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F.4/37: Since 1935 developments in pressure cabins were beginning to formulate plans for high-altitude bombers that would be immune to interception. Although the Air Staff did not formulate any specification for such a bomber, nor for a fighter to combat such bombers, when General Aircraft began work on a modified Monospar airliner with a pressure cabin the Air Staff took note and in early 1937 released Spec F.4/37 for a high-altitude fighter for use up to 45,000ft (cockpit to maintain 25,000ft conditions), top speed no less than 400mph and armed with four 20mm cannon. Pressurization research and experimental work and construction is required and research is an important consideration in all of the bids.

Contenders are;
General Aircraft GAL.46, undertaking research since 1936 GA feels a need for both high-altitude bombers and fighters as aerial defences continues to improve. Thus the two-seat GAL.46 is designed as a fighter, bomber and photo-reconnaissance aircraft using the same basic fuselage, novel features include tricycle undercarriage, composite steel and wooden construction, pressure cabin and new de-icing systems. Two RR Merlin V would be fitted by GA wants more research into either multi-stage blowers or exhaust turbo-blowers to increase power and speed. Armament is four 20mm cannon in the wing roots and a bomb bay can carry four 500lb bombs. Ceiling is estimated at 37,200 feet (as bomber 29,800ft) with a top speed of 395mph at 20,800 feet, rate of climb is estimated at 2,940ft/min at sea level. As a reconnaissance aircraft it would cruise at 35,000 feet and have a range of 2,500 miles.

Hawker P.1004, Sidney Camm has designed a two-seat fighter which is basically an enlarged Typhoon. The two crew sit back-to-back, changes include the pressure cabin, a direct mainplane attachment to the fuselage and 238 gallons of fuel. Armament is six wing-mounted 20mm cannon and the engine chosen is a Napier Sabre. Ceiling is estimated at 37,000 feet with a top speed of 380mph at 18,500 feet, rate of climb is estimated at 2,250ft/min at sea level.

Vickers 432, Rex Pierson has designed a conventional twin Merlin powered fighter armed with four 20mm cannon in the nose. The fuselage is of circular cross-section to enable easy pressurisation and stressed-skin construction is used throughout the fuselage. Estimated top speed is 380mph at 15,000 feet although 450-500mph might be reached in a dive.

Westland P.14, based on the P.9 this two-seat design is larger and is to be powered by two Merlin V engines. Armament is four nose-mounted 20mm cannon. Ceiling is estimated at 36,500 feet with a top speed of 368mph at 21,000 feet, rate of climb is estimated at 1,600ft/min at sea level.


F.18/37: Deputy Chief of Staff (DCAS) Air Vice Marshal Sholto Douglas felt the need for a night-fighter to combat the possible use of enemy bombers at night, “the problem of the night-fighter is still far from being solved. The Blenhiem is too slow and the Gloster Gunner may provide the solution but yet is far from operational service.” From looking at operational experience from the Great War and in South America the armament is to be six forward-firing 20mm cannon and a powered dorsal turret to attack from below, the bombers natural blind-spot. Sholto Douglas pressed the need for at least two crewmen and Aerial Radio Location. Therefore F.18/37 called for; A new two-three seater night-fighter either single or twin engined but armed with at least six 20mm cannon and/or dorsal MGs in a turret. Top speed to be no less than 380mph at 20,000ft. Aerial Radio Location to be fitted.

Contenders are;
Boulton Paul P.96, basically a scaled-up Defiant two-seater powered by a single Bristol Centaurus radial and armed with four 20mm cannon in the wings and a quad .303in MG turret as used on the Defiant. Ceiling is estimated at 35,000 feet with a top speed of 400mph at 22,000 feet. Boulton Paul also offers the P.97 three-seater powered by twin Napier Sabre I engines and armed with six 20mm cannon and the quad-MG dorsal turret. Two cannon can be removed and two 250lb bombs fitted on ventral racks to serve as a nocturnal fast bomber. Ceiling is estimated at 39,500 feet with a top speed of 418mph at 34,000 feet, rate of climb is estimated at 3,560ft/min at sea level.

