Avro Anson, part one, South African users

The Avro Anson was a British twin-engined multi-role aircraft built by Avro. More than 11.000 aircraft were manufactured and served with many air forces around the world, the South African Air Force among them.
In the South African Air Force (SAAF) the Ansons were used for operational duties, after the first deliveries in 1939.  Some few Ansons, four of them, served with the No.32 Squadron SAAF in the anti-submarine role, patrolling South African coastal territorial waters until January 1940 when the squadron was reduced to just one flight. However, as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan opened seven flying training groups, four air observers and gunnery schools and five navigation training establishments, the Anson quickly became one of the main trainer aircraft serving with the SAAF. Up to 12 Air Schools in South Africa used the Avro Anson. These were:

• 41 Air School: Was formed at Collondale, East London on 30th December 1940 under the category of Type A School, which was the category assigned to the service flying. In July 1941 they were equipped with Ansons which employed them until they were disbanded on 18th May 1945.
• 42 Air School: Was formed on 27th March 1941 as Type A. By August it was equipped with Fairey Battles, Airspeed Oxford and Avro Ansons at South End, Port Elizabeth. The unit was disbanded on 18th March 1945.
• 43 Air School: It was formed on 12th January 1942 at The Kowie, in Port Alfred, and some years later, in July 1945 it was moved to Grahamstown. It started its career as an Air Gunnery School but changed its role in January 1945 to include navigation and air bombing. It was equipped with both Fairey Battles and Avro Ansons and was disbanded on 15th September 1946.
• 44 Air School: It was formed on 12th January 1942 at Grahamstown as a mixed Type A School for observer, navigator, air gunnery and bombing, using exclusively Ansons throughout all its career. It was disbanded on 14th June 1945.
• 45 Air School: Formed in England at Weston-super-Mare, South-West England, under the name of No.5 Air Observer and Navigator School. In September 1940, as the airfields in the United Kingdom were reserved for operational units (fighters and bombers), they were relocated to Oudtshoorn, in South Africa where it became an Air Observer school, or Type B school. The school was disbanded on 20th August 1945.
• 47 Air School: Originally named No.1 Air Observer and Navigator School at Prestwick, Scotland, the unit was shipped to South Africa in January 1941 where it became No.7 Air Observation and Navigation School at Queenstown, in Cape Province. It was of the Type B and was equipped exclusively with Ansons until it was disbanded on 7th April 1945.
• 61 Air School: On 30th September 1940 an element of the School of General Reconnaissance left Squires Gate, in Lancashire, for South Africa where it became the No.1 School of General Reconnaissance at George, in Cape Province, South Africa. On 30th April 1941 it was renamed as 61 Air School and was equipped with Ansons. It was disbanded on 14th June 1945.
• 62 Air School: It was formed in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State on 11th November 1940. It became the Central Flying School of the SAAF. It was disbanded on 24th February 1945 and had an unspecified number of Ansons in their rows.
• 64 Air School: This unit was formed at Tempe, a suburb of Bloemfontein, in February 1941 with the purpose of signals and wireless training with a number of Ansons in their ranks. It was disbanded on 20th December 1945.
• 65 Air School: Formed at Youngs Field, in Cape Town, this unit was established in August 1940 as an Armourers school sharing a number of Ansons with the 66 Air School. Both of them were combined in April 1944 to form 68 Air School.
• 66 Air School: This unit was formed at Youngs Field too and was later combined with 65 Air School.
• 67 Air School: It was formed at Zwartkop, in Transvaal, in November 1940. Originally an Air Photography School with a few Ansons on strength. Nowadays, it's still one of active SAAF units.

The Anson was also used by non-training, frontline units of the SAAF:

• No.31 Coastal Flight: This flight was formed in September 1940 from A Flight No.32 Squadron at Cape Town. Moved to Maputa, in Natal Provice, and later to Port Elizabeth in Cape Province. It was used in the patrol role and was upgraded to No.22 Squadron in 1942.
• No.32 Coastal Flight: It was also formed in September 1940 split from No.32 Squadron at Durban, in Natal. The unit was rebased to East Africa in 1942 and later formed the basis of No.20 and No.23 Squadrons.
• No.33 Coastal Flight: Formed in September 1940 from elements of the B Flight No.31 Squadron, at Wingfield airfield in Cape Town. It moved to Port Elizabeth and then to Durban in 1942. It was eventually upgraded and renamed to No.25 Squadron.
• No.34 Coastal Flight: Although this unit was formed in South Africa, it operated from Mombasa, Kenya. It was disbanded in 1943 with their aircraft (Ansons most of them) going to No.28 Squadron.
• No.36 Coastal Flight: Like the previous one this unit was formed in South Africa but it operated from East Africa. It was disbanded in 1942 and its aircraft were sent to No.20 and No.23 Squadrons.
• No.37 Coastal Flight: This unit operated in East Africa until 1942 when it was disbanded and their aircraft were sent to No.20 Squadron.
• No.12 (Bomber) Squadron: When this unit was based at Waterkloof, in Transvaal province, in 1940, it was equipped with Ansons.
• No.28 (Transport) Squadron: This unit was based in REAF Almaza, Cairo, Egypt. It was equipped with Ansons from 1943-1944 and again from 1945-1951.
• No.32 Squadron: As we said previously, this unit was formed in 1939 but was reduced to No.32 flight in January 1940.
• No.35 Squadron: This was a Sunderland unit but had an unique Anson sub-variant equipped with floaters for training crews on floating operations. It was based at Congella, in Durban.
• No.60 (Photographic) Squadron: Formed from elements of the No.62 Squadron, in Nairobi, Kenya in 1940. Was equipped with Ansons until 1941 and again, when rebased to Western Desert, in 1942-1943.
• No.61 (Communications) Squadron: This unit was formed in 1940 at Zwartkoop. They used Ansons until 1945, some of them fitted for ambulance role.
• No.62 (Survey) Squadron: This unit was formed in November 1940 by upgrading No.1 Survey Flight in Nairobi. Merged with No.60 Squadron in December 1940.

