An Antonov AN·2 general.purpose biplane of the new East German (Communist) Air force reveals black, red and gold diamond insigne.

U.S. Marines R4Q-1, serial 124330, shown here, is generally similar to the rare R4Q-2 aircraft reported from Blackbushe. They are the naval equivalents of the U.S.A.F. C-119B and C-119G respectively.

DASSAULT M.D.550-03 MIRAGE III. Giving the prototype Marcel Dassault M.D.550-03 Mirage III interceptor "that extra something" is the tail end addition of the SNECMA afterburner to the SNECMA Atar 101 G.I turbojet. Available power is thus boosted by some 2,000 lb. s.t., to a reheat thrust of 9,920 lb. s.t. This first prototype of the third of the Mirage deltas is claimed to be capable of supersonic speeds in level flight (up to Mach 1.5).

A Boeing B·47 StratoJet of Strategic Air Command. Two of these B-47s (53-4295 and 53-4304) have been resident in East Anglia for several months. Most noticeable modifications are: wide-diameter weather radar nose; extended (wingtip) trailing-edge fuel vents; bulged belly and an additional dorsal plus two smaller side bulges. Unusual, too, is the port rear fuselage siting of a tail (air brake) parachute.

"Deep Freeze" Neptune fitted with retractable skis.

Четыре P2V-7 получили лыжи и ярко-красный камуфляж - они использовались в Антарктиде. Самолеты обозначались P2V-7LP (LP-2J) и не несли военного оборудования и вооружения, взамен была установлена различная научная и фото-/видеоаппаратура. Обратите внимание на большие концевые топливные баки.
FOR "OPERATION DEEPFREEZE". Four Lockheed P2V·7 Neptunes of the U.S. Navy are now in the Antarctic as part of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's aerial survey and reconnaissance task force. Almost obscured against the "Midnite" blue-painted (Wright R-3350-30W Turbo Compound) engine nacelle is the starboard podded J34-WE-34 auxiliary jet unit, standard on U.S.N. Dash Seven Neptunes. Respective powers are 2,650-h.p and 3,800-lb. s.t. The Westinghouse turbojets are used in lieu of RATO for max. load take-offs. This special snow/ice version P2V-7 has a fixed undercarriage, though the composite aluminium and steel skis (main: 16 ft. by 5 .ft. wide) may be partially lifted to permit normal wheels-down landings. This particular P2V-7 (BuAer. 140436) has the "guppy" ventral radar bath deleted and the twin 0.50-in. dorsal turret removed.

A recently developed (by No . 802 Squadron, R.N.A.S., Lossiemouth, Scotland) target banner streaming device called "Excelsior" is revealed in these three photographs.

The close-up shows the banner 'chute and the inboard ("fluid flywheel") towing cable drum. The device is now cleared for use on all Fleet Air Arm Hawker (Armstrong-Whitworth-built) F(GA) Mk. 4 Sea Hawks (WV909 illustrated).

Number one of the three higher-powered Bristol Type 173 experimental helicopters, XE286, was flown for the first time at Weston, Bristol, on 9th November 1956, with chief helicopter pilot C.T.D. "Sox" Hosegood at the controls. Note the unique fin identification "3 P" - "P" indicating this first 'Mk. 3 is the third prototype. Generally strengthened in order to take the greater a.u.w., the Type 173 Mk.3 has a taller rear rotor pylon. Improved performance will be gained by adoption of the two 850-h.p. Alvis Leonides Major ALe. M.1 air-cooled radials.1

