NEW FIGHTING AEROPLANES

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21377, 21 January 1935, Page 23

NEW FIGHTING AEROPLANES

.. ^ —_ gjjHARKABLE IMPROVE- ":"" MENTS gOfX COMPETITIVE TRIALS '""'laoM. ora ow * COJUMBPONDWI .> Iz. LONDON, December 29. £#eral new British fighting airfgdgt designed to replace existing ftHj&Air Force equipment, and sm«B 0 f immense speeds, are at Sit'engaged in secret competiWtrials. ihe craft proved best SftHwrous tests at Martlesham jfeSteLthe experimental station of iJjrEoyal Air Force, will probably Sintered early next year in quanIgJLrtfiaent for the supply oi one ggffftwn: if its abilities are confisftdin a period of flying with the JaaSron large production orders J &e sew machines are "day and ,yfat" single-seater fighters, and ausS be bailt to carry fuel and oil io? several hours' cruising, radio anjsratus, oxygen-breathing gear, sad much other equipment. They sreiiot "interceptor' fighters, which sits machines intended for the «ecial task-indicated by their title, demanding extremely high rate of c&sh to heights of 20,000 feet and imr» while still maintaining great ferward speed; the interceptor jtfctor does not carry so much equipment, and is not intended to, remain aloft nearly so long as the *&m and night" machine. fta) of the new experimental ml*-are monoplanes, built by Brisjjjaffiqfti Vickers respectively; the Isenur is the first British warplane fSbg&ted to the Air Ministry with & retractable undercarriage, the struts and wheels folding up within tsneels IB the wings when the ma(frfse fe flying. Both aeroplanes tear* aijained great speeds in trial ' ■ Bf tradable Undercarriage t J9g£(Us ju.precedent for Bristolks|esb£p in>he use of retractable tstfsuj. As long ago as 1921, when j&» kfea of lifting the wheels ,tp re#we parasitic "drag" and thereby speed was new, the comfesy built the Bristol racer with an Itwfercarriage in which the wheels m 8& be withdrawn into the wings. fjj« jgrstem worked effectively, but fat definitely ahead of its time, and for several years the idea was shelved. Now it is making great, aeadway in all aircraft-construct-ing countries, and many' of the newer types of civil and military wrcraft employ it. In the new Bristol fighter the wheels are retracted wsrtocaliy. The pilot merely Wwws a switch. An indicator on ttrdah tells him whether the tftaels are up or down. ■£mt new group of fighters will |PgM»tedly maintain the British gfiyy in that leading position *Sf& it has held for years in the ffljßj} and manufacture of fighting gS^*" o6B - No foreign fighters of: gfcTaierceptor" type compare in PjwWßjance with the Hawker Fury .jßgJ* B which have been standard of certain squadrons ofj Defence Force for the last: Ipe'years, . : ! iiwits latest form this aeroplane: SBMBIf a level speed of more than igljnsUes an hour. At this writing, Ssj r lH* equipment of one squadron

with the new Gloster Gauntlet general purpose fighter is proceeding rapidly; though it carries a big load and approaches closely to the "day and night" fighter class, the Gauntlet attains a maximum level speed of 231 miles an hour, and climbs to a height of 20,000 feet in nine minutes 25 seconds. There is no aircraft yet going into service with a foreign air force which has a better performance. Adding Performance Behind the scenes the constructors and the Air Ministry are planning other important advances inuring 1935. Before the end of that year a single-seater fighter will be available capable of a speed in the neighbourhood of 300 miles an hour with full load—incidentally, many of the speeds credited to some for--eign experimental machines are achieved with the aeroplanes stripped for fighting, and fitted with special "speed" airscrews. Within the last few days Sir Philip Sassoon, Under-Secretary of State for Air. has hinted at one of development. In reply to a question in the House of Commons he said that experiments were being made in the use of fighters fitted with enclosed cockpits. A cover over a cockpit increases speed, because it provides a smooth passage for the air stream, which is broken up into eddies and turbulences when it passes over an open cockpit; light aeroplanes adapted for races have gained some miles an hour from this simple modification. There is also some reason to suppose that the enclosed cockpit, apart from adding to the comfort of the pilot in highaltitude flights, makes him a less conspicuous target for an opponent in aerial combat.