Apart from them some reserve squadrons, Nos. 141, to 145, 147 and 161 were formed using Ansons. Most of them were part of the Air Schools and used Ansons for reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrols. Additionally, No.1 Navigation Flight, based at Grahamstown, together with a Gunnery Flight. Bombing Gunnery and Navigation School employed Ansons based at Longboorweg from 1945 to 1947.

Sources:

1. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan_facilities_in_South_Africa

Fieseler Fi.167

During early 1937 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich's Air Ministry - RLM) issued a specification for a torpedo bomber capable of operating from Germany's first aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, whose construction started back in December 1936. The specification was issued to two German aircraft manufacturers, Fieseler and Arado. The specification required an all-metal biplane with a maximum speed of at least 300 km/h (186 mph) with a range of at least 1.000 km (631 milles) and with both torpedo and dive bombing capabilities. In the summer of 1938 Fieseler's design proved to be superior to the Arado Ar.195 (Arado's proposal).
The aircraft exceded by far all requirements as it had excellent handling capabilities and could carry about the twice required weapons payload. Just like Fieseler's most famous aircraft, the Fi.156 Storch, the Fi.167 had very good handling when flying at low speeds and, under the right conditions, it was said that the airplane was capable of landing almost vertically on a moving aircraft carrier. However, as the Graf Zeppelin was never completed, that affirmation seems to be propagandist. Apparently, during a test flight, Gerhard Fieseler himself managed to drop the airplane from 10.000 ft (3.048 m) to just 100 ft (30.48 m) while staying above the same ground point.
It seems too that, for emergency landings, the Fi.167 could jettison its landing gear and airtight compartments located in the lower wing would help the aircraft to remain afloat long enough for its two-man crew to evacuate.
Two prototypes were built in 1937, with the first one, making its maiden flight on 12th November 1937 and was followed by 12 pre-production machines (Fi.167A-0) manufactured from 1938 to 1940 which differed only in small details from the prototype. All of them were built at Fieseler's factory in Kassel, Germany. The Fi.167 was powered by a single Daimler-Benz DB-601B V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine which yielded 1.100 hp of power. It was armed with a single 7.92 mm forward-firing MG-17 machine gun plus another 7,92 mm MG-15 mounted in the rear cockpit. It could carry a single LT F5b torpedo under the fuselage, or up to 1.000 kg (2.200 lb) of bombs and, additionally, four small SC-50 bombs mounted in underwing racks.
As the Graf Zeppelin wasn't expected to be completed before the end of 1940, the Fi.167 was given low priority. Later, in 1940, when the construction of the Graf Zeppelin was halted, the completion of further aircraft was stopped and the completed aircraft was sent into Luftwaffe service in Erprobungsgruppe 167, which was an evaluation and testing unit created ad-hoc for the Fi.167. This unit had nine Fi.167 and was based in the Netherlands where they conducted coastal trials.
The construction of the Graf Zeppelin was resumed in 1942, but by that time the Junkers Ju.87C (a carrier-borne variant of the Ju.87) took over the role as a reconnaissance bomber with torpedo bombing capabilities, rendering torpedo bombers unnecessary. The nine Fi.167s returned to Germany in the summer of 1943 only to be shortly later sold to the Independent State of Croatia.
The remaining aircraft were used in the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (German Aircraft Experimental Institute), located in Budweis (nowadays Ceske Budejovice) in Czechoslovakia, for testing different landing gear configurations. The two test aircraft had their lower wings removed just outboard of the landing gear to increase the sink rate for some of the tests.
Those sent to Croatia, took advantage of the aircraft's short-field landing and high load-carrying abilities to transport ammunition and other supplies to besieged Croatian Army garrisons between their arrival in September 1944 and the end of the war. At least one of them was captured by Yugoslav Partisans and was used briefly by them.
It was during one of those resupply missions when, near the city of Sisak, Croatia, on 10th October 1944 an Fi.167 belonging to the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia and piloted by the Croatian ace Bozidar Bartulovic, was attacked by a formation of five North American Mustang Mk.III of the No.213 Squadron Royal Air Force. Three of those Mustang claimed one biplane shot down over the village of Martinska Ves, close to Zagreb. Bartulovic was wounded in the head and the aircraft caught fire, but Bartulovic's gunner, Mate Jurkovic before bailing out, claimed one of the Mustang. British records state that one of the fighter was hit and crash landed, making it, probably, the last biplane kill of the World War 2.
Apparently not a single Fi.167 survived.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_167
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fieseler-Fi-167-A-0-t6494
3. Hikoki Books - Luftwaffe Aerial Torpedo Aircraft and Operations in World War II
4. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_167 (translated)
5. http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/fi167.html
6. http://www.fliegerweb.com/de/lexicon/Geschichte/Fieseler+Fi+167-162 (translated)