Gloster F.18/37, a modified G.39 with second crewman in new glazed cockpit and the Taurus engines replaced by two RR Merlin IV or V, armament is only four 20mm cannon in the nose. Ceiling is estimated at 35,500 feet with a top speed of 390mph at 22,500 feet.

Miles M.22, based on their private venture for a twin engined fighter this two-seat design is powered by two RR Merlin IV V-12 engines but only four 20mm cannon are fitted. Ceiling is estimated at 40,000 feet with a top speed of 400mph at 22,500 feet.

Vickers 420, a twin Merlin powered three-seat fighter with two nose 20mm cannon a quadruple dorsal turret aimed and fired by remote control by a gunner sat beside the pilot. Elevation is 45 degrees and traverse 120 degrees. Maximum speed is estimated at 409mph at 24,000 feet.


B.1/37: "The Ideal Bomber", this new four-engined design has to achieve a cruising speed of 280mph over 2,500 miles carrying 9000lbs of bombs at 15,000ft. Maximum weight was to be 50,000lbs. Defensive armament is to be two quadruple 20mm turrets. To be in service by 1942.
Contenders are;
Armstrong Whitworth AW.48, powered by four RR Griffon inline engines cruising at 302mph at 15,000ft, maximum bombload 10,500lbs and armed with two quad 20mm turrets, features include tricycle long-travel undercarriage and semi-monocoque construction.

Avro 683, rejecting the initial Avro 680 submission Roy Chadwick developed a simpler design with twin fins and powered by four RR Merlin V engines and only armed with nose, dorsal and tail powered turrets armed with .303in MGs, bombload is 14,000lbs and speed should be 280mph at 11,000 feet.

Blackburn B.30, a twin-fin seven-seat bomber powered by either four Bristol Hercules or RR Griffons, cruising speed is 272 or 261mph at 15,000 feet respectively and service ceiling is estimated at 24,000 feet. Bombload is 9,000lbs and two quad 20mm cannon turrets are to be fitted.

Bristol Type 159 powered by four Hercules radials and can carry 15,000lbs of bombs, cruise speed is 282mph at 15,000 feet and service ceiling 25,300ft, two quad 20mm turrets are fitted.

Handley Page HP.60, this simple design utilises a high-wing and tricycle undercarriage and is to be powered by either Bristol Hercules or RR Griffon engines for cruising speeds of 280-277mph respectively, service ceiling will be 23,500-25,700ft respectively. Bombload is 9,000lbs and two quad 20mm cannon turrets are to be fitted.

Shorts S.34 based on their S.29 design with a single fin and tail-wheel undercarriage but with Hercules or Griffon engines for cruising speeds of 278-268mph respectively, service ceiling will be 23,500-26,400ft respectively. Bombload is 9,000lbs and two quad 20mm cannon turrets are to be fitted.

Vickers 405, Rex Pierson under the supervision of Barnes Wallis produced this unusual design with a special skin of Alclad and plywood bonded by special rubber and using geodetic construction. The aircraft is to be powered by the Hercules or Griffon for cruising speeds of 284-278mph respectively, service ceiling will be 27,500-30,000ft respectively. Bombload is 9,000lbs and two quad 20mm cannon turrets are to be fitted.


R.5/37: A new flying boat with a minimum cruise speed of 235mph, 1500 mile range and armed with a 5000lb bombload and one quad 20mm turret. To be in service 1940.
Contenders are;
Blackburn B.32 powered by four Hercules for a cruise speed of 262mph and a range of 4080 miles and armed with one quad 20mm turret and one tail 20mm cannon and six 500lb bombs.

Saunders-Roe S.38 powered by four Taurus and armed with a quad 20mm turret and single tail 20mm cannon and 4,000lbs of bombs.

Short Brothers S.35 based on the Sunderland powered by four Hercules and armed with quad 7.7mm nose and tail turrets and 4,000lbs of bombs.
Supermarine 328 powered by four Hercules for a cruising speed of 268mph with a maximum range of 5000 miles and a bombload of 3000lbs. It was armed with one quad 20mm turret and one tail 20mm cannon.


