WITHOUT “PROPS”

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 88, Issue 6, 8 January 1944, Page 6

WITHOUT “PROPS”

JET-PROPELLED FIGHTER AIRCRAFT Recd. 7.5 p.m. Rugby, Jan. 6. Aircraft without propellers may become familiar in the near future. Jetpropelled fighter aircraft have successfully passed experimental tests and will soon be in production. A joint statement by the U.S.A.A.F. and the R.A.F., describing this revolutionary development in air Weirfare, says:—Work was started in Britain in 1933 by Group-Captain Frank Whittle and the first engine ran successfully in April. 1937. The Air Ministry placed the first order ir 1939 for aircraft using jet-propulsion engines with the Gloster Aircraft Company. The engines were to be built by Power Jet, Ltd., a special factory in "England, to whom Group Captain Whittle was loaned. The first successful flight was made in May, 1941. The pilot was Flight-Lieutenant P. G. Sayers, chief test pilot for the Gloster Company. It was Group Captain Whittle’s genius and energy that made this fine performance possible. Full information about the engine was disclosed in July, 1941, to General Arnold, Chief of the United States Air Force, who, like the R.A.F. and the Ministry of Aircraft Production, had the foresight to appreciate the tremendous possibilities. He at once asked lhat an engine be sent. The engine which made the first flight was sent to the General Electrical Company in September, 1941. As a result of close co-operation between the two air forces and their material suppliers and the General Electrical Company a number of these engines have been built. The first was ready for test under six months. An aircraft company was given an order to build aircraft suitable to take two engines, and the first flight in the United States was made under 12 months. Several hundred successful flights have been carried out since byBritish pilots in the United States and England, many at high altitudes and extreme speed, without a single mishap. In view of this successful record and the obvious advantage ot the new type of aircraft, General Arnold, the Air Ministry and the Ministry of Aircraft Production directed that plans be made lor the production in the United States and England of a sufficient quantity for training purposes. The U.S.A.A.F. is also giving some to the United States Navy for additional trials and experiment Recd. 6.30 p.m. London, Jan. 6. Aeroplane jet propulsion, which has successfully passed the experimental tests and will soon be in production, ends the need for the orthodox engine and air-crew, says the aeronautical writer of The Times. The new type of plane, without air-screw, has no need for a heavy undercarriage, which is merely dead weight when the plane is airborne. There are many varieties of the jet propulsion system, but broadly the air is drawn into ducts in the leading edges of the wings or the nose fuselage. It is then mixed with fuel, compressed by a turbo-driven impeller, and fired in the combustion chamber. Then, expanded by heat, it is forced out at high speed through jets or nozzles emerging from the rear 'edges of the wings or from the tail fuselage. The jet propulsion system may not only have extremely important war applications but will also present tremendous possibilities for air transport after the war. Big strides have already been made, though many problems remain to be solved, among them fuel consumption. The Italian Caproni Aircraft Company two years ago disclosed that it had made successful flights with jetpropelled planes but the performance mentioned was not impressive, though it may have been better than the published results. The Washington correspondent of the New York Times says indications are that the new fighters will soon make their debut on the war fronts. Some observers believe the planes are already in action, stating that it is a standard British and American practice not to announce new weapons until they have been tried against the enemy and the enemy is aware of their existence.