Air Pictorial 1956-07
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Photos by request
MOST BEAUTIFUL HAWK of the 1920s and '30s was the Curtiss P-6E of 1932 - eventually forty-six were brought up to 'E standard, which in turn was the ultimate form after combining experimental YP-20, XP-22 and Y1P-22 Hawks. Maximum speed for a.u.w. of 3,436 lb. was 197 m.p.h. on 600-h.p. Curtiss V-1570-23 driving 3-blade, f.-p. metal airscrew. Span 31 ft. 6 in.; length 23 ft. 2 in. Aircraft of the period carried squadron insignia in lieu of fuselage cockades.
VULTEE F.T.B. (P. & W.). - Something of a "mystery ship" is NX-14980 which has the tail assembly of the well-known three-seat Vultee V-11-GB - mainly built as an export attack-bomber - but little else to identify it. The fixed undercarriage is even more functional than that of the Folland F.T.B. The enclosed single-seat cockpit is almost hidden by the wing. The engine is a Pratt & Whitney 2-row radial. Note the ventral D/F loop and aerial mast.
JADE BLANC V was the name given by the pre-war French charter company Air-Bleu to their twin-engined amphibian F-ANJT, an American-built Douglas D.117 Dolphin II (c/n. 1278). The pylon-mounted motors were 350-h.p. Pratt & Whitney R-98S Wasp Juniors. The Dolphin was first built in 1931 and had U.S.A.A.C. designations: OA-3 and -4, Y1C-21, Y1C-26 to C-26B and C-29 (also U.S.N. RD series). Span 60 ft. 6 in.; length 43 ft. 10in. Maximum speed 140 m.p.h. for a.u.w. of 8,590 lb.
MODIFIED D.H.53 - Humming Bird single-seat ultra-light, built at Stag Lane in 1924 (c/n. 103; ex-G-AUAC, old Australian registration form). Standard production motor (32-h.p. Bristol Cherub III 2-cylinder engine) has been replaced by heavier 35-40-h.p. ABC Scorpion 3-cylinder motor resulting in cut-back nose, with airscrew just clearing airframe. Prototype (1923, c/n. 101, G-EBHX) had 700-c.c. Blackburne engine giving maximum speed of 76 m.p.h. for a.u.w. 490 lb. Span 30 ft. 1 in.; length 19 ft. 8 in.