This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G. Phd, Mphil, Dclinpsychol) at the University of Edinburgh
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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. BIPLANE TO MONOPLANE: TWENTY YEARS OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN BRITISH FIGHTER AIRCRAFT, 1919-1939 PAUL KELLY PH.D IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 2013 DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE I affirm that the present thesis, ‘Biplane to Monoplane: Twenty Years of Technological Development in British Fighter Aircraft, 1919-1939’, has been composed by me, and that the work is my own. The thesis has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification, neither has it been published in whole or in part. I have read and understood The University of Edinburgh guidelines on plagiarism and declare that this thesis is all my own work except where I indicate otherwise by proper use of quotes and references. Signed ___________________________________ Date _____________________________________ PAUL KELLY 2 Table of Contents ILLUSTRATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 5 HISTORY, THEORY, AND METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 19 CHAPTER ONE: EARLY DEVELOPMENTS IN MILITARY AVIATION ................................... 47 CHAPTER TWO: THE ‘LEAN YEARS’, 1918-1924 .......................................................... 76 CHAPTER 3: 1925-1930 ................................................................................................. 129 CHAPTER FOUR: 1931-1936 ........................................................................................... 163 CHAPTER FIVE: 1934-1939 .......................................................................................... 191 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................... 246 Bibliography and Sources .......................................................................................... 266 3 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 - Hawker Typhoon (1941) ............................................................................... 7 Figure 2 - Sopwith Camel (1917) ................................................................................ 12 Figure 3 - Supermarine Spitfire (1936) ........................................................................ 12 Figure 4 - de Havilland (Royal Balloon Factory F. E. 1), 1910 .................................. 66 Figure 5 – Vickers F. B. 5 Gun Bus ............................................................................. 69 Figure 7 – Hill Tailless Light Aircraft ‘Pterodactyl’ (1926) ...................................... 118 Figure 8 - Macchi M. 7bis (1921) .............................................................................. 144 Figure 9 - Supermarine S. 6b (1931) ......................................................................... 145 Figure 10 - Supermarine Sea Lion II (1922) .............................................................. 152 Figure 11 - Curtiss CR-3 (1923) ................................................................................ 153 Figure 12 - Sea Lion III (1923) .................................................................................. 154 Figure 13 - Supermarine S. 4 (1925) ......................................................................... 155 Figure 14 - deHavilland Puss Moth (1929) ................................................................ 175 Figure 15 - Bristol Type 133 (1934) .......................................................................... 181 Figure 16 - Bristol Type 123 (1934) .......................................................................... 182 Figure 17 - Westland P.V. IV (1934) ......................................................................... 183 Figure 18 - Supermarine Type 224 (1934) ................................................................ 185 Figure 19 - Gloster Gladiator (1934) ......................................................................... 187 Figure 20 - Bleriot Monoplane (1911) ....................................................................... 195 Figure 21 - Gloster Gamecock (1925) Schematic ...................................................... 198 Figure 22 - Gloster Gladiator (1934) Schematic ........................................................ 198 Figure 23 - Airspeed Courier (1932) ......................................................................... 201 Figure 24 - Messerschmitt Bf 109 (1937) .................................................................. 209 Figure 25 - Hawker Hurricane (1937) ....................................................................... 209 Figure 24 - Hawker Fury ........................................................................................... 226 Figure 25 - Bristol Bulldog ........................................................................................ 227 4 INTRODUCTION 5 In the summer of 1940 around five thousand aircraft clashed during several months for control of the skies over Britain. The fighter aircraft used by the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force were, for the most part, very similar. They were monoplane airframes (fig. 3) made with a metal structure and covered with fabric or metal skin, their engines produced around 1,000 h.p., and the aircraft themselves achieved speeds of around 350 to 370 m.p.h. They had retractable undercarriages and were bristling with armaments.1 These aircraft stood in stark contrast to those used just over twenty years earlier in the First World War. Those machines (fig. 2) were biplanes,2 almost exclusively made from wood, covered in a doped fabric, their engines produced around 400 h.p., with speeds at around 120 m.p.h., they had fixed undercarriages, one or two machine guns and were largely un-armoured. In a little over twenty years the basic form of fighter aircraft had changed, and the materials used in their construction had changed. The engines, guns, interior structure and even the operational roles to which they were assigned had been altered to greater or lesser extents. The period 1918-1939 was, therefore, very important in the development of British fighter aircraft, as it was in aviation technology more generally.3 1 The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I used in the Battle of Britain was powered by a Rolls- Royce Merlin Mk. II 1,030 horse-power aero-engine and achieved a top speed of around 367 m.p.h. The main fighter used by the Luftwaffe, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 used a 1,085 h.p. Daimler-Benz 601A engine and achieved around 342-348 m.p.h. 2 Monoplanes also existed at this time, as did triplanes and even quadruplanes, but biplanes were overwhelmingly used as the form for combat aircraft of all types. 3 For example see: C. H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation - An Historical Survey, Second ed. (London: HMSO, 1985). David Edgerton, England and the Aeroplane - An Essay on a Militant and Technological Nation (Manchester: Macmillan, 1991). Peter Fearon, "The British Airframe Industry and the State, 1918-1935," The Economic History Review 27, no. 2 (1974). 6 WHAT IS A ‘FIGHTER’? It may be helpful here to set out what a ‘fighter’ aircraft actually is, delineating some terms used frequently throughout the thesis, not only to have a clear idea in mind of what we are talking about but also, at this early stage, to be made aware of the fact that we are discussing not one technology (the ‘aircraft’) but hundreds. A fighter aircraft of the first half of the twentieth century (from 1916 when the Royal Flying Corps was first equipped with fighter squadrons)4 was distinct from other forms of military aircraft such as bombers and reconnaissance, in that its sole mission was attacking other aircraft.5 Figure 1 - Hawker Typhoon (1941)6 4 J. O. Andrews, "The Single Seater Fighter Tactical Unit for Home Defence," Royal United Service Institution 77(1932): p. 384. 5 For instance, a bomber design would prioritise ‘useful load’ or the amount of munitions and fuel it can carry, reconnaissance aircraft would prioritise speed (they were generally unarmed). 6 From Flight magazine. The Typhoon is a World War Two-era fighter/bomber. Although not a part of this thesis, this cutaway is one of the best to illustrate the different parts and layers of a military aircraft of the latter 1930s.. 7 A fighter was therefore supposed to possess the highest speed and rate-of-climb (time to reach a given altitude) possible, superior manoeuvrability, and was designed, in essence, as a gun platform.7 Its operational roles would be changed and defined throughout the First World War. Indeed, papers written on