Fairey P. 4/34
| Fairey P. 4/34 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Bomb and attack aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
January 13, 1937 |
| Commissioning: |
- |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
The Fairey P.4 / 34 was the prototype of a two-seat light bomber and battle aircraft with fall attack capability, the basis of a tender for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1936 based on the Fairey Battle compete against two competing patterns of Gloster and Hawker developed has been. The first flight was on 13 January 1937. The second and final built P.4 / 34 was used after its rejection by the RAF as a test aircraft , and in 1938 again as a base for the prototype of the new Navy fighter Fairey Fulmar from 1940 in the Second World War to Use came.
history
background
In 1936, the British Air Ministry (German: Luft (fahrt) ministerium - that which dealt with the affairs of the Royal Air Force ) with the specification P.4 / 34, the requirement for a light bomber with the possibility of use as a dive and Attack plane out. The new aircraft was intended to replace the single-engine light bomber Fairey Battle in the medium term . The companies Fairey , Gloster and Hawker , which took part in the tender, then submitted their corresponding designs. However, only Fairey and Hawker were given permission to build corresponding prototypes and make them available for direct comparison; Gloster's design was not accepted and therefore never realized.
The prototypes
The Fairey P.4 / 34 , developed by Fairey chief designer Marcel Lobelle on the basis of the Fairey Battle, was named rather untypically for the manufacturer after the corresponding specification of the Air Ministry. A total of two prototypes with the license plates "K5099" and "K7555" were built by her. The first flights took place on January 13 and April 19, 1937. The prototype of the competing Hawker Henley model followed about four weeks after the first P.4 / 34 machine on March 10 of the same year. Outwardly, the P.3 / 34 was very similar to its original model, Fairey Battle, but its dimensions were a little smaller and aerodynamically improved. On the other hand, it also had a reinforced fuselage and wing structure in order to be able to withstand the stresses of falling attacks. Despite the reinforced structure, the new pattern was slightly lighter than the Battle, but was somewhat limited in its ordnance load due to the omission of the internal bomb bay . However, this fact was consciously accepted in view of the ability to drop the bomb with far greater precision in a dive and the associated higher expected destructive effect. The first built machine (K5099) was driven by a liquid-cooled supercharged twelve-cylinder - V - motor type Rolls-Royce Merlin I with a capacity of 1,030 hp (770 kW / min) at 3000, the second (K7555) by an equally powerful, RR Merlin II, however, set at a slightly higher full pressure height . The primary armament was a bomb load totaling 227 kg (500 lb ), which was to be carried as an external load. Both prototypes of the P.4 / 34 were not equipped with on-board weapons , but three 7.7 mm (0.303 in ) machine guns (similar to the Battle, but one more weapon) were planned for the production model , including one after rear-facing Vickers K MG in the cabin and two rigid forward-firing Browning M1919 MG in the wings.
testing
The two prototypes were then tested at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in Farnborough . However, the flight performance of the P.4 / 34 was disappointing , which was due to the rather weak Rolls-Royce Merlin (which had only been produced since 1935 and in the early versions available at that time did not yet have its full potential), although the aircraft was otherwise regarded as quite successful. The P.4 / 34 proved to be at a maximum speed of 453 km / h (283 mph ) - without external loads - as only about 40 km / h faster than the Battle of what the leaders of the RAF did not satisfy. The rather low bomb load also met with little approval. As a result, the Hawker Henley was considered superior and declared the winner of the tender, although it was ultimately ordered as a target tug plane and used as such by the Royal Air Force due to a change in the demand and use profile for light bombers .
Use as a test aircraft
In the end, the P.4 / 34 failed, despite indisputable qualities, because of an engine that was too weak for the intended purpose , which severely restricted both the general flight performance including the range and the possible armament. However, after being rejected by the Royal Air Force, his career was not over. The first prototype continued to serve as a test aircraft at the RAE in Farnborough , with newer RR Merlin versions being tested, similar to some examples of the Battle. The second machine was used as the first conceptual prototype for the later new naval fighter Fairey Fulmar , for which the design of the P.4 / 34 was specially modified. Some time afterwards, the same specimen was used to test the Fairey Youngman flaps (which were later used on the dive fighter and torpedo bomber Fairey Barracuda ) and, most recently, the quadruple arrangement of 20 mm cannons in the wings for the Fairey Firefly (which in turn was the successor to the Fulmar was designed and built).
Licensing
In 1938 the Danish naval shipyard (Dansk Orlogsværftet) in Copenhagen received a license to build the P.4 / 34 , but no machine had been completed here until the German occupation of Denmark in June 1940 (→ Western Campaign 1940 ). The designation was LM I (Land Monoplane Type I).
Whereabouts
The Fairey P.4 / 34 , built in only two prototypes, ended its service life as a test aircraft in the immediate post-war period around 1949, when both were retired from the RAE and subsequently scrapped.
The Fairey P.4 / 34 served as the basis for the Fairey Fulmar - a long-range naval fighter / reconnaissance aircraft .
Countries of operation
- Fairey Aviation Company (as a test aircraft)
- Royal Aircraft Establishment (as a test aircraft)
Technical specifications
| Fairey P. 4/34 | |
|---|---|
| Type / role | Dive bomber / attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Fairey Aviation Company ( UK ) |
| First flight | January 13, 1937 |
| Commissioning | None ( prototype / test aircraft) |
| Retirement | 1949 at the RAE |
| span | 14.44 m (47 ft 4½ in ) |
| length | 12.20 m (40.00 ft) |
| height | 4.70 m (15.42 ft) |
| Wing area | k. A. |
| Empty mass | 2,986 kg (8,787 lb ) |
| Takeoff mass ( MTOW ) | 4,600 kg (10,141 lb) |
| drive | a stationary liquid-cooled 12-cylinder - V-Engine Rolls-Royce Merlin II |
| power | 1,030 hp (770 kW ) at 3,000 rpm when starting |
| Top speed | 401 km / h (250 mph ) near the ground 453 km / h (283 mph) at 4,575 m (15,000 ft ) altitude |
| Cruising speed | k. A. |
| Rate of climb | 300 m / min (984 ft / min) |
| Service ceiling | 7,900 m (25,919 ft) |
| Largest range | 1,750 km (1,088 mi ) |
| Normal range | k. A. |
| Smallest range | k. A. |
| Armament | two 7.7-mm (0.303-in) - Browning M1919 - MG in the wings , a 7.7-mm (0.303-in) - Vickers K -MG in the rear pulpit a 227 kg (500 lb ) - bomb |
| crew | 2 men (pilot + rear gunner / observer) |
| number of pieces | 2 prototypes |
See also
Web links
- Image of the second P.4 / 34 with the indicator K7555 with a short story by British Aircraft of WWII (english)
- Picture of the second P.4 / 34 with the registration number K7555 in better quality at historicaircraft.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Plane Facts - Fulmar pre-prototype , AIR International December 1977, pp. 309-310