AVIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23213, 10 June 1937, Page 20

AVIATION

EYES OF THE NAVY CATAPULT LAUNCHING CRUISER'S THREE AMPHIBIANS (Fnojvi Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, May 8. Three amphibious flying boats are included in the equipment of the new cruiser Southampton, which is the first of 10 cruisers of 9000 to 10,000 tons, armed with six-inch guns, being built under the naval programmes of 1933-36. Sister vessels are likely to be similarly equipped. The aeroplanes—Vickers-Super-marine biplanes—are carried in a built-in hangar which forms an extension of the bridge structure abaft the foremast. They are launched from a catapult located between the funnels, and lifted inboard after flight by two cranes mounted on top of the hangar. Extensive trials preceded the Admiralty decision to extend the use of amphibious aircraft in the navy. For 12 months before a Walrus amphibian formed part of the armament of the battleship Nelson, and was thoroughly tried out in Home and foreign waters. Fitted with landing wheels which can be wound up or let down on either side of the boat-shaped hull, the Walrus is admirably suited for operation from shipboard, and, in the expert view, is better fitted for alighting on and taking off from rough water than the floatplanes that have been generally carried by catapultequipped warships. The Walrus was the first flying boat in the world to be launched bv catapult, and passed successfully through severe official catapult trials at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. It is a biplane powered with a Bristol Pegasus radial engine, which is mounted to drive a " pusher" airscrew behind the main planes. VERSATILE BIPLANE Materials chiefly used in the structure are aluminium alloys and stainless steel. It was designed for naval reconnaissance and fleet spotting from aircraft carriers or catapultequipped cruisers. Instructional flying and aerial photography are. duties for which equipment may be readily installed. The amphibious landing gear consists in a retractile, hydraulically-operated undercarriage which is withdrawn, when the machine is flying, into recesses in the under surfaces of the lower wings, where it lies out of the airstream and docs not add to head resistance. The wings can be easily and quickly folded for convenient stowage. Although it carries a big load in its enclosed and roomy cabin, the Walrus can cruise at good speeds over long distances. Ability to operate from land or water suits it admirably for coastal patrol and for missions over " mixed " territory where a land plane or a nonamphibious flying boat might be handicapped.