The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century EAPONSAND ARFARE VOLUME 19 Norg/P.L.l5 The Illustrated Encyc...
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The
Illustrated
Encyclopedia of 20th Century
The
Illustrated
Encyclopedia of 20th Cent ury
EAPONS ARFARE AND
VOLUME 19 Norg/P.L.l5
The
Illustrated
Encyclopedia of 20th Century
EAPONS A R FARE AND
a COLUMBIA HOUSE/New
York
Editor: Bernard Fitzsimons
Gunston (Aviation) Hogg (Land Weapons) Antony Preston (Naval) Deputy Editor: Suzanne Walker Copy Editor: Michael Maddison Consultant Editors:
Bill
Ian V.
Assistant Editors: Will Fowler, Richard Green,
Corinne Benicka, John Liebmann, Michael de Luca Editorial Assistant: Julie Leitch
Art Editor: David Harper Assistant Art Editor: John Bickerton
Design Assistants:
Jeff
Gurney, John Voce
Production: Sheila Biddlecombe Picture Research: Jonathan
Contributors:
Illustrator:
Moore
David Brown, Michael J. Gething, Bill Gunston, Mark Hewish, Ian V. Hogg, John Jordan, Hugh Lyon, Pamela D. Matthews, Kenneth Munson, Malcolm Passingham, Antony Preston, John A. Roberts, Anthony J. Watts, John S. Weeks
John Ratchelor
Cover Design: Harry W. Fass Production Manager: Stephen Charkow
I'urncll & Sons Ltd. 1967/1009 Phoebus Publishing Company/ RPC Publishing Ltd. 1971/77/78 Distributed by Columbia House, a Division of CBS Inc., 121 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10030 j
(T)
I
Printed
in
the U.S.A.
"God grants liberty only to those ready to guard and defend it."
who
love
it,
—Daniel Webster
and are always
INTRODUCTION Although the German army of the 1920s was forbidden tanks by the Treaty of Versailles, experiments with armored vehicles, many of them dummy superstructures mounted on automobile or even tricycle chassis, were carried out, and various prototype tanks, usually described as "agricultural tractors," were produced. By 1933 the design of the Panzer-
and in the following year the first examples were issued to the newly formed armored regiments. During the 1930s, the Blitzkrieg tactics that were to conquer almost the whole of western Europe in 1 940 were refined, and the tools of the Blitzkrieg, the Panzerkampfwagen (literally, armored battle vehicles) are among the entries
kampfwagen
in of
was
I
finalized,
The Illustrated Encyclopedia 20th Century Weapons and Warfare.
Volume
19 of
ance of the Soviet T-34, which was far superior
armament and protection to the German tanks. They responded with the Panzerkampfwagen V, or Panther, which incorporated in
many
of the features of the T-34, notably the
sloped frontal armor.
One of the of German
reasons for the rapid up-armoring
of antitank
weapons— not only
first
and machine-gun
Their armament was not particularly heavy— two machine guns on the Panzer I, a machine gun and a 20-mm cannon on the II. Progressive development saw dramatic increases in armament, however, and by the end of the Second World War the tank had evolved into a massive, heavily armed and thickly armored vehicle far removed from its prewar ancestors. to
withstand
rifle
fire.
The medium Panzerkampfwagen III introduced a 50-mm gun and slightly heavier ar-
antitank weapons.
During the 1930s, the standard infantry antitank weapon was the antitank rifle. The Ger-
man
Panzerbiichse were typical of this type of
weapon— very high-powered against only the lightest of
started with a short
75-mm gun and
a
15-mm
armor base. This was protection against smallarms fire and shell splinters but little more. Later models, however, introduced a long, high-velocity
the
75-mm weapon and
armor base
to 80
increased
mm.
The Germans, meanwhile, had invaded Russia,
where they were shocked by the appear-
effective
rifles
armor
at
extremely
The
greatest breakthrough in the was the hollow-charge, or shaped-charge warhead, which did not depend on speed of delivery for its effect, but worked
antitank
on quite
field
different principles. Essentially, the
hollow-charge shell
is
part of the warhead
backed by a metal the explosive jet
is
just that: is
plate;
The
forward
hollowed out and
on striking the
target
detonated and focused into a
capable of penetrating the thickest armor.
One
of the
to use the
first
new
individual antitank weapons device was the British Piat, a
spigot mortar launching a small hollow-charge
bomb. The German Panzerfaust was less
mor, while the heavy Panzerkampfwagen IV
artillery pieces,
which showed a dramatic improvement in accuracy and hitting power, but also individual
close range.
German tanks (not counting the A7V of the First World War) the Panzerkampfwagen I and II, were lightly armored
As the
tanks was the increase in potency
a recoil-
launcher, the prototype being single-shot
disposable weapons, the later models being able to be reused. Finally, the Panzerschreck
was a rocket launcher based on the US Bazooka. All these weapons had an effective range of around 1 00 yards, and about the only protection available to tanks was wire mesh skirts which detonated the charge at a safe distance from the tank.
Norge
Norge Norwegian coast-defence battleship class, built 1899-1900. Two ships, Norge and Eidsvold, were ordered in 1898 from the British firm Armstrong Whitworth. They looked like scaled-down versions of contemporary British pre-Dreadnoughts, with ram bow, two funnels and single turrets forward and aft. After the First World War six 47-mm (1.85in) 3-pdr guns were replaced by two 47-mm AA guns, and the underwater torpedo tubes were removed, but they were otherwise unchanged. Both were
Displacement: 3850 tons (normal) Length: 95.4 (313 ft) oa Beam: 15.4 m (50 ft 6 in) Draught: 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 4800 ihp=16.5 knots Protection: 152 mm (6 in) belt, 51 mm (2 in) deck, 203 mm (8 in) turrets Armament: 2 8.2-in (208-mm)/45-cal (2x 1); 6 6-in/45-cal QF (6x 1); 8 3-in (76-mm) QF (8x1); 6 47-mm (1.85-in) QF (6x1); 2 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (submerged, beam) Crew: 270
m
up at the outbreak of the Second World War, but were brought forward from reserve and moved to Tromso. In April 1940 they were then moved to Ofotf jord near Narvik to form the backbone of a force to defend the vital iron-ore port. The group also comprised the submarines B. 1 and B.3, the fishery-protection vessel Michael Sars and two small patrol craft. At about 0320 hours on April 19 the senior officer, Kommandorkaptein Askim, captain of Norge, heard from the torpedo boat Kjell that several German destroyer were steaming into Ofotfjord. Both the old coast-defence ships went to action stations, the Eidsvold at the entrance to the harbour and her sister laid
covering the outer harbour. The destroyer Wilhelm Heidkamp was fired on, and replied that she was sending a boat to negotiate the surrender of the Norwegian ships. After refusing to surrender, the Norwegians waited for the launch to get clear before opening fire, but the German Commodore Bonte had no such qualms. On a signal from the launch, Heidkamp fired a salvo of torpedoes at Eidsvold. She blew up and sank rapidly with the loss of all but six of her crew of 184. Norge survived longer, as driving snow hid her from the other German destroyers in the fjord. When they pressed on through the blizzard she opened fire with all guns that could bear, but two torpedoes from Georg Thiele hit her and she rolled over and sank quickly. Only 90 out of the 195 men on board survived.
The Norwegian
coast-defence battleship
Norge
Normandie French battleship class, laid down 1913-14 but not completed. Four super-Dreadnought battleships were sanctioned under the Naval Law of March 1912, and a fifth ship was added at the end of 1913, to provide two fourship squadrons with the Bretagne Class.
Normandie was
laid
down
Ateliers et
at
Loire St Nazaire Languedoc at Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux; Flandre at Brest arsenal; Gascogne at Lorient arsenal and Beam (ex- Vendee) at Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee, La
Chantiers de
la
,
;
;
Seyne.
The design by Chief Constructor Doyere was quite unorthodox, with three quadruple 340-mm (13.4-in) mountings, one forward, one abaft the funnels and one right aft. The overriding consideration in the design was to keep weight down while increasing gunpower and protection. Two twin 340-mm mountings weighed 2060 tons whereas one quad weighed 1500 tons, so the Normandie could carry two more guns than the Bretagne and have an extra 650 tons left for armour. It was also possible to move the bow turret further aft, to avoid the tendency to plunge into head seas which characterized the earlier French Dreadnoughts. The French had previously experienced difficulties with turbines, which had proved heavy on coal. The new ships were to revert to a mixture of turbines for main drive on the inner shafts, and reciprocating triple-expansion engines on the outer shafts for cruising. The boilers were a mixture of coal-fired and oil-fired, Guyot-du in 1902.
She was
lost in
1940 while resisting
Temple, Belleville and Niclausse type, which have produced some interesting problems in service. The fifth ship, Beam, was to have had four-shaft Parsons turbines to make her homogeneous with the Bretagne Class. Work on all five ships stopped in August 1914, but as the war progressed their boilers were removed and used for torpedo boats and patrol vessels. By the Armistice in 1918 the first four had been launched, but were in a poor way; Beam was at a very early stage and work on her was restarted, though only to clear the building slip. The Naval Staff was anxious not to lose the five hulls, but hesitated to complete what now looked like a dated design. The options studied included strengthening of the deck armour, installing a more powerful 340-mm gun, lengthening the hull, and even installing new turbines of more than double the power to increase speed by five knots. The Washington Treaty put an end to these fantasies, but in any case France was in no position to spend vast sums, and in April 1922 Normandie, Languedoc, Flandre
and Gascogne were cancelled. The machinery of Normandie was transferred to Beam, which had been launched in 1920. Beam was reprieved for conversion to an aircraft carrier, being completed finally in May 1927 and remaining in French service until 1966.
See also Beam. Displacement: 22 000 tons (normal), 25 230 tons load) Length: 176 .4 m (578 ft 9 in) oa Beam: 27 m (88 ft 7 in) Draught: 8.64 m (28 ft 4 in) Machinery: 4-shaft steam turbines and reciprocating, 32 000 ihp=21 knots Protection: 300-1 30 mm (11.8-5.1 in) belt, 340-254 mm (13.4-10 in) turrets, 64-51 mm (2.5-2 in) deck Armament: 12 340-mm/45-cal Model 1912 (3x4); 24 138.6-mm (5.5-in)/55-cal Model 1910 (24x1); 4 47-mm (1.85-in) AA (4x1); 6 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (submerged, beam) Crew: 1200 approx (full
Norman Thompson
British aircraft
See N.T.2B, N.T.4
German
naval forces in Ofotfjord, near Narvik
2017
Northampton North American US aircraft See Fury, Mitchell, Mustang, 0-47, Sabre, Savage, Super Sabre, Texan, Tornado, Trojan, Twin Mustang, Vigilante
No and name CA.26 Northampton
builder
commissioned
Bethlehem, Quincy
5/30
Northampton
CA.27 Chester
New York
SB, Camden
6/30
heavy cruiser class, built 1928-31. A class 8-in (203-mm) gunned cruisers, an improved version of the Penscicoki Class,
CA.28
Puget Sound navy yard
1/31
Mare
3/31
US
of
Louisville
six
CA.29 Chicago
was authorized in 1927. A raised forecastle was provided in the Northampton Class to remedy the lack of freeboard of their predecessors. Nine guns were mounted in three triple
turrets,
one gun being sacrificed
fitting a
navy yard
CA.30 Houston
Newport News SB
6/30
CA.31 Augusta
Newport News SB
1/31
to
allow more weight for protection. The aircraft were housed in a double hangar abreast of the after funnel. In an effort to overcome the 'stiffness' of the Pensacola Class, and to improve stability, the Northampton Class were designed with a lower centre of gravity. The resulting tendency to roll proved excessive, and was
countered by
Island
Midway, Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal and Tassafaronga. She was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Oyashio of? Lunga Point on December 1, 1942. Chicago was at Coral Sea, Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Savo Island, where she was badly damaged by a torpedo. She was repaired, but on January 29, 1943, she was torpedoed by a Japanese aircraft off Rennell Island and foundered in two the next day. Houston was part of the
deeper bilge keel.
class was heavily involved in the fighting in the Pacific. Northampton fought at
The
American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Force which fought a gallant but hopeless rearguard action against the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. She fought in the final disastrous Battle of the Java Sea and was
sunk by gunfire from the cruisers Mikuma and Mogami in Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942. Louisville had an active career, and survived a kamikaze hit off Luzon on January 5/6, 1945. Chester was torpedoed by the submarine 1176 on October 20, 1942, but
managed
to reach port.
Augustawas
the only
one of the class to see active service outside the Pacific and she took part in the Torch landings in North Africa, the D-Day landings in Normandy and the invasion of the South of France.
The three survivors were worn out in 1945, and were soon put on the disposal list. Following a Congressional panic in 1952 about the weakness of the US Navy, they were reinstated in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, and were finally sold for scrap in 1959. (standard), Displacement: 9050-9300 tons 12 150-12300 tons (full load) Length .183 m (600 ft 3 in) oa Beam:20A m (66 ft) Draught:!. 3 m (24 ft)
max Machinery:
bines,
4-shaft geared steam tur107000 shp=32.5 knots Protection: 76
mm (3 in) belt, 51-25 mm (2-1 (2.24-1.5
in)
turrets
in)
deck, 57-38
Armament: 9
8-in
mm
(203-
mm)/55-cal (3x3); 8 5-in (127-mm)/25-cal AA (8x1); 2 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in]) saluting (2x1); 8 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine-guns (8x1); 6 21 -in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (2x3) (removed 1935); 3 floatplanes, 2 catapults Crew: 621 (795 as flagship)
Northampton US command cruiser, completed 1953. Laid down in August 1944 as one of the Oregon City Class of 8-in (203-mm) gun cruisers, Northampton was 57% complete when she was cancelled 12 months later. Construction was resumed in mid- 1948 when she was redesigned to serve as a flagship for fastcarrier task forces or for amphibious assault groups. The hull was raised by one deck to provide additional office space, and the superstructure reduced to two blocks with the single funnel between. All living and working spaces were fully air-conditioned, and the ship could be closed down in the
event of nuclear attack.
CLC. Northampton was commissioned 1
in
Her external appearance was dominated by the most extensive and com-
March
USS Augusta, 2018
a Northampton Class cruiser, late
in
the war with tripod mast and radar
1953.
prehensive electronics and communications equipment carried by a warship of that period. A massive diamond-shaped SPS-2
NS March 1953. They served into the 1960s before being replaced by the Nord 3400. Span: 12.5 m (41 ft) Length: 7.7 m (25 ft 3 in) Gross weight: 1045 kg (2304 lb) Maximum speed: 190 km/h (118 mph)
Novik Russian destroyer built 1910-13. One experimental vessel was ordered in 1910 from the
Works, St Petersburg. She was Novik on July 7, 1911, and commissioned in September 1913. With a speed of 36 knots, five 102-mm (4-in) guns and three sets of triple torpedo tubes she was the most powerful destroyer in the world at Putilov
launched as
USS Northampton (CLC.l) showing
her diamond-shaped SPS-2 air-search radar scanner
—the largest seaborne —was carried on the for-
air-search scanner radar in the world
ward radar tower, with a smaller search aerial (later replaced by an SPS-37) on the mainmast and an SPS-8 height-finding radar below it on the after superstructure. A variety of pole masts carried communications antennae, including one of 38 m (125 ft) the tallest unsupported mast on any ship. Information from these antennae was coordinated for command purposes in an elaborate com-
—
bat information centre.
Armament was restricted to a few AA weapons. Four of the new single 5-in (127mm)/54-cal Mk 42 guns were carried, two forward and two aft. On either side of the funnel were two twin 3-in (76-mm)/50-cal mountings, but these were soon replaced by a new enclosed 70-cal mounting. During the 1950s Northampton served as flagship of the 6th Fleet (1954-55) and the 2nd Fleet (1955-61). In 1961 she was made available for use by the National Authorities and was reclassified as a tactical command cruiser (CC.l). In 1962 the 3-in mountings were removed because of maintenance problems and to provide additional space for berthing and electronics. The SPS-2 scanner was removed the following year, and was later replaced by a large dish-shaped aerial, which Northampton carried until she decommissioned in August 1970. The 1960s also saw the removal of the remainder of the armament except for a single mounting in position. helicopter deck was marked out aft, but although two helicopters could be operated no hangar space or maintenance facilities were provided.
X
A
Displacement: 14700 tons (standard), 17200 tons (full load) Length: 206 m (675 ft 10 in) oa fleam; 21 m (68 ft 11 in) Draught: 8.8 m (28 ft 10 in) Machinery: 4-shaft steam turbines, 120000 shp=32 knots Protection: 152 mm (6 in) side, 76-51 (3-2 in) decks Armament: 4 5-in (127mm) DP (4x1); 8 3-in (76-mm) AA (4x2) Crew: 1675
mm
Northrop US aircraft See Black Widow, F-15, F-17, N-3PB, Nomad, Raider, Scorpion,
XB-35
North Star, Canadair Canadian transport aircraft. In 1944 the Canadian government took a substantial interest in the aircraft division of the Canadian Vickers company, which was hived off as Canadair Ltd. Soon afterwards production
the time.
was authorized of a Rolls-Royce Merlin powered version of the successful Douglas DC-4 four-engined airliner (USAAF designation, C-54 Skymaster). The new transport aircraft was designated DC-4M and the prototype flew for the
first
time in July 1946,
powered by four 1760-hp Merlin 626 engines. It was soon named North Star and 23 production DC-4Mls went into service with the Royal Canadian Air Force. The pressurized DC-4M2 version followed it into production, and was purchased by two major Canadian airlines, Trans-Canada and Canadian Pacific. Production of different variants lasted until 1950, and among overseas customers was the British Overseas Airways Corporation, which put 22 into service as the C-4 Argonaut. The last North Star to be built was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines as the Canadair 5, and flew with the RCAF (No 412 Squadron) during 1950-61
as
government
a
luxury transport for ministers and high-ranking special
known flight by when one belonging last
a
DC-4M was
in
Canadian National Research Council (originally from 1976,
to the
RCAF
batch) was finally retired from service, having built up an enviable reputation for reliability over a period of the
first
to lay a large mine-barrier north of Steinort.
Like other Russian ships her efficiency was reduced in 1917 as morale sank lower and lower.
officers.
The
Novik's high speed and capacity for 60 mines made her ideal for minelaying. On the night of October 31 -November 1, 1914, she and three other destroyers laid a mine-barrier off Pillau, and again on November 24 off Scholpin. In March 1915 she and the rest of her half -flotilla were again active. On the morning of August 16 she fought a running battle with the German torpedo boat V.99 and after hitting her several times, forced her into a minefield, wljere she struck two mines and sank. In November Novik and other destroyers sank the patrol vessel Norburg, and a month later she laid mines between Windau and Lyserort, which caught the German cruiser Bremen, the torpedo boats V.191 and 5./ 77 and the patrol boat Freya. In June 1916 Novik was part of a force of destroyers and cruisers which raided German coastal convoys, while in October she helped
30 years.
She was laid up from 1919 onwards, but recommissioned in 1931 as Yakov Sverdlov.
As
the oldest surviving Soviet destroyer she
was designated Type I, the later Improved Novik types becoming Types II- VI. She served in the Second World War but was an early casualty, being mined off Moen Island on August 29, 1941 Despite her age her AEG turbines were still capable of nearly 30 knots. .
Span: 35.81 m (1 1 7 ft 6 in) Length: 28.52 m (93 ft 7 in) Gross weight: 37330 kg (82300 lb) Maximum speed: 523 km/h (325 mph) at 7680 m (25200 ft)
See also Azard. Displacement: 1587 tons (normal), 1801 tons load) Length: 102.4 m (336 ft) oa Beam: 9.5 m (31 ft 3 in) Draught: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) Machinery: 3-shaft steam turbines, 36500 shp=36 knots Armament: (in 1941) 5 102-mm (full
Norvigie, Nord
NC.856A
French observation and
liaison aircraft. In
SNCAC (SNCA
du Centre, one of the French nationalized aviation groups) was absorbed into the (SNCA du Nord). Nord terminated most projects, including the NC.856 civil lightplane which had flown a few months before with a 105-hp 1949 the
SNCAN SNCAC
Walter Minor engine. But the Aviation Legere de l'Armee de Terre (army light aviation) was looking for a light observation aircraft which could also be used for liaison and light casevac duties. Nord fitted the 135hp SNECMA-Regnier 4L engine to an extensively modified NC.856 and produced the NC.856 A, named Norvigie (Norway). Features included high-lift wings passing through the completely glazed tandem-seat cabin, large door for admitting a stretcher, and twinfinned tail. The prototype flew in March 1951, and the first of 1 12 production aircraft flew in
(4-in)
QF
(5x1);
1
76-mm
(3-in);
1
37-mm
(1.46-
AA; 2 machine-guns (2x1); 9 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (3x3); 60 Type 1912 mines Crew: 168 in)
NS By 1917 the Admiralty, through the Royal Naval Air Service, was operating a sophisticated class of non-rigid airships capable of fulfilling some of the requirements of the products of the erratic rigid airship programme. With a capacity of 10200 cu (360000 cu ft) the NS or North Sea Class were the largest non-rigid ships ever constructed in Britain. The original specification called for an endurance of 21 hours at a speed of 48 knots (89 km/h [55 mph]). This endurance was exceeded in pracBritish naval non-rigid airship class.
m
2019
N.T.2B Norman Thompson ,
doe, and in l^N NS II made a non-stop flight of 6437 km (4000 miles) lasting a little under 101 hours. The North Seas were thus well suited for long-range patrol duties on fleet scouting or. more usually, on antisubmarine missions. A brief comparison between the North Seas and the Italian semi-rigid 'M' Class is illuminating and appropriate, since one of the latter was bought by the Admiralty in 1919. SR /. as the Italian ship was designated, had (441000 cu ft), a a capacity of 12490 cu maximum speed of 83 km/h (53 mph) and carried a crew of only five in a short open gondola which also mounted the three engines. By contrast, the maximum speed of the North Seas was 92.5 km/h (57.5 mph) with two engines. The North Seas carried a crew of ten, which was large for a non-rigid, enabling a two-watch system to be worked. They were accommodated in a totally enclosed car 10.7 (35 ft) long and 1.8 (6 ft) high whose rear part contained a wireless cabin and sleeping quarters. The engines were mounted aft of the gondola on a separate frame. The standard of the crew environment, an important factor in long-range reconnaissance craft, was therefore superior to that of other British non-rigjds as well as SR 1. In fact, the overall performance of the North Sea Class rivalled that of contemporary semi-rigids, and it is hard to understand why the Admiralty purchased SR 1 unless they proposed to initiate a semi-rigid construction programme and intended using SR 1 for evaluation.
m
m
m
The North Seas were designed and constructed at the naval airship station at Kings-
north near Rochester, Kent. The envelope was of the Astra-Torres trilobe pattern. Originated by the Spanish airship engineer Leonard Torres Quevedo, this envelope configuration with its unmistakable trefoil section became the hallmark of ships manufactured by the Astra Societe de Constructions Aeronautique in France. The British Coastal and C Star Classes of naval non-rigjds were also of the Astra-Torres type. The trilobe envelope had greater rigidity than one of conventional form, and the suspension cables for the gondolas and powerplant frame were carried internally up to anchoring points located at the junction of the dorsal lobe with the port and starboard lobes. The first operational flight of NS 1 took place in February 1917. The early ships suffered from mechanical trouble because the universal joint on the 2.4-m (8-ft) extension shafts from the engines to the propellers was prone to failure at about 200 hours. The shafts were therefore eliminated and the propellers coupled directly to the Fiat engines which had by this time replaced the original Rolls-Royces. NS Ts gasoline load of 3410 litres (750 Imp gal) was distributed along the top of the envelope in 12 separate tanks, to which an engineer had to climb each time the fuel supply needed to be switched over. In the rest of the class the tanks were relocated inside the envelope, with the control valves sited in the forward or command section of the gondola. Placing of the engines aft of the gondola on a separate frame not only helped to reduce noise but also enabled the engineers to carry out in-flight maintenance without obstructing the rest of the crew. A small engineers'
2020
compartment was mounted between the engines, and below this was the horizontal tubular bracing connecting two short cigarshaped
floats.
The North Seas were armed with three or four 104-kg (230-lb) bombs, depending on the weight of fuel carried and (officially) one Lewis gun. They were stationed in Scotland at East Fortune, near North Berwick, and at Longside, near Peterhead. Their prime duty was searching out and attacking U-Boats in passage for the Atlantic by the northerly route between Scotland and Norway. The North Seas also took part with surface vessels in antisubmarine sweeps, and escorted coal-carrying convoys bound for the Grand Fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. About 18 North Sea Class ships were built, but in February 1919 all but three were deflated. 14 was bought by the US Navy, while and NS8 were retained at East Fortune to train US crews. Assessment of the wartime effectiveness of British non-rigids has for long been debated. They destroyed only a small number of U-Boats, but they were often able to report the position of enemy submarines to surface warships Their most important function was as a deterrent, for U-Boats only rarely attacked a convoy if airships were present. They excelled as reconnaissance craft, although when acting as fleet scouts they were usually restricted by the need to maintain visual contact with the warships they accompanied. Admiral David Beatty, for example, imposed this constraint on them and ordered them not to break wireless
NS NS7
.
silence.
The North Seas entered fulfil
service too late to
their considerable potential, but
what
they did achieve earned them high praise from experienced airship officers of the Royal Naval Air Service. Length: 80 m (262 ft) Width: 17.3 m (56 ft 9 in) oa Height: 21.1 m (69 ft 3 in) oa Volume: 10200 cu m (360000 cu ft) Gross lift: 11 024 kg (24304 lb) Useful lift: 3861 kg (8512 lb) Powerplant: (as modified) 2 260-hp Fiat gasoline engines Maximum speed: 92.5 km/h (57.5 mph) Cruising speed: (half power) 68.6 km/h (42.6 mph) Armament: 3-4 104-kg (230-lb) bombs; 1 Lewis machine-gun Crew: 10
N.T.2B, British
Norman Thompson
flying
boat
trainer.
The two-seat
N.T.2B, produced to succeed the Frenchdesigned F.B.A. trainer, was a two-bay unequal-span biplane with a single-stepped hull and an enclosed cabin for the instructor and
who sat side by side. The original machine appeared in 1917 powered by a 160hp Beardmore engine driving a four-blade pusher propeller. Production aircraft used a pupil,
variety of powerplants, including a 150-hp Hispano-Suiza and the 200-hp Sunbeam Arab, final production versions having the 200-hp Hispano-Suiza. Over 150 N.T.2Bs were built, including some sub-contracted to
Saunders and Supermarine, and
it
became
the standard flying boat trainer of the RNAS, though it disappeared from service in 1919.
Span: 14.75 m (48 ft 5 in) Length: 8.34 m (27 ft 4 Gross weight: 1437 kg (3169 lb) Maximum speed: 137 km/h (85 mph)
in)
N.T.4,
Norman Thompson
British patrol flying boat. The N.T.4 of 1915 was a large flying boat which bore a resembl-
ance to the Curtiss H-4 supplied to the RNAS earlier that year. It was a large, unequal-span four-bay biplane with a broad, single-stepped hull and an enclosed cabin in the prow for the three-man crew. A total of 50 were built before production ended in mid- 19 18, the first six being powered by two 150-hp HispanoSuiza engines driving two-blade pusher prowhile a further 44, designated N.T.4a, had 200-hp Hispano-Suizas. A single Lewis machine-gun could be mounted above the cabin, which in the final versions had a glazed top, and light bombs could be carried under the wings; the installation of a 2-pdr Davis recoilless gun in the first N.T.4 did not become standard. The N.T.4 and 4a were used at a number of RNAS stations around the British Isles on antisubmarine patrol and training duties, though their resemblance to the later Curtiss flying boats prevented them from achieving a reputation of their own. pellers,
Span: 23.95 m (78 ft 7 in) Length: 1 2.65 m (41 ft 6 Gross weight: 2934 kg (6469 lb) Maximum speed: 153 km/h (95 mph)
in)
Nulll
Soviet aircraft aircraft
cannon.
by an
The
cannon represent a
N
series
of
distinct innova-
tion in Soviet automatic-gun design. When the first one appeared in July 1943 it was the first
in the
USSR
to use short-recoil as a
method of operation,
all
mass of the moving barrel is slowed damper, and so is the bolt.
recoil the
Nudelman-Suranov
modern Soviet guns
having hitherto used gas operation in one form or another. This new gun was the NSand was designed by Alexander 37, Emmanuelovich Nudelman, working in conjunction with Alexander Suranov who produced the pneumatic feed system.
Nudelman chose short-recoil in order to reduce the number of components and to reduce the mass of the reciprocating parts, using a locking principle which had originated with Mannlicher in the late nineteenth century. The entire arrangement had already been tried in the Mauser MG 81 and MG 34, and since both guns were successful Nudelman can hardly be blamed for adopting the idea. The bolt is in two parts, the smaller head rotating to lock into recesses in the
The larger rear half has a cam groove which turns the head to lock and
barrel extension.
unlock, and an accelerator in the body flings it to the rear as the unlocking starts, and so provides the needed momentum. On counter-
oil
Nudelman used
a powerful 37-mm (1 .46-in) and then scaled down the entire system to accept a 23-mm (0.91-in) round. The larger gun had a slow rate of fire of about 300 rds/min, and the recoil forces on the mounting were considerable and led to some breakages. The 23-mm gun fired at 600700 rds/min with a lower load on the trunnions; but even so, when it was fitted into the wings of the Stormovik, failure of one gun resulted in a turning effect from the other that was more than the pilot could control, and there were several crashes. A feature of both guns was that the gun
round for
could be parts
his first gun,
made
from the
to fire
by
firing-pin
by removing mechanism; while
inertia
with all parts in place it could be synchronized to a propeller or a rate controller. As with all Soviet weapons, the internal components were made to high standards and were well finished, while the outside was left rough. Reliability was good, though the guns did sometimes prove too much for the aircraft that carried them. The Germans thought highly of both types. In 1947 the guns were redesigned to take lower-powered ammunition. This reduced the muzzle velocity and the loads on the gun,
The Norman Thompson N.T.4 No 8338 with two 1 50-hp Hispano-Suiza engines and a Davis gun
The Norman Thompson N.T.2B No 2569, with a 200-hp Hispano-Suiza engine, was very popular
Secundus
I
while the rate of fire was increased considerably. By this time only Nudelman's name appeared as the designer, though the Suranov pneumatic feed system continued in use.
