin Wasp 14­cylinder two-row radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed344km/h (215mph) at3500 m (II 480 ft); range with4072 kg (8977lb) payload,2000km (1242 miles)Payload: 5540 kg (12215Ib);seats for up to 30 passengersCrew: 5Production: 12

Top: The SIAl MarchettiSM.95 inaugurated the firstinternational run by Alitaliafrom Rome to Oslo in 1948Above left: One of the firstfour machines to enter servicewi th Alitalia in 1947Above: An Egyptian-operatedSM.95; the mixed­construction airframe wasable to accommodate threedifferent powerplants

L-749 Constellation, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1947

T HE design of the Constellation originated in1939 when Trans Continental and Western

Air (later Trans World Airlines) submitted re­quiremen ts for a 40-passenger airliner. TWA or­dered 40, and later Pan American announced theirinterest but the United States had entered WorldWar II before the first prototype, NX25600, wasflown on January 9, 1943.

The early career of the Constellation was there­fore as a military transport, designated C-69. TheUSAAF initially ordered 180 aircraft, but by VJ­day in 1945, only 15 had been accepted.

The remainder were quickly converted for civi­lian use and allocated to commercial customers,the first two of which were Pan American andTWA as before. Lockheed foresaw the bitter com-

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L-749A

Type: long-range civiltransportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 37.49 m (123 ft)Length: 29 m (95 ft 2 in)Height: 7.21 m (23 ft 8 in)Wing area: l53.3m2 (1650sqft)Weight: maximum 48535 kg(107000 Ib); empty 27 280 kg(60140Ib)Powerplant: four 2200-hpWright Cyclone R-3350-CI8­BAI 18-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: cruising' speed480 km/h (298 mph); range4828 km (3000 miles)Payload: seats for 43passengersCrew: 7Production: 233 (allConstellations)

Left: A Lockheed L-749Constellation at Miami inNovember 1977. The nose hasbeen extended toaccommodate a radarinstallationBelow: An open-airproduction line ofConstellations in the livery ofEastern Air Lines and PanAmerican. It was, however,interest from TWA that gaveLockheed the go ahead

petition which was to develop between the giants ofthe American aircraft industry to resupply theairlines in peacetime, and so decided to modifytheir existing C-69 aircraft, which had alreadygiven proof of their validity. This was a gooddecision, and valuable time was thus gained overtheir closest rivals, Douglas and Boeing.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval wasgranted on December 11, 1945, and the earlyversion was known as the L-049 Constellation. PanAmerican operated the L-049 first, on its New Yorkto Bermuda route, in February 1946. MeanwhileTWA opened the first United States to Europeservice, flying to Paris on February 6, 1946. OnJuly 1, 1946, the first of five L-049s for BOAC,G-AHEJ Bristol II, opened the London-New Yorktransatlantic service.

The L-049 was basically a 43 to 48-seat aircraft,with a high-density capacity for up to 60 passen­gers. The first entirely civil Constellation was the'gold plate' Model L-649, which was flown for thefirst time on October 19, 1946, and entered servicewith Eastern Air Lines in May 1947. Powerplantcomprised four Wright R-3350-C18-BDl engines,rated at 2500 hp, which enabled the aircraft toaccommodate a maximum of 81 passengers. Themore usual number was between 48 and 64,however.

In 1947 the L-749 became the next version of theConstellation in production. It was basically simi­lar to the 649, with the same seating capacity, butwith additional fuel storage in the wings, thusenabling non-stop flights between New York andParis, though not fully laden. In June 1947, thefirst round-the-world service was started byPanAm's Clipper America.

The L-749A was a variant which incorporatedsturdier landing gear, permitting the gross take-offweight to be increased by 2268kg (5000lb) to48 534 kg (107 000 lb), and was therefore useful in amilitary capacity.

The total production of all Constellation vari­ants, excluding 12 military L-749As, was 221 with22 C-69/L-049 conversions, 66 L-049s, 20 L­649/649As and 113 L-749/749As. The L-749 wassuperseded by the Super Constellation in 1951.The Constellation and its descendants performedstoic service and were veterans of the transatlanticand other long-haul air routes during the 20-yearperiod after 1945.

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Above: A Lockheed 049Constellation of Modern Airin January 1965Right: Friesland, an L-749 ofKLM's Flying Dutchmanservice. The 749 was similarto the 649 but had a largerfuel capacity andconsequently longer range

Far left: Air FranceLockheed Constellations; itwas not until the L-749 wasintroduced that non-stopflights could be made betweenNew York and Paris, adistance of5990km (3660miles)Left: The Lockheed L-049;first used on a New York­Bermuda run within monthsof the end of World War II, itwas to become the pioneer ofpostwar aviation on all themajor routes

Above: Part of the flight-deckofa BOAC 749AConstellation. The 17 aircraftacquired by BOAC in 1948were still in use nearly 20years later with variousfreight carriersLeft: Checking the outboardright-side R-3350 engine of a'Connie', as the Constellationbecame affectionately known

167

Canadair 4FIRST FLIGHT 1946

CANADAIR was formed in 1944 to take overand develop the Canadian Vickers aircraft

factory at Cartierville near Montreal, and the newcompany's first objective was the development ofthe Douglas C-54 Skymaster (the military DC-4)with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in place ofthe original Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Waspradials. Trans-Canada Air Lines proposed thatthis Canadian derivative should be pressurized(American C-54s were unpressurized) and useMerlin engines, as these could be imported fromthe UK without duty, whereas the Twin Waspswould incur such a financial penalty.

When Canadair inherited this project in 1944,they decided to concentrate first on the aerody­namic and structural problems of mating Merlinengines to the airframe of the C-54, and so a C-54Gairframe was imported for the development. Onlyproduction models of what was to be designatedthe Canadair DC-4M were to be pressurized andinclude a wide variety of Douglas-developed im­provements. Progress with the first aircraft, desig­nated DC-4M-X (Experimental Merlin-poweredDC-4), was without serious problems, and theaircraft took to the air for its initial flight in July1946, powered by four 1725-hp Merlin 620s withchin radiators in place of the annular radiators firstproposed by Trans-Canada Air Lines.

This prototype and the subsequent 23 pro­duction aircraft were all unpressurized transportsfor the Royal Canadian Air Force: the last 23comprised 17 C-54 GMs taken on charge betweenSeptember 1947 and April 1948 with the name

North Star Mark I and five C-54 GMs namedNorth Star Mark MI. The former were powered byMerlin 620s and the latter by Merlin 622s. Trans­Canada Air Lines had ordered 20 DC-4M-2pressurized models, but pending the developmentof these more advanced aircraft, distinguishable bytheir round rather than square fuselage windows,the six Merlin 622-powered aircraft were lent bythe Royal Canadian Air Force to the airline,which designated the aircraft DC-4M-ls. Theseenter'ed scheduled service with Trans-Canada AirLines on April 15, 1947 on the route betweenMontreal and London. The DC-4M-Is werelater retrofitted with DC-6 undercarriages, whichallowed an increase in maximum take-off weightfrom 33112 kg (73000 Ib) to 35380 kg (78000 Ib).

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Below: A Canadair Four inCanadair livery during ademonstration flightBottom: A member of theground crew crawls onto thewing ofa DC-4M North Starto insert the fuel hose. Trans­Canada Airlines operatedthese aircraft on domestic andinternational routes in theearly 1950s. They werereplaced by SuperConstellations on the Atlanticrun in 1954

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Delivery of the pressurized DC-4M-2s to Trans­Canada Air Lines was made between October 1947and June 1948, allowing the airline to return theDC-4M-1s between March and October 1949. TheDC-4M-2 appeared in two variants: the DC-4M­2/3 had Merlin 622s with three-blade propellersand a maximum take-off weight of 36106 kg(796001b), while the DC-4M-2/4 had Merlin 624swith four-blade propellers and a maximum take-offweight of36 378 kg (80200 Ib). Both models carried40 first-class or 62 economy-class passengers, atspeeds up to 145 km/h (80 mph) greater than thosepossible with the DC-4, although the noise levels ofthe Canadair aircraft were higher. The problemwas alleviated somewhat, however, by the adop­tion of a cross-over exhaust system, and Trans­Canada's last DC-4M-2s were not withdrawn untilJune 1961.

BOAC ordered 22 Canadair C-4s basically simi­lar to the DC-4M-2 apart from having 1760-hpMerlin 626 engines. These 22 aircraft were deli­vered between March and November 1949, and thefirst scheduled service by a member of this Ar­gonaut class was flown on August 23, 1949.

Canadian Pacific Air Lines received four C-4-1aircraft between May and July 1949 for use on itstrans-Pacific routes from Vancouver. The C-4-1swere basically similar to BOAC's C-4. The threesurvivors of this small fleet were sold to Trans­Canada Air Lines in the autumn of 1951. With thetype's relegation from main airline use the aircraftwere sold to smaller airlines, but all had beenscrapped by the mid 1970s.

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C-4

Type: long-range transportMaker: Canadair LtdSpan: 35.81 m (117ft 6 in)Length: 28.54 m (93 ft 71/2 in)Height: 8.39 m (27 ft 61/4 in)Wing area: 135.64 m2

(1460sq ft)Weight: maximum 37331 kg(82300 lb); empty 21243 kg(46832Ib)Powerplant: four 1760-hpRolls-Royce Merlin 626 V-12liquid-cooled enginesPerformance: cruising speed465 km/h (289 mph) at3720 m (12200 ft); range6244 km (3880 miles)Payload: seats for up to 62passengersCrew: 4Production: 46 (civil)

Martin 2-0-2FIRST FLIGHT 1946

4-0-4

Left: The Martin 2-0-2demonstration modelBelow: A Martin 4-0-4 flyingat the peak of the piston­engined age, in the yearsimmediately prior to 1956,when TWA began to orderBoeing 707 jets -"

Type: short-haul passengertransportMaker: Glenn L Martin CoSpan: 28.44m (93 ft 31/2 in)Length: 22.73 m (74 ft 7 in)Height: 8.58 m (28 ft 2 in)Wing area: 80.26 m2 (864 sqft)Weight: maximum 20367 kg(44900Ib);empty 13212kg(29126Ib)Powerplant: two 2400-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800-CB­16 Double Wasp 18-cylinderradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed444km/h (276 mph) at5486 m (18000 ft); range witha payload of4629 kg(10205Ib) 500km (310 miles)Payload: 5304 kg (II 692Ib);seats for up to 40 passengersCrew: 2Production: 43 (civil 2-0-2),I (3-0-3), 101 (civil 4-0-4)

done with the sole 3-0-3, which first flew on June20, 1947.

The fruits of experience with the 2-0-2 and 3-0-3led Martin to develop the 4-0-4, a pressurizedaircraft with a fuselage some 0.991 m (39 in) longerthan that of the 2-0-2. The first 4-0-4 flew onOctober 21, 1950, and the relative success of thetype was assured when Eastern Air Lines' took 40examples and TWA another 61, the last two goingto the US Coast Guard under the designationRM-l. The 4-0-4 entered service with TWA andEastern Air Lines in October 1951 and January1952 respectively. The utility of the design isindicated by the fact that Eastern Air Lines used its4-0-4s for some ten years, and the type was thenhanded on to smaller local-service operators.

T OWARDS the end of World War II a numberof US aircraft manufacturers turned their

attention to the possibility of a new airliner whichwould, they hoped, replace the Douglas DC-3/C­47 family in service with the secondary airlines.The early pacemaker in what was clearly to be akeen struggle was Martin, the prototype 2-0-2 firstflying on November 22, 1946, some four monthsbefore the CV-240 made its initial flight. Flight-testresults were highly satisfactory, and the order booklooked most healthy when Northwest Airlineslaunched the inaugural 2-0-2 service on November15, 1947, some 6Y2 months before American Air­lines could reply with the CV-240. The 2-0-2was a less ambitious aircraft than the CV-240,but could carry up to 52 passengers over longerstage lengths at about the same speed, albeitwithout the comfort of cabin pressurization.Disaster struck the 2-0-2 in 1948, however, whenaccident investigation revealed the cause of a fatalcrash to have been a major structural problem inthe wings. All 2-0-2s were withdrawn for extensivestrengthening and re-engining, in which form theaircraft were designated Martin 2-0-2As. TWAwas the first airline to start operations with therevised aircraft, on September 1, 1950, but by thistime many possible users of the 2-0-2 had suffered achange ot heart and ordered the CV-240. Otherairlines who had ordered the improved andpressurized 3-0-3, notably United Air Lines, alsopulled out of the Martin camp. The manufacturerwas able to profit from the disaster to a certainextent, however, for much valuable test flying was

L-1049 Super Constellation, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1950

THE mildly critical airline attitude to the Doug­las DC-4 and the Lockheed L-049 Con­

stellation in the later 1940s had given Lockheedwarning of the need to increase payload whilereducing seat-mile costs, and to this end No 1961was taken in hand during 1949 for extensivemodification: the fuselage was lengthened by5.59m (18ft 4in), and the 2300-hp Wright R-3350radials replaced with 2700-hp Wright R-3350-CAlCyclones. Extra fuel was added in tip tanks. Theresult was the prototype L-1049, with a maximumtake-off weight which had risen from 39123 kg(86250Ib) to 54432kg (120000Ib), allowing a40% increase in payload. This was one of the firstand greatest examples of stretching, made moredifficult by the curving fish-like profile of the'Connie's' fuselage.

In its revised form, 1961 first flew on October 13,1950. Given its previous involvement in the Con­stellation's history, it is hardly surprising that theairline behind this move was TWA, although thefirst airline to order the new L-1049 was Eastern,which signed for ten in April 1950. Of the 24 L­1049 Super Constellations built, Eastern operated14, and TWA the other ten; the two airlinesbrought their new aircraft into service on De­cember 15, 1951 (New York to Miami) andSeptember 10, 1952 (New York to Los Angeles)respectively. Rectangular windows, well placed inrelation to seats, replaced the previous circularopenings.The L-1049B was a purely military version of theSuper Constellation, and so the next civil variant

was the L-1049C, the first of which flew onFebruary 17, 1953. This model put new life into thedesign, for the original piston engines of earliermodels were replaced by 3250-hp WrightR-3350-DAl Turbo-Compound engines. The extrapower increased speed by some 16 km/h (10 mph),but more importantly allowed higher take-offweights. The wing structure was considerablystrengthened to cater for maximum weights in theorder of 60328 kg (133000 lb), which allowed extrafuel to be carried, and so greatly extended range.KLM put the L-1049C into service on its routefrom Amsterdam to New York in August 1953, andTrans World Airlines started its Ambassador non­stop service from Los Angeles to New York onOctober 19, 1953. Production of the Lockheed

Above:-A Central AmericanAirways L-1049G.Nicknamed the Super G, theaircraft had optional 3400-hpTurbo-Compound enginesand better payloadlrangecapabilities

I:-I049C

Type: long-range commercialtransportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 37.49m (123ft)Length: 34.62 m (113 ft 7 in)Height: 7.54m (24ft9in)Wing area: 153.3 m2 (1650 sqfi)Weight: maximum 62370 kg(137500 Ib); empty 33120 kg(73016Ib) .Powerplant: four 3250-hpWright R-3350-DA3 Turbo­Compound 18-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed571 km/h (355 mph) at6889 m (22600 ft); range7435 km (4620 miles)Payload: seats for up to 95passengersCrew: 9Production: 24 (L-1049), 60(L-1049C), 26 (L-1049D), 18(L-1049E), 99 (L-1049G), 53(L-I049H)

171

L-l049C totalled 60 aircraft, and the type wasoperated by ten airlines.

The L-1049D was a freight version of the SuperConstellation, the first flying in September 1954.The main operator of the type, which could carry apayload of 16329kg (36000lb) was Seaboard &Western Airlines. The next model was the L-1049Eimproved model, of which 38 were ordered. How­ever, only 18 were completed as such, the other 20being finished as L-l 049Gs when the manufactureroffered the customers this option.

The L-1049G, of which 99 were built, was inessence the airframe of the L-1049C allied withfour 3250-hp Wright R-3350-DA3 Turbo-Com­pound engines offering better climb performancethan the R-3350-CA 1. Intended for long-range

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172

routes, the L-1049G could be fitted with 2271-litre(500-Imp gal) tip-tanks as pioneered on the firstL-1049. Accommodation was provided for 71first-class or 95 coach-class passengers. The firstL-l049G flew on December 17, 1954 and the typeentered service with Northwest Airlines in January1955.

The final Super Constellation variant was theL-1049H, which first flew on September 20, 1956.The L-1049H, of which 53 were built, was basicallya convertible model of the L-I049G, with thefuselage stressed to carry loads of over 20 312 kg(44780 Ib), or alternatively up to 94 passengers.The last Super Constellation, an L-1049H, wasdelivered to The Flying Tiger Line in November1958.

Right: This is the first inflightphoto of the L-I049C, theSuper Constellation withTurbo-Compound engines. In1953 KLM started operatingthe aircraft across theAtlantic. It was the fastest USairliner, carried 59passengers, generated 20%more power with specialexhaust turbines, and hencecut more than two hours offAtlan tic crossingsFar right: The L-I 049G withnose radar and the wingtipfuel tanks which the C didnot possess. The first SuperG was flown on December12, 1954 95

149 Twin mainwheels150 Leading-edge nose ribs151 Frontspar152 Wing stringer construction153 Main undercarriage leg strut154 Retraction linkage155 Main undercarriage wheel well156 Mainwheel doors157 Engine firewall158 Exhaust collector ring159 Wright R-3350-DAI Turbo­

Compound, IS-cylinder, two­row, radial engine

160 Propeller hub pitch changemechanism161 Hamilton Standard three·bladedpropeller162 Carburettor intake duct163 Engine oil tank164 Main undercarriage mounting ribs165 Inner wing integral fuel tank166 Leading-edge construction167 Hydraulic reserv"oir168 Cabin fresh air intake

72 Central flap control motor73 Cabin floor panels74 Fresh air distribution ducting75 Air-conditioning system overhead

ducting76 Heating system overhead ducting77 Cabin roofair distribution duct78 Cabin partition79 Lounge area80 VHF aerial81 Galley82 Wardrobe83 Aft cabin seating84 Fuselage frame and stringer

construction85 Cabin attendants' folding seats86 Wardrobes, left and right87 Left and right washrooms88 Cabin pressurization valves89 Rear pressure bulkhead90 Tailcone construction91 Elevator mass balance weight92 Fin/tailplane fillets93 Right tail plane94 Rudder control rods95 Leading-edge de-icing boots96 Right taillin97 Fabric-covered rudder98 Rudder trim tab99 Lower rudder segment

100 Right elevator10 I Elevator trim tab102 Centre fin construction103 Centre rudder104 Tail navigation light105 Left elevator construction106 Elevator tab107 Left tailfin construction108 Static dischargers109 Left rudder construction110 Tailplane tip fairingI 11 Leading-edge de-icing boots112 Tailplane construction113 Rudder and elevator hydraulic

boosters114 Tailplane attachment frame115 HF aerial cable116 Aft toilet compartments,left and

right117 Rear underfloor freight hold118 Rear cabin emergency exi t window119 Ladder stowage120 Passenger entry door121 Entry lobby122 Folding table123 Wing root fillet construction124 Cabin heater unit125 Left flap shroud panels126 Life raft stowage bays127 Left air-conditioning plant128 Heat exchanger air exhaust ducts129 Lert Fowler-type flap130 Flap shroud ribs131 Fueljettison pipe132 Aileron tab133 Left aileron construction134 Static dischargers135 Wingtip construction136 Left navigation light137 Leading-edge de·icing boots138 Left outboard fuel tank bay139 Outer wing panel main spar140 Outer-wing paneljoi9t rib141 Rear spar142 Wing rib construction143 Engine nacelle construction144 Air conditioning system turbine145 Oil-cooler air duct146 Oil cooler147 Engine mounting ring148 Carburettor intake duct fairing

I Nose cone2 Landing and taxiing lamps3 Front pressure bulkhead4 Hydraulic brake accumulator5 Radiomast6 NosewheeJ leg door7 Steeringjacks8 Twin nosewheels9 Nosewheelleg strut

10 Retraction linkages11 Pilot tube mast12 Rudder pedals13 Instrument panel14 Instrument panel shroud15 Windscreen wipers16 Windscreen panels17 Co-pilat's seat18 Control columnI9 Pilot's seat20 Flight-deck floor level21 Radio operator's station22 Flight engineer's station23 Right-hand crew door24 VOR aerial25 Engineer's instrument panel26 Radio racks27 Cockp;t bulkhead28 Navigator's chart table29 Underfloor battery bay30 Nosewheel doors31 FOIWard entry door32 Cabin bulkhead33 Crew rest area34 Radio aerial mas t35 Overhead luggage racks36 Right emergency exit window37 Fonvard cabin seating38 Forward underfloor freight holds

total freight hold volume 20.6 m(728cu ft)

39 Radio altimeter40 Ventral freight door41 Left emergency exit windows42 Ventral ADF sense aerial43 Toilet compartments, left and right44 Wardrobes45 Main cabin, 4-abreast seating46 Cabin wall trim panels47 Right inner engine nacelle48 Right wing integral fuel tank, total

fuel capacity 24 760 litres(5433 Imp gal)

49 Supercharger oil cooler50 Right outer eogine nacelle51 Detachable engine cowling panels52 Spinner53 Hamilton Standard three-bladed

propeller54 Leading-edge de-icing boots55 Fuel system piping56 Outer wing panel joint rib57 Outboard integral fuel tank58 Right navigation light59 Static dischargers60 Right aileron61 Aileron balance weights62 Fuel venting system piping63 Aileron control hydraulic booster64 Aileron tab65 Fueljettison pipe66 Right Fowler-type flap67 Flap guide rails68 Right air-conditioning plant69 Fuselage centre-section

construction70 Wing/fuselage attachment main

frames71 Centre-section bag-type fuel tanks

L.I049C SuperConstellation

111

173

CV-240, ConvairFIRST FLIGHT 1947

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T HE Convair CY-240 Convair-Liner owedmuch to the single CY-110, first flown on July

8, 1946 at San Diego. The experience gained withthe CY-llO, combined with careful examination ofairline recommendations, persuaded Convair tolaunch their DC-3 replacement. The result wasprobably the most advanced twin-engined passen­ger airliner of its day.

American Airlines greatly influenced the think­ing of I M Laddon's design team, which wasreflected by the size of their original order - 100aircraft. Construction began in late 1945, and thefirst flight of the prototype CY-240 (NX90849),took place on March 16, 1947. During its flight-testprogramme the aircraft displayed excellent flyingqualities, and the high standard of its engineeringensured that only minor changes would be necess­ary before certification.

In construction the CY-240 was conventional byAmerican standards. It did, however, feature glass­fibre rudder and elevator trailing edges, and it wasthe first commercial twin-engined transport to bepressurized The two Pratt & Whitney Double Waspengines incorporated exhaust-augmented cooling.This system decreased cooling drag and producedsome jet thrust; the additional air was drawnthrough by the exhaust expelled from twin circularstacks at the end of each nacelle. This allowed avery clean shape, but the performance improve­ment was paid for by increased cabin noise.

On June I, 1948, the CY-240 entered servicewith American Airlines. Seventy-five were eventu­ally delivered to the airline, and designated CY-

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240-0. Western, PanAm, Continental and NorthEast shared 40 more. For accommodation, tenrows of seats, four-abreast were fitted. Yentralpassenger loading stairs - a major innovation - andcarry-on luggage racks embodied the degree ofrefinement which typified the Convair-Liner.

The CY-240 survived the postwar slump and theglut of war-surplus DC-3s better than any compar­able type. It filled the short-haul slot admirably,complementing the DC-4 and Constellation. Fit­tingly, the last variant delivered was the CY-240­26, four of which were absorbed into the AmericanAirlines fleet. The USAF received 272 as T-29s andC-13Is. Fewer than 50 airworthy CY-240s werestill in existence in 1980, mainly flown as corporatetransports in the USA.

CV·240

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Convair Division,General DynamicsCorporationSpan: 27.97m (91 ft9in)Length: 22.76 m (74 ft 8 in)Height: 8.2 m (26 ft II in)Wing area: 75.9 m' (817 sq ft)Weight: maximum 18956kg(41 7901b); empty 12520kg(276001b)Powerplant: two 2000-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800­CAI8 Double Wasp 18­cylinder radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed435 km/h (270 mph) at4880 m (16000 ft); range withmaximum payload 2900 km(1800 miles)Payload: 4240 kg (93501b);seats for up to 40 passengersCrew: 3 to 4Production: 176

Above: A privately-ownedCV-240 photographed in theUnited States in November1976. The 240 was to lead to asuccessful series ofConvairairliners of the 1950s whichtotalled well over 1000aircraft

CV-340, ConvairFIRST FLIGHT 1951

THE year 1950 proved to be a beneficial one forthe Glenn L Martin Company. Eastern Air

Lines and Trans World Airlines between themordered 65 Martin 4-0-4s. Consequently, Convairsaw their market-share threatened, and respondedby launching the CV-240A, (subsequently desig­nated CV-340). The prototype, N3401, made itsfirst flight on October 5, 1951, and certificationfollowed on March 27, 1952.

No radical changes were necessary to improveon the successful CV-240 formula, but the fuselagewas stretched to make room for another row ofseats. The same wing aerofoil section was used butspan was increased, providing extra lift, less dragand additional fuel capacity. The powerplants usedwere developed versions of the Pratt & WhitneyDouble Wasp, and these retained the augmentorengine-cooling system. The nacelles were length­ened slightly, placing the propeller discs 17.8 cm(7 in) further forward.

United Air Lines took 55 CV-340-31s aftercancelling an order for 50 Martin 3-0-3s, andrejecting the CV-240 and Martin 4-0-4, the hot­and-high performance of the CV-340 being acrucial factor. More orders came in from Braniff(20), Continental (10), Delta (20), Northeast (5)and National (8). After delays caused by Alliedtrade restrictions, four CV-340-68s were deliveredto Lufthansa, and five were operated by KLM onits Netherlands Antilles routes.

With the CV-340 firmly established in pro­duction, Convair considered building a versionwith Wright R-3350 Turbo-Compound engines.

This would have offered customers a coach con­figuration for 60 to 65 passengers but the proposalwas dropped. The CV-340 achieved an enviablereputation for reliability and profitability.

South American operators included Aeronavesde Mexico (4), Servicios Aereos Cruzeiro do Sui(4) and REAL Transportes Aereos (8). The USAFreceived the last version built (the CV-340-79),and after cancelling the YT38-powered T-29E,evaluated two YC-131Cs powered by Allison 501­Dl3 (T38) turboprops. Development of these ver·sions paved the way for hundreds of CV-340/440turboprop conversions.

The USN and RCAF also operated CV-340s.Most surviving CV-340s operate as corporateaircraft.

CV-340

Type: short-haul passengertransportMaker: Convair Division,General DynamicsCorporationSpan: 32.1 m (105ft4in)Length: 24.13 m (79 ft 2 in)Height: 8.58 m (28 ft 2 in)Wing area: 85.5 m2 (920 sqft)Weight: maximum 21319kg(47000 lb); empty 13375 kg(29486Ib)Powerplant: two 2400-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800­CB16 Double Wasp 18­cylinder radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed457km/h (284 mph) at5490 m (18 000 ft); normalrange with maximum payload933 km (580 miles)Payload: 6075 kg (13 3911b);seats for up to 52 passengersCrew: 3 t04Production: 113 civil, 99military

Above: A Convair CV-340 inLufthansa service; theGerman airline bought fouraircraft and used them to re­open services after the war.Other operators includedKLM, on its NetherlandsAntilles routes

175

CV-440 Metropolitan, ConvairFIRST FLIGHT 1955

T HE CV-440, a development from the earlierConvair CV-340, reflected concern over the

impact of the British Vickers Viscount turbopropon American airlines.

The CV-440 Metropolitan first flew on October6, 1955. It was outwardly very similar to the CV­340 but modifications made it 8 km/h (5 mph)faster and reduced the noise level in the cabin. Theengine cowling baffles and 'aspirated cooling' ex­haust were redesigned and aileron and flap sealswere fitted. The exhaust exit became one singlerectangular opening instead of the two circularexits - one for each pipe - in the 340 and 240.

The CV-440 could be fitted with either Pratt &Whitney R-2800-CBI6 or CBI7 (Double Wasp)engines. These powered three-blade HamiltonStandard Hydromatic automatic fully-featheringand reversing propellers.

The fuselage was a circular-section aluminiumalloy structure with a stressed-skin covering. Thewings and tail unit had thermal (hot air) de-icingfor the leading edges, and the wings were fittedwith aluminium-alloy ailerons and Fowler flaps.The landing gear was basically the same as for theCV-240 and 340 but locally strengthened for longlife with frequent landings.

As in the CV-340 the CV-440 could accommo­date 44 or 52 passengers in pairs each side of acentral aisle. There was an integral self-containedstairway forward of the wings on the left side. Thecabin was pressurized with radiant wall heatingand refrigeration to keep a constant air tempera­ture in the air and on the ground. There were cargocompartments ahead of and behind the cabin andbelow the floor forward of the wings. As part of theimproved soundproofing the cabin was fitted withspecial inner window assemblies for the first eightrows of seats.

Civil Airworthiness requirements for CB 16-pow­ered aircraft were similar to the CV-340, andincluded an operating height of 2895 m (9500 ft),with one engine feathered and at a weight of20412 kg (45000 Ib). With a maximum take-offweight of 22271 kg (49100 Ib) the CV-440 wascleared to use runways of 1503m (4930ft).

