Flight 1939-10
Flight
A recent type of naval seaplane is this Arado shown mounted on the catapult ot the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.
A post-delivery line-up ol some of the lower-powered Me 109s. It will be seen that some have wooden airscrews and others metal.
A Bt 109 zooms dramatically. Exceptional powers of manoeuvre are claimed for this machine.
A GOOD SHOT: A Messerschmitt fighter brought down by French A. A. guns when about to attack an R.A.F. reconnaissance formation over Germany. The figure in the triangle on the side means that fuel of 87 octane was used in the engine.
A Messerschmitt Bf 109 single-seater ot the earlier series, powered with a Junkers Jumo 210 inverted vee-twelve of 640 h.p.
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 as fitted with a Daimler-Benz DB 600 engine (950 h.p.) and a three-bladed variable-pitch V.D.M. airscrew.
One of France’s American-built Curtiss Hawk 75As with Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engine. This machine is extremely popular and is armed with six machine guns.
At a flying school in pre-war Germany. The monoplanes on the left are Focke-Wulf Stoesser, those on the right Heinkel H.E.51s. In the distance may be seen some Arados.
The He 112U record-breaker. Showing the lines of the special He 112U, which attained a speed of nearly 464 m.p.h. The characteristics of the machine are shown here, though information on cooling is still lacking.
A pastoral scene with a background of Heinkel He 112 fighters.
The latest version of the He 112U which, although claimed to be in production for squadrons of the Luftwaffe, is very similar to the He 112U record-breaker.
This Flight copyright drawing shows details of the Heinkel He 112 single-seater fighter with Junkers Jumo 210 engine. The armament depicted is two 20 mm. shell-guns mounted in the wings and a pair of synchronised machine guns. Several versions of the He 112 have appeared, but that shown is believed to be fairly typical.
LOW APPROACH: Thanks to its slots and flaps the Handley Page Hampden can be operated from small aerodromes. A pair of Hampdens are seen approaching low with a Miles Magister in the foreground.
Using a hand camera from the rear cockpit of a Henschel Hs 126.
A formation of Henschel Hs 126s. This machine is probably the most easily recognised of all the German service types.
Flight copyright drawings of the Henschel Hs 126 army co-operation monoplane designed for the same duties as our own Westland Lysander.
"The plain fact seems to be that our latest fighters are definitely better than their German counterparts." Hawker Hurricane formation.
French and British single-seater fighters. The photograph shows two Hawker Hurricanes, one of which is just taking off.
The Martin type 167 was ordered in considerable numbers by France before the outbreak of war. The type is a mid-wing monoplane.
One of the very latest attack-bombers which can be used either for normal bombing or for "strafing" ground targets: the Martin 167.
THE MODERN MORANES: During the war 1914-18 the name Morane was something to conjure with. Now the French Air Force is using large numbers of Morane 406 single-seaters with Hispano-Suiza 12Y moteur canon. Three of these machines are shown
Agile and versatile, the French Potez 63 multi-purpose monoplane, with two 700 h.p. small-diameter Gnome Rhone 14M engines, is a formidable adversary for the single-seater Messerschmitt Me 109. The Potez 63 is in service in considerable numbers and can be used for fighting, light bombing, ground attack, and reconnaissance. As a fighter it carries two 20 mm. Hispano shell-guns under the nose and one or more machine guns.
"The plain fact seems to be that our latest fighters are definitely better than their German counterparts." Supermarine Spitfire formation.
A GOOD PLAN: The plan view of a draughtsman's general arrangement drawing could be little more accurate than this Flight photograph of a Fairey Battle single-engined bomber (Rolls-Royce Merlin engine). The Battle was the subject of one of the first “Expansion” orders and is doing excellent service. It is extensively used as a dive-bomber.
BLIND-LANDING EXPERIMENTS: The Lockheed C40-B which will be used by the U.S. Army Air Corps for instrument-landing experiments. The machine weighs 9,200 lb. and carries a pilot and four test observers. It appears that the undercarriage is fixed; certainly this is true of the nose wheel, which is carefully faired. It will be noted that a conventional tail wheel is also fitted as a precautionary measure.
BRISTOL BRILLIANCE: In its time the old Bristol Fighter was outstanding among military aircraft. Today the Blenheim carries on the tradition of the “Brisfit.” Fast, formidable, a revelation to fly, it has already achieved distinction on active service
MULTI-PURPOSE: The Bristol Blenheim, although chiefly famed as a bomber, is adaptable, as a strategical reconnaissance machine or fighter. Vast quantities have been delivered to the Royal Air Force. The machines seen are of the Mark IV, or "long-nosed" variety. They have Bristol Mercury VIII engines.