N.8/37: A new carrier-based single-seat fighter armed with eight 7.7mm MGs and capable of at least 380mph at 15,000ft.
Contenders are;
Blackburn B.37, powered by the Napier Sabre with 40% chord full-span flaps and spoiler ailerons and 120 gallons of fuel, armament is either eight .303in Browning MGs or four 20mm cannon, maximum speed is estimated at 381mph at 15,000 feet.

Fairey, powered by a RR Griffon V-12 with a fuselage of exceptionally clean appearance to reduce drag, when fitted with a supercharger it could reach speeds of 408mph at 20,000ft, otherwise maximum speed is estimated at 382mph at 15,000 feet. Service ceiling should be 34,000 feet and time to 10,00ft is 3 minutes. Armament is either eight .303in Browning MGs or four 20mm cannon.

Gloster has offered an improved SS.39 Gannet as the SS.43 with slotted flaps and drooping ailerons. Armament is eight .303in Browning MGs and maximum speed is estimated at 368mph at 15,000 feet.

Supermarine has tendered a Griffon powered Spitfire development with a new hydraulically folding wing armed with four 20mm cannon maximum speed is estimated at 428mph at 15,000 feet. 134 gallons of fuel are carried.

Westland offered a Griffon powered fighter. Maximum speed is estimated at 359mph at 15,000 feet with a service ceiling of 34,000 feet. Armament is either eight .303in Browning MGs or four 20mm cannon.


N.11/37: Issued to Gloster for modification work on Avro Canada CF-175 naval escort fighter. To enter service in 1937.

E.28/37: High speed research aircraft requirement issued to Gloster. First flight for mid 1938.

T.4/37: A new two-seat advanced trainer with enclosed cockpit, radio and with retractable undercarriage. To enter service in 1938.
Contenders are; Airspeed AS.45 powered by a Bristol Mercury and with extensive safety features and the Miles M.9 powered by the 870hp RR Peregrine I.


Other new aircraft this year include;

Airspeed AS.7 Consul; a six-seater variant of the Oxford for use with the RAF as personnel transports.

Supermarine Type 323; variable incidence wing research aircraft

De Havilland D.H.95 Flamingo; a private venture all-metal high-wing airliner carrying 17 passengers and a crew of three/ four. Designed for economical operation it is capable of operation from rough strips with limited facilities. Dimensions; 70/ 51.7/ 15.3/ 651 sq ft; 2x 930hp Bristol Perseus XVI; max speed 243mph; range 1,345 miles and service ceiling 20,900ft.

Short S.26 G Class; a flying boat designed to an Imperial Airways requirement for a flying boat with the range to fly from Foyness in Ireland and New York without refuelling. The design is based on the C Class and the Sunderland. 3,600 gallons of fuel is carried in the wing and 24 passengers can be carried. Dimensions; 134.4/ 101.4/ 37.7/ 2,160 sq ft; 4x 1,380hp Bristol Hercules IVC; max speed 209mph; range 3,200 miles and service ceiling 22,000ft.

Short S.32 Sandringham; a new long-range airliner for Imperial Airways for a Trans-Atlantic service and Middle Eastern routes. A normal crew of seven (including cabin crew) and 36 passengers are to be carried. Entry into Imperial Airways service should take place in mid 1939. Dimensions; 127.6/ 90.9/ 2,020 sq ft; 4x 1,380hp Bristol Hercules IVC; max speed 275mph (330mph if pressurised at 25,000ft); range 3,400 miles.

Gloster Gunner? I can't remember that one being mentioned before. Something like the F.9/37?

I like the Ideal Bomber myself. Pretty much all of the designs just look so great and with quadruple 20mm turrets have massive amounts of firepower. Whether it would actually work or not is another matter... Compared to the Lanc and Halifax they all have rather severe problems with bombload and pretty much all of them are set up to carry 1000lb bombs in cells spread around the airframe. It becomes a big problem when something more effective is needed.

It'll be interesting to see whether the Firebrand gets built. Thats what happens when the RN specs it's own aircraft instead of mangling a land-based aircraft instead.