The CV-440 entered service on April I, 1956with Continental Airlines. It proved successful inthe USA, but most of the 153 aircraft built wereexported to European operators. Even before theproduction was fully under way Convair hadreceived considerable orders, among them REAL(Brazil) (4), Continental Airlines (3), SAS (16),Aero O/Y (Finland) (2), Sabena (12), Swissair(II), National Airlines (6), Braniff InternationalAirways (5), Delta Air Lines (8), Eastern Air Lines(15), Alitalia (2), Iberia (5), Yugoslav Airlines(I), Deutsche Lufthansa (2), Air Carrier Service(2), US Air Force (6), Royal Australian Air Force(2), and nine for private customers.

Many CV-440s have been re-engined with tur­boprops and a common improvement was theinstallation of weather radar in the nose. Thisincreased the fuselage length by 71.1 cm (2 ft 4 in).

Air Sea of Basle, Switzerland, currently uses ex­Sabena aircraft in a 44-seat configuration for charterflights. However, many of the surviving 440 aircraftare now in use with minor airlines as cargo carriers.

176

Right: A CV-440 ofAspenAirways Inc based in Denver,Colorado. The airline wasstarted in 1962 to provide afast air-taxi service betweenDenver and the skiing resortof Aspen, Colorado .Below: A Convair CV-440 ofGreat Lakes Airlines Ltd, aCanadian operator based atLondon, Ontario,photographed at Toronto inMarch 1971

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CV-440

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Convair Division,General DynamicsCorporationSpan: 32.12 m (105 ft 4in)Length: 24.84m (81 ft6in)Height: 8.59 m (28 ft 2 in)Wing area: 85.5 m2 (920 sqft)Weight: maximum 22544 kg(49700 Ib); empty 15110 kg(33314Ib)Powerplant: two 2500-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800­CB 16 or -CB 17 18-cylinderradial engines

Performance: cruising speed483 km/h (300 mph) at3962 m (13000 ft); range withmaximum payload 459 km(285 miles)Payload: 5820 kg (12836Ib);seats for up to 52 passengersCrew: 2Production: 153

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Saab ScandiaFIRST FLIGHT 1946

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SVENSKA Aeroplan AB (Saab) began work onan aircraft which could serve in a similar role to

the Convair 240, the l1ushin 11-12 and the VickersViking. The Scandia, as it was called, remains theonly airliner of Swedish design to enter regularcommercial service. Design work began in 1944under the title Project CT and it was only later thatit was designated the Saab 90. Designed by a teamunder F Likmalm, the prototype Scandia, SE­BCA, made its first flight on November 16, 1946.The aircraft was designed to meet ICAO standardsand was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with afully-retractable tricycle undercarriage. A pair ofPratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasp radials (ofthe enlarged type fitted to the DC-4) rated at1350 hp for take-off were fitted, but productionaircraft had 1800-hp Twin Wasps of the R-2180type (fitted to no other aircraft). Deep oval cowl­ings were soon replaced by the conventional circu­lar type. The oval-section fuselage was of stressed­skin, semi-monocoque construction and built as asingle unit.

Saab had high hopes for the Scandia, but thecheap, war-surplus DC-3's hold on the market wasalmost total. Two years after its first flight, theScandia finally attracted an order from AB Aero­transport (Swedish Air Lines) for ten aircraft. Infact, the first four went to Aerovias Brasil and theremaining six were delivered to ScandinavianAirlines Systems (SAS). Aerovias Brasil was ab­sorbed into VASP who ordered five more and SASreordered two aircraft. Ironically, heavy defencecommitments allowed Saab to build only one ofthese; the remaining six being produced with theassistance of Aviolanda, de Schelde and Fokker.

In November 1950 SAS introduced the Scandiaon its domestic network. Regular services linkedOslo and Bod0 in Arctic Norway and Stockholmand Lulea at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia. In1957 SAS sold their fleet to VASP who alsoacquired the prototype. The Brazilian carriertherefore operated all of the 18 Scandias built andthey were all employed usefully throughout theirlengthy careers. All production aircraft were desig­nated Saab 90A-2s. The Saab 90A-2 had seats for24 to 32 passengers in an unpressurized fuselage.This passenger capacity was later increased to 36and the flight crew of four was reduced to three.The Saab 90A-3, which was to accommodate 38passengers, was never built.

178

Top: The Saab 90A-2 Scandia j

was externally very similar tothe DC-4. After seeing adecade of service with SAS,Scandias were withdrawn in1957, but continued lengthyflying careers in BrazilAbove: A good view of theScandia's two 1800-hp Pratt& Whitney R-2180-EI TwinWasps (larger than otherTwin Wasps)

Saab90A·2

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Svenska Aeroplan AB(SAAB)Span: 28 m (91 ft 10 in)Length: 21.3 m (69 ft II in)Height: 7.08 m (23 ft 3 in)Wing area: 85.7 m 2 (922 sqft)Weight: maximum 16000kg(35 275Ib); empty 9960 kg(21 9601b)Powerplant: two 1800-hpPratt & Whitney R-2180-EITwin Wasp radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed391 km/h (242 mph) at3048 m (10 000 ft); range1480 km (920 miles)Payload: 2800 kg (6172Ib);seats for 24 to 32 passengersCrew: 4Production: 18

11-12, IlyushinFIRST FLIGHT 1946

Left: An Ilyushin 11-12, whichhad to fulfil both civil andmilitary requirements andtherefore had high fuelconsumptionBelow: An II-12B with theCzechoslovak airline CSA. 11­12s were the standardmedium-range aircraft of the1940s Aeroflot fleet, but werealso exported

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Ilyushin DesignBureauSpan: 31.7 m (104ft 3 in)Length: 21.31 m (69ft II in)Height: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)Wing area: 100m2 (1076.4sqft)Weight: maximum 17250 kg(38 029Ib); empty II 000 kg(24250Ib)Powerplant: two 1830-hpShvetsov ASh-82FNV 18­cylinder two-row radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed350km/h (217mph) at2500 m (8202 ft); range with32 passengers 1250 km (777miles)Payload: 3000 kg (6614Ib);seats for up to 32 passengersCrew: 5Production: approx 3000(250 civil and 2750 military)

11-12

11-12B

that the Il-12 was designed with a tailwheel-typeundercarriage.

Early operations led to a number of modifica­tions: a small dorsal fin was added, the nosewheelleg was strengthened, the oil-cooler air intake wasmoved from the wing leading edge to the enginecowling, the thermal de-icing equipment replacedthe initial pulsating rubber boots. With thesemodifications the Il-12 became the Il-12B, unmod­ified aircraft being graced with the retrospectivedesignation Il-12A. In later models accommo­dation was increased to 32, and some were convert­ible freight/passenger aircraft. Problems withsingle-engine safety dictated a reduction in grossweight in the later years of the Il-12's useful airlinelife.

FROM the late 1930s right up to the end ofWorld War II, the Soviet Union relied almost

exclusively for transport aircraft on the DouglasDC-3, built under licence in the USSR as theLisunov Li-2. With the end of the war in sightduring 1944, the Russians started to consider theproduction of a new transport aircraft of indigen­ous design, incorporating the aeronautical lessonsof World War I I. Given the scope of air transportin the vastnesses of the Soviet Union, and the needto operate from grass runways in many areas, anofficial requirement issued in 1944 called for atwin-engined Li-2 replacement able to operatefrom unpaved strips.

The Ilyushin design bureau began work on whatwas to be designated the Il-12 during 1944. Asconceived, the Il-12 was to be powered by a pair ofCharomsky diesel engines, which offered low fuelconsumption and simplicity of maintenance.

The prototype first flew in 1946, and wasrevealed publicly on August 18 of that year.Production got under way quickly, and Il-12sbegan to operate in Aeroflot colours on August 22,1947. The type had been designed largely forinternal routes, but by 1948 Aeroflot was operatingits Il-12s on both national and international net­works. Accommodation on these early aircraft wasfor 27 passengers, and a large crew of five (four onthe flight-deck) was normal.

The Il-12 was a conventional low-wing all-metalmonoplane, and powered by a pair of ShvetsovASh-82FNV radials. The use of a strut to supportthe tail while the aircraft was being loaded suggests

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•179

11-14, IlyushinFIRST FLIGHT 1950

T HE Ilyushin design bureau during the late1940s reworked the basic 11-12 concept to

produce a safer and more economical aircraft.Particular attention was paid to single-enginedperformance, safety in icing conditions, fire controland the problems of instrument flight. At the sametime various aerodynamic improvements weremade, the structure was revised, and more power­ful engines were installed. The result of the pro­gramme was the 11-14, which first flew in 1950.

The new aircraft was ordered into large-scaleproduction for the Soviet air force as the 11-14 andfor Aeroflot as the 11-14P (Passazhirskii, or passen­ger), both models apparently entering service in1954. That safety standards were still fairly margi­nal is indicated by the fact that although the 11-14had engines of slightly more power than those ofthe 11-12, structure weight was also greater buttake-off weight had to be reduced, necessitating areduction in passenger capacity to 26.

This resulted in operating economics that were,even by Russian standards, very poor, and in 1955Ilyushin produced a stretched variant, the II-14M(Modifikatsyi, or modification), with the fuselagelengthened by 1m (3ft 3V2in). This allowed the 11­14M to carry up to 36 passengers in high-densityconfiguration, although a payload of 30 passengerswas more usual. It also seems that some 11-14Pswere later brought up to II-14M standard.

For specialized freighting operations, Ilyushinalso developed the 11-14G (Gruzovoi, or freight).These were built as such or converted from stan­dard 11-14s, with large double loading doors in theleft side of the rear fuselage, and a floor streng­thened to carry a maximum payload of 3000 kg(6614Ib).

Licence production of the 11-14 was also under­taken in Czechoslovakia and East Germany, whileplans for the type to be built in China wereultimately unsuccessful. In Czechoslovakia the 11­14 entered production at the Dimitrov works nearPrague as the Avia 14P, this model being basicallyidentical with the 11-14P. Production began in1957, and in 1958 the Avia 14-32A equivalent ofthe II-14M followed it on the production line. TheAvia 14-32A was extensively recast within thefuselage to provide seating for up to 32 passengers.Avia also went on to develop other models ofthe basic 11-14: the Avia 14T was a specializedfreighter with one large loading door and theability to carry 3494 kg (77031b) offreight over arange of860km (534 miles); the Avia 14-40 Superof 1960 introduced a pressurized fuselage for up to42 passengers, identifiable by its circular ratherthan rectangular windows; and the Avia 14 Salonwas similar to the Avia 14-32A but configured asan executive aircraft. Total Czech production wasapproximately 120 aircraft of the Avia 14 type, ofwhich some 50 were supplied to the USSR.

In East Germany production of the 11-14P wasundertaken by the VEE Kooperationszentrale furdie Flugzeugindustrie at Dresden-Kli:itzsche.

AeroBot operation of the 11-14P began onNovember 30, 1954, and the Il-14 is still in servicein the early 1980s, an eloq·uent testimony of itslongevity ifnot its economic viability. The type waswidely used in the USSR and its satellites.

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Right: Polish and HungarianIl-14s; they were still in use inthe mid 1970s with a varietyofoperators, includingCAAC, CSA, Cubana,Mongolian and TaromBelow: An Il-14 taxies ontothe runway ofa Soviet airfieldin the late 1950sBelow right: An Avia-built Il­14 in Czech service at Paris inthe summer of 1959Bottom: An Il-14 of the PolishAirline LOT; it was also usedby 20 Aeroflot directories

11-14

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Ilyushin DesignBureau; Avia; VEBSpan: 31.7m (104ft)Length: 22.31 m (73 ft 2'!4in)Height: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)Wing area: 100m2 (1076.4sqft)Weight: maximum 18250kg(40 234Ib); empty 12 700 kg(27998Ib)Powerplant:. two 1900-hpShvetsov ASh-82T 18­cylinder two-row radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed350 km/h (217 mph) at3000m (9842 ft); range withmaximum payload 400 km(249 miles)Payload: 3300 kg (7275Ib);seats for up to 36 passengersCrew: 4Production: minimum 3700(civil and military)

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Br 763 Provence, BreguetFIRST FLIGHT 1949

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T HE Breguet Provence had its origins in a 1944design for a large aircraft to be used in either

the passenger or cargo role. However, the proto­type of this aircraft, the Br 761 Deux Ponts (twodecks), did not fly until February 15, 1949. It waspowered by four 1580-hp SNECMA-built Gnome­Rhone 14R engines but the three Br 761s whichfollowed it were powered by four 2020-hp Pratt &Whitney R-2800-B3ls. These aircraft differed fromthe prototype only in that they had modifiedwingtips and three tail fins.

These three pre-production aircraft were used toconclude the outstanding flight tests, and, desp'itethe fact that they seemed to do this satisfactorilx,Air France were not particularly impressed. Thereason for this was probably the use of unsatisfac­tory war surplus Pratt & Whitney engines, al­though one aircraft was leased to Air Algerie andone was in service with Silver City for a shortperiod before being transferred to the FrenchArmee de l'Air.

In 1951 a structurally improved version, with2400-hp R-2800 engines, was put forward, desig­nated Br 763. Air France ordered 12 Provences, asthe new version had been christened, and the firstof these flew on July 20, 1951. Air France receivedits first example in August 1952 and this was putinto regular service on the Lyons-Algiers route onMarch 16, 1953. In 1964, six of these aircraft wentto the Armee de l'Air for service in the Far East,but Air France continued to use the type as afreighter up to 1971. Although not a particularlyhandsome aircraft, the Br 763 had a reputation for

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being extremely capable. It had a double-deckerlayout, with 59 passengers on the upper deck and48 on the lower deck, although 135 passengerscould be carried in high-density configuration.Known as a 'hard worker', the Provence could beused for carrying both cargo and passengers. Infact the all-cargo version could carry 11 tonnes(11 000 kg) of freigh t or it could be used for ferryingvehicles, loaded through clamshell doors under therear fuselage.

The six aircraft used in the military transportrole were renamed Saharas and saw service withthe 64e Escadre de Transport, together with fourBr 765s with removable cargo doors, and the threeBr 7615S. The last of these aircraft was in servicewith Groupe Aerien Mixte 82 until late 1972.

Br763

Type: passenger! cargotransportMaker: Societe Anonyme desAteliers d'Aviation LouisBreguetSpan: 42.99 m (141 ft)Length: 28.94 m (94ft11'12 in)Height: 9,65 m (31 ft 8 in)Wing area: 185.4 m2

(1995'12Sq ft)Weight: maximum 51 600 kg(113 7571b); empty 25 350 kg(558901b)Powerplant: four 2400-hpPratt & Whitney R-2800­CAI8 Double Wasp 18­cylinder radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed351 km/h (218 mph); rangewith maximum payload2165 km (1345 miles)Payload: 12228 kg(26960 lb); seats for up to 135passengersCrew: 4Production: 16

Above: An Air FranceBreguet Br 763 Provencephotographed in March 1967.Despite its fat fuselage andslightly ungainly appearance,it was widely used on routesto France's colonies in the1960s

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Armagnac, SNCASEFIRST FLIGHT 1949

D ESPITE the difficulties in which France foundherself during the German occupation in

World War II, design work on many military andcivil aircraft continued relatively unabated.

Full-scale design of the Armagnac did not beginuntil 1945, when the Societe Nationale de Con­structions Aeronautiques de Sud-Est (SNCASE)was selected as prime contractor for the SE.2000. Itwas intended to be capable of North Atlanticservice at a cruising altitude of4000m (13 123ft)on the power of four 2100-hp Gnome-Rhone 18Rradials.

It was soon realized that the wartime origins ofthe design meant that it was approaching obsolesc­ence, and so the basic concept was scaled up toproduce a pressurized airliner capable of carrying64 passengers across the North Atlantic, some 107being accommodated on shorter routes. The largeraircraft was clearly beyond the capabilities of theGnome-Rhone 18R, and so the SE.2010 Armagnacwas to be powered by four 3500-hp Pratt &Whitney R-4360 Wasp Majors. In this form thefirst SE.201O Armagnac flew on April 2, 1949, andproduction of 15 definitive Armagnacs (eight forAir France) was instituted. However, to accommo­date three levels of bunks the fuselage of theArmagnac was very deep, so that, when sleeperaccommodation fell from favour at about thistime, Air France felt that the Armagnac had toogreat an interior volume and so cancelled itsorder. SNCASE decided to press ahead with theconstruction of nine, the first four beingdelivered to Transports Aeriens Intercontinentaux).

The Armagnac entered service on December 8,1952 but was soon found to be operationallyuneconomic. The four aircraft were then returnedto SNCASE and placed in store at Toulouse. Thetype's chance came in 1953 when the outbreak offull-scale war in Indo-China led to a greaterdemand for air transport from France. SevenArmagnacs were thus allocated to the SocieteAuxiliaire de Gerence et de Transports Aeriens(SAGETA) for operation between Toulouse andSaigon via Beirut, Karachi and Calcutta.

There were two passenger cabins: the forwardcabin could accommodate 24 first-class passengers,the rear cabin seating 60 first-class passengers;total accommodation in second-class configurationwas 107, and in high-density configuration 160.

SE.2010

Type: long-range transportMaker: Societe Nationale deConstructions Aeconautiquesde Sud-EstSpan: 48.95m (160ft 7in)Length: 39.63m (130ft)Height: 13.5m (44ft 31/2 in)Wing area: 236 m2 (2540.3 sqft)Weight: maxi.mum 77 500 kg(170 855Ib); empty 44 922 kg(99035Ib)Powerplant: four 3500-hpPratt & Whitney R-4360-BI3Wasp Major 28-cylinderradial enginesPerformance: cruising speed454 km/h (282 mph); rangewith maximum payload2450km (1522 miles)Payload: seats for up to 160passengersCrew: 5Production: 9

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Above left: An SE.2010 inservice with TAl (Cie deTransports AeriensIntercontinentaux) - theybought four but groundedthem due to high runningcostsFar left: Two of the four 3500­hp Pratt & Whitney WaspMajor enginesLeft: Seating for transatlanticpassengers - the ai rcraftended its career as a troopcarrier in Indo-ChinaAbove: The nosewhee1s withnavigation and landing lightson an SNCASE Armagnac

183

Marathon, MilesFIRST FLIGHT 1946 r

Above: The first productionMarathon built at Readingfor the Ministry of Supply in1950. It entered BEA servicewhere it was named Rob Royand was finally passed to theRAFin 1952Left: G-AMGX as a flyingshow room with BalfourMarine Engineering

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FROM 1943 onwards, much thought was givenin British aeronautical circles to the pos­

sibilities of the civil market after the end of World,War II. Key to this thinking was the powerfulBrabazon Committee, whose job it was to decidethe types of aircraft that would be needed to meetBritish civil aviation requirements. During 1944the Miles design team came up with the M.60, ahigh-wing aircraft powered by four de HavillandGipsy Queen inline, engines and intended as afeederliner. The concept was sufficiently attractivefor the Brabazon Committee's Type 5A specifica­tion to be written round it. After fierce competition,Miles, in October 1944, received instructions tobuild three prototype M.60s, the first of these flyingon May 19, 1946. As was frequently the case withBritish aircraft, then as now, the situation wasmade extremely difficult by the involvement ofseveral interested parties, which led to delay.

In these circumstances it was inevitable thatMiles should have to wait apparently interminablyfor a production order, despite the consensus ofthose who had flown a prototype that the M.60 wasattractive and generally satisfactory. In the eventthe Miles company collapsed before an order wasplaced, and so the order went instead to HandleyPage, which took over Miles on July 5, 1948 in theform of Handley Page (Reading) Ltd. The newcompany received an order for 50 HPR.lMarathon 1s, revised at a cost of 227 kg (500 lb)extra weight to accommodate 18 passengers in­stead of 14. Of the 50 Marathons, 30 were intendedfor British European Airways and the other 20 for

184

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British Overseas Airways to offer to its subsidiariesand associates in other parts of the world. In 1951the first production Marathon was handed over toBEA after an extensive sales tour of Australia andNew Zealand, but was rejected by the airline,which then reduced its order from an already cutorder of25 to a mere seven. In February 1952 BEAdecided not to accept any Marathons at alL The 30Marathons left in the hands of the Ministry ofSupply then went to the RAF as Marathon T.llnavigation trainers, with a crew of two, andaccommodation in the fuselage for one instructor.

The other main operators of the Marathon wereWest African Airways Corporation, which had six,Far East Air Lines with two, and Union of BurmaAirways which had three.

HPR.l

Type: feedlinerMaker: Handley Page(Reading) LtdSpan: 19.81 m (65ft)Length: 15.93 m (52 ft 3 in)Height: 4.27 m (14ft)Wing area: 46.45 m2 (500 sqft)Weight: maximum 8278 kg(18250 Ib); empty 5302 kg(11688Ib)Powerplant: four 330-hp deHavilland Gipsy Queen 70-3inverted six inline air-cooledenginesPerformance: cruising speed282 km/h (175 mph); range1505 km (935 miles)Payload: seats for up to 18passengersCrew: 2Production: 42

Hermes IV, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1948

D ESIGN work on the Handley Page HP.68Hermes I continued slowly throughout World

War II. By 1944 the design had been fixed as arather old-fashioned low-wing monoplane withsingle mainwheels and a tailwheel, to be poweredby four Bristol Hercules radials and capable ofaccommodating up to 50 passengers in itspressurized fuselage. The prototype, G-AGSS,crashed because of elevator overbalance on itsmaiden flight on December 3, 1945.

Although the company's main effort was thendevoted to the type's military counterpart, theHP.67 Hastings transport, work progressed on theHP.74 Hermes II, generally similar to its prede­cessor apart from a 3.96-m (13-ft) fuselage stretch,but much development was yet to be done on thedefinitive model, the HP.81 Hermes IV. BritishOverseas Airways had in April 1947 ordered,through the Ministry of Supply, 25 Hermes IVswhich differed from the two earlier aircraft inhaving a more modern tricycle landing gear withtwin wheels. The Hermes IV prototype first took tothe air on September 5, 1948 and soon vindicatedits advertising claim of being able to accommodate63 passengers over ultimate ranges which wereapproximately 5633km (3500 miles).

Deliveries of the Hermes IV to BOAC began in1950, the type flying its first scheduled service onAugust 6, 1950. The type soon proved its worth,but its systems engineering was insufficiently de­veloped and most were replaced by CanadairArgonaut C-4s in 1952. However, the grounding ofthe de Havilland Comet in 1954 led to the recom-

t..

missioning of BOAC's Hermes IVs for the periodbetween July and December of that year, withseating for 56 passengers on the route betweenLondon and Africa.

During 1952, however, Hermes IVs had begun anew type of operation, serving with Airwork Ltd oncommercial trooping flights. Airwork was laterjoined by Skyways Ltd in such operations, and theHermes IVs (designated Hermes IVAs when fittedwith Hercules 763 engines to run on 100-octanerather than 115-octane fuel) served long and profit­ably in this role. In the late 1950s the type was alsoused for charter work, carrying up to 78 passengers.The survivors were mostly' scrapped in 1961 and1962, although the last Hermes IV made its ultimatecommercial flight as late as December 13, 1964.

Hermes IV

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 34.44m (113ft)Length: 29.52 m (96 ft 10 in)Height: 9.09m (29ft II in)Wing area: 130.8m2 (l408sqft)Weight: maximum 39009 kg(86000 Ib); empty 25107 kg(55350Ib)Powerplant: four 2100-hpBristol Hercules 763 14­cylinder radial sleeve-valveenginesPerformance: cruising speed444 km/h (276 mph) at304tl m (10000 ft); range withmaximum payload 3219 km(2000 miles)Payload: seats for up to 82passengersCrew: 7

. Production: 25

Left: The BOAC HandleyPage Hermes IV Hero flyingover the Needles, Isle ofWightBelow: Hannibal in BOACservice at Nairobi airport inthe early 1950s. It ended itscareer at Stansted when it wasscrapped in September 1962

Ambassador, AirspeedFIRST FLIGHT 1947

T HE Airspeed AS.57 was a product of theBrabazon II specification of 1943. It was

defined as a large medium-haul airliner with twicethe payload of a DC-3. More power was obviouslyneeded and Bristol produced a commercial versionof the two-row Centaurus.

Development flying of the engine was under­taken by Airspeed in a Warwick testbed. TheAS.57 emerged as a high-wing cantilever mono­plane of all-metal stressed-skin construction, with afully pressurized cabin and a tricycle undercar­riage. Close attention was given to aerodynamicform of the aircraft to achieve economic operationthrough sheer speed and competitive range.

The Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered twoprototypes in September 1945 and the name Am­bassador was bestowed. Nearly two years laterAirspeed's chief test-pilot G B S Errington took thefirst, G-AGUA, into the air for its maiden flight onJuly 10, 1947. Not surprisingly, the Ambassadorcomfortably met all ICAO airworthiness require­ments. Centaurus 630 engines replaced the 130series units fitted to G-AGUA.

Production problems lost Airspeed valuableorders, but on September 22, 1948, British Euro­pean Airways signed for 20 Ambassador 2s, costing£3 million. The airline specified Centaurus 66lswith two-stage superchargers and slotted flapsreplaced the earlier split type to improve runwayperformance. After intensive trials G-ALZN inaug­urated the first scheduled London to Paris serviceon March 13, 1952. The service entry of theAmbassador coincided with the succession ofQueen Elizabeth II, and BEA named every aircraftafter a famous figure in the reign of Elizabeth I: SirFrancis Drake, Sir' Walter Raleigh and William Shakes­peare are examples.

Services expanded rapidly. Most of Europe wasserved by the end of 1952, and the route networkhad spread to Benghazi, Cairo, Malta and Tripoliby 1955. In 1956 the Vickers Viscount began toreplace BEA's largest and last piston-enginedairliner on major routes. On June 30, 1958, BEA'sfinal scheduled Ambassador flight arrived atLondon from Cologne.

Small charter operators bought the majority ofBEA's redundant fleet and others were used asengine testbeds. The sole surviving Ambassador(G-ALZO) is maintained in non-flying conditionby the Dan-Air Preservation G.roup.

Ambassador 2

Type: medium-rangepassenger transportMaker: Airspeed Division, deHavilland Aircraft CoSpan: 35m (115ft)Length: 25 m (82 ft)Height: 5.56 m (18 ft 3 in)Wing area: III m2 (1200 sqft)Weight: maximum 23814kg(52500Ib); empty 16230kg(35781Ib)Powerplant: two 2625-hpBristol Centaurus 661 18­cylinder sleeve-valve radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed438 km/h (272 mph); range

2494km (1550 miles)Payload: 5280 kg (Ii 645Ib);seats for 47 to 60 passengersCrew: 3Production: 20

Above: The Airspeed AS. 57Ambassador 2 G-ALZPduring its service with theDecca Navigator company atGatwick Airport. During itscareer it was opelated by,amongst others, BEA and theRoyalJordanian Air Force. Itended its career in NewZealandBelow: The Ambassador 2Wiltiam Shakespeare of BEAwhich was later named VogelCry/when it passed into Swissservice

Carvair, Aviation TradersFIRST FLIGHT 1961

Type: medium-rangecarIpassenger ferryMaker: Aviation Traders(Engineering) LtdSpan: 35.81 m (117ft6in)Length: 31.27m (102ft 7 in)Height: 9.09 m (29 ft 10 in)Wing area: 135.83 m2

(1462 sq ft)Weight: maximum 33475kg(73800 Ib); empty 18763 kg(41 3651b)Powerplant: four 1450-hpPratt & Whitney R-2000-7M2Twin Wasp radial enginesPerformance: cruising speed296km/h (184mph) at3048 m (10 000 ft); range3330 km (2070 miles) with apayload of8000 kg (17 6351b)Payload: up to 5 cars and 23passengers; or up to 65passengersCrew: 4Production: 21

ATL98

Left: An Aviation TradersATL 98 Carvair of FalconAirways, a Texas-based all­cargo airline which linkstowns in the mid western andsouthern statesBelow: G-APNH Menai Bridgewith British Air Ferries atSouthend; it was lost whenthe nosewheel collapsed at LeTouquet in March 1971

--

ONE of the most interesting developments ofthe basic Douglas DC-4 transport was the

specialized carry-ferry version developed by Avia­tion Traders (Engineering) Ltd under the designa­tion A T L 98 Carvair. The origins of the type laywith the far-sighted Freddie Laker, managingdirector of Aviation Traders and its associatedcompany Channel Air Bridge: the latter was seek­ing a replacement for its Bristol Superfreighter 32car ferries, and Laker stipulated that the smallmarket requirement for such an aircraft prohibitedthe development of a new aircraft, although theconversion of secondhand (and very cheap) DC-4soffered distinct possibilities.

The result was an extraordinary hybrid: to abasic DC-4 fuselage, wings and powerplant, weremated a tail unit derived from that of the DC-7,DC-6 wheel brakes, and a new forward fuselage.This last used the same constructional method asthat of the DC-4, but the new section lengthenedthe nose by 2.64 m (8 ft 8 in) while raising thecockpit by 2.08m (6ft lOin), so allowing a hy­draulically operated nose door to be fitted. At thesame time the nose unit of the undercarriage wasarranged to retract into an underfuselage blister,allowing the loading of five cars straight throughthe nose. Passenger accommodation was 25, andthe whole conversion added only 1043 kg (2300 Ib)to the weight.

