Should keep y'all busy.
I do hope my reaction to the plague isn't too small.
12 January 1931
The Royal Air Force has received a shipment of eight remotely-controlled aircraft, the de Havilland “Queen Bee”, intended for use as targets for anti-air gunners. As a small aircraft – based on the “Tiger Moth” from the same company – the Queen Bee presents a challenging target, as well as being far cheaper to produce than larger alternatives. This will prove advantageous, since several hundred aircraft are expected eventually to be built. It has been suggested that they may also be launched by catapult from Royal Navy ships, and land alongside using floats, for use in the same way.
26 February 1931
Imperial Airways has today launched its’ services to Tanganyika, as part of the Empire Services routes. This lengthy route is presently being served by Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy aircraft, designed for European flights. As such, their performance on the longer flights in challengeing African climatic conditions is expected to be poor, and a replacement for these veteran aircraft is being sought.
3 March 1931
Fairey’s latest aircraft, the “Gordon” light bomber, has taken to the air. As a development of the earlier Fairey IIIF, it has been a comparatively low-risk type; this shows, however, in its’ performance, falling behind foreign competitors, and even the broadly comparable Hawker Hart, flown last year.
25 March 1931
The Hawker Fury, in no small way akin to the Hart bombers now entering service, has now flown. Capable of a speed exceeding two hundred miles per hour, the Fury is certainly a competitive fighter in the modern world, although likely to be outclassed. Nonetheless, the Royal Air Force is known to have requested a new monoplane fighter.
9 April 1931
After repeated requests from several participants, the Royal Aero Club, in consultation with the RAF High Speed Flight, has agreed to postpone the Schneider Trophy race planned for 1931 until next year. This has been met with some trepidation by much of the aeronautical community, believing that the current Supermarine S.6b would be one of the foremost contestants in a 1931 race; by 1932, it will not have been possible to fully develop a new racing plane, whereas other nations are likely to have completed their own racers.
Of particular note is the Italian Macchi-Castoli MC.72. Details of this have been impossible to obtain, other than unconfirmed reports of its’ having two propellors. If true, this surely suggests a twin-engined racer. Such an aircraft would surely suffer from drag problems, potentially offsetting the additional power of the second engine. It remains to be seen if the Italians have overcome this.
22 May 1931
The work so far carried out on a common Army-Navy logistics system is yielding results. The new heavy machine-gun – based on commercial Browning rounds, enlarged to a unique 0.55-inch calibre – has so far demonstrated satisfactory results in test firings, and is to enter service from next month.
The other two projects currently underway have been disclosed to the public. The Navy 4-inch gun is to be replaced with a smaller-calibre gun, of approximately four-fifths the shell weight and higher velocity, which will also be adopted by the Army as a field gun and as an anti-aircraft gun. Also, a new carriage is being developed for the existing Navy 4.7-inch gun, giving it a dual high-angle and low-angle firing capacity; the same gun will be mounted on an Army carriage to replace the obsolescent 60-pounder. Shorter versions of both guns are being considered for use as Army howitzers.
11 June 1931
Followning Imperial Airways’ issue of a requirement for an improved airliner for African services, the firm of Handley Page has delivered the first of eight of its’ Type 42, following the first flight of the type last year. A further eight, of the more powerful but shorter-ranged Type 45, are also on order for European services.
[B]16 September 1931
After proposed pay cuts for ratings in the Royal Navy, the Atlantic Fleet at Invergordon mutinied yesterday evening. This mutiny did not involve the taking over of ships nor the capture of officers, as has typically happened. Instead, this was more in the mould of civilian strikes over similar issues. A settlement has been reached, wherein the reduction in pay will be limited to ten per cent, and marriage allowances extended to ratings under the age of twenty-five.
22 September 1931
Following the quarantine of the walled city of Manila, the Foreign Office has ordered an evacuation of all British officials from the Philippine islands. Additionally, all British nationals have been advised to evacuate the islands. To this end, the chartered P & O steamer S.S. Rajputana has been despatched to Davao, where she shall sail from on the 15th of November. All those evacuated will be quarantined in Malaya for forty days, as a precautionary measure against the mystery plague.
Also, the borders of the United Kingdom and British Empire are to be sealed to all Filipino ships and aircraft, including territorial waters out to twelve miles and the airspace above all British territory. If necessary, the armed forces are authorised to use lethal force in enforcing this order. All persons who have visited the Philippines at any point in the last forty days are instructed to attend their nearest police station or military base.
The naval squadrons at Singapore and Hong Kong, already ordered to assist in the anti-piracy patrols in the South China Sea, are now expected to step up their patrols, in order that Filipino forces can be withdrawn to concentrate on maintaining order and fighting the plague. In order to assist with this, a consignment of gas masks, rubber gloves and carbolic soap is being prepared at Southampton to be despatched to the Philippines with all possible haste aboard HMS Hood, HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible.
27 September 1931
The Fairey Seal, a navalised derivative of the Fairey IIIF, has been flown for the first time. This aircraft is projected to enter service in the near future as a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft for use aboard the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers. It can, however, be equipped with floats for catapult launch from ships.
17 December 1931
Following experience with the R101 and R100 airships, construction has started on a second pair of ships. The two are being built to similar designs, with a capacity of eight and a third million cubic feet. These ships – designated R102 and R103 – are to be powered with diesel-cycle engines.
These will not, however, be the Beardmore “Tornado” engines used on the R101; their weight has proven unacceptable for an operational airship, and replacements are sought. The engines must be capable of maintaining seven hundred brake horsepower for the duration of the flights envisaged. If a foreign-developed engine is selected, British license-production is a virtual certainty.
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Quoted
Of particular note is the Italian Macchi-Castoli MC.72. Details of this have been impossible to obtain, other than unconfirmed reports of its’ having two propellors. If true, this surely suggests a twin-engined racer. Such an aircraft would surely suffer from drag problems, potentially offsetting the additional power of the second engine. It remains to be seen if the Italians have overcome this.
Friday, May 3rd 2024, 3:16am
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