Nulll British
Secundus
I
Army
semirigid airship. Nulli Secunthe first airship produced by the
dus I was Balloon Factory
at
Farnborough, Hampshire;
was
also a logical development of the lighter-than-air experiments which the Royal Engineers had been conducting since 1878. In that year, a balloon store was established at Woolwich arsenal under Captain R P Lee. By the early 1880s the store had moved to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, and the success of a detachment of observation balloons during the army's summer manoeuvres at Aldershot in 1889 resulted in the creation of the Balloon Section of the Royal Engineers. Two years later, the balloon factory and school had been set up at Aldershot. Increasing activities led to the transfer of the establishment to Farnborough. The use of observation balloons during the Boer War kept the factory busy and the
it
J L B Templer, a strong believer in the military potential of airships, was eager to initiate work on dirigibles. In 1902 Templer visited the Brazilian airship pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont in Paris to study his work. (He apparently also saw Charles Renard, the designer of the nonrigid La France, but was unable to get access to the state aeronautical establishment at Chalais-Meudon which Renard headed.) On his return, Templer received War Office authorization to begin airship design and construction although his budget had been reduced by half. Work on the envelope of Nulli Secundus I started in 1902 and was completed two years later. Subsequently a long tubular frame and engine gondola, built under the supervision of the well-known early aviator Samuel F Cody, was attached to the underside of the envelope by four circumferential fabric bands. The first flight of the ship took place in October 1907, the long period of construction suggesting a lack of adequate funding for the project. (The airship is believed by leading authorities to have been named after King Edward VII's racehorse.) The envelope of Nulli Secundus J was made of several layers of goldbeaters' skin and had a volume of approximately 1590 cu (56 000 cu ft), a length of 33.8 (1 1 1 ft) and a diameter of about 9. 1 (30 ft). The powerplant was a single 50-hp Antoinette gasoline engine driving two bracket-mounted propellers. The tubular framework from which the gondola was suspended could not strictly be described as a keel since its ability to stiffen up the envelope satisfactorily was questionable, and therefore it would probably be more accurate to describe Nulli Secundus /as falling halfway between a non-rigid and a
commandant, Colonel
m
m
m
semirigid.
An unusual feature of the ship was the absence of a ballonet to control internal pressure, and the reliance placed on the properties of the goldbeaters' skin Depending on the airship's altitude, the envelope would expand or contract automatically. It was an ingenious idea, but since a ballonet was used for trimming a
elastic
envelope.
2021
—
Numancia as well as maintaining envelope shape and taulness. there were also serious disadvantages. It was improbable that Nulli SecimduS f COUld have exceeded an altitude 0-9 15 m (2000-3000 ft) before the Of envelope was distended to its limits. At this point, known as the pressure height, gas would have been lost by automatic valving off. and on descent the envelope could not
non-rigid
M
to suffer distortion despite the inherent
fail
had been
(Nulli
altered.
Now
clad in fabric
it
had the
Nulli Secundus II was used for the training of naval personnel, some presumably life,
in
ground-handling duties. She was disman-
tled in the latter part of 1908.
Although the performance of both the and the rebuilt Nulli Secundus was disappointing and lagged behind achievements in Europe, the ships substantially influenced the development of military non-rigids in Britain. Later prewar ships, with the exception of the imported Morning Post and Clement-Bayard II, were more successful. An adequate basis for a satisfactory non-rigid constructional and operational programme original
m
Length: 33.8
m
(111
Length: 37.2
II)
m
ft)
(122
ft)
Volume: 2410 cu m ft) Gross lift: 1696 kg (3740 lb) Useful lift: 363 kg (800 lb) Powerplant: 1 50-hp Antoinette gasoline engine Speed: 24-35 km/h (15-22
was
I)
Secundus-
canvas-clad biplane elevators at the forward and after ends of the frame. The elevators were later grouped forward. Flight trials began in the autumn of 1907, and on one of these the ship lifted off from Farnborough en route for London. She flew over Buckingham Palace and Whitehall and circled St Paul's. During the return to Farnborough strong winds forced her to make an emergency landing in the grounds of the Crystal Palace. Nulli Secundus I had been airborne for 3i hours and had covered 50 km (30 miles). Continuing bad weather prevented her taking off; she was deflated, and the envelope, frame and gondola packed on trucks and sent back to the balloon factory. Next year the ship was rebuilt as Nulli Secundus II. The capacity was increased to 2410 cu m (85000 cu ft). The Antoinette engine was retained, as was the short gondola, but the design of the underslung frame
deceptive appearance of a deep triangular keel, but it was still secured to four circumferential bands on the envelope. In her short
been replaced by a smaller number of 254mm (10-in) and 203-mm (8-in) Armstrong
RML (rifled
Secundus
Diameter: (85000 cu
of
was to be of World War.
this
Diameter: 9.1 m (30 ft) approx Volume: 1590 cu m (56000 cu ft) approx Gross and useful lift: not known Powerplant: 1 50-hp Antoinette gasoline engine Speed: 26 km/h (16 mph) (Nulli
the goldbeaters' skin. There were no truly effective stabilizing surfaces. Originally the control surfaces consisted of a canvas-clad rudder under the stern and elasticity
down, and
laid
great value during the First
9.1
(30
ft)
mph)
Numancia
muzzle-loading) guns. In 1873-74 she was seized at Cartagena, Colombia by the Intransigentes during the three-sided civil war, and in 1873 she rammed the Spanish corvette Fernando el Catolico, which sank. After this she saw little service for the next 20 years, but the thick iron hull remained in good condition, and she was completely rebuilt at La Seyne between 1896-98. Her rig was reduced to two pole masts with fighting tops, she was reboilered, and was rearmed with four 200-mm (7.9-in), three 150-mm (5.9in), ten 140-mm (5.5-in) QF, 12 47-mm (1.85in) four 70-mm (2.76-in) and two 37-mm (1.46-in) guns and two 36-cm (14-in) torpedo
Fortunately for the United States, perhaps, she was not ready in time to take part in the Spanish-American war, and in the early years of the twentieth century she tubes.
armoured frigate, built 1861-64. Numancia was one of the last survivors of the ironclad frigates that were built in considerable numbers for most navies in the 1860s. The French had built the first, Gloire, in the late 1850s and Numancia was built by the French shipyard of La Seyne. She was laid down in 1861, launched in 1863 and completed in November 1864, and was an ironSpanish
fully-rigged three-masted broadside ironclad frigate. She had a ram bow, a single slightly raked funnel, and a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. Her original armament of 34 68-pdr guns was carried on the main deck broadside. She had a complete waterline belt which extended up over the main deck battery. It was 130 (5.1 in) thick over the guns and 120 (4.7 in) over the machinery, but tapered to 100 (3.9 in) at the ends. Her French-built compound reciprocating engine drove a single six-bladed screw, and she made 12.94 knots with 3708 ihp on trials. She was rated as a line of battle ship by the Spanish, and immediately after delivery was sent to join the Spanish Squadron in the Pacific, which had been sent out to harass the coast of Peru. In company with the unarhulled,
became
a gunnery training ship. She was reduced to harbour duties, and then scrapped in about 1920.
Displacement: 7300 tons Length: 96 m (315 ft) pp Beam: 1 7.4 m (57 ft 1 in) Draught: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) Machinery: 1-shaft reciprocating steam, 3700 ihp=13 knots Protection: 130-100 mm (5.1-
mm
3.9 in) belt, 120
200-mm (5.5-in);
37-mm
(7.9-in);
12
(4.7 in) battery
3 150-mm
Armament: 4 10 140-mm
(5.9-in);
47-mm
(1.46-in);
(1.85-in); 4 70-mm (2.76-in); 2 2 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes
Crew: 500
mm
mm
mm
moured wooden steam
frigate
Reina Blanca
she fought an inconclusive action with the joint Chilean-Peruvian squadron off Tubilda near Huite on March 1, 1866, and she also took part in the bombardments of Valparaiso and Callao later in the same year, after which the squadron returned to Spain. By the 1870s her original armament had
NW/GNW, Hansa Brandenburg German reconnaissance
floatplanes. Both the and were developed from the Hansa-Brandenburg floatplane of 1914. They were large three-bay biplanes with twin floats and powered by single 160-hp Mercedes D III engines. The two-man crews were provided with radio, but there was no defensive armament. The German navy was supplied with 32 NWs and 16 GNWs during 1915 and these were used as reconnaissance aircraft, some being equipped to carry light bombs under the lower wings.
NW
GNW
W
(NW) Span: 16.5 m (54 ft 2 in) Length: 9 A m (30 10 in) Gross weight: 1650 kg (3638 lb) Maximum speed: 90 km/h (56 mph)
ft
NW two-seat reconnaissance seaplane powered by a 160-hp Mercedes engine A Hansa-Brandenburg
—
*~~
2022
-
**
-
V
i
0-2,
Number
completed
fate
0.2 Dutch submarine
O.l
11/18
scrapped 1939
0.2
10/18
scrapped 1945
0.3
6/18
scrapped 1946
0.4
5/18
scrapped 1946
0.5
6/18
lost 10/23
0.6
6/18
scrapped 1946
Dutch submarine,
built 1905-08.
M
MAN
Displacement: 130/150 merged) Length: 30 m
m
Netherlands Navy was a latecomer in the field of submarine consu jction. The first boat to be built was of the Electric Boat or de Holland type, but was built at the K Schelde yard, Flushing. Ordered under the grandiloquent name of Luctor et Emergo (Strive and Rise Up), she was launched as Onderzeeboot No 1, or simply O.l. Although designed for 9 knots on the surface and 7 knots submerged she could not get within 2 knots of these speeds on trials. As with the other early Holland boats in other navies she had little military value, but she survived the First World War and was not scrapped until about 1920.
M
Displacement: 90/120 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 20.42 m (67 ft) oa Beam: 4.11 m (13 ft 6 in) Draught: 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) Machinery: 1-shaft gasoline/electric, 210 bhp/80 shp=7.2/5.5 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tube (bow) Crew: 10
scrapped 1946
0.8
7/18
scrapped 1946
0.9
7/18
lost 6/41
O.10
8/18
scrapped 1946
0-2,
O.ll
10/18
scrapped 1930
US
0.12
10/18
scuttled 11/31
0.13
11/18
scrapped 1930
0.14
10/18
scrapped 1930
OA5
8/18
scrapped 1930
0.16
8/18
scrapped 1930
O.l, Curtiss
US observation biplane See Falcon
A US Navy
0.1 US submarine built at the
7/18
(0.11-0.16) Displacement: 491/566 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 53.3 m (175 ft) oa Beam: 5 m (16 ft 6 in) oa Draught: 4.3 m (14 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft diesels/2 electric motors, 1000 bhp/800 hp=14/10.5 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament and Crew: as 0. 1 type
(9
ft
2
in)
(surfaced /sub-
tons (98
ft
5
Draught: 2.7
in)
m
oa Beam:
(8
ft
10
in)
Machinery: 1-shaft diesel/electric, 350 bhp/200 shp= 12/8.5 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 2 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (bow), 4 torpedoes Crew: 10
0.7
The Royal
Four
1909-13.
class, built
submarines, 0.2-0.5, were built to an Electric Boat design by K de Schelde, Flushing, to follow experimental the O.l. Although quite small, and carrying only four torpedoes, they were quite successful, with German diesels giving a radius of 800 km (500 miles) on the surface. Nevertheless they were all eventually scrapped in the early 1930s.
2.8
0.1
Cessna
Cessna
general-purpose aircraft. The 'observation' designation 0-2 is given to this four/sixseat commercial business aircraft when in use by the USAF. The civil Model 337 Skymaster prototype flew for the first time on February 28, 1961, and the first production models appeared about 18 months later. The USAF initially ordered 145 aircraft in December 1966, later increasing this to about 350. Designated 0-2A, they are all-metal twin-engined high-wing monoplanes with retractable landing gear, and twin metal booms carrying a twin fin and rudder tail unit. The Skymaster was the first Cessna type to utilize the centreline thrust configuration, is
and
powered by two 210-hp Continental IO-
360-C six-cylinder engines driving push/pull propellers. All are equipped with dual con-
with seating for up to six people, and they were used in Vietnam for forward air control (FAC) missions including visual reconnaissance, target identification and marking, as well as other related duties. Four trols,
'O' Class submarine at the end of a training exercise approaches
its
home
port
class, built 1917-19. O.l was Portsmouth navy yard, Maine, to
a Holland-type design to allow the US Navy to study submarine construction before designing its own craft. A total of 16 submarines were completed to this design, 0.2 being built at Puget Sound navy yard, 0.30. 10 at the Fore River yard, O.ll-0. 13 at the
Lake Tacoma Boat company's yard and 0. 14-0. 16 being laid down by the California Shipbuilding company but completed at Mare Island navy yard. A number of these boats saw action in both World Wars, those boats not scrapped before the Second World War being used in a training role. In July 1930 0. 12 was chartered as the (mercantile) Nautilus, and took part in Wilkinson-Ellsworth trans-Arctic marine expedition in 1930-31. the
sub-
(0.1-0.1 0) Displacement: 521/629 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 52.5 m (172 ft 3 in) oa Beam: 5.5 m (18 ft) oa Draught: 4.4 m (14 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft diesels/2 electric motors, 880 bhp/740 hp= 14/10.5 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armaments 3-in (76-mm); 4 18-in (46-cm) torpedo tubes, 8 torpedoes carried Crew: 29
2023
0-2, Douglas
underwing
pylons carry stores such as rockets, flares or a 7.62-mm (0.30-in) Minigun pack, and sophisticated electronics systems are installed. Twelve were supplied to the Imperial Iranian Air Force in early 1970, for training, liaison
and observation purposes.
The USAF purchased about 200 of a second model, the 0-2B. including 31 commercial Skymasters converted to 0-2B standard, to be used for psychological warfare. These had an advanced communications system and high grade air-to-ground broadcasting ('skyshouting') equipment. The total of both types
delivered to the USAF amounted to 544. The 0-2T, with two 317-hp Allison T63 turboprops, did not go into production. In France, Reims Aviation builds and sells the commercial Skymaster under licence; Reims has also produced a military STOL version, which was flown for the first time on May 26, 1970, and is known as the Milirole or FTB 337. This has larger-area flaps which give a better takeoff and landing performance, and is also equipped with four underwing stores points. At the present time Cessna- or Reims-built Skymasters serve with more than a dozen of the world's smaller air
FTMA
forces.
ft
9
1 1
.63
m
(38
ft
2
Length: 9.07 m 2100 kg (4630 lb) in)
Gross weight: speed: 320 km/h (199 mph)
in)
Maximum
ward questions about the army's procurement programme at a time of austerity. One 0-2A was modified to take a Packard A- 1500 engine, and designated 0-7; one 0-2C was similarly re-engined as the 0-9. Another 0-2A, powered by a 400-hp Wright R-1454 radial, was tested as the 0-8. In 1926 one 0-2 was converted to the experimental XA-2 attack aircraft, which was not accepted for production by the army air service. Its Liberty engine was modified for air-cooling and it had six forward-firing guns. The 0-2 was a tough and reliable aircraft and the various versions were widely used in the United States and the US overseas pos1
sessions.
Span: 12.09 m (39 ft 8 in) Length: 9.02 m (29 ft 7 Gross weight: 2156 kg (4753 lb) Maximum speed: 206 km/h (128 mph)
in)
pedigree to the four built in 1923 for the round-the-world flight which took place the following year. The DWCs in turn were developed from the sturdy DT torpedobombers which had been supplied to the US Navy by Douglas for operation from the water on twin floats and from aircraft carriers on a conventional wheeled undercarriage. The XO-2 prototype was built for an army observation aircraft competition held in 1924 at the McCook Field experimental centre the competition was in two divisions, one for aircraft powered by Packard engines and the other for those powered by the First World War vintage 400-hp Liberty engine. The XO-2 was Liberty-powered. It was a singlebay equal-span biplane with a fuselage built up of welded steel and wings of wood, and had fabric covering. The two cockpits were close together in tandem, with the pilot in front just below a cutout in the trailing edge of the upper wing. The heavy-duty undercarriage was of the divided type. Fuel was carried in the thickened inner sections of the lower wings. In Fiscal Year 1925, 45 production 0-2s were ordered, followed by 18 0-2As which had been modified for night flying, six 0-2Bs fitted with dual controls, and 35 0-2Cs. In the 2Cs the observer's single Scarff-mounted great deal
of
its
Douglas World Cruisers (DWCs)
;
(7.62-mm) Browning machine-gun was replaced by a twin mounting, while the pilot's single Browning fixed in the engine cowling was retained. The 0-2, 0-2A and 0-2B all had the radiator fitted in the chin 0.30-in
position, immediately below the nose, but in the 0-2C a nose-mounted automobile-type radiator was employed.
K
The designations 0-2H, J and were applied to a substantially new design, devel-
02U, Vought US Navy observation biplane See Corsair
Dutch submarine, 1913-16. built An expanded version of 0.2 was ordered from K de Schelde in 1913, with greater endurance and an extra torpedo tube. She was the last Electric Boat company design ordered by the Royal Netherlands Navy for home service, and was scrapped in the 1930s. She was unusual among Dutch submarines in having her after torpedo tube in an external housing at the after end of the
were ordered under the
1917
Pro-
gramme for home service, numbered 0.9O.ll. They were reduced editions of the K. 11 design, with reduced fuel stowage and armament. In general the 0.9 Class were influenced by the British Holland-type H.6 which had been interned after going aground on the Dutch coast in February 1916. As with the K.ll group, they adopted the 53-cm (21 -in) torpedo, but without abandoning the old 45-cm (17.7-in); two of the bigger type were mounted in the bow together with two 45-cm tubes, and with a single 45-cm tube aft. An 88-mm (3.5-in) gun was also mounted. The three boats were on the active list
when German
forces invaded the Netherlands in 1940. 0. 11 was captured at Den Helder, and although the Germans tried to refit her for service she was never recommissioned under their flag. In September 1944 she was sunk as a blockship, and the wreck was not raised until 1947. 0.9 and O.10
training boats. Lack of spares forced the British to pay them off at the end of 1944, and they were dismantled and cannibalized for spares.
Displacement: 483/647 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 54.9 m (180 ft) oa Beam: 5.5 m (18 ft) Draught: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft diesel/electric, 900 bhp/610 shp=12/8 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament:
mm
AA;
12.7-mm
1
88-
machinegun; 2 53-cm (21 -in) torpedo tubes (bow), 4 torpedoes; 3 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo .tubes (2 bow, 1 stern), 6 torpedoes Crew: 29 (3.5-in)
1
(0.5-in)
casing.
Displacement: 190/230 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 34.2 m (112 ft 3 in) oa Beam: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) Draught: 2.8 m (9 ft 3 in) Machinery: 1 -shaft diesel/electric, 350 bhp/180 shp= 12/8.5 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 3 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (2 bow, 1 stern) Crew: 15
0.7
service.
Displacement:
180/210
m
tons
(surfaced/sub-
oa Beam: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) Draught:2.8 m (9 ft 3 in) MachineryAshaft diesel/electric, 350 bhp/185 shp=1 1.5/10 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 3 45cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (2 bow, 1 stern) Crew: 15 merged) Length: 32
0.8 Dutch
O-ll, 0-12, 0-13, Curtiss biplanes
(ex-British)
(105
ft)
submarine See H.l-20
0.9 class, built 1922-26.
Three
US
observation See Falcon
0.12 Dutch submarine class, built 1927-30. Four submarines were ordered in 1927-29 for service in home waters, 0. 12-0. 14 from K M de Schelde and 0.15 from Fijenoord. Much detailed design work was done on the new class,
Dutch submarine, built 1913-16. At about the same time as the negotiations with Marley Hay and Denny Brothers to design submarines for the East Indies Marine were taking place, a smaller version was ordered for home waters. The layout was similar to K.2 but a much lower endurance was stipulated, as well as a lighter torpedo armament. 0. 7 was built by Fijenoord and was scrapped in the 1930s when newer boats came into
Dutch submarine 2024
boats
escaped to Great Britain, and were manned by the Netherlands navy-in-exile and used as
M
0-2, Douglas US Army observation aircraft. The 0-2 owed a
into the 0-25; this misleading nomenclature being used in an attempt to avoid awk-
0.6
(0-2A) Span: (29
oped
including tank tests at Wageningen.
The Royal Netherlands Navy also had the benefit of the talented German design team under Dr Hans Techel, which was operating behind the
'front' of the
Scheepsbouwkan-
Government shipbuilding department), with secret funds from Germany. An toor, (the
improved hull-form gave higher underwater speed, welding and strengthened hatches allowed deeper diving, and the 53-cm (21-in) torpedo completely replaced the 45-cm (17.7in). Instead of the 88-mm (3.5-in) AA gun the Techel team designed a new scheme, which involved incorporating two short-barrelled 40-mm (1.57-in) Bofors AA guns mounted in watertight wells, one at each end of the conning tower. 0. 12 fell into German hands at Den Helder in 1940, and was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as UD.2. After four years' service on training she was scuttled at Kiel in May 1945. The remaining three escaped to England, but 0. 13 was lost in the North Sea on June 13, 1940, in a minefield. 0. 14 was paid off in September 1943 for lack of spares, but 0. 15 returned to Holland and was scrapped in 1946.
0.19 Displacement: 546/704 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 60.4 m (198 ft 3 in) oa Beam: 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) Draught: 3.6 m (11 ft 9 in) 1800 diesel/electric. 2-shaft Machinery: bhp/600 shp— 15/8 knots (surface/submerged) Armament: 2 40-mm (1.57-in) AA (2X1); 5 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern), 10 torpedoes Crew: 31
0.16 Dutch submarine. The boat was launched by de Schelde of Flushing on January 27, 1936. She was built to similar design to the K. 14 Class, with slightly increased displacement. She was intended for use both in the North Sea and the Atlantic, a new departure in submarine operations for the Dutch. 0. 16 was given an extended radius of action of 5600 km (3500 miles) at a surfaced speed of 12 knots, similar to that of the overseas 'K' boats. Submerged, the radius was 19 km (12 miles) at 9 knots. Operations in the Atlantic initiated a new designation for Dutch submi-rines. The previous distinctions between boats designed for home duties (referred to as 'O' boats) and those for duties overseas in the Netherlands East Indies (referred to as 'K' boats) was
dropped,
known
all
boats
henceforward
being
8 in) Draught: 4.4 m (14 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft MAN diesels/electric motors, 3200 bhp/1000 hp=18/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 88-mm (3.5-in); 2 40-mm (1.57-in); 8 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern, twin trainable mount amidships) Crew: (21
ft
38
0-17, Consolidated US Army observation aircraft. The
Consolidated PT-3 trainer appeared in 1927, and the
The Dutch submarine first
0.19. This class
it
to satisfy a
requirement for a utility aircraft by the US National Guard (the equivalent of a reserve force for the regular air service). The PT-3 was a light, spartan biplane with angular lines; the
XO-17 prototype,
tested in 1928,
had an improved fuselage outline, and incorporated refinements such as wheel brakes and oleo shock absorbers. A gun ring for use by the observer could be installed. Production 0-17s were powered by a 225-hp uncowled Wright R-790-1 radial engine. In 1928 the US Army ordered 29 0-17s, almost all of which went to the National Guard. The Consolidated corporation produced a developed version, designated XO-17 Courier, in an unsuccessful attempt to gain export orders. The one aircraft of this type was later modified for experiments by the army with a 220-hp Packard DR-980 ninecylinder diesel engine and designated XPT-8. Span: 10.51 m (34 ft 6 in) Length: 8.53 m (28 ft) Gross weight: 1119 kg (2467 lb) Maximum speed: 193 km/h (120 mph)
0.19 Dutch submarine two boats of the the
as 'O' boats.
Displacement: 896/1170 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 77.5 m (254 ft 3 in) Beam: 6.6
m
0-17 was developed from
Polish
class.
class
The design of the first was based on that of
minelaying
which had been built mines were carried
submarine
in the
Orzel,
Netherlands. The
in vertical shafts sited
amidships in the port and starboard saddle tanks. There were ten shafts in each tank, each holding two mines. Laid down as K. 19 and K.20, they were for use both in the Atlantic and in the Dutch East Indies; they were renumbered 0. 19 and O.20 in accordance with the new Dutch numbering scheme. They entered service just before the outbreak of the Second World War and were despatched to the Far East. O.20 was depth charged by the Japanese destroyer Uranami in the Gulf of Siam on December 20, 1941, and was abandoned and scuttled off Kota
Bharu. 0. 19 grounded on the north coast of Borneo on July 8, 1945, and was wrecked. This class was notable in that they were the world's first submarines to be fitted with a snorkel mast, enabling them to run submerged on their diesels, and to recharge their batteries while submerged. The short snorkel mast was sited abaft the periscope standard. 0.21-0.27 were somewhat smaller than the earlier boats and were not equipped for minelaying, though performance and other armament remained the same. Ordered under the 1939 Battlecruiser Plan only 0.23 and 0.24 had been completed by the outbreak of war. 0.25-0.27 were completed by the Ger-
mans (as UD3-UD5). 0.25 and 0.26 were scuttled at Kiel in May 1945, while 0.27 was retroceded at the the war and sold for scrap in 1959. 0.23 was scrapped in 1949 and 0.24 in June 1963. Of the remaining boats in the class, 0.21 was scrapped in
end
of
December
January 1958 while 0.22 was sunk by L7/77 and UJ1104 on November 8, 1940. (0.19, O.20) Displacement: 998/1536 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 80.5 m (264 ft 1 in) oa Beam: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) Draught: 3.9 m (12 ft 9 in) Mac/7/nery:2-shaftSulzerdiesels/2 electric motors, 5200 bhp/1000 hp= 19.25/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament:"] 88-mm (3.5-in); 2 40-mm (1.57-in); 1 12.7-mm (0.5-in) machinegun; 8 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (4 bow,
2 stern, twin trainable mount amidships), 14 torpedoes; 40 mines Crew: 55
(0.21-027) Displacement: 888/1380 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 77.7 m (255 ft) oa Beam: 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in) Draught: 4 m (13 ft 2 in) Machinery: 2-shaft Sulzer diesels/electric motors, 5200 bhp/1000 hp= 19.25/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 88-mm (3.5-in); 1 20-mm (0.79-in); 1 12.7-mm (0.5-in) machinegun; 8 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern, twin trainable
mount amidships), 14
torpedoes Crew: 55
was the
vessel to have a snorkel mast for
submerged running
2025
0-19,
Thomas-Morse
The Dutch submarine 0.21 which was smaller than the 0. 19 but carried the same armament, though they were not equipped for minelaying
"rS
Number
builder
launched
0.19
Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam
9/38
O.20
Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam
1/39
same engine powered the YlO-41 sesquiplane (army designation XO-932) which was privately developed by Thomas-Morse as a successor to the 0-19 series, but was rejected by the army.
m (39 ft 9 in) Length: 8.69 m Gross weight: 1815 kg (4000 lb) speed: 245 km/h (152 mph)
(0-19) Span: 12.12
0.21
De
Schelde, Flushing
10/39
0.22
De
Schelde, Flushing
1/40
(28
6
ft
in)
Maximum
Span: 12.12 m (39 ft 9 in) Length: 8.64 4 in) Gross weight: 1725 kg (3800 lb) Maximum speed: 220 km/h (137 mph)
(0-1 9B)
0.23
Rotterdam dry dock
12/39
0.24
Rotterdam dry dock
3/40
0.2S
Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam
5/40
0.26
Rotterdam dry dock
11/40
0.27
Rotterdam dry dock
9/41
m
(28
ft
Span: 12.12 m (39 ft 9 in) Length: 8.84 Gross weight: 1810 kg (3990 lb) Maximum speed: 229 km/h (142 mph)
(0-1 9C)
m
(29
Span: 12.19 m (40 ft) Length: 8.79 m (28 Gross weight: 1790 kg (3946 lb) Maxispeed: 251 km/h (156 mph)
(0-1 9E)
0-19, Thomas-Morse US Army observation aircraft. Thomasthe experimental XO-6B in 1925 to test the corrugated aluminium cladding which it had been developing since the First World War to replace conventional fabric covering. The US Army Air Services was sufficiently impressed to order the XO-19 plus six other prototype and evaluation aircraft. The basic design was for an all-metal single-bay two-seat unequal-span biplane. The fuselage and wings were of metal, but while the fuselage, ailerons and movable tail surfaces had the corrugated cladding, the wings and fixed tail surfaces had fabric covering. The 0-19 was a robust design with a divided undercarriage and fixed tail wheel. Armament comprised a single fixed forward-
Morse produced
firing 0.30-in
(7.62-mm) Browning machine-
gun, with a free gun mounted over the rear cockpit for the observer. The single XO-19 and the two 0-19s built in 1928 were powered
by uncowled 2026
Pratt
&
Whitney Wasp
radial
ft
mum
Model R- 1340-3 of 450 hp for the XO-19, and Model R-1340-9 of 500 hp for the 0-19s. At the same time four other aircraft with slightly modified versions of the same airframe were tested: YO-20 with a Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial; XO-21 with a Curtiss engines:
Chieftain;
XO-23 with
Conqueror; and
Wasp
the
finally the
in-line
10
Curtiss the
0-19A with
engine. Successful tests of the Wasp-powered aircraft led to production orders for 70 0-19Bs, which introduced more modern cockpits, 71 improved 0-19Cs with engines enclosed in drag-reducing Townend rings, and 30O-19Es introducing the new 575-hp R- 1340- 15 version of the Wasp engine in place of the 0-19B's 450-hp R- 1340-7. The 0-19s gave long service in a number of famous US Army observation squadrons, including the 12th, 22nd and 88th. Developments included one 0-19D, an 0-19C dual-control transport conversion for ranking officers, and the single YlO-33 with a redesigned tailplane and powered by a geared Curtiss Conqueror water-cooled engine. The
ft)
in)
0-38, Douglas
0-25, Douglas US Army observation aircraft. With the O2H Douglas introduced staggered wings, an improved undercarriage with faired struts attached direct to the fuselage, a new fin and rudder assembly and a refined engine installation. This made the 0-2H a substantially different aircraft from the previous 0-2 variants.