After a mock-up had proved the engineeringfeasibility of the project, the first conversion of aC-54 was begun in October 1960, and this initialCarvair, as it was to be called, took to the air for itsmaiden flight on June 21, 1961. Full certificationwas obtained on January 31, 1962, allowing Chan­nel Air Bridge to begin a scheduled service fromSouthend to Rotterdam on March I, 1962. Thecompany acquired another two Carvairs, and, afterits merger with Silver City Airways in 1962 asBritish United Air Ferries, the company eventuallybought another seven. Total Carvair productionwas 21, and the other main users of the type were:Aer Lingus, operating three with accommodationfor racehorses; Ansett-ANA, operating three, twoof which had enlarged nose doors; Aviaco, operat­ing three between France, Spain and the BalearicIslands. In 1974 there were still 13 Carvairs inservice, nine with British Air Ferries, two withAnsett, one with Air Cambodge and one withDominicana.

,I

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187

DC-7, DouglasFIRST FLIGHT 1953

Left: A Douglas DC-7B findsstrange employment as aflying country club with theAtlanta (Georgia) SkylarksBelow left: A DC-7C atChicago in March 1976. Thetype is still widely used bythird-level airlinesBelow: The f1ight-deckofG­AOIF, a DC-7C operated byBOAC in the late 1950s andearly 60s

T HE development of the DC-7 was promptedby American Airlines whose transcontinental

market was being threatened by Trans WorldAirlines. In the early 1950's TWA ordered thefaster, longer-ranged L-1049 Super Constellation,powered by the R-3350 Turbo-Compound, whichenabled it to operate across the USA non-stop.

Accordingly, in 1951, American Airlines attemp­ted to convince a reluctant Douglas of the need tobuild a competitive aircraft, powered by four of thenew Turbo-Compounds. To help persuade Doug­las, American offered to pay $40 million for 25 ofthe projected aircraft to complement its fleet of 50DC-6s, six DC-6As and 25 DC-6Bs.

Comforted by this substantial order, which paidfor most of the development costs, Douglas beganproduction of the DC-7 on the same line as the DC­6A and -B. Eventually they sold 338 DC-7s, -7Bs,and -7Cs, making a substantial profit.

The DC-7 was sold exclusively to US trunkcarriers: United (57), American (34), Delta (10)and National (4). The aircraft was a direct de­velopment of the DC-6B with its fuselage stretchedby 1.02 m (40 in) to add one row of seats. Whileretaining the DC-6B's 20 914-litre (4600-Imp gal)fuel tank arrangement, the DC-7 introduced anumber of design changes. These included the useof titanium in the engine nacelles for increased fireresistance, and a strengthened landing gear whosemain units could be lowered at high air speeds tobe used as an airbrake during- quick descents.

The first DC-7 was flown on May 18, 1953, andentered service with American Airlines on

188

DC-7C

DC·7

Type: long-range transportMaker: Douglas Aircraft CoSpan: 35.81 m (117ft6in)Length: 33.2 m (108 ft II in)Height: 8.71 m (28 ft 7 in)Wing area: 135.92 m2

(1463 sq ft)Weight: maximum 55429 kg(122200Ib); empty 30076kg(66306Ib) .Powerplant: four 3250-hpWright R-3350-18DA-2Turbo-Compound enginesPerformance: cruising speed578 km/h (359 mph); rangewith maximum payload4585 km (2850 miles)Payload: 16 000 kg(35275Ib)Crew: 3Production: 338 (DC-7, -7B,-7C)

)

November 29 of that year. All of the 105 DC-7swere powered by four 3250-hp Wright R-3350­18DA-2 Turbo-Compounds driving four-bladepropellers. In 1959-60 Douglas modified some oftheir DC-7s, -7Bs and -7Cs as freighters by fittingreinforced flooring and cargo doors.

The DC-7B was externally identical to the DC-7except for longer engine nacelles filled with fuel. Atotal of 112 were sold, and the versions purchasedby Pan American and South African Airways wereslightly heavier than the rest because of an in­creased fuel tankage of24453litres (5380 Imp gal).Pan American introduced it on June 13, 1955, onnon-stop New York to London services.

Because the DC-7B could not fly non-stopwestbound against average winds, however, theDC-7C was developed to a PanAm requirement foran aircraft capable of flying services in eithertransatlantic direction. Aptly named Seven Seas,the DC-7C was the world's first true long-rangecommercial transport. Its span was increased3.05 m (10 ft) by adding sections between thefuselage and inner nacelles. The result of this wastwo-fold. Total fuel carried was now 29620 litres(6515 Imp gal), and the engines were movedfurther outboard which reduced noise and vi­brationin the passenger cabins, an importantconsideration during long flights.

The first Seven Seas was flown on December 20,1955, and Pan American introduced the type intoservice onJune 1, 1956. The fuselage was stretcheda further 1.1 m (42 in) in relation to the DC-7B andmaximum take-off weight was increased to

64864 kg (143000 Ib). All DC-7Cs were poweredby 3400-hp R-3350-18EA-l Turbo-Compounds. Atotal of 121 DC-7Cs were sold to US and foreignairlines, and, when phased out of passenger ser­vice, many were converted to freighters.

The importance of the DC-7 lay in its use indeveloping scheduled, non-stop commercial opera­tions across the United States, over the Atlanticand Pacific and over the North Pole. However, inthe long run, for the airlines, the DC-7 series wasnot as successful as anticipated. Its timing, to­gether with the unreliability of its engines, provedthat it had been developed too far from a basicdesign which originated in the 1930s. By the timethe last DC-7C was delivered to KLM in De­cember 1958, the Boeing 707 was in service.

Above: The wing rootextension on the DC-7C,which placed the enginesfurther from the fuselage andreduced noise and vibrationLeft: A Northwest DC-7C.This American airline beganas a small mail carrierbetween Chicago and St Pauland now links United Statescities with the Far East andEurope

Left: A DC-7C ofCaledonianAirways; this aircraft, FlagshipBonnie Scotland, went intoGerman service in 1966

189

DH.114 Heron,de HavillandFIRST FLIGHT 1950

T HE DH.I04 Dove was conceived by de Havil­land as a successor to the DH.89 Dragon

Rapide. Similarly the larger DH.114 was seen as areplacement for the DH.86B feederliner. Althoughde Havilland came up with the concept of theDH.114, later named Heron, shortly after the endof World War II, they sensibly appreciated thatpostwar austerity and slow market growth left littleroom for such an aircraft, capable of accommodat­ing up to 17 passengers, and so postponed develop­ment.

I t was in 1949 that the company decided thetime was ripe for what was essentially a scaled-upDove with four unsupercharged engines and a fixedtricycle undercarriage. Such an aircraft, de Havil­land reasoned, would be admirably suited forsmall-field operation, in undeveloped countries.The prototype, registered G-ALZL, was completedin early 1950 thanks to the use of many standardand modified Dove components, and first flew onMay 10, 1950.

This prototype completed a successful test pro­gramme, and was then used quite extensively as apromotional aircraft in the liveries of several pro­spective operators.

Orders had already started to come in, and thefirst production aircraft left for delivery to NewZealand National Airways in April 1952. Only thefirst seven production Herons were built at thecompany's headquarters at Hatfield before pro­duction was switched to the vast (former Welling­ton) factory at Hawarden outside Chester. The lastHeron built at Hatfield, it should be noted, was the

prototype Series 2. This featured retractable land­ing gear, the reduced drag increasing speed by32 km/h (20 mph) and increasing range. It is clear,therefore, that de Havilland had erred slightly intheir assessment· of the desirability of a fixedundercarriage for its simplicity and slight saving inweight, and good evidence of this is given by thefact that Series 1 production totalled only 51aircraft compared with 97 production Series 2Herons.

Both the Series 1 and 2 were produced in a majorsub-variant, the Series lB and 2B with four deHavilland Gipsy Queen 30-2 inlines in place of thesimilarly rated (250-hp) Gipsy Queen 30s of theSeries 1. Other modifications have been minimal:III 1955 wider rudders were fitted to all Herons to

Left: A Scottish Airways deHavilland DH.II4- Heron I.This aircraft was based atRenfrew where it had thename John Hunter, but later atGlasgow Abbotsinch itoperated under the nameSisterJean KennedyBelow: A DH.II4- Heron ofEast African DCA based inKenya. In 1969 this aircraftwas converted by ExecutiveAir Engineering at Bagintonand fitted with turbochargedLycoming engines

cure directional problems; the suffixes C and Eindicate aircraft specially modified for the fulfil­ment of executive roles, and the suffix D indicatesthat the aircraft is fitted with the optional deHavilland fully feathering propeller, which re­placed the variable-pitch unit of the standardHeron aircraft.

The basic worth of the Heron is in no way betterattested than in the number of re-engined modi­fications that have been made in many countries.The first of these was the Heron Series 2C of theBanco Nacional de Mexico, delivered in October1957 and later modified by Riley Aeronautics ofFlorida into the first Riley Heron: the standard250-hp Gipsy Queens were ultimately replaced byfour 340-hp Lycoming GSO-480-BIA6 piston en­gines and then by 290-hp Lycoming IO-S40-G lASturbocharged piston engines. The effect of thesechanges was to improve quite considerably thepayload and cruising performance of the RileyHeron, alternatively known as the Turbo-Liner. Atleast 16 Herons received the Riley modification,and a similar conversion was undertaken during1969 by Executive Air Engineering at Baginton inEngland.

Production of the Heron reached 148 examples,the last of these being completed in 1963 and keptin store until 1966 when it became the HawkerSiddeley Group's utility aircraft at Hatfield. Obvi­ously, the de Havilland company erred inexcusablyin failing to produce a modern successor both tothe DH.114 Heron aircraft and, especially, itsGipsy Queen powerplant.

Series 2D

Type: feederlinerMaker: de Havilland AircraftCo LtdSpan: 21.79 m (71 ft 6 in)Length: 14.78m (48ft 6in)Height: 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in)Wing area: 46.36 m2 (499 sqft)Weight: maximum 6124kg(13500 1b); empty 3697 kg(81501b)Powerplant: four 250-hp deHavilland Gipsy Queen 30-2inveFted six inline enginesPerformance: cruising speed295km/h (183mph) at

,2438 m (8000 ft); rangej1473km (915 miles) j

Payload: seats for up to 17passengersCrew: 2Production: 148

.. .. ~

L-1649A Starliner, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1956

Left: The Lockheed L-1649lost the manufacturer a largesum of money because itsheavy launch costs were neverrecovered in salesBelow: An L-1649 ofTransWorld Airlines at OrlyAirport, Paris in the summerofl959

.J

T HE Lockheed L-049 Constellation like theother four-engined transports developed

during World War II, proved well suited to theever increasing demands made on it for perform­ance and payload. The basic design evolvedthrough 11 other variants before arriving at its finalexpression in the L-1649A Starliner, the ultimatepiston-engined civil transport.

The immediate spur to the development of theL-1649A was the success being enjoyed by PanAmerican on the North Atlantic route with its fleetof Douglas DC-7Cs. This final development of theDC-4 had both customer and operator appeal inthe high level of comfort it could offer, and also inthe fact that it could cross the Atlantic without anyrefuelling stops. The main US rival to Pan Ameri­can World Airways on the 'blue riband' NorthAtlantic route was TWA, and for this operatorLockheed had to develop the long-range L-1649AStarliner, with an entirely new wing.

Of thinner section than the wing of the earlierConstellations, this new structure was built up onlong machined panels and spanned a remarkable45.72m (150ft) instead of the previous 37.47m(123 ft) or 37.62 m (123 ft 5 in). Fuel capacity was aprodigious 36378 litres (8002 Imp gal), giving theL-1649A Starliner a maximum range, with reservesoflO170km (6320 miles).

Also important was the fact that the increase inspan allowed the engines to be mo,ved 1.52 m (5 ft)farther from the fuselage, with a consequent reduc­tion in cabin noise levels. This improvement wasalso aided by the inclusion of extra soundproofing

192

material in the way pioneered by TWA andLockheed for the L-1049G Super Constellation,and by the synchrophasing of the Hamilton Stan­dard propellers.

The Starliner at first accommodated 58 first­class or 75 coach-class passengers (this soon grewto 92), and also had 16.8m3 (593cu ft) of cargospace. With its excellent range, the Starliner was anatural for the North Atlantic route, TWA - which.called it the Jetstream - being able to inaugurateservices from New York to London and Paris onJune 1, 1957. But by this time the 707 and DC-8were piling up orders and the Starliner was toolate. Only 43 were built, of which 42 served withAir France, Condor Flugdienst, Lufthansa, TrekAirways, TWA and World Airways.

L·1649A

Type: long-range transportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 45.72 m (150ft)Length: 34.62m (113ft 7in)Height: 7.14 m (23 ft 5 in)Wing area: 171.87 m2

(1850sq ft)Weight: maximum 70761 kg(156000 lb); empty 38675 kg(852621b)Powerplant: four 3400-hpWright R-3350-EA2 Turbo­Compound 18-cylinder radialenginesPerformance: cruising speed550 km/h (342 mph) at6890 m (22600 ft); range10 170 km (6320 miles)Payload: seats for up to 75passengers, later increased to92Crew: 5Production: 43

Trent-Meteor, GlosterFIRST FLIGHT 1945

T HE Gloster Trent-Meteor, although in no wayan airliner, has a unique place in aviation

history as the aircraft which pioneered turboproppower, and this type of powerplant has sincebecome one of the standard types of engine used onshort- and medium-range airliners.

The aircraft used for the Trent conversion wasone of the first batch of production Gloster MeteorF.l fighters, EE227, modified for trials.

In February 1945, with the RAF's immediateneeds catered for by the delivery of the improvedMeteor F.3, EE227 was converted back to F.lstandard and handed over to the Rolls-Roycefacility at Hucknall as a flying testbed for the newlydeveloped RB.50 Trent propeller-turbine, orturboprop. Such a powerplant seemed to offermany of the advantages of turbine power (relativesimplicity, high power and lack of vibration)combined with the proven capabilities of the pro­peller (high aerodynamic efficiency even up to quitehigh Mach numbers). Rolls-Royce therefore beganto develop the experimental Trent in May 1944,using as the basis of the engine the centrifugal­flow Derwent turbojet which was to power the F.3and later marks of the Meteor.

The Trent-Meteor needed little modification forthe accommodation of the Trent powerplant,though the nacelles were somewhat larger, which,with the extra side area of the propellers, entailedthe fitting of two small auxiliary fins towards theoutboard ends of the tailplane to ensure directionalstability. The GLoster· Trent-Meteor first flew onSeptember 20, 1945 and thereafter contributedgreatly to the development of turbine engines aspure turbojets and as turboprops. In its first form,the Trent-Meteor was fitted with five-blade Rotolpropellers, each having a diameter of 2.41 m (7 ftII in), though some reports claim a propeller witha diameter of 2.31 m (7ft 7 in) absorbing 750 hpand leaving 454kg (lOOOlb) of residual thrust.Later, the aircraft was modified to accommodatepropellers with a diameter of 1.49m (4ft lOY2in),absorbing only 350 hp and leaving a residual thrustof 635 kg (1400 Ib) to emerge from a squeezedorifice.

The Trent was intended only as a researchengine, and valuable results were obtained, es­pecially in determining the effect of a propeller hubon the efficiency of the turbine's air intake, and inthe development of suitable reduction gears.

Trent Meteor

Type: experimental aircraftMaker: Gloster Aircraft CoSpan: 13.12m (43ft)Length: 12.57 m (41 ft 3 in)Height: 3.96m (13ft)Wing area: 34.75m2

(374sq ft)Weight: not availablePowerplant: two 1750-ehpRolls-Royce RB.50 TrentturbopropsPerformance: not availablePayload: noneCrew: IProduction: I

Above: The Trent-Meteor,flying testbed to explore theconcept of the turbopropBelow: Flying on one engine

193

Hermes V, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1949

V ARIOUS delays in the development of theHP.64 Passenger Version, Freighter Version

and Military Transport, slowed the 1943 HandleyPage programme, but the type finally emerged asthe Handley Page Hastings transport for the RAF,and the Hermes airliner for the British OverseasAirways Corporation.

The possibility of producing a turboprop­powered version of the Hermes II was first consi­dered in February 1946, with the Bristol Theseusas the prospective engine. Consideration was alsogiven to a nosewheel-version of the aircraft. At thistime the names for the family were Hermes I forthe prototype which had crashed on December 3,1945 on its first flight; Hermes II for the proposedlengthened version of the Hermes I, the HP.74;and Hermes III for the Theseus-engined HP.74.The types were to have basic seating for 64passengers five-abreast, but on]une 25, 1946 it wasdecided to reduce seating to 52, increase fuelcapacity by the addition of outer-wing bag tanks,and redesignate the Hermes III as the HP.79.Finally, in September 1946 it was resolved todevelop a nosewheel version of the Hermes, themodel with piston engines to be the HP.81 HermesIV and that with turboprops the HP.82 Hermes V.Official approval for the building of the initial runof Hermes IVs and the prototype Hermes V wasgiven on October 5, 1946.

The first Hermes V, registered G-ALEU, tookoff on its maiden flight from Radlett in Hertford­shire on August 23, 1949. Intended for trialpurposes, the aircraft was unfurnished internally,

but did have production-standard soundproofing.In external appearance the type was identical withthe Hermes IV, apart from the nacelles andTheseus turboprops in place of the Hermes IV'sBristol Hercules 763 radials. Considerable troublewas experienced with the bifurcated jet pipes, butthe Hermes V had the distinction of being thelargest and fastest turboprop airliner of its day.Development continued, but was plagued by thenever-ending series of problems with the Theseusengines. The aircraft was finally written off after awheels-up landing on April 10, 1951.

The only other Hermes V (G-ALEV) first flewon December 6, 1950 and had a similar test careeruntil grounded as a fatigue-test airframe at Farn­borough in September 1953.

Below: G-ALED, the firstprototype HP.82 Hermes V,at Farnborough in September1949

HP.82 Hermes

Type: medium- and long­range transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 36 ..6 m (113 ft)Length: 29.55 m (96 ft 10 in)Height: 9.14m (30ft)Wing area: l31.6m2

(1408 sq ft)Weight: maximum 38566 kg(85000 lb); empty 23 088 kg(50900Ib)Powerplant: four 2490-hpBristol Theseus 502turboprops

Performance: maximumspeed 565 km/h (351 mph);range 4023 km (2500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 74passengersCrew: 7Production: 2

Mamba-Marathon, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1946

THE development of the Handley Page Mamba­Marathon owes a lot, to the celebrated Brabazon

Committee. During its 1943 deliberations about thetype ofaircraft which would be needed by a renascen tBritish civil aviation industry, the Brabazon Com­mittee had formulated the concept for a twin-enginedfeederliner to replace the DH.84 Dragon and DH.89Dragon Rapide.

This requirement emerged as the Type 5, but in1944 pressure from Miles Aircraft Limited resultedin a slight recasting of the requirement to includefour-engined aircraft. After specification C.18/44had been issued in the spring of 1944 to cover ahigh-wing monoplane able to carry 14 passengerson routes with small, inaccessible airfields on thepower of four 330-hp de Havilland Gipsy Queeninline piston engines, the Miles M.60 Marathonwas adopted as the Brabazon Committee Type SA,and the DH.104 Dove as the Type 5B.

The Marathon was intended for use by both theBOAC and BEA, though the latter was alsointerested in a turboprop-powered derivative. Speci­fication C.15/46 had accordingly been issued onMay 19, 1947, resulting in the M.69 Marathon II.

By this time the Miles concern was in deepfinancial trouble, and on July 5, 1948, HandleyPage, seeking a means to stay in the airlinerbusiness after the HP.86's failure against theBristol Type 175 (Britannia), bought out Miles,whose Marathon was momentarily expected to beordered into production, to the tune of some 50aircraft. Handley Page also inherited theMarathon II, of which the single prototype was

rapidly approaching completion at that time.The Marathon II first flew on July 21, 1949 and

almost ended its career on that same date: the leftundercarriage leg refused to come down as the pilotprepared to land, and it was only very skilful flyingthat finally persuaded the leg to drop. The BEAtrials of the aircraft were short: the Mamba­powered aircraft was more noisy than the GipsyQueen-engined variant, and in early 1950 BEAcancelled its order for the type. The Mamba­Marathon was then used for experimental andracing work before being taken over by the Minis­try of Supply early in 1951 as a test aircraft for deHavilland Propellers. In 1953 this sole example ofits kind was converted into a testbed for the AlvisLeonides Major radial piston engine.

Below: The Mamba­Marathon 2 in Ministry ofSupply markingsBottom: The Mamba­Marathon, which waseventually broken up atBitteswell in October 1959

HPR.I Marathon II

Type: short-range transportMaker: Handley Page(Reading) LtdSpan: 19.84m (65ft)Length: 15.93 m (52 ft 3 in)Height: 4.32 m (14ft 2 in)Wing area: 46.4m2 (498sqft)Weight: maximum 8165 kg(18000 lb); empty 4922 kg(10 850 Ib)

Powerplant: two 101O-shpArmstrong Siddeley MambaturbopropsPerformance: cruising speed418km/h (260 mph); range1448km (900 miles)Payload: seats for up to 18passengersCrew: 2production: I

Apollo, ArmstrongWhitworthFIRST FLIGHT 1949

\ I

T HE Armstrong Whitworth AW.55 Apollo wasdesigned as a competitor to the Vickers Vis­

count in response to the requirement outlined inthe wartime Brabazon Committee's Type II civiltransport. It was a short- and medium-rangeairliner intended for operations in Europe.

Specification C.16/46 to which the Apollo wasdesigned, called for a turboprop-powered airlinerto carry between 24 and 30 passengers over a rangeof 1609km (1000 miles) at 483km/h (300mph).The engine selected was the axial-flow ArmstrongSiddeley Mamba, which had the advantage ofcommendably low frontal area compared withcontemporary centrifugal-flow turboprops. How­ever, it was ofa basic type still in its design infancy,and so prone to severe teething problems. A clearexample of this is seen in the case of the Mamba: inthe form first used on the Apollo, the engine shouldhave developed 1010 shp plus 139-kg (307-lb)thrust, whereas it developed only 800 shp.

Right from the beginning of the design, theAW.55 (first named Achilles and Avon beforefinally becoming Apollo) had a span of 28.04 m(92ft), but length was increased from 19.66m (64ft6in) to 20.73m (68ft) and at the production stageto 21.79m (71 ft 6in), providing accommodationfor between 26 and 31 passengers seated two­abreast on each side of a central aisle.

Construction began in 1948 of two flying proto­types and a fuselage for static testing. The firstprototype was given the Ministry of Supply serialVX220, and made its initial flight on April 10,1949. Right from the beginning there were severeproblems with the Mamba engines' power outputand reliability, and the aircraft itself lacked longi­tudinal and directional stability. The control prob­lems were remedied without undue difficulty, andthe first prototype, re-registered G-AIYN, wasavailable from October.30, 1950 for proving flights,starting with a successful flight to Paris on March12, 1951. Finally, in July 1951, Mamba Mk 504engines became available, but even these hadsevere limitations and problems. This proved thelast straw, and in June 1952 further developmentwas halted. The second prototype was subsequent­ly completed, and both aircraft were used for avariety of experimental work for the Ministry ofSupply, which had funded them. Both aircraftended their flying lives in December 1954 whenthey became structural-test airframes.196

~.~o 0

AW.55 Apollo

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: ArmstrongWhitworth AircraftSpan: 28.0401 (92 ft)Length: 21.7901 (71 ft 6 in)Height: 7.9201 (26ft)Wing area: 91.6012 (986sqft)Weight: maximum 20412 kg(450001b); empty 13791 kg(30 800 1b)Powerplant: four 1010-shpArmstrong Siddeley MambaMk 504 turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed444km/h (276 mph) at609601 (20000 ft); range1513 km (940 miles) .Payload: 3402 kg (75001b);seats for up to 31 passengersCrew: 3Production: 2

Left: The prototype Apollo inthe early months of 1950when it suffered problemswith its engines and stabilityTop: The same prototype innew livery with four-bladedpropellers on the inboardengines and an increasedtailplane span and fin area tocompensate for its earlierstability problems

~. . • . .. D

Princess, SaraFIRST FLIGHT 1952

THE ultimate expression ot the large civil flyingboat concept, the Saunders-Roe SR.45 Prin­

cess marks a vital stage in the development ofturboprop-powered airliners, combined with anobsolescent notion of the air travel requirements ofthe world in the aftermath of World War II. Theorigins of this huge aircraft lie in the days leadingup to World War II, when Saunders-Roe built theA.37, a scaled-down flying model of a projectedmaritime-reconnaissance flying boat with an antici­pated all-up weight of 83462kg (184000lb). Thedesign ultimately bore fruit in the Short/Saunders-Roe Shetland reconnaissance flying boat,with a gross weight of 56 700 kg (125000 lb).

At the end of World War II, however, thepossibility of using high-power turboprop enginesled Saunders-Roe to revive its interest in giantflying boats, this time as long-range passengertransports. This coincided with renewed officialinterest in the type, and in July 1945 Saunders-Roewas asked to tender for such an aircraft, which sosuited the needs of the British Overseas AirwaysCorporation that in January 1946 the airline askedthe Ministry of Supply to order three examples.

The order was placed in May 1946, and subjectto final revision with Bristol Proteus turbopropsafter the cancellation of the Rolls-Royce Tweedprogramme, was named Princess, after the nameDollar Princess had been considered and rejected.

Of relatively conventional flying boat layout, thePrincess was powered by ten Bristol Proteus turbo­props, each rated at 3200 shp with 363-kg (800-lb)thrust. Eight of the engines were mounted in pairs

• • • •

driving contra-rotating propellers 5.64 m (18 ft6 in) in diameter, and the last two units weremounted singly in the outboard of the threenacelles in each wing. Some 65916 litres (14500Imp gal) offuel would give the Princess a range of8851 km (5500 miles), it was hoped. The fuselagewas of the 'double-bubble' type, the upper lobebeing pressurized to ensure the comfort of thepassengers, who were provided with a bar, bunks,and several lavatories and powder rooms.

The building programme was slow, and it wasnot until August 20, 1952 that the first Princess waslaunched, taking to the air two days later. Flighttrials revealed serious problems with the gearboxesfor the contra-rotating propellers, however, andBOAC cancelled its order.

SR.45 Princess

Type: long-range transportflying boatMaker: Saunders-Roe LtdSpan: 66.9m (219ft6in)Length: 45.11 m (148 ft)Height: 17.38m (57ft)Wing area: 466.28 m2

(5019 sq ft)Weight: maximum149687 kg (330000 lb); emptynot availablePowerplant: ten 3200-shpBristol Proteus 600turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 612 km/h(380 mph) at II 278 m(37000 ft); range 8851 km(5500 miles)Payload: generally seats forup to 105 passengersProduction: 3

Top and left: G-ALUN, theonly SR.45 Princess to fly. Itwas powered by ten Proteus600 series turboprops, eightpaired in the inner fournacelles, with two singleengines in the outers

197

Viscount, Vickers-ArmstrongsFIRST FLIGHT 1948

T HE origin of the Viscount lay in the 1944discussions between the members of the

Brabazon Committee and the designers of Vickers­Armstrongs on the possibility of developing aturboprop transport for European operations.

Vickers was already working on the VC 1 Viking,a civil transport derived in part from the Welling­ton bomber, but was more than interested in apossible successor to the type, powered by turbo­prop engines. Resulting from deliberations be­tween the industry and the committee, therefore,requirements were drawn up for two high-speed

. transports intended for European routes. TheBrabazon IIA resulted in the piston-engined Air­speed Ambassador, while the Brabazon lIB led tothe turboprop Vickers VC2 Viscount.

Three concepts for a Brabazon lIB were pre­sented to the committee and the Ministry ofAircraft Production, the choice finally being madein April 1945 of a pressurized model capable ofcarrying 24 passengers or a payload of 3402 kg(7500Ib) at a speed of 478 km/h (297 mph) at6096m (20000ft) over a range of 1674km (1040miles) on the power of four Rolls-Royce Dartturboprops each rated at 1130 ehp. DesignatedType 453 by the company, the aircraft was thedesign of Rex Pierson assisted by George Edwards.Two prototypes, detailed in specification C.8/46 ofApril 17, 1946, were ordered on March 9, 1946.This specification reduced the required range to1127km (700milf's) and the speed to 444km/h(276 mph). The name envisaged for what was nowthe Type 609 was Viceroy. This was changed to

198

Viscount after the partItIOn of India in 1947.Production of the two prototypes for the Minis­

try of Supply began in December 1946, as did workon a third prototype, funded by Vickers. By thistime the ministry called for Armstrong SiddeleyMamba engines and a fuselage stretch of 2.74m(9 ft) to raise passenger capacity to 32, a figurespecified by the newly formed British EuropeanAirways. The Dart engine, temporarily supersededin official favour by the promising Mamba, wasreinstated on August 27,1947 and it was four RDa.1 engines which powered the prototype when itfirst flew on July 16, 1948 as the Type 630.

