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A notable achievement

A notable achievement March, 1945 AIRCRAFT ENGINEERIN G 63 The point is of considerable importance because the existence of air-raid shelters of this massive type serves to explain the hitherto Aircraft Engineering puzzling feature of the continuance of life and activity in towns which have been subjected to repeated and concentrated attack by Th e Monthly Scientific and Technical high explosive bombs of the largest calibre in enormous numbers Orga n of the Aeronautical Engineering from great fleets of Allied bombers. Professio n The Distant Reading Compass Editor: Lieut.-Col. W. Lockwood Marsh, O.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., M.S.A,E., F.I.Ae.S. To revert to the subject of the British navigational equipment described by MESSRS. SCRIMSHAW & WELLS, this consists of three separate but mutually inter-related units: the Distant Reading Compass, the Air Mileage Unit (or air log) and the Air Position Indicator. The first is the master instrument and combines the N this issue we are able to give the first authoritative description functions of the old magnetic compass and directional gyro. The of the extremely ingenious equipment providing "automatic" combination permits of the corrections being transmitted auto­ aids to air navigation which has been under development in this matically from the one to the other at frequent intervals and thus country since before the war, but even the fact of the existence of eliminates the need for the application of them manually—and which has only recently been released' for publication. inevitably less frequently. The possibility of errors creeping in is thereby reduced to the minimum—as will be appreciated when it is realized that they are made every 5 or 6 seconds. The value of this to British Supremacy the pilot of an aeroplane during the time of attacking operations is I t is perhaps desirable to emphasize, since it has been installed in manifest. With an ordinary type of aircraft compass it used to be long-range aeroplanes of the Allies in general, that it is purely and necessary for the aeroplane to be flown on a straight and level course entirely a British development and credit is solely due to the staff for an appreciable length of time—measured in minutes, during of the ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT for the initial design and which it might be desirable to take violent "evasive action" in avoid­ to the British firms who have co-operated in its development and ance of flak. Now an accurate reading can be obtained in a matter of manufacture. In this respect it is to be put alongside the equally a few seconds, which also of course enormously helps the bomb- ingenious electric gun sight, which has made the fire power of aimer and increases the precision of his work. British fighter pilots so infinitely more effective, and it links up Not the least of its minor advantages is tha t in the worst conditions with the R.A.E. automatic pilot and the bomb sights which, despite false corrections—arising from external causes—are in the same way all that has been written by interested parties and the contrary, are put right quickly and will not give rise to prolonged inaccuracies in without equal among other nations. These devices together have bearing direction. The instrument thus finally eliminates the bug­ immeasurably lightened the task of bomber pilots, navigators and bear of Northerly Turning Error. bomb-aimers and have together contributed to the outstanding and unique precision of British bombing by comparison with the attacks of the other combatant nations. In case this is considered to be The A.M.U. and the A.P.I. a controversial statement we would like to add that it is made with The Air Mileage Unit similarly removes from the navigator a full sense of responsibility and is borne out by overwhelming the responsibility for computing from the A.S.T., altimeter and ther­ evidence supplied by contemporaneous air photographs, now, at mometer readings the true air speed, and resulting distance flown. long last, confirmed by examination of the targets by the ground These calculations are automatically done for him by the A.M.U. forces which have taken and occupied the sites, as well as by The two sets of results, from the D.R.C. and the A.M.U., are numerous eye-witnesses who have experienced the attacks. The finally automatically combined in the Air Position Indicator which photographs that have appeared recently of the still-standing gives a continuous air-plot and shows the precise air position at towers of Cologne Cathedral and the practically undamaged state any time in degrees and minutes of latitude and longitude. of the residential areas of that city alongside the devastated indus­ Apart from the various "repeater" instruments distributed at trial quarters is, almost of itself, sufficient confirmation even without convenient points in the aeroplane, sufficient power is provided to all the other supporting testimony from innumerable sources. enable the compass to operate the latest type of bomb-sight, leading to the increased accuracy to which we have already referred, as well A Shelter Puzzle as the automatic pilot. Incidentally, to digress from the main subject on which we arc We have endeavoured to give just a brief survey of the essential writing, published accounts of the conditions that have been found features of the complete instrument comprising the three units and to exist in captured German cities—notably Krefeld—seem to to indicate its importance as an aid to those operating large aero­ indicate that the Germans have "go t something" in regard to air­ planes. I t will be almost as valuable and essential a piece of equip­ raid shelters that is a considerable advance on anything that has ment in long-range commercial aeroplanes—as witness its proved been erected in England. It is stated by a Times Special Corre­ assistance to Coastal Command—as in military bombers. It is spondent that in that town there was only one subterranean shelter. impossible to praise too highly the skill and ingenuity of those Protection had been given to the remainder of the population of responsible for its evolution and it is good indeed to know that it is about 120,000 civilians by the erection of 21 enormous surface exclusively and incontrovertibly British. shelters—each capable of housing between 5,000 and 10,000 people —built entirely above ground to a height of about 50 feet. According to another account these are reinforced concrete structures with FLYING CHARACTERISTICS 3-feet thick walls and 6-feet thick roofs. Full details of these build­ ings would be extremely interesting as the information so far One of the perennial difficulties is arriving at some quantitative available hardly seems to explain their apparent complete immunity assessment of the flying characteristics of an aeroplane from the from the effects not only of blast but of direct hits—for it seems, too, pilot's point of view. Individual pilots will differ in their judgment of unlikely to assume that they have in every case been so fortunate the desirability or otherwise of the idiosyncracies in regard to con­ as to escape a direct hit in view of the statement that "though trol of any given type of aeroplane, and it is only natural that the entire blocks of buildings have been laid waste around them these human clement should introduce certain prejudices and predilec­ shelters have not suffered in the slightest." the sparse structural tions. In this issue DR . HICK interestingly tries to average the pilot, details we have quoted certainly would not imply such strength treating him as it were as a "robot" with assessable qualities; thus and resistance to explosions as they undoubtedly appear to possess. approaching the subject from the opposite angle. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology Emerald Publishing

