MAIN LIDI NAVY IF YOU want to know what is ahead, take a look at I past, some sage in Naval Aviation during 1948 may have been mirrored in what Navy pilots and scientists did in 1947. The Jet Age dropped its cloak over Navy flying in 1947 and saw many changes made to adapt the Navy to its new, modern raiment. It was not just a case of giving a few FH-1 Phantoms to two or three squadrons and setting the propellered planes in a vacant lot. Aviation is not that simple any more. Somebody has to develop a jet engine that will not burn itself out in a few hours; somebody has to perfect a new engine fuel; a new paint that won't peel off at high speeds, or a new parachute to save the pilot in an emergency. Bureau of Aeronautics during 1947 went forward on all fronts, keeping step with the more-publicized production of new airplanes by its progress in the little things that are just as vital as the slick new planes and new speed records. In the following pages, NAVAL AVIATION NEWS will set forth in brief outstanding accomplishments of BUAER and fleet aviation during 1947. The story cannot be told fully but here are the highlights. The most dramatic event of the year was the Navy's regaining after 23 years, the world's speed record. In the Douglas D-558, two men-Cdr. Turner Caldwell and Maj. Marion Carl-broke the world's mark in the space of five days, shoving it up to 650 miles an hour. Now there is a newer version of the D-558, a needle-nosed, jet-and-rocket powered bullet shown above, designed to explore speeds above 700 mph. No one yet has challenged the world's long distance record of 11,230 miles set by the Navy Neptune last year, nor broken the 170-hour endurance flight of the XM-1 blimp. Another record, set when an F8F from a standing start climbed to 10,000 feet in 100 seconds, still stands. All three were 1946 records. PEARHEADING the jet trend in the Navy is the Sfighter. The days of the piston-powered airplane are numbered, at least in that field. Besides the two D-558's the Navy during 1947 also brought out the F2H Banshee, F2R Dark Shark and XF9F-2 Grumman. The Banshee is the first Navy jet plane designed for operational use that has been classed "more than 600 mph." Like its predecessor, the Phantom, it is a twin turbo-jet carrier plane with a rated climb of more than 9,000 feet a minute. It takes off after a very short run and its ability to cruise on one engine gives it good endurance and range. The F2R-1 Ryan is the Navy's first plane using a gas turbine and prop.. |
