AIRCRAFT TYPES

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24144, 10 December 1941, Page 8

AIRCRAFT TYPES

JAPANESE STRENGTH FEW ORIGINAL DESIGNS NAVAL PROPORTION HIGH (Eecd. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 8

Although very great secrecy has made it difficult to follow with any degree of certainty the detailed development of Japanese naval and military aircraft, experts state that some trends in policy and design have become apparent and can be roughly outlined, says a British official wireless message. The Japanese have not so far brought out any really original designs of their own, having preferred to copy and develop foreign types. In certain cases this development has been carried to a point where the Japanse product can no longer be classed in the same category as the foreign prototype. The Japanese generally seem to favour low wing-Joading. After being influenced in the very early years by European builders the Japanese now show very strongly marked American influence.

Textbook Routine About three years ago first line strength was about 1900 machines, of which about 1000 were naval types. Of these some 40 per cent were shipborne and the rest shore based. Japan has now eight aircraft-carriers and claims that the strength of her seaborne aircraft is surpassed only by Britain and the United States, but to what exerit expansion has been carried out is not stated.

The Japanese personnel is regarded as good, discipline strict and morale high. Experts, however, consider the air arms are handicapped by slow thinking and textbook routine. Training was carried out mainly at the flying schools at Kusumigaurand for navy and Tokorozawa and Kumagaya for the army. New schools have recently been established.

Modern Japanese fighters, navy, shorebased and army, are singleengined low-wing monoplanes with maximum speeds varying from 270 to 300 miles an hour at 15,000 ft. The, majority are equipped with four guns —in some cases two cannons and two machine-guns, and in others four machine-guns—but thero is a probability that a number of older type fighters are still in use with speeds of from 250 to 300 miles an hour and carrying only two machine-guns. Included among these older types are a few biplanes with a speed about the 200-mile an hour mark. Heavy and Light Bombers

Best known of the heavy bomber tvpe are the naval Mitsubishi T96 and the army Mitsubishi T97. These are twin-engined machines, the former _ a midwing monoplane showing definite .Junkers influence in design. They carry an average load of 20001b. with a range of about 1100 miles. Light bombers and reconnaissance aircraft are chiefly single-engined lowwing planes with maximum speeds of 250 to 260 miles an hour and maximum bomb loads varying from 800 to 10001b. The two main reconnaissance floatplanes are the T95, a single-engined biplane with a single central float and two wingtip floats, and the Tf)7, a midwing monoplane with twin floats. This aircraft is very often used as a fighter carrying no bombs. The most commonly used flying-boats are the three-engined T96 Mitsubishi and the T97.

BRITISH SHELL CALAIS (Reed. 7.15 p.m.) LONDON. Dec. 8 The Paris radio says that British warships shelled Calais on Monday afternoon, and caused some deaths.