Fairey Fulmar, part five

During 1942 the Fairey Fulmar was being gradually replaced by single-seat aircraft adapted for naval use, like the Hawker Sea-Hurricane, the Supermarine Seafire or the American Grumman Martlet. The Fulmar figured prominently in the Mediterranean during the years 1941 and 1942 as the Fleet Air Arm's (FAA) main fighter protecting most of the convoys sailed to Malta during those years. Sixteen Fulmar were on board HMS Victorious (R38) during Operation Pedestal, which turned to be their last major operation. The Fulmar continued to operate as a night escort-fighter for convoys and in the intruder role. It was also used to trainer crews for the Fairey Firefly which was introduced in 1943. After their withdrawal from the fighter role, the Fulmar were used to perform long-range reconnaissance missions. According to its pilots, the flight characteristics were pleasant as its widely spaced undercarriage provided good deck handling and the type enjoyed excellent fuel capacity and range. Many FAA's aces scored some of their victories while flying the Fulmar, with the first pilot to achieve five kills (the minimum enough required to be considered as an ace) being Sub.Lt. Jackie Sewell.
At its peak, twenty squadrons were equipped with the Fulmar. It flew from eight aircraft carriers and five escort carriers. No.237 Squadron RAF operated them for some months in 1942 from China Bay, in Ceylon, where they saw action during the Japanese raid that took place on 9th April 1942, with half of the squadron's personnel being from the Royal Navy. In total, the Fulmar was recorded having destroyed a total of 112 enemy aircraft for the cost of 40 Fulmar lost, making the type the leading one in terms of aircraft shot down to be operated by the FAA during the World War 2. In February 1945, the Fulmar was officially withdrawn from front line service, with the last operational aircraft, an Mk.II night fighter from 813 Naval Air Squadron being written off after sustaining heavy damage in a landing accident at the safety barrier on board of HMS Campania (D48).
Around 100 Fulmar were converted to the Mk.II Night Fighter variant, but the type was just moderately successful and some of the earlier variants of the aircraft also operated from Catapult Aircraft Merchant (CAM) ships.
A single machine, registered as N1854, was upgraded to Mk.II standards and re-registered as G-AIBE, to be used by Fairey Aviation Company for some time after the war. During June 1959 it was painted back to service markings to be seen at Farnborough at the SBAC show which took place on 8th September 1962. The last flight of this machine was conducted three months later, on 18th December 1962. Ten years later, in 1972, the aircraft was presented to the Fleet Air Arm's Museum, where it has been preserved and it's nowadays in static display.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Fulmar
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Fulmar-Mk-I-t951
3. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Fulmar-Mk-II-t40358
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Fulmar-NF-Mk-II-t180813
5. Osprey Publishing - Aircraft of the Aces 75 - Royal Navy Aces of World War 2
6. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 41 - Fairey Fulmar
7. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Fairey Fulmar, part four

In July 1940, the first squadron to be equipped with the Fulmar was the 806 Naval Air Squadron (NAS). They started operations from the carrier HMS Illustrious (R87) shortly later. The Royal Navy made specifications for a two-seat aircraft so the pilot had assistance from another crew member to report back to the fleet the observations they made via wireless telegraphy and keep flying over the ocean. Therefore the Fulmar was too large and many time difficult to move when fighting against single-seat land-based fighters, just as it happened in the Mediterranean Theatre as its performance was blatantly  inferior to that of land-based fighters. Anyway, the long range of the Fulmar proved useful at times. During the chase of the German Battleship Bismarck, many Fulmar were used as carrier-borne spotters, playing a critical role tracking the movements of the Battleship and performing an attack on the vessel.
The Fulmar also took part in the British North African Campaign. During September 1940 the Fulmar saw action for the first time while flying convoy protection missions to and from Malta. After many engagements, the sturdy Fulmar achieved dozens of victories against their Italian and German enemies. The first recorded kill by a Fulmar took place on 2nd September 1940 when a formation of Fulmar belonging to the 806 NAS, which was on patrol off the coast of the island of Rhodes (which belonged to Italy at the time), shot down a Italian CANT Z.501 Flying Boat. By October that year, the Fulmar pilots claimed to have shot down ten Italian bombers. The Fulmar proved to be specially effective against Italian reconnaissance aircraft like the Caproni Ca.309/310 or the IMAM Ro.37, among others. During the bombing of Taranto, on the night of 11th to 12th November 1940, the Fulmar was deployed to provide high-altitude aerial cover for the attacking Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers. Later, in the Battle of Cape Matapan, which took place between the 27th and the 29th of March 1941, they escorted Fleet Air Arm's attack aircraft in their raids against the Italian Navy.
The Fulmar saw also action in the Eastern Front as the type was very commonly found in the many arctic convoys sent to the Soviet Union. In fact, the Fulmars saw action in the Operation EF, the failed raid on Axis-controlled facilities at Petsamo and Kirkennes which took place in July 1941 as escorting aircraft for both the Albacores and the Swordfish. The Fulmar was also briefly deployed to the Pacific Theatre as a response to the advancing Japanese forces in the Far East. Two squadrons were sent to defend Ceylon. However, when they faced a force composed by the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter and some Aichi D3A dive bombers, the Fulmar quickly proved to be outclassed against the Zero and six Fulmar were lost in the engagement in exchange for four Aichi D3As. In spite of this, as the Fleet Air Arm had not a better alternative yet in the region, further Fulmar were dispatched to the Far East to keep facing the Japanese.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Fulmar
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_EF_(1941)
3. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 75 - Royal Navy Aces of World War 2
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
5. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 41 - Fairey Fulmar