I rather like the look of the Firebrand from the few pictures I've seen...

A quad 20mm turret? Whoof, that would be BIG, not to mention very heavy given the recoil of the HS.404. Historically, I can't think of many multiple 20mm turrets, though I suppose the B-52H's tail mounting with the Vulcan 20mm counts.

Lots of twin 20mm turrets on the B-36.

The quadruple turrets are a prominent feature of the designs, mostly being located where the wing blends into the fuselage with one ventral and one dorsal. The turrets are very different to conventional ones with all four guns being in line abreast with a small sighting hood for the gunner.



This is the Blackburn P.92, a turret fighter after the Defiant that uses a similar turret. The idea is to have a nice low drag and spread the firing stresses over the structure.

Quoted

I rather like the look of the Firebrand from the few pictures I've seen...

Have a look at the later Firecrest. Swept gull wings make it look better.

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Originally posted by Red Admiral

Quoted

I rather like the look of the Firebrand from the few pictures I've seen...

Have a look at the later Firecrest. Swept gull wings make it look better.

Hmm... I've only found one picture of the Firecrest, and to be honest I just looked at it and said "Eh... Huh."

Now, when we get around to the Hawker Sea Fury... *WANTS*.

When it comes to aircraft, there are very few which ever grow on me. It's either an automatic like, or an automatic dislike. The Hurricane is the only plane which I can think of which has ever grown on me. For instance: Typhoon? Yes! Tempest? Meeeh. Tornado? Blah. Fairey Firefly? Hey, that's a bit better (seriously, wth is up with this?!). Yak-9? Spitfire? Bf109? WOOHOO.

I suppose it's odd that I've yet to find a single production US-built plane of this era that I think is good-looking; the P-38 and P47 are a bit borderline for me, but the rest... eh, pass. Everyone adores the looks of the P51 and the Corsair, but I just don't see it.

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Everyone adores the looks of the P51 and the Corsair, but I just don't see it.

How about my Mustangsky?
MiG-3+P-51=

It's better-looking than the Mustang, I think.

(I don't start to like MiGs until we hit the MiG-23, 25, and most particularly the MiG-29. The Yaks are my cup of tea. I generally like British and Italian fighters, I like the Yaks, I like the Bf109...

You want a bit of an oddity? I hate the look of the FW190, and love the look of the Ta152, which is so plainly a derivative.

I've just accepted that I have an odd taste in aircraft.

Wow, I can see our aircraft taste is the exact opposite!

Acctually I like the looks of a few American fighters. The Mustangs and Warhawks are nice looking aircraft and the Corsair I saw at Abbotsford a few years back sounded like a nasty machine when it flew by, not really a handsome aircraft though.

Aside from the Bf-109 most German single engine fighters are very good looking aircraft, particularily the Heinkel He-100 and 112. The Focke-Wulf Fw-190's are just mean looking aircraft.

Quoted

It's better-looking than the Mustang, I think.

(I don't start to like MiGs until we hit the MiG-23, 25, and most particularly the MiG-29. The Yaks are my cup of tea. I generally like British and Italian fighters, I like the Yaks, I like the Bf109...

To me, that is how a good-looking P-51 should look like... but that is just my opinion.

I don't quite like the looks of the MiG-3 either, so I started to mess around with the picture to create something else.

From top to bottom: MiG-3, Ki-37, P-51D, Ki-62

Quoted

You want a bit of an oddity? I hate the look of the FW190, and love the look of the Ta152, which is so plainly a derivative.

To me, it is the other way around.

Still when looking at it, it might be that because part of the tail section looks rather thin, it kind of looks like the FW190 has a fat nose and with the TA154 you do not get that impression.

Quoted

The Mustangs and Warhawks are nice looking aircraft and the Corsair I saw at Abbotsford a few years back sounded like a nasty machine when it flew by, not really a handsome aircraft though.

It's looks are sort of okay, but that is definitely a plane I would love to see at an airshow.

... but we are getting a bit off topic here...

