Tricky Quickie

[Britbrat]

1. In 1914, a very eccentric aircraft designer began to produce a series of highly exotic aircraft designs, including two flying boats that could shed their wings & tails for use as cabin cruisers, plus a twin-engined night fighter that was armed with a recoilless rifle. Who was this designer?

2. He was the founder of what famous aviation company?

3. In 1931, a highly successfull cross-breed aircraft came into service. It combined the fuselage of a high wing aircraft with the wing of an entirely different low wing plane. What was it?

4. What airlines operated this aircraft?

5. In 1956, what unusual fighter prototype achieved M 1.5 in level flight, had an initial rate of climb = 39, 000 ft/min, & actually reached 82,000 ft in 4 min?

6. Why did it not go into production?

[Galvin]

1. In 1914, a very eccentric aircraft designer began to produce a series of highly exotic aircraft designs, including two flying boats that could shed their wings & tails for use as cabin cruisers, plus a twin-engined night fighter that was armed with a recoilless rifle. Who was this designer?

That would be Noel Pemberton-Billing

2. He was the founder of what famous aviation company?

He first founded Pemberton-Billing Ltd, which later became Supermarine. "Supermarine" was originally the PB company's telegraph address.

3. In 1931, a highly successfull cross-breed aircraft came into service. It combined the fuselage of a high wing aircraft with the wing of an entirely different low wing plane. What was it?

I'm guessing that it was the Lockheed Orion series, basically a low wing, retractable gear version of the proven Vega series. Both continued the then current Lockheed practice of extremely clean wooden fuselages molded in half shells over heated concrete forms.

4. What airlines operated this aircraft?

Of the top of my head I seem to remember Varney Speed Lanes, later to become a component of Continental Airlines. Paul Mantz had one he used as a photo ship but it was lost in 1940 in a collission with the prototype Vultee Model 61 Vanguard. The Vanguard survived and was then rebuilt as the more conventional (and more successful) Model 48X. Someone else can find the others.

5. In 1956, what unusual fighter prototype achieved M 1.5 in level flight, had an initial rate of climb = 39, 000 ft/min, & actually reached 82,000 ft in 4 min?

Would that have been the TSR.2? I don't believe it flew in 1956 but was the subject of much controversy at that time.

6. Why did it not go into production?

Seems to have been a combination of Defense Minister Duncan Sandy's belief that manned aircraft were by then obsolete combined with a "buy america" movement in order to eliminate development costs. Here's a more complete rundown:

www.arrow-alliance.com/BAC_TSR.2.html

[Britbrat]

I'm impressed -- 1,2,3 & 4. I thought that Pemberton-Billing would be adequately obscure -- obviously not. ;D

Unfortunately you are still in the dark re. the 1950's fighter.

[Galvin]

Let someone else go for it then. ;D Sounds like it might even have been rocket powered.
I just put most of them down off the top of my head and found some URLs to back up the facts.

[Mugs914]

Is no. 5 the Sud-Ouest SO 9000 Trident? It was a French mixed power jet-rocket interceptor. Carried one Matra missile, fire it and get outa Dodge...

If that's the one, then no. 6: It didn't reach production because it lost out to the Mirage's versatility.

[Britbrat]

Nope

[Dave Moffitt]

No 5, could that be the SR53 ?

Dave Moffitt

[Britbrat]

Nope. Keep searching. The aircraft is unusual.

[Patch]

how about the R7-9A??

[Britbrat]

Nope ;D

[Patch]

the FZA-19?

[Britbrat]

OK guys -- time for the unveiling:


Leduc 022. This was a "turbo-ramjet" fighter prototype. The pilot semi-reclined inside a bullet nose that protruded from the open end of the ramjet duct (which looked like the body of a water heater tank) an Atar 101D-3 turbojet was installed inside the duct in a faired internal pod extension of the cockpit bullet. There were 21 burners in the duct, arranged in seven banks that could be lit independently to adjust ramjet thrust. The turbojet permitted the aircraft to take-off & land under its own power & to reach the speed necessary to light-off the ramjet.

Performance was more than impressive, but the fuel consumption was staggering, & full power endurance was only 10 min -- this was deemed impractical for an operational interceptor. The 022's speed & rate of climb were not matched for another two years, until the arrival of the ill-fated Avro Arrow, which was also cancelled.

[Galvin]

I thought of the Leduc series of ramjet aircraft almost from the first moment but rejected them because you said FIGHTER prototype and not one of my sources describes them as anything but high speed research aircraft. I am familiar with the series, having become very interested in them back in the mid fifties when my father was working as an engineer for Marquardt making the ramjets for the BOMARC missile.

The Leduc 022 was the first of the series that had a turbojet mounted in the center of the annulus allowing it to take off and land under its own power, other models flown in the series ( the 010 and 021) having to be air launched off the top of a dedicated four engined transport a la the Space Shuttle glide tests.

Poor throttle control, lack of maneuverability, and the fact that the airplane's fuel was limited to 15 minutes caused the project to be dropped in 1958.

[Britbrat]

The Leduc 010 & 021 were specifically research aircraft. The 022 was intended as the prototype for an interceptor. What sealed the 022's fate, in addition to the limited endurance, was the shift in French Air Ministry requirements toward multi-role combat aircraft because of wildly escallating development costs. They decided that the day of the pure interceptor was over.
(Encyclopedia of Aircraft, 2004)

[Galvin]

The French had a bent toward the unusual if not the impractical at that time and determining whether they were actually serious in their attempt to make this into a fighter is open to question. Whatever the Leduc 022 was intended for, it was certainly unusual. BTW: I also thought of the SNECMA Coleoptere but I don't believe it was that high a performer. It is perhaps one of the ugliest aircraft ever built and was nicknamed "The Keg on Wheels."

www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraft/SNECMA-Coleoptere/info/info.htm

In any event, here's the "fighter prototype" 022.

[Britbrat]

The SNECMA C-450 Coleoptere was indeed ugly & a poor performer to boot. It could not quite reach 500 mph in level flight, but had a respectable initial climb rate (25,000 ft/min). It only achieved three free flights (other than tethered vertical take-offs), before it was destroyed in a crash.

[SuppaRoosta]

That thing almost makes me handsome!