Aeroplane_2021-02.pdf

(20461 KB) Pobierz
REVEALED
How Argentina nearly bought the Harrier!
February 2021
Issue No 574,
Vol 49, No 2
‘Johnnie’
Johnson:
the RAF’s
greatest
wing leader
ACE
of ACES
HISTORY IN THE AIR SINCE 1911
LYING DOWN
ON THE JOB
Flying the unique
prone pilot Meteor
9 770143 724156
PLUS
FLYING
LEGENDS
www.
How the famous
airshow began
FEBRUARY 2021
£5.49
02
Contents
February 2021
See pages
26-27
for a g
reat
subscription
o er
42
36
68
47
58
NEWS AND
COMMENT
4
6
FROM THE EDITOR
NEWS
• Hendon to get Hampden fuselage only
• Spitfire fires up at Avspecs
• Boeing retires CT-133 chase-planes
…and the month’s other top aircraft
preservation news
14
WORKSHOP
How the Berlin Airlift Historical
Foundation is busy preparing a
replacement Douglas C-54, after its
predecessor was wrecked
18
HANGAR TALK
Steve Slater’s comment on the historic
aircraft world
20
FLIGHT LINE
Reflections on aviation history with
Matthew Willis
FEATURES
28
‘JOHNNIE’ JOHNSON
Twenty years on from his death, we
examine the aerial combat prowess
of ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, and ask how he
became the RAF’s most successful
wing leader of World War Two
36
BAC X ELEVEN
Quite a lot of designs have a claim to
represent the last chance for Britain’s
airliner industry, but the X-Eleven more
than most
42
PRONE PILOT METEOR
Test pilot Hugh Field recalls a unique
assignment: making the last few flights
of the one-o prone pilot Gloster
Meteor research aircraft
47
SOPWITH DOVE
The real history behind this inter-war
sporting biplane, neither Pup nor
Snipe derivative, but a bit of both —
and what it’s like to fly reproduction
G-EAGA
58
HARRIER FOR LATIN AMERICA
The V/STOL jet seemed an ideal
platform for Latin America’s air arms,
but achieved no sales in the region —
this despite a memorable sales tour
64
68
PAYEN Pa 49
Perhaps, on reading its story, it’s no
surprise this French miniature jet of
the ’50s remained one of a kind…
AEROPLANE
MEETS…
REG URSCHLER
From secret Cold War reconnaissance
missions in the RB-47 and RC-135 to
USAF Heritage Flight displays in his
much-loved P-51D
Gunfighter,
this
great American aviator led a very full
career indeed
DATABASE: REGGIANE Re 2000,
2001, 2002 AND 2005
The Reggiane company’s
foray into building fighters
for Italy’s Regia
Aeronautica
DATA
BASE
was, as
T
Luigino Caliaro
REGGIANE
describes,
Re 2000, 2001,
2002 & 2005
brief and
fraught, but
significant
nonetheless
IN DEPTH
Re 2002
Re 2002s
at a dusty of the 239ª Squadrig
Tarquini
lia
1943, a few
a airfield
weeks before in June
transfer
the
to
the Allied Crotone in respons unit’s
invasion
of Sicily. e to
81
The armis
tice
use, the Re having truncated
2002 found
its Regia
Aeronautica
a niche with
the Luftw
a e
Background
IN DEPTH
PAGES
17
REGULARS
22
24
SKYWRITERS
Q&A
Your questions asked and answered
78
PERSONAL ALBUM
Looking back 25 years to the 50th
anniversary of Eric Brown’s pioneering
Vampire carrier landing, and a unique
commemoration
99
REVIEWS
The latest books for the discerning
aviation enthusiast
106
NEXT MONTH
WORDS:
LUIGINO CALIARO
perform
optimised
SANDHAM BAILEY
ance
CHRIS
for low and
altitudes.
medium
were such e modi cations
that, in the
Re 2002 was
end,
very similar the
Re 2001 apart
to the
the engine. from, obviously,
the poor It was undoubtedly
availability
Romeo-built
of the
DB601 that Alfa
resulted
in its develop
ment.
e maiden
ight of the
aircraft, o
new
the Ariete, cially named as
was conduc
Tullio De
ted
Prato at Reggio by
in October
Emilia
1940.
proved particul Fine-tuning
arly laboriou
due to the
s
unreliability
Piaggio engine,
of the
in the suspens which resulted
ion of
testing in
December. ight-
therefore
It was
only
the prototyp possible to send
certi cation e to Guidonia for
testing in
1941. Despite
March
again caused further delays,
unreliability, by powerplant
test pilot
Mario de
roplanem
A
equippe
new
Hungarian Air Force
d with
Piaggio PXIX
Re 2000, or Héja, serial
the
V.418.
