INTERCEPTOR FIGHTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20656, 30 August 1930, Page 8 (Supplement)

INTERCEPTOR FIGHTER.

THE FAIREY FIREFLY. .Among the now typos of aircraft which took part in tho fly-past at the JR.A.F. display at Ifendon this year, none attracted greater attention than the Fairey " Firefly II M." This was partly because of the exceptionally clean and beautiful lines of this machine, and partly due to tho performance, which had a "snap" about it that singled out tho machine as one capable not only of great speed, but also of remarkable manoeuvrability. The " Firefly II M " is the latest development of the original " Firefly" and now has a supercharged Rolls-Royco "F " typo engine.

Tho interceptor fighter class of aircraft is, as its title implies, intended for intercepting enemy aircraft which lias already crossed the coastline, and is making for some objective. It must have a very high performance for a relatively short period, so as to bo able to reach the altitude of the invader in the minimum of time, and bo able quickly to ovortako him in horizontal flight at that height. For a starting point one may assume that tho raider will be coming over at not less than 20,000 ft., and that his speed at that height will not be less than 150 m.p.h. From this it is obvious that an interceptor fighter must, to be of any practical use, be able to climb to 20,000 ft. in the shortest possible time, say, ton mijiutes or so, and must have a speed of some 200 m.p.h. at that altitude, if it is to be capable of overtaking t{ie raider at a useful rate.

Although complete performance figures of the " Firefly II M" may not bo given, it can be saitl that the machino fulfils the conditions outlined above. And it can reach a' height of 10,000 ft. in under five minutes, an average rate of 2,000 ft. per minute. Tho landing speed is by no means high, compared with the top speed, and is further reduced by the fitting of improved wing-flaps.