The army purchased
later aircraft in the series
71
0-2H
biplanes,
having a new
fin
and rudder shape which was retained in all the Douglas biplanes up to the 0-38. Two additional 0-2Hs were redesignated 0-2J and fitted out as VIP transports. In 1929, 40 0-2Ks were ordered, almost identical with the 0-2H and retaining the veteran Liberty engine. They were later converted as basic trainers with dual controls and redesignated BT-1. The single XO-14, ordered in 1928, was essentially an 0-2H with reduced dimensions and weight, powered by a 220-hp Wright J 5 uncowled radial engine. This was followed by two examples of the 0-22, »vith sweepback on the upper wing and powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial in a Townend ring: and then a single 0-34, with the same wing arrangement as the 0-22 and powered by an in-line Curtiss Conqueror engine. The 0-25 had the late 0-2H airframe, and its staggered single-bay wings had no sweepback. It was fitted with the Curtiss Conqueror engine of 625 hp. Production of 49 machines, designated 0-25A, began in 1931. This was followed in 1932 by three dual-control 0-25Bs, and 30 0-25Cs which were fitted with Prestone coolant radiators, giving a racy contour to the nose. These Douglas biplanes formed the backbone of the USAAC and National Guard observation squadrons for more than a decade. Armament was either two or three 0.30-in (7.62-mm) machine-guns.
of 450 hp.
The Douglas company and the US for some time to
Army had been concerned
prolong the life of the highly successful Douglas observation biplane family and it was clear that the original Liberty engine of the earlier 0-2s was now wholly outmoded. Two solutions were adopted. One involved the use of in-line engines, and culminated in the 0-25s; the other involved the use of radials beginning with an 0-2K conversion CYlO-29) powered by a 525-hp Wright Cyclone R-1750. The Wright engine was soon discarded in favour of the Pratt & Whitney Wasp, an 0-2K fitted with this engine being designated 0-32. Thirty production 0-32s followed, but they did not last long in the observation units and were converted to dual-control basic trainers, redesignated BT-2A. They were fol-
lowed by a large number of basic trainers built as such, including 146 BT-2Bs and 20 BT-2Cs which appeared from 1932 onwards. Most 0-32s and BT-2s had their Wasp engines enclosed in Townend-type antidrag rings.
As with
nearly
all
second-generation tail wheels and
Douglas two-seaters, they had not
tail
skids.
The BT-2s became famous to withstand tough treatment.
for their ability
Many were
Maximum speed: 254 km/h
(158
0-38 two-seat biplanes. These closely resembled the 0-32As, ordered earlier in the same financial year, except that the Pratt Whitney Wasp engine of the 0-32 was replaced by a 525-hp R- 1690-3 Hornet radial also of Pratt Whitney design. One of the 0-38s was delivered as a VIP transport, 0-38A. Minor modifications were incorporated in the 63 0-38Bs ordered during 1931-32 and delivered shortly afterwards. An additional 0-38B was bought by the US Coast Guard and redesig-
&
&
nated 0-38C.
Though retaining the basic designation, the 0-38D was, in fact, a prototype for radically machines in the 0-38 series. It had a carefully contoured fuselage of considerably greater, rounded section; a longerchord engine cowling; cantilever single-strut landing gear; a canopy for the two-man crew; and fin and rudder of a new, smoother different later
The army ordered 37 production 0-38Es and eight 0-38Fs during 1933-34, which differed only in detail from the 0-38D. Defensive armament for all 0-38s was one synchronized 0.30-in (7.62-mm) Browning machine-gun in the upper fuselage decking, operated by the pilot, and another 0.30-in Browning on a flexible mounting over the rear cockpit for use by the observer. There was provision for up to four bombs of 45 kg (100 lb) each on underwing racks. As Douglas and North American monoplane observation aircraft became available in the late 1930s, 0-38s were phased out of outline.
available in 1940 and were converted into radio-controlled target aircraft for antiaircraft practice. They were fitted with tricycle undercarriages with steerable nosewheels and were painted bright red and silver for easy identification. number of BT-2Cs were used as control aircraft, retaining their original chrome-yellow wings and blue fuselage. Redesignated A-4, the conspicuous target aircraft became familiar sights to army and navy antiaircraft gunners in the critical months before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
AAC squadrons, but they remained with National Guard units into the 1940s, and were finally pressed into service during 194143 for training and target towing.
(0.32A) Span: 12.19 m (40 ft) Length: 9.5 m (31 2 in) Gross weight: 1823 kg (4018 lb) Maxi-
ft)
A
ft
(0-25A) Span: 12.19 m (40 ft) Length: 9.35 m (30 ft 8 in) Gross weight: 2180 kg (4805 lb)
still
0-38, Douglas
US Army observation aircraft. In 1930 the US Army Air Corps ordered from Douglas 44
mum
speed: 209 km/h (130 mph)
mph)
0-32, Douglas
first-line
(0-38B) Span: 12.19 m (40 ft) Length: 9.75 m (32 Gross weight: 2022 kg (4458 lb) Maximum speed: 225 km/h (140 mph)
(0-38E) Span: 12.27 m (40 ft 3 in) Length: 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in) Gross weight: 2086 kg (4600 lb) Maximum speed: 248 km/h (154 mph)
US Army
observation aircraft. In 1930 an two-seat biplane was modified to take a Pratt & Whitney Wasp R- 1340-3 radial engine
0-2K
The Douglas 0-38 army observation and liaison aircraft which saw service between the wars and in 1 941 -43 was used for flight training and target towing after being phased out of first-line AAC squadrons
2027
0-43, Douglas
The Douglas YO-31 A was armed with one fixed forward-firing 0.30-in (7.62-mm) machine-gun and another free-mounted in the observer's position. Like the 0-43 it was widely used by the US Army between the wars in major field exercises
A Douglas 0-31 B army observation aircraft bought for the US National Guard as a VIP transport. It had the rear position faired over with a continuous canopy and a more comfortable seat for the privileged passenger the observer's position
0-43, Douglas US Army observation
aircraft.
The
gull-
winged, wire-braced XO-31 monoplane of 1931 had a conventional fuselage with corrugated metal cladding. The single YO-31 which followed had a geared version of the Curtiss Conqueror engine, but was otherwise almost identical. The five Y10-31As which appeared in 1932 were completely redesigned, with a metal semimonocoque fuselage with smooth metal skinning, wings of more curved planform, an angular fin and rudder and an enclosed canopy for the twoman crew. The wheels were spatted, and a three-bladed propeller with a large pointed spinner was fitted to the 675-hp GIV-1570-
FM
liquid-cooled engine.
A single 0-31B was
bought for the National Guard as a VIP transport. It differed in having the rear of the crew canopy faired into the rear fuselage. The five YlO-3 lAs were extensively tested and modified, all eventually being given tall 2028
in
vertical tailplanes with inset rudders in an attempt at improving longitudinal stability. Although five further 0-31As were ordered (and promptly redesignated Y10-31C), they were all eventually completed as Y10-43s. Contrary to many sources, only one YIO31C ever flew it was the last of the five Y10-31As modified with single cantilever-leg main undercarriage units and a bulge in the lower fuselage beneath the observer's cock-
—
enlarge his cramped working space. five Y10-43s were completed in 1933 and reverted to the original smaller vertical tail of the Y10-31As, in which the inset rudder was replaced by a more conventional type. The major design change was the introduction of a new parasol wing, which was nevertheless wire-braced above and below, retaining the four-strut pylon over the centre section which had characterized the earlier machines. The 0-43s were attached to various squadrons for operational tests, from which they emerged with flying colours. pit to
The
Twenty-four
0-43As were then ordered,
differing mainly in having a modified, deeper
fuselage which did
away with the need for the They also reverted
distinctive fuselage bulge.
No airscrew spinner Neither the 0-43s nor 0-43As flew with wheel spats. Power was provided by a Curtiss Conqueror V- 1570-59 in-line engine of 675 hp. The 0-43s flew principally with the 12th and 22nd Observation Squadrons, deliveries to the inset-type rudder.
was
fitted.
starting in 1934.
They
regularly participated
annual army manoeuvres into the late 1930s and won a reputation for reliability. Armament of the 0-43 series, as with the O-
in
31 series, comprised one fixed forward-firing 0.30-in (7.62-mm) machine-gun and another of the same calibre free mounted and operated by the observer.
m (45 ft 8 in) Length: 10.34 Gross weight: 2405 kg (5300 lb) speed: 307 km/h (191 mph)
(0-43A) Span: 13.92
m
(33
ft
11 in)
Maximum
0-46, Douglas
0-46, Douglas US Army observation
aircraft.
The 0-46 was
the culmination of a successful series of high-
wing observation monoplanes produced by the Douglas company. The design originated in the last machine of a batch of 0-43A monoplanes built in 1933. Redesignated XO-46, it was fitted with a 725-hp Pratt & Whitney R- 1535-7 radial engine in a longchord cowling. The prototype retained the tailplane and the single-strut landing gear of 0-43 A, but the complex wire bracing of the 0-43A's wing, requiring struts over the wing centre section, was discarded in favour of a pair of parallel struts bracing the wing on either side of the fuselage. In 1935, after successful testing of the prototype a production order was placed for 88 0-46As for the US Army Air Corps and ,
two for the National Guard, and production began immediately. Series machines differed from the prototype in having the glazed crew canopy faired back into the vertical tail. A Hamilton Standard constant-speed threebladed metal propeller was
fitted.
The 0-46A
had an all-metal structure, the fuselage being a semimonocoque with metal stressed-skin covering. The fixed tailplane was similarly clad, while the wings and movable control surfaces were fabric-covered. The two-man crew had a defensive armament of one fixed forward-firing 0.30-in (7.62mm) Browning machine-gun in the starboard wing leading edge, just outside the propeller arc, and another Browning on a free mounting. The 0-46A carried out the full range of army cooperation tasks, including visual observation, the picking up of a message in flight,
and
artillery
spotting.
It
was
also
judged to be successful at various war games manoeuvres. Perhaps the most publicized unit to fly the 0-46A early in its career was the 91st Observation Squadron stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, from June 20, 1936. Later increasing numbers were passed over to National Guard units. The 0-46A was in many ways comparable with the German Henschel Hs 126 and the British Westland Lysander, although its comparative lack of refinements betrayed its considerably older design. A large number survived until the Pearl Harbor attack, although by that time they were fast being phased out of first-line units.
Span: 13.94 m (45 ft 9 in) Length: 10.52 m (34 ft 6 in) Gross weight: 2783 kg (6135 lb) Maximum speed: 322 km/h (200 mph)
The Douglas 0-46 army observation aircraft was also used for a variety of liaison tasks including artillery spotting and message delivery and collection an important task when radios were still bulky and unreliable
—
2029
0-46, Douglas
The 0-46 performed a similar role with the US Army as the Henschel Hs 126 in the German army and the Westland Lysander with the British Army. However, it did not serve in a front-line role during the Second World War and was phased out after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941
2030
O/100 and O/400, Handley Page %m 0-47, North American US Army observation aircraft. The XO-47
GA
was produced by
the General Aviation Manufacturing corporation of Dundalk, Maryland. It had been conceived by J H Kindelberger who had left the Douglas company to become president of the new firm in 1934. The 15 first flew in 1935 and was modified into the XO-47 the following year. After successful tests by the US Army Air Corps at Wright Field, production of 164 O47As, bearing the NA25 designation of the (or
15)
GA
North American Aviation corporation (successors to General Aviation), was authorized at the new Ingle wood, California, factory.
The 0-47A was an all-metal mid-wing monoplane with Alclad metal skinning on fuselage and wings. It had a long, raised, fully glazed canopy over the cockpits for its three-man crew. The observer/photographer was seated behind the pilot with dual controls, and also had a station beneath the wing in the deep-bellied fuselage. This ventral position was extensively glazed and offered an unobstructed view below for visual or photographic observation. The 0-47A's main undercarriage legs retracted outwards into the wings and it had a fixed tail wheel. Power was provided by a 975-hp Wright R- 1820-40 radial engine driving a three-bladed Hamilton Standard constant-speed metal propeller. With the 0-47, US Army observation units began to achieve comparable status to the more favoured pursuit and bomber squadrons. Observation had hitherto always been the poor relation, equipped with utility aircraft often poorly adapted for their task. The low priority given to observation aircraft was evidenced by the fact that many observation squadrons right up to the Second World
War were
National Guard units,
manned by
Their morale was part-time personnel. greatly raised by their new, shining, expensive 0-47s and the $3 429 600 contract for the 0-47As was followed by an order for 74 0-47Bs. By 1939 many squadions had reequipped with the type, which did quite well in the annual US war games manoeuvres. But by 1941 European experience had convinced the that the 0-47 would be of only limited value in any war. Duties hitherto carried out by observation types were in future to be performed by adapted fighters or bombers ranging well behind the enemy lines, or by light liaison aircraft flying in close cooperation with front-line units. By the time the US entered the war in December 1941, most 0-47s had been relegated to second-line coastal-patrol, target-towing or training duties. few were caught on the ground during the initial Japanese attacks on US airfields overseas, but the 0-47 had an other,
USAAC
A
wise comparatively uneventful war and gradually disappeared from the scene as a result of normal wear and tear.
Among with the
more famous units equipped 0-47 during its heyday were the the
12th, 15th, 22nd, 41st and 91st Observation Squadrons, USAAC. Armament was a single 0.30-in (7.62-mm) Browning machine-gun fixed in the starboard wing to fire forward, and another in the rear cockpit.
Span: 14.12 m (46 ft 4 in) Length: 10.24 m (33 ft 7 in) Gross weight: 3464 kg (7636 lb) Maximum speed: 359 km/h (223 mph) at 1220 m (4000 ft)
0-49, Stinson US Army observation
aircraft. In a reappraisal of its requirements the US Army Air Corps decided in 1939 that the era of the heavy, sturdily built observation aircraft was
approaching its end. What was needed was outstanding manoeuvrability and an abil-
fast
ity to
operate out of very limited temporary Two experimental designs, the Bel-
airstrips.
lanca
YO-50 and Ryan YO-51, were
built to
and to be capable of maintaining flight at minimal speed. Three of each were built, but the Stinson 0-49 Vigilant, a strut-braced high-wing monoplane, was deemed to be more practical. While not having the variety of high-lift devices of its rivals, it had full-span automatic leading-edge slots and pilot-operated trailing-edge slotted
meet these
criteria
The air corps was well pleased with the design and ordered 142 0-49s. An outstandflaps.
was the excellent afforded by a cabin which had outward sloping sides. Power was provided by a cowled 295-hp Lycoming R-680-9 radial engine. The aircraft, known as the Model 74 by Stinson, had been designed by A P Fontaine. As production commenced, the Stinson company was acquired by Vultee Aircraft Inc (later Consolidated-Vultee). In 1942 the designation was changed to L-l in the new 'liaison' category, and 182 slightly modified 0-49As ordered in 1941 became L-l As. A number of both L-ls and L-l As went to the RAF under Lend-Lease agreements, but the type was employed mainly by the USAAF, who flew the Vigilant in the European and Pacific war zones with considerable success. It proved excellent in operating in difficult front-line areas, and bad terrain provided relatively few problems for its welldesigned fixed undercarriage. Its forte was as an advanced air observation post, but the Vigilant was also widely used as an air ambulance, four being converted as L-lBs and 113 as L-lCs. A limited number trained pilots in glider pick-up techniques using a variety of army training gliders in the TG ing feature of the Vigilant
downward view
Five liaison aircraft and seven ambu-
series.
lance machines were fitted with amphibious twin floats (into which the landing wheels retracted) and redesignated L-1F and L-1E respectively.
Span: 15.52 m (50 ft 1 1 in) Length: 10.44 m (34 ft 3 in) Gross weight: 1507 kg (3322 lb) Maximum speed: 198 km/h (123 mph)
0-52, Curtiss
US observation monoplane See Owl
0/1 00 and O/400, Handley
Page bombers. The Royal Naval Air Service was an early and enthusiastic protagonist of heavy bombing, and the Handley Page O/100, the world's first effective heavy request of bomber, originated with an December 1914 for a twin-engined patrol bomber with a two-man crew, a speed of at least 116 km/h (72 mph) and capable of British
RNAS
carrying six 50-kg (110-lb) bombs. Handley Page's original design was to be powered by two 120-hp Beardmore engines, but in
2031
O/100 and O/400, Handley Page
response to the less specific but more evocative request for a 'bloody paralyser' made by
Commodore Murray
Sueter, Director of the
Admiralty Air Department, the design was enlarged to a 30.5-m (100-ft) span biplane with folding wings and two 150-hp Sunbeam engines.
Construction of the O/100 was conventhough being the biggest aeroplane attempted in Britain by 1915, and with every component undergoing thorough testing, the prototype took almost a year to build. During this time new Rolls-Royce engines of 250 hp tional,
became
and these were substituted Sunbeams. The prototype, with armoured engine nacelles and enclosed crew cabin, flew for the first time on December 18, 1915, and during official trials in January 1916
for
A
available,
the
Handley Page O/100 with an experimental
2032
the cabin covering and most of the armour were discarded, while on production aircraft nose and dorsal gun positions were added, with a single Lewis firing downwards and to the rear through a ventral trap-door, the crew being increased to four. The bombs were carried tail-down inside the fuselage and released through doors which were sprung open by the falling bombs. The first of 40 production O/lOOs was delivered to the RNAS in September 1916. During 1917 a number of modifications were made, including the removal of the fuel tanks from the engine nacelles to the fuselage and upper wing centre section. The first of the modified machines, powered by two 275hp Rolls-Royce Mk II engines and completed in September 1917, became the prototype
installation of four
Hispano-Suiza 200-hp engines
O/400, 100 of which were ordered in August 1917, and further orders following for 300 more. The first six, ordered as O/lOOs and with the original fuel system, were powered by two 320-hp Sunbeam Cossack engines, the remaining British-built O/400s having a variety of powerplants including 250-hp RollsRoyce Eagle IV, 360-hp Eagle VIII, 275-hp Sunbeam Maori and 260-hp Fiat AAlbis engines. In addition, 1500 O/400s, with 350hp Liberty 12-Ns, were ordered from Standard Aircraft in the United States; however, deliveries did not begin until September 1918 and only eight were completed, though 107
were assembled in Britain from components supplied by US firms. The O/100 began daylight operations in France in early 1917, carrying a maximum
OA/OL, Loening The Handley Page O/400 was faster and had a higher ceiling than the 0/1 00 but had an endurance of only four hours in contrast to the six of the O/100. It lifted the same bombload but was capable of 156 km/h (97 mph) at ground level, which was slightly faster than the 0/100
the Australian Flying Corps in Palestine. After the war the O/400 remained in RAF service as a military transport until 1920, and was also developed into a civil passenger transport.
Span: 30.48 m (100 ft) Length: 19.15 m (62 ft 10 Gross weight: (0/1 00) 6350 kg (14000 lb), (O/400, Eagle VI engine) 6360 kg (14 022 lb) Maximum speed: (0/1 00) 137 km/h (85 mph), (O/400, Eagle VI engine) 140 km/h (87 mph) in)
OA/OL, Loening US
amphibious observation aircraft. The Loening company was established in 19 18 by Grover C Loening. He had previously worked with the Wright brothers, and had been chief engineer of the US Army flying school and with the Sturtevant Aeroplane company. A devotee of the monoplane, he nevertheless
designed
a
series
of
single-
amphibious biplanes for the US and Navy in the early 1920s, adopting
engined
Army
load of 16 50-kg (1 10-lb) bombs, but was soon switched to night raids against German naval
aerodromes and industrial targets. Four served on antisubmarine patrols off the north-east coast of England, and from October 1917 the type was used for night bases,
A
single raids against targets inside Germany. machine served in the Aegean, its missions
including
bombing
raids
against Constan-
tinople (Istanbul), on the second of which, in September 1917, it crashed in the sea through engine failure and the crew were taken
prisoner.
The O/400 did not become
available in
quantity until early 1918. The increased production orders had been inspired largely by the German Gotha night raids on England, starting in September 1917, and the O/400s of
RAF's Independent Force found their main employment in reciprocal raids against the
Germany. By September 1918 they were carrying 750-kg (1650-lb) bombs, and were making raids in larger numbers, though during the second half of 1918 18 were lost and 51 wrecked. O/400s were also used to attack German defences during the raids on Zeebrugge and Ostend in May 1918, and a single machine served from July of that year with
the unusual configuration of a single float, faired into the fuselage, and carrying wheels that retracted into the sides of the float. There was also a small tail skid at the rear of
the float, and small stabilizing floats attached to the outer panels of the lower wings. The aircraft had good, clean aerodynamic lines, enabling the best to be got from the 400-hp Liberty inverted-V engine. The first of two prototypes for the army, designated XCOA-1 (for Corps Observation Amphibian), was flown in July 1924, and these were followed by nine COA-ls, for service evaluation; 15 OA-lAs were then built with a modified fin and rudder. Further tail modifications produced nine OA-lBs and
ten three-seat
The Handley Page O/100 'bloody bomber, could
lift
OA-lCs. The
their
heavy night bombs. Unlike the
paralyser', the world's first
a respectable 907 kg (2000
Germans the new RAF used
last variant for
lb)
of
heavy bombers for
relatively short-range
attacks on troop concentrations, railway yards and airfields
Oberon arm) W as the OA-2 (eight only), produced 1929 and powered by a 480-hp Wright V1460 Tornado engine. Standard armament of the army l.oenings comprised a forward-
action at 2 000 km (6500 nautical miles) at 10 knots. In spite of the increase in size and displacement the surfaced speed dropped by only 2 knots. To be effective over long range
(7.62-mm) Browning machineand one or two 0.30-in Lewis
Oberon' s torpedo outfit was doubled to 16. She was the first Royal Navy submarine to be
the in
firing 0.30-in
gun
for the pilot
1
guns for the observer.
fitted
The US Navy's order began with two aircraft designated OLthree-seaters pow-
Oberon was launched at Chatham dockyard in September 1926. Although the design met the staff requirement it had a number of faults. One of the most serious was the use of
1
,
ered by a 440-hp Packard A- 1500 engine. The navy received five OL-2s. which were identical to the COA-1. One OL-1, used as a prototype for several design improvements, led to an order for four to this standard as OL-3s. and six others with Liberty engines were designated OL-4. There was no OL-5, but 28 OL-6s appeared, with the same high vertical tail as the OA-1C, but powered by the Packard engine. The XOL-7 (a converted OL-6) was a prototype only; the XOL-8 was followed by orders for 20 OL-8s and 20 OL-8As. which introduced the 450-hp Pratt Whitney R- 1340-4 Wasp radial engine, and (on the OL-8As) deck arrester gear. Two prototypes designated XHL-1 were used as six-passenger ambulances. Last in the series was the Wasp-engined OL-9, 26 of which were built after Loening had merged with the Keystone Aircraft corporation. All navy OL 1
&
models were unarmed. (OL-9) Span: 13.72 ft
9
m
(45
ft)
Length: 10.59
Gross weight: 2450 kg (5404 speed: 196 km/h (122 mph)
lb)
m
(34
Maxi-
Oberon submarine
completed 1927. When the Alliance Treaty between Britain and Japan failed to be renewed in 1922 the Royal Navy began formulating its requirements for a Far East Fleet. One of these was for a new submarine with a large radius of British
class,
action capable of undertaking patrols in the Far East. The resulting Oberon design was significantly larger than the earlier 'L' Class ocean-going submarines, with displacement increased to 1311 tons. Nearly 12 (40 ft) was added to the length while the beam increased by about .2 (4 ft). The increased dimensions permitted extra bunkerage to be provided for the larger radius of action which was required. The 'L' Class carried 76 tons of oil while Oberon carried a total of 185 tons which nearly doubled her surfaced radius of
m
1
2034
fuel tanks in the saddle tanks for the extra
bunkerage. These were prone to leaks and left a tell-tale slick behind the submarine when it was submerged. Two vessels with ram-shaped bows, but to. an otherwise similar design, were launched in 1926 at the Vickers-Armstrongs Barrow yard for the Royal Australian Navy. They were transferred to Britain in 1931 as Oxley and Otway.
Oxleywas sunk
in
error by
HM
Submarine
Norway on September 10, 1939. Oberon and Otway spent the latter part of the Triton off
war on
training duties
and were sold for scrap
in 1945.
(Oberon) Displacement: 1311/1892 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 83.8 m (275 ft) oa 8.5 m (28 ft) Draught: 4 m (13 ft 3 in) Machinery: 2-shaft diesels/2 electric motors, 3000 bhp/1350 shp=15/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 4-in (102-mm); 2 machine-guns; 8 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes, 16 torpedoes Crew: 56
Beam:
in)
mum
with Asdic.
m
(Oxley and Otway) Displacement: 1350/1870 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 84.9 m (278 ft 6 in) oa Beam:8A m (27 ft 6 in) Draught: 4 m (13 ft 3 in) Machinery, Armament and Crew: as
Oberon
Oberon submarine class, built 1957-78. The were laid down in 1957-62, launched between 1959-64, and completed between 1961-64. The orders were placed with yards with a tradition of submarine British
original 13 boats
construction.
Oberon
The Oberon Class submarine
HMS
Opportune
5.09 Oberon, S.14 Onslaught, S.17 Ocelot, S.21
5.10
— 5.11 —
—
Onyx
Odin,
built
S.16
by Chatham dockyard Oracle,
S.19
Opossum
by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead Orpheus, S.12 Olympus, S.13 Osiris built by Vickers- Armstrongs, Barrow Otter, Otus, OpporS.15 S.18 S.20 tune built by Scotts, Greenock built
—
HM Submarine
Olympus, one of the six '0' Type vessels launched in the late 1920s for service in the Far East. They suffered from leaky saddle tanks which left a slick of fuel on the surface and resulted in the loss of four of the six in the Mediterranean in 1940-42
The basic design is identical to that of their predecessors, the Porpoise Class, from which they can scarcely be distinguished. They can undertake continuous submerged patrols in any part of the world. High underwater speed, great diving depth and long endurance are their outstanding features. They have a prominent bow-mounted sonar dome in addition to a surveillance radar, which can detect surface ships and aircraft while the submarine is at periscope depth. Eight torpedo tubes for 21 -in (53-cm) homing torpedoes are mounted, six in the bow and two in the stern. Propulsion is by Admiralty Standard Range Diesels when snorting or surfaced, and by English Electric motors while submerged. The class has earned high praise for its quiet operation. Apart from a slight reduction in crew, the most significant advance over their predecessors was the use of glass-fibre laminate in the construction of the fin (that of Orpheus is of light aluminium alloy). The design had many attractive features for other countries with
in
June 1977 during the Jubilee Naval Review
deep waters to patrol, and in 1962 the Royal Canadian Navy placed an order for three boats with Chatham dockyard. The first of these was obtained from the Royal Navy being construction programme. Onyx launched as HMCS Ojibwa (72) in February 1964, and commissioned in 1965. A replacement Onyx was ordered from Cammell Laird, commissioning in 1967. Ojibwa was followed by Onondaga (73) and Okanagan (74), laid down during 1964-65 and completed during 1967-68. Special RCN requirements included an enlargement of de-icing and airconditioning systems to cope with the extremes of climate within Canadian operating areas.
Four boats were ordered in 1963 for the Royal Australian Navy. Named Oxley (S.57), Otway (S.59), Ovens (S.70) and Onslow (S.50), they were laid down at Scotts between 1964-67, launched between 1965-68, and commissioned during 1967-69. A follow-up order and two boats, Orion for further Otama also from Scotts was announced in 1970. Laid down in 1972-73, they were launched in 1974-75 and completed 1977-78.
—
—
An
two boats for Brazil, and Tonelero (S.21), was placed with Vickers in 1969. They were laid down in 1970-71, but whereas Humaita comorder
Humaita
for
(S.20)
missioned in 1973, Tonelero was badly damaged by fire and was not completed until 1976. Meanwhile a third boat, Riachuelo
2035
Obregon had been laid down at Vickers in 1973 and was commissioned in 1977. At about the (S.22),
same time
as the
first
Brazilian order,
two
submarines were ordered by Chile from ScottS. O'Brien (SS.22) and Hyatt (SS.23) were laid down in 1971-72, launched in 197374 and completed in 1976. Displacement: 1610 tons (standard), 2030/2410 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 90 m (295 ft 3 in) oa Beam: 8 m (26 ft 3 in) Draught: 5.5 m (18 ft) Machinery:2 shafts. 2 ASR diesels/electric motors, 3680 bhp/6000 shp=12/17 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 8 21-in (53cm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern) Crew: 68
Obregon Mexican automatic pistol. The Pistola Automatica Sistemo Obregon, named after its designer Alejandro Obregon, is a 0.45-in .4-mm) automatic pistol which was made ( by Fabrica de Armas, Mexico City and introduced in the late 1930s. It generally resembles the well-known Colt M1911 type, 1
Above: HMS Osiris leaving Portsmouth in 1975. Below: Oberon and Porpoise Class submarines by HMS Dolphin. They include Ocelot, Oracle, Osiris, Opossum, Onslaught, Otus and Onyx
1
although the top surface of the slide is noticeably rounded, but internally it differs greatly from the Colt. The Obregon uses a rotating-barrel lock derived from the Austrian Steyr 1912 pistol. The barrel is located in the frame by helical cams, while a third lug engages in an angular slot in the slide. On firing, recoil of the slide is resisted by this third lug until the rearward movement, transmitted by the helical cams, has revolved the barrel so that the third lug lines up with a longitudinal slot, and the slide is thus free to move back and open the breech. The Obregon pistol is a well-made and robust weapon. As well- as being used by the
M
Mexican army, small numbers have been marketed commercially. Although manufacture is believed to have ceased in the late 1940s, the pistol is still in limited use. Calibre: 0.45 in (11.4
mm) Ammunition:
0.45-in
mm
ACP
Weight: 1.13 kg (2 lb 8 oz) Lengtf):216 (5 in) Operation: (8.5 in) Barrel length: 127 recoil Magazine: 7-round detachable box Muzzle velocity: 253 m/sec (830 ft/sec)
mm
British Oberon Class were the last conventional vessels to enter service with the Royal Navy. They owed some of their design features to the successful German Type XXI Class and have the reputation of being the quietest submarines in service
The
Oerlikon
0'Byrne French submarine class, built 1917-21. Three submarines were ordered by Romania during the First World War from the Schneider yard. Romania had been forced out of the war while construction was at an early stage, and the ships were taken over by the French navy. They were launched in 1919-20 as O'Byrne (SC.5), Henri Fournier (SC.6) and Dupetit-Thouars (SC.7). The lessons of French war experience were incorporated and the boats proved reasonably successful in service. Dupetit-Thouars was stricken in 1928, and the others in 1935. Displacement: 342/513 tonnes (surfaced/submerged) Length: 52.5 m (172 ft) Beam: 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) Draught: 2.72 m (8 ft 1 1 in) Machinery: 2shaft diesel/electric motors, 1020 bhp/400 shp=14/8 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 47-mm (1.8£in) QF; 4 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes Crew: 25
HMS
Octopus US
submarine
Odin
August
class, built 1905-10. This
was
the third class of submarines after Holland to be ordered for the US Navy, the design being an enlarged version of the Viper (B. 1) Class.