Fairey Fulmar, part three

The first prototype of the Fulmar, which was a flying mock-up, was powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin III engine, which was able of generating up to 1.080 hp of power. When flight-tested, it was shown that performance was relatively poor as the highest speed it could attain was 230 mph (370 km/h). In order to fix such problem, it was fitted with a more powerful Merlin engine; the Merlin VIII, which was a variant made specifically for the Fulmar and with supercharging optimised for low-level flight. Some other aerodynamical improvements were also made to the fuselage.
Those changes managed to increase the speed up to 265 mph (426 km/h) when flown at an altitude of 7.500 ft (2.286 m) high. Given the need for modern fighters to equip Royal Navy's aircraft carriers, the Fulmar performance was considered acceptable.
As a relatively straightforward derivative of the existing prototype, the Fulmar was expected to be ready in big numbers quickly. In mid-1938 a manufacturing order was placed for 127 production aircraft by the Royal Navy. A floatplane variant was also envisioned and promoted but, however such variant was never-built (Note: We couldn't find blueprints or drawings about how this variant would looked like, so we decided not to drawn it) .
On 4th January 1940 the first production aircraft took-off from Fairey's factory at RAF Ringway, near Manchester. Production numbers rise up to 600 machines manufactured. Two-hundred and fifty of the Mk.I variant (first production variant powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin VIII engine and armed with eight 0.303 in Browning Mk.II machine guns in the wings) and 350 of the Mk.II variant (powered by a Merlin XXX engine capable of yielding up to 1.300 hp of power, a new propeller ,the addition of tropical equipment, the usual eight Browning Mk.II machine guns in the wings -being replaced however by four 0.5 in Browning AN/M2 in the last batch- and underwing hardpoints which allowed the aircraft to carry up to 500 lb (226 kg) of bombs). There was also a night fighter variant fitted with an Air Interception Mk.IV radar of which 100 machines were converted from the Mk.II variant.
During January 1941 the manufacturing process of the Mk.II variant started with the first of them being delivered to an operational squadron in March 1941. This model had provision for a 60-gallon (273 litre) centre-line drop-tank which could be replaced by bombs. During October 1941, flight tests performed at RAF Boscombe Down showed that the drop tank extended Fulmar's range to 1.100 milles (1.800 km). Further testing showed that it could safely drop a 500 lb bomb during 60-degree dives at speed of up to 310 knots (574 km/h). Some Fulmars were fitted with catapult-launching gear to be launched from merchant ships, in order to make convoys safer.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Fulmar
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Fulmar-Mk-I-t951
3. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Fulmar-Mk-II-t40358
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Fulmar-NF-Mk-II-t180813
5. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series 41 - Fairey Fulmar
6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Fairey Fulmar, part two

The Fairey Fulmar has its roots in the P.4/34 aircraft which was developed as an answer to the specification P.4/34, which requested for a light-bomber with dive-bombing capacities.
The selected one by the Air Ministry was the Hawker Henley and it ended up being a target tug.
The Fulmar was basically a navalized version of the P.4/34. Fairey submitted its modified design to the specification O.8/38, which requested for a two-crew fighter with observation and fleet defence capabilities. Considering that the aircraft wasn't expected to find any fighter opposition, as Germany, Britain's only foreseeable enemy during this time, 1938, had no aircraft carriers. Therefore other factors such as long range and heavy armament were considered more important than a high service ceiling, manoeuvrability or speed. As the type was expected to perform routinely long flights over the ocean, a third crew member (navigator/wireless operator) was considered essential, specially when flying at night or at poor meteorological conditions.
Having a substantial resemblance to the Fairey Battle, the Fulmar prototype was aerodynamically cleaner and had a lightly shorter folding wing. The prototype of the P.4/34 flew for the first time on 13th January 1937 at Fairey's Great Western Aerodrome (nowadays London Heathrow Airport) and, after initial flight tests, some minor modifications were made to the prototype. One year later the name 'Fulmar' was selected for the type, with the name not being announced until the aircraft entered service in 1940.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Fulmar
2. Hall Park Books - Warpaint Series 41 - Fairey Fulmar
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Fairey Fulmar, part one

The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter developed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. Named after the Northern Fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles, the Fulmar served with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA), with Vichy France and it would've served with Denmark.

• Denmark: Together with the previous P.4/34 (of which we made a post), the Royal Danish Navy took interest in the Fulmar (as the later was a developed variant of the first) and plans were made to set up a licensed production chain in Denmark. However, with the course of the World War II and the German occupation of Denmark in April 1940 those plans were cancelled.
• Vichy France: On 27th March 1941 a Fulmar Mk.I belonging to the HMS Furious (47), most probably from 803 Naval Air Squadron was performing a reconnaissance mission over Senegal. The aircraft took off from the carrier, which was off the coast of Freetown, in the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate (under British control) and was flying over Senegal (under Vichy French control) when, for unknown reasons, the plane had to force land at Dakar's airport, in French controlled territory. The aircraft was pushed into service with the Vichy French Air Force, with its former British markings overpainted with French ones and served with the Groupe de Chase (Fighter Squadron) 1/4 which was based in Dakar and Gao, both of them in French West Africa. As the GC 1/4 sided later on with the Free French Air Forces, the captured aircraft, which initially was used for propaganda and evaluation purposes, was most probably either destroyed (most likely) or taken back by the FAA.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Fulmar

2. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Fulmar (translated)

3. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=55460

4. http://www.traditions-air.fr/unit/escadron/groupe_chasse05.htm#GC00401 (translated)

5. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 41 - Fairey Fulmar

6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Myasishchev DVB-102

The Myasishchev DVB-102 was a long range, high-altitude bomber of which only two prototypes were built. It's origins can be traced back to 1939 when the Soviet Government foresaw the need for a long-range bomber.
The aircraft was proposed by Vladimir M. Myasishchev, main chief engineer of his own aircraft design bureau in the USSR. Its design was approved in early 1940 and in June the construction of the prototype began. The DVB-102 was developed simultaneously with other projects like the high-speed interceptor DVB-100 (a design that never went beyond the drawing board), the Petlyakov Pe-2 or the Tupolev Tu-2 and the Tomashevich I-110.
One year later, in summer 1941, the first fuselage was complete and so static tests began, however due to the quick German advance, the factory where the works were taking place had to be displaced so it wasn't until spring 1942 that the first prototype was ready for flight testing.
Due to bureaucracy and war shortages, in winter 1942 the first prototype was brought to the VVS' (Soviet Air Force) airfield to be tested. It was powered by two Klimov M-120TK engines which yielded, each of them, a power of 1.800 hp and were equipped with TK-3 turbocompressors. After having been test flown, construction of a second prototype began.
In fall 1943, the prototype was handed back to Myasishchev to be improved, as there were many flaws detected by the VVS. However, by that time, the factory was dedicated to manufacture the Petlyakov Pe-2 (some of them being modified) and, many new variants, with many engines, were designed, however only one seemed factible: the one powered with M-71 engines and TK-3 compressors, which, in fact was flight tested in high-altitude tests during March to July 1944-1945.
It was defensively armed with two 20 mm ShVAK cannons, one in the nose and other one in a dorsal turret plus one 12,7 mm BK machine gun placed in a remotely-operated ventral position. The theoretical payload was of 2.000 kg (4.409 pounds) with an overload of almost 4.000 kg. When tested it achieved an altitude of 11.500 m (37.729 ft) high with a theoretical range of 3.600 km (2.236 milles) powered by a M-71F engine.
However, the M-71F engine showed poor numbers, specially regarding maintenance and performance and, on 20th July 1945 during a test flight one of the engines failed, and, due to the lack of replacements for such engine, combined with the study of the more promising Tupolev Tu-4 (the Soviet copy of the B-29), lead to the mothballing of every Myasishchev's aircraft at Frunze Central Aerodrome, and, eventually scrapped. In 1946 the OKB-482 (Myasishchev design bureau) was closed, but in spite of the requirements of the VVS, the bureau wasn't restored until the 1950s and their previously designed aircraft were quickly forgotten.
Some of the ideas applied to the DVB-102 were however, applied to later designs like the Ilyushin Il-22 or Il-28.

Sources:
1. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/dvb-102.htm
2. http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/mjas-102.php
3. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/myasishchev-aircraft.779/

Fairey P.4/34

The Fairey P.4/34 was a competitor for a light bomber to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Even if it didn't proceed beyond the prototype stage, it formed the basis for the Fairey Fulmar.
Back in 1934 the Air Ministry issued a specification called P.4/34 calling for a light bomber that could also play the close-range support role to replace the Fairey Battle. Three companies, Fairey, Gloster and Hawker presented proposals but contracts were granted only for those designs of Hawker and Fairey. The P.4/34 was a low-wing metal monoplane powered by Rolls Royce Merlin I which yielded 1.030 hp of power. It had a crew of two accommodated in tandem position under a long-glazed canopy. Its configuration was similar to that of the previous Battle bomber, but the P.4/34 was smaller and had a wider track, inwards retracting undercarriage. It was prepared for dive bombing, as the specification required, and carried its load of two 250 lb (110 kg) underwing, while the competing design, the Hawker Henley, had an internal bomb bay. Apart from the bombs, the P.4/34 was armed with just one forward-firing 0.303 in machine gun placed in the nose.
Two P.4/34 were ordered, with the first flying on 13th January 1937. For comparison, the prototype Hawker Henley flew on 10th March 1937. When tested, the Hawker was clearly superior but, as the need for a light-bomber had changed, it entered service as a target tug.
The P.4/34 served as the basis for a two-seat long-range carrier-based fighter for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to meet the requirements of the specification O.8/38. The second P.4/34 prototype was modified to reduce its wing span and its tail-plane was lowered to make it more aerodynamic for the Fulmar. It was later used to test retractable Fairey-Youngman flaps which would eventually be used on the Fairey Firefly.
In 1938 the first prototype was at Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Farnborough, where it was used for testing the effects of barrage balloons, by deliberately flying it into a weighted cable hung beneath (not the actual tether cable). Testing was carried out at RAF Lakenheath, in Suffolk, and at Pawlett, in Somerset, from September 1938. The whole process was filmed by a chasing Battle from RAF Mildenhall. The P.4/34 was later joined by another Battle, both of them were reinforced to withstand the impacts but severe damage to the fuselage was, nonetheless, usual. Most of the flights were made by Johnny Kent, as the original intended pilot, Arthur E. Clouston had taken leave to go for the London-New Zealand speed record. Kent accumulated more than 300 collisions and was awarded The Air Force Cross for his efforts. He said about the P.4: "a delightful aeroplane through all manoeuvres, except for the spin, which was really vicious".
In 1938 a contract was signed between the Royal Danish Navy and Fairey for building, under license, the P.4/34 in Denmark. It would've been manufactured at the Danish Naval Shipyard, in Copenhagen. In 1939, they received the order to manufacture 12 machines, however, none of them was completed when Germany occupied Denmark in April 1940.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_P.4/34
2. http://www.navalhistory.dk/English/NavAir/NavalAviation.htm
3. http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/fairey_p4-34.php
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-P-4-34-t197999