Myself I've never thought of American planes as attractive, the P-51 and P-38 are the closest the got to aerodynamic in my opinion.

British aircraft can look either beautiful or down right ugly, French and Italian planes are smooth lookers and German planes have a functional beauty all of their own. IMHO the Firecrest is much better looking than the Firebrand but then the Mk5 with the bubble top looks much better than the original Mk 1 and Mk2 with a Spitfire type canopy.

The 20mm turret is a monster, one problem is the sheer size of it, as the airframe flexes in flight the turret would jam so the centre section has to be very strong. They need to be near the CoG for weight reasons and because they need to be faired into the wing centre section somehow. This then complicates the placing of the ventral turret. Its ideal location is where you would put the bomb bays. Thus many of the Ideal Bombers used wing cells which is fine but complicates trimming as the bombs are dropped (not to mention asymmetric loads if any 'hang up') and of course wing cells are less flexible. If they can carry a 1,000lb bomb then they might not be able to fit a 4,000lb bomb. Thus the increase in capacity is space restricted rather than weight restricted.

RA, the Gloster Gunner is the Gloster G.39 (F.9/37) but built to F.37/35 in WW as a bomber destroyer and keeping the Taurus radials.

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Originally posted by Red Admiral
Lots of twin 20mm turrets on the B-36.

Sure, there's 1 aircraft carrying them, plus the Avro Lincoln had a dorsal turret that on at least some aircraft carried twin 20mms. The Ta-400 was supposed to carry twin 20mm turrets as well, but of course was never built, the same is true of the Fw-238 and the Ju-488. The B-29 was built with a tail mounting that included 1 20mm cannon and 2 .50s, but that's not a multiple-20mm mounting.

One interesting thing I see in the Ideal Bomber specification is that it's requesting over twice the range of the historical Avro Manchester, with heavier defensive armament, more speed, and about the same range, on an aircraft of the same weight. Germany will be quite interested in seeing how this comes out, considering that it's heavy bomber designs, with a little heavier bomb load (5000 kg vs 9000 lbs) over about the same range (2400 nm vs 2500 miles) at a lower speed (220 knots vs 280 mph) and lighter defensive armament are weighing well over the specifications maximum weight.

P.13/36 was the spec for the Manchester calling for 8000lb over at least 2000miles at 15000ft and 275mph with the ability to carry torpedoes (long bomb bay) and heavy defensive armament. The weight started off at around 35000lb but grew rapidly.

All of the designs tendered to the Ideal Bomber spec were upwards of 70,000lb as the target weight was a bit optimistic.

Heh, well, if the weights are upwards of 70,000 lbs, then Germany understands: the Ju-90S and the He-177 are nearly there and had less ambitious specs (5,000 kg over 2000 nm).

F.4/37
The proposals were evaluated by Capt. Liptrot, Sir Henry Tizard and Air Vice Marshal Hill (Director of Technical Development) and Commodore Saundby (Director of Operational Requirements).
General Aircraft were criticised on a lack of structural details in the brochure and the standard of work on the Monospar prototype was deemed of poor quality and not really solving the main problems. Also it was judged to be a poor design for a fighter.
Hawker’s design was judged the best overall, but Tizard pushed the Vickers design having discussed it with Barnes Wallis and soon Hill was also thinking about pushing ahead with an order for two prototypes. The RAE seemed impressed but compressibility effects needed to be looked into despite the tough fuselage design.
Westland’s design was judged to be technically “rather fancy” and judged joint worst with GAL. Tizard felt Camm had enough on his plate with the current crop of day fighters and added that developments at Power Jets may make the whole programme obsolete before any production fighters were in service. While Major Ross (Deputy Director R&D Engines) from Rolls-Royce explained the development of the Merlin V and further developments with rated heights of 31,000 feet and Napier confirmed two-stage blower version of the Sabre could be developed by 1940. With these new engines the RAE felt the P.1004 would achieve 370mph at 32,000ft and 38,400ft altitude while the P.14 would achieve 381mph at 30,500ft and 40,700ft altitude. Eventually after much discussion Westland was ordered to produce the P.14 (named as Welkin) with the interim Merlin XX since they had spare design and production capability while pressure cabin development would be a joint Gloster and General Aircraft programme under RAE supervision.


