THRILLS FOR T. E. LAWRENCE IN A MOTOR-BOAT TARGET.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20233, 17 February 1934, Page 8

THRILLS FOR T. E. LAWRENCE IN A MOTOR-BOAT TARGET.

To-dag’s Special Article.

Aeroplanes Drop Cast Iron Bombs: Practice for the Royal Air Force.

Once more the name of T. E. Lawrence, otherwise Aircraftsman Shaw, has been linked with a mysterious enterprise. Changing

his name could not divest the man who organised the Arab tribes of the Hejaz of his cloak of romance. It was partly his desire for self-efface-ment, partly his taste for close contact with engines, that led Lawrence to divest himself of his rank and name and join the Royal Air Force as Aircraftsman Shaw, having adopted the name by deed poll. Rumour has linked his name with various

semi-diplomatic missions among England’s native colonies, and credited him with all sorts of feats of espionage in remote corners of the Empire.

JT IS A FACT, however, that Shaw has been connected with a number of mechanical experiments in the Royal Air Force, besides acting as an instructor. lie has an uncanny ability to tune engines, and confesses that one of his weaknesses is the vice of speed. He gets a sensual thrill from riding a motor-cycle at breakneck speed on a sequestered road. Lawrence (or Shaw) is a stoic. Robert Graves tells the story of how, while riding his cycle, a stranded motorist appealed for his help. He dismounted and endeavoured to crank the car, having quickly remedied the trouble. f lt back-fired and broke his wrist. lie started the car with the other hand, said nothing about the damaged wrist and rode away using one hand! Bombers' Accuracy. Now it is disclosed that Shaw (or Lawrence) is connected with a secret experiment in the use of motor boats as targets f<?r bomb-dropping aeroplanes. The boats are made Mr Hubert Scott-Paine, holder of the world’s sea speed record, and head of the Power-boat Company. Shaw has spent much of his time in the last twelve months testing the boats at liythe, near Southampton. Engineers and draughtsmen have been sworn not to divulge details, although practice in bombing the boats has been going on for nearly a year in the North Sea, gf t Bridlington. Formerly, opportunities for bombing practice at surface ships were restricted to the occasions when the radio-steered ship Centurion or towed targets w’ere available. In the upshot, the Royal Air Force bombers got little practice, and their standard of accuracy, though comparing favourably with the accuracy of naval guns, was not remarkable. Adoption of fast armoured motor-boats to serve as targets, and many hours of practice in every form of bombing attack, has sent up the accuracy rate enormously. For three-quarters of its length the target boat is covered with half-inch armour plate. The aeroplanes attack it with small practice bombs of cast iron which are filled with stannic chloride. When the bomb bursts this chemical sets up a dense white smoke. Wear Gas Masks. The three men in the boat’s crew wear crash helmets to protect them against concussion if their heads should touch the armour plate the moment a bomb strikes. Gas masks protect them from the clouds of gas produced by the chemical in the bomb. Radio gear links the boat with the aeroplanes and with the base in charge of the work, enabling instructions to be given for changes of course and quick manoeuvre in an effort to avoid the attack from above. Thus equipped the targets have been driven for twelve hours daily about Bridlington Bay, whenever the weather has been suitable. They sustained all kinds of aerial attacks, from heights varying between 2000 and 15,000 feet, from diving bombers and from squadrons in “ pattern ” bombing formation. In the latter form of attack,

the squadron flies level and the bomb salvos are dropped simultaneously over the targe each bomber establishing on and around the target the pattern of the formation. The boats are adapted from the tenders acquired for the Royal Air Force last year, designed by Mr Scott-Paine. Three 100 h.p. engines provide the power. The normal cruising speed of the boats is 25 knots, and they can turn in their own length. Coupled with their small size, their speed and rapidity of manoeuvre make them a far more difficult target than almost any kind of warship. A new type of target boat, embodying improvements suggested by the past year’s working is now being built and will be much faster. Almost Unsinkable. The boats are practically unsinkable. All the vital parts are armour-plated. Forward of the engine and control compartment the hulls are filled with a special light-weight composition called “ ozonote,” a form of expanded rubber, which keeps the boat afloat irrespective of its being holed by the bombs. This material is ten times lighter than cork. All the crews are volunteers, necessarily. It sounds even more dangerous than living in a submarine in wartime, but apart from noise and discomfort, there is said to be no danger involved. Another interesting development in aircraft is the trial of a new system of evaporative or “ steam ” cooling of liquid-cooled aero engines. Further work is in hand and promises a big advance towards the ultimate elimination of water-cooling by the newer, more efficient method. A Gloster single-seater, ship-plane, similar to the “ Gauntlet ” day and night fighter, was used for the experiment, powered with a Rolls-Royce “ Kestrel ” liquid-cooled engine. The evaporative system consists of condensers fitted along the leading edges of the wings and conforming exactly to their shape, thus eliminating all drag, or air resistance, of the condensers, and lessening the weight of wings and condensers combined. Severe Trials. The system was tried in a temperature of 27 degrees below zero Centigrade, at a height of 20,000 feet, and glided down to ground level, where many level flight trials were made at full throttle. No serious defect developed in the mechanism during the whole of the trials. The evaporative system substitutes condensers for the large honeycomb radiators used in water-cooling. Water circulates through the cylinder jackets and through a suitably placed “ header ” tank between engine and condenser. Steam from the tank rises to the condenser, where it is cooled again to liquid state before returning to the engine circuit. It is claimed that less water is needed, approximately 100 pounds weight being saved, and, whereas a bullet hole in a radiator means a hurried landing, a hole in a steam condenser would hardly affect engine temperature. Further worry about freezing is reduced, and less time is required to warm engines.