ANTONOV AN-4 (NATO: "CAMP"). In the latter years of World War II Russia began to design big assault gliders. These were noted in numbers by the West up to the early 1950s. Since then observers had to be content with assessing parachute troopers such as the modified TU-4 and the IL-14. More recently they evaluated the progress of the Russian helicopter from lightweights to the field car-carrying, twin-engined YaK-24 (N.A.T.O.: "Horse") which first appeared in 1954. This was the key pointer to the new policy of extending the mobility and firepower of the shock troops.
So it should have been less of a surprise than it was when Western experts witnessed for the first time at the 1956 Tushino display, Russia's entry into the medium class of turboprop assault transports with the Antonov AN-4 (N.A.T.O. : "Camp").
The 51-year-old designer, Oleg Konstantinovitch Antonov, lent substance to the belief that the AN-4 was a compromise between the Fairchild C-123B Provider and the C-130A Hercules by referring to these two U.S.A.F . combat transports during a London interview last September.
Like the American combat transports mentioned already, the AN-4 (design bureau no. AN-8) has a rear loading ramp and a stubby fuselage-mounted main undercarriage (plus nosewheel) layout. In this respect the AN-4 more properly conforms to the Hercules' externally sited main undercarriage.
With a crew of two/three, the AN-4 can carry some forty fully-armed shock troops or a war load of field cars, guns and stores up to 20,000 lb. Beneath and behind the transparent nose is a radar scanner bulge, whilst in the extreme tail there is a gunner's position mounting a single, manually operated (fire-control) 23-mm. cannon.

The twin-engined Grumman S2F-1 Tracker is equipped with radar, sonobuoys, and magnetic airborne detector gear to pin-point submarines. When a fix is made the S2F-1 can launch either torpedoes, depth charges or rockets to effect the kill. The S2F-1 flew for the first time on 4th December, and is powered by two Curtiss-Wright R-1820-82 engines.

Shipped to Antarctica on board the research vessel Magga Dan - which left London on 15th November 1956 were the orange-and-black-painted de Havilland DHC-3 Otter (XL710) and the orange Auster AOP Mk. 7 (WE600).

Two Canadair Sabre 6s (FAC2021 and SAAF3S3) recently delivered show (above) revised yellow, blue and red insigne of the Colombian Air Force - the former ten-pointed white star in the centre is replaced by five-pointed star. The South African Air Force Sabre 6 shows the extraordinarily large orange, white and blue fin tricolour, first seen on "borrowed" U.S.A.F. Sabres in Korea.

The Supermarine 510 was photographed at R.A.F. Cardington by M. M. Gates of Ealing.

A Pennsylvania Air National Guard F-94A-15-LO (52-9569) Starfire two-seat, all-weather interceptor which has the standard nose-sited four 0.50-in. machine gun armament doubled by the addition of locally adapted, midwing pods, each housing two machine guns.

Westland S.55, G-AOHE (c/n. WA/126), at Burnaston en route to its Antarctic whale-spotting duties as replacement for S.55, G-ANJS, lost at sea off the Brazilian coast 5/11/55.

The Hawker P.1052 was photographed at R.A.F. Cardington by M. M. Gates of Ealing.

The P.1052 is an interesting machine and was built primarily as a research aircraft to investigate the behaviour of swept-back wings at low speeds. As the drawing shows the 1052 made use of a similar fuselage to the Hawker Seahawk, but the wing was swept back 35 degrees. The first prototype (VX272) was used to gain experience with the operation of swept-wing aircraft from aircraft carriers. At the request of the Royal Navy, Hawker Aircraft fitted the swept tailplane, and the machine was used for tests with the new empennage. Vortex generators were fitted to the top surfaces and these, with the sweep-back, improved longitudinal stability and all-round performance. The acorn fairing was used for the study of area-rule as early as 1950, although it was not known as such then.

Another Potez 25, this time in Japanese markings. G. A. Church of Epping took the photograph .

MONTE-CAIRO. Aircraft used by Egyptians to airlift repatriated Israeli-held P.O.W.s included this all-white Egyptian Air Force tri-motor Fiat G-212 CP Monterosa - originally purchased by the now defunct Itali-Egyptian company S.A.I.D.E. No markings of any description are visible.

President Ray L. Strong, formed Northern Aircraft, Inc., of Alexandria Airport, Minnesota, in November 1955, in order to build a refined version of the 1948/50 era Bellanca Cruisemaster.

Sole survivor of four D.H.80A Puss Moths supplied to the Iraqi Air Force in 1931 and 1932, YI-ABB (c/n. 2148) lies outside the Arab Contracting and Trading Co. hangar in semi-derelict condition. Originally built for the personal use of King Feisal I, the date of civil registration seems to have been 1947, the last owner Suleiman Ageirub of Almaza.

"Nor age doth wither", an appropriate quotation when applied to this well-preserved D.H.51.

EI-AHT was one of several Chipmunks which left Speke for Dublin last July. With EI-AHP it has returned to this country as related in "Airport News", and may even be a candidate for British registration in the near future.