A notable achievement

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology , Volume 17 (3): 1 – Mar 1, 1945
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0002-2667
DOI
10.1108/eb031224
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Abstract

March, 1945 AIRCRAFT ENGINEERIN G 63 The point is of considerable importance because the existence of air-raid shelters of this massive type serves to explain the hitherto Aircraft Engineering puzzling feature of the continuance of life and activity in towns which have been subjected to repeated and concentrated attack by Th e Monthly Scientific and Technical high explosive bombs of the largest calibre in enormous numbers Orga n of the Aeronautical Engineering from great fleets of Allied bombers. Professio n The Distant Reading Compass Editor: Lieut.-Col. W. Lockwood Marsh, O.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., M.S.A,E., F.I.Ae.S. To revert to the subject of the British navigational equipment described by MESSRS. SCRIMSHAW & WELLS, this consists of three separate but mutually inter-related units: the Distant Reading Compass, the Air Mileage Unit (or air log) and the Air Position Indicator. The first is the master instrument and combines the N this issue we are able to give the first authoritative description functions of the old magnetic compass and directional gyro. The of the extremely ingenious equipment providing "automatic" combination permits of the corrections being transmitted auto­ aids to air navigation which has been under development in this matically from the one to the other at frequent intervals and thus country since before the war, but even the fact of the existence of eliminates the need for the application of them manually—and which has only recently been released' for publication. inevitably less frequently. The possibility of errors creeping in is thereby reduced to the minimum—as will be appreciated when it is realized that they are made every 5 or 6 seconds. The value of this to British Supremacy the pilot of an aeroplane during the time of attacking operations is I t is perhaps desirable to emphasize, since it has been installed in manifest. With an ordinary type of aircraft compass it used to be long-range aeroplanes of the Allies in general, that it is purely and necessary for the aeroplane to be flown on a straight and level course entirely a British development and credit is solely due to the staff for an appreciable length of time—measured in minutes, during of the ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT for the initial design and which it might be desirable to take violent "evasive action" in avoid­ to the British firms who have co-operated in its development and ance of flak. Now an accurate reading can be obtained in a matter of manufacture. In this respect it is to be put alongside the equally a few seconds, which also of course enormously helps the bomb- ingenious electric gun sight, which has made the fire power of aimer and increases the precision of his work. British fighter pilots so infinitely more effective, and it links up Not the least of its minor advantages is tha t in the worst conditions with the R.A.E. automatic pilot and the bomb sights which, despite false corrections—arising from external causes—are in the same way all that has been written by interested parties and the contrary, are put right quickly and will not give rise to prolonged inaccuracies in without equal among other nations. These devices together have bearing direction. The instrument thus finally eliminates the bug­ immeasurably lightened the task of bomber pilots, navigators and bear of Northerly Turning Error. bomb-aimers and have together contributed to the outstanding and unique precision of British bombing by comparison with the attacks of the other combatant nations. In case this is considered to be The A.M.U. and the A.P.I. a controversial statement we would like to add that it is made with The Air Mileage Unit similarly removes from the navigator a full sense of responsibility and is borne out by overwhelming the