The major improvement was to double the number of gasoline engines and electric
at her launch
on
May
5,
1928 at Chatham. She was sunk by Italian destroyers
1940; and Odin by Strale on June Osiris and Otus survived to be scrapped in 1946. 14,
1,
1940.
—
Odin built by Chatham dockyard Olympus, Orpheus built by Beardmore Osiris, Oswald, Otus built by Vickers-Arm-
—
—
Barrow
motors, and with larger dimensions overall there was a corresponding improvement in
strongs,
were built by Bethlehem at Fore River. Octopus was launched on April 10, 1906, to Electric Boat design EB
Displacement: 1475/2038 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 86.4 m (283 ft 6 in) oa Beam: 9.1 m (30 ft) Draught: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft dieseis/2 electric motors, 4400 bhp/1320 shp= 17.5/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 4-in (102-mm); 2 machine-guns; 8 21 -in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern), 16 torpedoes Crew. 56
habitability. All five
The remainder of the class, Stingray, Tarpon, Bonita and Snapper, were built to a slightly modified design EB 17-C and were not launched until 1909. Snapper was the last to commission, on February 2, 1910, under Nimitz. Lieutenant Chester On November 17, 1911, they were given numbers C.l-5 and when hull-designators were made official in 1920 they became SS.9 (C.l) and SS. 13-16 (C.2-5). They served in World War, defending the the First approaches to the Panama Canal. All five were stricken and sold for scrap in 1920. 17-A.
W
Displacement: 238/275 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 32.1 m (105 ft 3 in) oa Beam: 4.3 m (14 ft) Draught: 3 m (10 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft gasoline/electric motors, 500 bhp/300 shp= 10.5/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 2 18-in (46-cm) torpedo tubes, 4 torpedoes Crew: 15
Odin British
submarine
class.
The
six
submarines
Swiss automatic cannon. During the First
World War the German aviation service began to consider fitting heavy machine-guns on aircraft. Existing weapons were all of rifle calibre adapted from ground machine-guns, and with the prospect of larger and stronger aircraft a more specialized weapon seemed desirable. German gunmaking and engineering firms were circularized accordingly, and among those who responded were two brothers named Conders, employed as engineers by the Stahlwerk Becker of Reinickendorf They designed a heavy machine-gun of 19-mm (0.75-in) calibre capable of firing a small explosive shell, which became known as the Becker Cannon. Manufacture began in .
though
The previous year a German machine-tool company, the Magdeburg Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik, had taken over Schweizerische Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik of Oerlikon, a moribund Swiss machine-tool firm, which consequently became known as the Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1924 an engineer named Emil G Biihrle was sent to run the new company. Biihrle began to increase his personal holding in the company in 1937 he took over ownership it became known as Oerlikon Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Biihrle Co. Casting round for new products, Biihrle examined the Semag-Becker Cannon, and in the summer of 1924 Oerlikon took over from the defunct Seebach company all the relevant patents, together with the stock of weapons and the technicians who had been working on
and when
&
Oerlikon
1917,
and put the gun on the market as the SemagBecker Cannon, a light infantry-support gun on a two-wheeled carriage. In the immediate postwar period orders were few and far between, and in 1924 Maschinenbau AG Seebach went into liquidation.
it
is
not
known how many
them.
By the end of 1924 some guns had been sold to Finland and Mexico, and in the next four years orders were received from a number of other small countries. The first came in 1929 when Chiang Kaishek's Chinese Nationalist army bought a batch of 120 guns. In the early 1930s the first large European order came in from Lithuania rapidly followed by others from Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Japan and elsewhere. In 1935 three types were ready for sale, the large order
of the Odin Class, launched in 1928-29, closely followed the design of Otway and Oxley of the previous Oberon Class, with a
weapons were made, nor where they all went. Some were certainly used in Gotha
ram bow. They had more powerful
issued to the antiaircraft service for shortrange defence. Records of the Allied Dis-
model F for aircraft and the models L and S for ground or vehicle mounts. All three used the same ammunition. By 1936 the Oerlikon gun had become well known throughout the world, and there were hardly any countries
armament Commission
which did not have
similar
diesels giving a higher surfaced speed
and
lower fuel consumption, increasing radius of action by 2000 nautical miles. The forward hydroplanes were sited at the top of the pressure hull where they could be turned in against the hull to protect them when docking, although this reduced the diving speed. Olympus was mined off Malta on May 8, 1942. Orpheus, Odin and Oswald were all
sunk by Italian destroyers: Orpheus by Turbine on June 26, 1940; Oswald by Vivaldi on
aircraft in 1918,
and
it is
known
that 131
were
state that 362 guns were seized after the Armistice, almost all of which were scrapped in 1920. After the war further manufacture and development in Germany was proscribed under the Versailles Treaty provisions, so Becker sold the patents to a small Swiss firm, Maschinenbau AG Seebach. The new owners did a little more development work, changing
the calibre to
20-mm
(0.79-in) in the process,
at least a
few Oerlikons
in
their inventory.
During this period users had been undecided about how best to employ this new weapon. Seebach's original idea for an infantry-support cannon found little favour, the shell being too small, the rate of fire too high, and the ammunition-supply problem a vexed one. The weapon itself was conspicuous on its high-set carriage, and it would undoubt2037
Oerlikon
edly have provoked a storm of retaliation as soon as it opened fire. Much was made of its potential ;ts an antitank weapon, and contemporary tanks would certainly have been easy targets for the high-explosive shell and the pointed piercing shell. The weapon's rate of fire of 400 rds/min seemed a trifle excessive for an antitank gun, but it was tried by the British Army who bought a small number. Fitted onto low, tracked, trailers towed behind Carden-Loyd carriers, they failed to achieve much success. In the end it was the Germans who realized where the Oerlikon could serve best, though they didn't begin by using an Oerlikon gun. During early antitank explorations the German Rheinmetall company, through a Swiss subsidiary, had produced their own design of 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon known as the Solothurn, and in 1928 the German navy acquired a number of these and mounted them on ships as light antiaircraft guns for close-in defence. Suddenly, everybody agreed that this was the logical use for this class of weapon, since contemporary guns were of the order of 3 inches (76 mm) in calibre, fired a 5-6-kg (12-14-lb) shell about ten times a minute, and rarely hit anything. Its difficulties were increased as the targets got closer and faster, when it became physically impossible to aim the heavy gun
AA
Above: An Oerlikon crew on an firing twin Oerlikons at sea.
MTB check their guns during an overhaul in dock.
The mount
is
Below: Test powered and more sophisticated than that on the MTB
enough. The 20-inm cannon was light, swung about, and poured a stream of shells into the air. It promised to be the
fast
easily
solution to the problem
by putting as much
metal into the sky as possible
in
a short
engagement time, increasing the chances of something hitting the target. It was this realization which led to the upsurge of orders in the early 1930s, though the major nations still
stood aloof. Britain, France, the US, the
USSR
and Germany all had their own armaments industries, and felt that if there was anything to the 20-mm then they were quite capable of looking into it. But when they did look into it they found a distressing state of affairs. Oerlikon had the blowback design well protected by patents, Solothurn had similarly tied up the recoil principle, and Hispano-Suiza had covered gas operation. Anyone wanting a 20-mm cannon had to apply to one of these com-
some original thinking to come up with something revolutionary and nobody managed that. The prime attraction panies, or else do
—
of the Oerlikon design was its simplicity, since it was a blowback weapon with the minimum of moving parts. In any blowback weapon the breech is held closed by the breech block's inertia, with minor assistance from a spring; there is no positive lock. When the cartridge is fired the action of the explosion in the chamber drives the bullet up the barrel and out of the muzzle, while the reaction, forcing the base of the now -empty cartridge case against the face of the breech, blows the breech block in the opposite direction. Bullet and block acquire similar momentum, but the lesser mass and greater velocity of the bullet mean that it is out of the muzzle before the massive but slow-moving breech block begins to extract the spent case, by which time the high-pressure gas inside the
and barrel have been vented through the muzzle. This system is well suited to a pocket pistol firing a bullet weighing a few grams, but the Conders brothers wanted to fire a shell
chamber
2038
Oerlikon weighing about 200 g (7 oz), which would have required a breech block of about 230 kg (500 lb), an impractical figure for a weapon to be mounted in aircraft. The problem was solved by a system now known as 'differential locking' or 'advanced primer ignition'. The principle of this system was to release the breech block from a rearward position so that it ran forward and collected a cartridge from the magazine, rammed it into the chamber and, while still moving, fired it so that the reaction on the spent case had first to stop the moving parts and then reverse them. The mass required for the breech block could
thus be considerably engineers subsequently
reduced;
Oerlikon
made
the gun more reduced the block's
compact and further weight to a mere 3 kg (7 lb) by attaching the block to two arms which passed alongside the gun body to a collar around the barrel, where they retained a powerful coil spring. Thus the mass of the block itself was augmented by the mass of the external arms and the force of
Naval Air Division of the Admiralty. In 1937 the Royal Navy began discussions with Oerlikon about the new gun for fleet air defence.
The standard Oerlikon of at
the time fired shells at a rate of 550 wanted a higher velocity
600 m/sec (1968 ft/sec)
rds/min, but the
RN
and a lower rate of fire, considering that this would improve the accuracy of the system. After two years of experiments and tests the
20-mm Mark I entered summer of 1939. It fired
the spring.
gun, Oerlikon,
naval
the Royal Navy by a roundabout route. In 1935 Commander George Ross, assistant naval attache in
service in the
shells
The Oerlikon gun reached
Tokyo, met Anton Gazda, an Austrian designer working for the Oerlikon company,
who told him
that the Japanese were negotiatbuy the Oerlikon. The deal went through in July 1936, but when war broke out in September 1939 production had still not
ing
to
started in Japan, and in the event the Japanese navy chose the 25-mm (1-in) gun derived from a Hotchkiss design. Ross took the lead in trying to interest the British authorities in the Oerlikon, in the teeth of bitter opposition from Vickers, and succeeded in convincing Lord Louis Mountbatten, then with the
830 m/sec (2725 ft/sec) at a rate of 450 rds/min. Production of the guns in Switzerland had just begun when war broke out. For the first few months supplies flowed to Britain across France, but in 1940 the line of supply was broken by the advancing German army. At the eleventh hour a Royal Navy officer brought drawings of the gun to Britain, having run the gauntlet of the advancing
at
Germans.
Work
immediately on and after some difficulties had been overcome, the Britishmade Mark I gun went into production in 1941. By the end of the war some 35000 had been built. organizing
began
production,
An Oerlikon 20-mm
(0.79-in) twin
AA gun
a
in
mounting. It was also used on a ground mount by almost all the armed forces engaged in the Second World War. The gun was derived from a First World War design which was originally built by the Swiss firm of Seebach Maschinenbau Aktien Gesellschaft. The Swiss exported the Oerlikon before the Second World War and between 1939 and 1945 it was built by light naval
Britain and the United States. German guns used a box magazine and Allied a drum
2039
Oerlikon
,\
Oerlikon
A 20-mm
(0.79-in) Oerlikon antiaircraft gun mounted on a British warship during the Second World War. The gun was sold widely before the war and captured weapons were used by the Germans who had also built their own under the designation 2-cm Flak 28 and 29. The Oerlikon was gas-operated and in British service used a 60-round drum magazine. It was used in ground and naval mounts and in single, double or triple combinations. Though a successful and popular gun it required a large number of closely machined parts and in service the crew needed a large stock of spare parts. The HE shell weighed 0.1232 kg (0.2714 lb) and was very effect against ground targets as well as in the AA role
Oerlikon At the same time attempts were interest the
US Navy
would have
led to
made
to
gun since this commonality of ammuniin the
tion supply as well as ensuring a stream of
US production. The US Navy had already tested the Oerlikon in 1937 and had been favourably impressed with it. but they had elected to adopt the 1.1-in (28-mm)
guns from
Hudson machine-gun and
the 0.5-in (12.7as their standard weapons. But in 1940 they agreed to assist the Royal Navy in setting up production in the US
mm) Browning
under the Lend-Lease plan, much of the work being done by the Pontiac division of General Motors. By late 1941 US production for Britain was well under way, and the US Navy took a handful of the guns for tests of new mountings and new systems of fire control. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack, they moved rapidly to take over the entire production facility, diverting the output to the US Navy.
The most common Oerlikon mounting in service was the Mark II, which
British
replaced
the
machine-gun
quadruple
0.5-in
Vickers
most ships. Destroyers usually mounted at least one in each bridge wing, while cruisers and battleships mounted them on turret-tops. The US Navy single 20-mm in
Above:
An
Oerlikon
30-mm (1.18-in) twin naval antiaircraft gun GCM. It is a belt-fed radarThe 35-mm (1.38-in) Twin AA Gun GDF, with a range of up to 4000 m
controlled gun. Below:
was very
similar, but a later version for use in small craft such as torpedo boats was lightened by the use of a skeleton pedestal. The only important improvement to the single 20XIV gyro was the provision of a US sight on the mounting, and this particular version appeared late in the Second World
mm
Mk
War. The next step was to develop a twin poweroperated version, which was known as the Mk V. It saw wide use in small craft such as motor torpedo boats, and in 1943-44 it was also used in destroyers. The Mk XII was a twin hand-worked mounting, similar to that used in the US Navy, and was simply a doubled-up edition of the original single mounting. The Allies' answer to the German Flakvierling was the quadruple Mk XIV, which was scheduled for the battleship Vanguard in 1945, but as far as is known this mounting did not reach production. By the end of the Second World War the Oerlikon found itself in the same position as the machine-gun had been in 1939, in that it could not inflict fatal damage fast enough on a new generation of sturdy, well-armoured aircraft, a fact that became painfully evident in 1944-45 when it failed to stop kamikaze attacks in the Pacific. The hordes of singles and twins in US ships were therefore swept away and largely replaced by the 40-mm (1.57-in) Bofors. The British, beset by production problems, even resorted to putting the despised single 2-pdr pom-pom onto the Mk V Oerlikon's power mounting, while the Canadians mated the Bofors barrel to the same mounting and called it the Boffin. In 1971 Hispano was absorbed into Oerlikon though the firm still markets two separate types of cannon. Oerlikon-Hispano cannon are now found all over the world and there has been extensive development of both guns and mountings in many countries.
The range of guns manufactured runs from 20-mm up to 35-mm (1.38-in) AA with a full range of ammunition for each and mountings for land, sea or air. Oerlikons remain in service all over the world, and some are
2042
The Oerlikon
aircraft
30-mm
cannon KCA fires 1350
rounds every minute at 1030 m/sec (3380 ft/sec). It has four types of ammunition including AP, an AP HE Incendiary shell and a tracer projectile practice shell
belt-fed
(1
.18-in)
Omaha Japanese forces at the Battle of Tsushima. She surrendered off Liancourt Reef to the Japanese on May 28, 1905, and was taken to Sasebo where her minor damage was subsequently repaired. During her time in dock she was generally refitted, the six 6-in guns being replaced by 4.7-in (1 20-mm). She commissioned into the Japanese navy as a training ship and her armament reduced to just four 4.7-in. In 1915 she was completely disarmed and used as a barracks until 1922. The hulk was finally broken up in 1939. Displacement: 4126 tons (normal), 5050 tons load) Length: 84.6 m (277 ft 6 in) oa Beam: 16 m (52 ft 6 in) Draught: 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) Machinery: 2-shaft vertical triple-expansion, 5250 ihp = 16 knots Protection: 254 mm (10 in) belt, 76 mm (3 in) deck, 203 mm (8 in) turrets and conning tower Armament: 3 10-in (1x2, 1 x1); 6 6-in (152-mm); 10 47-mm (1.85-in); 12 37-mm (1.46-in); 4 18-in (46-cm) torpedo tubes (above water, fixed) Crew: 406 (full
Omaha The Oerlikon 20-mm gun
turret
GAD-AOA
is
designed for
APCs and
light
armoured cars
US
light cruiser class, built 1918-25.
Navy showed in such modern and sophisticated ships as the British Sheffield Class and the
mounted
French Georges Leygues Class DDGs, for
work
close-range
against
'soft-skinned'
targets.
(Model FFF aircraft cannon, 1935) Calibre: 20 mm (0.79 in) Ammunition: 20-mm Oerlikon Weight: 30 kg (66 lb) Barrel length: 800 (31.5 in) Magazine: 60-round detachable box Rate of fire: 500 rds/min (cyclic) Muzzle velocity: 575 m/sec (1890 ft/sec)
mm
Mk II) Calibre: 20 mm Weight:66 kg Length: 2.4 m (8 ft) Magazine capacity: 60 rounds Rate of fire: 465-480 rds/min Muzzle velocity: 830 m/sec (2725 m/sec)
abreast the bridge and four around the second funnel. Eighty mines could be carried. Opasny was destroyed on the stocks at Nikolayev by the Germans in 1941 and three further ships building at Leningrad were never completed. Of the remaining vessels, ,
between eight and
1 1
were completed
after
the war, while the remainder were cancelled. Search radars were added to the foremast, and tripod legs added but the appearance of the class remained otherwise unaltered. By the mid 1960s the few ships left in sion were used only for training.
commis-
lb)
(Type
mm
KAA
aircraft
cannon, 1978) Calibre: 20
Ammunition :20-mm Oerlikon Weight:87 kg
lb) Barrel length: 170 cm (67 in) Feed: belt Rate of fire: 1000 rds/min (cyclic) Muzzle velocity: 1050 m/sec (3440 ft/sec)
(192
Ognevoi Soviet destroyer class. Design work on the class began in 1937, and out of some 30 projected vessels, 17 are known to have been laid down between 1939-41. Otlichny, Otvazhny, Odarenny and four unnamed ships laid down at Nikolayev, Leningrad; Ognevoi, Ozornoi, Opasny and Otverzhdenny were laid down on the Black Sea; Osmotritelny and Okhotlivy were laid down at Molotovsk; and Vlastny, Vnushitelny and Vynoslivy were laid down at Komsomolsk on
were
the
Amur
river.
Higher freeboard and the concentration of the four 130-mm (5.1-in) guns into twin turrets fore and aft resulted in a significant improvement in seaworthiness over their Italian-designed predecessors. As in the experimental Opitny the torpedo armament was increased to two banks of four tubes. A twin 85-mm (3.3-in) enclosed mounting was
superimposed above the after 130-mm turret, and the AA armament was completed by six single 37-mm (1.46-in), with two mountings
The US
interest in light cruisers
before the First World War, and in the years 1904-14 built only three scouts, the Chester Class. The outstanding performance of the
German and
particularly the British light cruisers in the North Sea came as something of a shock, and the Bureau of Construction and Repair was instructed to design a class equivalent to the best in existence abroad. CL.4-7 were authorized in 1916, followed by CL.8-10 in 1917 and CL. 11-13 in 1918.
Omaha nati
(CL.4), Milwaukee (CL.5), Cincinby Todd Shipyards,
(CL. 6)—built
Tacoma
(Royal Navy
(150
little
Displacement: 1800 tons (standard), 2650 tons (full load) Lengffr: 117 m (383 ft 10 in) oa Beam: 11.6 m (38 ft 1 in) Draught: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft steam turbines, 60000 shp=36 knots Armament: 4 130-mm (5.1-in) (4x1); 1 85-mm (3.3-in) AA (1x2); 6 37-mm (1.46in) AA (6x1); 8 53-cm (21 -in) torpedo tubes (2x4); 80 mines Crew: 250
Raleigh
(CL.7),
Detroit
(CL. 8)— built by
Bethlehem, Fore River
Richmond
(CL.9), Concord (CL.10), Trenton (CL.ll), Marblehead (CL.12), Memphis (CL. 13)—built by William Cramp, Philadelphia
The
class
proved far from successful.
unrealistic speed of 35 knots
OH-6, Hughes
US observation helicopter See Cayuse
Okha Japanese name suicide aircraft
for
Yokosuka See
MXY MXY
Okinoshima Japanese battleship. Okinoshima was originally laid down in 1895 at the New Admiralty Yard, St Petersburg, for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. She was launched on May 12, 1896, and completed in 1898 as Admiral Graf Apraxine. Being built for duties in the confined waters of the Baltic she was classed as a coast-defence ship, and her armour and armament were inferior to that normally seen in battleships. Protection was provided by Harvey compound steel, and she was armed with 10-in (254-mm) and 6-in (152-mm) guns. In spite of her inadequacies she joined the motley collection of ships which formed the 3rd Pacific Squadron and sailed round the world from the Baltic. She was later completely annihilated by the
was
An
specified
(presumably to beat the British 'E' Class) and the hull had to be made very fine and shallow. Nevertheless displacement rapidly rose to 7100 tons. The armament of eight 6-in (152mm) guns was disposed in a weird layout of double-storeyed casemates fore and aft. To meet criticisms that this allowed a broadside of only four guns, twin 6-in turrets were added fore and aft, increasing displacement by a further 400 tons, cutting the speed by a knot, increasing the draft and necessitating a reduction of armour plating. There were two catapults and floatplanes and two sets of twin and two sets of triple torpedo tubes were provided in place of four submerged tubes. The last five ships were completed without two of their after 6-in casemated guns, but the Omaha Class were still hardly the most seaworthy cruisers in the world. They were fitted with the most powerful machinery of any light cruiser, however, and all reached 33-34 knots on trials in light condition without
any difficulty. During the 1930s the antiaircraft armament was doubled, and the twin upper-deck torpedo tubes were removed to compensate. 2043
Onega Very few modifications were carried out during the Second World War. Catapults were removed from most (though Milwaukee still had hers in 1944) and 6-10 40-mm (1.57in) and about 14 20-mm (0.79-in) AA guns were added. With their heavy tripod foremast and four slim funnels they looked particularly quaint.
The
class
saw
arduous
war
Omaha, Memphis, Milwaukee and were on the South Atlantic patrol
service.
Cincinnati in 1942-43,
but their sisters were in the Pacific. Raleigh was torpedoed at Pearl Harbor, but was refloated
aged
in
and repaired. Marhlehead was damEast Indies in February 1942
the
ABDA
while serving with the ill-fated Force. In April 1944 Milwaukee transferred to the USSR as Murmansk. The others were relegated to secondary roles as new cruisers joined the Fleet, and in 1944 Omaha, Cincinnati
and Marhlehead took part
in the land-
France. Murmansk was returned to the US for scrapping in 1949, the others having been scrapped in 1946. ings
in
southern
The former Omaha Class Displacement: 7450 tons (standard), 9150 tons (full load) Length: 169.3 m (555 ft 6 in) Beam: 16.8 m (55 ft 3 in) Draught: 6.1 m (20 ft) max Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam turbines, 90000 shp=33.75 knots Protection: 76 mm (3 in) belt, 38 (2-1 in) (1.5 in) deck, 51-25 casemates Armament: 12 (CL.6-9 and CL. 12, 10) 6-in (152-mm)/53-cal QF (2x2, 8/6x1); 4 3-in (76-mm)/50-cal AA (4x1); 2 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85in]); 10 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (2x2, 2x3); 2 floatplanes, 2 catapults Crew: 458
mm
mm
Onega Russian minelayer. The armoured cruiser Gerzog Edinburgski (Duke of Edinburgh), formerly th& Aleksandr Nevski, was built in 1870-77 and, like her sisters, was stricken in 1908 by the Tsar's decree. In 1909-1 1 she was converted to a minelayer and renamed Onega. With davits at the bow and four electric winches she could load 618 mines in three hours, and could lay them at 45-m (150f t) intervals in 1 hour 43 minutes at a speed of 9 knots. Unlike Narova she proved to be in poor shape, and after helping to lay some of the defensive minefields in 1914-15 she was paid off in October 1915. As Blokshiv No 5 (blockship) she became a mine-storage depot ship, and was in Finland in April 1918 when the Soviet government concluded an armistice with Germany. Although earmarked to be scuttled in the entrance to Kronstadt she survived the intervention and civil wars, and was scrapped some time after that.
Displacement: 4525 tons (normal) Length: 86.9 m (285 ft) wl Beam: 14.6 m (48 ft) Draught: 7.3 m (24 ft) max Machinery: 1 -shaft reciprocating steam, 4000 ihp=1 1.5 knots Protection: 152 mm (6 in) belt, 13 mm (0.5 in) deck Armament: 4 75mm (3-in) QF (4x1); 4 7-mm (0.28-in) machineguns (4x1); 618 mines Crew: 283
cruiser
in the early 1950s. As projected, this family was to include an APC, a mortar carrier and an antiaircraft SP equipment, but the army lost interest and the only vehicle to appear was a lightweight tank destroyer mounting six 106(4.2-in) recoilless (RCL) rifles, three at each side of the hull. Two of these rifles were
weight tracked vehicles originally
mm
quick-demountable and were provided with a light tripod mounting so that they could be used independently of the vehicle if necessary. All were fitted with 0.5-in (12. 7-mm) spotting rifles linked to the firing mechanism. The gunner fired the spotting rifles, loaded with special observing bullets which gave off a flash on striking their targets, and when a hit was obtained he then fired the RCLs. This system, widely used with RCL antitank guns, removes the need for expensive or sophisticated rangefinding equipment. The principal defect of Ontos was that the guns were externally mounted, and after each volley the crew had to leave the vehicle and expose themselves to enemy fire while reloading. A total of 297 equipments were
M50, entering service in 1956. In them were given a new engine and became M50A1. Ontos was used in the Dominican Republic and in Vietnam by US Marines and they were subsequently withdrawn in 1970.
built as the
1963, 294 of
Weight: 8640 kg (19050 lb) Length: 3.84 m (12 ft 7 in) Width: 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) Height: 2.13 m (7 ft) Armour thickness: 16 (0.63 in) Armament: 6 106-mm (4.2-in) RCL; 0.5-in (12.7-mm) spotting rifles; 1 0.30-in (7.62-mm) Powerplant: GMC gasoline engine, 145 bhp at 3400 rpm Speed: 48
US
self-propelled recoilless gun. Officially known as the Rifle, Multiple, Full-Tracked, M50, Ontos was used Self -Propelled, 106
mm
US Marine Corps. It began with a development of a family of light-
only by the
US Army 2044
as the Soviet
Murmansk
in
March 1949
that scheme becoming a reality. The name-ship of this class, Ooshio, was finally ordered under the 1961 Programme. She was much larger than the previous two
of
postwar
submarine types and, with the increased dimensions and displacement, tor-
pedo armament was doubled and comprehensive sonar and electronic control systems were installed. The vessels are much more seaworthy than the earlier boats and are capable of deep diving. With the doublehulled GUPPY-type design and powerful electric motors these vessels are capable of high underwater speed. The boats were refitted and modernized during the mid 1970s, the two stern 21-in (53cm) torpedo tubes being removed and the boats fitted with two 12.7-in (32-cm) A/S torpedoes in swim-out tubes. Displacement: 1650 tons (Ooshio, 1600 tons), m (288 ft 9 in) Beam: 8.2 m (27 ft) Draught: 4.7 m (1 5 ft 5 in) Machinery: 2shaft Kawasaki-MAN diesels/2 electric motors, 2300 bhp/6300 hp=14/18 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 8 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern) Crew: 80 (standard) Length: 88
No and name
completed
SS 561 Ooshio
4/65
SS 562 Asashio
10/66
SS 563 Harushio
12/67
SS 564 Michishio
9/68
SS 565 Arashio
7/69
mm
km/h
(30
mph) Range: 240 km (150
miles)
Crew: 3
Ooshio May
1959 Japan
notified her intention of designing
and build-
Japanese submarine class. In
Ontos
USS Milwaukee
ing her third class of postwar submarines, comprising two boats. At the same time the director of the Japanese Defence Agency stated that Japan was studying the possibility of building a nuclear-powered submarine, though there has been no subsequent sign
Ootori Japanese torpedo boat class. The 16 vessels planned as Tomodzuru type torpedo boats were extensively redesigned following the loss of
Tomodzuru
in
March
1934.
Tomod-
zuru 's performance had suffered when she was reconstructed in an attempt to improve her stability, and an intensive effort was
Oquendo made in the new design to achieve both good performance and satisfactory stability. The major factor affecting the performance
Tomodzuru was the increased displacement resulting from too heavy an armament being fitted on a small hull this poor pracof
—
contributing to the excessive topweight and resultant instability. The design was therefore recast with dimensions (269 ft) overall length to increased from 82 88.4 (290 ft) with corresponding increase in (27 ft). This (24 ft) to 8.2 beam from 7.3 enabled the designers to fit the vessels with a triple torpedo-tube mount instead of the twin mount of Tomodzuru, and also to retain the three 4.7-in (120-mm) guns in a twin mount in A position and a single mount forward of the after shelter deck. The gun mountings were improved, new shields were fitted and the elevation was increased to 55°. More powerful turbines were fitted, the power being increased to 19000 shp (compared with 1 1 000 shp in Tomodzuru) to give a maximum speed of over 30 kn ts. Bunkerage was also increased, raising the radius of action by 1600 km (1000 miles) to 6450 km (4000 miles) at 10 knots. Only eight of the 16 planned ships were completed, the remainder being cancelled to provide funds for the construction of submarine chasers.
further
three boats, Tangka, Smeroe and Wajang, were built to the same design at the Fijenoord yard. During their careers the 1pdr (37-mm [1.46-in]) guns were replaced by 50-mm (1.97-in) 2-pdrs. All six ships were scrapped in the 1920s.
the vibration which occurred at high speeds, nor to the stresses of salvoes fired from her own guns. Her war service was restricted to use as a floating battery in defence of Leningrad, and she was scrapped soon after the end of the Second World War.
Displacement: 130 tons (normal) Length: 46.5 (152 ft 6 in) pp Beam: 4.6 m (15 ft 3 in) Draught: 2.4 m (7 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 1900 ihp=25 knots Armament: 2 1-pdr QF (2x1); 3 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (1 bow, 2 deck) Crew: 36
Displacement: 1670 tons (standard), 1870 tons load) Length: 118 m (387 ft 2 in) oa Beam: 11.6 m (38 ft 1 in) Draught: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft steam turbines, 70000 shp=42 knots Armament: 3 130-mm (5.1-in) (3x1); 4 45-mm (1.77-in) AA (4x1); 3 37-mm (1.46-in) AA (3x1); 8 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (2x4); 60 mines Crew: 197-212
to
tice also
m
m
m
m
Hato,
Hiyodori
—
built
by
Ishikawajima,
Tokyo Hayabusa
— — — — by Tama, Okajima Ootori— by Maizuru navy yard Sagi— by Harima
built by Yokohama docks Kari built by Mitsubishi, Yokohama Kasasagi built by Osaka
Kiji
built
built
built
The boats entered service during
1936-37.
