Miles Messenger

Messenger
Type:	Liaison and private aircraft
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Miles Aircraft
First flight:	September 12, 1942
Commissioning:	1942
Production time:	1942-1948
Number of pieces:	93

The Miles M.38 Messenger is a four-seat liaison and private aircraft from the British manufacturer Miles Aircraft .

development and construction

Messenger at an aviation show in Australia, 1998

The Messenger was developed according to the requirements of the British Army for a robust, slow-flying and low-maintenance reconnaissance and liaison aircraft.

It is a cantilever low-wing aircraft with spur wheel chassis and is powered by a series engine de Havilland Gipsy Major powered 1D.

In addition to retractable auxiliary flaps , which give the aircraft a maximum wing load of approximately 12.5 lb / ft² (61 kg / m²), the Messenger has a triple tail unit , which can also be used at an extremely low stall speed of 25 mph (40 km / h) ensures sufficient maneuverability.

The prototype was developed on the basis of the M.28 Mercury and completed its maiden flight on September 12, 1942 - about three months after the order was placed by the British Army.

During an informal test flight by a reconnaissance squadron, it was found that the Messenger successfully met all the requirements of the British Army. However, the Ministry of Aircraft Production , which was not involved in the test flight, reprimanded George Miles for failing to obtain approval from the Ministry to develop the aircraft. Therefore no messengers were ordered as reconnaissance aircraft. Instead, the reconnaissance units used samples from other manufacturers, for example from Auster Aircraft .

During the war , Miles continued to experiment with the prototype and suggested using the machine as a submarine fighter under the designation M.38A . The aircraft was to operate from narrow, 60 ft (18 m) long decks on small merchant ships and land with a hook . To this end, attempts were made to land on a dummy flight deck at the Woodley site , in which passengers simulated the weight of depth charges. However, there was no official interest in this mission profile.

Nonetheless, the Royal Air Force ordered Messenger I aircraft in small numbers that were used for VIP transport. The machines were used by the Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery .

production and logistics

In the Netherlands , Messenger 2A registered at White Waltham Airfield , 1954

Messenger registered in Australia , circa 1963

Of the twenty-one Messenger 1s built during the war, seventeen survived the fighting. After their retirement by the Royal Air Force, most of them were converted for civil use and used as private and business aircraft under the name Messenger 4A .

In 1994 the prototype, called the M.48 Messenger 3, was equipped with fully retractable, electrically controlled landing flaps and a Blackburn Cirrus Major III with 155 PS (114 kW). However, this development was not pursued further because it offered no advantages over the other versions.

Post-war production focused on the Messenger 2A for the civilian market. The machines were built in Newtownards , Northern Ireland , and then flown to Woodley for finishing . After 71 copies were made, production was stopped in 1948. In 1950 one last machine was assembled from existing parts.

Several copies were sold to Australia , Argentina , Belgium , Chile , Egypt , New Zealand , South Africa , Iran and Switzerland .

During the 1940s and early 1950s, the model was a popular touring and racing aircraft . Harold Wood won the King's Cup Race in the Messenger with the registration number G-AKBO with an average speed of 133 mph (214 km / h).

In 2011, several messengers were still in operation in the UK and New Zealand with private owners and flight clubs.

Versions

Messenger 1: Military version for the Royal Air Force ; powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major ID; 23 copies built
Messenger 2A: Civil version; powered by a Blackburn Cirrus Major 3; 65 copies built
Messenger 2B: Three-seat version of the 2A; one copy built
Messenger 2C: Messenger 2B powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major 1D; one copy built
Messenger 3: Version of the 2A with double control; one copy built; later designated M.48
Messenger 4: Messenger 2A powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major 10; three copies built
Messenger 4A: Civilian version powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major 1D; one copy built, 19 copies of the Messenger 1 converted
Messenger 4B: Conversion of a Messenger 4A with a de Havilland Gipsy Major 10
Messenger 5: Conversion of a Messenger 1 with a Blackburn Cirrus Bombardier 702
M.38A Mariner: Original prototype of the messenger, equipped with a catch hook for experiments on an aircraft carrier
Handley Page HP.93: Version of the messenger used by the Handley Page Aircraft Company for flight tests

operator

United Kingdom United Kingdom

Technical data (Messenger 2A)

Parameter	Data
crew	1
Passengers	3
length	24 ft (7.32 m )
span	36.2 ft (11.03 m)
height	9.5 ft (2.9 m)
Wing area	191 ft² (17.7 m² )
Wing extension	6.8
Empty mass	1,438 lb (652 kg )
Max. Takeoff mass	2,400 lb (1,089 kg)
Cruising speed	124 mph (200 km / h )
Top speed	135 mph (217 km / h)
Service ceiling	16,000 ft (4,877 m)
Range	460 mi (740 km )
Engines	1 × four-cylinder in- line engine Blackburn Cirrus Major with 155 PS (114 kW )

literature

Peter Amos, Don Lambert Brown: Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1 . Putnam Aeronautical, London 2000, ISBN 0-85177-787-2 (English).
Don Lambert Brown: Miles Aircraft Since 1925 . Putnam & Company Ltd, London 1970, ISBN 0-370-00127-3 (English).
AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft since 1919 . Putnam & Company Ltd, London 1974, ISBN 0-370-10014-X (English).
Mike Jerram: For Business and Pleasure – No. 4: Part One . In: Airplane Monthly . tape 14 , no. 10 . Key Publishing, October 1986, ISSN 0143-7240 , p. 558-561 (English).
Mike Jerram: For Business and Pleasure – No. 4: Part Two . In: Airplane Monthly . tape 14 , no. 11 . Key Publishing, November 1986, ISSN 0143-7240 , p. 600-603 (English).
Rod Simpson: General Aviation Handbook . Midland Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-85780-222-5 (English).
David Mondey: The Hamlyn Concise guide to British Aircraft of World War II . Chancellor press, London 2002, ISBN 1-85152-668-4 (English).

Web links

Commons : Miles Messenger - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ The Miles M.48 . In: Flight International . Reed Business Information , October 1945, ISSN 0015-3710 , p. 396 (English, archive.org ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c David Mondey: The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II . Chancellor Press, 1982, ISBN 1-85152-668-4 , pp. 174 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c A. J. Jackson: British Civil Aircraft since 1919 . Putnam & Company Ltd, London 1974, ISBN 0-370-10014-X (English).
^ Rod Simpson: General Aviation Handbook . Midland Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-85780-222-5 (English).

[1] The Miles M.48 . In: Flight International . Reed Business Information , October 1945, ISSN 0015-3710 , p. 396 (English, archive.org ).

[:0-2] David Mondey: The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II . Chancellor Press, 1982, ISBN 1-85152-668-4 , pp. 174 (English).

[Jackson-3] A. J. Jackson: British Civil Aircraft since 1919 . Putnam & Company Ltd, London 1974, ISBN 0-370-10014-X (English).

[4] Rod Simpson: General Aviation Handbook . Midland Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-85780-222-5 (English).