responsibility for computing from the A.S.T., altimeter and ther­ evidence supplied by contemporaneous air photographs, now, at mometer readings the true air speed, and resulting distance flown. long last, confirmed by examination of the targets by the ground These calculations are automatically done for him by the A.M.U. forces which have taken and occupied the sites, as well as by The two sets of results, from the D.R.C. and the A.M.U., are numerous eye-witnesses who have experienced the attacks. The finally automatically combined in the Air Position Indicator which photographs that have appeared recently of the still-standing gives a continuous air-plot and shows the precise air position at towers of Cologne Cathedral and the practically undamaged state any time in degrees and minutes of latitude and longitude. of the residential areas of that city alongside the devastated indus­ Apart from the various "repeater" instruments distributed at trial quarters is, almost of itself, sufficient confirmation even without convenient points in the aeroplane, sufficient power is provided to all the other supporting testimony from innumerable sources. enable the compass to operate the latest type of bomb-sight, leading to the increased accuracy to which we have already referred, as well A Shelter Puzzle as the automatic pilot. Incidentally, to digress from the main subject on which we arc We have endeavoured to give just a brief survey of the essential writing, published accounts of the conditions that have been found features of the complete instrument comprising the three units and to exist in captured German cities—notably Krefeld—seem to to indicate its importance as an aid to those operating large aero­ indicate that the Germans have "go t something" in regard to air­ planes. I t will be almost as valuable and essential a piece of equip­ raid shelters that is a considerable advance on anything that has ment in long-range commercial aeroplanes—as witness its proved been erected in England. It is stated by a Times Special Corre­ assistance to Coastal Command—as in military bombers. It is spondent that in that town there was only one subterranean shelter. impossible to praise too highly the skill and ingenuity of those Protection had been given to the remainder of the population of responsible for its evolution and it is good indeed to know that it is about 120,000 civilians by the erection of 21 enormous surface exclusively and incontrovertibly British. shelters—each capable of housing between 5,000 and 10,000 people —built entirely above ground to a height of about 50 feet. According to another account these are reinforced concrete structures with FLYING CHARACTERISTICS 3-feet thick walls and 6-feet thick roofs. Full details of these build­ ings would be extremely interesting as the information so far One of the perennial difficulties is arriving at some quantitative available hardly seems to explain their apparent complete immunity assessment of the flying characteristics of an aeroplane from the from the effects not only of blast but of direct hits—for it seems, too, pilot's point of view. Individual pilots will differ in their judgment of unlikely to assume that they have in every case been so fortunate the desirability or otherwise of the idiosyncracies in regard to con­ as to escape a direct hit in view of the statement that "though trol of any given type of aeroplane, and it is only natural that the entire blocks of buildings have been laid waste around them these human clement should introduce certain prejudices and predilec­ shelters have not suffered in the slightest." the sparse structural tions. In this issue DR . HICK interestingly tries to average the pilot, details we have quoted certainly would not imply such strength treating him as it were as a "robot" with assessable qualities; thus and resistance to explosions as they undoubtedly appear to possess. approaching the subject from the opposite angle.

Journal

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 1, 1945

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