The Spitfire and Seafire series had only two unacceptable features to perturb a fighter pilot: one was caused by its configuration, and the other was the result of gross negligence on the part of the design team. The length of its nose and the aircraft’s steep, nose-high angle provided insufficient forward visibility when taxiing. The slimness of the fuselage alleviated this problem somewhat, but continual S-turns while taxiing were mandatory. And the cockpit’s internal layout was a disaster! It was configured as if blindfolded engineers had played “Pin the tail on the donkey.” Important switches, instruments and controls weren’t labeled and were small and hidden. Unimportant items, too, weren’t labeled, but they were large and always in the way. So much for the objective evaluation. In reality, combat pilots would forget these drawbacks when airborne!
I was checked out by two soon-to-be-famous Royal Navy lieutenants: Mike Lithgow, who became chief test pilot of the Supermarine after the War and also became my good friend; and Peter Twiss, who became chief test pilot at Fairey Aircraft. On March 10, 1956, he set a world speed record in the Fairey Delta-2 by flying the first jet aircraft to exceed 1,000mph in level flight. Lithgow and Twiss were not only friendly check pilots but were also most helpful in getting me off the ground and back to the flightline.
This story is from the December 2019 edition of Flight Journal.
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This story is from the December 2019 edition of Flight Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
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KILLER CORSAIR
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