Already, though, official and airline interest inthe Viscount had waned in favour of the AirspeedAmbassador. The situation was remedied by the

Top left: Close-up of the noseof the prototype VickersViscount 630 showing the lasttwo letters of its designationG-AHRF. It was assembledat Foxwarren and flew atWisley inJuly 1948Above: The Viscount becameone of the mainstays ofmedium-range airlines in the1950s and 1960sBelow: The Dart 506 or 510series engines were installedin beautifully engineeredpowerplants with four cowlpanels arranged in two hingedgroups. Rotol supplied thepropellers

13 0

720

630

701

Right: The willingness ofVickers-Armstrongs tocustom-build for an airlinehelps to explain the largenumber of Viscount sub­types. Starting with the V.630prototype it was 'stretehed'several times, with steadiyincreasing gross weight

'O!J()OO EJ

800

810/840

Viscount, Type 810

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: Vickers-ArmstrongsAireraft LtdSpan: 28.56 m (93 ft 8lf2 in)Length: 26.11 m (85 ft 8 in)Height: 8.15 m (26 ft 9 in)Wing area: 89.47 m2

(963 sq ft)Weight: maximum 32886 kg(72 500 Ib); empty 19731 kg(43500Ib)Powerplant: four 1990-ehpRolls-Royee Dart RDa. 7IIMk 525 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 575 km/h(357 mph) at 6096 m(20000 ft); range withmaximum payload 2554 km(1587 miles)Payload: 6350kg (14000Ib);seats for up to 65 passengersCrew: 5Production: 445 (all types)

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199

..

appearance of the RDa. 3: with 40% more poweravailable, Vickers could increase span by 1.52 m(5ft) and length by 2.24m (7ft 4in) to produce the53-passenger Type 700, which could cruise at536 km/h (333 mph) on its four 1550-ehp RDa. 3s.1he Ministry of Supply ordered the prototype ofsuch a model on February 24, 1949, this machinefirst flying on August 28, 1950. The performance ofthe Type 700, capable of cruising with 53 passen­gers at 499 km/h (310 mph), considerably im­pressed BEA, which had already flown fare-payingservices between London and Paris with the Vic­kers-owned Type 630. On August 3, 1950, there­fore, BEA ordered 20 Type 701s, improved Type700s for which the order was later raised to 26.

The first of these aircraft was delivered onJanuary 3, 1953 and after receiving its certificate ofairworthiness on April 17, 1953, began the world'sfirst turboprop-powered scheduled service on thenext day, some eight years after the BrabazonCommittee's requirement had been formulated.

The success of the new type was confirmed by anumber of important orders, notably from Trans­Canada Air Lines for 15 Type 724s in November1952, and from Capital Airlines for 40 Type 745s inAugust 1954.

Major design variants were the Types 724 (newfuel system, two-pilot cockpit and increasedweight), 745 (RDa. 6 Mk 510 engines and in­creased weight), '800 (fuselage stretched by 1.17 m[3 ft 10 in] to accommodate 71 passengers) and 810(RDa. 7/1 engines. structural strengthening andincreased weight)

200

Above: G-AOHL CharlesSturt, a Vickers V.802Viscount which first flew in1957Left: The left-hand side panelof the cockpitBelow: The right-hand sidepanel of the cockpit

I Tu-114, TupolevFIRST FLIGHT 1956

Left and below: The Tu-114 isthe only major propeller­driven transport with amarked swept-back wing.Each four-blade unit of itsvast contraprops could bepushed round independentlyby hand

Type: long-range transportMaker: Tupolev DesignBureauSpan: 51.1 m (167ft 8 in)Length: 54.1 m (177 ft 6 in)Height: 13.1 m (43ft)Wing area: 311.1 m2

(3349 sq ft)Weight: maximum175000 kg (385 802Ib); empty93000 kg (205 0261b)Powerplant: four 15 OOO-ehpKuznetsov NK-12MVturbopropsPerformance: cruising speed770km/h (478 mph) at9000 m (29528 ft); range witha payload of 15 000 kg(33 0691b) and reserves8950km (5561 miles)Payload: 30000 Ib(66 138Ib); seats for up to 220passengersCrew: 6Production: approx 30

Tu-114

cr..···~· ..··6!Lo 00

j

trouble was experienced with engine overheatingand fires, however, and the Tu-114 did not enterscheduled service until April 1961, autumn 1959having been the target.

Aeroflot's routes and the emergence of pure jetairliners had by this time reduced the need for theTu-114, hence restricting the numbers built. Theonly variant of the type was the Tu-l14D, probablya demilitarized Tu-95 with a few windows andintended for urgent flights over very long ranges.

Retired from airline service in October 1976, theTu-114 has since been given a new lease of life bytransformation into the Tu-126 'Moss' airbornewarning and control system (AWACS) aircraft,with a large radar scanner in a rotodome above thefuselage.

r-rHE Tupo1ev Tu-114 long-range airliner wasdeveloped in parallel with the Tu-95 (Tu-20)

heavy bomber. Among the many distinctions ofth~

Tu-114 is the fact that it was the world's fastestpropeller-driven transport, and with the Tu-95 theworld's only all-swept propeller-driven aircraft.

Early details of the Tu-114 are sparse, but itseems that the prototype completed its flight testprogramme in 1956, the powerplant at this timecomprising four 12000-ehp Kuznetsov NK-12Mturboprops developed by a team under N DKuznetsov from an unsuccessful unit produced by'liberated' German engineers at Kuybyshev on thebasis of the wartime Junkers Jumo 012. On pro­duction aircraft the engines were fully developedNK-12MVs, each with a higher rating and drivingfour-blade contrarotating propellers.

Accommodation options were wide, thanks tothe provision of three main cabins and four smallercabins. For continental operations the seating wasnormally for 170 passengers basically six-abreast;for intercontinental operations normal accommo­dation was between 100 and 120; and for shorter­range flights up to 220 passengers could be carriedin seven- or eight-abreast seating. The cabins, werefurnished in a somewhat old-fashioned way, withbrass lamps and luggage racks.

The Tu-1l4, called Rossiya, was intended as areplacement for the Ilyushin Il-14 twin-enginedmedium-range airliner on Aeroflot's longer routes,and the new aircraft's capabilities were well de­monstrated by a number of records set up in 1960and 1961 with NK-12M engines. Considerable

201

Britannia, BristolFIRST FLIGHT 1952

T HE Britannia resulted from requirementC.2/47, issued by the Ministry of Supply on

behalf of the British Overseas Airways Corpora­tion, for a Medium-Range Empire airliner. Bristolhad at first responded to a BOAC requirement of1946 by proposing the Lockheed L. 749 Constella­tion re-engined with Bristol Centaurus 660 radials,but Treasury refusal of such expenditure of USdollars led to the C.2/47 requirement. Eight de­signs proposed by five firms resulted, but only theBristol Type 175 came anywhere near meeting theexacting specifications.

Consultations during October 1947 resulted inthe design being fixed at a span of 39.62 m (130 ft);a payload of 48 passengers, luggage and 1529 kg(33701b) of freight; a gross weight of 46857 kg(103300 Ib); and a speed 0£4-99 km/h (310 mph) onthe power of four Centaurus 662 radials. It wasalso considered whether or not Bristol Proteusturboprops or Napier Nomad compound enginesmight be fitted, but Bristol would not guaranteethe type's performance with the alternative en­gines. Financial wranglings between the Ministryand the airline followed, but on July 5, 1948 theMinistry of Supply ordered three prototypes. Allwere to have the Centaurus radial, though thesecond and third were to be convl'rtible to Proteusturboprops, and the third was to be fitted out to fUllairline standards.

An entry-into-service date of 1954 was antici­pated, but the project was thrown back into themelting pot in October 1948 when BOAC decidedthat the model engined with Proteus turboprops

merited more attention. The result was a designsuitable for African and Far Eastern routes, to beengined with either Proteus or Centaurus engines.BOAC agreed to buy 25, to operate initially withCentaurus but later with Proteus engines, thecontract being signed only on July 28, 1949.

The delay before signature gave Bristol yet moretime for reflection, this time centred on the possi­bility of upgrading the basic design for transatlan­tic operations with extra fuel, a maximum weightof 58968 kg (130000 Ib), a payload of 10 660 kg(23500 Ib) including 83 passengers, and four-wheelmain bogies instead of two-wheel units. EitherCentaurus or Proteus engines were possible,though the success of the Proteus 3 in 1950 led tothe abandonment of the Centaurus concept even in

Above: A Britannia Series 101comes in to land at Filton,BristOl. This aircraft wasdamaged beyond repair atLittleton-upon-Severn in 1954Below: A Britannia Series 312COUllty ojArgyll of Caledonian.It was withdrawn fromservice at Luton in 1972

BOAC's strategy. Structural testing of a specimenwing and attached fuselage was so impressive thatmaximum take-off weights up to 63504 kg(l40 000 Ib) became possible, with a consequentincrease in fuel capacity.

The first prototype of what had by now becomethe 90-seat Britannia took to the air on August 16,1952 under the power of four Proteus 625 enginesin place of the proposed Proteus 705s. This enginewas specified for the 15 Series 100 aircraft now tobe bought by BOAC, but the first scheduledservice flown by this original operator was delayeduntil February 1, 1957 as a result of a harrowingnumber of teething troubles with the Proteusturboprops, centred mostly on icing problems.

The Series 100 aircraft was followed by the

project-only Series 200 all-cargo model with longerfuselage; the Series 250 long-fuselage mixed cargolfreight model for the Royal Air Force (23 aircraft);and finally, in May 1955, by the definitive long­range Series 300, whose fuselage was 3.12 m (10 ft3 in) longer than that of the Series 100. All threelong-fuselage models were cleared for take-off at70308 kg (155000 Ib), though this figure was in­creased as more powerful engines and outer-wingtankage were incorporated in the 310 series.

Total production of the Series 300 reached 45aircraft, all of which proved highly successful inservice. The early delays had caught up with thedesign, however, and the availability of the Series300 was overshadowed by the appearance of theconsiderably faster long-range turbojet airliners.

Above left: The first LakerBritannia, G-ANBM, onoverhaul at Prestwick. Theaircraft was passed to anIndonesian operator in 1969­12 years after receiving acertificate of airworthinessAbove: The flight-deck of aBritannia 102 G-ANBF,which operated with BOACand Britannia Airways

Britannia 311-319 Series

Type: long-range transportMaker: Bristol Aircraft LtdSpan: 43.36m (142ft3in)Length: 37.87 m (124ft 3 in)Height: 11.43m (37ft6in)Wing area: 192.77 m2

(2075 sq ft)Weight: maximum 83 915 kg(185000 Ib); empty 37439 kg(82537Ib)Powerplant: four 4450-ehpBristol Proteus 761turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed575 km/h (357 mph) at7925 m (26000ft); range withmaximum payload 6868 km(4268 miles)Payload: 15 831 kg(34.900 Ib); seats for up to 139passengersCrew: 7Production: 85 (all types)

-------------1[F27 Friendship, FokkerFIRST FLIGHT 1955

G IVEN the company's long association withthe production of twin-engined medium-range

airliners, it is hardly surprising that the first majorcivil aircraft developed by Fokker after World WarII was such a type. While the British weredeveloping their first turboprop-powered airlinersagainst a relatively sated market, Fokker wasbuilding up a comprehensive picture of what mostoperators would like in the way of a DC-3/C-47replacement from the mid 1950s onwards.

From this bank of information the Fokker desig­ners came up with their P.275 concept during thelate summer of 1950. The aircraft was to be ashoulder-wing machine with accommodation forup to 32 passengers and powered by a pair of Rolls­Royce Dart turboprops. From this idea emergedthe F27, able to carry up to 40 passengers inpressurized comfort over a range 500 km (311miles), and capable of operating from smallairfields thanks to the provision of double-slottedflaps. Confident that the type was a potential best­seller, the Dutch government in 1953 funded theproduction of two flying and two test aircraft.

While construction of the prototypes was under­way, the company launched an intensive saleseffort, and this soon began to yield orders. The firstprototype flew on November 24, 1955 and wasimmediately involved in an intensive flight trialsprogramme. The second prototype, which flew onJanuary 29, 1957, was typical of the productionstandard aircraft, with Dart 511 engines in place ofthe first prototype's Dart 507s, and the fuselagestretched by 0.91 m (3 ft) to seat 36 passengers in

204

place of 32. In this guise maximum take-off weightwas 16193 kg (35700 Ib). Tests revealed that thedouble-slotted flaps were unnecessary for an ad­equate short-field performance, so less complexand costly single-slotted flaps were decided upon.

The local-operator interest generated by theF27, now named the Friendship, is indicated by thefact that Fairchild secured a licence-productionagreement for the type in the United States. Thefirst Fokker-built F27 flew on March 23, 1958,entering service with Aer Lingus in December ofthat year. The Dutch-built F27 was beaten intoservice, however, by the Fairchild F-27, which hada longer nose for weather radar, extra fuel tankage,American instrumentation and seating for up to 40passengers. The first two American F-27s flew on

"

Above right: The F27featured a very long-leggedDowty main landing gearwhich was, unusually,pneumatically operated. Thetwin-wheel main units retractbackward into the enginenacellesAbove: An F27 of Wien AirAlaska; like many operatorsin the USA Wien Air Alaskawas formed throughamalgamations of smallerfirms. Among these airlineswas Alaska's oldest, WienAlaska Airlines founded byNoel Wien in 1924

April 12 and May 23, 1958, and the aircraftreceived its Federal Aviation Administration TypeApproval on July 16.

The F27 and F-27 were produced largely inparallel for some time, and the type is still in Dutchproduction as the world's best-selling turbopropairliner. The initial model was the F27 Mk 100/F­27, soon followed by the F27 Mk 200/F-27A withuprated Dart Mk 528s for higher speeds and betterairfield performance, especially in 'hot and high'conditions, and take-off weights up to 20412 kg(45000Ib).

To meet airline requirements for a model able tooperate as a freighter if nec~ssary, there appearedin 1958 the F27 Mk 300/F-27B with a strengthenedfloor and large freight-loading door in the left side

of the forward fuselage. The F27 Mk 400, andclosely similar F27M Troopship, had Dart Mk 528engines, and being intended mainly for militaryoperators, had no Fairchild equivalent. Therefollowed the F27 Mk 600, derived from the convert­ible Mk 300 and 400, but with improved RDa. 7turboprops in place of the earlier RDa. 6s, and asimplified fuselage floor. The F27 Mk 700 wassimilar, but powered by RDa. 6 engines.

All the models described above were of the samebasic type. The first model to deviate from thenorm is the F27 Mk 500, which was proposed in1961 but only ordered initially in 1966. This has afuselage stretch of 1.5 m (4 ft II in), and waspartnered by the Fairchild FH-227, which has afuselage extension of 1.83 m (6 ft).

F27Mk500

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Fokker-VFW BVSpan: 29 m (95 ft 2 in)Length: 25.06m (82ft 2V2in)Height: 8.71 m (28ft 7V.in)Wing area: 70 m2 (753 sq ft)Weight: maximum 20412 kg(45000 Ib); empty II 950 kg(26345Ib)Powerplant: two 2140-hpRolls-Royce Dart 532-7RturbopropsPerformance: cruising speed480 km/h (298 mph) at6096 m (20000 ft); range with52 passengers and reserves1740 km (1082 miles)Payload: 5967 kg (13 1551b);seats for up to 60 passengersCrew: 2 to 3Production: 500 (Fokkerorders) and 207 (Fairchild­built) by 1980

Far left: An F27-400 operatedby GulfAviation, which hasbeen called GulfAir since1973Left: A Fokker Friendship atAustin, Texas. The speciallong-nosed version, built byFairchild, was designed toincorporate an all-weatherradar

205

11-18, IlyushinFIRST FLIGHT 1957

I~

T HE Ilyushin Il-18 was the second turbine­powered Russian airliner, but the first to be

specifically designed as such, the turbojet-enginedTupolev Tu-104 being a civil derivative of the Tu­16 bomber. The Il-18, at first called Moskva, wasproduced in response to an Aeroflot requirementfor a turboprop-powered medium-range airliner.

The aircraft designed to meet this fairly exactingspecification was a dean-looking four-enginedmachine similar in most respects to the contempor­ary British and US turboprop airliners, the VickersVanguard and Lockheed L-188 Electra. Poweredby 4000-ehp Kuznetsov NK-4 turboprops, the firstprototype took to the air on July 4, 1957 and soonproved itself to have admirable performance andhandling. This aircraft was followed by four other

prototypes, and then by 20 pre-production aircraftpowered alternately by NK-4 and 4000-ehpIvchenko AI-20 turboprops for comparative pur­poses. (The AI-20 and NK-4 were parallel de­velopments of the same corpus of German researchand development in World War ~I.) The AI-20proved itself generally superior to the NK-4, and itwas this engine which was selected for the initialproduction model, the Il-18V.

Trials of the Il-18 were completed by March1958 after a highly satisfactory series of flights hadbeen made, the most notable, perhaps, being thatfrom Moscow via Irkutsk to Petropavlovsk inKamchatka. The distance of 9000 km (5592 miles)was flown at an average speed of 600 km/h(373 mph) at an altitude of 8000 m (26246 ft).

Above: An I1-18D operatedby Cubana, the nationalizedairline ofCuba, which wasformed in 1929 and taken overby Castro in 1959Below: The 11-18 has beenused by CSA, Intert!ug,Malev. LOT and by non­Soviet bloc operators like AirGuinee, Air Mali and UnitedArab Airiines/Egyptair

206

Left: The long-nosed frontfuselage of the 11-18 wasunusual in having a pressurebulkhead immediately aheadof the cockpit and a long wayfrom the tip of the nose.

oo

maximum payload andreserves 2500 km (1553 miles)Payload: 13500 kg(29 7621b); seats for up to 122passengersCrew: 4 to 5Production: minimum 800

II-ISE

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0··41 II

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Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Ilyushin DesignBureauSpan: 37.4 m (122 ft 8 in)Length: 35.9 m (117 ft 9 in)Height: 10.3 m (33 ft 91/2 in)Wing area: 140 m2

(1507 sqft)Weight: maximum 61 200 kg(134920 Ib); empty 34630 kg(763451b)Powerplant: four 4250-ehpIvchenko AI-20M turbopropsPerformance: cruising speedup to 650km/h (404 mph) at8000 m (26246 ft); range with

Production of the Il-18 began in 1957 at FactoryNo 30 outside Moscow, ending in 1968. Earlyoperations were in the form of extended route­proving trials with loads of freight and mail in theUkraine. Passenger-carrying services were inaugu­rated on April 20, 1959 on the route from Moscowto Adler and to Alma Ata, with the first interna­tional service being flown from Moscow to Londonin October 1959. These operations, flown with Il­18s and Il-18Bs (derived from the Il-18 but withtake-off weight increased by 2000 kg [4409lb] andwith accommodation for 84 instead of 75 passen­gers), proved the general efficiency of the type,which was marred by some serious crashes result­ing from problems with the AI-20 engines.

With these difficulties resolved, production wasswitched to the Il-18V in 1961. This model couldseat up to III passengers, and is distinguishable byits repositioned windows and forward door, and bythe smoother contours of the nose. More efficientAI-20Ks were at first fitted, but these have gener­ally been replaced by AI-20Ms of higher rating.

Next to appear was the single long-range Il-18I,with more fuel tankage in the wings to increaserange from 4700km (2921 miles) to 6500km(4039 miles), and the ability to carry an additional500 kg (lI02Ib) of payload in the form of anincrease in passenger capacity to 125 by extendingthe pressurized cabin back into the previous rearbaggage compartment. The Il-l8I did not enterservice, but many of its improvements were incor­porated in the long-range Il-18D, which enteredservice in 1966, powered by 4250-ehp AI-20Ms.

The final production variant was the Il-18E orII-18Ye, with the fuselage of the Il-18D but thewings of the Il-18V with their 32% lower fuelcapacity. The Il-18E was designed for rapid con­version into any of four seating layouts: six-abreastl22-seat summer, five-abreast 100-seat summer,six-abreast lIO-seat winter and five-abreast 90-seatwinter. This model entered service with Aeroflotduring 1966 and it appears likely that earliermodels have been brought up to Il-18E standard.

The most successful Russian airliner to date, theII-18 was also supplied to non-Soviet bloc coun­tries: Air Guinee (4), Air Mali (3), Ghana Airways(8, all returned), Royal Afghan Airlines (1), andUnited Arab Airlines/Egyptair (4). The latestdevelopment of the Il-18 has been into the Il-38'May' maritime-reconnaissance aircraft.

.. 207

L-188 Electra, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1957

=

T HE Lockheed L-188 Electra has the distinc­tion of being the only large American airliner

to have been developed with turboprop engines.Potentially an excellent aircraft, the Electra wasunfortunately beset by severe structural problemsand then surpassed in performance and operatingeconomics by pure jet aircraft just as its fortuneswere beginning to improve once again. To a greatextent the L-188 was the result of the CapitalAirlines' order for the Vickers Viscount. Thoughthe 'big four' US operators did not follow suit,neither did they ignore the possibilities of turbo­prop power, and this foresight resulted in anAmerican Airlines' requirement for a high-capacityshort-haul airliner suitable for US inter-city routes.

Lockheed's L-188 was designed to meet this

need, and the promise of the type was reflected inAmerican Airlines' order ofJune 10, 1955 for 35 L­188s, and in Eastern Air Lines' order of September27, 1955 for 40 similar aircraft.

The Lockheed concept was for an aircraft withconsiderably greater capacity (86 passengers) thanthe Viscount, but with comparable field perform­ance thanks to the use of Allison 50 I turbopropsand an efficient wing design. The L-188 seemedideal for its designed task, and Lockheed received atotal of 144 orders by the time the first Electra flewon December 6,1957, some 16Y2 months before therival Vickers Vanguard. By the time of this firstflight, the Electra had been fixed at a capacity of100 passengers to be carried over a range of3701 km (2300 miles) after take-off at a weight of

Above: The Electra operatedwith a number of majorairlines in the early 1960s butaccidents led to a fall ofT inordersBelow: AJet Set Travel ClubL-188C Electra at LongBeach International Airport,California

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wing failure. Lockheed immediately set about'beefing up' Electras already built, type approvalfor the revised aircraft being secured on January 5,1961. Modified aircraft, designated Electra lIs,retu.rned to operations on February 24, 1961.

Lockheed had. already developed the L-188CElectra for overwater operations, with additionalfuel increasing range from the 4023 km (2500miles) of the L-188A to 4860km (3020 miles) withmaximum fuel. The last 55 Electras built were tothis standard, but it is interesting to note that theearlier crashes had so curtailed Electra orders thatonly 26 more were later sold. The manifest virtuesof the Electra have been recognized by the type'sdevelopment into the most widely sold maritime­reconnaissance aircraft, the Lockheed P-3 Orion.

Left: The Electra was notablefor its Allison 501-D13turboprop with its separatelymounted reduction gearbox.In 1959 serious defects in theengine mountings werediscovered, and the enginenacelle and surrounding wingstructure had to bestrengthened

L-188C Electra

209

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Lockheed AircraftCorporationSpan: 30.18 m (99 ft)Length: 31.9 m (104 ft 8 in)Height: 10.04 m (32 ft 1]1/4 in)Wing area: 120.8m2

(1300 sq ft)Weight: maximum 52 617 kg(116000 Ib); empty 25855 kg(57000Ib)Powerplant: four 3750-ehpAllison 501-D13 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 652 km/h(405 mph) at6706m(22000 ft); range with apayload of9979 kg (22000 Ib)4023 km (2500 miles)Payload: 11975 kg(26400Ib); seats for up to 99passengersCrew: 3 to 4Production: 170

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51257 kg (113000 Ib). Three further developmentaircraft followed in 1958, and American Airlinesreceived the first production Electra on December5, 1958. The airline could not begin scheduledservices with its new aircraft, however, as a resultof a pilots' strike, leaving Eastern Air Lines thishonour onJanuary 12, 1959 with a service betweenNew York and Miami.

Thereafter the Electra quickly established itselfas an extremely popular inter-city airliner in NorthAmerica. The success of the Electra seemed as­sured, with orders from several US airlines, theDutch 'flag carrier KLM, and several operators inSouth-east Asia and Australia. But only a weekafter American Airlines finally began Electra ser­vices on January 23, 1959, one of its Electrascrashed, as did a Braniff Electra on September 28,1959 and a Northwest Airlines Electra on March17,1960.

After evidence that the aircraft had broken up inthe air, there was considerable pressure on theFederal Aviation Administration for the groundingof all Electras while the cause was investigated.The FAA merely imposed a 'speed limit' on thesurviving 52 Electras: from March 25, 1960 theywere restricted to 51Okm/h (317mph), reduced afew days later to 417 km/h (259 mph). During thefollowing investigation, it was discovered that theElectra had a major design defect in the enginemountings. If such a mounting were only slightlydamaged (in a heavy landing, for example), it wasthen possible for a structurally disastrous en­gine/propeller oscillation to ensue, resulting in

iI

BAe 748, British AerospaceFRIST FLIGHT 1960

T HE origins of the BAe 748 can be traced backto the now infamous government white paper

foretelling the demise of the manned militaryaircraft, on which Avro had devoted its exclusiveefforts for more than ten years. The companytherefore turned its attentions to a feederlinerreplacement for the Douglas DC-3.

From the Avro point of view, the difficulty wasthat Fokker was already well along the way toproduction with the F27 Friendship, and hadsecured considerable orders. The Avro competitor,the company felt, should therefore be able toattract customers with superior performance alliedto cheaper purchasing and operating costs. Afterinitial studies for a machine resembling a scaled­down F27, Avro finally opted for a 748 designcentred on two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops and alow-wing configuration. Detail design of theHawker Siddeley 748, as it had by then become,was started in January 1959: maximum weight wasto be 14969 kg (33000 Ib) and accommodation for36 passengers four-abreast was to be provided.

Two prototypes for flight trials were begun inparallel with two static test airframes, the firstaircraft flying on June 24, 1960 and the second onApril 10, 1961. Flight trials soon proved thatstructural weight-saving by the use of fail-saferather than safe-life structures had benefited thetype, and that the provision of slotted Fowler flapsgave the 748 good short-field performance.

The two prototypes, powered by Rolls-Royce DartRDa. 610 Mk 514 engines, were followed by 18generally similar Series 1 aircraft, the main buyerbeing Aerolineas Argentinas with 12, but the firstpurchaser was Skyways Coach-Air (now Dan-Air)with three for cross-Channel flights early in 1962.

The next model was the 748 Series 2, whichentered production in 1961. This model featuresmore powerful Dart RDa. 7 Mk 531 engines and amaximum take-off weight of 20 183 kg (44 4951b),some 2266 kg (49951b) greater than the maximumtake-off weight of the Series 1 aircraft. A Series 1aircraft converted to Series 2 standard first flew onNovember 6, 1961 and deliveries began in October1962. A total of 198 were built before productionwas switched to the Series 2A.

This model was introduced to improve theperformance of the Series 2 by the provision ofmore powerful engines, the Dart RDa. 7 Mk 532­2L or -2S (later redesignated Mk 534-2 and 535-2respectively), each rated at 2280 ehp. Orders forthe type total 71, with another 25 of a sub-modelunofficially designated Series 2C. This model,intended primarily for military users, is fitted witha large freight door, measuring l.72m (5ft 7%in)in height and 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) in width, in the leftside of the rear fuselage. A strengthened floor isfitted, and an air-portable freight hoist is optional.This model first flew on December 31, 1971, in theform of a converted Series 2A aircraft.

Hawker Siddeley was eventually absorbed intoBritish Aerospace, and it was this concern whichintroduced from early 1979 the Series 2B aircraft.This is intended for operations in 'hot and high'conditions, admirably suited for the increasingnumbers of airlines in West Africa and the Carib­bean. Power is provided by a pair of2280-ehp Dart

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Series 2B ~ 1~-----=--~=--

748 Series 2A

Type: short-range transportMaker: British AerospaceAircraft GroupSpan: 30.02 m (98 ft 6 in)Length: 20.42 m (67 ft)Height: 7.57m (24ft lOin)Wing area: 75.3 m 2 (811 sq ft)Weight: maximum 21 092kg(46500 lb); empty 12 159 kg(26806Ib)Powerplant: two 2280-ehpRolls-Royce Dart 534-2 or535-2 turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed452 km/h (281 mph); rangewith maximum payload andreserves 1360 km (846 miles)Payload: 5304 kg (II 694Ib);seats for up to 58 passengersCrew: 3Production: 352 ordered by1980

Left: Checking the right-handengine of a BAe 748. The twinRolls-Royce Dart RDa.7 Mk536-2s each drive a DowtyRotol four-blade constant­speed fully-featheringpropeller

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BAe 748I Rarlomc2 Radar scanner3 Electrical equipment4 Air intake5 Front bulkhead6 Nose structure7 WindscreensB Instrument panel shmud9 Instrument panel

10 Control columnII Rudder pedals12 Nosewheel bay structure13 Airducting14 Nosewheel door15 Twin nosewheels16 Pilot's seat17 Co-pilat's seat18 Cabin roo[structure19 Radio rack20 Forward baggage hold21 Dowty Rotal four-blade propeller22 Spinner23 Right engine cowlings24 Leading edge de-icing sections

25 Right wing fuel tank26 Fuel filler27 Wing stringers28 Right wingtip29 Right aileron30 Aileron tab31 Right Rap32 Flap fairings33 Fuselage frames34 Overhead baggage lockers35 Passenger service units36 Freight and crew door37 Door handle38 Air conditioning heat exchangers39 Cabin floor structure40 Cabin windows41 Window blind42 Passenger seats43 Floor fixing rails44 Cabin trim panels45 Air louvres46 Centre fuselage construction47 \"'ing beam carrying frames48 Fin root fairing49 Right tail plane

50 Fin construction51 Fin leading edge dc-icing52 Ami-collision light53 Rudder construction54 Rudder labs55 Tab control rod56 Navigation light57 Tailcone58 Left elevator59 Elevalor tab60 Left lailplane construction61 Tailplane leading edge de-icing62 Fin-lailplanejoint63 Aft fuselage bulkhead64 Aft baggage hold65 Folding airstairs66 Passenger door67 Toilel compartment68 Rear cabin sealing69 \"'indow frame panel construction70 Escape halch71 Centre wing construction72 "Ving root fillet73 \,Vater methanol boost tank74 Filler cap

75 Trailing edge fairing76 Left engine top cowling77 Dowty Rotol four-blade propeller78 Propeller pitch change mechanism79 Spinner80 Engine air intake8l Oil cooler ducl82 Rolls-Royce Dart 535-2 turboprop83 Engine mounting frame84 Engine bottom cowlings85 Fireproofbulkheads86 Engine accessory equipment87 Jet pipe88 Undercarriage bay89 Hydraulic equipment90 Mainwheel doors91 Mainwheelleg pivot92 Leg fairing doors93 Shock absorber strut94 Twin mainwheels95 Left wing fuel tank96 Front spar97 Rear spar98 Fuel tank bulkheads99 Leading edge de-icing

100 Flap profile Slructure101 Trailing edge flap102 Flap fairing103 Flap lrackingl04 Leading edge construction105 OUler wing construction106 Lefl aileron107 Aileron lab

.,

Far left: The spacious cockpitofa 748Left: Normal accommodationin the 748 civil transport is for40 to 58. The main passengerdoor is on the left at the rear

211

RDa 7 Mk 536-2 turboprops, and the wings havebeen increased in span by 1.22 m (4 ft) but reducedin drag, with the tail modified.