During the war they were extensively used as escorts, and the after 4.7-in gun was removed and depth-charge stowage increased, a maximum of 48 being carried. Light AA was also increased. The 40-mm (1.57-in) gun which had proved unsatisfactory in service was removed, and three twin and five single 25mm (1-in) A A mounts added. Only Kiji survived the war, being handed over to the USSR in 1947. The following were sunk by aircraft: Hato (October 16, 1944), Hayabusa (September 24, 1944) and Ootori (June 12, 1944). The remainder were all sunk by US submarines: Hiyodori (by Gunnel, on November 17, 1944), Kari (by Baya, on July 16, 1945), Kasasagi (by Bluefish, on September 26, 1943) and Sagi (by Gunnel, on November 8, 1944).
m
Opitny Soviet destroyer, built 1936-41. Opitny was constructed as an experimental vessel with a view to producing an indigenous class of high-speed destroyers. Vessels of this type were a constant Soviet obsession because of the enclosed waters in which their two major fleets were expected to operate. She was the first Soviet destroyer designed and built without foreign assistance. Laid down at Zholanov, Leningrad, in 1936, she was launched in 1938 and commissioned in 1941. She carried only three single 130-mm (5. 1-in) guns, compared with four on the contemporary Italian-designed Gnevny Class, B mounting being suppressed for better seakeeping at the high speeds envisaged. The torpedo armament was increased from six to eight, in two banks of four, underlining the hit-andrun role for which Opitny was designed. The armament consisted of four single 45-mm
AA
and three single 37-mm (1.46-in). Rails for a maximum of 60 mines ran on either side of the ship from abreast the forward bank of torpedo tubes to the stern. Opitny's turbines produced 70000 shp (compared with 48000 shp for Gnevny), and unlike the latter she had the unit arrangement of machinery adopted by the Silny Class. The forefunnel was thinner than the second fun(1.77-in)
one boiler room forward and Opitny reportedly exceeded her
nel, indicating
two
aft.
designed speed, attaining 4 1.6 knots on
was
The
lightly built hull
The
Soviet destroyer Opitny
not,
trials.
however, equal
(full
Oquendo Spanish destroyer. By 1944, Spain had recovered sufficiently from the effects of the Civil War of 1936-39 to consider building a new class of large destroyer. The original design for this was based on that of the German Z23
Class, but the Spanish economy was still very weak, and orders for nine ships of this type were not placed until 1947-48, by which time the design had been altered to take advantage of the latest developments in AA and A/S warfare. In this form, the armament was to have consisted of eight I05-mm (4.1in) guns in four twin turrets, six twin 37-mm (1.46-in) and four single 20-mm (0.79-in) AA mounts, and two twin and one triple torpedotube mounting. Only one ship (Oquendo) was completed to anything like this design. Six (Bias de Lezo, Blasco de Garay, Bonifaz, Gelmirez, Langara and Recalde) were cancelled m 1953 without even being laid down, and two (Roger de Lauria and Marques de la Ensenada) had their hulls widened and lengthened and were finally commissioned in 1969 and 1970 respectively to a completely recast design. Even Oquendo was modified considerably during construction, and on April 22, 1963, only two and a half years after completion, she was taken in hand once again to have modern radar and fire control fitted. When she completed this refit on
on the Neva during the
siege of
Leningrad
in the winter of
1942
Displacement: 1040 tons (full load) Length: 88.5 (290 ft 4 in) Beam: 8.2 m (26 ft 1 1 in) Draught: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft geared Kanpon turbines, 19000 shp =30.5 knots Armament: 3 4.7'-in (120-mm); 1 40-mm (1.57-in); 3 21in (53-cm) torpedo tubes Crew: 113
m
Ophir Dutch torpedo boat class, built 1900-02. Three 1st Class torpedo boats, Ophir, Pangrango, and Rindjani, were ordered from Yarrow's yard at Poplar on the River Thames. They were basically similar to the equivalent boats serving with the Royal Navy, but were slightly larger. In 1903-04 a 2045
Oregon December
City
22. 1^64, she differed
very consid-
from the original design. She was armed with two twin 120-mm (4.7-in) Spanish-built NG 53 mounts, one forward and one aft. six single 40-mm (1.47-in) AA guns, two triple racks for Mk 32 torpedoes and two Hedgehog A/S weapons. She has three boilers and two Rateau-Bretagne geared turbines. The original designed speed was 38 knots, but the modifications meant that she could only achieve 32.9 knots on trials. 659 tons of oil gave a range of 8000 km erably
(5000 miles) at 15 knots.
Oquendo was built at She was ordered
Ferrol.
the
Bazan yard
in 1947, laid
at
down
on June 15, 1951. launched on September 5, 1956. and completed on September 13, 1960. Displacement: 2342 tons (standard), 3005 tons (full load) Z.engf/7:116.4m(382ff) Beam: 11.1 m (36 ft 5 in) Draught: 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft geared steam turbines, 60000 shp=32.4 knots Armament: 4 4.7-in (120-mm); 6 40-mm (1.57-in); 6 Mk 32 torpedo launchers; 2 Hedgehog A/S launchers Crew: 250
Oregon City US
heavy cruiser class. Designed during the Second World War as successors to the Baltimore Class, eight ships were ordered from Bethlehem, Quincy. By the end of the war only three had been launched: Oregon City (CA.122) on April 9, 1945, Albany (CA. 123) on June 30, and Rochester(CA. 124) on August 28. All three were completed during the following year. Cambridge, Bridgeport, Kansas City and Tulsa were all cancelled, and work on Northampton was suspended until 1948 when she was earmarked to undergo conversion to a command cruiser.
The hull was that of the Baltimore Class, but the superstructure was significantly modified, the slim twin funnels of the earlier ships being replaced by a large single funnel. This had the effect of compressing the superstructure, with a consequent improvement in the AA arcs. The bridge was further aft, enabling the forward high-angle gunnery director to be mounted before it at a lower level, instead of above it as in the Baltimore Class. Layout of the three triple 8-in (203-mm) turrets and the
(127-mm) mountings was and the light AA guns were similarly disposed. Three quadruple 40-mm (1 .57-in) mountings were located in tubs on either side of the funnel, with two mountings abreast B turret and two abreast the after 5-in mounting, a further mounting forward of A turret and one above the stern to starboard of the aircraft crane. Between 20 and 24 20-mm (0.79-in) guns were also carried. The armament of Oregon City remained unchanged until she decommissioned during the 1950s, as did that of Albany until her conversion to a missile cruiser (CG) in 1959. Rochester had all but the two centre 40-mm mountings replaced by twin 3-in (76-mm)/50cal weapons, and had her 20-mm AA removed. The four aircraft originally carried were replaced by a helicopter, and she had her electronics updated in the 1950s. Followtwin
six
5-in
Displacement: 13 260 tons (standard), 17 070 (full load) Length: 205 m (672 ft 6 in) oa Beam: 21 m (69 ft) Draught: 7.5 m (24 ft 6 in) Machinery: 4-shaft steam turbines, 120000 shp=32 knots Protection: 152 mm (6 in) side, 76-51 mm (3-2 in) decks Armament: 9 8-in (203mm) (3x3); 12 5-in (127-mm) DP (5x2); 48-52 40mm (1.57-in) AA (12-13x4); 20-24 20-mm (0.79in); 4 aircraft Crew: 1142 (1969 wartime) tons
Orlanl destroyer class, built 1935-37. More correctly termed the Alfredo Oriani Class, these four ships were improved versions of the Maestrale Class, with virtually the same machinery and hull but heavier armament. Alfredo Oriani, Vincenzo Gioberti, Giosue Carducci and Vittorio Alfieriwere all Italian
AA
by Odero-Terni-Orlando and were commissioned in 1937; they had recognition let-
built
Orenco
D, Curtiss
US Army
fighter aircraft.
unequal-span biplane, with a fixed undercarriage and 300-
hp Wright-built Hispano
H
engine, driving a two-blade propeller, the Orenco D design appeared originally from the US Army Engineering Division in prototype form in January 1919. It was the first indigenous single-seat fighter to be built in the US, and was manufactured the Ordnance by
company (Orenco) at Long The design was conventional enough in appearance, and showed considerable promise, although it was too late to take part in any combat in the First World War. Four prototypes were tested by the US Army and a production order for 50 was put out to tender for cost estimates. This was eventually given to the Curtiss company, who had already had some experience of manufacturing similar Engineering
Island.
having built and assembled British S.E.5As under licence during the latter war years. The Curtiss company decided to install the Wright-Hispano 330-hp powerplant, and gave the machine an increased wing span and
aircraft,
area. Armament consisted of one 0.30-in (7.62-mm) and one 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machinegun, installed beneath the upper engine deckPayload and gross weight were ing. increased, with a consequent reduction in service ceiling and speed. Its endurance of 2.5 hours was maintained, but the amount of fuel carried was reduced to 242 litres (53 Imp gal). Although not the most successful airit did help to give the a grounding in the sort of work which, in the future, was to help in the manufacture of some of the best-known and respected fighters in the world.
craft of the time,
Curtiss
OA, GB, CD, and AF
ters
An
company
Span: 10.06 m (33 ft) Length: 6.54 m Gross weight: 1279 kg (2820 lb) speed: 225 km/h (140 mph)
(21
ft
5
in)
Maximum
Vittorio
A Ifieri and
respectively.
Giosue Carducci were
sunk by the gunfire of the British Mediterranean Fleet during the disastrous Battle of
Cape Matapan while
trying to rescue the survivors of the heavy cruiser Pola. Vincenzo Gioberti was torpedoed by Submarine Simoon while proceeding from La Spezia to Genoa on August 9, 1943. Alfredo Oriani survived the war, but was ceded to France as reparations in 1948 and became d'Estaing. She was stricken in 1954.
HM
Displacement: 1685 tonnes (standard), 2290 tonnes (full load) Length: 106.74 m (350 ft 2 in) oa Beam;10.15m(33ft4in) Draught:3A2m (11 ft 3 in) Afac/7/nery; 2-shaft geared steam turbines, 48000 shp=39 knots Armament: 4 120-mm (4.7in)/50-cal (2x2); 1 120-mm/15-cal starshell howitzer (in
cal
AA
some ships only); 2 37-mm (1.46-in)/54(2x1); 8 or 12 20-mm (0.79-in) AA (4 or
6x2); 6 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (2x3) Crew: 205-207
Oribi British destroyer class. In 1938 the Admiralty
began formulating the requirements for an 'intermediate type' destroyer intended for general Fleet work and to replace the older Royal Navy destroyers, which were nearing the end of their useful lives. The intention was to produce vessels which were smaller, cheaper and less sophisticated than the large Fleet destroyers which had been under construction since the advent of the TribalC\ass, but larger and more battleworthy than the Hunt Class escort destroyers recently laid down: hence the term 'intermediate type'. It was decided that the general lines of the earlier 'A' to Class destroyers would meet these requirements, and the design finally approved in May 1939 was similar to these
T
unchanged,
ing
the
abandonment of plans to convert CG she was decommissioned
Rochester to a in
1961.
See also Baltimore, Northampton
2046
The
Italian destroyer
Vincenzo Gioberti, sunk by
HM
Submarine Simoon
in
August 1943
Oribi
The new vessels were to have the same armament, a slightly larger hull, and improved machinery with two boilers instead of three. They had a more modern appearvessels.
ance, with a single funnel instead of two, a raked stem and a streamlined bridge. The first destroyers to this design, the Oribi or 'O' Class, were ordered on the outbreak of
war on September
A
second class, the Paladin or 'P' Class, were ordered a few weeks later on October 20. The 16 vessels of these two groups were laid down in 1940, and were subsequently launched and completed 3,
1939.
during 1941-42. ships were subject to several alteraarmament prior to completion. Early in 1940 it was decided to rearm six of the 'P' Class and two of the 'O' Class as destroyers, their 4.7-in (I20-mm) guns being guns. Later replaced by 4-in (102-mm) the two 'O' Class ships exchanged names with the two 4.7-in gunned P's to provide a vessels. Jn mid 1940 it uniform class of was decided to replace the after bank of gun in all 16 torpedo tubes with a 4-in vessels, but the tubes were reinstated prior to completion in Petard, Pathfinder and Onslow and the four 'O' Class minelayers. These and latter, Opportune, Orwell, Obdurate Obedient, were fitted for rapid conversion to minelayers and like the 'P' Class had 4-in guns instead of the 4.7-in. When fitted for minelaying, they landed their torpedo tubes and 4-in gun mounting to compensate for the added weight of 50-60 mines. armament was also The close-range subject to several changes, and while all completed with the four-barrel pom-pom mounting only a few mounted an 0.5-in (12.7-
The
tions of
AA
AA
AA
AA
December 1942. This action took place when German cruiser Hipper and armoured
the ship
Lutzow, together with six destroyers, attempted to attack a Soviet convoy and were held off by the escort vessels under the command of Captain Sherbrooke in Onslow.
The German force was eventually driven by the
off
British covering force after causing
comparatively minor damage to the escort. Captain Sherbrooke, who was wounded, was
awarded the VC for his part in the Battle. The 'P' Class went to the Mediterranean, where A A vessels were badly needed. Like their sister class they were very active, and were employed extensively on convoy escort work. However the Mediterranean proved a much more dangerous area and four of the 'P' Class were lost or damaged beyond repair while the 'O' Class had no war losses. The first to go was Porcupine, which was torpedoed on December 9, 1942, by the German submarine V 602 while on passage to Oran. She finished her journey under tow and was later cut in two and towed home for repair, but was subsequently declared a total loss. The two parts were christened Pork and Pine and employed as harbour hulks until 1947 when they were sold for scrapping. A few days later, on December 18, Partridge was torpedoed and sunk off Oran by U 565. On April 16, 1943, Paladin and Pakenhamfougfrt a short engagement with the Italian torpedo
boats Cigno and Cassiopea. Pakenham sank Cignobut was herself so badly damaged that she had to be taken in tow by Paladin. On the following day they were still within easy reach of enemy airfields so Paladin took off the crew of her sister ship and sank her with a torpedo. The last loss in the Mediterranean
was Panther which was bombed and sunk by aircraft in the Scarpanto Strait on
German
October
9,
1943.
The four surviving Eastern Fleet class
was
to
in 1944,
become
ships transferred to the where one more of the
a total loss.
On February
bombed and heavily damaged by Japanese aircraft. She was later towed home and used as a target for aircraft 1
1,
1945, Pathfinderwas
until sold for
scrapping
in
1948.
1946 Oribi was sold to Turkey and renamed Gayret, and in 1949 Onslow, Offa and Onslaught were transferred to Pakistan and renamed Tippa Sultan, Tariq and Tughril respectively. Penn was sold for scrapping in 1950 and Opportune in 1955. During 1952-56 Orwell, Petard and Paladin In
were converted to Type 16 (limited conversion) fast A/S frigates. This involved the removal of the original gun armament and the fitting of a twin 4-in HA/LA gun in B position, two Squid A/S mortars in X position and a twin 40-mm AA mounting amidships. The after bank of torpedo tubes was retained, but that forward was replaced by a deckhouse. In
Y
AA
mm) AA gun armament. Most 20-mm
completed
AA
(4x1), the earlier units being brought up to this standard when their 0.5-in were removed, and during 1943-44 the surviving units had two of these replaced by twin 20-mm mountings. Petard was given a major refit at Portsmouth in 1944 and was completely rearmed with four 4-in (4x1, HA/LA (2x2), and eight 20-mm 2x2). The 'O' Class served with the Home Fleet throughout the war, and were employed extensively in Arctic waters particularly on the Soviet convoys. The most famous ship of the class was Onslow which, together with Obedient, Orwell, Obdurate and Oribi took part in the Battle of the Barents Sea in
with four
(0.79-in)
AA
Above: The destroyer HMS Oribi, which survived the war and was sold to Turkey and renamed Gayret. Below: HMS Opportune, which was fitted for minelaying and could carry 50-60 mines
2047
Orion
-
1957 Paladin was fitted for minelaying and remaining had the torpedo mounting removed. During 1957-59 Tippu Sultan and Tughril were also given the Type 16 conversion, but differed from the earlier vessels in
amidships between the after superstructure and the funnel. This layout became standard
carrying three extra single 40-mm. The third Pakistani vessel, Tariq, was returned to Britain in 1959 and sold for scrap. She was followed by most of the remainder of the class, including the Type 16 conversions and the Turkish Gayret, during 1962-65 but Tippu Sultan and Tughril remained in service in the late 1970s in subsidiary roles.
not however repeated. The foremast was again positioned abaft the forefunnel where the foretop was liable to suffer smoke interference. This arrangement was adopted largely because the mast served as a derrick post for the ships' boats, which were stowed in a well between the funnels; in later ships a separated derrick post was provided. The bridge was, for the first time in a British Dreadnought, moved aft to clear the conning tower, thus avoiding the possibility of damage from falling wreckage during an engagement, but as space was limited the bridge had to be constructed around the forefunnel resulting in a cramped structure with little
—
Obdurate, Obedient built by Denny Offa. Onslaught, Oribi built by Fairfield
Onslow
—
—built by John Brown —built by Thornycroft
Opportune, Orwell
Pakenham, Pathfinder Leslie
—
—built by Hawthorn
for Britain's 13.5-in Dreadnoughts of which two more classes, the King George and Iron Duke, were to be built. One feature was
V
scope for improvement.
Paladin built by John Brown Panther, Partridge built by Fairfield Penn, Petard, Porcupine built by Vickers-Armstrongs
—
The tially
—
tion.
level of protection differed substan-
from
The
earlier classes only in side protec-
main
belts
were
mm
mm
Orion The Orion class of 1909 Programme, represented the first major advance in British Dreadnought design since Dreadnought herself was completed in 1906. Their principal improvements over earlier ships were the adoption of 13.5-in (343mm) guns, in place of the 12-in (305-mm), the mounting of the entire main armament on the centreline and the general thickening and deepening of the side armour. All these British battleship class.
the
to
top-
weight, requiring an increased beam to maintain stability, while improving their defence against underwater attack. The length also had to be increased to accommodate the five centreline turrets. This resulted in a 2500-ton increase in displacement over the Hercules Class, the raising of the nominal engine power by 2000 shp to maintain the same design speed of 21 knots, and a substantial increase in offensive and defensive qualities. The 13.5-in gun was introduced because the 12-in gun, which had been the standard British battleship weapon since 1893, had reached the limit of its power with the highvelocity 50-cal Mk XI firing a 385-kg (850-lb) shell which had not been a particularly sue cessful gun. In the 13.5-in Mk V, shell weight was raised to 565 kg (1250 lb) giving greater penetrating power and destructive effect, while muzzle velocity was reduced to extend barrel life and increase accuracy. This combination of high shell weight and low muzzle velocity proved so successful that the weight of the 13.5-in shell was increased to 635 kg (1400 lb) in later ships. The low velocity did reduce the range, however, and in order to
compensate for this the mountings provided 20° elevation compared with 15° in the 12-in. The 13.5-in turrets were placed in superfiring positions fore and aft with the fifth turret 2048
upper
mm
Displacement: 1610 tons (standard), 2220 tons (full load) Length: 105.2 (345 ft) oa eeam;10.7m (35 ft) Draught: 2.7 m (9 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft geared steam turbines, 40000 shp=36 knots Armament: A 4.7-in (120-mm) (4x1); 4 2-pdr AA (1 x4); 8 0.5-in (12.7-mm) AA (2x4); 8 21-in (53cm) torpedo tubes (2x4) Crew: 176
improvements added substantially
and
increased in thickness by 25 (1 in) to 305 (12 in) and 229 (9 in) respectively while the depth was increased by the addition of a 203-mm (8-in) strake between the 229armour and the upper deck.
mm
by Portsmouth dockyard) was laid down in 1909, launched in 1910 and completed in 1912. Her three sisters, Conqueror (built by Beardmore), Monarch (built by Armstrongs) and Thunderer (built by Thames Iron Works, and the last battleship to be built on the Thames), were laid down in 1910, launched in 1911 and completed in 1912. They served with the 2nd Battle Squadron, first with the Home Fleet and then, during 1914-18, with the Grand Fleet. All four were present at the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrak) in 1916. In 1911 Thunderer became the Orion
to have been ordered from the Germania yard at Kiel. Like most of her contemporaries, she had a single raked funnel and a turtleback forecastle, but she could be distinguished by having her foremast immediately abaft the funnel and the mainmast set well aft, and by having her forward conning tower almost completely within the turtleback, with the after one completely above deck aft. She had two fixed torpedo tubes under the turtleback forward, and one 37-mm ( .46-in) Hotchkiss QF gun abreast the funnel to starboard, with another on the roof of the aft conning tower. The
first
1
2000-candlepower searchlight was mounted midway between the masts. Orion had a steel hull, and was powered by a three-cylinder vertical
The
compound
engine.
had a working pressure of 210 psi. At normal displacement she carried 12 tons of coal, but had a maximum bunker capacity of 16 tons, giving an endurance of 563 km (350 miles) at full speed and 3900 km (2420 miles) at 10 knots. She was too small and unseaworthy to be used for anything more than local defence, and like most of her contemporaries she spent most of her career in harbour. She was cylindrical locomotive boiler
not finally discarded until 1916.
(built
second battleship to be fitted with a director (on a platform below the foretop) and all her sisters were similarly fitted by 1915. Wartime alterations included the addition of two guns, an aircraft platform on B turret (also on
AA
X
turret in Thunderer) searchlight towers on the after funnel and enlarged bridgework and foretop. Orion and Conqueror were sold for scrap in 1922. Monarch was used as a target on January 20, 1925, and after a full day of bombardment by aircraft and ships had to be sunk with deliberate close-range fire by the battleship Revenge. Thunderer served as a training ship for cadets from 1922 until sold
for scrapping in 1926.
Displacement: 22 200 tons (load), 25 900 tons load) Length: 177.1 m (581 ft) oa Beam:27 m (88 ft 6 in) Draught: 8.4 m (27 ft 6 in) Machinery: 4-shaft direct-drive turbines, 27 000 shp=21 knots Protection: 305-203 mm (12-8 in) sides, 280 mm (11 in) turrets, 254 mm (10 in) barbettes, 102-25 mm (4-1 in) decks Armament: 10 13.5-in (343-mm) (5x2); 16 4-in (102-mm) (16x1); 3 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (submerged) Crew: 750 (full
Orion Spanish torpedo boat. In the 1880s the Spanish navy bought a number of torpedo boats from the major foreign builders to keep abreast of the latest developments in this type of craft. Orion, built
in
1885,
was
the
Displacement: 88 tons Length: 38 m (124 ft 8 in) Beam: 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) Draught: 2 m (6 ft 7 in) Machinery: 1 -shaft vertical triple-expansion, 1000 ihp=21 knots Armament: 2 37-mm (1 .46in); 2 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes Crew: 15
Orion,
US
Lockheed P-3 ASW
maritime patrol and
aircraft. In 1958 Lockheed Aircraft won a US Navy competition for an 'off the shelf aircraft, basing its submission on the commercial Electra airliner. On August 19, 1958, Lockheed-California flew an aerodynamic prototype, a modified Electra with shape broadly resembling that of the proposed Model 85 Orion, which at that time was designated P3V-1. The first true YP3V-1 with electronics and other systems installed flew in November 1959, and the first production Orion flew in April 1961. By this time the designation had been changed to P-3. The initial version, the P-3A, was powered by four Allison T56-A-10W turboprops each rated at 4500 ehp with water/alcohol injec-
ASW
The crew occupy comfortable accommodation in the fuselage. There is normally a flight crew of five, plus a tactical crew of five who handle the sonic, magnetic and electronic systems from a tactical compartment. inertial ASN-42 Equipment includes tion.
navigator, APN-153 Doppler, APS-80 radar, AQA-7 Difar acoustic processor, ASQ-10A in the long 'stinger' behind the tail, a searchlight under the starboard wing, and a wide range of Elint (electronic intelligence), (electronic countermeasures), com-
MAD ECM
munications and recording equipment. Armament can include eight A/S torpedoes or various loads of conventional and/or nuclear depth bombs or mines in the internal weapon bay, and a wide range of mines, torpedoes or missiles
on ten underwing pylons.
Maximum
weapon load can be 5450 kg (12000 lb) weapons under the wings and 3290 kg
total
of (7250 lb) internally. Deliveries to the US
Navy began
in
August
Orione 1962, serving mainly as a replacement for the P-2 Neptune. From the 110th aircraft the Deltic system was fitted; it included more devices and improved tactical sensitive display equipment. Three of the Deltic P-3A
ASW
Orions were bought by the Spanish air force. The WP-3A is a weather reconnaissance version which has replaced the WC-121N Constellation missions.
in
long-range
meteorological
New
A-NEW ASW
the sensors,
NEW
The 4910-ehp T56-A-14 engine was introduced on the P-3B, supplied to the US Navy and to
models but incorporates system with totally new equipment and displays, all linked to the Univac ASQ-114 digital computer. The list of navigation, communications, ASWsensing, display and recording systems run to at least 54 items, nearly all of which are of later design than corresponding equipment in the P-3B. According to Lockheed the Asystem "eliminates log-keeping and increases crew effectiveness by allowing similar to the earlier
Zealand, Australia and
Norway
order. Equipment was at first similar aircraft have to that of the A, but the Marconi-Elliott acoustic processing and display, and the US Navy aircraft were modified to carry and fire the Bullpup air-to-surface in that
RAAF
guided missile. In 1976 Lear Siegler collaborated in developing an update kit with Omega navigation controllers and displays. These introduced progressively from kits were 1977. A total of 286 A and B models were supplied to the US Navy. By far the largest advance, the result of a ten-year research effort, was the P-3C which in September 1968. This looks first flew
them sufficient time to consider all tactical data and devise the best action to resolve problems". The P-3C became operational in 1969, and by late 1978 over 170 had entered service.
In 1975 deliveries switched to an improved P-3C Update with a new computer language and magnetic drum giving seven times the memory capacity, improved acoustic processing, a tactical display for two of the sensor stations, and improved tape transport. All current US production has Update equipment, and eight Update aircraft were also
delivered
to
the
RAAF.
In
1977
further
changes led to Update II, with FLIR (forward-looking infrared), a sonobuoy reference
system, and provision for carrying and launching the AGM-84A Harpoon missile
when this becomes available. From 1979 further improvements in the Update III programme are scheduled to be introduced to production aircraft; these mainly concern new electronics. Most of the Update I and II modifications have been retrofitted to existing P-3C Orions. A totally different basic Orion was developed at considerable cost for the Canadian armed forces after a prolonged evaluation of
ASW
competing
aircraft. Designated CP-140 Aurora, this in some respects resembles a P3C Update, but is fitted with the ASW sensor and other tactical systems of the Lockheed S-
3A Viking, including APS-116 radar, OR-89 FLIR and the Univac 1832A processor. With a flight crew of five plus a tactical crew of six, the Aurora is totally unlike an Orion in most mission equipment. The Canadians consider that the Aurora is in advance of all other Orion versions. Canada selected the aircraft in 1976 and the first of 18 is to enter service in 1980.
There are several special-purpose Orion versions.
The RP-3D
is
a single
US Navy
by the Navy Oceanographic Office for detailed mapping of the terrestrial magnetic field and other basic research. The two WP-3Ds are research aircraft used by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The 12 EP-3E Orions are rebuilds of A and B models for multisensor aircraft operated
A
P-3 Orion with a
US Navy
submarine. The P-3 carries A/S torpedoes and
ASW
sensors
electronic warfare.
They
are distinguishable
by their prominent 'canoe radars' above and below the fuselage, and the additional broad radome just ahead of the wing. These are serving with US Navy squadrons VQ-1 and -2. The P-3F force of six aircraft was built for the Iranian air force, and are configured for multirole duties over land and sea. Total deliveries by late 1978 amounted to about 470 Orions of
all
types.
US Navy
P-2 Neptune units have now been replaced, and P-3 production for that service is running at about 12 annually, costing some $340 million. Apart from various proposed 'P-3X' advanced versions the main future programme involves joint US/Japanese production of 45 Update II aircraft for the Japan Maritime Self -Defence All
Force.
Span: 30.38 m (99 ft 8 in) Length: 35.61 m (1 16 ft in) Gross weight: 64410 kg (142000 lb) Maximum speed: 761 km/h (473 mph)
10
Orione torpedo boat class, built 1905-07. Four small torpedo boats were laid down in 1905 at the Odero shipyard, Sestri Ponente near Genoa. Named Orione, Orsa, Olimpia and Orfeo, they were unusual in appearance, with a clipper bow and two funnels set close together amidships. During the First World War the original armament was replaced by a 3-in (76-mm) gun and a 13.2-mm gun forward, a 3-in (0.5-in) machine-gun, with the after torpedo tube suppressed. All four served in the 1st Torpedo Boat Division in Libyan waters during the war, escorting convoys between North Africa, Malta and the Italian mainland. On the night of December 10, 1917, Orfeo was damaged in collision with the merchant Italian
AA
2049
Orllca
ship Cogttari but
made
discarded between being Orfeo.
port. All four
1920-23,
the
last
were go
to
Name
launched
Kockums, Mai mo
4/1898
Klas Horn
Sddra Varvet, Stockholm
1898
Klas Uggla
Bergsund Mek, Stockholm
12/1899
Lindholmen, Goteborg
8/1896
Bergsund Mek, Stockholm
11/1899
Jakob Bagge 220 tonnes (normal) Length: 52.65 m (172 ft 9 in) oa Beam: 6 m (19 ft 8 in) Draught: 1.53 m (5 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 3000 ihp = 25 knots Armament:^ 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in])'53-cal (3x1); 3 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (3x1) Crew: 38
builder
Displacement:
Ornen Psilander
Orllca Russian seaplane carrier. Built in 1903 as a merchant ship and converted in 1915 for service with the Baltic Fleet, Orlica's seaplanes were in action in September 1915, when Russian forces bombarded German shore positions between Lazup and Ragotsem. In October she operated once more with the battleship Slava, covering a landing in the Gulf of Riga. She was active in July 1916, when her planes spotted for the bombarding ships during operations around Riga, but does not appear to have seen any further action before the October Revolution. She was laid up and stricken in 1918.