SUD-EST SE-212 DURANDAL. The timely perfection of the small-diameter and limited weight-for-power British and French turbojets has permitted the rapid development of lightweight ground-attack and interceptor single-seaters. The grandfather clock giants typified by the 42,000-lb. a.u.w. strategic-escort McDonnell F-101A Voodoo can now be matched in altitude performance by such lightweights as the (roughly) 8,000-lb. a.u.w. Folland Fo.141 Gnat and the 9,000-lb. a.u.w. Sud-Est Aviation SE-212 Durandal. But whereas the U.S.A.F. has to cope with global attack/defence measures call ing for heavyweight colossi, Europe faces immediate (potential) attack from airfields rarely more than 400-500 miles from the capitals and industrial areas.
Thus, over the past two years there has sprung up a crop of European lightweights - in the main, Italian and French. In this respect the December 1953 N.A.T.O. specification call ing for a ground-attack fighter spurred effort. The competition has been won by the Fiat G-91, with second and third "places" going to the French Breguet Br. 1001 Taon and Dassault Etendard (Pennant) VI .
Parallel to this ground-attack effort has been the strides taken in producing turbojet and mixed-powerplant target-defence interceptors. Among the most promising are the Sud-Ouest SO-9050 Trident II and its close rival, the Durandal. Both are designed to achieve Mach 1.5 "plus" above 36,000 ft. in level flight and to intercept above 55,000 ft., where the rocket motor is in its element.
The small size of the SE-212 means limited fuel storage and suggests a combat radius of not more than two hundred miles and combat interception of not more than five minutes from a standing start. For this reason the SE-212 will carry a "one-shot" heavy calibre guided missile, pylon-mounted under the fuselage.
The SE-212 is a true delta of 60 degrees, with an area of 236 sq. ft. and a thickness/chord ratio not exceeding 5 per cent. To assist control at critical speeds the SE-212 possesses a unique strake under the nose, which also forms part of the nosewheel doors. To reduce speed at altitude the Durandal is equipped with air brakes, four "petal" doors situated behind the wing trailing edge.
There are two SE-212s, the first (SE-212-01) was flown for the first time by Sud-Est's C.T.P. Pierre "Tito" Maulandi on 20th April 1956 at C.E.V. Istres, west of Marseilles. In place of the current 8,370-lb. s.t. SNECMA Atar 101 F-2, the SE-212-01 will have the 9,700 lb. s.t. Atar 101 G-21 - both thrusts being quoted with SNECMA (two-door) reheat applied.

CESSNA MODEL 620. One of the most significant trends in the United States during 1956 was the realisation of the first specifically-designed, pressurised business executive transport - the Cessna Model 620.
The Model 620 is the first four-motor transport designed by Cessna, which has its plant and facilities at Pawnee, Wichita, Kansas. Because of the greater runway length available, the nearby McConnell Air Force Base was selected by Chief Test Pilot V. Dale Westfall for ground and initial flight trials. Co-pilot was W. H. Stinson, who dealt with instrumentation. First flight: 11th August 1956.
Following the now familiar practice, Cessna has given the prototype N620E a three-colour exterior finish, which has the desired effect of making the relatively deep fuselage look slimmer and sleeker.
Every effort has been made to reduce frontal area in order to enhance performance over a wide speed range, and the Model 620 exploits the growing utilisation of wingtip tanks. The total tankage is 535 U.S. gallons, stored in the outer wing panels and tip-tanks. Pressurisation and air-conditioning is provided by an AiResearch gas turbine in the rear fuselage.
Interior layout will be subject to customer's requirements, and seating will be in the eight/ten-passenger plus two-crew category.

