FAST FIGHTING AEROPLANE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 2, 3 January 1936, Page 12

FAST FIGHTING AEROPLANE

BRITISH INTERCEPTOR MOST POWERFUL MACHINE OF ITS TYPE LONDON, N0v.23. A. single-seater fighting aeroplane with specifications markedly in advance of those of any other military aeroplane in the world, has been produced by the Hawker Company for the Royal Air Force, writes the aeronautical correspondent for the Morning Port. It has already been flown successfully, and I understand that its behaviour in the air was most, satisfactory and suggested that, in production form, the new machine will have a speed and rate of climb far beyond that of any other existing production aeroplane. In pursuance of the new Royal Air Force monoplane policy, the new Hawker is a monoplane, with the wings mounted low on the fuselage. A 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce, liquid-cooled, Merlin engine, the latest production of this factory, is mounted in a carefully streamlined nose. I am not permitted by the Official Secrets Regulations to give the power of this engine, but I can say that the aeroplane "will be, bv a wide margin, the most powerful single-seater fighter ever built. That is not the only thing in which it is unique. It has an enclosed cabin cockpit for the pilot with special arrangements for maintaining an equable temperature. It has also a. retractable undercarriage and a retractable tail wheel, so that, when in the air, the new aero plane has perfectly clean lines and is almost entirely free of parasite drag. The W’ing span is only 40ft. the length 31ft. 3in and the height lift 3in. It fs clear, therefore, that the machine is of a relatively high wing loading, and in order to keep the landing speed down, trailing edge flaps are fitted tc the wings. These are. drawn down when the pilot is about to land not only act as an air-brake but also allow the machine to come in at a lower speed. All-metal construction is used, with fhe exception of the wing covering, which is fabric. In common with most of the new aeroplanes which are on order for the Royal Air Force, a variable pitch air Anew is fitted. This has much the same affect as a motor-car gear-box, and enables the engine to work always under the most favourable conditions. No mention may bo made of the speed and climb figures aimed at in the design calculations; but I. can give

some idea of the order of performance expected from the new interceptors. The top speed, with full military load is expected to be in the vicinity of 300 miles per hour. The rapidity with whivh this new aeroplane has been designed, built and flown reflects the accelerated methods of ordering adopted by the Air ’Ministry for the purposes of the expansion programme. The. design is dated 1934. The chief duty of the interceptor fighter class of aeroplane is the defence of London. It is designed to be able t-o take off and climb quickly bo chase and attack raiding bombers, and consequently almost everything is subordinated to speed and rate of climb. Single-seater fighters in production for the Royal Air I’orce hitherto have been biplanes with fixed undercarriages and tail wheels or tail skids. At their best, with the engine running on special fuel, they have succeeded in reaching speeds of about 250 miles an hour. The new aeroplane is therefore a. marked advance on anvthng that has gone before it. Speed range devices have been tried experimental!v on other air force types, such as the Handley Page general purpose monoplane. Closed cockpits and variable pitch airscrews have also been fried. But this is the first British, military machine in which all these modern devices have been used together. Production. Speed-up Before the expansion scheme was undertaken at took sometimes seven years from the time a. new aeroplane ■was designed until the time it came into service in the squadrons. Put with the speeding u.p of the methods of ordering considerable accelerations may be expected Thcio must, however, be a dear of at least a year before an aeroplane which passes through its trials successfully ami without serious troubles can bo issued in quantity t-o the squadrons. It is of interest to note Hint the Hawker Company, in collaboration with Ttolls-Ibuvce, Ltd., have for many years been responsible for the fast.es aeroplanes in the air force. 'The Gloster Gauntlet was the first aeroplane with an air-cooled engine which was able to exceed the speeds of the types with the liquid-cooled engines. The introduction of the new Hawker Rolls-Royce interceptor should redress the balance.