Tonnage: 3800
(grt)
Dimensions and machinery:
not known Armament: 8 75-mm (2.95-in) AA (8x1) Aircraft: 4 seaplanes Crew: not known
Ornen Swedish torpedo gunboat class, built 1896-99. Three boats were ordered in 1896 as part of a large programme to modernize the Swedish fleet. They were similar to the torpedo gunboats built in Britain earlier, and resembled miniature cruisers rather than torpedo craft, with 120-mm (4.7-in) guns fore and aft and 57-mm (2.24-in) guns amidships. Unlike other torpedo craft in foreign navies the torpedo armament was a single submerged bow tube. A second group of two vessels was started two years later and launched in 1899, with
more beam to improve stability. With natural draught Psilander made 19 knots on trials with nearly 3000 ihp, but reached 20.5 knots with 4000 ihp at forced
slightly
draught. In 1905 Ornen
was sent to Riga to protect citizens during the Russian uprising, while Psilander was sent to St Petersburg for Swedish
same purpose. Klas Uggla ran aground June 22, 1917, in the Harnosand Archipelago, south of Ulvo in the northern part of Sweden. Though badly damaged, she was refloated but finally sank in a storm on August 26. Klas Horn was stationed at Stockholm between 1898-1924 and was then discarded, but the other three were used as depot ships in the 1920s. Psilander was discarded in 1936; Ornen and Jakob Bagge were the
on
not stricken until June 1947.
Displacement: 800 tons (normal) Length: 67.7 (222 ft) (2nd group, 70.7 m [232 ft]) wl Beam: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) (2nd group, 8.3 m [27 ft 4 in]) Draught: 3-3.1 m (9 ft 10 in-10 ft 2 in) (2nd group, 2.7-3 m [8 ft 10 in-9 ft 10 in]) Machinery: 2-shaft triple-expansion, 4000 ihp= 19-20 knots Protection: 76 (3 in) deck, 51 mm (2 in) conning tower Armament: 2 120-mm (4.7-in)/45cal (2x1); 4 57-mm (2.24-in) (4x1); 1 38-cm (15in) torpedo tube (submerged) (removed from Klas Horn and Psilander) Crew: 99
m
mm
2050
Above: The Swedish torpedo gunboat Psilander in 1924. Despite their designation the Ornen Class were well armed with 120-mm (4.7-in) and 47-mm (2.24-in) guns but had only one torpedo tube in the bow. The Psilander was sent to St Petersburg in 1905 to protect Swedish nationals during the Russian uprising. Below: Ornen at anchor in a dead calm. She was launched in 1896 and stricken in 1947. Like Psilander she protected Swedish citizens in 1905 at Riga
Osprey, Hawker
Orsa destroyer class, built 1936-38. Four small destroyers (avisi scorti) were ordered in 1935: Orione and Orsa from Cantieri Navali Riuniti, Palermo, and Pegaso and Procione from Bacini e Scali Napoletani, Naples. They were all completed in spring 1938, and were given recognition letters ON, OS, PG and PC respectively. Two became war casualties when Procione was scuttled in La Spezia, and Pegaso in Pollensa Bay, Majorca, on the Italian armisItalian escort
September 1943. The survivors were retained by the Italian navy under the peace treaty of 1948, and were rebuilt in 1953-55 as tice in
(navi scorti costiere), with pendant numbers F.558 (Orsa) and F.559 (Orione). The forward 100-mm (3.9-in) gun was replaced by a twin 40-mm (1.57-in) Bofors mounting and a Hedgehog A/S spigot mortar. Air-warning radar was added at the masthead and the forecastle was extended
Displacement: 1168 tonnes (standard), 1699 tonnes (full load) Length: 89.25 m (292 ft 10 in) Beam: 9.46 m (31 ft) Draught: 2.93 m (9 ft 7 in) mean Machinery: 2-shaft geared steam turbines, 16000 shp=28 knots Armament: 2 100mm (3.9-in)/47-cal (2x1); 4 13.2-mm (0.52-in) machine-guns (4x1); 20 mines Crew: 168
OS2U, Vought US Navy observation
air-
See Kingfisher
craft
Oscar Allied codename for Nakajima K.i-43 Japanese fighter aircraft See Ki-43
the greater length it was possible to mount four pairs of 152-mm (6-in) guns in turrets, but the main belt was made thinner to offset the topweight. She was built by Lindholmens Verkstad, Gothenburg, and reached nearly 19
knots on
still
Osa Soviet FPB Class
See Stenka
trials.
The Oscar den Andre, as she was known, was rebuilt in 1939. The two submerged torpedo tubes were removed and four 57-mm (2.24-in) and two 25-mm (1-in) AA guns were added. In 1950 she was stricken, but after being stripped of armament and fittings the hulk was acquired by the Berga Naval School for use in damage-control training. She was afloat
in
1966,
but
has
since
been
scrapped.
coastal escorts
abreast of the funnel. stricken in 1964-65.
The
Italian
The two
ships were
Oscar
II
Swedish coast-defence ship, built 1903-07. This single unit, the only Swedish 'capital' ship with three funnels, was a larger and faster edition of the Aran Class. To achieve higher speed the hull was 8 m (26 ft 3 in) longer and power was increased by half. On
Orsa Class destroyer escort Orione undergoing routine maintenance
Displacement: 4270 tons (normal) Length: 95.6 (313 ft 8 in) wl Beam: 15.4 m (50 ft 6 in) Draught: 5.2 m (17 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 9000 ihp= 18.3 knots Protection: 150 mm (5.9 in) belt, 50 mm (1.97 in) deck, 190 mm (7.5 in) turrets, 175 mm (6.9 in) conning tower Armament: 2 21 -cm (8.3-in)/44-cal Bofors (2x1); 8 152-mm (6-in)/50-cal Bofors (4x2); 10 57-mm (2.24-in) QF (10x1); 2 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (submerged, beam) Crew: 325
m
in
1942
Oslo Norwegian destroyer escort class See Dealey
Osprey, Hawker British carrier-borne reconnaissance fighter.
Another of the Hart family, the Osprey was the first derivative to be deployed on carriers. The original Hart prototype was modified to meet Air Ministry Specification 0.22/26 and in its new form made its maiden flight in 1930. The Osprey, as the new version was named, was basically a strengthened Hart with folding wings.
and had
It
could be catapulted off carriers, bags fitted inside the fuse-
flotation
case of ditching. Apart from the undercarriage, there was provision for a twin-float configuration which was frequently used. As with the Hart, the lage
in
normal
wheeled
armament was
a single 0.303-in (7.7-mm) Vickers machine-gun, synchronized to fire through the propeller arc, and a Lewis gun on
a free mounting in the rear cockpit. The Osprey entered Fleet Air Arm service in November 1932 with 404 and 409 Flights, replacing Fairey Flycatchers. The type remained in service until 1940, latterly in second-line duties. The first batch of 28 aircraft were designated Osprey Mk I, the second batch of 16 were Mk II and the third batch were the Mk III. All these versions were fitted with the Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIMS engine, while the final batch of 27 Ospreys were powered by the Kestrel V and designated Mk IV. A total of 131 were procured for Fleet Air Arm use. Sweden bought four Ospreys fitted with Swedish-built Nohab Mercury engines, Portugal took two with the Kestrel IIMS engine, while Spain took the Hawker demonstrator and re-engined it with a Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs engine. This aircraft is known to have served with the Republican air force during the early part of the Spanish Civil War.
Span: 1 1 .28 m (37 ft) Length: 8.94 m (29 Gross weight: 2245 kg (4950 lb) Maxispeed: 259 km/h (161 mph)
(Mk
IV)
4
in)
ft
mum
2051
OSS
A Hawker Osprey
IV,
number K3615, experimentally
fitted
with floats in 1935. The Osprey which
first
flew in 1930
was derived from the Hart
The Hawker Osprey entered service with the Fleet Air Arm in November 1932 to replace the Fairey Flycatcher. It was basically a strengthened version of the Hart bomber fitted with folding wings for inboard stowage and flotation bags for use in the event of ditching
OSS US
single-shot pistol.
The OSS, Liberator
or
were the various names given to the 0.45-in (11.4-mm) M1942 pistol developed in 1942 for the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor of the CIA. The M1942 was a cheap, expendable close.45 Flare Projector
quarters weapon made for distribution to resistance groups, formal or informal, in Japanese- or German-occupied countries. About a million of these pistols were manufactured during June-August 1942 by the Guide Lamp division of General Motors, who normally specialized in pressed-steel automobile headlamps. It is probable that the bulk of the production was dropped by air into
2052
South-East Asia, while the remainder went into occupied Europe. The M1942 was stamped from sheet steel and assembled by crimping and welding. This was the cheapest form of manufacture available, and the cost of each pistol complete with ten rounds of
cocked the striker. After firing, the breech was opened and the cartridge case ejected manually by pushing a rod or stick down the
ammunition was $2.10. It was likely that the pistol had the cover name of .45 Flare Projec-
and the
tor at this stage.
The Ml 942 was a smoothbore, single-shot weapon chambered for the .45 APC (automatic pistol cartridge). There was no magazine, but five spare cartridges could be stored in a butt compartment. The pistol was loaded by twisting and pulling back the breech block. A cartridge was inserted into the breech. The act of closing and locking the breech also
barrel.
The accuracy of the short smoothbore was adequate for short-range shooting,
barrel
pistol gained a reputation as an assassination weapon. It was supplied in a box with ten rounds of ammunition together with a comic-strip instruction leaflet designed
to
overcome language barriers. The manufacmeant that one pistol was
turing schedule
—
produced every 7} seconds perhaps the only instance on record where a pistol could be made faster than it could be reloaded! The M1942 concept re-emerged in 1964 in the shape of the Deer Gun, ordered by the
Otomat, OTO-Melara/Matra
Otomat, OTO-Melara/Matra Franco-It;ili;m
antiship
missile.
Following
some two years of independent studies, OTO-Melara and Matra agreed in 1969 on development of Otomat. Test firings of guided rounds began in 1971, with the first trial of the complete system taking place successfully the following year. The decision by the Italian navy to adopt a Mk 2 version with an Italian-designed homing head in place of the Mk l's French seeker delayed the joint
programme, and start until
testing of the
Mk
2 did not
January 1974. Another four years
passed before production-standard
Mk
2s
were available, but by the end of 1978 seven navies had ordered more than 500 rounds to
arm 60
vessels. Plans for air-launched versions with smaller warheads and less power-
boost motors have been abandoned, but development of a coastal-defence variant was nearly complete by late 1978. Otomat has been designed to give the target ship as little warning as possible that it ful
The OSS, Liberator or
.45 Flare Projector
was a
crude, one-shot, short-range pocket pistol.
These
limitations,
however,
made
it
fairly
because the firer was obliged to make round count so he usually moved in to a point-blank range before he fired at his victim
effective
his first
CIA and
intended for distribution, presumably to resistance groups, in North Vietnam. This mass-produced pistol was, like its predecessor, a smoothbore single-shot weapon, but it was chambered for a 9-mm (0.354-in) cartridge. The Deer Gun was constructed of diecast aluminium with a screw-in barrel, which was detached for loading and unloading each round. None of these weapons were ever delivered and nearly all stocks were later
destroyed.
Calibre: 0.45 in
Length: 141
Muzzle approx (4 in)
(1 1 .4
mm
mm)
Weight: 0.45 kg
(1 lb)
(5.6 in) Barrel length: 101
velocity:
215 m/sec (700
mm
ft/sec)
Ostwind German (east
self-propelled
wind) was a 3.7-cm
AA
gun.
(1 .46-in)
Ostwind
Flak 43 gun
mounted on the chassis of a PzKpfw IV tank; was developed in 1943. The standard turret of the tank was removed and replaced by a hexagonal turret with open top, into which the 3.7-cm gun was mounted. The design was it
intended to give better protection to the gun's crew than had been provided by earlier models of SP AA gun, most of which were simply guns on the back of half-tracks lacking any form of armour protection. Whilst
Ostwind succeeded in this respect, it was somewhat uneconomical to place such a small weapon on a medium-tank chassis; much better value could be obtained by mounting multiple 20-mm (0.79-in) or 30-mm (1 18-in) guns on the same chassis. Relatively few Ostwind vehicles were built. They were used on the Eastern Front in forward positions, where their protection was of greater importance than their volume of fire. Ostwind remained in service until 1945. .
Otakisan Maru Japanese merchant aircraft carrier class. At the beginning of 1944 the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to modify two 10002-ton War Standard tankers as auxiliary carriers which would continue to freight oil but would also be able to operate 12 aircraft. The Type 1TL tanker could carry up to 15 200 tons of oil at a service speed of 15-18.5 knots; by installing a hangar over the tank deck between the original funnel and bridge 'islands', most of the freight load could still be carried, while the superimposed flight deck, with its single lift, was longer and broader than that of the US
Navy's Casablanca Class escort carriers. No island was installed, the navigating bridge being on the starboard side of the flight deck on a small sponson. Both Otakisan Maru (1TL no 12) and her sister Shimane Maru were built and fitted out by Kawasaki at Kobe. The latter was launched on February 17, 1944, but was not delivered until February 1945, by which time Japan had been virtually severed from her sources of oil and she was laid up. Otakisan Maru was launched on January 14, 1945, and was reputedly 70% complete when work was suspended in April 1945. Shimane Maru was sunk by Allied carrier aircraft on July 24, 1945; Otakisan Maru survived the war but sank when her anchor dragged in a typhoon on August 25, 1945 and she struck a mine. Both ships were salved and scrapped in 1948. Displacement: 11800 tons (standard), 22048 tons (full load) Length: 157.43 m (516 ft 6 in) oa Beam: 20 m (65 ft 7 in) Draught: 9.14 m (30 ft) Flight deck: 155 mx23 m (508 ft 6 in x 75 ft 6 in) Machinery: 1-shaft geared turbine, 8600 shp= 18 knots Armament: 2 12-cm (4.7-in) DP; 52 25(1-in) AA Aircraft: 12 Crew: not known
mm
threatened. The use of a turbojet for cruise propulsion, in place of the rocket motor adopted for the French Exocet and several other competing antiship missiles, confers a very long maximum range. If details of the target's course and speed are relayed from another ship or aircraft, the Otomat-armed vessel can fire a missile while remaining below the enemy's radar horizon and thus escape detection. When the launching ship is responsible for its own target detection, information is normally derived from a trackwhile-scan radar; any ESM (electronic support measures) equipment in the target vessel is then unable to determine whether the radar is being used for general surveillance or to supply data to the Otomat system. Once fired, the missile can turn through up to 200° in either direction onto its cruise bearing, so the launch vessel never has to alter heading to engage its target and thus gives no warning that it is manoeuvring for an attack. Detection of the round in flight is also difficult, as the turbojet produces a cool, smokeless exhaust which is difficult to see or to find with an infrared sensor; the effective radar signature is similarly minimized since the engine, unlike a rocket motor, does not emit metal particles or ionized radar-reflecting gases in its exhaust. Target information (position, course and speed) is supplied from the radar or data-link terminal to a control console in the ship's operations room. Input from the launch vesis
sel's
log,
anemometer, gyro-compass and
reference (to compensate for the launch vessel's pitch and roll) are fed into the missile-launch computer along with t;irget data, and the missile receives its instructions via a launch sequencer. An Otomat can be fired without prior warning less than 30 seconds after a target has been acquired. vertical
The
missile
is
launched from a glass-fibre
container which is fixed at an elevation of 15° and aligned between 10° and 20° off the ship's fore-and-aft axis. The containers are sealed in the factory and require an overhaul only once a year if the missile is not fired. Otomat is accelerated out of its container by a pair of strap-on Hotchkiss-Brandt solid-propellant rocket boost motors which each produce about 3500 kg (7716 lb) of thrust. They burn for four seconds before being jettisoned, by
2053
Otowa
The OTO-Melara/Matra Otomat is a joint Franco-Italian antiship missile. The TR281 Arbizon turbojet which is the main power unit is not only difficult to locate due to its low heat and exhaust fumes but gives the missile a very long maximum range. The warhead has a mixed incendiary and HE content and is armour piercing. The missile will be primarily used for coastal defence
which time the 400-kg
(880-lb) thrust Tur-
bomeca TR281 Arbizon turbojet sustainer engine has lit. The missile climbs to 80 m (262 and then descends to its cruise height of 20 ft) under autopilot control. Mid-course guidance commands are supplied by an inertial platform and a radio altimeter, and once launched, the Otomat normally receives no further instructions from the launch vesft)
m
(65
although mid-course guidance correcmay be transmitted to the Italian navy's version of the weapon, known as Teseo. The Mk 1 version is fitted with a ThomsonCSF two-axis radar seeker, which searches sel,
tions
vertically as well as
sweeping the horizon.
and then dives onto the enemy vessel at an angle of 7°. If the emissions from the homing head are being jammed, making accurate ranging impossible, the weapon enters a climb when 7 km (4.3 miles) from its target (as calculated from elapsed time) and descends from the same 175-m apogee at a slightly shallower angle of 5°. This method of attack was adopted to allow the weapon to penetrate the comparatively lightly armoured upperworks of a ship rather than the side. The Mk l's flight path exposes the missile to the target ship's tracking radars for the last 12 seconds or so of flight, and sea reflections can make operation of the two-axis seeker
which includes incendiary material and 65 kg (145 lb) of explosive. The warhead is designed to penetrate up to 40 mm (1 .5 in) of nickel-chrome armour plating before explod-
The blast is focused downwards to rip out the bottom of a small ship. A proximity fuze detonates the warhead if the missile overflies its target, in which case the downward blast destroys the target's weapon system. In addition to the warhead itself, about 40 kg (88 lb) of residual kerosene fuel remains in the missile at impact; this adds to the incendiary effect, and the disintegrating jet engine contains parts rotating at up to 33 000 ing.
rpm.
When
unreliable.
predicted position, the seeker automatically switches on and scans 20° on each side of the nose. Once the homing head has acquired the enemy vessel it locks onto it and corrects the missile's course. At a range of some 5 km (3 miles) from its target, as measured by the seeker, Otomat Mk 1 begins to climb; it reaches an apogee of 175 (575 ft) when it is about 1.8 km (1.1 miles) from its objective
Otomat Mk 2 overcomes these problems by using a single-axis homing head developed by SMA (Segnalamento Marittimo ed Aereo). The missile still cruises at a height of 20 m, but it descends to 10 m (33 ft) during
Otomat Mk 1 has a maximum effective range of 60 km (37 miles), the maximum distance at which a target travelling at up to 40 knots at right angles to the missile's path is guaranteed to lie within the limited angle
the search phase and then drops further to 1-2 (3-7 ft) above the wave crests in the final stage of an attack. The seeker locks on at a typical range of 5 km (3 miles) and uses a wide-angle search pattern so that it can acquire targets at large off-boresight angles. Both versions carry a large semi-armourpiercing warhead weighing 210 kg (463 lb),
covered by the missile's seeker. By firing two rounds in different directions so that their seekers together cover a wider angle, the range can be increased to 80 km (50 miles). The missile carries enough fuel to fly about 200 km (125 miles). The Italian navy's Teseo (which is not available for export) incorporates the TG-2 data link and can be guided accurately over distances of up to 150-180 km (94-112 miles) if mid-course steering commands are transmitted from a suitably equipped helicopter such as an Agusta-Bell AB.212. The coastal-defence version, for which Matra is prime contractor, will be deployed in batteries comprising vehicle-mounted radars, launchers and control equipment. Each battery, with four missiles ready to fire and eight reload rounds, could defend up to 300 km
the missile has flown for a preset time (calculated before launch by the parent vessel's fire-control computer) to position the weapon 12 km (7.5 miles) from the target's
m
A
test
launch of an Otomat. The smoke
is
m
SMA
from the Hotchkiss-Brandt
solid fuel
booster
(186 miles) of coast by using a series of remote relay stations to guide the missiles to distant targets.
Length: 4.46 m (1 4 ft 8 in) Span: 1 .35 m (4 ft 5 in) Diameter: 46 cm (18 in) Launch weight: 770 kg (1700 lb) Speed: Mach 0.9
Otowa Japanese protected cruiser. The protected cruiser
Otowa was
a slightly smaller, faster
version of the Niitaka design. She was laid down at the Yokosuka navy yard on January
launched months later on Novemand completed on September 6. 1904. Machinery differed considerably from Niitaka: while Niitaka was equipped with 16
3, 1903,
ber
2054
2,
1
1
,
Overstrand, Boulton and Paul Dassault MD 450 Ouragan of the 1 er Esc 11/4 Escadron 'Lafayette'. The Ouragan has seen action with the French and IDF during fighting in the Middle East where it proved an excellent ground-attack aircraft
Niclausse boilers developing 213 psi, Otowa Kanpon boilers each developing 227 psi. The Kanpon boilers were a threedrum model, similar in design to the Yarrow three-drum boiler, but with curved tubes. The reciprocating machinery was identical to that in Niitaka, but with the improved boilers power was increased to 10000 shp in Otowa (compared with 9500 shp in Niitaka) to give an extra knot in speed. Bunkerage was reduced, but the new Kanpon boilers were far more efficient than the Niclausse boilers, and the radius of action at 10 knots was 12950 km (8050 miles)— increased to compared with Niitaka"s 7400 km (4600
equipped a
miles).
rons, but
carried ten
Armour protection was also slightly increased, and the other major difference between the classes concerned the armament. The number of 6-in ( 152-mm)guns was reduced from six to two. but Otowa carried a much heavier secondary armament of six 4.7in (120-mm) (Niitaka carried ten smallercalibre 12-pdr QF guns) and fou. 12-pdrguns. Otowa formed part of the 3rd Cruiser Division at the Battle of Tsushima and assisted Niitaka in sinking the Russian small cruiser Svietlana. Otowa was eventually wrecked when she ran aground on August 1
1917.
Displacement: 3000 tons (normal) Length: 103.9 (341 ft) Beam: 12.6 m (41 ft 6 in) Draught: 4.8 (15 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft vertical tripleexpansion, 10000 ihp=21 knots Protection: 76 mm (3 in) deck, 37 (1.5 in) gun shields, 102 (4 in) conning tower Armament: 2 6-in (152mm); 6 4.7-in (120-mm); 4 12-pdr (76-mm); 2 machine-guns; 2 18-in (46-cm) torpedo tubes (above water) Crew: 312
m m
A
total of 18 French fighter squadby mid- 1955 they were beginning to be replaced by Mystere IVAs, though numbers were transferred to training units and the
type remained in service until the mid-1960s. Dassault also supplied 24 Ouragans to Israel, and 104, powered by 2350-kg(5180-lb) Nene I05A engines, to India. The Indian aircraft, known as Toofanis, do not appear to have seen combat, but the Israeli machines, in conjunction with a number of ex-Armee de l'Air Ouragans, gave a good account of
themselves in patrolling the Sinai and in ground support missions in October 1956. Egyptian Vampires and MiG-15s were shot down by Ouragans, none of which was lost in aerial combat, and two rocket-equipped Ouragans participated in the capture of an Egyptian destroyer on October 31, 1956. The type continued in Israeli service until the late 1960s.
mm
mm
Ouragan, Dassault
MD
450
French jet fighter aircraft. The first of a remarkable series of jet fighters produced by Marcel Dassault (formerly Marcel Bloch), and the first French jet fighter to be produced in quantity, the 450 Ouragan was begun
MD
end of 1947 as a private venture. At that time Hispano-Suiza were building the
at the
2270-kg (5004-lb) thrust Rolls-Royce Nene engine for the de Havilland Vampires being
under licence by SNCASE, and the Ouragan was designed around this powerbuilt
plant, with a divided nose intake ducting air past either side of the cockpit to the engine,
which was inside the centre fuselage. The wing leading edges were tapered, while the tailplane was slightly swept back, and a tricycle undercarriage
was used.
In June 1948 three prototypes were ordered by the Armee de l'Air, and the first of these flew for the first time the following February.
Span: 12.29 m (40 ft 4 in) Length 10.74 m (35 ft 3 in) Gross weight: 7900 kg (17416 lb) Maximum speed: 940 km/h (584 mph)
OV-1,
Grumman US
observation aircraft See Mohawk
Rockwell US observation and counter-insurgency aircraft See Bronco
OV-10,
Overstrand, Boulton and Paul British
medium bomber. The Boulton and
Paul Sidestrand, 20 of which were built in 1926-28, had proved a successful medium day bomber, and in 1933 a modified Sidestrand Mk III, originally designated Sidestrand IV, was fitted with a powered nose turret, enclosed pilot's cabin, a windshield for the rear gunner and new powerplant of two 555hp Bristol Pegasus IM3 engines. Structural strengthening was also necessary, and after successful trials another three Sidestrand Mk Ills were converted with 580-hp Pegasus
I1M3 engines. The strengthened airframe and increased power also enabled a heavier bombload of 726 kg (1600 lb) to be carried. Before production of 24 ordered for the RAF began
in
the
1934,
name was changed
to
Overstrand.
The
converted machine was received Squadron, previously the only unit to be equipped with Sidestfands, in January 1935, and production Overstrands began to be delivered early in 1936. These were the first RAF aircraft to have powered gun turrets. The turret, designed and built by Boulton and Paul, was cylindrical in shape and was powered by compressed air, rotating through an arc of 240° in response to sideways pressure of the single Lewis machinegun on plunger valves as it was aimed. Vertical aiming was manual, with the weight of the gun counterbalanced hydraulically by the weight of the gunner on his seat, and the gun itself was pivoted externally to give an additional measure of freedom for aiming. The Overstrand equipped only 101 Squadron, and remained in service until replaced by the Blenheim in 1938. Thereafter, by virtue of the turret and the great improvement in accuracy it enabled by freeing the gunner of the need to wrestle his weapon into position
by
first
101
against the pressure of the slipstream, a few survived as gunnery trainers until 1941. A projected development, the Superstrand, was designed to have a retractable undercarriage, 720-hp Pegasus IV engines and a top speed of
307 km/h (191 mph), but this was considered to be too slow and the Superstrand was
The Boulton and Paul Overstrand biplane bomber was derived from the Sidestrand, both aircraft
being
named
after Norfolk villages near
the Boulton and Paul factory. Only one
RAF
Squadron, No 101 received the Overstrand and so became the first squadron to fly an aircraft with an enclosed power-operated turret. The rear gunner had a large windshield and the pilot a fully enclosed heated cockpit ,
This recorded a speed of 980 km/h (609 mph) in trials and was followed by the second and third prototypes, the latter of which was the first to carry the armament of four nosemounted 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon, and 12 pre-series test aircraft. Armament options included rockets or 454-kg (1000-lb) bombs, and wingtip fuel tanks were standard equipment. In August 1950 the Armee de l'Air ordered 150 production Ouragans, much of the work on these and a further 200 ordered subsequently being subcontracted to the nationalized aircraft factories, and all 350 were completed by mid- 1954. Ouragans
2055
abandoned. The day of the large biplane with its insufficient speed was finally over.
OVP submachine-gun was derived from the First World War VP automatic. It had a number of novel features including a cocking sleeve which enclosed the receiver and which the firer pulled back to cock the action. A slot in the magazine was intended to show how much ammunition remained, but in reality allowed the ingress of dirt under field conditions. However, the gun was still being used in 1939 The
Span: 21.93 m (71 ft 11 in) Length: 14.07 m (46 ft 2 in) Gross weight: 5443 kg (12000 lb) Maximum speed: 246 km/h (153 mph)
Italian
light
OVP OVP
(Officine submachine-gun. The Vilar Perosa) was produced in small numbers just after the First World War as a police or military weapon. It was derived directly from the wartime Vilar Perosa, and used one of the Italian
two barrels and actions of that gun mounted on a conventional stock. The result was a rather slim and long weapon with only the butt made of wood. There was no other furniture and the left hand of the firer had to grasp the barrel jacket. The vertical magazine of the VP was shared retained, a feature which the only with the Australian Owen gun. The cocking handle was unusual in that it was a sliding sleeve around the tubular body. To cock the gun the sleeve was pulled back from its forward position behind the magazine until it was stopped by the trigger-guard; it
OVP
was then pushed forward again and remained forward. The twin triggers allowed single shots or automatic to be fired, though the rate of fire was so high that the magazine was emptied very quickly. The sights were mounted well forward, the aperture backsight being in front of the magazine where it was not easy to see. Despite the crudities of the it remained in service for over 20 years and was used in small numbers in North Africa at the start of the Second World
OVP
War. Calibre: 9 Glisenti
2056
mm
(0.354
Weight:
3.67
in)
Ammunition: 9-mm (8 lb) unloaded
kg
Length: 901 mm (35.5 in) Barrel length: 279 mm Magazine: 20-round detachable box Rate of fire: 900 rds/min (cyclic) Muzzle velocity: 380 m/sec (1250 ft/sec) (11 in)
Owen Australian submachine-gun. Developed by Lieutenant E E Owen at a time when Australia was in desperate need of armament, the Owen submachine-gun was officially
adopted on November 20, 1941.
It
Owen
The Boulton and Paul Overstrand The first Overstrand was a modified Sidestrand fitted with 580-hp Pegasus IIM3 engines, originally designated Sidestrand Mk V 1.
1
L •T
i
^^^P^
I
"*
The Owen Mk 1 /43 submachine-gun with its 33-round, top-mounted magazine detached. The magazine was easier to load than the Sten and gave a reliable feed even under the harshest conditions because the spring was assisted by gravity. Over 50000 of these reliable guns were produced in Australia by 1945 and some are still in reserve service
~"
was produced only
in Australia, a total of
about 50000 having been reached by 1945.
The Owen, which became
available at a time either expensive prewar designs or cheap and unreliable
when submachine-guns were
wartime products, was a reliable and comparatively well-made weapon. It was a little on the heavy side, but this was tolerated by men who had come to appreciate the fact that it hardly ever broke down or jammed, and it remained in front-line service until the 1960s. It
is
now
lifetime
in reserve in Australia after a unequalled by any other wartime
gun.