F.18/37
The winner is Boulton Paul P.97. The Gloster design was favourite for a time and a cabin mock-up was ordered but possible production delays and the lower than specified armament and equipment ruled out this design. Sir Henry Tizard tried to push the type’s development but was eventually overruled. George Carter himself felt it would take 18 months to begin production and other work was pressing his design teams to the limit. Vickers design was good but the remote turret system would require too much development time and might prove a failure, the P.96 was not adequate and Capt. Liptrot felt it would be at least 1,000lbs heavier than designed, the M.22 was not acceptable and only the P.97 met the specification in full and offered ample development potential.


B.1/37
The designs were so similar that the Air Staff classified them into groups and most of the designs had some kind of flaw in them. The Bristol 159 and HP.60 were deemed joint first (despite the two-tier bomb stowage on the 159), the AW.48, Avro 683 and Shorts S.34 were the next favoured designs which were nearly as good and the Blackburn and Vickers designs were rejected (layout problems, CoG problems and turret placement afflicted both designs). The shortage of the required powerplants and defensive equipment, aerodynamic research and structural materials nearly forced ACAS to abandon the whole programme and indeed the simpler approach by Avro won the day and with cost considerations an order for further development and service entry was given to Avro even before the final ‘Ideal Bomber’ was even chosen. Eventually the Bristol 159 was given the go-ahead even though AVM Hill felt that development would take over two years. Handley Page was left with no orders and efforts to get the result altered for political reasons failed and delayed the completion of contracts by four months.


R.5/37
The winner is Supermarine 328 Southport, first flight planned for mid 1938, 50 on order.


N.8/37
Captain Slattery (Admiralty Director of Air Material) reviewed these submissions with help from the RAE. Aerodynamically the RAE felt the Blackburn fighter was the best, structurally Fairey was the best design having taken into account all the stresses of carrier operation and the effects of salt on the structure, the RAE was also very impressed with the Supermarine design and felt both Blackburn and Westland had overestimated their design weights and felt both would be around 8mph faster. Gloster’s design was rejected as too conservative and Westland was discounted because of lack of experience in this field and so the result was a tie between Fairey and Supermarine. The latter had poor visibility for landing and so the Fairey was ordered as the Firefly. Plans to order a batch of 25 Blackburn B.37 fighters for experimental use due to their wing design for low stalling speeds was rejected on cost grounds.
The winner is Fairey Firefly, first flight planned mid 1938, 200 on order.

Fairey's fighter


T.4.37
The winner is Miles M.9 Master, first flight mid 1937, 200 on order. Bulgaria 32 on order and 6 for Ireland.

You're just posting all sorts of cool stuff today, Hood. That Fairey Firefly is nice!

The Boulton-Paul P.97 does look great but I'm not convinced on it's suitability as a nightfighter. As a single engined type theres a real lack of space to put radar aerials. You'd get a lot of interference from the props with the early AI sets on long waves as the prop is in front. Only the more directional microwave sets get round this well. Then the pilot is operating the radar as well as flying the plane - quite a high workload. I can't help feeling that a second crewman in the Gloster Gunner would be a better bet.

Erm, RA I think you've confused it with the P.96 in the same paragrpagh. The P.97 was BP's second entry.

"Boulton Paul also offers the P.97 three-seater powered by twin Napier Sabre I engines and armed with six 20mm cannon and the quad-MG dorsal turret. Two cannon can be removed and two 250lb bombs fitted on ventral racks to serve as a nocturnal fast bomber. Ceiling is estimated at 39,500 feet with a top speed of 418mph at 34,000 feet, rate of climb is estimated at 3,560ft/min at sea level."

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Erm, RA I think you've confused it with the P.96 in the same paragraph. The P.97 was BP's second entry.

It's almost the British version of the P-61. Performance will probably be reduced a fair bit given the lack of appearance of the high altitude Sabres. Some of the turbocharged Hercules engines should fit and be available...