RC45
This was
B 1,180hp
an Italian-built example,
Turbine
air-cool
which served on the Russian
ed radial
engine, and
with
front.
he Re 2002
result of
was the
a study,
initiated
in
of 1940, for the summer
to the Re
a success
2000
or
92
www.ae
81-97_AM_
Database_
Feb2021_c
c C.indd
Re 2005 MM092352
in Regia Aeronautica
markings at the Reggiane
plant on 4 June 1943.
2021
AEROPLANE
FEBRUARY
www.aeroplanemonth
81-97_AM_Database_Feb20
21_cc C.indd 81
17
onthly.co
m
92
Re 2000
Given that,
the engine and in the hope
maladies
resolved,
would be
on
the Ministe 10 September 1941
placed an ro dell’Aeronautic
a
order with
for a rst
Reggiane
batch
In the second of 200 aircraft.
half of the
Reggiane
year,
decided
to install
new version
a
of the PXIX
engine,
hoping to
further improve
performance
and despera
the two-sea
seeking to
tely
solve
another 198t Re 2003, ordered
issues. Despite the reliability
the intentio
performed Re 2002s. Tests were
it would
n that
that year
be a
the potentia
to examin
would actually ghter, the Re 2002
e
demons
be embark l for the Re 2002
the best of
to
ed on aircraft
its qualitie trate
but these
carriers,
ghter-bo
were
mber, even s as a
the armistic overtaken by
the carriage
though
8 Septem e, announced on
negatively of stores impacte
ber. A
d
on its perform
for 300 aircraft further order
In January
ance.
1943 the
with Reggian was placed
ministry,
air
having cancelle
with deliveri e in March 1943,
Having returned
d
August, but es scheduled for
to Reggio
evaluation
again the
Emilia
at Guidonia
armistice
MM454
, Re 2002 after military
is pictured
prototyp
on 19 April
1941.
e
Bernardi
reported
good ying
qualities,
particularly
of speed.
in terms
Re 2001
Re 2002
Re 2005
AEROPL
ANE
FEBRUA
RY 2021
17/12/2020
10:52
ly.com
81
Your Aviation Destination
See
page 46
for
details
102
A DAY AT THE SHOW
Looking back to 1993, and the very
first Flying Legends
PAGES
17/12/2020 09:26
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
COVER IMAGE:
Wg Cdr ‘Johnnie’ Johnson and his dog Sally with a
Spitfire IX at Bazenville advanced landing ground,
northern France, in July 1944.
IWM TR 2145
AEROPLANE
FEBRUARY 2021
www.aeroplanemonthly.com
3
H
Editor
a blind alley, but there are few more striking
exhibits in visual terms. e Vimy may be
a reproduction, but it’s a very ne one, and
its Eagle engines alone a ord the machine
great historical value. And then there’s the
two-seat Fw 190, perhaps the stand-out
aircraft of the whole lot. Does the RAFM
need two Fw 190s, having got its single-
seater back from the IWM a few years ago?
Perhaps not, but this example is unique,
highly
original to an extent that should not
be jeopardised, and it’s hard to imagine a
national collection in any other country
considering such an artefact for disposal.
at, largely, is down to policy. Many
overseas national collections do not readily
dispose of exhibits. ey prefer to put them
out on loan. For something as rare as the
Fw 190, we must ask, is disposal the most
appropriate option? Would it be the right
message for a national museum to send out?
inking more widely about the
underlying issues, though, one factor keeps
coming to mind.
Most of our major
aviation museums
have little in the way
of spare space at
their disposal. If a
new exhibit is loaned
or acquired, an existing one must often, in
turn, be placed in storage or disposed of.
Yes, the RAFM now has fewer aircraft on
display at Hendon since the former Battle of
Britain hall was turned — to a not entirely
glowing reception — into an RAF 1918-2018
exhibition. But this still represents a drop
in the ocean compared with the numbers
of airframes it has in long-term storage,
or out on loan — many at the Science and
Industry Museum in Manchester, with all
the uncertainties over its future, alone.
ere comes a point where something has
to give. Without extra capacity, it may nearly
be upon us.