Piaggio P.119

Most of the Italian aircraft manufacturers during World War II, such as Savoia-Marchetti and Caproni, designed and built mixed-construction aircraft (made of steel and wood) or, just like in the case of CANT, made of wood. Whilst FIAT and Macchi manufactured more advanced aircraft, they still had conventional if not obsolete, structures, even if they were made entirely of metal. Only two companies, Reggiane and Piaggio, achieved the manufacturing of all-metal structures and, of them, only Piaggio tended to explore more innovative concepts, even if Reggiane had some jet-powered fighters projected.
The project for the P.119 dates back to 1939 for an aircraft with minimum drag with the engine fitted into the mid-fuselage, in a similar layout as the Bell P-39 Airacobra. It was expected to increase manoeuvrability by placing the engine near the centre of gravity, allowing that way heavy nose-mounted armament to be carried too. One year later, in 1940, Piaggio still had to solve three major issues: power transmission, contra-rotating propellers and engine cooling.
In order to solve those, Piaggio's main designer, Giovanni Casiraghi, tried to solve them with a design that was never built, the P.118 double-engined fighter which was going to be powered by two Piaggio P.XI RC 40 radial engines, each of them connected to a propeller. The P.119 was built instead and flew for the first time in late 1942 with three configurations having been studied before one of them was chosen.
The P.119 was a cantilever monoplane made entirely of metal with a conventional wide undercarriage. It had a forward-mounted cockpit with the weapons, four 12,7 mm (0,5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns mounted on the nose and one single 20 mm (0.78 in) Breda-SAFAT cannon firing through the propeller hub with provision to install four additional Breda-SAFAT 7.7 mm (0.3 in) in the wings, but they were never installed in the prototype. Apparently an anti-tank version with a 37 mm (1.45 in) cannon instead of the 20 mm one, was also envisioned but it never went beyond the drawing board. It had an advanced construction for the time, with many removable panels for internal inspection with the number of components reduced to a minimum and standardised to make construction as easy as possible.
It was powered by a single Piaggio P.XV RC 45 radial engine which yielded 1.500 hp of power. It was located behind the cockpit with cooling air intakes fitted under the nose. A further development was planned with a more advanced variant powered by a Piaggio P.XV RC 50 expected to yield 1.650 hp of power.
The aircraft was flight-tested, but it was found that firing all the weapons produced excessive vibration. A landing accident slightly damaged one wing on 2nd August 1943 and one month later the Italian armistice brought the project to an end.
Unlike many other Italian aircraft of the time, it was not sent to Guidonia (Regia Aeronautica's test centre) for official evaluation and that's why it has been a rather mysterious fighter.
Performance could've been very good as it solved the main flaw of the Italian fighters of the time, their feeble armament. Its performance was good enough to compete with other Italian fighters of the time and had much better endurance. However, the aircraft was not ready when the Fiat G.55, Reggiane Re.2005 and Macchi C.205 were available and that resulted catastrophic for the programme. As we said previously the aircraft was not officially evaluated by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) and just one machine, registered as MM.496 was built. Apart from this, the range, endurance, overall visibility and armament were superior. But, with its many technical problems it was never in condition to become an operational aircraft, so the only Italian fighter with an engine mounted in the mid-fuselage section was forgotten. Unlike wikipedia claims, there was other fighter with an identical layout in the Axis side, the Yokosuka R2Y.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_P.119
2. https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/piaggio-p-119.47582/
3. https://www.valka.cz/Piaggio-P-119-t1325
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Fairey Battle, part five

The Fairey Battle was a single-engine monoplane light bomber that was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. During production it was fitted with various versions of the Merlin engine, like the Merlin I, II, III (which was the most numerous variant) and V, but every bomber variant was called Battle Mk.I. The Battle featured a relatively clean design with a slim oval-shaped fuselage manufactured in two sections. Forward section, in front of the cockpit, relied mainly upon a steel tubular structure to maintain the weight of the engine. The rear section was made of a metal monocoque structure with hoop frames and z-section stringers, which was built on jigs. It was a very innovative design for Fairey as it was the company's first low-wing monoplane and the first light-alloy stressed-skin aircraft produced by them.
The wing used a two-part construction, with the central section being integral part of the fuselage. Internal wing structure relied upon steel spars which varied in dimensions towards the wing tips. The ailerons elevators and rudder were entirely metal-framed with fabric coverings and the split trailing-edge was entirely made out of metal.
The typical crew of the Battle was three, pilot, observer/navigator and radio operator/rear gunner, all of them accommodated in the forward canopy. Pilot and observer were seated in a tandem position, with the pilot controlling the single forward-firing Browning 0.303 in mounted in the starboard wing. The gunner/radio operator was in the rear controlling the manually-operated Vickers 0.303 in K machine gun. The observer acted also as the bomb aimer and, for this function, he was placed beneath the pilot's seat, as sighting was made in the prone position through a sliding panel in the floor of the fuselage.
It had a standard payload of 1.000 lb (453 kg) of bombs (similar to the earlier variants of the Bristol Blenheim). The standard payload was of four 250 lb (113 kg) carried in cells contained in the internal space of the wings. The maximum bomb-load was 1.500 lb (680 kg) with two additional 250 lb or 500 lb (227 kg) bombs carried on underwing racks. The bombs were mounted on hydraulic jacks and were released via trap doors during a dive attack.
The Battle was a robust aircraft easy to fly even for inexperienced pilots. The pilot enjoyed good external visibility and the cockpit was considered roomy and confortable for the time. However, the tasks of simultaneously deploying the flaps and the retractable undercarriage, were considered as a notable complication.
By the time it entered service in 1937, it had already become obsolete thanks to the quick advances in aircraft technology. It's defensive and offensive armament was considered too weak, and it lacked other defensive items of the time like armoured cockpit and self-sealing tanks. Ironically, it was well armoured of the standards of 1940, but only against small-arms fire on the ground.
In June 1937 No.63 Squadron was the first one to receive the Battle, being it the first operational aircraft to be powered by the mighty Merlin engine. By May 1939 a total of 17 squadrons were equipped with the Fairey Battle, with many of them being assigned to non-mobilising training roles or reserve squadrons.
By the start of the World War II, the Battle was already obsolete but it remained as the front-line main Royal Air Force's (RAF) dive bomber due to the lack of a better replacement.On as early as 3rd September 1939 (some sources claim it was the 2nd, although that day the United Kingdom was not still at war with Germany) ten Battle squadrons were deployed to airfields in France as part of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force, which was independent of the British Expeditionary Force. They were spread out just after having arrived as it was intended that the Battles would, in the event of German commencement of bombing attacks, launch retaliatory attacks in the Ruhr valley region taking advantage their closer range in French airfields.
Initial missions were to perform aerial reconnaissance over the Siegfried Line at day, resulting in occasional skirmished and losses. On 20th September 1939 a German Messerschmitt Bf.109 was shot down near Aachen, Germany, being that the first RAF's aerial victory of the war.
However, the Battle was seriously outclassed by Luftwaffe's fighters resulting in high losses for the period of late 1939. During the winter of 1939-1940 it was decided to re-estructure the Advanced Air Striking Force, so some Battle squadrons returned to the United Kingdom and were replaced by Bristol Blenheim-equipped squadrons. During this time the activities of Advanced Air Striking Force were limited to training activities.
When the Battle of France begun in May 1940, the Battles were called to perform unescorted low-level tactical attacks against the advancing German army. These kind of attacks resulted very dangerous as the Battles were easy targets for both the Luftwaffe and ground anti-aircraft guns with very little impact on the German ground forces.
During the Battle of France, most of the Battle's attacks were aimed towards bridges and other infrastructures resulting their bomb-load insufficient most of the time for destroying the bridges. It was decided therefore to restrict Battle's operations to night-time raids only resulting in much fewer losses.
On 15th June 1940 the last remaining aircraft of the Advanced Air Striking Force returned home with almost 200 Battles having been lost in six weeks, 99 of them lost between 10 and 16 May. After the Battle of France, the RAF continued to rely on the Battle for a short period of time on the light bomber role. The No.1 Group was reformed with the inclusion of four new Polish squadrons equipped with the type and continued to be deployed for anti-shipping operations in the Channel ports for Operation Sealion. The last combat sortie of the Battle was performed by No.301 (Polish) squadron on the night of 15/16th October when they attacked Boulogne and No.12 and 142 Squadrons attacked Calais. Shortly after, No.1 Group's bombing squadrons were re-equipped with Vickers Wellington bombers. However, in 1941, three squadrons, No.88 and No.226, based in Northern Ireland and No.98 in Iceland were still equipped with the Battle for coastal patrol duties.
As the Battle was found to be largely inadequate for the bomber role, most of them were refitted as trainers or target tugs, some of them with a second cockpit added, others with a turret on the back for gunner training and other with tug-towing equipment. They served on this role with many RAF's schools until the end of the war in 1945.
Some others were used as engine test-beds for various engines such as the Rolls-Royce Exe, Fairey Prince, Napier Dagger and Napier Sabre both in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Curiously enough a single Battle was re-fitted with the Fairey Monarch engine, driving two three-bladed contra-rotating propellers and large ventral radiator. After 86 hours of extensive testing it was shipped in December 1941 to the USA in order to continue the testing at Wright Field, Liberty County, in Georgia.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Air_Forces_in_France_and_Great_Britain
3. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-I-t1349
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-II-t17039
5. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-III-t61598
6. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-TT-t104197
7. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/fairey-battle.html