The top-mounted magazine was the most obvious feature of the Owen. It was adopted to
overcome
the
possibility
of
jamming
caused by springs or platforms sticking
in the
magazine, and because it allowed the gun to be slid round trees and other cover and was less likely than a side-mounted magazine to get caught in jungle undergrowth. The bolt was isolated from the cocking handle by passing the handle through a bulkhead in the body and working it in a slot in a separate compartment. This took up space, but kept dirt away from the bolt and added greatly to the reliability of the gun in jungle fighting. Stripping was done from the front, and the barrel was easily removable by pulling a plunger. compensator was fitted to the muzzle to reduce climb, and the entire weapon balanced about the pistol grip an excellent feature not often achieved in other designs. There were several marks of Owen, but all
A
—
The Owen gun, designed by Lieutenant Evelyn Owen as a submachine-gun to equip the Australian army, proved a successful and popular weapon. It went through four marks and remained in service long after the Second World War. It was extremely reliable, partly because of the overhead magazine, which used gravity to assist the spring, and also because its parts were machined rather than stamped out during production. It had a compensator fitted to the muzzle to reduce the tendency to climb when it was fired a severe problem since the gun had
—
a cyclic rate of 700 rds/min in contrast to the Sten's 550 rds/min. An attractive feature of the weapon was the sealed bolt and the position of the cocking handle which were designed to prevent the ingress of dirt.
appearance the Owen was a good weapon for magazine was less likely to become entangled in the brush than the side-mounted Sten magazine. It served Australian forces throughout the Second World War as well as in postwar campaigns Despite
its
rather unusual
the jungle since
like
its
the Malaysian
vertical
Emergency 2057
Owl, Curtiss 0-52 A Curtiss 0-52 Owl observation and training aircraft. The Owl was used by the USAAF and also supplied to the Soviet air force as a Lend-Lease aircraft. The Soviet Union used it for observation while the US employed in a training it
role only, the original specification being
were basically similar. All had two pistol some had metal skeleton stocks and some had cooling rings on the barrel. All were machined rather than stamped, which
grips,
limited the overall production total. Calibre: 9
mm
assistance to the gunner in the rear cockpit, since it gave an extremely wide field of operation when in the 'down' position. The type was never employed as an observation aircraft with the US Army; the 173 in service with the were used in the training role only. They lived up to the
USAAF
(0.354 in)
Ammunition: 9-mm
Parabellum Weight: 4.21 kg (9 lb 5 oz) Length: 813 mm (32 in) Barrel length: 247 mm (9.7 in) Magazine: 33-round box Rate of fire: 700 rds/min (cyclic) Muzzle velocity: 380 m/sec
original specification, but that in itself
(1250 ft/sec)
it
Owl, Curtiss 0-52 US observation and training aircraft. The US
Span: 13.36 m (43 ft 10 in) Length:7.75 m (25 ft 5 in) Gross weight: 2407 kg (5307 lb) Maximum speed: 335 km/h (208 mph)
proved tions.
insufficient for actual
The
relatively
had
combat condi-
low performance proved
inadequate even for the non-combatant task
was
to
have
fulfilled.
Army
badly needed a good observation airthe time of the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. The Buffalo division of the Curtiss-Wright company was asked to provide such a type, and in the summer of 1941 offered the prototype 0-52 Owl for service evaluation. After preliminary trials, deliveries began almost immediately. It was a high-wing two-seat all-metal monoplane, with a long wing-support strut which produced increased drag, though this was not considered a serious drawback for an observation aircraft. The production 0-52 Owls were powered by a single 600-hp Pratt Whitney R- 1340-51 Wasp radial engine and there was provision for a 0.5-in (12.7-mm) Browning machine-gun in the rear of the long greenhouse cockpit. A total of 203 were produced. Thirty of these went to the USSR under the Lend-Lease plan. Eleven of them were lost in transit along the Arctic convoy route, but the remainder served with the Soviet air force on the central and northern sections of the Eastern Front during the spring and summer of 1943, at least one being craft
at
&
lost to
German
fighters.
Curtiss incorporated some of the best design features from its other aircraft into the Owl; for example, the retractable main landing gear of the Hawk III (BF2C-1) and a collapsable rear fuselage decking like that of the SOC Seagull, S03C Seamew and SB2C Helldiver, and an overall appearance closely resembling the prototype XF13C-1 fighter of 1934. The folding rear decking was of great
2058
Oyodo Japanese cruiser. The design of the cruiser Oyodo was developed from the previous Agano Class light cruisers, though she was intended for a completely different tactical role. Oyodo was designed for the role of flagship to a hunting group of submarines. She was to be equipped with a new type of reconnaissance floatplane, and was intended to roam ahead of the submarines and use her floatplanes to locate worthwhile targets. Reconnaissance information would be collated on board in order to coordinate the submarines' attack. For this Oyodo was to be equipped with extensive communications facilities and the most up-to-date radar available to the Japanese. The general appearance of the cruiser was
Agano
unequal to the exigencies of war
18x1).
The
aircraft facilities
where
the
usual
house the
six floatplanes
For her scouting/command role Oyodo was provided with extensive bunkerage giving her a radius of action of 16000 km (10000 miles) at 18 knots. She was equipped with the same machinery as the Aganos, and protection was sacrificed in order to retain high speed; and she was given a minimum of armour amidships and around the magazines and turrets. Oyodo was laid down at the Kure navy yard on February 14, 1941, launched on April 2, 1942, and completed on February 28, 1943. Her aircraft were never built, and by the time Oyodo was launched many Japanese submarines were being employed on transport duties, and the navy was turning more and more towards a defensive role. Oyodo therefore never operated in her designed role. She entered service with two standard-type scoutplanes, and when it was realized that the specially designed floatplanes would not be built the large catapult was replaced by a smaller model and the hangar was used for crew's quarters.
Oyodo was
damaged in an air raid and temporary repairs
severely
construction.
1945,
She was again bombed on July capsized. A sister ship was the 1939 Programme, but was cancelled before work had started on her
A
and B positions. These had been removed from the Mogami Class cruisers when they were rearmed with 8-in (203-
mm)
to
m
armament was concentrated forward and was composed of two triple 6.1 -in (155-mm) turrets sited in
which Oyodo was
On
the quarterdeck was a very large catapult 45 (147 ft 6 in) long specially designed for launching the floatplanes in rapid succession. Two large cranes for handling the aircraft were sited at the corners of the hangar. The floatplanes were to be much larger than previous types, with a high speed and wide radius of action. carry.
on March 19, were effected. 28, 1945, and ordered under
m
were sited aft, deck was
shelter
replaced by an enormous hangar designed to
Class, but she more heavily armed, displacement being increased by 1500 tons and length by 18 (59 ft). Unlike Agano, her similar to that of the was much larger and
after
guns. Antiaircraft armament was provided by four twin 3.9-in (100-mm) guns of the new pattern fitted to the Terutsuki Class destroyers, mounted amidships. Light AA comprised 12 25-mm (1-in) guns, but was increased in 1944-45 to 54 25-mm (12x3,
Displacement: 8164 tons (standard), 11 433 tons load) Length: 192 m (630 ft) oa Beam: 16.6 m (54 ft 6 in) Draughts m (19 ft 6 in) Machinery: 4-shaft geared turbines, 110000 shp=35 knots Protection: 50 mm (2 in) belt, deck and magazines, 63 mm (2.5 in) turrets Armament: 6 6.1-in (155-mm); 8 3.9-in (100-mm); 12 25-mm (1in); 2 floatplanes Crew: not known (full
Y
P1Y,Yokosuka P4, P5 and P6, the last ships of the class, had an increased volume of 5000 cu m (176600 cu ft) and served in the First World War. With the exception of the prototype, all the 'P's were commissioned into the army. The 'P' Veloce (fast) or Class, which
TV
was introduced during the First World War, was merely a re-engined variant of the T's. Their powerplant of 225-hp maximum speed of 90 km/h (56 mph), an improvement of only 26 km/h (16 mph). No production figures for Class are available, but it appears the that the ships were used by the Italian navy for antisubmarine patrols.
enlarged
Fiat gasoline engines gave a
TV
(P 4-P 6) Length: 62
'P' Class British
destroyers
See Oribi
m
m
(203
.9
(39
ft)
Height: 21
.5
P-1/P-2/P-3/P-4/P-5/P-6,
army semi-rigid airship class. Two members of the 'P' Class of semi-rigids were Italian
first airships to engage in combat. P2 and 3 flew bombing and reconnaissance missions in Tripoli (subsequently known as Tripolitania, now part of Libya) during the Italo-Turkish war of 19 1 1- 12. A total of seven
the
P
T'
(piccolo, small) Class ships
state-owned Aeronautica.
the
Stabilimento
was
built
by
Costruzioni
The first ship was designed following an order from the war ministry in 1906. Like the
German government,
the Italian authorities
had been impressed by the early semi-rigids produced by Lebaudy Freres. The prototype, designated P 1, had a length of 55 m (180 ft) and a volume of 4160 cu m (147000 cu ft), and in October 1909 it flew 210 km (130 miles) from Rome to Naples. The following year, two larger ships were built, one of which took over the prototype's designation. The new P I and the P 2 set the standard for the remaining ships of the class, although their volume of 4360 cu m (154000 cu ft) was
somewhat smaller than
that of later craft. tubular steel frame keel characterized the 'P's as it did all the early semi-rigids produced by SCA. A long ballonet was fitted internally to the bottom of the envelope. There was a small gondola slung from the keel amidships and this contained the two 75-hp Fiat gasoline engines, each of which drove a single bracket-mounted reversible-thrust propeller.
An
articulated
The pioneer bombing ships, P 2 and P 3, made 130 flights in Tripoli, during the
jointly
course of which they covered a distance of approximately 10000 km (6200 miles), taking part in raids on Turkish encampments and flying photo-reconnaissance missions.
m
ft
5
in)
Diameter:
Volume: 5000 cu m (176600 cu ft) Gross lift: 5490 kg (12100 lb) Powerplant: 2 75-hp Fiat gasoline engines Maximum speed: 64 km/h (40 mph) Crew: 3 1 1
(70
ft
Curtiss
6
in)
US See
aircraft
fighter
Hawk
P1Y, Yokosuka Japanese navy medium bomber and night fighter aircraft.
The career of
this
adaptable
and potentially promising aircraft was blighted by the use of an unsatisfactory powerplant insisted upon by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and its acceptance for service was consequently delayed for 14 months at a critical stage of the war. The P1Y did not become operational until late 1944, and did not carry out its first combat operations until the early spring of 1945. Consequently it was not often encountered during the Pacific island campaigns (except as a kamikaze type at Okinawa), and operated mostly from land bases in Japan, especially on Kyushu. It was codenamed Frances by the Allies. Designed under the direction of Tadanao Mitsuzi and Masao Yamana of the 1st Naval Air Technical arsenal at Yokosuka, the P1Y originally bore the design number Y-20 and was evolved to meet a 1940 specification for a low-level attack aircraft, torpedo- and divebomber. Some three years elapsed before the first of six prototypes took off for its maiden flight in the late summer of 1943. It was powered by a pair of 1820-hp Nakajima
Homare
18-cylinder
11
two-row
radial
engines, which gave it a top speed of 547 km/h (340 mph). With an internal fuel load of 5535 litres (1218 Imp gal) and provision for
two
220-litre
tanks,
it
(48-Imp gal) underwing drop maximum range of 4990 km
had a
(3100 miles). There was a retractable dive brake under each wing, and manoeuvrability and general handling qualities were excellent, although the hydraulics and the unsatisfactory engines posed some problems for the ground crews. indications Nevertheless, performance were promising enough for an immediate goahead to be given for quantity production. Since the navy arsenals were not geared for mass production, this was assigned to the Nakajima factory at Koizumi, which also built the prototypes. By the end of 1943 this company had delivered 41 PlYs. The Japanese naval air force had requested a number of modifications in production aircraft, including an optically-flat windscreen (instead of a curved one), revised engine cowlings, a nonretractable tail wheel, and extra armour protection for the three-man crew. The powerplant consisted of two 1825-hp Homare 12s, although these engines seldom delivered their full power. Between 1943 and the end of the Second World War, Nakajima built 996 PI Yl Model 1 Ginga (milky way) bombers and modified P1Y1-S Bayakko (white light) interim night fighters, and had delivered 453 of them before official naval air force accept1
ance was forthcoming in October 1944. The only other production version was the P1Y2, developed for night-fighter/nightintruder duties by Kawanishi at Konan as the P1Y2-S Kyokko (aurora). A change was
made
to the more reliable 1850-hp Mitsubishi Kasei 25a 14-cylinder radial engines, and a Kyokko prototype was flown in June 1944. A rudimentary airborne interception radar was carried, and armament comprised a free 20(0.79-in) Type 99 Model 2 cannon in the
mm
rear of the cockpit, plus two others fixed in a dorsal position to fire obliquely forward and upward, in a similar fashion to the Schrage Musik installation used by the Luftwaffe. However, the Kyokko was still working up with a trials unit when the war ended, and most of the 96 aircraft built by Kawanishi were in fact used without the dorsal pair of fixed guns, as P1Y2 conventional bomberintruders. A few interim night fighters (P1Y1S) were converted from Nakajima-built bombers, without radar but with a second pair of oblique-firing guns installed forward of the cockpit. Armament variations on the bomber models created four basic sub-types. Three of these had, as standard, a free 20-mm Type 99 cannon in the nose. The initial P1Y1 and PI Y2 carried a similar gun on a free mounting in the rear of the crew cabin. With this latter gun replaced by a single 13-mm (0.51-in) Type 2 machine-gun, the designations
The Yokosuka P1Y navy medium bomber and night fighter, which might have proved as successful as the German Ju 88 if it had received better engines. The delay incurred over the engines meant that the P1 only began operational flights with the air arm in the spring of 1945
2059
P-2, Pilatus
became PlYla and PlY2a. and with two Type 2 guns at the rear PlYlb and PlY2b. With the same rear armament, and a third Type 2 replacing the 20-mm nose gun. designations changed again, to PlYIc and PlY2c. The standard bombload was a pair of 500-kg (1100-lb) bombs inside the ventral weapon bay. or a single 800-kg (1764-lb) torpedo semi-recessed in this position. Apart from experimental testbeds, at least four other P1Y developments were projected, though none was completed. The P1Y3 Ginga-Kai. with 1990-hp Homare 21s, was to have had slightly bigger wings and fuselage, and to have been a carrier for the Ohka piloted flying bomb. The P1Y4 and PIY5 were proposed with, respectively, 2000-hp Homare 23 and 2200-hp Mitsubishi
Ha-43 engines; and Kawanishi's P1Y6 was to have had 1825-hp Kasei 25c radials. (P1 Y1
3
in)
mum P-2,
Span: 20 m (65 ft 7 in) Length: 1 5 m (49 ft Gross weight: 13 500 kg (29760 lb) Maxispeed: 547 km/h (340 mph) )
US
Lockheed
maritime reconnaissance
See Neptune
aircraft
P-2, Pilatus trainer aircraft. Specially Swiss basic designed by Pilatus for utilization from highaltitude air bases, this sturdy tandem twoseat low-wing monoplane basic trainer was of mixed construction, with a retractable landing gear. Designated P-2, the prototype was first flown during 1945, powered by a single 465-hp Argus As 410A-2 12-cylinder aircooled in-line engine giving a cruising speed of 305 km/h (190 mph) at 4500 m (14760 ft). The range at this speed was 865 km (537 miles). The initial production series was delivered to the Swiss air force in the years
1948-49.
A second version was put into series production for armament training, with the same designation and powerplant. Armament included a 7.9-mm (0.31 1-in) machine-gun in the upper portion of the forward fuselage, and racks could be provided for attachment beneath the wings of 12-kg (26-lb) practice bombs, or 5-cm (1.97-in) Oerlikon rocket projectiles. Gun-camera and gyro-gunsight were standard equipment, and there was also provision for cameras in the rear cockpit, to be used for observer training if required. Other standard equipment included nightflying,
oxygen and radio
been putting considerable
effort into developing a patrol aircraft capable of carrying supplies and equipment to bases in Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, the Panama Canal
Zone and Alaska. Designated XPY-1.
began life as a three-engined parasolwing monoplane, with fabric-covered wings, a single-step hull and strut-mounted stabilizing pontoons. A few similar twin-engined production aircraft were built by the Glenn L aircraft
Martin company during the early 1930s. Consolidated received another contract on
May
US torpedo-bomber US
aircraft
See
T2D
maritime reconnaissance See Neptune
P2Y, Consolidated US maritime-reconnaissance
2060
.
its
improved XP2Y-1
cisco to Hawaii in January 1934. The last P2Y- 1 was used as a prototype for the XP2Y-2, with uprated Wright R- 1820-88 engines fitted in nacelles on the wing leadingedges. Nearly all of the P2Y-ls were converted to this standard in 1936, and were then redesignated P2Y-2. They were followed by a further 23 P2Y-3s, generally similar to the
P2Y-2, but with more powerful 750-hp Wright R- 1820-90 engines. Standard armament on all aircraft comprised three freeBrowning mounted 0.30-in (7.62-mm) machine-guns, one in the bow and two in
A
crew of five side-by-side dorsal positions. carried. Six P2Y-3s were sold to Argentina, one to Japan and one to Colombia. Most of the 47 aircraft built served with US forces at overseas bases from 1933 until the early months of the Second World War. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, they returned to the US where they were usefully employed on training and other second-line duties.
was
(P2Y-3) Span: 30.5 m (100 ft) Length: 18.8 m (61 9 in) Gross weight: 11460 kg (25265 lb)
ft
Maximum
speed: 224 km/h (139 mph)
Lockheed
A US
US maritime patrol aircraft See Orion
P-3, Pilatus Swiss basic and intermediate trainer aircraft. Designed for use in alpine conditions, this was an all-metal tandem two-seat low-wing monoplane. It was comparable in purpose with the RAF's piston-engined Provost, and was built to replace the T-6 Texan for training Swiss air force pilots prior to their ad-
vancement flying boat.
contract for building a flying boat for the Navy was placed with Consolidated on February 28, 928 It was built to a design by Naval Aircraft Factory engineers, who had 1
for
prototype which incorporated a number of modifications to the original design. A smaller, lower wing with small stabilizing floats had been fitted in place of the original pontoons, thus converting the type to sesquiplane configuration. Power was provided by two ring-cowled 575-hp Wright R-1820E Cyclone radial engines slung beneath the top wing. A third engine had originally been mounted centrally on a pylon above the wing, but was removed soon after the first flight in the spring of 1932. Twenty-three production aircraft were built, designated P2Y-1, and were delivered to US Navy Squadrons VP-5F and VP-10F. Six of these aircraft took part in a non-stop formation flight from San Fran-
P-3,
P2V, Lockheed
1931,
26,
installations.
Span: 1 1 m (36 ft 1 in) Length:$A m (29 ft 10 in) Gross" weight: 1966 kg (4335 lb) Maximum speed: 340 km/h (211 mph)
P2D, Douglas
this
to
Vampire
jet trainers.
The
first
of the two prototypes took place on September 3, 1953, and the first of 18preproduction aircraft appeared in August 954, after prototype evaluation against foreign competitors. A further contract for 50 was flight
1
placed to bring the final total to 68 aircraft, for use by the Swiss air force as either basic or primary trainers. The first P-3 service aircraft flew
on
May
As an armament
8,
1956.
had a single machine-gun, plus 180 rounds of ammunition, installed in a pod under the port wing. Provision was also made for 5-cm (1.97-in) Oerlikon rockets or four 12-kg (26-lb) practice bombs in the underwing position. Powerplant was a single 260-hp
7.9-mm
traine r the P-3
(0.31 1-in)
Lycoming
GO-435-C2A
six-cylinder
air-
cooled horizontally-opposed engine which gave a cruising speed of 251 km/h (156 mph) and a range of 750 km (466 miles) at that speed. Initial climb rate was 7.1 m/sec (1400 ft/min), and service ceiling was 5500 m (18050 ft). Six aircraft were exported to the Brazilian navy in 1963 for liaison and observation duties.
Span: 10.4 m (34 ft 2 in) Length: 8.75 m (28 ft 8 Gross weight: 1500 kg (3300 lb) Maximum speed: 310 km/h (193 mph)
in)
P3V, Lockheed
US maritime patrol aircraft See Orion
P4M, Martin US Navy patrol bomber See Mercator
P-5/P5M, Martin
US patrol flying boat See Marlin
P.7/P.11/P.24, P.Z.L. Polish fighter aircraft. Originated by Zygmunt Pujawski for the Pantswowe Zaklady Lotnicze (state aircraft factory), the P series fighters were gull-wing monoplanes which represented a considerable advance in contemporary aircraft design. The most distinctive and innovative feature, the wing, was first introduced on the P.l of 1929. Built around two duralumin spars and covered with corrugated duralumin sheeting, this wing was tapered inwards and outwards from the break and supported by two struts to the fuselage. The P. 1-5 prototypes were powered by 600-hp Hispano-Suiza V-type engines,
P-16, Berliner-Joyce
with the cylinder heads covered by the wing roots, but the P.6 substituted i. 500-hp Bristol Jupiter radial in a Townend ring cowling.
was the P. 24 export model, designed for more powerful radial engines. In 1934 the second prototype P. 24, powered by a 760-hp
The first of the series to enter production was the P.7, with a 585-hp Jupiter VII. The
Gnome-Rhone Kds, established a new world speed record of 4 14 km/h (257. 2 mph). Several versions of the P. 24 were produced, differing mainly in armament and powerplant. The P.24a, armed with two 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon the first fighter to have such an armament and the P. 24b, with four machine-guns and a 100-kg (220-lb) bombload, were powered by 930-hp Gnome-Rhone Kfrs engines; the P. 24c, built under licence in Turkey, had a modified tail and armament of two cannon and two machine-guns; the P.24e
prototype P.7 appeared in October 1930, total of 150 production P.7as were built, deliveries beginning in late 1932. Meanwhile, the prototype P. 11, powered by a Gnome-Rhone-built Jupiter IX, had made its first
and a
first flight in
September 1931, and a further
prototypes followed before the P. 11a entered production in 1934. Thirty P. lias, with Skoda-built 500-hp Bristol Mercury VI engines, were followed by 175 P. lies, with extensive modifications and two wingfive
mounted 7.7-mm
(0.303-in)
machine-guns
in
addition to the two fuselage-mounted guns of the P.7a and P. 11a. In addition, 50 P.7bs,
with 595-hp Romanian-built Gnome-Rhone engines, were supplied to Romania, where P. 1 If licence-built versions of the P. lie were subsequently produced. Production of the P. 1 lc was completed by the end of 1936, and the next development
9K
—
—
armed Romanian licence-built version powered by a 930-hp Gnome-Rhone 14Kmc/36; and the P.24f and g were both powered by 970-hp Gnome-Rhone 14N7 engines, the former having two cannon and two machine-guns and the latter four machine-guns and both having racks for light bombs. Apart from the Turkish and Romanian licence production, Turkey bought 14 a
was a
similarly
and 26 c models, Bulgaria bought 24 fs and Greece bought 30 fs and six gs. By the outbreak of the Second World War the front-line units of the Polish air force had 30 P.7 and 128 P. 1 fighters. Both types were obsolescent by this time, but during the invasion of Poland in September 1939, although outnumbered three to one by more modern 1
German
down
126 German aircraft, while a total of 116 Polish fighters
were
fighters, they shot
mainly in aerial combat. Greek scored a high number of successes
lost,
P. 24s
against Italian and German aircraft in 1940. Romanian P. 24s remained in service until 1941.
Span: 10.3 m (33 ft 9 in) Length:7AG m 6 in) Gross weight: 1328 kg (2928 lb) Maximum speed: 327 km/h (203 mph)
(P.7a)
(23
ft
Span: 10.72 m (35 ft 2 in) Length: 7.55 m in) Gross weight: 1590 kg (3505 lb) Maximum speed: 390 km/h (242 mph)
(P.1
(24
1
c)
ft
9
Span: 10.72 m (35 ft 2 in) Length: 7.51 m in) Gross weight: 1920 kg (4232 lb) Maximum speed: 430 km/h (267 mph)
(P.24f)
(24
ft
7
The
P.Z.L. P.7 fighter, designed by the brilliant Polish engineer Zygmunt Pu/awski, entered service with the Polish air force in 1931. It was
P-12, Boeing
armed with two Vickers machine-guns
Navy fighter aircraft
USAAC
version of
F4B US See F4B
P-16, Berliner-Joyce US Army two-seat fighter. In April 1929 the US Army held a design competition for a new two-seat fighter. Boeing and Curtiss designs were rejected in favour of the Berliner- Joyce company's proposal which received a prototype contract the following June. This was the first two-seat fighter to be ordered by the army for six years, an indication of the vacillating attitude
towards
this
particular
aircraft type.
The XP-16 appeared in October of 1929. It was a fabric-covered biplane of unequal span. The upper wing was of greater area than the lower one and was gulled into the top of the fuselage, with a cut-out for the pilot's cockpit. The considerable wing stagger gave the XP-16 a racy appearance. Its supercharged 600-hp Curtiss Conqueror V- 1570-25 gave it a top speed of 299 km/h (186 mph) at 1520 (5000 ft). The undercarriage comprised fixed divided main units and a tail skid. The performance of the prototype was sufficiently impressive for a production order for 25 YP-16s to be placed in spring 1931. Deliveries began the following year. Armament included two 0.30-in (7.62-mm) fixed forward-firing synchronized machine-guns in the engine cowling and a further 0.30-in gun on a free mounting operated by the second was whose cockpit member, crew immediately behind the pilot's. A load of 102 kg (224 lb) of bombs could be carried. Range could be extended by means of an auxiliary fuel tank fitted between the undercarriage legs. Unfortunately, the production P- 16s did not have superchargers, and maximum speed at altitude suffered. The P-16s were used between 1932-35 by the 27th and 36th Pursuit Squadrons, being redesignated PB-1 (pursuit biplane) under a new army directive. They were never popular with their pilots because of the poor visibility afforded by the wing
m
layout.
2061
P-26,
Boeing
Span: 10.36 m (34 ft) Length: 8.59 m (28 ft 2 in) Gross weight: 1813 kg (3996 lb) Maximum speed 282 km/h (175 mph) at sea level
P. 23,
P.Z.L. Polish bomber/reconnaissance
See
aircraft
Kara
P.24, P.Z.L. Polish fighter aircraft
See P.7/P.11/P.24
Boeing
P-26,
US
fighter aircraft. In
company
flew
its
May
1930. the
Boeing
Model 200 Monomail com-
mercial mail carrier for the first time. It incorporated new concepts in design and engineering, which were soon applied to Boeing's fighter and bomber designs. Three private-venture prototypes for a fighter
known
Model 248, were The P-26 was a single-seat open-cockpit low-wing monoplane, and was design,
produced
as the Boeing
in 1931.
—
of all-metal construction still an unusual feature at that time. The wings were extensively braced, and the fuselage was partially streamlined, although it was still rather 'stubby' in appearance in comparison to its stablemate, the B-9 bomber. Unlike the B-9, the P-26 had non-retractable landing gear which caused considerable drag. The assisted with some of the design work and in the provision of equipment for these aircraft. The three aircraft were sent for official trials under the designation XP936 and the first flight was made on March 20, 1932. They were bought by the army and given separate designations: XP-26, Y1P-26 and P-26.
USAAC
The P-26A saw
action briefly during the Second
After further trials the army placed an order for 11 Boeing Model 266s, a slightly modified version of the P-26, powered by the 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R- 1340-27 Wasp radial engine, with a narrow-chord cowling ring. Designated P-26A by the army, it at first had only ailerons for wing control, but flaps were later fitted to all aircraft in service. The internal wing construction was
NACA
and slight alterations were also wheel fairings. Deliveries began in January 1934 and were completed by the end of June 1934. The P-26As were the first modified,
made
to the
all-metal
production fighters to enter
US
World War with service.
the Philippine
Most were
fitted
army
in 1941
with flotation gear,
models a deeper cockpit was standard. Nicknamed 'pea-shooters' by their pilots, armament comprised two 0.30-in (7.62-mm) guns (or one of 0.30-in calibre plus a 0.5-in [12.7-mm] Browning machine-gun), mounted one each side of the engine cowling, with provision for two 45-kg (100-lb) or five 14-kg (31-lb) bombs to be carried under the fuselage. P-26As equipped seven prewar USAAC groups, becoming standard equip-
and on
ment
later
for the 1st, 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 23rd
and 37th Army Pursuit Groups in the US, Hawaii and Panama Canal areas.
The Boeing P-26 can justly be described as a transitional fighter, for although it was the last US production fighter to have an open cockpit, fixed landing gear and external wing bracing, it was also the first all-metal monoplane fighter to enter service. It had two machine-guns and could carry up to 90 kg (200 lb) of bombs housed under the fuselage
2062
P-35, Seversky/P-35A, Republic
A
second contract was placed for 25 airtwo of which were designated P-26B with R- 1340-33 fuel-injection engines; the remainder were delivered as P-26Cs with the same engine as the A model, but having minor modifications to the control and fuel systems. Later all 23 were converted to P-
heed subsidiary, but Detroit went out of business in 1932, defaulting on the order. The YP-24 had crashed in October 1931 during tests and things looked bleak for designer Robert Wood. But Wood immediately joined Consolidated Aircraft, who were quick to see
26B
with
craft, the first
standard, although the designation remained the same. A variant with a retractable undercarriage and fully cantilevered wings, designated Model 264/YP-29, was developed from the original P-26. Some export orders were received for the Model 281, basically the P-26A with a different powerplant; 1 1 went to China where they were used to some effect in the defence of Nanking and Shanghai against the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937; one was also sold to Spain. Though not in front-line service on the outbreak of the Second World War, a number of P-26As were transferred to the Philippine army in 1941, and were in combat use when Pearl Harboi was attacked on December 7, 1941. All of these are believed to have been lost in that action. As the P-26s became obsolete for US requirements, they were sold to Panama, and to Guatemala where some remained in service ten years after the end of the war.
Length: 7.26 m (23 ft 10 in) Gross weight: 1340 kg (2955 lb) Maximum speed: 377 km/h (234 mph) (P-26A) Span: 8.51
m
(27
ft 1 1 in)
the potential of his basic design.
turbo-supercharger for high-altitude performance, a prototype fighter was ordered by the USAAC, designated Y1P-25; a light bomber XA-11 prototype, without turbo-supercharger, was also ordered. These aircraft had the new Hamilton controllable-pitch propeller.