Apart from these models, the aircraft has alsoappeared as the Andover for the Royal Air Force(31 Andover C.l/Series 2A and six AndoverCC.2/Series 1), and is also being built underlicence in India by Hindustan AeronauticsLimited. HAL is producing a total of79 aircraft, 62of them for the Indian air force and the rest forIndian Airlines. ,

The Series 2B is currently offered by BritishAerospace in the form of the 748 Civil Transport,the 748 Military Transport, and the 748 Coast­guarder maritime-reconnaissance aircraft withsearch radar under the forward fuselage.

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Above: HK-1409, a BAe 748of the Colombian airlineAviancaFar left: A brightly colouredtwin-engined BahamasairBAe 748. Founded in 1973,this airline is the only oneproviding scheduled servicesthroughout the BahamasLeft: making adjustments tothe Bendix solid-state radarBelow left: Loading baggage;this door can also serve as anemergency exit

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Herald, Handley PageFIRST FLIGHT 1955

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THE development of the HPR.3 Herald began in1954, and the first of two prototypes flew on

August 25, 1955, orders by this time totalling 29 fromone Colombian and two Australian operators. Thesecond prototype flew a year later, butalthough an initial batch of 25 aircraft wasproposed, it soon became clear that in its currentform the Herald fell far short ofthe performance thatoperators would like, and which turboprop-poweredaircraft such as the Vickers Viscount coule! offer.

Handley Page had already begun to consider aturboprop-powered variant, the HPR.4 with a pairof Napier Eland engines. Then in July 1955 thecompany made a serious study of the basic Heraldpowered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops, andin July 1957 Handley Page made the sensibledecision to abandon further development of theHPR.3 in favour of the HPR. 7 Herald. The twoHPR.3 prototypes were re-engined, flying onMarch 11, and December 17, 1958 respectively,with the initial name Dart-Herald, later changed toHerald.

The first production type was. the Series 100, theinitial example of which (a company-owned air­craft) flew on October 30, 1959. The only otherSeries 100 Heralds were three aircraft for BritishEuropean Airways, for use on the airline's routes inthe highlands and islands of Scotland. Apart fromthe use of two Dart 527s in place of four radialengines, the Series 100's main distinguishing fea­tare compared with the HPR.3 was a 50.8-cm (20­in) lengthening of the forward fuselage to bring thedoor clear of the propellers.

The next model was the Series 200, produced tomeet a requirement ofJersey Airlines. This had anumber of detail improvements, but was mostnotable for a fuselage stretch of 1.09 m (3 ft 7 in) tomake possible the accommodation of up to 56passengers instead of 47. The second prototypeHPR.3/HPR. 7 was converted to the new standard,first flying on April 8, 1961 with an increase inmaximum take-off weight of 90ng (2000 Ib). Thefirst production Series 200 aircraft flew onDecember 13, 1961, deliveries to the airline begin­ning in January 1962. Production of the Series 200totalled only 36 before the financial collapse ofHandley Page in August 1969.

The only other Heralds were eight Series 400aircraft for the Malaysian air force. Today, thelargest operator is Air UK, with 20.

Above left: A Handley PageHerald ofAir UKAbove right: Captain] Northand Flight Officer I Reed atthe controls ofa BEA HeraldAbove: Fitting long-range fueltanks for a South Americantour

HPR.7 Herald

Type: short-range transportMaker: Handley Page LtdSpan: 28.89 m (94ft 91/2 in)Length: 23.01 m (75ft 6in)Height: 7.11 m (23 ft 4 in)Wing area: 82.3 m2 (886 sq ft)Weight: maximum 19505kg(43000Ib); empty 11322kg(24960Ib)Powerplant: two 2105-ehpRolls-Royce Dart 527turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed435 km/h (270 mph) at4572 m (15 OOOft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 1127 km (700 miles)Payload: 5307 kg (II 700 Ib);seats for up to 56 passengersCrew: 2Production: 48

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Vanguard, Vickers-ArmstrongsFIRST FLIGHT 1959

T HE Vickers Vanguard, designed basically as areplacement for the highly successful Vickers

Viscount, was in essence an excellent design.Resulting from a British European Airways re­quirement for an airliner somewhat larger than theViscount, with superior operating economics andperformance, to enter service in 1959, the Van­guard fitted the BEA requirement well.

Entirely by coincidence, it was on April 15, 1953that BEA and Trans-Canada Air Lines issuedrequirements for similar aircraft, that of Trans­Canada specifying a load of 60 passengers to becarried over transcontinental ranges at a maximumtake-off weight of32659kg (72 OOOlb). BEA at firstheld out for a high-set wing, to afford passengersthe best possible view, but eventually came intoline with Trans-Canada when the advantages ofloading freight into the large lower-lobe of the'double-bubble' fuselage were taken into account.

Some 60 preliminary designs were considered,including several with swept wings, but the combi­nation of a cruising speed of 644 km/h (400 mph)and the specified low landing speed finally decidedthe Vickers design team on a straight wing set atthe low mid-wing position, and a powerplantcomprising four Rolls-Royce RB.109 turboprops.The engine later became the Tyne RTy. 1. After aprolonged interim period as the Type 870, theVickers aircraft was finally designated the Type900. Up to 100 passengers or a payload of 9526 kg(21 000 Ib) were to be carried, and gross weight wasto be 61 236 kg (135 000 Ib) in the ultimate design,the Type 950 named Vanguard by BEA. During

214

1955 and 1956 BEA negotiated for the purchase of20 Vanguards, the contract being signed on July20, 1956 and calling for the type to be in serviceduring 1960.

Trans-Canada had meanwhile been biding theirtime, as the basic Vanguard (BEA's Type 951) didnot meet their stringent requirements. Vickerstherefore evolved the Type 952 for Trans-Canada,with maximum seating for 139 passengers six­abreast, a maximum payload of 10 886 kg(24 000 lb) and a gross weight of 63958 kg(141 000 Ib). The different ranges specified by BEAand Trans-Canada (1609 km [1000 miles] andtranscontinental) had been catered for in theoriginal design by the incorporation of high fueltankage. In January 1957 Trans-Canada ordered

Top: An Air CanadaVanguard CF-TKK inAugust 1970. It wassubsequently transferred toEurope Aero Service,Perpignan, in 1972 asF-BTYBAbove: G-APEB which firstflew in 1959 and wasdelivered to BEA in 1961Above right: The seating andbaggage accommodationAbove far right: Preparing tounload a VanguardMerchantman

Merchantman

20 Type 952s, and later ordered another three.With construction of the prototype Type 950

underway, BEA in 1958 realized that where maxi­mum-fuel range was not required, the weight thussaved could be traded for extra payload at the'samegross weight of 63958 kg (141 000 Ib). The resultwas the Type 953, announced by Vickers in July1958, with a payload of 13 154 kg (29 000 Ib). TheBEA order was thus altered to six Type 951 and 14Type 953 Vanguards.

The first Vanguard flew on January 20, 1959and performance in general was all that could beasked for in an aircraft with turboprop engines andconservative structural design. Although Vickerstried hard to secure further orders, none wereforthcoming as at that time the airlines had a

fixation on buying the latest pure jet airliners.The first Vanguard Type 951, with 4985-ehp

Tyne 506s, was delivered to BEA on December 2,1960, and the type entered scheduled service onMarch I, 1961. The first Vanguard Type 952 forTrans-Canada, with 5545-ehp Tyne 512 engines,had meanwhile flown its first service on FebruaryI, 1961. The first Vanguard Type 953 enteredservice late in May 1961.

By October 1968 the limited success of theVanguard for passenger operations persuadedBEA to start converting its aircraft to an all-freightconfiguration, with the name MerchanJman. Theconversion was carried out by Aviation Traders,and nine Vanguards were converted with largefreight doors in the left side of the forward fuselage.

Vanguard Type 952

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Vickers-ArmstrongsAircraft LtdSpan: 35.97 m (i 18 ft)Length: 37.45m (122ft10'12 in)Height: 10.64 m (34 ft II in)Wing area: 141.9m2

(1527 sq ft)Weight: maximum 63 958 kg(141000 Ib); empty 38 556 kg(850001b)Powerplant: four 5545-ehpRolls-Royce Tyne RTy. IIMk 512 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 684 km/h(425 mph) at 6096 m(20000 ft); range withmaximum payload 2945 km(1830 miles)Payload: 16783 kg(37000 Ib); seats for up to 139passengersCrew: 3Production: 44

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An-10, AntonovFIRST FLIGHT j 957

I

Above; An Aeroflot An-I 0; in1966 An-lOs and 10As wereoperating on more than 90rou tes and carried 4 200 000passengersLeft: An An-IO comes in toland. The retractable landinggear was designed for soft­field operations and theendplate fins were intended torectify instability

T HE Antonov An-lO was derived from the An­8, which had itself been produced to meet a

joint military and civil requirement, in the light ofAeroflot's revised needs in 1955, shortly after theAn-8 had first flown. The new Aeroflot require­ment called for four instead of two engines, in­creased passenger capacity, and full pressurization.The design of the An-lO, as the new aircraft wasdesignated, began in November 1955: the plan ofthe wings, tail unit and undercarriage (the lastspecifically designed for rough-field operations,with its main units retracting into fuselage blisters)remained substantially unaltered, while the newfuselage was circular in section not slab-sided.

The first prototype flew on March 7, 1957 andbecause of the similarity of the design to that of theAn-8, it was expected that production An-lOswould rapidly be in service. The engines used inthe first two prototypes were 4000-ehp KuznetsovNK-4 turboprops, but all other An-lOs were fittedwith 4000-ehp Ivchenko AI-20s, which offered ausefully lower specific fuel consumption. All wasnot well with the design, however, and instead ofthe projected nine months, it took some 30 monthsto get the An-lO into Aeroflot service.

The exact nature of the problem is not certain,but probably included lateral and directional insta­bility. The interval between the first flight and theservice introduction of the type was marked by anumber of modifications, including the provision ofanhedral on the outer wing panels and a number ofauxiliary vertical tail surfaces. Apart from anextension forward of the dorsal fillet, these com-

216

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An-lOA

Type: medium-rangetransportMaker: Antonov DesignBureauSpan: 38m (124ft8in)Length: 34 m (III ft 6 in)Height: 9.38 m (30 ft 9 in)Wing area: 121. 73 m2

(l310sqft)Weight: maximum 54000 kg(119 0481b); empty notavailablePowerplant: four 4000-ehpIvchenko AI-20 turbopropsPerformance: cruising speedup to 680 km/h (423 mph) at8000 m (26 247ft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 1220km (758 miles)Payload: 14500 kg(31 966Ib); seats for up to 110passengersCrew: 5Production: approx 200

prised a fairly large ventral fin, later supplementedby relatively small endplate fins.

With its stability problems apparently solved,the An-lO began freight operations in the Ukraineduring May 1959, and the type flew its firstscheduled passenger service on July 22, 1959, witha flight from Moscow to Simferopol in the Crimea.Passenger accommodation of the An-lO was 90.Though the first prototype had featured a smallplayroom for children, at the rear of the maincabin, this was replaced on production aircraft by acabin for six passengers.

In 1958 the Russians announced the An-lOAstretched version of the An-lO, which had beennamed Ukraine. This improved model was leng­thened by 2 m (6 ft 6% in), and could seat up to 100passengers five- and six-abreast for normal opera­tions, or up to 110 passengers for high-densityroutes. The An-lOA also had reversible-pitch prop­ellers to reduce landing run, and late-productionAn-10As also had twin ventral fins replacing theprevious arrangement of one ventral and twoendplate fins.

The performance of the An-lOA was recognizedby the establishment of two records: in May 1960an An-lOA covered 2000km (1243miles) with apayload of 15 000 kg (33 0691b) at an average speedof 723km/h (449 mph); and on April 29, 1961another An-lOA covered a SOO-km (31 I-mile)closed circuit at 731 km/h (454 mph).

At the same time that the An-lOA wasannounced, it was also reported that there was tobe an An-lOB (otherwise reported as the An-16),

with a fuselage stretch of 3 m (9 ft lOin) to increasethe freight volume and also passenger capacity to130. This model was apparently not built. One An­10 derivative was built, however, in the form of theAn-12 logistic transport. This featured a totallyrevised, upswept rear fuselage, and thoughdesigned principally with the needs of the Sovietair force in mind, has been used by a number ofcivil operators, often with rear turret fitted.

All An-lOs and An-lOAs were withdrawn fromservice after one of the type crashed near Kharkovon May 18, 1972, killing all 108 passengers andcrew.

By mid 1967 the two versions, about 300 in totalby this time, had among them managed to trans­port the respectable total of 12 million passengers.

Top: An Aeroflot An-lOA atMoscow DomodedovoAirport onJuly 9, 1967, tomark the 50th anniversary ofthe Soviet OctoberRevolution. Note the largetwin ventral fins whichreplaced the auxiliary rearfinsAbove: The prototype An-IOhad early directional stabilityproblems which wereremedied on the An-lOA byadding, initially, an under-fin,and later still endplate fins onthe tailplane

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(\ '

An-24, AntonovFIRST FLIGHT 1959

T HE Antonov An-24 marks yet another effortby the world's aircraft manufacturers and

users to find a twin-turboprop replacement for theDouglas DC-3, in this instance the licence-builtRussian version, the Lisunov Li-2. The origins ofthe An-24 lie in a 1957 Aeroflot requirement for a40-seat turboprop airliner able to replace theIlyushin Il-14 and Li-2 over stages of up to1000 km (621 miles), and able to operate fromairfields that possessed only short, unpaved run­ways. It was this last factor, together with thedesirability of easy loading, which led the Antonovdesign team to choose a high-wing for their An-24.

Design began in 1958, and the first prototypeflew on December 20, 1959, having been built inonly 14 months despite a change in the Aeroflotrequirement which entailed a fuselage stretch toallow the aircraft to carry up to 50 passengers in ahigh-density internal layout, or up to 44 in normalcircumstances. All necessary trials were completedby September 1962.

Only a few An-24s, with seating for 40 passen­gers, were built. These were distinguishable fromthe prototypes by their longer engine nacelles, andby the standardization of the ventral fin tested onthe second prototype. The first scheduled serviceby the type was flown with an An-24 in October1962 between Kiev and Kherson. This 40-seaterwas soon supplanted in production by a 44-seatmodel, which was distinguishable by having ninewindows instead of eight on each side.

Still fairly early in the type's production careerthe' An-24 was replaced by the An-24V Series I,

218

powered by a pair of 2550-ehp Ivchenko AI-24As.Essentially a scaled-down version of the powerfulAI-20, the AI-24 was developed specially for theAn-24, and in its AI-24A form can be boosted to2800 ehp by water injection at the compressorinlet. This modification considerably improved theAn-24V Series I's 'hot and high' performance,complementing the revised wing, enlarged from72.46 m2 (780 sq ft) to 75 m2 (807 sq ft) by a centresection of wider chord and enlarged flaps.

From 1967 production was ofa further improvedmodel, the An-24V Series II, presumably in­troduced to better still more the 'hot and high'performance of the An-24V Series I. This model isfitted with 2820-ehp AI-24T turboprops and, mostinterestingly, a 900-kg (1984-lb) st Tumanksy RU

Top: An Antonov 24 ofMisrair, a charter subsidiaryof Egyptair which connectsCairo with Luxor, Aswan andAbu SimbelAbove: SP-LTI, and An-24 ofLOT, Polskie Linie Lotnicze,the Polish airline whichoperates 18 passenger­carrying An-24s and onecargo-carrier

rt5RAIR

19-300 auxiliary turbojet in the· rear of the rightnacelle in place of the TG-16 auxiliary power unit.The RU 19-300 is optional, and aircraft fitted withit are designated An-24RV. Passenger accommo­dation on the An-24V Series II aircraft is for amaximum of 52 seated four-abreast. The An-24VSeries II is nearing the end of its production q.lll,but is still available in convertible or mixedpassenger/ freight configurations.

Antonov have also produced two versions of theAn-24V Series II for freight operations. These arethe An-24T and An-24RT, basically similar to theAn-24V Series II and An-24RV respectively. Liketheir passenger counterparts, these can take off ataltitudes up to 3000 m (9843-ft). Maximum pay­load is 46l2kg (10 l68lb) for the An-24T, and5700kg (125661b) for the An-24RT, and theseloads can be handled by means of a large ventraldoor with an electric winch.

The An-24P is a special model intended forforest fire-fighting, first tested in the autumn of1971. It is fitted with provision for the dropping ofparachutists and fire-fighting equipment.

Other An-24 derivatives are the An-26 freighter,fitted with an enlarged ventral hatch in a newbeaver-type tail, and two 2820-ehp AI-24Ts withan RU 19-300 turbojet; the An-30 aerial-surveymodel derived from the An-24RT/An-26, with fourcamera ports in the fuselage floor and a. glazednose; and the An-32 'hot and high' transport, fittedwith two 5180-ehp Ivchenko AI-20M turbopropsenabling the type to operate from airfields up to analtitude of 4500 m (14 764ft).

An-24V Series II

Type: short-range transportMaker: Antonov DesignBureauSpan: 29.2 m (9;i ft 10 in)Leng_h: 23.53 m (77ft 2 in)Height: 8.32 m (27 ft 4 in)Wing area: 75m2 (807sqft)Weight: maximum 21 000 kg(46296Ib); empty 13 300kg(29321Ib)Powerplant: two 2550-ehplvchenko AI:24A turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed450 km/h (280 mph) at6000 m (19685 ft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 550 km (342 miles)Payload: 5500 kg (12 125Ib);seats for up to 52 passengersCrew: 3 to 5Production: 729 ordered by1980 (An-24, An-26 and An­30)

219

CV-580, ConvairFIRST FLIGHT 1960

T HE Convair 240, 340 and HO short-rangeairliners were built between 1947 and 1957 as

pressurized replacements for the Douglas DC-3.All three models were built to the same basicdesign, and were powered by a pair of Pratt &Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radials. But in theearly 1950s Convair came to appreciate the import­ance of the turboprop, and saw that in its 240, 340and 440 designs it had an admirable starting pointfor a simple conversion of existing aircraft toturboprop power.. Convair produced an experimental conversion of

a 240 with Allison 501-A2 (T56) turboprops asearly as 1950, and though the concept was entirelyvalidated, it was not until 1954 that commercialconversion was considered, in this case by theBritish engine manufacturer Napier. Re-enginedwith two 3060-ehp Napier Eland NE. I turbop- ~rops, the first 340 conversion flew on February 9, ~1955 as the Convair 540. This and six otherconversions were operated by Allegheny Airlines,while the Royal Canadian Air Force used ten as .=-=~~== ~~.-'; ---.JllL"••"~CL-66Bs, built as such by Canadair, who also 'I..? b'

produced three conversions.Though successful, no further Eland conversions

were possible as a result of the cancellation of theEland programme in 1962. Thus the next modelwas the definitive Convair 580, 130 of which wereproduced by the installation of 3750-ehp Allison501-D13 turboprops on Convair 340s and HOs.The conversion was undertaken by Pacific Airmo­tive, the first re-engined aircraft flying on January19, 1960. The 580 received its Federal AviationAdministration certification on April 21, and thefirst delivery was made in May of the same year.

The other major turboprop conversion of theConvair-Liner series was with the Rolls-RoyceDart RDa. 10 Mk 542, rated at 3025 ehp. Theconversion of all three members of the family wasundertaken by Convair itself, and the revisedaircraft were at first designated 240D, 340D andHOD, these subsequently being altered to 600 and640, the latter covering both the 340D and HOD.

The impetus for the programme came fromCentral Airlines, who ordered ten Convair 240Ds.The first of these flew on May 20, 1965 and thetype entered service on November 30 of the sameyear; the Convair 340D and HOD programme wascontemporary, and the first Convair 640 enteredservice on December 22, 1965.220

Top: The Convair CV-580 asoperated by Aspen Airways ofColoradoAbove: A CV-580 of theCleveland, Ohio-basedWright Air Lines at Atlanta,Georgia in December 1977

CV-580

Type: local service transportMaker: Convair division ofGeneral DynamicsCorporation; PacificAirmotive IncSpan: 32.12m (105ft4in)Length: 24.84m (81 ft 6in)Height: 8.89 m (29 ft 2 in)Wing area: 85.47 m2

(920 sq ft)Weight: maximum 26372 kg(58140 Ib); empty approx13835 kg (30500 lb)Powerplant: two 3750-ehpAllison 501-D13H turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed550 km/h (342 mph);maximum range 4611 km(2865 miles)Payload: 4023 kg (8870 Ib);seats for up to 56 passengersCrew: 3 t04Production: 20 (CV-540),130 (CV-580), 39 (CV-600)and 28 (CV-640)

CL-44, CanadairFIRST FLIGHT 1960

Type: long-range freighterMaker: Canadair LtdSpan: 43.37m (142ft 31/2 in)Length: 41.73 m (136 ft10%in)Height: 11.79 m (38 ft 8 in)Wing area: 193m2

(2075 sq ft)Weight: maximum 95 256 kg(210000Ib); empty 40 348 kg(889501b)Powerplant: four 5730-ehpRolls-Royce Tyne Mk 515/10turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 620 km/h(385 mph) at 6096 km(20000 ft); range withmaximum payload 5246 km(3260 miles)Payload: 29995 kg(66 1281b); seats for up to 178passengersCrew: 3Production: 12 (CL-44D),27 (CL-44D-4 and CL-H])

CL-44D-4

Above: HB-lEO, formerly G­AWOV, one of two CanadairCL-44s operated byTransvalair, a Swiss charterfirm carrying cargo toEurope, the Middle East, FarEast and AfricaLeft: The CL-44D-4, thefreighter version which had ahinged rear fuselage and tailsurfaces for loading bulkycargo and pallet loads

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CL-440

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DERIVED from the Bristol Type 175 Britan­nia, the Canadair CL-44 resulted from a

Royal Canadian Air Force requirement for a heavyfreighter and maritime-reconnaissance aircraftbased on the same airframe, and manufacturedlargely in Canada. As a result, in 1954 Canadairsigned a licence agreement with Bristol. The CL-28Argus reconnaissance aircraft was built between1957 and 1960, and was followed on Canadair'sproduction line by 12 of the CC-l 06 Yukon freigh­ters for the RCAF.

Derived from the Britannia 253 but with alengthened fuselage, the Yukons had l,arge freightdoors on the left side, forward and aft of the wing.Although it was at first planned to engine theseaircraft, which had the cpmpany designation CL­44D, with Bristol Orion turboprops, the cancella­tion of the Orion programme in 1958 led to aredesign with Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops.

With this military commitment runningsmoothly, Canadair in 1960 turned to the pro­duction of a civil counterpart of the Yukon. Desig­nated CL-44D-4, this had the unusual feature of ahinged rear fuselage and tail surfaces. These couldbe swung to the right, allowing bulky loads andpallets to be loaded straight into the fuselage. Thefirst such aircraft flew on November 16, 1960 andwas followed by an initial batch of 17 productionexamples for Seaboard World Airlines, the FlyingTiger Line and Slick Airways. These same three

t cargo operators and Loftleidir of Iceland subse­quently bought another ten CL-44D-4s, the Loft~

leidir aircraft being used for low-fare transatlantict flights with up to 178 passengers. Wishing to carry

yet more passengers, Loftleidir approachedt Canadair with a view to a stretched version.

This resulted in the last of Loftleidir's four CL-I 44D-4s being modified on the production line to

Canadair 400 (CL-44J) standard, with its alreadylengthened fuselage stretched further and seatingfor 214. Loftleidir's other CL-44D-4s were laterconverted to the same standard.

The only other CL-44 variant was the CL-440,produced by Conroy Aircraft. This was an ex­

t Flying Tiger Line CL-44D-4 modified with abulged upper portion of the fuselage to accommo­date loads up to 4,24m (13ft II in) in height.

The CC-I06 Yukons were' sold from militaryservice in 1973, and several of them'· have beenbought by civil operators.

221

Guppy, Aero SpacelinesFIRST FLIGHT 1962

FORMED in 1961, Aero Spacelines existedspecifically to produce conversions of the

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and C-97 freighter intohigh-capacity freighters capable of transportinghigh-volume hardware, such as boosters, for theUS space effort.

The first aircraft to be produced by the companywas the Pregnant Guppy, which made its initialflight on September 19, 1962. Formally designatedB-377PG, the Pregnant Guppy retained the flyingsurfaces and 3500-hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360Wasp Major piston engines of the C-97, but had ahighly bulged upper lobe fitted to the fuselage,which was also stretched by 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in). Thewhole of the rear fuselage and empennage could bedetached for the straight-loading of booster stages.

Next appeared the B-377SG Super Guppy, whichfirst flew on August 31, 1965. This was based on aBoeing C-97J, but was more extensively modifiedthan the Pregnant Guppy. The radial engines werereplaced by 7000-ehp Pratt & WhitneyT34-P-7WAturboprops, wing span was increased by 4.57 m(15 ft) and the fuselage by 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in). The yetlarger upper lobe could accommodate loads up to7.62 m (25 ft) in diameter.

Although both the Pregnant and Super Guppieshad been produced entirely as commercial enter­prises, both aircraft were contracted for the exclu­sive use of the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) and US Department ofDefense, and so Aero Spacelines turned to furtherconversions to meet the needs for a commercialbulky freight transport.

222

The B-377MG Mini Guppy 'reverted' to pistonengines, in this instance four 3800-hp Pratt &Whitney R-4360-B6 Wasp Majors. Derived from aStratocruiser, but fitted with a wider and longerfuselage and a hinged tail section, the Mini Guppyfirst flew on May 24, 1967. The B-377MG was lostin a crash on May 12, 1970.

Next to appear, on March 13, 1970, was theGuppy-WI, derived from a Stratocruiser, but pow­ered by four 4912-shp Allison 501-D22C turbo­props. The Guppy-WI also introduced a new fea­ture to the family: a hinged nose in place ofthe earlier detachable or hinged rear fuselage andtail unit.

Finally there appeared the Guppy-201, or B­377SGT. Design of this aircraft (intended for the

Top: The Super Guppy whichwas built by Aero Spacelinesto carry cargo such aslaunchers in the US spaceprogrammeAbdVe: The Pregnant Guppywhich can carry a completeSaturn S-IV second stage ofthe Apollo moon rocketRight: A dramatic view ofaSuper Guppy at BergstromAir Force Base, Austin,Texas.The Stratocruiser cockpit canbe seen clearly in this viewFar right: Side elevationsshowing the development ofthe Guppy

_---,.....,101

N211AS

223

Above left: An AeroSpacelines Guppy in servicewith Aeromaritime servingthe Airbus lndustrieconsortium. By 1984 Airbushopes to have built two moreof these outsize freightersLeft: An Airbus Guppy atReykjavik in IQ78. In 1980two were used to ferry Airbusparts from partner factories toToulouse for assembly

Guppy-20l

Type: bulky freight transportMaker: Aero Spacelines Inc;Airbus IndustrieSpan: 47.62 m (156 ft 3 in)Length: 43.84m (143ft lOin)Height: 14.78m (48ft6in)Wing area: 182.55 m2

(1965 sq ft)Weight: maximum 77 III kg(170000 Ib); empty 45 360 kg(100000Ib)Powerplant: four 4912-ehpAllison 501-D22C turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 463 km/h288 mph) at 6096 m

(20000ft); range withmaximum payload 813km(505 miles)Payload: 24494 kg(54000Ib)Crew: 3 t04Production: I (PregnantGuppy), I (Super Guppy), I(Guppy-IOI),4 (Guppy-201)by 1980, I (Mini Guppy)

carriage of major airframe components of machinessuch as the Airbus A300, BAe/Aerospatiale Con­corde, Lockheed TriStar and McDonnell DouglasDC-lO) was begun in January 1968. Constructionof the first Guppy-201 began in September 1969,using standard portions of the B-377/C-97 familysuch as the wings, tail unit, cockpit and lowerfuselage. (Parts of several lower fuselages had to bejoined to produce the necessary length.)

In essence the Guppy-20l is a Super Guppy re­engined with Allison 501-D22C turboprop engines.Two examples were planned originally, these firstflying on August 24, 1970 and August 24, 1972respectively. US Federal Aviation AdministrationType Approval was granted on August 26, 1971.Both Guppy-201s were quickly bought by Aero­spatiale for operation by Aeromaritime to ferrymajor sub-components of the A300B and Concordefrom local assembly factories to the final assemblylocations at Toulouse.