As you will have noted, this month’s issue
is out a week earlier than normal. However,
we’ll be back to our usual schedule next
time — the March edition appears in the
shops from the second ursday of the
month, 11 February.
Ben Dunnell
From the
CONNECT WITH
AEROPLANE…
www.facebook.com/AeroplaneMonthly
@HistoryInTheAir
ow an internal RAF Museum
e-mail listing 26 aircraft being
considered for disposal was
leaked I’ve no idea, but I’m glad
it was. Before we published the story last
month, the message had been seen by most
of the UK’s aviation heritage community,
and its contents discussed on Facebook
and forums. Why do I consider this a good
thing? Because, rst and foremost, these
aircraft are publicly owned assets. We all, if
we’re British taxpayers, have a small stake
in them. Of course, not every potential
divestment from a national museum can, or
should, be the subject of open scrutiny. But,
were the RAFM to dispose of all 26 of these
aeroplanes — and it must be stressed at
this point that none have yet been formally
o ered for disposal — it would represent the
largest such o -load by any of the national
collections. Wider debate, therefore, is in
the public interest.
What of the list itself? As regular readers
will know, I have
often written in the
past of how it can
only be considered
a positive thing for
museums like the
RAFM to use their
holdings for the wider good. If there’s an
aircraft that, say, has been in storage for
many years, is not core to the museum’s
purpose, is not about to go back on public
display any time soon, and might bene t a
smaller museum somewhere else, loaning
or gifting brings many mutual advantages.
ere are aeroplanes on this list to which
these criteria apply. e DH60GM Moth is
one; the RAFM’s second P-51D Mustang
is probably another, though it remains a
shame that neither Cosford nor Hendon has
ever exhibited a Mustang in RAF markings.
But when it comes to the Devon and the
Jetstream, I feel there is more of an issue.
ey may not be the most exciting types, but
both are core former RAF equipment, and
— unlike, say, the less-than-representative
ex-Royal Netherlands Navy Neptune —
are fully deserving of their place in the
service’s museum. So, I would have thought,
is the prone pilot Meteor when it comes
to Cosford’s research and development
collection. Yes, the concept was essentially
CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH
LUIGINO CALIARO
Born in Italy, Luigino’s love
of aviation began at a
young age. He has since
been able to fly air-to-air
photo sessions with all of
the world’s most major jet
fighter types and aerobatic
teams, amassing around
200 hours in military jets.
For some years now, though, his main interest has
been focused on warbirds and aviation history, and
this month he provides our Database on
Reggiane’s comparatively little-known Second
World War fighters, which may not have been
especially successful, but represent a most
interesting story in themselves.
PHILIP JARRETT
Most of our major
aviation museums have
little spare space
It is a pleasure to welcome
Philip back to our pages,
not least as he was
assistant editor of
Aeroplane Monthly
from its
launch in March 1973 until
August 1980, and wrote
many features thereafter.
An internationally
recognised authority on early aviation, Philip has
edited many books and written numerous papers
and articles on a wide variety of aeronautical
subjects, as well as lecturing in both the UK and
abroad. Among the notable volumes to his name is
Air-Britain’s acclaimed 2015 title on the Sopwith
Dove, the subject of his article inside.
PETER R. MARCH
A long-standing contributor
in the past to
Aircraft
Illustrated,
and now to
Pilot,
Peter today provides a
good deal of material to
Aeroplane,
too — including
this month’s Personal
Album. An aviation photo-
journalist for more than 60
years, he has been a private pilot for much of that
time, as co-owner of 1964 Cessna 172E G-ASSS.
Peter has written and edited countless
publications, not least for the RAF Benevolent
Fund Enterprises/RAF Charitable Trust Enterprises
organisation, having volunteered at the Air Tattoo
shows since they began in 1971.
SANTIAGO RIVAS
ESTABLISHED 1911
Aeroplane
traces its lineage back to the weekly
The Aeroplane,
founded by C. G. Grey in 1911 and published until 1968. It was
relaunched as a monthly in 1973 by Richard T. Riding, editor for 25
years until 1998.
Born in 1977 in Buenos
Aires, Santiago started out
as a journalist and
photographer in 1997. Since
then, his work has
appeared in di erent media
on all continents. Currently
he specialises in Latin
American aviation and
defence matters, both historic and modern, and
manages one of the main archives on these
subjects in Argentina. As part of his work, he has
travelled to most Latin American countries and
flown with their armed forces.
4
www.aeroplanemonthly.com
AEROPLANE
FEBRUARY 2021

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin