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Beech UC-43 Traveler 43-10880 PAPUA NEW GUINEA




WWII Photo USAAF BEECH UC-43 TRAVELER Beechcraft 17 Biplane PAPUA NEW GUINEA | eBay

USAAF Beech UC-43 Traveler. Stamped "Passed by US Army Examiner" on verso. No corresponding negative was found. Papua, New Guinea. Old WWII Photograph. This collection was gathered and saved by P-38 / F-4 Lightning pilot and photographer with the Fifth Air Force / Eighth Photo Squadron, Chester...
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Snautzer01 said:
Westland Welkin DG558

Click to expand...

The Westland Welkin, what the Whirlwind evolved into and could have been earlier on if designed around Merlins instead of Peregrines. This indeed was the prototype and arrived at Boscombe down in May 1943 with Merlin 77 engines. It was there for performance trials, but these were curtailed early on as the tailwheel collapsed shortly after the aircraft's arrival and a successful forced landing following a seized engine from the prop overspeeding. Trials continued, but were curtailed when the tailwheel collapsed again in February 1944.

Trials stated that servicing the aircraft was complex, but access was good. In the air a lot of faults were found, the most serious being an engine fire (!). A production example under trials in late 1943 was burned out after a successful forced landing and evacuation by the pilot, with a third being sent for trials afterwards, but this one suffered an overspeeding prop too and two weeks later resulted in a belly landing when there was a loss of oil pressure. It suffered a third engine failure and this time was written off in the subsequent crash. Not a good record.

The ailerons gave slow response time despite spring tabs and the rudder oscillated when the trim tab was actuated and the elevators tended to flutter up and down during a dive, causing the control column in the cockpit to move back and forth of its own volition! Rate of roll was not good and high altitude manoeuvrability was poor. A bit of a dog, actually.

It's a good photo; Welkins were notoriously camera shy.
 
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