The cargo hold of the Guppy-20l has a floorwidth of3.96m (13ft), bulging out to a maximumwidth of 7.65 m (25 ft 1 in) before curving in onceagain prior to reaching the compartment's ceiling7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) above the floor. The hold'slength is 33.99m (111 ft 6in), though only 9.75m(32 ft) of this has a constant section. Access to thisvolume of 1104 m3 (39000 cu ft) is through thehinged nose section, which swings back through110° to ensure unimpeded loading and unloading.

There currently appears to be every likelihood offurther Guppy-201 production meet Airbus Indus­tries' need for increased output.

224

Br.941, Breguet. FIRST FLIGHT 1961

D ESIGNED as a rugged STOL (short take-offand landing) transport for both civil and

military operators, the Breguet 941 was a relativelyunsophisticated aircraft in structure and capabili­ties. It was, however, provided with an extensivedeflected-slipstream STOL system. In this, theslipstream of four large-diameter propellers drivenby engines located evenly along the leading edgesof the wing blew over the entire span of the wingsbefore being turned downwards by the double­slotted full-span trailing-edge flaps, the rearmember of which was fitted with a fixed leading­edge slat. To ensure a smooth and consistentairflow in the event of engine failure, the fourengines were mechanically linked by a high-speedtransmission shaft throu,gh the wings.

The prototype Breguet 941 first flew on June 1,1961, this aircraft having been produced in re­sponse to a French air force order of February 22,1960. At this time, Breguet's thoughts were turnedto two basic, models, the Br.941C civil model with aretractable airstair in place of the ventral ramp forthe boarding of passengers, and the Br.941Mmilitary freight model. Extensive flight trials fol­lowed, and in November 1965 the French govern­ment ordered four pre-production aircraft, desig­nated Br.941S, together with the tooling and

jigging needed for large-scale production. Thesefour aircraft were powered by 1500-shp Tur­bomeca Turmo IUDs (later I1ID6 ) turboprops inplace of the 1250-shp Turmo IUDs of the pro­totype, and also differed from the prototype inhaving larger nose radomes, a wider cargo holdand a revised rear ramp configuration. The firstBr.941S flew on April 19, 1967 and was soon joinedby the three other pre-production. The originalBr.941 was also re-engined to take part in the trialsprogramme.. US interest in the type was evinced by an offer

from McDonnell Aircraft to co-operate in theproject. To this end the prototype was tested in theUnited States during 1964 and 1965. Neither of thetwo US airlines to test the type, Eastern Air Linesand American Airlines, ordered the McDonnellaircraft, designated Model 188, effectively haltingthe McDonnell initiative.

Changing requirements, coupled with the avail­ability of the Nord Noratlas and Transall C-160 formilitary use, finally led to the end of the Br.941programme in France during the early 1970s.

..-~ ----

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Above: The prototype Br.941in French air force insignia. Itwas envisaged as a civil or ~:,

military transportLeft: The McDonnell Model188 demonstrates its STOL(short take-oifand landing)performance during trials atAmerican cities in the mid1960s

Br.941S

Type: STOL utility transportMakeJ;: Breguet Aviatiqn .Span: 23.4m (76ft 81/2 in)Length: 23.75 m (77 ft 11 in)Height: 9.65 m (31 ft 8 in)Wing area: 83.78m2

(902 sq ft)Weight: maximum 24500kg(584221b); empty 14700kg(32408Ib) .Powerplant: four 1500-shpTurbomeca Turmo IIID6turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 417 km/h(259 mph) at 3050 m(10 000 ft); range withmaximum payload 1000 km(621 miles)Payload: 10000 kg(22046Ib); seats for up to 57passengersCrew: 3Production: 5

I

I

YS-ll, NAMeFIRST FLIGHT 1962

DESPITE the fact that it was built only inrelatively small numbers, the Nihon Kokuki

Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha (Nihon Aeroplane Manu­facturing Company) YS-ll twin-turboprop airlinerhas the unique dis tinction of being the firs t, and sofar the only, Japanese civil transport to have beenproduced in substantial numbers, apart from typesof foreign origin dating from before and duringWorld War II.

Work on the concept which was to appear as theYS-ll began in 1956, when the Ministry of Inter­national Trade and Industry called for a short- andmedium-range airliner. With the aid of a govern­ment subsidy, design work under the leadership ofDr Hidemasa Kimura was started, overall controlof the project being vested in the TransportAircraft Development Association, superseded in1959 by the NAMC.

This controlling body, 54% government owned,was responsible for design, sales and productioncontrol, while production itself was vested in aconsortium of six companies: Fuji Heavy Indus­tries for the tail, Japan Aircraft Manufacturing forthe ailerons and flaps, Kawasaki Aircraft for themain wings and engine nacelles, Mitsubishi HeavyIndustries for the main fuselage and final assem­bly, Shin Meiwa Industry for the rear fuselage, andShowa Aircraft Industry for the honeycomb com­ponents such as doors. The proportion of the totalaircraft produced by each company reflected itspercentage holding in the 46% of the NAMC left inprivate hands.

Though substantial foreign sales were hoped,for,

J

LI

i

226

the design parameters most closely applied duringthe design phase were the needs ofJapan's growingdomestic air routes. This meant that although theYS-il was yet another contender in the DouglasDC-3 replacement field, it was intended to carry asubstantially larger payload than aircraft such asthe Fokker F27, the Handley Page Herald and theHawker Siddeley 748.

For ease of loading a low-wing layout wasselected, accommodation for a basic payload of 60passengers was provided, and the powerplantselected was a pair of Rolls-Royce Dart RDa. 10IIturboprops, the model being specially developedfor the YS-II and preferred to the Allison 50 I andNapier Eland.

Construction of two flying and two static-test

Above: A YS-ll underevaluation by Japaneseairlines during a visit to aBritish airportRight: A YS-ll of Hawaiianat Honolulu InternationalAirportBelow: The YS-ll in TOAlivery; the type is used by All­Nippon Airways, SouthwestAir Lines and TOA DomesticAirlines, which link the citiesand islands ofJapan

•~~--------------~

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227

prototypes began in May 1957 with the formationof the Transport Aircraft Development Associ­ation. The first prototype flew on August 30, 1962,with the second following on December 28 of thesame year. Intensive flight trials yielded the YS-llits Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau type certificateon August 25, 1964, and its US Federal AviationAdministration Type Approval on September 7,1965.

Production had meanwhile started, and the firstproduction aircraft flew on October 23, 1964. Itwas delivered to the Japanese Civil AviationBureau in March 1965. The first airline user wasToa Airways, operating the first YS-ll scheduledservice in April 1965, followed by Japan Domesticin May and by All Nippon in July 1965.

Perhaps reflecting the strong domestic elementsin the design, sales of the Y:S-ll to foreign oper­ators were initially slow, Filipinas Orient buyingtwo YS-lls in September 1965, Hawaiian Airlinesthree in 1966, and LANSA (Peru) three in 1967.There foreign sales faltered, and NAMC thus felt itessential to try for a breakthrough into the lucra­tive US market. The Charlotte Aircraft Corpora­tion were appointed sole agents in the UnitedStates, and largely as a result of the agency'srecommendations there appeared the YS-IIAstretched model, available in three sub-types.

All three models have the same basic dimensionsas the YS-ll, as well as the water-methanol­injected hot high Dart Mk 542 engines. The mostsuccessful of the whole YS-l1 family, the YS-IIA-

I\I

YS-llA

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: Nihon AeroplaneManufacturing CoSpan: 32m (105ft)Length: 26.3 m (86 ft 3V2 in)Height: 8.99 m (29 ft 6 in)Wing area: 94.8 m2

(1020sq ft)Weight: maximum 24500 kg(54013Ib); empty 15 050 kg(33179Ib)Powerplant: two 3060-ehpRolls-Royce Dart Mk 542turbopropsPerfomnance: cruising speed472 km/h (293 mph) at

4572 m (15000 ft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 346 km (215 miles)Payload: 6949 kg (15320 Ib);seats for up to 64 passengersCrew: 4Production: 182

200 reached a production total of more than 90.With seating for 60 passengers in .normal opera­tions, the YS-I1A-200 had higher operatingweights, and the payload was increased by some1270kg (2800Ib) to 6949kg (15320Ib). As in thebasic YS-11, seating was five-abreast. Orderedinitially by Piedmont Airlines, which as PiedmontAviation finally operated some 17 of the type, theYS-llA-200 first flew on November 27, 1967, withinitial deliveries beginning during 1968. Subse­quently the model entered service with eight otherairlines.

The next model was the YS-11A-300CP, amixed-traffic derivative of the YS-11A-200. Thishad a large freight door (2.5 m [8 ft 2 in] by 1.83 m[6 ft]) in the left side of the forward fuselage,

leading into a forward freight hold with a volume of10 m3 (360 cu ft). Behind this is accommodation for46 passengers, together with another 5 m3

(176 cu ft) of cargo space. Production of the YS­11A-300CP totalled 16.

Subsequent production was of the YS-11A-400freight model, with a storage volume of 79 m3

(2790 cu ft) and a large loading door, measuring3.05m (10ft) by 1.83m (6ft) aft of the wingtrailing edge.

The YS-IIA-400 was intended for military use,and the first of the type flew on September 17,1969. Final production was of the YS-IIA-500,-600 and -700, basically. similar to the YS-IIA-200,-300 and -400 but with maximum take-off weightraised by 500kg (1102Ib).

Above:JA-8733, a YS-ll ofAll-Nippon, comes in to landat Fukuoka,Japan in March1978. In 1980 All-Nipponwere operating 30 examples ofthis short-haul turboprop

Beech 99 AirlinerFIRST FLIGHT 1965

T HE Beechcraft B99 Airliner was in its day thelargest aircraft produced by Beech, perhaps

the world's best known manufacturer of twin­engined light aircraft. Derived closely from theBeechcraft Queen Air B80 and Queen AirlinerB80, the unpressurized B99 Airliner was designedto meet the specific requirements of third-levelcommuter service operators and air-taxi concernsby lengthening the fuselage to provide more ac­commodation, and by fitting two turboprops inplace of the B80's twin Lycoming piston engines.

To provide the passenger accommodationneeded for the new type's role, the basic fuselage ofthe B80 was lengthened by 3.07 m (10ft O%in)from 10.82m (35ft 6in), thus increasing seatingfrom the nine of the Queen Airliner B80 to the 15 ofthe 99 Airliner series, with a longitudinal row ofeight seats on the right side of the fuselage, andseven seats on the left side. An airstair door islocated in the left side of the rear fuselage. Alsoavailable as an option is a cargo door just forwardof the passenger door, to provide operators with thecapability of using their aircraft as mixed freight­passenger carriers. Another option is a ventralfreight and baggage pod, with a capacity of 1.0 I m3

(35 1/2Cuft) and up to a weight of363kg (800Ib).The aerodynamic prototype of the 99 series was

a converted Queen Air, which was first flown inDecember 1965. Fitted with 550-ehp Pratt &Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT6A-20 turboprops,this aircraft became the definitive 99 Airlinerprototype in July 1966. Progress of the typetowards US Federal Aviation Administration Type

Approval was leisurely, this not being granted untilMay 2, 1968. On the same day Beech delivered thefirst production aircraft.

First deliveries were of the 99 Airliner model,powered by 550-ehp PT6A-20 turboprops. Thenext production variant was the 99A Airliner, witha pair of PT6A-27 turboprops, normally rated at680-ehp each, but in this instance derated to 550ehp. The same powerplant was used in the A99AAirliner, which introduC"ed a number of detailmodifications. Finally in the definitive B99 Air­liner, fully rated PT6A-27s were introduced.

The same basic aircraft was also produced as theB99 Executive, with a variety of internal layoutssuiting the aircraft for the carriage of between 8and 17 corporate officers.

B99 Airliner

Type: short- and medium·range light transpoftMaker: Beech AircraftCorporationSpan: 14m (45ft IOV2in)Length: 13.89m (45 ft 6%in)Height: 4.38 m (14ft 4V. in)Wing area: 26 m2 (280 sq ft)Weight: maximum 4944 kg(109001b); empty 2620 kg(5777lb)Powerplant: two 680-ehpPratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-27 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 451 km/h(280 mph) at 2438 m (8000 ft);range with maximum payloadand reserves 853 km(530 miles)Payload: seats for up to 15passengersCrew: 2Production: 164

Left: A Beech 99 in itsmanufacturers liveryBelow left: Theaccommodation for 15passengersBelow: The airstair andunder-fuselage baggage podopen. These facilities areuseful in a third-level airliner

_,_e

230

Nord 262, Nord-AviationFIRST FLIGHT 1962

T HE origins of the Nord-Aviation 262 lie withthe Holste MH.260 Super Broussard, itself

evolved from the MH.250 prototype. The latter,designed as a small utility aircraft, was powered bya pair of Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial pistonengines, replaced in the MH.260 by two 960-shpTurbomeca Bastan turboprops.

Design of the N 262 began in earnest in the firstquarter of 1961, the object being to produce a smallbut comfortable airliner suitable for regional oper­ators flying routes up to lOOOkm (621 miles) andable to operate from poor airfields. In this latterrespect, the simple tricycle undercarriage of theSuper Broussard, with its main units retractinginto fuselage blisters, was well suited, as was thehigh-wing layout.

The prototype N262 first flew on December 24,1962, and was supplemented in the trials pro­gramme by three pre-production aircraft. The N262's French certificate of airworthiness wasgranted on July 16, 1964. The first productionaircraft had flown some eight days earlier, and thiswas soon in service with the type's first scheduledoperator, Air Inter.

Paradoxically, the first four aircraft (all for AirInter) were N 262 Series B machines and it was oneof these four which flew the first service on July 24,1964. Subsequent N 262s of the early productiontypes were Series A'aircraft, with minor improve­ments but the same l080-ehp Turbomeca BastanVIC turboprops. Production of the N 262 Series Atotalled 72 aircraft, the first flying early in 1965.This received its US Federal Aviation Adminis-

tration Type Approval on March 15, 1965, and theinitial production N 262 Series A entered servicewith Lake Central Airlines during late August 1965after delivery on August 17.

Lake Central Airlines bought 12 N 262As, whichcontinued in service after the company was boughtby Allegheny Airlines. In 1974 Allegheny initiateda programme whereby the company's Mohawk AirServices subsidiary contracted with Frakes Avia­tion for the installation in the nine surviving N262As of 1180-shp Pratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-45 turboprops, thus making theaircraft Mohawk 298s. The first conversion flew onJanuary 7, 1975 and the type entered service withAllegheny early in 1977. The Mohawk 298 also hasnew wingtips to improve low-level performance

Above: A Nord 262A ofAltairAirlines of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. This aircraftwas previously operated inDenmarkBelow left: The Nord 262 usesthe simple tricycle landinggear of the Super Broussard,housed in fuselage blisters,but introduced a pressurizedfuselage of circular section.Bulkheads had to be cut awayabove and below to provideheadroom

231

~ALLEGHE--N~~·

•

and handling, alld it certificated with up to 30passengers, or a payload of 3402 kg (7500Ib).

On January I, 1970 Nord-Aviation and Sud­Aviation merged to become the Societe NationaleIndustrielle Ahospatiale, and subsequent develop­ment of the N 262 was undertaken by this newcompany. Two new variants, the N 262 Series Cand Series D, were produced, both models laterbeing given the common name Fregate. The maindifference between these two models and theirpredecessors was the installation of l145-ehpBastan VII turboprops in place of the lower­powered Bastan VICs, and an increase in span of0.7 m (2 ft 3Y2 in) with new wingtips designed toimprove low-speed handling. The two new featureswere test flown on a converted N 262A from July1968, and prod uction began in 1970, the typesbeing certificated on December 24, 1970. The twoFregate types are basically similar, the formerSeries C aircraft being intended for civil operators,and the Series D for military users. Of the 33Fregates built, 24 went to the French air force.

The effect of the more powerful engines has beena general increase in the Fregate's performanceand capabilities compared with the N 262, thoughpayload has been reduced by 195kg (430lb).Speed is increased by 33 km/h (20 1/2 mph), rate ofclimb is better, and maximum fuel range is 270 km( 168 miles) greater.

Production of the N 262 and Fregate ended in1976, despite Aerospatiale's proposal of a revisedversion, the N 262A-II, with improved perform­ance and capabilities.

232~--------------~

Above: A Nord 262 in thelivery of Allegheny Airlines ofWashington, DCRight: An N262B of TouraineAir Transport; it waspreviously registered as F­WLHS. TAT has two N262son its books, and operates aninter-city service within northand eastern France

Nord 262A

Type: short-range lighttransportMaker: Nord-Aviation;Societe Nationale IndustrielleAhospatialeSpan: 21.9m (71 ft lOin)Length: 19.28 m (63 ft3 in)Height: 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)Wing area: 55 m2 (592 sq ft)Weight: maximum 10600 kg(23 369Ib); empty 6763 kg(14910Ib)Powerplant: two 1080-ehpTurbomeca Bastan VICturbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 375 km/h(233 mph); range with 26passengers and reserves975 km (606 miles)Payload: 3270 kg (7209Ib);seats for up to 29 passengersCrew: 2Production: 77 (N 262) and33 (Fregate)

N2BB02

ALLEGHENY

DHC-6 Twin Otter, de Havilland CanadaFIRST FLIGHT 1965

T HE DHC-6 Twin Otter, constructed by the deHavilland Aircraft Company of Canada, was

first announced in 1964. It is a logical progressionfrom the company's other STOL (short take-offand landing) utility and light transport aircraft,starting with the 1947 DHC-2 Beaver and progres­sing with the DHC-3 Otter of 1951. De HavillandCanada's next two aircraft, the DHC-4 Caribouand DHC-5 Buffalo, are twin-engined STOL utili­ty transports intended mainly for military users,but with the DHC-6 Twin Otter the companymade a determined and highly successful attemptto capture a large portion of the twin-turbopropcommuter airliner market.

Design of the Twin Otter began in January 1964,and the aircraft has many points of similarity withthe Otter. The fuselage is based on that of theOtter, but lengthened and provided with new noseand tail sections. The wing is also based on that ofthe Otter, but is of greater span. In addition, aswith other STOL types produced by de HavillandCanada, the STOL performance is achieved by alarge wing of high aspect ratio, provided in the caseof the Twin Otter with double-slotted wide-spantrailing-edge flaps. Power is provided by a pair ofPratt & Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT6A turbo­props and the Twin Otter is fitted with a fixedtricycle undercarriage for the sake of simplicity andreduced cost, despite the small penalty that mustbe paid in terms of drag.

Construction of the first five Twin Otters beganin November 1964, and the initial aircraft took tothe air on May 20, 1965 powered by two 579-ehp

DHC-6 Series 300

Type: short-range STOLlight transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftofCanada LtdSpan: 19.81 m (65ft)Length: 15.77 m (51 ft 9 in)Height: 5.66m (18ft 7in)Wing area: 39 m2 (420 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5670 kg(12500 Ib); empty 3320 kg(73201b)Powerplant: two 652-ehpPratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-27 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 338 km/h(210mph) at3048m(10 000 ft); range wi th an1157-kg (2550-lb) payload1278 km (794 miles)Payload: 2005 kg (4420 lb);seats for up to 20 passengersCrew: I t02Production: minimum 700

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PT6A-6 turboprops. The next two aircraft had thesame powerplant, but subsequent machines hadthe PT6A-20, also of 579-ehp rating.

The first production model was the Series 100, ofwhich ll5 in all were built. US Federal AviationAdministration Type Approval of the Twin Otterwas secured in May 1966, and the first productionaircraft was delivered to the Ontario Departmentof Land and Forests in July 1966.

The first Twin Otter Series 200 was delivered inApril 1968, and total production of this model wasalso 115. The Series 200 aircraft was in nearly everyrespect similar to the Series 100, the one majordifference being the provision of a larger nose withincreased baggage stowage on the Series 200.

From the spring of 1969 the standard productionmodel became the Series 300, fitted with 652-ehpPT6A-27 turboprops enabling maximum take-offweight to be increased by about 454 kg (1000 Ib). Aswith the two earlier models, the Series 300 can beused on float and ski undercarriages. All float­equipped Twin Otters are fitted with the short nosecharacteristic of the Series 100 aircraft. Also anunusual feature of the Twin Otter is the provision forthe fitting of an optional freight pack in the ventralposition under the fuselage. This can carry a load upto 272 kg (600 Ib) in weight.

Although the Twin Otter was designed forrelatively spartan commuter services, the type'sgood STOL performance in 1973 persuaded theCanadian government to order six special models,designated Series 300S, to test the feasibility ofSTOL commuter services on an inter-city basis.

Passenger accommodation on the six Series 300Saircraft was for 11, all provided with full airlineseating, and the aircraft were modified to increasetheir safety in operations from small paved run­ways in urban areas.

These improvements include the provision ofupper-wing spoilers, high-capacity brakes,emergency brakes, an anti-skid braking system,improved protection in the event of an engine fire,other systems modifications, and the installation offull airline-standard avionics.

The six aircraft were used from July 24, 1974 byAirtransit Canada, a subsidiary of Air Canada, onthe route between Montreal and Ottawa, fullyvindicating the inter-city commuter concept forSTOL aircraft.

Left: A Twin Otter of theNorwegian airline Wideme'sFlyveselskapBelow left: A Twin Otter atthe Canadian National AirShow in 1973Below: Air Wisconsinoperated the DHC-6 in themid 1960s when they wereestablishedBottom: A DHC-6 of RioAirways at San Angelo,Texas, in May 1979

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L-IOO Hercules, LockheedFIRST FLIGHT 1964

T HE Lockheed-Georgia company's Hercules,designed in 1951 to a US Air Force tactical airlift

requirement, has enjoyed unparalleled success as amilitary freighter, more than 1500 having beendelivered by 1979. However, preliminary attempts tomarket a commercial version were unsuccessful.

On April 21, 1964, however, Lockheed flew thefirst example of a civil Hercules, designated Model382-44K-20 and derived from the military C-130E.This model received its US Federal AviationAdministration Type Approval on February 16,1965, with deliveries of the initial Model 382B andL-IOO aircraft beginning later in the year, notablyto Alaska Airlines, Continental Air Services andZambia Air Cargoes. These were supplemented in1966 and 1967 by Airlift International, DeltaAirlines, Interior Air Service, and Pacific WesternAirlines. Not one of the following model, the L-100­10, was built: this was a proposed variant with4500-shp Allison 501-D22A turboprops in place ofthe L-100's 4050-shp Allison 501-D22 engines.

The next model was thus the Model 382E, laterredesignated L-100-20. Lockheed-Georgia beganwork on this variant in 1967, stretching the fusel­age, with a view to producing a civil Hercules withbetter operating economics. The resulting Model382E is some 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in) longer than itspredecessor thanks to the insertion of plugs of1.52 m (5 ft) in the forward fuselage, and of 1.02 m(3 ft 4 in) in the aft fuselage. The powerplantcomprised four 4500-shp Allison 501-D22As, andthough maximum weight remained unaltered at70308kg (1550001b) the performance and capa-

bilities of the L-100-20 were considerably improvedwhen compared with those of the L-100.

The original Model 382 company demonstrationaircraft was converted to L-100-20 standard andfirst flew in its new form on April 19, 1968. WithFAA Type Approval being secured on October 4,1968, the L-IOO-20 was soon in service, and sosuccessful did the new type prove that many of theoriginal L-I00/Model 382B aircraft were modifiedto L-100-20 standard. Two basically similar Model382Fs were produced, the powerplant being four4050-shp Allison 501-D22s.

Next to appear was the Model 382G, or L-100­30, with yet another fuselage stretch, this time of2.03 m (6 ft 8 in). The origins of this sub-type liewith Saturn Airways, which had a requirement foran aircraft to carry the entire powerplant sets forthe Lockheed-California L-I0l1 TriStar airliner,consisting of three Rolls-Royce RB.211 turbofanengines, from England to California. Lockheed­Georgia took the opportunity presented by thedevelopment of this model to eliminate somepurely military features from the aircraft, theseincluding JATO Uet-assisted take-off - strictlyspeaking this should be rocket-assisted take-off)capability, paratroop doors and the rear cargowindows. The first L-100-30 flew on August 14,1970 and with FAA Type Approval following onOctober 7, Saturn was able to begin operatingL-100-30s in December 1970.

Lockheed-Georgia is currently seeking custom­ers for its proposed L-100-50, intended as a primefreighter in the resources-support field. The key to

nU"1I

Right: The interior of anIndonesian L-IOO-30. Therear eargo windows andparatroop doors areeliminated on this model, andthe seats can be removed tocarry freigh t

T

the L-IOO-50, which the company hope to launchin 1980, is a further stretch of the fuselage. Twoplugs (one forward of the wing measuring 6.1 m[20ft] and one aft of the wing measuring 4.57m[15ft]) would increase length by 1O.67m (35ft)overall. To improve the freight hold, Lockheed­Georgia propose to redesign the main undercar­riage units to eliminate the L-IOO-30's 'bulges'.

Among other L-IOO proposals, Lockheed­Georgia have suggested a corporate passenger­carrier, with palletized seating and other facilitiesfor 105 passengers, this accommodation beingloaded straight through the rear doors whenneeded. There is also the L-400 proposal: a cut­down L-IOO with a shorter wing and two 4591-shpAllison 501-D22D turboprops.

L-IOO-20L-IOO-30

Type: medium- and long­range transportMaker: Lockheed-GeorgiaCoSpan: 40.41 m (132ft 7in)Length: 34.37 m (112 ft 9 in)Height: 11.73 m (38 ft 6 in)Wing area: 162 m2

(1745sqft)Weight: maximum 70308 kg(155000 lb); empty 33 563 kg(73993Ib)Powerplant: four 4508-ehpAllison 501-D22A turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 581 km/h(361 mph) at 6096 km(20000 ft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 3363 km (2090 miles)Payload: 23 l37 kg(5l 007lb); seats for up to 105passengersCrew: 4 to 5Production: 65 ordered by1980

Far left: A Saturn AirwaysL-IOO-30, the first airline tooperate the type in December1970Above: A colourful AngolaAirlines L-lOO-30 in flight,with extended nose andslightly stretched body. TheHF rail aerial along the top ofthe fuselage was seldom fittedto other L-100 versionsLeft: The twin HerculesL-400 flying over StoneMountain, Atlanta.Lockheed-Georgia haveretained all the transportfeatures of the standardHercules, including the largecargo compartment

237

CarstedtJet LinerFIRST FLIGHT 1966

T HE basic soundness of the concept which ledde Havilland to produce its classic DH.l04

Dove and DH.114 Heron light transports isattested in a number of ways, but none of these ismore cogent than the variety of turboprop conver­sions made of the two types. Typical of Doveconversions is the Jet Liner 600 produced byCarstedt of Long Beach, California. The object ofthe exercise was to produce a low-cost turboproplight transport with seating for 18 passengers, anda high performance guaranteed by the installationof two relatively powerful turboprops, the chosentype being the 605-ehp Garrett-AiResearchTPE33l. The type of customer whom Carstedtsought to attract is indicated by the fact that noprovision was made for cabin heating, andadequate cooling was ensured by the provision ofan AiResearch refrigeration system.

Intended for third-level and commuter oper­ators, the Jet Liner 600 was first flown on De­cember 18, 1966 and soon showed its paces andadvantageous operating economics. Basic seatingfor 18 passengers was standard, the extra accom­modation compared with the Dove coming from aplug of 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in) inserted in the rearfuselage. At the same time, improved performancewas aided by lowering the height of the cockpit.This necessitated lowering the crew's seats andshifting forward the instrument panel by 20.3 cm(8in), to give the crew adequate headroom.

The two TPE331 engines were fitted in longnacelles, and drove constant-speed, fully featheringand reversible three-blade propellers of Hartzell

238

manufacture. To provide adequate range, theprototype Jet Liner 600 was fitted with additionalfuel tankage of850 litres (187 Imp gal) in the wingsoutboard of the engines. The feature was optionalon production Jet Liner 600s.

A similar conversion was undertaken by Chan­nel Airways at Southend, but the attempt wasgiven up before much work had been done. OtherAmerican efforts towards the modernization of theDove have not been notably successful, a typicalexample being the Riley Turbo Executive 400, withtwo 400-hp Lycoming piston engines.

Final marketing of the Jet Liner 600 was under­taken by the Texas Airplane Manufacturing Com­pany and the aircraft had uprated engines and wasdesignated CJ600.

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CJ600

Type: light transportMaker: Texas AirplaneManufacturing Co IncSpan: 17.37 m (57ft)Length: 14.17 m (46 ft 6 in)Height: 4.06 m (13 ft 4in)Wing area: 31.12 m2

(335 sq ft)Weight: maximum 4762 kg(10500 Ib); empty approx2721 kg (6000 lb)Powerplant: two 705-ehpGarrett-AiResearch TPE331­101E turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 463 km/h(288 mph) at 3048 m(10000 ft); range withmaximum payload 805 km(500 miles)Payload: seats for up to 18passengersCrew: 2Production: not available

Top: The CarstedtJet Linerin manufacturer's liveryLeft: AJet Liner at LoveField, Dallas,Texas inSeptember 1972. The aircraftis intended for third-levelcommuter operators, and cancarry 18 passengers

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ST-27, SaundersFIRST FLIGHT 1969

Top: An ST-27 in SaundersAircraft Corporation coloursLeft: The ST-27 wasjudgedideal for firms like Tropic Airwhich operates an inter-islandservice in Barbados

Type: short-range lighttransportMaker: Saunders AircraftCorporation LtdSpan; 21.79 m (71 ft 6 in)Length: 17.98m (59ft)Height: 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in)Wing area: 46.36 m2

(499 sq ft)Weight: maximum 6124 kg(13500 Ib); empty 3175 kg(7000Ib)Powerplant: two 715-ehpUnited Aircraft ofCanadaPT6A-27 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 370 km/h(230 mph); maximum range1315km (817 miles)Payload: 435 kg (960 Ib)baggage; seats for up to 23passengersCrew: 2Production: 13

ST·27

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new aircraft from scratch, which also allowed thestructure and systems to be revised to meetupdated requirements. At the same time the verti­cal tail surfaces were redesigned, the interiormodified, more powerful engines fitted, and fueltankage increased. The ST-27B was redesignatedST-28 on February 1, 1975, and some seven of thetype had been ordered by the end of the month.

