"Battle", not live up to expectations
In the Royal Air Force of Great Britain, since the First World War, along with heavy vehicles, light single-engine bombers were also in service. The first on the list of such aircraft is the De Havilland double biplane DN.4. The British considered the experience of using DN.4 successful, and the line of development of machines of this class continued. In 1932, the Ministry aviation issued a demand for the creation of another light bomber that would replace the obsolete Hawker Hut biplanes.
Of the four companies that submitted their versions, the construction of prototypes was ordered only to two firms - Fairy and Armstrung Whitworth. The most modern was the project of Marcel Lobel, the chief designer of the Fairy company. It was a streamlined monoplane with a retractable landing gear and a crew of two: a pilot and an arrow, which had separate cabins. Of small arms - two machine gun caliber 7,7 mm, one at the shooter, and the second in the right wing of the wing, from which the fire led the pilot.
Lobel at the project stage refused to use radial air-cooled engines, not wanting to degrade aerodynamics. The firm’s management offered the military a family of its own liquid-cooled engines “Prins” R.12, R.16 and R.24 (the figure meant the number of cylinders), but the choice fell on “Rolls-Royce” “Merlin” with the take-off power 1030 hp
After purging the model in a wind tunnel, to reduce drag, they decided to make one common glazed lantern for two cabins. Such a lantern was also needed because, at the request of the military, a navigator-scorer was added to the crew if necessary. He was between the shooter and the pilot, and during aiming and dropping bombs he took up space on the floor. Four bombs of 250 pounds (113,5 kg) were suspended in the bomb compartments in the root of the wing (a pair in each plane). There were outdoor nodes, which could take another 500 pounds (227 kg) of bombs.
For the first time, Fairy produced an all-metal aircraft with a semi-monocoque fuselage with a working skin and extensive use of light alloy parts. The two-spar wing had flaps and ailerons. Fuel tanks were located in the wing and fuselage. The main landing gear with one wheel was retracted backwards along the flight into the wing, and the wheels did not turn around and half protruded. This was done so that in case of not releasing the chassis it was possible to sit on the fuselage with minimal damage.
At the beginning of 1936, the first car was ready, and in March, Chris Staniland first lifted it from the airfield at Hays. Equipped first with a three-bladed constant-pitch propeller "Fairy Reed" with a fairing, the prototype looked very elegant. But the characteristics of the bomber, despite the almost "fighter" appearance, turned out to be low. Motor power in 1030 HP clearly not enough. Although the control of the car did not cause any complaints, the maximum speed at the height of 4575 m was only 414 km / h. If the crew increased to three people, this number fell to 368 km / h (on 4000 m).
The plane with such speed and a small bomb load, besides protected behind only by one machine gun of rifle caliber, could hardly be called promising. But the Royal Air Force was in great need of updating the aircraft fleet, and more modern bombers were still being designed and their serial production could not start quickly. And in this situation, the military decided to adopt an elegant, but generally unsuccessful “Battle” - this is how the bomber began to be called from April 1933.
The serial production was launched in Sokport, and then another Austin factory in Birmingham joined the assembly. Together, they gathered until November 1940, the 2217 "Battle". Serial machines differed from the prototype with a new propeller of variable pitch De Hevilland and a longer cockpit lantern. The first 136 Battles had the Merlin I engine, and then the bombers received the Merlin II and, finally, the Merlin III with the take-off power of the 1440 hp. On some machines, a high-altitude “Merlin” V was installed. Depending on the engine’s serial number, the corresponding model of the bomber was also called: “Battle” Mk I, II, III or V. Although earlier, in summer 1937, the designation Mk II received the draft lightweight “Battle "With the range and speed increased to 2253 km in 410 by whom / h. However, the issue did not come to release
The second direction of development of the base machine was a light bomber, which was developed on the instructions of R4 / 34. This aircraft was equipped with a smaller area wing, an improved engine installation and a new chassis. The main pillars are now not removed back, and along the wing span in the side of the fuselage. The wheels were completely hidden in the wing and covered with shields. The new car turned out to be much faster than its predecessor, however, the main role here was played by the fact that the normal bomb load was halved.
In the autumn of 1937, this bomber at the factory airfield was demonstrated to the Soviet delegation, which included P.V. Levers and S.P. Suprun They got acquainted with the aircraft on the ground and in flight. The car was rated positively. The pilots recommended the Soviet leadership to purchase one copy for study. Through the trade mission made an offer to the company, but received a categorical refusal with reference to the ban on the Ministry of Aviation. But already in the summer of 1938, Fairy itself proposed to the Soviet Union to buy a license for 62000 pounds. However, the logistics department of the Red Army Air Force declined, explaining that only the propeller-motor group was interested in us, and the deal did not take place. It is worth noting that the aircraft, developed on the instructions of the R. 4 / 34, was also not included in the series in its original form, however, served as the basis for the serial heavy deck fighter “Fulmar”.
To speed up the training of pilots, several first-class machines were equipped with dual controls and transferred to the 63 squadron based at Upwood. It was this squadron at the beginning of 1937 that became the first combatant to retrain for new bombers; in 1937 1938, 17 squadrons of the Royal Air Force were added to it.
With the beginning of the war in Europe, in September 6re 1939, the 10 squadrons of the "Battles" flew to France, where they became part of the Allied air forces. On September 20, it was the “Battle” shooter from the 226 squadron who opened the scoring for downed German aircraft, managing to destroy Bf.109. During the first month of the war, British aircraft carried out a series of reconnaissance flights and night bombardments of targets in Germany. The low speed and poor protection of the aircraft made such flights very dangerous. And on September 30 of the five “Battles” of the 50-th squadron, which appeared over Saarbrücken, the Messerschmitts shot down four.