"Vital military information has been gained and recorded, and units have familiarised themselves with the country over which they will be called upon to operate." Westland Lysander army co-operation monoplanes may be assumed to be doing their share of the work on the Western Front.
This near-scale model of a Miles Magister won for Mr. J. Coxall the Bowden International Trophy for 1939.
FOR GENERAL PURPOSES: The Arado Ar 95 is a sturdy, versatile biplane with B.M.W. 132 Dc engine. The large drawing shows it as a seaplane carrying a torpedo and bombs, though these are alternative loads. The smaller sketches show the landplane version the method of wing folding and the attachment of the torpedo.
Typical of the larger twin-engined aircraft used in the Luftwaffe for strategical reconnaissance are these Dornier Do 17s. The machines shown are fitted with B.M.W. VI engines; later types have Daimler-Benz inverted Vs, B.M.W. 132s or Bramo Fafnirs
A DANGEROUS VIEW for the pilot of an “E.A.” to have of the Vickers Wellington bomber is that shown here. The tail gunner can easily bring the stern armament to bear.
HOMING: After a long night’s flying a Vickers Wellington bomber approaches its aerodrome as the early sun tinges the clouds below. Soon the pilot will switch the blowers of his two Pegasus engines into low gear and descend.
"Some of the longer reconnaissance flights - of 1,000 miles or so - have been carried out at night under weather conditions of great difficulty." A Vickers Wellington above the clouds.
GROUND ATTACK: One of the most successful of the new types being introduced to the French Air Force is the Breguet 69 multi-purpose monoplane with two Gnome-Rhone 14M engines. Three of these attractive machines are shown performing the International Meeting at Brussels this summer.
"Formidable-looking British fighter ’planes flying in perfect formation on patrol. These speedy machines are the equal of the vessels of their type in any country." Believe it or not, that was the caption supplied with this photograph, an it had been passed by Censor. Apart from tending to make the good old Hind look ridiculous, it is scarcely good propaganda for neutral countries, which are now being flooded with pictures of modern German military aircraft types.
A Fieseler Storch, of the type which is used for certain army co-operation duties, showing its liberal supply of slots and flaps and the specially designed undercarriage.
“The activities of the Coastal Command, too have been unremitting and strenuous in the extreme from the first day of war.” Short Sunderlands on patrol.
A Dornier Do18K flying boat brought down during an attack on our Fleet.
The crew of the Do18K preparing to launch their rubber dinghy. It was a flying boat of this type which, in 1938 made a catapult-launched non-stop flight from Start Bay, Devon, to Caravellas on the coast of Brazil, a distance oi 5,220 miles. The type is fitted with two Junkers diesel engines
The He 59 (two B.M.W. VIs) now being relegated to training duties. It was used quite extensively during the war in Spain
Obsolete as a first-line type, the Heinkel He 60 is used extensively for seaplane training. It a liquid-cooled B.M.W. VI engine.
A Flight Copyright drawing of the Heinkel He 114 reconnaissance sesquiplane with B.M.W. 132 Dc engine.
An earlier type of He 115 with a shorter nose. The inspection ladders from the floats to the fuselage are interesting.
A twin-engined general-purpose floatplane of the Luftwaffe is the Heinkel He 115 shown discharging its “tin fish” which is stowed internally.
Blackburn Skua of the Fleet Air Arm
ATTEMPTED RETRIBUTION: The Fairey Swordfish which attacked the U-boat that had sunk the freighter Kafiristan. Bombs can be seen under the wings. This photograph was taken from the Atlantic Farmer which rescued the crew.
Fairey Swordfish of the Fleet Air Arm
SAME WEAPON, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS: A Vickers Vildebeest used for training pilots in the art of torpedo-dropping seen over a British submarine which also specialises in attacks with torpedoes. These are of heavier patterns.
The most detailed view ever published of the Messerschmitt Bf 109R which, flown by Fritz Wendel, attained a speed of 755.138 km/hr. (460.225 m.p.h.). A special DB 601A engine giving something like 1,800 h.p. was installed. The cruciform tail is notable.
HERCULES-POWERED: The prototype Fokker T.9 twin-engined bomber which has been adopted by the Dutch East Indian Air Force. Unlike the majority of its predecessors the T.9 is of all-metal construction. It is fitted with two Bristol Hercules fourteen-cylinder sleeve-valve radial engines giving a maximum output of at least 1,375 apiece. No figures have been issued but the top speed should be well in excess of 260 m.p.h.