Saunders initiated the production of a first batchof 15 ST-28s, but early in 1976 the company wasforced into liquidation by the withdrawal of finan­cial support by the provincial government ofManitoba, just after the sale ST-28 had taken tothe air on December 12, 1974. At the time of thisflight, the company had secured orders for 34 ST­28s, which indicated that it had a useful future.

T HE Saunders Aircraft Corporation was formedin 1968, with the specific intention of manufac­

turing turboprop conversions of the successful deHavilland DH.114 Heron. Powered by four ratherthan two piston engines, the Heron was designedfor economical operations over short- and medium­range routes, using the most primitive of airfields.However the DH.114 Series I had a fixed under­carriage, whereas the definitive Series 2 had asimple retractable undercarriage.

Saunders rightly appreciated that the HeronSeries 2's capabilities and field performance wereadmirably suited for the requirements of smalloperators, and that performance could be broughtup to a higher level by the installation of twoturboprop engines in place of the four 250-hp deHavilland Gipsy Queen 30 piston engines. Theengine selected was the 715-ehp Pratt & WhitneyAircraft of Canada PT6A-27, and the first suchconversion flew on May 18, 1969. Apart from ameasure of structural strengthening and modifica­tion associated with the new powerplant, the mostnotable difference between the Heron and the ST­27, as the new type was designated, was thelengthening of the fuselage from 14.78 m (48 ft 6 in)to l7.93m (58ft Win) to increase seating from 17to 23. In all, 13 ST-27 conversions were producedbefore a shortage of Herons suitable for conversionled Saunders to explore a new type design.

This was the ST-27B, pioneered in fact by thethirteenth ST-27 under the designation ST-27A.This aircraft first flew on July 18, 1974 and itssuccess fully vindicated the concept of building the

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239

Metro, SwearingenFIRST FLIGHT 1970

T HE Metro pressurized third-level airliner wasdesigned by EJ Swearingen before the absorp­

tion of his company, Swearingen Aviation Corpo­ration, by Fairchild Industries in 1971.

Planned for third-level commuter airlines, theMetro has basic seating for 20 in single seats oneach side of the central aisle, and all the comforts ofa full-size airliner. With considerable foresight andingenuity, however, Swearingen also made thebasic design capable of accepting alternativeinteriors suiting the aircraft to executive use, as aflying ambulance, as a flying hospital, as a photo­graphic-survey aircraft, and as a cargo aircraft.

The Metro first flew on June 11, 1970, and afterreceiving its US Federal Aviation AdministrationType Approval, entered service in the first part of1971. The type found ready acceptance, and theorder book grew satisfactorily. Matters werefurther improved in 1974 with the introduction ofthe Metro II. This introduced a number ofimprovements to the flight deck and aircraft sys­tems, larger windows, and provision for a JATO(jet-assisted take-off) unit. This last is most un­usual in civil aircraft, and consists of an optional159-kg (350-lb) st rocket in the tail to improve theMetro II's performance in 'hot and high' condi­tions. For the same purpose there is also provisionfor water/alcohol injection to the Garrett­AiResearch turboprops.

Separated from the passenger cabin by anoptional bulkhead is a freight compartment. This ispressurized, and has a volume of 3.85 m 3

(136 cu ft). Loading is effected through a large door

in the left side of the rear fuselage. The Metro isalso offered in an all-freight configuration withoutwindows. The elimination of passenger seating andfacilities allows the payload to be increasedslightly, from 1778 kg (3920 Ib) to 2064 kg(4550 Ib). Baggage is carried, in the passengerversion, in an unpressurized compartment in thenose, and this has a volume of 1.27 m3 (45 cu ft).

The main variant of the Metro is the Merlin IV,the Merlin IVA being similarly derived from theMetro II. These aircraft have no link with earlierMerlin models, except for the fact that they areintended as executive transports. The Merlin IVand IVA are at first glance externally similar totheir 'parent' aircraft, with the exception of areduced number of fuselage windows reflecting

Above: A Swearingen Metro,a popular commuter aircraftin the USA, taxies off themain landing stri p of a USdomestic airport

the smaller passenger capacity of the Merlins.Designed as comfortable transports for corporate

officers, the Merlin IV and IVA have seating for 12to 15 passengers, together with a lavatory andincreased bagga~e stowage. This latter has avolume of 4.05 m (143 cu ft). Another difference isthat the fuel capacity of the Merlin IV and IVA isreduced from the 2452 1itres (539 Imp gal) of theMetro II to 2096 litres (461 Imp gal). The MerlinIVA cruises at a speed some 26km/h (16mph)faster than that of the Metro II, and also at analtitude of 4877m (16000ft) rather than 3048m(10 000 ft). The reduction in fuel capacity isreflected in the Merlin IVA's ferry range of3371 km (2095 miles) compared with the MetroII's 3952 km (2456 miles).

The pressurization and full airline-standardinstrumentation of the Metro II prepares theaircraft well for its other intended missions. In theair ambulance role the aircraft can carry up to 10litter patients, while in the flying hospital role theaircraft can be fitted out as an emergency operatingtheatre. For aerial survey work the Metro II canaccommodate one or two cameras.

It is the type's ease of conversion to these otherroles which has made it popular with the armedforces of smaller countries such as the Royal OmanPolice Air Wing, which has two, and the ChileanPolice Department, which has four. Other majorusers are Air Wisconsin and Southern Airways, theformer with 12 aircraft and the latter with eight. By1980 Metros were in worldwide use.

Left: A Metro ofAirWisconsin Inc at PurdueUniversity Airport. AirWisconsin operates 13 Metrosand connects with townsaround Chicago andMinneapolis/St Paul

SA-226TC Metro II

Type: short-range transportMaker: Swearingen AviationCorporation, FairchildIndustriesSpan: 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in)Length: 18.1 m (59ft4%in)Height: 5.12 m (16 ft 9%in)Wing area: 25.78 m2

(278 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5670 kg(12500 Ib); empty 3379 kg(7450Ib)Powerplant: two 940-shpGarrett-AiResearch TPE331­3UW-303G turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 473 km/h(294 mph) at 3048 m(10000ft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 346 km (215 miles)Payload: 1778 kg (3920 Ib);seats for up to 20 passengersCrew: 2Production: minimum 86 byJanuary 1979

Swearingen Metro III Radome2 ''''eather radar scanner3 Oxygen bottle4 Radio and electronics equipment5 Nosewhcel door6 Baggage restraint net7 Baggage doors, forward opening8 Fuselage nose construction9 Nose baggage hold

10 Landing and taxi lampII Nosewheelleg12 Twin nosewheels13 Torque scissors14 Pitot tube15 Cockpit pressure bulkhead16 '·Vindscreen panels17 Instrument panel shroud18 Curved centre panel19 Windscreen wipers20 Rudder pedals21 Cancrol column22 Co-pilot's seat23 Cockpit roofconstruction24 Cockpit bulkhead25 Electrical panels26 Pilot's seat27 Pilm's side control panel28 Passenger door29 Airslairs30 Handrails31 Entry doorway32 Cabin centre aisle floor33 Air conditioning duct louvre34 Forward fuselage frame

construction35 Right engine cowlings36 Engine intake37 Hanzell three-blade constant­

speed reversing and featheringpropeller

38 Propeller de-icing boot39 Leading edge de-icing40 Right wing fuel tank41 Right navigatiohlight42 Fuel filler tank43 Right aileron44 Static dischargers45 Right flap46 Tailpipe exhaust duct47 Fuselage frames48 Cabin interior trim panels

49 Passenger seats50 \·Vindow side panel51 Cabin floor construction52 Sea trails53 Air trunking54 Cabin windows55 Right emergency escape hatches56 Main fu::.e1age frames57 Centre box construction58 Left emergency escape hatch59 Right seating, ten passengers60 Left seating, nine passengers61 Cabin rear bulkhead62 Toilet compartment door63 Toilet64 Rear cargo door65 Door actuator66 Rear cargo and baggage

compartment67 Fuselage frame and stringer

compartment68 Fin TOO( fillet69 Tailplane electric trim jacks70 Right tail plane71 Leading edge de-icing72 Elevator horn balance73 Right elevator74 Static dischargers75 Fin construction76 Rudder balance77 Anlenna78 Anli-collision light79 Rudder trim tab80 Trim tab control jack81 Rudder construction82 Elevator hinge control83 Left elevator84 Static dischargers85 Tailplane construction86 Tail navigation light87 Ventral fin88 Rudder hinge control89 Tailplane conlrol cables90 Fin attachment frame91 Cargo hold rear bulkhead92 Baggage/cargo hold floor93 Rearfuselage frames94 Seat fixing rails95 Trailing edge root fillet96 Len flap97 Fuel pumps98 Wing main spar99 Wing spar attachment

100 Air conditioning plant10 I Engine cowling construction102 Tailpipe103 Engine exhaust duct104 Double slotted flap construction105 Static dischargers106 Aileron trim tab107 Trim tab hinge control108 Left aileron109 Aileron hinge control110 Left wing-tipIII Left navigation light112 fuel tank filler cap113 Wing rib construction114 Leading edge de-icing115 Left wing fuel tank116 Main undercarriage leg117 Twin mainwheels118 Retractable strut119 Mainwheel door120 Leading edge ice inspection light121 Main undercarriage wheel bay

. 122 Hydraulic system reservoir123 Engine oil tank124 Engine bearers125 Detachable engine cowlings126 Garrett AiResearch TPE 331-

3UW·303G turboprop127 Oil cooler128 Oil-cooler intake129 Propeller gearbox130 Engine intake131 Propeller reversing and feathering

hub mechanism132 Spinner133 Hartzell three·blade propeller134 Propeller blade de-icing boms

241

Shorts 330FIRST FLIGHT 1974

T HE Shorts 330 is essentially a refined andenlarged version of the Skyvan utility trans­

port, intended mainly for third-level and commuteroperators requiring a slightly larger and higher­powered aircraft to replace the first-generation ofsuch aircraft. Developed as the SD3-30, the 330uses outer-wing panels based on those of theSkyvan, and a fuselage with the same rectangularsection as that of the Skyvan, but lengthened bysome 3.78m (12ft Sin).

The basic accommodation is for 30 passengersseated three-abreast (2+ 1) with an offset aisle. Theseats are mounted on rails, however, for the easyconversion of the type to other seating configura­tions. Maximum use is made of the rectangular­section of the fuselage for the carriage of baggageand freight.

The 330 can also be used for mixed freight/pas­senger operations, with a bulkhead separating therear passenger cabin for about 18 people from theforward freight compartment.

The mainwheel units retract neatly into spon­sons projecting from the fuselage sides and formingthe lower attachment points for the wing bracingstruts. The wheels are carried on short pivotedlevers rather than legs, and this keeps the fuselageof the 330 close to the ground, thus facilitatingloading and unloading.

A natural evolution from the dumpier Skyvan,the 330 was an immediately attractive prospect.One of the major design objectives was to producequickly an aircraft with a selling price of le;s thanUS $1 million, and this was made feasible by theuse of Skyvan components.

The first prototype, powered by Pratt & Whit­ney Aircraft of Canada PT6A-45 turboprops, flewon August 22, 1974, with the second prototypefollowing on July 8,1975. American orders for the330 had started to come in some eight days beforethe first prototype flew.

The first production aircraft flew on December15, 1975 and was delivered to Time Air of Canada.Time Air flew the first 330 service on August 24,1976.

Since then the growth of orders has been satis­factory, and should eventually reach 300. Shortshave also planned the military SD3-M versionseating 32 troops and a multi-sensor maritimepatrol variant, the SD3-MR Seeker which lookssuperior to most of its competitors.

<F =

Shorts 330

Type: short- and medium­range transportMaker: Short Brothers LtdSpan: 22.76 m (74ft 8 in)Length: 17.69 m (58 ft 0'/2 in)Height: 4.95 m (16 ft 3 in)Wing area: 42.1 m2 (453 sq fl}Weight: maximum 10161 kg~2 400 lb}; empty 6536 kgLl'\41OIb)Powerplilflt: two 1156-shpPratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-45AturbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 365 km/h(227 mph) at 3048 m(10 000 fl); range withmaximum payload 804 km(506 miles)Payload: 3402 kg (7500 Ib);seats for up to 30 passengersCrew: 3Production: 58 orders byMarch 1980

Below: N-33! GW Shorts 330(formerly G-BEWT), ofGolden West Airlines atOrange County Airport,CaliforniaBottom: A Shorts 330 ofTimeAir, a Canadian internalairline operating fromLethbridge, Alberta

242

jetstream, British AerospaceFIRST FLIGHT 1967

THE design of the BAeJetstream started life asthe Handley Page HP.137, was taken over by

Jetstream Aircraft on the failure of Handley Page,was then bought by Scottish Aviation, and is nowthe responsibility of the British Aerospace AircraftGroup, Scottish Division.

The decision was made in August 1965 todevelop the type for initial single-pilot operationwith a maximum take-off weight of up to 5670 kg(12500 lb), full pressurization, 1.83-m (6-ft) cabinheight, a long fatigue life, and provision for thetype to be used as a 20-seat commuter aircraft or asan eight-seat executive aircraft.

Considerable interest in the project was immedi­ately shown in the United States, Riley Aeronau­tics Corporation ordering 20 Jetstreams 'off thedrawing board' - even before the decision wasmade in January 1966 to press ahead with theconstruction of four prototypes with companyfunding. Soon after this, the government alsodecided to invest in the project in the form of aloan. Continued American interest is attested bythe conversion of Riley Aeronautics into the RileyJetstream Corporation, and its subsequent take­over by the International Jetstream Corporation,which had by September 1965 receivea 65 ordersfor the as yet unflown aircraft.

The key to the Jetstream's design was an ex­treme refinement of conventional design, based ona well streamlined fuselage of considerable diame­ter, straight wings and tailplane, and a swept finand rudder. One of the main reasons for theselection of the Turbomeca Astazou XIV as the

Jetstream Series 200

Type: short- and medium­range light transportMaker: British AerospaceAircraft Group, ScottishDivisionSpan: 15.85m (52ft)Length: 14.37m (47ft IV2in)Height: 5.32 m (17 ft 5'/2 in)Wing area: 25.08m2

(270 sq ft)Weight: maximum 5700kg(12 566Ib); empty 3485 kg(7683Ib)Powerplant: two 996-ehpTurbomeca Astazou XVIC2turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 454 km/h(282 mph) at 3048 m(10 000 ft); range withreserves 2244 km (1380 miles)Payload: 1730kg (3814Ib);seats for up to 16 passengersCrew: 2Production: 36

Below: A Handley PageJetstream ofApollo Airways,which provides a commuterlink for towns in California

243

Far left: A typical instrumentand control layout for theJ etstream Series 200Left: AJetstream under waterin a fatigue test tank atPrestwick in Ayrshire,ScotlandBelow: Jetstream productionat PrestwickRight: TheJetstream inservice with Ca.l-State AirLines

basic powerplant was its small diameter, whichconfirmed with Handley Page's strenuous efforts toreduce drag to a minimum.

The first prototype flew on August 18, 1967, bywhich time production of the J etstream Mk I hadalready started. Although the remaining threeprototypes first called for were also engined withAstazou turboprops, the American preference fortheir own engines was reflected in the provision ofGarrett-AiResearch TPE331 turboprops on a fifthprototype.

The TPE331s were largely the result of stronginterest in the type shown by the US military.Although the Beechcraft 99 had at first beenselected as the US Air Force's new 'missionsupport' transport, the Secretary of Defense over­ruled the USAF and called for an initial batch of IIJetstreams for trials under the company designa­tion Jetstream 3M. In October 1969 the USAFcancelled their order on the grounds of late deliv­ery, thus placing the whole Jetstream Mk 3 pro­gramme for military and civilian users in jeopardy.

Meanwhile the first production Jetstream Mk 1had flown on December 6, 1968, and was soonferried to the United States, where Federal Avia­tion Administration Type Approval was secured inApril 1969. Demand for the new aircraft was briskin the United States, but Handley Page's severefinancial problems were badly hampering pro­duction, and only 38 aircraft had been delivered bythe time of the company's collapse in 1970.Another ten Jetstreams were subsequently builtfrom components already produced, five by Jet­stream Aircraft and five by Scottish Aviation.

Scottish Aviation also took up development ofthe Astazou XVI-powered Jetstream Mk 2 (Series200),26 of which were produced for the Royal AirForce as Jetstream T.I, some of them subsequentlybecoming Royal Navy T.2s.

Current hopes for a renaissance of the J etstreamin production rest with the Mk 31, proposed by theScottish Division during 1978 with a pair ofGarrett-AiResearch TPE331-10 turboprops flat­rated to 840 shp each. The Astazous have beenunpopular in the United States (one Jetstream hasbeen re-engined with PT6A-34s by Riley, whileCentury Aircraft and Volpar have produced theCentury Jetstream III with TPE331-3U-303s), sothe proposal clearly has merit for this otherwisefirst-rate aircraft.

244

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Be-30, BerievFIRST FLIGHT 1967

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T HE Beriev Be-3D feederliner has the distinc­tion of being the only landplane known to have

been produced by the Beriev design bureau, whichhas since 1932 concentrated on the development offlying boats. Design of the Be-3D began in 1965 inresponse to an Aeroflot requirement for a replace­ment for the Antonov An-2, Ilyushin 11-14 andLisunov Li-2 as a feederliner able to operate fromthe most primitive airfields over routes up to300 km (186 miles) in length. The primitive-fieldrequirement is clearly recognized in the Be-30'sadoption of a high-wing layout to keep the enginesand propellers clear of runway debris, though thisentailed the provision of main undercarriage legs ofconsiderable 'stalkiness'.

The first Be-3D prototype flew on March 3, 1967on the power of a pair of 740-hp Shvetsov ASh-21radial piston engines. It seems that at this stage theRussians were contemplating the installation onproduction Be-30s of 922-shp Turbomeca AstazouXIV turboprops. This scheme came to nothing,however, and while an experimental installation ofa pair of turboprops appears to have been made in1967, th,e Russians maintain that a turboprop­powered Be-3D did not take to the air until July 14,1968.

The powerplant in this instance was a pair of950-ehp Glushenkov TVD-IO turboprops in slimnacelles projecting to the rear of the trailing edge toprovide a housing for the long legs of the rearward­retracting main undercarriage legs. To facilitateoperations from rough fields, the tyres fitted wereof the low-pressure type.

246

Above, left and right: A Be-30during a visit to the West.Though the aircraft is inAeroflot markings, it was notadopted for service with theSoviet national airline.Aeroflot had issued aspecification for a short-haullocal-service machine, butafter evaluation of the Be-30in the late 1960s, they madethe interesting choice of theCzechoslovakian Let 410Below left: The Be-30 had awide undercarriage whichgave good stability for landingon rough airstrips. However,due to the high wingconfiguration the main gearwas housed in pods aft of th'eengines

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An unusual feature of this STOL (short take-offand landing) type was the mechanical linkage ofthe two engines by means of a drive shaft throughthe wings. This provided for both propellers to bedriven from one engine in the event of the otherengine failing. Such a feature was thought desir­able for the type of operations to be undertaken bythe Be-3D, extra low-speed handling and lift capac­ity being provided by the double-slotted aileronsand flaps.

Intended for limited services only, the Be-3D wasdesigned for single-crew operation. This meantthat an extra passenger could sit in the cockpitalongside the pilot, raising passenger capacity inthe standard layout to 15. The other 14 passengerssat in the unpressurized main cabin in single seats

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Be-30

Type: short- and medium­range STOL transportMaker: Beriev Design BureauSpan: 17 m (55 ft 9lf2 in)Length: 15.7m(5Ift6in)Height: not availableWing area: 32 m2 (344lf2Sq ft)Weight: maximum 5860 kg(12 919Ib); empty notavailablePowerplant: two 950-ehpGlushenkov TVD-IOturbopropsPerformance: cruising speedup to 480km/h (298 mph);range with 1250-kg (2756-lb)payload and reserves 600 km(373 miles)Payload: 1500 kg (33071b);seats for up to 15 passengersCrew: IProduction: not available

located on each side of the central aisle. To the rear Iof the passenger cabin were the lavatory andbaggage compartment, the latter having a volume

of 1.6 m3

(57 cu ft). ~~~T~g~~~~g~T~==An additional quantity of baggage can be stowed -

in a compartment between the cockpit and passen-ger cabin. The payload of the Be-30 was sup­plemented by a main compartment in the nose ofthe aircraft. Entry and exit from the aircraft wereeffected by means of an inbuilt folding airstair. TheBe-30 was also to have been offered in a high­density configuration with seating for 20 passen­gers in the main cabin at the expense of baggage.

Figures released by Aviaexport, the Russianaircraft export agency, revealed the Be-30 ashaving impressively low operating costs over astage length of 600 km (373 miles) with a payloadof 1285kg (28331b), but the type was not seen inthe West after its appearance at the Paris air showof 1969. Any further mention of the aircraft in theRussian media ended in 1971. It is now clear,however, that despite earlier assessments that theBe-30 had been abandoned because of develop­ment problems, the real reason for the type'sfailure to enter production is different.

The Be-30 was evaluated against a Czech com­petitor, the Let L-410 Turbolet, and rejected infavour of the Czech aircraft. This led to thetermination of the Be-30 programme, which hadalso envisaged other versions of the aircraft: as anexecutive aircraft, an aerial survey aircraft and anambulance aircraft with accommodation' for ninelitters, six sitting casualties and an attendant.

247

Turbo-Islander, Britten-NormanFIRST FLIGHT 1977

T HE Britten-Norman Turbo-Islander, essen­tially a turboprop-powered derivative of the

best-selling Islander utility transport and feeder­liner, was announced by the manufacturer onOctober 29, 1975. The substitution of two 400-shpfurboprops for the Islander's 260- or 300-hpLycoming piston engines can be achieved withminimal structural alteration, which increases per­formance and payload without a commensurateincrease in specific fuel consumption.

Design of the Turbo-Islander began in August1975, the engine envisaged being the 600-shp AvcoLycoming LTPlOI, flat-rated to 400 shp. To caterfor the increased power of this unit the wings havebeen strengthened structurally, as has the fuselage.The maximum take-off weight of the Turbo­Islander being 318kg (700Ib) greater than that ofthe standard Islander, the undercarriage has alsobeen beefed up. The fuselage is basically that of theIslander provided with the optional nose extensionof 1.15m (3ft 9'14in) for baggage stowage.

The Turbo-Islander can be fitted with either ofthe wings developed for the Islander: the BN-2B-40set with a span of 14.94m (49ft), or the BN-2B-4lset with the extended-tip span of 16.15 m (53 ft).These sharply raked-back tip extensions houseadditional fuel (111.5litres [24'12 Imp gal] in each),providing the Turbo-Islander with a maximumfuel weight of 849 kg (1872lb). As with the Islan­der, the Turbo-Islander can also carry additionalfuel t':mks on pylons under the wings, each of the

. two tanks carrying 227 litres (50 Imp gal).The first Turbo-Islander, with BN-2A-41 wings

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from an initial production Islander (rather thanfrom the later Islander II which forms the basis ofthe Turbo Islander), flew on April 6, 1977. Thebasic Islander was placed in production in 1966and by 1974 had become the most successfulBritish multi-engined airliner, orders exceeding thefigure of 540 achieved by the de Havilland Dove.This is all the more impressive when it is remem­bered that the Islander was designed and producedby a small company. Britten-Norman designed theIslander to meet the requirements ofCameroon AirTransport, in which it had a 25% holding, for atwin-engined short-range airliner able to seat atleast six passengers, with good take-off perform­ance and minimal maintenance requirements.

The BN-2 Islander first flew on June 13, 1965,

Top left: F-OCRG, one offour Islanders in service withthe New Hebrides-based firmofAir Melanesiae at PortVilla in July 1977Above left: An Islander ofMunz Northern Airlines ofAlaska, which was previouslyregistered G-BDZLAbove: A pre-delivery flightfor a Trislander for Inter­Island Airways of theSeychelles

Left: A Pilatus Britten­Norman Turbo-Islander overSouthampton water

and in this prototype form was powered by two21O-hp Rolls-Royce Continental 10-360 pistonengines. Performance was adequate but the desig­ners felt that more power and increased wing areawould be beneficial, and so the prototype wasrevised with 260-hp Lycoming 0-540-E inlines andspan increased from I3.12m (45ft) to 14.94m(49 ft). The first production Islander flew on April24, 1967, and deliveries began on August 13, 1967to Gios-Air following the receipt of British certifica­tion on August 10. Type approval by the USFederal Aviation Administration followed on De­cember 19, 1967.

The standard aircraft has proved highly success­ful and Britten-Norman has developed other vari­ants to meet specific requirements: longer rangesmade possible by the use of extra tanks in extendedspan wings of 16.I5m (53ft); better hot and highperformances bestowed by the installation of 300­hp Lycoming IO-540-KIB5 engines; other per­formance benefits are available with the use ofsupercharged TIO-540-K engines or standard en­gines fitted with Riley-Rajay superchargers; andextra capabilities can be bestowed by crop spray­ing and dusting equipment, a water-bombing in­stallation, float or ski undercarriages, and anumber of other detailed improvements.

The Trislander, evolved in 1968, is basically anIslander with a stretched fuselage capable ofaccommodating 17 passengers, and a third 260-hpLycoming 0-540-E4C5 engine mounted in abullet, in a cell, half-way up the fin to ensureadequate performance at increased weight.

BN-2A

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BN-2B-40 Turbo-Islander

Type: short-range transportMaker: Pilatus Britten­Norman (Bembridge) LtdSpan: 14.94 m (49 ft)Length: 12.02m (39 ft 51/4 in)Height: 4.18 m (13 ft 83/4 in)Wing area: 30.19m2

(325 sq ft)Weight: maximum 3311 kg(7300 lb); empty not availablePowerplant: two 600-shp(flat-rated to 400-shp)Lycoming LTP 10 IturbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 354 km/h(220 mph) at 3048 m(10 000 ft); range withmaximum fuel and reserves1260km (783 miles)Payload: seats for up to 9passengersCrew: IProduction: still underdevelopment

249

L-410, LetFIRST FLIGHT 1969

T HE L-410 Turbolet produced by the LetNarodni Podnik (Let National Corporation) is

an interesting Czech competitor in the worldmarket for a twin-turboprop third-level and com­muter airliner, and is the first major type to bedesigned by the company. In common with most ofits contemporary equivalents, the L-410 is a high­wing design, and it is capable of mixed freight/pas­senger operations.

The L-410 was from the beginning planned witha view to the same basic airframe being suitable forpassenger, freight, aerial survey, flying ambulance,training and executive operations. Serious designwork began in 1966 on the basic passenger versionwith seating for between 15 and 19 three-abreast(2+ 1) with the aisle offset to the left. At the sametime the Motorlet company began full-scale de­velopment of the chosen engine, the Walter M 601turboprop, rated at 740 ehp.

Essential features of the L-410 include a some­what dumpy fuselage, a high-set straight wing withan aspect ratio of 9.3: 1, a straight tailplane, aslightly swept fin and rudder assembly, and aretractable tricycle undercarriage. The main unitsof the'undercarriage fold in to large blisters on eachside of the fuselage, thus keeping the fuselage asclose to the ground as possible. This means thatloading and unloading the L-410 is very simple(the door sills are only 0.8 m [2 ft 71/2 in] from theground). The seats can be stripped out of theaircraft quickly, and as the fuselage floor is attruck-bed height, freight transfer is singularly easy.

Provision was also made for the use of the L-410

for paratrooping, by the removal of both halves ofthe door in the left side of the rear fuselage; for deluxe transport, with individual seating for 12passengers; for executive use with eight individualseats and four desks; and for flying ambulancework with provision for an attendant, five seatedcasualties and six litters. There are baggage com­partments, in the nose and behind the passengercabin, and a lavatory is standard.

Design and construction proceeded smoothly,but somewhat in advance of engine development.This meant that when the first prototype flew onApril 16, 1969, it was powered by a pair of71 5-ehpPratt. & Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT6A-27turboprops. Despite the slightly lower power of thePT6A-27s compared with the M 601s planned, the

Above: A Let L-4! OAF (aerialphotography and surveyversion). This example wasthe only one built of this sub­type, and was exported toHungary in 1974. The nosecompartment was larger,wider and more extensivelyglazed than that of the L­410A passenger versionBelow: An L-410 ofSlov-Air;the first aircraft was deliveredin 1971. During trials itproved superior to the SovietBeriev Be-3D

250

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performance and handling of the four prototypeswas more than adequate, the only problem beingwith airframe vibration and cabin noise, cured bythe installation of Hartzell propellers.

Production of the L-41OA, as the initial pro­duction model was designated, began in 1970 andthe first aircraft was delivered to Slov-Air during1971. Scheduled services began towards the end ofthe year. It was this model, which had slightincreases in wing span and overall length com­pared with the prototypes, that proved superior tothe Beriev Be-30 in comparative evaluation of thetwo types.