In order to somehow improve the survivability of the aircraft and strengthen the armament, the British began to put an additional machine gun on the bottom and steel sheets to protect the crew. But this did not solve all the problems until the end, and the two squadrons returned to England to rearm themselves with more modern Blenheims.
When the Wehrmacht crossed the borders of France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg in 1940, the 110 combat battles still remained in Europe. For the bombing of the advancing German units, the British decided to use a new tactic. Since at medium and high altitudes the single-engine Fae were virtually defenseless against fighter attacks, the crews carried out attacks from low-altitude flight at low altitudes. But the intensive anti-aircraft fire from the ground from all types of small arms was no less destructive than the shells of the "Messerschmitt". On the very first day of 10 in May from 36 "Battles", attacking the Nazis on the border with Luxembourg, 13 was shot down. The next day, after the same combat departure from eight bombers, only one returned to its airfield. And a group of five "Battles", who tried to destroy the bridges across the Albert Canal in the Whites, were destroyed in full force.
Losses of lightly armed and slow-moving bombers continued to grow with each passing day. 14 May from 62 aircraft of eight squadrons, which went on combat missions, did not return 35. The greatest losses suffered 216-I squadron. From 11, its aircraft were destroyed by 10. Only the Wehrmacht’s rapid offensive saved the Battles from the total extermination, forcing the British to evacuate all their troops from the continent, and by June 15 there were no Royal Air Force planes left in France. After such an unsuccessful start of a military career, the bombers returned to England began to be quickly removed from service. The last combat unit remained 98 squadron, its "Battles" carried out reconnaissance flights and the search for German submarines until July 1941, taking off from the airfield in Reykjavik.
Remaining out of work, the bombers needed to be used. Back in the middle of 1939, the “Battle” version was tested as a towing target with a winch (shooters on the target could be fired by the gunners of other airplanes or by anti-aircraft gunners). The aircraft was recognized successful, and the firm "Austin" thus finalized the 1940 200 machines, which received the designation "Battle" (TT). The variant (T) was also created - a training and export aircraft for fighter aviation pilots with separate cabins of a cadet and an instructor. Here, the number of machines ordered was 200, and the first training Battles entered schools in 1940. In addition to the pilots, air gunners received their own training modification of the Battle. The Bristol Tip.1 turret with a single 7,7 caliber machine gun was mounted on the plane instead of the second cockpit.
The Battles were widely used as a flying laboratory for testing various aircraft engines. On 17 the planes flew around a whole rad motor: Nepir Saber and Dagger VIII, Bristol Taurus and Hercules, Rolls-Royce X and Peregrin, and various modifications of Merlin . The most powerful among the tested engines was the 2000-strong "Prince" R.24 firm "Fairy". True, the engine was not taken out at full power in any flight, but according to the calculations, the maximum speed at “full throttle” should have been 587 km / h.
The firm “Fayre” supplied its bombers to other countries. Back in 1937, the Belgian government became interested in "Battles". An inexpensive single-engine bomber with a crew of 2-3 people ideal for this small country. And in March, the 1938 and 5 squadrons of the Belgian Air Force received the 7 Battles. They differed from the cars flying in England, longer radiator intake from the bottom. By 16 in May 10, the 1940 combat bombers remained in service. The military fate of these machines was as unsuccessful as their English counterparts. The Belgian "Battlelom" managed to perform a single sortie on the bombardment of three bridges through the Albert Canal, and six of the nine aircraft were shot down.
At the end of 1938, 40 was bought by Battles Turkey. At the same time, the Royal Air Force handed 12 machines to Greece. These "Battles" as part of the XNUMHZ-th squadron of the Greek Air Force managed to make war against the Italians in October 3. Poland received one bomber, and after its surrender, the crew managed to fly to the Middle East. 1940 April 8, the British sent a copy of Battle to South Africa. The bomber carried out reconnaissance flights over Somalia, but the Italians managed to shoot it down on 1939 June 19. Soon the next 1940 machines arrived, flying sorties until August 12. In 1941, the South African Air Force received additional Battles 1942 in a double-seat version and as towing targets.
A significant number of training "Battle" the British transferred to Australia. The first aircraft arrived in Melbourne in April 1940 of the year, and before the end of 1943, Australians got the 304 Battlel to train pilots and 30 towing targets. Even more single-engine "Fae" went to Canada - 736. Of these, the 200 aircraft were reworked at the Fairchald plant in Quebec as a training option for shooters, installing a turret with a machine gun at the back. One of the Canadian cars was flying with an air-cooled Wright Cyclone engine. Several 6 target targets were transferred to India, where they were used in an anti-aircraft school in Karachi.
Born a bomber, "Battle" ended his flight career training aircraft and served in this capacity until the very end of World War II. But it was a very weak consolation to its creators. Built by a rather large series, this elegant-looking aircraft did not justify the hopes placed on it and was very unsuccessful in combat use. The war eventually proved the inability of this class of bombers.
After the war, fairly worn cars were quickly scrapped and even forgot to save several samples for museums. Only in the mid-sixties of the two found in various places of the remains of the aircraft collected one for the English Aviation Museum in Hendon. This aircraft is currently on display.
Sources:
Kotelnikov V. The Loser of the Battle of AviaMaster. 2002. No.1. C. 8-16.
Kolov S. Fayry "Battle" is an elegant loser. // Wings of the Motherland. C.25-27.
Kotelnikov V. Aviation of Great Britain in the Second World War. Bombers. Part II. // aviation collection. No.7. C. 1-7.
Danielle j. March British military aircraft of World War II. M .: AST. 2002. C. 103-106.
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