CENTRAL-LAMSON MODEL L-101 AIR TRACTOR. Aerial crop-dusting is no recent or even post-war facility provided - in particular - by fixed-wing aircraft. True, the wartime development of rotary-wing aircraft has opened up new horizons, but for the time being the helicopter remains the more expensive and complex solution to the manifold varieties of aerial dusting, spraying and seed-sowing demanded by the world's agriculturists.
The greatest strides in developing the industry have taken place in the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. Post-war countries include Australia and New Zealand, as well as certain underdeveloped countries supported, in this direction, through various United Nations organisations.
Although two prototypes of the Central-Lamson L-101 Air Tractor Single-seater have been flown, production of this mixed wood and welded-steel tube construction biplane has not proceeded because of high initial costing. The "power eggs" are military Wasp Junior radials from surplus Convair (Vultee) BT-13As and 'Bs.
The striking gull-wing effect of the upper mainplanes is created by the dual requirements for unimpaired forward vision and simplified hopper loading. The 50-cu. ft. hopper is situated in front of the pilot's open cockpit. The first prototype Air Tractor, which flew on 10th December 1953, has an uncovered rear fuselage, whilst the L-101 shown here has sheet metal panels (unstressed) covering the rear fuselage. This second prototype flew for the first time on 18th December 1954. The sheeting has improved the all-round flight performance. The utility of the L-101 is increased by the adoption of interchangeable wing, panels of wood with fabric covering. The inner sections are cantilever stubs. The distinctive wingtip end plates are designed to reduce air spill and improve lateral control, at critical speeds and angles of incidence.
The welded steel tube fuselage structure supports the conventional tail assembly of metal construction with fabric covering.

An Ottawa aeronautical engineering consultant, Mr. Rene Charette, has provided Air Pictorial with an exclusive account of his original design for a new-style VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) business executive four-seater. As the general arrangement drawing indicates, the Charette Executive Vertiplane has a cantilever, constant-chord wing featuring NACA aileron-linked slots, spoiler ailerons, endplates and 80-per-cent-span interconnected (with tailplane) wing flaps. This all-metal, fixed quadricycle undercarriage monoplane takes advantage of two outsize airscrews which are connected to a self-priming oil-fed turbine. The only controls will be the throttle and a steering-wheel-type control system. Tests with scale models over the past twelve years indicate that the double-flap system and the "blown wing" of highlift section will achieve 90-degree slipstream deflection and superior lateral control. Mr. Charette suggests that the Executive Vertiplane - which is now being constructed in prototype form - will achieve 150 m.p.h. and have a cruising range of 1,500 miles at 100 miles/gallon. Span 38 ft.; length 25 ft.; height 7 ft. 6 in.

The 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. S.A.e., U.S.A.F., is the first unit to be equipped with the specially-modified Republic RF-84F-RE armed photo-recce Thunderflash. Dubbed FICON (Fighter Reconnaissance), these modified Thunderflashes extend the 10,000-mile range of the "mother" Convair GRB-36J-CFs by an additional 2,000 miles.

THE MIGHTY ATOM. The new U.S.A.F. designation N (or Nuclear is applied for the first time - to a Convair B-36H-CF. More than 370 of these 230-ft. span giants have been built - no fewer than 154 of which are B/RB-36Hs. This extra-special flying test-bed houses the world's first airborne test reactor (designated ASTR) which has a "twin" in equal power - one megawatt - ground Test Reactor. Both TRs are currently supplying valuable information in connection with projected WS-125A bomber with which Convair at Fort Worth, Texas, is intimately concerned. The TR has the nominal capacity of 150 lb. s.t . - if it were part of a propulsion system. The B-36 was chosen because of its fuselage length, increased in this case by a new nose and revised pilots' compartment. The shielded canopy superficially resembles that of a Vickers Viscount. Position of the TR is marked by reference to the red-painted air scoops (one each side of the rear fuselage) . The scooped air serves the TR's heat exchangers. Special markings applied to the NB-36H. (U .S.A.F.: 51-5712) include red wingtips and jet pods; the official Atomic Energy organge-vaned radiation symbol on the fin, and distinctive blue nose and fuselage striping. First flight of the NB-36H (then XB-36H) was on 17th September 1955 with A. S. Witchell, Jnr., at the controls. A crew of five was carried on this occasion. Whenever the NB-36H is airborne a "guardian" Boeing B-50 Superfortress is in attendance. On board are ten para-technicians who would be dropped to take charge of operations should the "hot" NB-36H be force-landed anywhere except the prescribed bases.

Shipped to Antarctica on board the research vessel Magga Dan - which left London on 15th November 1956 were the orange-and-black-painted de Havilland DHC-3 Otter (XL710) and the orange Auster AOP Mk. 7 (WE600). The latter accompanied the Antarctica expedition of the last winter.