The next model was the L-410AF aerial-surveyaircraft. This is derived from the L-41OA, but has alarger, glazed nose for the navigator, two camerasin the lower fuselage, and a darkroom in theprevious passenger accommodation. The nosemodification, it should be noted, prevents thenosewheel from being retracted.

The M 601 turboprop finally made its appear­ance in the form of the 730-ehp M 60lA on the L­41OM. This model has seating for 17 passengers,and was first flown in 1973. Whereas the L-4l0Awith Canadian engines is intended principally forthe western market, the M 6lOA-engined L-41OMis designed for the simpler needs of the Communistbloc airlines operating the type since 1976.

The latest version, whose designation is not yetknown, is a stretched model currently under de­velopment. This has a fuselage some 0.6 m (1 ft11 % in) longer than the L-41OA and L-41OM,presumably to accommodate an extra row of seats.

L-41OA Turbolet

Type: short-range lighttransportMaker: Let Narodni PodnikSpan: 17.48m (57 ft 41/4 in)Length: 13.61 m (44ft 7%in)Height: 5.65 m (18 ft 61/2 in)Wing area: 32.86 m2

(353% sq ft)Weight: maximum 5700 kg(12 566Ib); empty 3400 kg(74951b)Powerplant: two 715-ehpPratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-27 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 370 km/h(230 mph) at 3000 m (9842 ft);range with maximum payload300km (186 miles)Payload: 1850kg (4708Ib);seats for up to 19 passengersCrew: I to 2Production: minimum 95

251

DHC-7 Dash 7, deHavilland CanadaFIRST FLIGHT 1975

T HE DHC-7 Dash 7 is perhaps one of the mostimportant airliners developed in recent years,

whose full impact on short-haul air transport willonly become clear when the operating and 'en­vironmental' aspects of its career are assessed infuture years. The Dash 7 is the largest of theaircraft yet developed by de Havilland Canada,but is essentially the latest reflection of the com­pany's continuing concern with STOL (short take­off and landing) aircraft.

The Dash 7 originated in 1972 after the manu­facturer had examined carefully the marketrequirements for such an aircraft. What wasneeded, de Havilland Canada concluded, was anaircraft capable of offering 50 passengers all thecomforts of 'full-size' airliners, yet able to operatefrom runways only 610 m (2000 ft) long in built-upurban areas where the aircraft's noise signatureshould be less than 95 EPNdBs (effective perceivednoise decibels) 152m (500ft) from take-off orlanding. In short, the Dash 7 was to offer airlinecomfort with highly competitive operating econ­omics and 'quiet STOL' performance.

The building of two prototypes began in 1972with funding supplied by the government ofCanada. The key to the design was a high-wing, T­tail configuration powered by four 1120-shp Pratt& Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT6A-50 turbo­props driving five-blade propellers, and fitted witha number of high-lift devices. The engine, derivedfrom the PT6A-41 and designed with quietness inmind, is fitted with a special reduction gear toallow the use of a slow-turning five-blade propeller.

As usual with DHC aircraft, the high-lift fea­tures are aerodynamic, consisting of double-slottedflaps over some 80% of the trailing edges. Alsoprovided on each wing are two inboard lift dum­pers/ground spoilers and two outboard air spoil­ers, the latter being capable of symmetrical ordifferential action. The flap system is made themore effective for being located in the slipstream ofthe four large-diameter propellers.

The first prototype flew on March 27, 1975, thesecond joining it on June 26 of the same year.There followed a period of intensive trials to assessthe performance of the aircraft in differing air andground regimes. In general performance in allrespects was found to be first class, noise levelsbeing below those laid down, and field perform-

Above: A Greenlandair Dash7 on the apron at Reykjavikairport. In 1980 the twoexamples operated by thisairline were being used onArctic communicationsBelow: The first prototypeDHC-7 demonstrating theSTOL (short take-off andlanding) characteristic whichis a feature of this aircraft

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ance only slightly worse than hoped for (take-offrun is 686 m [2250 ft] at sea level.

This convinced the Canadian government,which had bought de Havilland Canada in June1974, to authorize the production of an initialbatch of 50 Dash 7s, starting in 1976. The first suchaircraft flew on May 30, 1977, and joined the twoprototypes in the programme leading to Canadiancertification on May 2, 1977. The problem nowfacing the manufacturer was that of sales, foralthough the type had quickly attracted interest,firm orders had been few. The first aircraft to enterservice was the second production machine, whichwas delivered to Rocky Mountain Airways early in1978 and entered service on February 3, 1978.During that year production ran at only oneaircraft per month.

During 1979 the position altered radically infavour of the Dash 7, the aircraft's excellentoperating record having convinced many sceptics.Production has been increased to three aircraft permonth, and the factory is being expanded to makepossible the production offour aircraft per month.Most importantly, the type has now been orderedby five US operators; deregulation in the USA hasallowed many small operators to consider largeraircraft, and here the Dash 7 is a front runner.

Future developments may include a Dash 7Series 200 with the uprated PT6A-55, and a Dash 7Series 300 with a fuselage stretch to accommodate60 passengers. Two variants in production are theDHC-7 Dash 7C freight model, and the DHC-7RRanger maritime-reconnaissance model.

DHC-7Dash7

Type: short- and medium­range STOL transportMaker: de Havilland AircraftofCanada LtdSpan: 28.35 m (93 ft)Length: 24.58m (80ft 7%in)Height: 7.98 m (26 ft 2 in)Wing area: 79.9 m2 (860 sq ft)Weight: maximum 19731 kg(43500 Ib); empty 12 178 kg(26850Ib)Powerplant: four 1120-shpPratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-50 turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 426 km/h(265 mph) at4572m(15 OOOft); range withmaximum payload andreserves 1303 km (810 miles)Payload: 5511 kg (12 150 Ib);seats for up to 50 passengersCrew: 3 to4Production: 20 orders, 20options by 1980

AR 404, AhrensFIRST FLIGHT 1976

T HE Ahrens AR 404 is conceived as a low-costDC-3 replacement: a simple, sturdy utility

aircraft capable of undertaking a number of func­tions with only minimal alterations. To this end theaircraft has been planned on the modular princi­ple, with items such as engines replaceable in only20 min. To simplify design, construction andmaintenance, as well as the loading of pallets andcontainers, a square-section fuselage has beenadopted. To the front of this is attached the cockpitsection together with the nose, while to the rear isfixed the tail section carrying the empennage andloading door.

The parallel-cord wing with its underslungengine pods, is a single structure attached to theupper surface of the fuselage to avoid encroach­ment into the payload volume. The retractabletricycle undercarriage has short legs to keep thefuselage close to the ground and the main unitsretract in sponsons on the lower fuselage sides.

Design of this interesting 'minimum aircraft'began in January 1975, construction of the proto­type, which had a fixed undercarriage, beingstarted in August 1975. This prototype flew onDecember 1, 1976. At this stage work was carriedon by the Ahrens Aircraft Corporation in Califor­nia, but the project was later transferred to PuertoRico, whose government offered to finance theproject and then help launch an initial batch of 18production aircraft. In Puerto Rico, therefore,Ahrens Aircraft maintain the progress of the air­craft towards certification, with the parent com­pany doing sub-assembly work. US Federal Avia­tion Administration Type Approval was secured inthe closing stages of 1978, and by 1980 productionwas well underway.

The key to the aircraft's internal simplicity is theprovision of a five-track restraint system in thefuselage floor. This can be used for the anchoring ofseating for 30 (2+ 1) with an offset aisle for thecommuter role, or alternatively for the lashingdown of freight (12 D-3 containers) or the installa­tion of rollers for the handling of pallets.

Passengers board the aircraft by means of doorson each side of the fuselage aft of the wing, whilefreight can be loaded straight into the fuselage, theundersurface of the rear fuselage being a two-partdoor, the lower half of which forms a loading ramp.This can be left open in flight for the carriage oflarge loads, or for the dispatch of paratroops.

254

AR404

Type: short- and medium­range utility transportMaker: Ahrens Aircraft IncSpan: 20.12m (66ft)Length: 16.08m (52ft9in)Height: 5.33 m (17ft 6 in)Wing area: 39.2 m2 (422 sq ft)Weight: maximum 7711 kg(17000 lb); empty 3719 kg(8200Ib)Powerplant: four 420-shpAllison 250-B 17B turbopropsPerformance: maximumcruising speed 314 km/h(195mph) at 1524m (5000ft);range with standard fuel butno reserves 1575 km(978 miles)Payload: seats for up to 30passengersCrew: 2Production: 18 by 1980

Left and below: The AR 404,which was conceived as a'minimum aircraft', with anemphasis on simplicity andversatility. It can be used in acargo or passenger-carryingrole. Up to 30 seats can beattached to the strong cargofloor of the fuselage. The typeis intended to appeal tooperators in undevelopedareas

I

! L T A, Dornieri ESTIMATED FIRST FLIGHT 1982

T HE Dornier LT A is planned as an advanced­technology Light Transport Aircraft for ser­

vice in the mid 1980s. Of basically conventionalconfiguration (high-wing and T -tail layout, with acircular-section fuselage and tricycle undercarriagewhose main units retract into fuselage blisters),the unusual features of the LT A lie in its use ofthe latest structural techniques, using advancedmaterials, and supercritical aerodynamics. Thesupercritical-section wing, on which the success ofthe LTA will ultimately depend, was due for flighttesting during 1979 on a converted Dornier Do28D-2 Skyservant.

The LT A's wing is to be of a Dornier-developedsupercritical section, made of a combination ofadvanced-technology and conventional materials,and incorporating positive gust-absorption capaci­ty with active controls, derived from the ZKPprogramme run jointly by Dornier and DFVLR.The wing leading edges, together with the rakedand highly cambered wingtips, are to be made of aKevlar/ glassfibre composite, the slotted Fowlerflaps and ailerons are to be made of carbon-fibrecomposites, and the rest of the wing is to be ofconventional light-alloy construction. The aileronsare to be capable of differential action in theircapacity as roll controllers, and of symmetricalaction to supplement th~ flaps in providing nearlyfull-span trailing-edge high-lift devices for take-offand landing.

Kevlar/glassfibre will also be used for the nose,tailcone and main gear blisters, and for the leadingedges of the fin and tailplane. The rudder and

elevator will be of carbon-fibre composite. The restof the fuselage and empennage will be oflight-alloyconstruction, but the use of the advanced materialsis expetted to make significant contributions to thereduction of structure weight.

Two models of the LT A are envisaged. TheBasic LT A is to have a crew of two, and accommo­dation for 19 passengers in an unpressurized cabin.A wardrobe and lavatory will be standard. Theother model, which is to be known as the Commu­ter, is to seat 24 passengers, the extra capacitybeing obtained by sacrificing the wardrobe andlavatory. Seating will comprise seven pairs of seatson the right side of the cabin, separated by an aislefrom six single seats along the left side, with fourseats abreast occupying the rear of the cabin.

Above: The Dornier LT A,Light Transport Aircraft, usesa mix of advanced designfeatures and modernmaterials. The wing, with itsdownward-curving tips andslotted Fowler flaps, isdesigned to give high-lift andpositive gust-absorption

Commuter

Type: short-range lighttransportMaker: Dornier GmbHSpan: 17.81 m (58 ft 51f4in)Length: 16.6m (54ft 51fzin)Height: 5.55m (18ft 2'/z in)Wing area: 33.93mz

(365 1/4 sq ft)Weight: maximum 6850 kg(15 102Ib); empty 3544 kg(7813Ib)Powerplant: two 725-shpGarrett-AiResearch TPE331-8 turbopropsPerformance: (estimated)maximum cruising speed410 km/h (255 mph) at3000 m (9842 ft); range with24 passengers 400 km(249 miles)Payload: seats for up to 24passengersCrew: 2 to 3Production: still underdevelopment

255

Tri Turbo-3, Specialized AircraftFIRST FLIGHT 1977

SINCE the introduction of turboprop engines,many ambitious small companies have consi­

dered the attractive prospect of producing a DC-3replacement not in the form of a new aircraft, butrather in the form of a turboprop-powered DC-3.

The most ambitious such project has been theTri Turbo-3, produced by the Aircraft TechnicalServices Corporation on behalf of the SpecializedAircraft company. Taking as a starting point theConroy Super Turbo-Three, previously enginedwith a pair of Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops, ATSCduring 1977 developed the Tri Turbo-3 poweredby three 1174-ehp Pratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-45 turboprops, one in each of thewing positions, and the third in the fuselage nose.

Despite the increase in the number of engines,the inherently lower weight of the turboprops hashelped to reduce basic aircraft weight consider­ably, and it is this factor which has helped raisethe type's payload to 5443 kg (12000 lb) from theDC-3's 2994 kg (6600Ib), and also enabled the typeto undertake operations in 'hot and high' condi­tions which would defeat the DC-3.

The Tri Turbo-3 first flew on November 2, 1977,and the type's certification in 1978 was purely fortransport operations. Specialized Aircraft's plansare now to offer the type in several forms, thecustomer being given the option of having his ownDC-3 converted by the company to the newstandard, or alternatively to undertake the conver­sion himself in some 3000 man-hours with the aidof a kit; a third option is to buy a converted aircraftfrom Specialized Aircraft. There is also the optionof two basic powerplants: the 1174-ehp PT6A-45driving a three-blade propeller, or the 903-ehpPT6A-41 driving a four-blade propeller.

Key to the Tri Turbo-3's performance is thenose-mounted engine. This is used mainly for take­off and high-speed cruise, being shut down andpropeller feathered for economical cruise. Forexample, the maximum cruising speed of 370 km/h(230mph) at 3048m (lOOOOft) on three engines isreduced to 290km/h (180mph) at optimum al­titude on two engines; conversely, range withoptional outboard wing tanks is 4345 km(2700 miles) on three engines, but 5150km(3200 miles) on two engines.

The utility of the type is further increased by theprovision, tested during 1979, of a swing-tail tofacilitate the loading of bulky items.

256

Tri Turbo-3

Type: short- an, ... <1-

range transportMaker: Specialized AircraftCoSpan: 28.96 m (95 ft)Length: not availableHeight: 5.56 m (18 ft 3 in)Wing area: 91. 7 m2 (987 sq ft)Weight: not availablePowerplant: three 1174-ehpPratt & Whitney Aircraft ofCanada PT6A-45 turbopropsPerformance: cruising speed370km/h (230 mph); range4345 km (2700 miles)Payload: 5443 kg (12000Ib)Crew: 3Production: 1 (prototype) by1980

Top: The DC-3 airframe isclearly recognizable in thisPolair Tri Turbo-3Above left: The Spirit ofHope;the central engine is used fortake-ofT and high-speed cruiseLeft: The flight-deck ofa TriTurbo-3. Converting theairframe takes 3000 man­hours

Index

Page numbers in bold refer to themain en try of the aircraft

A B Flygindustri, 37Aeromarine F-5L, 15Aero Spacelines, see GuppyAhrens AR 404, see AR 404Airco, see DH.4, DH.4AAirspeed, see Ambassador, Consul, EnvoyAlbatross, de Havilland DH.91, see DH.91Alpha, Northrop, 70Ambassador, Airspeed, 186An-lO, Antonov, 216-17An-24, Antonov, 218-19ANT-2, Tupolev, 30ANT-3, Tupolev, 30-31ANT-9, Tupolev, 58ANT-l4, Tupolev, 69ANT-35, Tupolev, 112Antonov, see An-lO, An-24Apollo, Armstrong Whitworth, 196AR 404, Ahrens, 254Argosy, Armstrong Whitworth 38, 39Armagnac, SNCASE, 183Armstropg Whitworth, see Apollo, Argosy, Atalan-

ta, EnsignAT-2, Nakajima, 126Atalanta, Armstrong Whitworth, 74Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, 47Aviation Traders Carvair, see CarvairAvro, see Lancaster Transport, Tudor, York

BAe 748, British Aerospace, 210-12Be-30, Beriev, 246-47Beech 99 Airliner, 230Benoist, Type XIV, 2Beriev Be-30, see Be-30Bleriot XI, 1Bloch 120, 115Bloch 220, 116Blohm und Voss, see Bv 144, Ha 139Boeing CL-4S, see CL-4SBoeing 40, 46, 48Boeing 80, 48Boeing 247, 60, 80-81Boeing 307 Stratoliner, 129Boeing 314, 133Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, 144-45Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 144Bolshoi, Sikorsky, 3Boulton Paul P.71A, see P.7IABr. 763 Provence, Breguet, 182Br.941, Breguet, 225Bre.530 Saigon, Breguet, 50Breguet, see Br. 763 Provence, Br.941, Bre.530

Saigon, SalonBristol 170, 156-57Bristol Britannia, see BritanniaBritannia, Bristol, 202-03British Aerospace, see BAe 748, ]etstreamBritten-Norman Turbo-Islander, see Turbo-Islan-

derBv 144, Blohm und Voss, 143

C-46 Commando, Curtiss, 134-35Calcutta, Short, 50-51Canadair Ltd, see CL-44Canadair 4, 168-69Cant, see Z.506Carstedt Jet Liner, 238Carvair, Aviation Traders, 187Channel I, Supermarine, 25CL-4S, Boeing, 4CL-44, Canadair, 221CMASA, see Costruzioni Mecchaniche Aero-

nautiche SACommando, Curtis C-46, see C-46Commodore, Consolidated, 66-67Condor, Curtiss-Wright, 56, 59-61Condor, Focke-Wulf Fw 200, see Fw 200Conqueror Demonstrator, Curtiss, 53Conqueror Mailplane, Curtiss, 53Consolidated, see Commodore, Liberator

ExpressConstellation, Lockheed L-749, see L-749Consul, Airspeed, 160Convair, see CV-240, CV-340, CV-440 Metropoli­

tan, CV-580Costruzioni Mecchaniche Aeronatiche SA, 24Curtiss, see C-46 Commando, Falcon, Kingbird,

ThrushCurtiss-Wright Condor, see CondorCV-240, Convair, 174CV-340, Convair, 175CV-440 Metropolitan, Convair, 176-77CV-580, Convair, 220

D.VIII, Fokker, 22D.338, Dewoitine, 101D.620, Dewoitine, 102Dash 7, de Havilland Canada DHC-7, see DHC-7DC-2, Douglas, 82-83DC-3, Douglas, 106-07, 256DC-4, Douglas, 138-39, 168DC-4E, Douglas, 118-19DC-6, Douglas, 162-63DC-7, Douglas, 188-89de Havilland, see DH.9A, DH.16, DH.18, DH.29,

DH.32, DH.34, DH.66 Hercules, DH.84Dragon, DH.86 Express, DH.89 Dragon Rapide,DH.90 Dragonfly, DH.91 Albatross, DH.95 Fla­mingo, DH.98 Mosquito transport, DH.I04Dove, DH.114 Heron

de Havilland Canada, see DHC-6 Twin Otter,DHC-7 Dash 7

Delphin, Dornier, 34, 35Delta, Northrop, 76Detroit Aircraft Corporation DL-l, see DL-lDewoitine, see D.338, D.620DHA, Airco, 5DH.4A, Airco, 5,19DH.9A, de Havilland, 19, 30DH.16, de Havilland, 19, 20DH.18, de Havilland, 20, 21DH.29, de Havilland, 21DH.32, de Havilland, 21DH.34, de Havilland, 21, 38DH.66 Hercules, de Havilland, 39DH.84 Dragon, de Havilland, 88DH.86 Express, de Havilland, 89

-- - .__ .._--

Right: A Boeing CL-4SBottom left: A Short ScyllaBottom right: A Sikorsky S-4

/

DH.89 Dragon Rapide, de Havilland, 90DH.90, Dragonfly, de Havilland, 91DH.91 Albatross, de Havilland, 113DH.95 Flamingo, de Havilland, 127DH.98 Mosquito transport, de Havilland, 137DH.104 Dove, de Havilland, 158-59, 238DH.114 Heron, de Havilland, 190-91, 239DHC-6 Twin Otter, de Havilland Canada, 234-

35DHC-7 Dash 7, de Havilland Canada, 252-53D L-l, Detroit Aircraft Corpora tion, 44Do X, Dornier, 64Dornier, see Delphin, Do X, Gs I, Gs II, Komet,

LTA, Merkur, WalDouglas, see DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, DC-4E, DC-6,

DC-7Dove, de Havilland DH.104, see DH.104Dragon, de Havilland DH.84, see DH.84Dragonfly, de Havilland DH.90, see DH.90Dragon Rapide, de Havilland DH.89, see DH.89

E-4250, Zeppelin Staaken, 16-17Electra, Lockheed L-IO, see L-IOElectra, Lockheed L-188, see L-188Empire Flying Boat, Short, 109Ensign, Armstrong Whitworth, 120-21Envoy, Airspeed, 114Express, de Havilland DH.86, see DH.86Express, Lockheed, 45

F.II, Fokker, 22-23, 29F.IIl, Fokker, 29F-5L Aeromarine, see AeromarineF.VIl/3m, Fokker, 26-28, 38, 52F.IX, Fokker, 52F.X, Fokker, 28F.XI Universal, Fokker, 47F.XIl, Fokker, 52F13, Junkers, 17, 18, 24, 36F27 Friendship, Fokker, 204-05F.XXXII, Fokker, 63F.xXXVI, Fokker, 93Falcon, Curtiss, 53Farman, see Goliath, JabiruFarman III, 1Farman F.224, 100Fiat G.2l2, see G.212FK.50, Koolhoven, 108Flamingo, de Havilland DH.95, see DH.95Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, see Fw 200Fokker, see D.VIII, F.Il, F.IlI, F.VIl/3m, F.x,

F.XI Universal, F.XIl, F27 Friendship,F.XXXIl, F.XXXVI, V.44, V.45

Ford, see Tri-MotorFriendship, Fokker F27, see F27Fw 200 Condor, Focke-Wulf, 124

G23, Junkers, 40G24, Junkers, 40G31, Junkers, 40G38, Junkers, 62G.212, Fiat, 161G Class, Short, 131General Aircraft Monospar ST.4, see Monospar

Gloster Trent-Meteor, see Trent-MeteorGoliath, Farman, 6-7, 20, 32Gs I, Dornier, 24Gs II, Dornier, 24Guppy, Aero Spacelines, 222-23

Ha 139, Blohm und Voss, 117Halton, Handley Page, 147Handley Page, see Halton, Herald, Hermes IV,

HP.42, 0/7, OlIO, 0/11, 0/400, 0/700,V/1500, W.8, W.IO, W/400

He 70, Heinkel, 78Heinkel He 70, see He 70Herald, Handley Page, 213Hercules, de Havilland DH.66, see DH.66Hercules, Lockheed L-100, see L-100Hermes IV, Handley Page, 185Heron, de Havilland DH.114, see DH.114Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, 212HP.42, Handley Page, 71Humber-Bleriot Monoplane, 1Humber-Sommer, 1

Il-12, Ilyushin, 179Il-l4, Ilyushin, 180-81Il-18, Ilyushin, 206-07Ilyushin, see Il-12, Il-l4, Il-18

J abiru, Farman, 32Jetstream, British Aerospace, 243-45Ju 52/3m, Junkers, 18Ju 52/3mho, Junkers, 77Ju 86, Junkers, 110Ju 89, Junkers, 125Ju 90, Junkers, 125Ju 160, Junkers, 104Junkers, see F13, G23, G24, G31, G38, Ju 52/3m,

Ju 52/3mho, Ju 86, Ju 89, Ju 90, Ju 160, K37,536, W33, W34

Kent, Short, 72K -1, Kalinin, 49K-2, Kalinin, 49K-3, Kalinin, 49K-4, Kalinin, 49K37, Junkers, 37Kalinin, see K-l, K-2, K-3, K-4Kawasaki, see Ki-lKi-l, Kawasaki, 37Ki-2, Mitsubishi, 37Kingbird, Curtiss, 56Komet, Dornier, 34,35Koolhoven FK.50, see FK.50

L-IO Electra, Lockheed, 87L-14 Lockheed, 122L-18 Lodestar, Lockheed, 123L-IOO Hercules, Lockheed, 236-37L-188 Electra, Lockheed 208-09L-41O, Let, 250-51L-749 Constellation, Lockheed, 165-67L-1049 Super Constellation, Lockheed, 171-73

Top right: The BristolProteus turboprop engines ofa BritanniaCentre right: Handley PageDart HeraldBottom left: SpecializedAircraft Tri Turbo-3Bottom right: An AeroSpacelines Super Guppy

L-1649A Starliner, Lockheed, 192Lancaster transport, Avro, 146Languedoc SE.16l, see SE.16lLatecoere 28, 57Let L-4l0, see L-4l0LeO H.242, Liore et Olivier, i28Liberator Express, Consolidated, 148-49Liberty Mailplane, Curtiss, 53Liore et Olivier LeO H.242, see LeO H.242Lockheed, see Express, L-lO Electra, L-14, L-18

Lodestar, L-lOO Hercules, L-188 Electra, L-749Constellation, L-1049 Super Constellation, L­l649A Starliner, Orion, Vega

Lodestar, Lockheed L-18, see L-18LTA, Dornier, 255

M.18d, Messerschmitt, 33M.20, Messerschmitt, 33Marathon, Miles, 184Martin 103, 99Martin 2-0-2, 170MC-20, Mitsubishi, 130Merkur, Dornier, 35Messerschmitt, see M.18d, M.20Metropolitan, Convair CV-440, see CV-HOMetro, Swearingen, 240-41Miles Marathon, see MarathonMitsubishi, see Ki-2, MC-20Monospar ST.4, General Aircraft, 103Mosquito transport, de Havilland DH.98, see

DH.98

Nakajima, see AT-2NAMC YS-ll, see YS-llNihon Aeroplane Manufacturing Co, see YS-llNord 262, Nord-Aviation, 231-33Nord-Aviation Nord 262, see Nord 262Northrop, see Alpha, Delta

0/7, Handley Page, 11,120/10, Handley Page, 120/11, Handley Page, 120/100, Handley Page, 140/400, Handley Page, 11, 12, 13, 140/700, Handley Page, 11Orion, Lockheed, 75

P.71A, Boulton Paul, 84Piaggio,24Potez 62, 95Princess, Saro, 197Provence Breguet Br. 763, see Br.763PS-9, Tupolev, 58

Rohrbach Romar, see RomarRomar, Rohrbach, 41

S.5 Singapore, Short, 50S-34, Sikorsky, 54S36, Junkers, 37S-36, Sikorsky, 54

S-38, Sikorsky, 54-55S-40, Sikorsky, 68S-42, Sikorsky, 86S-43, Sikorsky, 105S.66, Savoia-Marchetti, 65S.71, Savoia-Marchetti, 97Saab Scandia, 178Salon, Breguet, 8-9Sandringham, Short, 151Saro, see PrincessSaunders ST-27, see ST-27Savoia-Marchetti, see S.66, S.7l, SM.73, SM.74,

SM.83, SM.95Scandia Saab, see SaabScion, Short, 79Scylla, Short, 85SE.161 Languedoc, SNCASE, 132Sea Eagle, Supermarine, 25Sea Lion, Supermarine, 25Short, see Calcutta, Empire Flying boat, G Class,

Kent, S.5 Singapore, Sandringham, Scion,Scylla, Solent

Shorts 330, 242Sikorsky, see Bolshoi, S-34, S-36, S-38, S-40, S-42SM.73, Savoia-Marchetti, 96SM.74, Savoia-Marchetti, 97SM.83, Savoia-Marchetti, 98SM.95, Savoia-Marchetti, 164SNCASE, see Armagnac, SE.161 LanguedocSNCASO, see SO.30, SO.90SO.30, SNCASO, 140SO.90, SNCASO, 141Solent, Short, 152Specialized Aircraft Tri Turbo-3, see Tri Turbo-3ST-27, Saunders, 239Starliner, Lockheed L-1649A, see L-1649AStinson, see Tri-Motor Model AStratocruiser, see Boeing 377Stratoliner, see Boeing 307Super Constellation, Lockheed L-1049, see L-1049Superfortress, see Boeing B-29Supermarine, see Channel I, Sea Eagle, Sea LionSwearingen Metro, see Metro

'Thora', see AT-2Thrush, Curtiss, 56Trent-Meteor, Gloster, 193Tri-Motor, Ford, 42-43, 44Tri-Motor Model A, Stinson, 73Tri Turbo-3, Specialized Aircraft, 256Tu-114, Tupolev, 201Tudor, Avro, 150Tupolev, see ANT-2, ANT-3, ANT-9, ANT-l4,

ANT-35, PS-9, Tu-114Turbo-Islander: Britten-Norman, 248-49Twin Otter, de Havilland Canada DHC-6, see

DHC-6

Universal, Fokker F.XI, see F.XI

V-I, Vultee, 94V.H, Fokker, 22VA5, Fokker, 22V/1500, Handley Page, 13

Vanguard, Vickers-Armstrongs, 214-15Vega, Lockheed, 44, 45Vickers Vimy Commercial, see Vimy CommercialVickers-Armstrongs, see Vanguard, Viking,

ViscountViking, Vickers-Armstrongs, 153-55Vimy Commercial, Vickers, 10Viscount,· Vickers-Armstrongs, 198-200Vought-Sikorsky VS-44A, see VS-44AVS-44A, Vought-Sikorsky, 142Vultee V-I, see V-I

W.8, Handley Page, 13W.9a, Handley Page, 14W.lD, Handley Page, 14, 38W33, Junkers, 36, 38W34, Junkers, 36W/400, Handley Page, 13Wal, Dornier, 24, 64Wibault,92

York, Avro, 136YS-II, NAMC, 226-29

Z.506, Cant, 111Zeppelin Straaken £-4250, see £-4250

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