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When left to their own devices, the interwar and WW2-era FAA rarely made any attractive aircraft. Flycatcher, Fulmar, Barracuda, Shadower, Skua, Roc, Firebrand, etc. were ugly compared to their RAF counterparts. The best looking FAA aircraft were RAF types, like the Nimrod and Sea Fury.Gawd those are ugly!The P.94 might have made a half decent carrier fighter; it would certainly have been an advance over what the FAA had in service in 1940.
The Fulmar is pretty sleek. Put a two stage Merlin in and you'd have a fast high altitude recce bomber.When left to their own devices, the interwar and WW2-era FAA rarely made any attractive aircraft. Flycatcher, Fulmar, Barracuda, Shadower, Skua, Roc, Firebrand, etc. were ugly compared to their RAF counterparts. The best looking FAA aircraft were RAF types, like the Nimrod and Sea Fury.
Take out the guns and a Tac-R Hurricane did 350 mph. I think that beats the unarmed Defiant I by 30 mph.From Flying to the Limit by Peter Caygill:
Page 33,
"The resultant P.82 Defiant, designed to meet specification F.9/35 was flown
for the first time by Cecil Feather on 11 August 1937 at Wolverhampton
Airport."
"In its construction, the Defiant was more advanced than the Hurricane,..."
"..., it was much simpler to produce than the Spitfire."
"The prototype Defiant (K8310) was delivered to A&AEE at Martlesham
Heath in early December 1937 for an initial assessment. The turret had
not yet been fitted so a metal fairing took its place. Powered by a Rolls-
Royce Merlin I, performance testing showed a top speed of 320 mph. and
the aircraft attained a height of 10,500 ft. in 7.5 minutes (using +6.25 lb.
boost)."
K8310 was fitted with a turret and reached 303 mph./16,600 ft./+6.25 lb.
and climbed to 20,000 ft./15.1 minutes. Using 100 octane fuel and +12 lb.
boost the Defiant I with a Merlin III could reach 312 mph./10,000 ft.
I'd love to have seen a sleek single seat Fulmar. Sort of like this photoshopped single seat Firefly.The Fulmar is pretty sleek. Put a two stage Merlin in and you'd have a fast high altitude recce bomber.
Take out the guns and a Tac-R Hurricane did 350 mph. I think that beats the unarmed Defiant I by 30 mph.
I'm thinking of Hurricane I, no guns, just cameras, 16 lbs boost. Should be good for 350 mph at 7500 feet, maybe 340 mph at 18000 feet.Shores, Cull and Izawa 1993, Page 403:
Hurricane Tac R:
" An additional radio was fitted for liaison with ground forces who were better placed to direct the Hurricane. Some
Hrricane Tac R aircraft also had a vertical camera fitted in the rear fuselage, so to compensate for the extra weight
either one or two Brownings or two cannons would be omitted."
Probably just a very slight increase in speed, if any.
The Photo Reconnaissance Hurricane PR Mk.II was fitted with the Merlin XX. It was said to be capable of slightly
over 350 mph. and was able to reach 38,000 ft. Keep in mind this was with an engine capable of 1,185 hp./+12 lb.
boost, 1,280 hp./+14 lb. boost and 1,490 hp./+16 lb. boost.
It is hardly fair to compare the Hurricane PR Mk.II's speed in October 1941 to the 890 hp. Merlin I powered single
seat Defiant which could reach 320 mph at the end of 1937.
I'm thinking of Hurricane I, no guns, just cameras, 16 lbs boost. Should be good for 350 mph at 7500 feet, maybe 340 mph at 18000 feet.
I'm thinking of Hurricane I, no guns, just cameras, 16 lbs boost. Should be good for 350 mph at 7500 feet, maybe 340 mph at 18000 feet.
The Merlin III was cleared for +16 lb. boosting (1,440 hp./5,500 ft.)with 100 octane after the
beginning of 1940 in Sea Hurricanes, but I am not home so I can't look up the exact date at
this time.
No, it was on the Sea Hurricane Ib being used on the 1942 Malta convoys, definitely Pedestal, IIRC earlier.I dont think the Merlin III was cleared for +16lbs of boost though that doesnt mean somebody didnt have a go at it, but there comes a point where raising boost becomes counter productive and the side entry Supercharger on the Merlin III was about on the limit at +12lbs. Anymore boost and it starts to take more power to run the supercharger than the extra power you get out. Anything more than +12lbs needed Stanley Hookers magic slide rule.
iirc The first Merlin cleared to run at +16lbs was the Merlin 45 in the Spitfire MkV.
IIRC 16 lbs boost was tested in 1941 and introduced in 1942.You could plot the Merlin III boost ratings on a chart and they would pretty much follow a straight line. let's remember that 16lb of boost is pretty close to 62in of MAP.
The Merlin III might have been able to generate over 70in at sea level
Question is wither the engine would run for more than a minute or two.
The higher you go the less absolute pressure the supercharger can make.
Some of the Melrin XX engines were rated at 14lbs in low gear and 16lbs in high gear but I can't recall the dates at the moment. At some point they may have been allowed to use 16lbs in low gear?
However I don't think that the 16lb rating for any Merlin was used in 1940. The CAM ships didn't go into action until the summer (or very late spring) of 1941.
Main problem for many land fighters in trying to transition to a carrier fighter is the stalling speed, which translates to take-off run and landing speed.
The Hurricane and Spitfire made the transition because they both had a low wing loading/low stall speed (and gentile stall) they may not have been ideal but they were workable.
....
Interesting stuff, as I understood it wing loading is a value, whether that is good or bad depends on what you want to do, if you want to climb or turn you want low loading, if you want to go fast you want it highAnyway, I don't know if any of this helps, but I thought that I'd pass it along, since I had the plot.
Pat
View attachment 559900
Forgive me, I can't resist. From the world of Drake's Drum.
'A Cutlass IIIB of 849 Squadron RN, in flight over Singapore 1945. Though obsolescent, Cutlass fighters saw action in the early part of the campaign in South East Asia but were phased out by mid 1946.'