Post by Diarist on Jul 31, 2016 18:04:19 GMT 1
Sir Philip invited us into his office. Air Chief Marshall Edward Ellington was also present. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. What's new?"
"My brother John Mitchell is in the United States and we talked on the telephone yesterday evening. Apparently Wright has no customers for the R-2600 at the moment. They can deliver 30 engines per month. If we need more than they can deliver we can produce them under licence at Allison Engine company in the US. I've already ordered six engines for use in prototypes and for testing."
"Vickers-Armstrong owns Allison?"
"Yes they do. They are also expanding in anticipation of a higher demand and would love to produce the Merlin engine."
"You mentioned prototypes. Which aircraft are you referring to?" Air Chief Marshall Ellington asked.
"Gloster has a half finished aircraft for AM Spec. 5/34 using the Mercury engine which has only 890 hp. Unfortunately its development is being held up by the Gladiator production. I'm hoping we can cancel the 2nd order for 180 aircraft so that priority can be given to the new aircraft. The current design is expected to easily surpass 300 mph so with the R-2600 it should achieve almost 400 mph. And it's a carrier-aircraft design. Could we have a replacement for Spec. 5/34?"
"That can be arranged. Anything else?"
"Hawker has a half-finished prototype using Spec. 4/34, the Hawker Henley. This also is also delayed due to priority being given to the Hurricane fighter. It's a light bomber which can be used as a dive-bomber. We need an AM Spec. for an aircraft that's to be purpose-built as a dive-bomber. An aircraft that can do a near-vertical dive and fitted with dive brakes; bomb crutches; specialised bomb sights; a semi-automatic bomb release and dive termination system."
"That means pinpoint bombing. What defensive armament are you suggesting? The four gun turret?"
"No thank you. A twin calibre .303 for the 2nd crew member and four 20mm cannon in the wings. Once its bomb has been dropped it can act as a fighter and support the other aircraft."
"So with the new 27/34 spec. we discussed yesterday we are talking about new specs. for a fighter, a dive-bomber and a torpedo bomber and all for the FAA. In addition we should terminate the biplane production for the FAA. Have I missed anything?" Sir Philip summarized.
"No, Sir. The FAA are asking for a more powerful engine than the Merlin and the R-2600 is an ideal engine. The dive bomber and possibly the fighter could also be used by the RAF."
"The dive-bomber definitely."
"We are going to Hawker Aviation this afternoon. Gloster is their subsidiary. What can I tell them?"
"What we've just agreed upon."
"Good. Do you have anything else, Sir?"
"How are the other projects coming along?"
CPT Wales answered. "I'll be visiting various sites this week to get the latest information, Sir. I've just come back from Parachute Training so I have some catching up to do."
"Rolls-Royce has promised to deliver Merlin engines in December so we shouldn't expect any maiden flights before March," I added.
"Good. Thank you for your update, Major, Captain. Have a good day."
We were dismissed.
"My brother John Mitchell is in the United States and we talked on the telephone yesterday evening. Apparently Wright has no customers for the R-2600 at the moment. They can deliver 30 engines per month. If we need more than they can deliver we can produce them under licence at Allison Engine company in the US. I've already ordered six engines for use in prototypes and for testing."
"Vickers-Armstrong owns Allison?"
"Yes they do. They are also expanding in anticipation of a higher demand and would love to produce the Merlin engine."
"You mentioned prototypes. Which aircraft are you referring to?" Air Chief Marshall Ellington asked.
"Gloster has a half finished aircraft for AM Spec. 5/34 using the Mercury engine which has only 890 hp. Unfortunately its development is being held up by the Gladiator production. I'm hoping we can cancel the 2nd order for 180 aircraft so that priority can be given to the new aircraft. The current design is expected to easily surpass 300 mph so with the R-2600 it should achieve almost 400 mph. And it's a carrier-aircraft design. Could we have a replacement for Spec. 5/34?"
"That can be arranged. Anything else?"
"Hawker has a half-finished prototype using Spec. 4/34, the Hawker Henley. This also is also delayed due to priority being given to the Hurricane fighter. It's a light bomber which can be used as a dive-bomber. We need an AM Spec. for an aircraft that's to be purpose-built as a dive-bomber. An aircraft that can do a near-vertical dive and fitted with dive brakes; bomb crutches; specialised bomb sights; a semi-automatic bomb release and dive termination system."
"That means pinpoint bombing. What defensive armament are you suggesting? The four gun turret?"
"No thank you. A twin calibre .303 for the 2nd crew member and four 20mm cannon in the wings. Once its bomb has been dropped it can act as a fighter and support the other aircraft."
"So with the new 27/34 spec. we discussed yesterday we are talking about new specs. for a fighter, a dive-bomber and a torpedo bomber and all for the FAA. In addition we should terminate the biplane production for the FAA. Have I missed anything?" Sir Philip summarized.
"No, Sir. The FAA are asking for a more powerful engine than the Merlin and the R-2600 is an ideal engine. The dive bomber and possibly the fighter could also be used by the RAF."
"The dive-bomber definitely."
"We are going to Hawker Aviation this afternoon. Gloster is their subsidiary. What can I tell them?"
"What we've just agreed upon."
"Good. Do you have anything else, Sir?"
"How are the other projects coming along?"
CPT Wales answered. "I'll be visiting various sites this week to get the latest information, Sir. I've just come back from Parachute Training so I have some catching up to do."
"Rolls-Royce has promised to deliver Merlin engines in December so we shouldn't expect any maiden flights before March," I added.
"Good. Thank you for your update, Major, Captain. Have a good day."
We were dismissed.