Evening star., 1940-05-25

has a new type of high-speed wing
developed by Consolidated for an
ocean-fying boat. With this new,
relatively thin wing, the B-24 is
credited with top speed Of better
than 300 miles per hour. OF pri-
mary Importance is the fact that the
B-24 was designed with an eye to
mass production.
The program would indicate that
the Army does not propose at pres
ent to 60 further with development
of the giant Boeing B-15-the
super flying fortress" only one of
which has been built. This great
airplane recently completed a nom
stop flight from Langley Field, Va,
to Panama.
OF the medium bomber type, the
Air Corps has the Douglas B-18 in
considerable numbers. This type,
with top speed of 210 miles per
hour, however, has become too slow
and is being replaced by the new
Douglas B-23, which is credited with
top speed of better than 300 miles
per hour. The Army already has
ordered more than 200 of the B-23
type.
Light Bombers Being Developed.
The light bomber is pretty much
In the development stage, although
three types of light, or attack
bombers" passed the design COM
petition stage last year. They were
developed by Lockheed, Stearman
and Martin. 1t is hoped that cur
rent research will develop impor-
tant new planes in this category.
Pursuit airplanes also will be
developed in three types, under
present plans. These are the fight
er," "interceptor" and accompany
ing" types.
The fighter is the classical pur-
suit type-the kind known to the
World War pilot as the "chasse."
It is designed exclusively to fight
enemy aircraft and was the famous
'dog fighter" of the World War.
It Is the dawn patrol" airplane-
the type which keeps the high, thin
air and patrols in wait for enemy
flyers of any description, though
the enemy pursuit is its chief prey.
The fighter pilot is the most ag-
gressive of all flyers and his mis-
sion, even though he is q part of
wholly defensive team. is purely
offensivevhe pounces on enemy
airplanes wherever encountered,
with the sole aim of shooting them
down, breaking them up and driv-
ing them of.
Excel in Fighter Planes.
The United States today has some
amazing fghters-perhaps the finest
combat airplanes the world has yet
seen. One of the newest is the Grum-
man fighter, unoficially credited
with a top speed of $50 miles per
hour, and carrying two cannon and
four heavy machine guns. The Army
and Navy have trial models, the
Army's job powered with liquid
cooled Allison engines which are
expected to give it even better per-
formance than the one which already
has been delivered to the Navy. The
Army has nearly 100 OF the similar
Lockheed P-38 on order and the
Army has ordered enough of the
wicked Bell Airacudas. with pusher
propellers, to equip squadron for
service test purposes.
The interceptor type is designed
primarily to beat OIL enemy bombers,
for which it waits on the ground on
the "alert." It Is designed to climb
more rapidly than any other airplane
and is among the fastest Of all the
types. Present types are single
engined ships, and among them are
the Curtiss P-40, of which the Army
has ordered 500. This very fast ship,
with an Allison uquid-cooled engine
as its power plant, is replacing the
earlier Curtiss P-36. which, with q
speed of $50 miles per hour, credited
was too slow, though the Allies have
ordered many of them. The sensa-
tional new Bell "Aircobra," with .
single engine mounted behind the
pilot, driving a tractor propeller by
means of shaft passing between the
pilots legs, is another of the inter-
ceptor type being tested by both
services.
The accompanying" pursuit, a
convoy fighter, is in the process Of
development and must be q heavy
long-range type capable Of ac-
companying bombers on long mis-
sions.
Berlin
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