Fairey Battle, part four

In April 1933 the British Air Ministry issued the specification P.27/32 which sought for a two-seater monoplane light-bomber to replace the Hawker Hart and Hawker Hind biplanes in service. In the requirement it was stated that the aircraft had to be able of carrying a load of 1.000 pounds (450 kg) of bombs over a distance of 1.000 milles (1.600 km) while flying at a speed of 200 mph (320 km/h).
Fairey Aviation Company was keen to produce a design to meet the demands of the specification P.27/32 and started work on such design with the Belgian designer Marcel Lobelle as as the main engineer. Lobelle chose to use the Rolls-Royce Merlin I engine from very early on development due to its favourable power and compact frontal area. Thanks to the Merlin engine, the aircraft had exceptionally clean lines and enjoyed a generous speed performance. The resulting design was an all-metal single-engine aircraft with a low mounted cantilever wing and equipped with a retractable undercarriage.
A total of four companies answered to the specification, Fairey, Hawker, Armstrong-Whitworth and Bristol, but only those designs of Fairey and Armstrong Whitworth were selected by the Air Ministry. Therefore, on 10th March 1936 the first prototype, powered by a 1030 hp Merlin I engine, took off to the skies for the first time at Hayes, Middlesex. The prototype was quickly transferred for service trials with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and achieved the speed of 257 mph (413 km/h) making it that way the fastest day bomber back then.
When the design process was still going on, some members of the Air Staff expressed their reluctance about the aircraft as they considered the design to be insufficient in a hypothetical conflict with a re-emergent Germany. In spite of those concerns, there was a considerable pressure to put the Battle into production in order to increase RAF's strength numbers to cope with Luftwaffe's similar increase in the mid 1930s.
In 1936 orders were placed for Fairey to build Battles to specification P.14/36, so in June 1937 the first production Battle, which was part of a first batch of 136 machines powered by the Merlin engine, performed its maiden flight. By the end of 1937 a total of 85 Battles were completed and a considerable number of RAF squadrons had been re-equipped with the type or were in re-equipment process. As the RAF was undergoing a substantial pre-war expansion programme, the Battle was recognised as a production priority. In fact, at one point there were orders for a total of 2.419 aircraft. The first production aircraft was completed at Fairey's Hayes factory, but every subsequent machine was completed at Fairey's newly completed plant at Heaton Chapel, Stockport in Greater Manchester. Completed aircraft were sent for testing at RAF Ringway and a total of 1.156 aircraft were completed by Fairey.
Later, as a part of a government-led wartime production planning, the Fairey was also manufactured at Cotton Hacket, Longbridge in Birmingham in a shadow factory operated by the Austin Motor Company, with a total of 1.029 exemplars manufactured. The first one of these Austin-built Battles was completed on 22nd July 1938. At that point concerns about the aircraft's obsolescence were widespread, but because of the difficulties associated to getting another aircraft types into production, and the production lines having been established, stop-gap orders were maintained and production continued steadily well until late 1940.
In September 1940 all production came to an end and every production line was closed. Overall production numbers for the Battle was 2.201 machines including the Belgian 16 machines.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-I-t1349
3. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-II-t17039
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-III-t61598
5. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-TT-t104197
6. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/fairey-battle.html

Fairey Battle, part three

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. By the end 1940 the type was withdrawn from front-line service and was relegated to training overseas. The overseas user we're covering today are:

• New Zealand: For some unknown reason, two Battles ended up in New Zealand. One of them, registered as P6673 arrived in July 1941 from Canada and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 42". The other one, registered as K9177 was sent in November 1941, arrived in February 1942 and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 59". However, according to other sources, it was sent on 22nd November 1942 to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and remained there as an instructional air-frame until May 1943 when it was shipped to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and sent to the ANA (Australia National Airways) Flying School to be used, after being repaired, as a mascot. However it was decided to use it for spare parts. We couldn't find any graphical evidence, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Southern Rhodesia: As Southern Rhodesia was part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, they received 25 Battles which were sent to the newly created No.24 Combined Air Observers School which was formed in Moffat, Southern Rhodesia. The school was designated as "No.24 Bombing and Gunnery School" in May 1943. Its main equipment was the Battle Target Tug, with 25 of them listed as active in 1944. In the unit's annual report it was stated, "Other than the extreme age of these machines, calling for constant repairs and replacements, very little trouble has been experienced on the type". The last 12 of Southern Rhodesia's Battles were written off in August 1945. As we couldn't find any photo, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
  Concurrently, the No.266 (Rhodesia) Squadron, was formed in late October 1939 at RAF Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, and were equipped with the Fairey Battle for a brief period of time, until January 1940 when they were re-equipped with the Fairey Battle.
• Denmark: According to some sources, a licensed-production line was already set-up in Denmark to manufacture the Fairey Battle but none of them was completed before the German Invasion in April 1940. Interestingly enough, in the same factory where the Battle was going to be manufactured, it was expected to produce the Fokker G.I too. 
• Finland: During the Winter War, in late November 1939, the Finnish Government asked to the British Government for aircraft. Therefore, 20 ex-RAF Battles were released for delivery to Finland and were expected to arrive between January and March 1940. However, with the end of the hostilities, none were delivered and the aircraft were sent to the RAF.
• Poland: In June 1939 a Polish Military Mission to London was formed under the command of General Ludomil Rayski. After long negotiations, it was agreed that one Spitfire, 10 Hurricanes and 100 Battles would be supplied to the Polish Air Force in a scheduled delivery.
  In fact, a first batch of 30 Battle was intended to be shipped to Danzig (Gdansk), but some archives state that it was one Spitfire and 25 that were loaded. On 18th September 1939 a merchant ship departed from Liverpool's harbour escorted by the Polish Destroyer ORP Blyskawica, arriving the two of the to Gibraltar two days later, as the cargo was expected to be unloaded in Constanta, Romania and delivered to Poland by land. However, Romania had declared that it was throwing in its lot in with the Germans and paralysed the transit of weapons all across its territory. Therefore the ship was ordered to sail to Istanbul, when the fall of Poland was unavoidable. They were offered to Turkey instead.
  At the same time, it seems that when Germany invaded Poland, the UK's Chief of Air Staff offered the immediate release of 20 Battles to be flown to France to be collected by Polish pilots. The proposal was refused on the grounds that deliveries of such small war material would make no difference in the outcome of the battle.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle

2. http://www.rathbonemuseum.com/DENMARK/DKPhotos/DKPhotos.html

3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a22k.htm

4. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/canadaairwar/canadaairwar1940.pdf

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._266_Squadron_RAF

6. Aeroplane Database June 2016 - Fairey Battle