Undeterred by the loss of the Y1P-25 prototype in January 1933, the USAAC ordered four improved machines powered by turbo-supercharged 675-hp Curtiss V-157057s. There were initial reservations concerneffectiveness of the second crew as rear gunner. These were later to be confirmed in practice, but tests were regarded as a great success. large contract for 50 P-30A aircraft was signed on December 6, 1934, these being the
ing the
member, who acted
A
first aircraft
San Diego
US Army
two-seat fighter. The only two-seat monoplane fighter to see service in the United States between the two world wars, the P-24/P-30 family were prime examples of a design wasted by lack of official policy concerning its operational use. It had an unusually involved design history, starting in prototype form as the XP-900, a privateventure militarized version of the commercial Lockheed Altair. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane built largely of metal, with plywood-covered wings. It had an inward-
new They were armed with two
to be built at Consolidated 's
plant.
fixed 0.30-in (7.62-mm) machine-guns in the cowling, with a third on a free mounting in
the
rear
cockpit.
Redesignated PB-2A in 1936-39 with the
1934, they served during 27th, 33rd,
P-30, Consolidated
Reworked
smoother contours, metal-covered wings and a V- 1570-27 engine fitted with a
and 36th Pursuit Squadrons of the had never thought
USAAC. The Army
through the role of the single-engined twoseat fighter, and though the PB-2As had good flying qualities they never had a real operational function.
Four service-test versions of the A- 11 variant accompanied the P30As from the San Diego plant in 1934. Like light-bomber
the prototype they lacked the supercharger, their propellers had only two blades, but could carry a 136-kg(300-lb)bombload. They were more heavily armed than the fighter variant, with four fixed forward-firing 0.30-in guns, but they saw little service. In an attempt to revive interest in the basic
and
design, Consolidated submitted a single-seat conversion of the PB-2A for the Army's 1936 pursuit competition. It was the only entry powered by a liquid-cooled engine, but it was heavier than the competitive designs, and all interest ceased after a fatal crash.
(P-30A/PB-2A) Span: 13.39 m (43 ft 11 in) Length: 9.14 m (30 ft) Gross weight: 2560 kg (5643 lb) Maximum speed: 441 km/h (274 mph) at 7620 m (25000 ft)
P-35, Seversky/P-35A, Republic US single-seat fighter aircraft.
undercarriage and its two-man crew were seated beneath a glazed canopy. Its 600-hp Curtiss V- 1570-23 engine was smoothly cowled and had a deep radiator just in front of the wing. In September 1931 the prototype was bought by the US Army and designated YP-24. Orders soon followed for four YlP-24s, plus four of an attack (lightbomber) version designated Y1A-9. All eight were to be built by Detroit Aircraft, a Lockretracting
The whole Seversky family stemmed from an experimental commercial low-wing twin-float amphibian, the Sev-3. Other branches of the family
included
a two-seat fixed-underthe BT-8 (30 built) and another two-seater, the 2PA-L 'convoy fighter' with a retractable undercarriage, two of which were sold to the Soviet Union, and 20 to the Japanese navy who designated them carriage
trainer,
A8V1. The Japanese briefly
aircraft
served only
and unsuccessfully as two-seat
fight-
ers, later being relegated to reconnaissance.
The Seversky P-35 had the distinction of being first low-wing, the retractableundercarriage, enclosed-cockpit, single-seat fighter to go into service with US forces. It was developed from the Seversky 2-XP, a two-seater with a fixed undercarriage enclosed in 'trouser' fairings, which was to take part in the August 1935 pursuit competition organized by the USAAC. It was damaged on the way to Wright Field, where the tests were being held, but Seversky were given a year's grace to resubmit their entry during which it was reworked. The resulting 1-XP was a stubby low-wing all-metal monoplane with an undercarriage which retracted backwards into deep 'bathtub' fairings under the wing. The pilot's cockpit was covered by a raised, glazed, carefully tapered canopy. Power was provided by a Wright Cyclone R1820-G-5 radial engine of 850 hp. Development towards the production aircraft proceeded via the Seversky-7 (with Pratt Whitney engine) and the AP-1 (with a large nose spinner). An order for 77 P-35 production machines was received from the USAAC. Further modifications introduced increased dihedral on the outer wing sections (to overcome an instability problem) and main undercarriage legs which were only
&
partially faired. Series aircraft
had Pratt
&
Whitney R- 1830-9 Twin Wasp 950-hp radials driving three-blade Hamilton propellers. First P-35s off the assembly line went to the 1st Pursuit Group at Self ridge Field, Michigan during 1937. They equipped the 17th, 27th and 94th Squadrons as well as the group's Headquarters Unit. Though a considerable advance on the fixed-undercarriage single-seaters which had preceded them, the P-35s were certainly not an unqualified success. Their maximum speed never reached that pledged by designers Alexander de
Seversky and Alexander Kartveli, and cermanoeuvres were prohibited to P-35 pilots so as not to hazard the aircraft. tain
The last of the production P-35s was completed as the experimental XP-41, delivered in 1938 with a 1200-hp R-1830-19 Twin Wasp engine. In 1939 the company became the Republic Aviation corporation, which developed the EP-106 export variant, with a 1050hp R-1830-45 engine. The Royal Swedish Air Force ordered 100 machines in February 1940, 60 of which flew with the Flygflottilj 8 at Barkarby from the summer of 1940. In mid- 1940 an export ban was imposed, and the remainder of the Swedish order went to the USAAC as the P-35A. They differed from the P-35 in having the original twin synchronized (7.62-mm) cowling guns supplemented by a pair of 0.5-in (12.7-mm) wing guns. The top speed was only marginally better than that of P-35. Most of them had been sent to the Philippines by the time the Japanese attacked the US in December 1941. The majority were destroyed on the ground in surprise attacks, but a few took part in rather one-sided dogfights with Mitsubishi A6M2 Type navy fighters; they were all wiped out within a few days. Sweden had also ordered a two-seat fighter-bomber version of the P-35, capable of carrying 612 kg (1350 lb) of bombs, and armed with two fixed 0.5-in guns and one 0.30-in free-mounted. Christened the Guardsman, the first examples were about to be shipped to Sweden when the export ban was 0.30-in
2063
P.148/P.149, Piaggio imposed. They were diverted to the US A AC the AT-I2. and were employed as adVUlced trainers or fast liaison aircraft.
as
Span: 10.97 m (36 ft) Length: 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in) Gross weight: 2540 kg (5600 lb) Maximum speed. 452 km/h (281 mph) at 3000 m (10 000 ft)
US
P-36, Curtiss
fighter aircraft
Hawk
See P-37, P.Z.L. Polish
bomber
US
P-38, Lockheed
75
See Los
fighter aircraft
See Lightning P-39, Bell
US
fighter aircraft
See Airacobra
The
US
P-40, Curtiss
Italian Piaggio P. 148 basic trainer
fighter aircraft
Hawk
See
81
—
which has been widely exported
—
later Zaire as part of an Italian programme. A total of 100 were built. They were phased out of Italian service with the advent of the Aermacchi M.B.326 jet
(Kinshasa)
aid
See Ansaldo
P/40 Italian tank
P.43, P.Z.L. Polish bomber/reconnaissance
See Karas
aircraft
US
P-43, Republic
fighter aircraft
See Lancer P-45, Bell Original designation of Bell P-39
Airacobra
US fighter aircraft
US
P-47, Republic
See Airacobra
fighter aircraft
See Thunderbolt P-51, North American
US
fighter aircraft
See Mustang P-59, Bell
US
See Airacomet
US
fighter aircraft
See Black Widow P-63, Bell
US
fighter aircraft
See Kingcobra
US
P-66, Vultee
fighter aircraft
See Vanguard P-70, Douglas
US fighter aircraft
P-80, Lockheed
US
See Havoc
jet fighter aircraft
See Shooting Star P-82, North cepter
American
US
was
realized that
Beginning life as a four-seater touring version of the P. 148, the prototype P. 149 had a tricycle undercarriage and a 260-hp Lycoming GO-435 engine. It was flown for the first time on June 19, 1953. The P. 149 went into production two years later, after an order for 72 had been placed by the Federal German Luftwaffe. Designated P. 149D, they were to be used as a four/five-seat liaison aircraft or two-seat basic trainer. Deliveries began in May 1957, and six months later a further 190 were ordered, to be built or assembled by
Focke-Wulf
jet fighter aircraft
P-61, Northrop
when some basic training on a piston-engined aircraft was useful. trainer, but returned to service in 1970
it
fitted
in
Germany.
All P.
149Ds were
with the 270-hp Lycoming GO-480 six-
cylinder air-cooled engine. They were replaced for liaison duties by the Dornier Do 27, but about 100 remained as trainers until the end of the 1960s. In 1965 Germany supplied 26 P. 149Ds to the Nigerian air force as armament trainers, and small numbers were also sent to Tanzania and Uganda. Some P. 149s were purchased as private tourers, and Swissair had a few for use as basic trainers. Many remained in service well into the 1970s. (P.148) Span:
1 1
.13
m
(36
ft
6
in)
Length:8.44
m
Gross weightA200 kg (2646 lb) (twoseater) Maximum speed: 235 km/h (146 mph) (27
ft
8
in)
all-weather inter-
See Twin Mustang
(P.149D) Span: 11.13 m (36 ft 6 in) Length: 8.78 (28 ft 10 in) Gross weight: 1680 kg (3704 lb) Maximum speed: 310 km/h (193 mph)
m P-84, Republic
US
jet fighter aircraft
See Thunderjet
P.551-556 P.148/P.149, Piaggio Italian
primary trainer
aircraft.
Designed by
Ing C P Casiraghi, the P. 148 side-by-side two/three-seat primary trainer was chosen as one of the standard aircraft for the Italian air force in 1951. The prototype of this low-wing monoplane first flew on February 12, 1951. It was powered by a single 190-hp Lycoming O435-A six-cylinder air-cooled engine, and had a non-retractable tail-wheel undercarriage. Deliveries started in June 1952, and a year later a number were sent to the Somali air corps and 12 to the Congolese air force
2064
submarine class. Six single-hulled Holland-type boats of the US S.18 Class were transferred to Britain during 1941-42 under the Lend-Lease agreement. They were slower and smaller than the contemporary British 'L' Class, but were more powerfully armed, carrying two spare torpedoes for each tube. They were capable of diving to a depth of 60 m (200 ft). Bunkerage was provided for 92 tons of oil fuel and the boats had a surfaced radius of action of 8000 km (5000 British
miles) at 10.5 knots.
At
first
convoy
some were occasionally used as was soon drop-
escorts, but this idea
to
Europe and Africa
ped and they were used mainly for training. Of the vessels handed over to the Royal
Navy the P. 551 (ex-S.25) was further passed on to the Polish navy-in-exile in 1941 and renamed Jastrzab. She was sunk in error on May 2, 1942, by the Norwegian destroyer St Albans and the minesweeper Seagull when she strayed from a covering position while escorting Convoy PQ 15 to North USSR. The remaining submarines were returned to the US in 1944, and were eventually scrapped or used as targets at the end of the war. Displacement: 854/1062 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 66.8 m (219 ft3 in) Beam:6.3 m (20 ft 9 in) Draught: 4.9 m (16 ft) Machinery: 2shaft NLSE diesel engines/2 Ridgway (P.552 Dynamics) electric motors, 1200 Electric bhp/1500 shp= 14.5/11 knots (surfaced/submerged) ArmamentA 4-in (102-mm); 4 21-in (53cm) torpedo tubes (bow), 12 torpedoes Crew:42
P.611 submarine class. Four submarines under construction for Turkey at Vickers- Armstrongs, Barrow, in 1939. On the outbreak of war they were impounded and handed over to the Royal Navy, but eventually only two of the boats (P. 611 and P. 612) were retained. The other two were delivered to the Turkish navy on completion, though they were temporarily commissioned into the Royal Navy for the passage to Turkey. British
were
The design was
similar to the British
4
S' Class. Much of the equipment was of standard British design but the arrangement of the torpedo armament was altered. Only four tubes were mounted in the bow instead of the six of the 'S' Class but a single tube was fitted aft (as fitted only on later 'S' Class boats). They carried 38 tons of oil fuel and achieved a radius of action of 4000 km (2500 miles) at 10 knots on the surface. The maximum diving
depth was 98 m (320 feet). P.615 was torpedoed by the German U 123 on April 18, 1943, while on patrol 320 km (200 miles) south of Freetown, West Africa. P.614 was returned to the Turkish navy in 1945, and together with her two sisters continued in service until 1957 when they were finally discarded and scrapped.
687/861
tons
(surfaced/sub6 in) oa Beam: 6.8 m (22 ft 3 in) Draught: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft Vickers diesels/2 electric
Displacement:
merged) Length: 61.4
m
(201
ft
1
"
Palestro
tracked-undercarriage
Number
launched
phased out as obsolete
fate
Oruc Reis 1942; scrapped 1957
to Turkey,
P.611
7/40
P.612
2/40
Turkey, Murat Reis 1942; scrapped 1957
to
Turkey, BurakReis 1945; scrapped 1957
10/40
P.614
P.61S
1550 bhp/1300 shp=13.75/10 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 3-in (76mm) AA; 1 20-mm (0.79-in); 5 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes, 9 torpedoes Crew: 40
vehicles, or easy loading of other freight floor level as the fuselage. An electrically operated, fully retractable, tricycle-type undercarriage was to be used. Powerplant specified was two 2100-hp Pratt Whitney R-2800-85 Double Wasp 18-cylinder two-row radials, driving
from trucks which had the same
&
Pacinotti submarine
class.
Two
medium-sized
single-hulled submarines for operations in the Aegean, Adriatic and restricted Mediterranean waters were ordered at the start of the
World War from the Fiat-San Giorgio Spezia. They were very similar to Bulillu. which preceded them from the same
First
yard,
yard, but with reduced surfaced displacement. One extra torpedo tube was mounted, and they could be distinguished by the lack of the forward casing which was so prominent on Balilla. The radius of action was 5800 km (3600 miles) at 10 knots surfaced, and 19 km (12 miles) at 9 knots submerged. Guglielmotti was rammed and sunk accidentally by the British Cyclamen on March 1917, north-west of Capraia Island. 10, Pacinotti was in service until May 15, 1921,
when she was discarded and scrapped. Displacement: 699/855 tonnes (surfaced/submerged) Length: 65 m (213 ft 3 in) pp Beam: 6 m (19 ft 8 in) Draught: 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in) Machinery: 2-shaft Fiat diesels/2 Savigliano electric motors,
1135 bph/900 hp=15.5 (Guglielmotti, 12)/10 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 2 3-in (76-mm); 5 17.7-in (45-cm) torpedo tubes, 7 torpedoes Crew: 39
Name
laid
Hamilton
Standard Hydromatic constantspeed, fully feathering, metal, three-blade propellers. The F-78 was designed to carry trucks, howitzers, half-tracks, tanks or other
army equipment. The design was accepted by the army in 1942 while in mock-up form, and a prototype designated XC-82 flew for the first time on September was given
10, 1944. In that year a contract to Fairchild for 100 C-82As, or
down
launched
completed
6/16
12/16
Pacinotti
6/14
3/16
12/16
See LUSAC-1
Span: 32.46 m (106 ft 6 in) Length: 23 .49 m (77 ft in) Gross weight: 24500 kg (52910 lb) Cruising speed: 399 km/h (248 mph)
1
Paladin British destroyer class
See Oribi
Palestro 1917-23.'
Four
vessels were ordered in December 1916 from the Orlando shipyard at Livorno, but shortages of steel and manpower prevented much
work being done on them
until after the Armistice. Palestro, Solferino, San Martino and Confienza were all laid down in the spring of 1917 and launched in 1920. They were given recognition letters PT, SL, SM, and CF respectively. In appearance they differed greatly from the previous three-funnelled type, having a tall forefunnel and a second, shorter one, as in the contemporary British
The
Solferino, a Palestro Class Italian destroyer, in September 1942. As TA 18 she was
taken into
German
and sunk
in action against the
Suda Bay, Crete Royal Navy destroyers Termagant and Tuscan in the Mediterranean on October 19, 1944 service at
Deliveries did not start until the end of 1945 and service trials continued to test modifications made on production models, including a hot-air wing and tail de-icing system. When vehicles or other large items of freight were to be air-dropped, the rear doors were removed. A drogue parachute drew the load out of the doorway, after which the main parachutes opened. Aircraft for paratroop dropping were fitted with two side doors, one each side of the clamshell doors; they were
6/14
US aircraft
Packets were
1954.
Packets as they were named, and a further 100 were ordered in 1945. Some of the latter were to be built by North American Aviation (NAA) at Dallas. A further order to NAA for 792 aircraft was cancelled at the end of the Second World War after only three had been constructed, with the designation C-82N.
Guglielmotti
Packard-Le Pere
in
Italian destroyer class, built
lost 18/4/43
11/40
motors,
Italian
to
units.
removed
prior to a 'dropping' flight taking Forty-two parachutists plus their equipment could be carried. In the ambulance role 34 stretchers could be carried plus their attendants. Packets were also used as glider tugs; attachment points were at first placed in the ends of the tail booms, but were repositioned under the rear of the fuselage on later models. Maximum load in all roles was 2948 kg (6500 lb). Deliveries of the Packet ended in September 1948, 220 aircraft having been built by Fairchild. During their career they gave useful service with troop-carrier squadrons of Tactical Air Command and with the Military Air Transport Service, and assisted in the Berlin airlift in 1948-49. One Packet designated EC-82A, was tested with Firestone place.
Packet, Fairchild C-82 US transport aircraft. In 1941 the US Army issued a specification for a freighter to replace the Douglas Skytrains and Curtiss Commandos then in service. The Fairchild company brought out a design, Model F-78, for a twin-engined, high-wing cantilever monoplane with a five-man crew. It was to be of all-metal stressed-skin construction, with fabric-covered control surfaces. The tail unit was carried on twin booms, allowing loading access to the cargo hold in the main fuselage pod to be close to the ground. Clamshell doors were positioned at the rear of the" fuselage, giving straight-in ramp loading for
2065
X
Pancerovka 'W type. They were followed by a improved type, the Curtatane Class, and were reclassified as torpedo boats in October 1938. All four were sunk in the Second World War. Palestra was torpedoed by the British submarine Osiris on September 22, 1940, and Confienzti was lost on November 20, 1940, after colliding with the armed merchantman Capitano A Cecchi. San Martina fell into German hands at Piraeus on September 9, 1943. and on the same day Solferino was captured at Suda Bay, Crete; they were recommissioned in the Kriegsmarine as TA 1 7 and TA 18. but were no luckier than their sisters. On September 18, 1944, TA /7was hit by bombs and severely damaged, and on October 12 a further raid sank her. On October 19 the same year TA 18 was sunk in action against the British destroyers Termagant and Tuscan. Modified slightly
Displacement: 862 tonnes (standard), 1200 tonnes (full load) Length: 81.9 m (268 ft 8 in) oa Beam: 8.02 m (26 ft 4 in) Draught:2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft steam turbines, 22000 shp=32 knots Armament: 4 4-in (102-mm)/45cal (4x1);2 3-in (76-mm)/40-cal AA (2x1); 4 45cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (2x2) Crew: 106
Pancerovka Soviet RPG series of weapons. It consists of a lightweight launching tube fitted with a pistol grip, and containing the firing mechanism and simple open sights. A small bipod is fitted below the front of the tube to allow the weapon to be fired from the prone position, but it can also be fired from the shoulder. The tail boom of a hollow-charge finstabilized bomb is loaded into the front of the tube, the bomb's flexible fins being folded to fit inside the tube. A small propulsion cartridge is located inside the launch tube behind the loaded bomb. The rear end of the tube is open. The propulsion cartridge is ignited by pressing the trigger. This launches the bomb
from the carpasses through the open back to elimi-
tridge
blast
nate recoil. The tail boom of tne bomb contains a rocket propulsion unit and a delay unit. The delay unit is ignited as the bomb is launched, and after a few metres of flight ignites the rocket accelerating the bomb to its target. The delay is necessary to prevent back-flash from the rocket blinding the firer. The warhead, which has a larger diameter than the calibre of the launcher, is reported to be capable of penetrating up to 250 (9.8 in) of homogeneous armour plate. Because of the poor ballistic shape of the bomb, the accurate range is much less than that of the RPG series or other comparable shoulder-
mm
fired
weapons. understood
that the P-27 is no longer in service with the Czech army, having been replaced by the Soviet RPG-7. A number remain in use in Asia. It is
first-line
Calibre of launch tube: 45 6.39 kg (14 lb
1
mm (1.77 in)
oz) loaded Length: 109
Weight:
cm
(43
loaded Diameter of bomb: 120 mm (4.7 in) Weight of bomb: 3.75 kg (8 lb 4 oz) Velocity: 72 m/sec (236 ft/sec) Maximum range: 100 m (330 ft) Rate of fire: 3-4 rds/min in)
2066
French armoured vehicles. The Soci6te de Constructions Mecaniques Panhard et Levassor of Paris have been in the automobile business a long time; by 1890 they had established the layout of the conventional motor car, and in 1895 a Panhard won the world's first motor race. A half-track known as the Auto-Chenille was the first Panhard armoured vehicle to be adopted in any numbers. It was a lightly armoured reconnaissance car with a turret-mounted machine-gun, and entered service with the French army in about 1930. It was followed in 1932 by the Panhard-TOE armoured car which resembled the Auto-Chenille but had a pair of wheels replacing the half-track unit. In 1933 the company began work on a light armoured car to fit the specification laid down by the French army for their Division Legere Mecanique. The resulting vehicle went into service as the (auto mitrailleuse de decouverte, scout car) and about 350 were in use by the outbreak of war. It was a fourwheeled car with rear engine, having a turret which mounted either a 25-mm (1-in) Hotchkiss antitank gun and a 7.5-mm (0.295-in) Chatellerault machine-gun, or two 7.5-mm machine-guns. After the fall of France in 1940 the Germans took over most of the and put them to use, even converting some to run on railway tracks as route-patrol vehicles. After Paris was liberated in 1944, the was put back into production. It remained in service with some French units until the 1960s. The postwar models had a slightly different turret mounting a 47-mm (1.85-in) gun in place of the 25-mm gun, and were known as Modele B. The outbreak of war in 1939 had interrupted development work begun in 1937 on a
AMD
AMDs
Czech antitank rocket launcher. The Pancerovka P-27 appears to be derived from the
from the tube, and the
Panhard
AMD
AMD
Panhard heavy armoured car. One prototype was completed by 1939 and this was sent to North Africa where it was destroyed in combat. As soon as the war was over the design was overhauled and submitted to the army. It was put into service in 1950 as the
EBR-75 (engin blinde reconnaissance, 75mm, armoured scout car). Some 1200 were built over the following ten years, some of
A
Panhard
EBR
which were bought by Morocco, Tunisia and Portugal. The EBR-75 is an eight-wheeled car of highly sophisticated design. Normally, only the front and rear pairs of pneumatictired wheels are in use. The four inner wheels, constructed of steel with cleats, are held clear of the ground by hydropneumatic gear, and are lowered and brought into use only when additional support and traction are needed. There are two drivers, one at each end. Normally the front driver is in full control, but if a rapid getaway is needed the rear driver can take over control and drive the vehicle out of trouble. The front and rear sets of road wheels can be steered separately
under the control of either driver, or steered together to give very sharp cornering. The vehicle can be driven with equal speed and ease in either direction. The turret resembles that used on the tank, in that the
gun
is
rigidly
mounted
AM in the
turret, which moves to elevate the barrel between -6° and +13°. As with the AMX tank the gun is provided with an automatic
loader having a capacity of 12 rounds. Early the 1960s a number of vehicles were converted by fitting a later-model turret with a smooth-bore 90-mm (3.54-in) gun firing finstabilized ammunition. This model has been supplied only to the French army. By removing the turret and roofing over the hull, Panhard turned the EBR into an armoured personnel carrier, known as the EBR-ETT. This had a small one-man turret mounting a machine-gun, and did away with the rear driver so that double doors could be fitted at the back of the hull. This was built in 1957 but met with relatively little enthusiasm. Only 30 were produced and the French army disposed of them fairly rapidly; the survivors were still serving with the Portuguese army in the late 1970s. Having had a resounding success with the EBR, Panhard worked on a replacement for the ageing AMD. The result entered service in 1961 as the (auto mitrailleuse legere, light scout car). Over 3000 were eventually made by Panhard and exported to most parts of the world, and the type is manufactured under licence in South Africa as the Eland. The AML, like the AMD, is a four-wheeled in
AML
75 heavy armoured car. The novel wheel configuration dates back to the 1930s
Panhard car with rear engine and a central turret. In normal trim it can ford to a depth of 1.1 (3 ft 6 in) and it can be fitted with an accessory flotation kit which allows it to swim, propelled by an add-on propeller unit. There are a number of variations, derived from the basic by changes in the turret and armament. The first vehicle into service was the AML-60 which carried two machine-guns and a
m
V
AML
JL_.1L c
J&£?*
^?*"- •—
i*!"9R^t-" ^^b^laps i. ^y v.-?i ^^^B
Br"'
V-
Brandt 60-mm (2.36-in) mortar; a minor
vari-
7.5-mm or
7.62-
ant of this replaced the twin
mm (0.30-in) machine-guns with a single 12.7mm (0.5-in) Browning gun. The AML-60-20 60-mm
by a 20-mm
-^'•r
*"
-J
1 A Panhard AML-245
f
light
•• '
•
•
•
>
fj
iy
armoured car with an HE-60-7
DTAT
mortar accompanied cannon, while the AML30 dispenses with the mortar and uses a 30mm (1.18-in) Hispano-Suiza cannon with a 7.62-mm machine-gun in coaxial mount. The AML-90 is the most potent vehicle, mounting a 90-mm smoothbore gun with a coaxial 7.62mm machine-gun, and it is this version which is being produced in South Africa. An antiaircarries a
(0.79-in)
AML-S530, mounts two 20cannon capable of elevations up to 70°; numbers of this vehicle have been bought by Venezuela. The AML-NA2 for antitank operation was developed by Nord-Aviation. It carried either four SS-1I or two SS-12 antitank guided missiles but was not adopted by any country. Panhard's next step was to build the extremely reliable and robust mechanical comcraft vehicle, the
mm
turret, during
manoeuvres
in
1976
AML
ponents of the into a slightly larger hull full amphibian capabilities and turn it into an armoured personnel carrier, the M3. This could carry twelve men, plus the driver, and in basic form had a simple cupola with a 7.62-mm machine-gun. This became the basic vehicle for a complete family, including mortar carrier, ambulance, workshop vehicle, command vehicle, and antitank missile carrier armed with the Hot missile. The APC version has sold widely, and by 1978 the more specialized variants were undergoing evaluation in several quarters, though not yet fully in service. Panhard followed the M3 with the M4, M6 and M8, the type numbers with
Above: Below:
A Panhard ERC 90S fires its 90-mm (3.54-in) smooth-bore gun during pre-delivery trials A Panhard VCR.TT APC fitted with a remote-controlled 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon
of the later designs indicating the number of wheels. All were capable of swimming, and a wide variety of armament options were proposed, but they appear to have found few takers. In 1975 Panhard began development of a complete new range of vehicles which were to be as light as possible (for increased performance and reduced cost) and were all to be based on a standard six-wheel chassis, with the centre wheel on each side capable of being lifted clear of the ground for road operation. Two basic hulls were designed: one for armoured cars, with a rear engine, front driver, and turret space in the centre; and one for APCs and MICVs with the driver the front and the engine immediately behind him. The armoured-car group is led by the ERC90S (engin de reconnaissance canon) which carries a new smooth-bore 90-mm gun with a much longer barrel than previous models. This uses the same ammunition as the AMX13 tank destroyer and produces a muzzle velocity of 950 m/sec (3120 ft/sec), significantly higher than any previous armoured-car weapon of this type and with a vastly at
improved first-round
hit
probability.
Such
items as laser rangefinders and night-vision intensifiers can also be fitted. Other variants
2067
Panther ERC-TG120 mounting a 20-mm cannon: the EMC-81 fire-support vehicle mounting an unusual 81-mm (3.2-in) smoothbore gun which can fire either fin-stabilized HEAT shells or conventional 81-mm mortar include the
bombs; the ERC-60-20 with a 60-mm breechloading mortar and a 20-mm cannon; and the ERC-90 Lynx which mounts a lighter 90-mm gun than the 90S with slightly lower performance.
The icule
APC
versions are called
combat a
roues,
VCR
(
Veh-
armoured personnel
and as well as traditional personnel command vehicle, ambulance and missile carrier versions have been developed. By late 1978 a number of orders had been received and production was expected to carrier);
training ship for the submarine
commanders'
Cattaro (Kotor) from February 1917, and after the armistice was scrapped in
school
at
Italy.
(Panther and Leopard) Displacement: 1582 tons Length: 69 m (226 ft 4 in) pp Beam: 10 m (32 ft 10 in) Draught: 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) Machinery:2-shaH triple-expansion,- 6000 ihp = 18 knots Protection: 40 mm (1.6 in) deck Armament: 2 4.7-in (120mm) (2x1); 10 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in])/44-cal (10x1); 4 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (above water; 1 bow, 2 beam) Crew: 175-198
carriers,
begin shortly. 8.5 tonnes LengthA.lBm (15ft8 Width: 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Height: 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) Armour thickness: 18-13 (0.7-0.51 in) Armament: 1 25-mm (1-in) gun Powerplant: 4-
(AMD) Weight. in)
mm
cylinder gasoline, 105
bhp Speed: 72 km/h (45
mph) Crew: 4 (EBR-75) Weight: 13 tonnes Length: 5.56 m (18 3 in) Width:2A2 m (7 ft 1 1 in) Height:2.32 m (7
ft
7 in) Armour thickness: 15-8 mm (0.6-0.3 in) Armament: 1 75-mm (2.95 in) gun Powerplant: 12-cylinder gasoline, 200 bhp Speed: 105 km/h (65 mph) Crew: 4
ft
(AML-90) Weight: 5.5 tonnes Length:3.79 m (12 5 in) Width: 1 .97 m (6 ft 6 in) Height: 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) Armour thickness: 12-8 mm (0.5-0.3 in) Armament: 1 90-mm (3.54-in) gun Powerplant: 4-cylinder gasoline, 90 bhp Speed: 100 km/h (62 mph) Crew: 3 ft
(M3) Weight: 6.1 tonnes Length: 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in) Width: 2.4 m (7 ft 1 1 in) Height: 2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Armour
thickness: 12-8
mm
(0.5-0.3 in)
Arma-
ment: various Powerplant: 4-cylinder gasoline, 90 bhp Speed: 100 km/h (62 mph) Crew: 2 (ERC-90S) Weight: 7.4 tonnes Length: 4.57
m
2 in) Height:2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Armour thickness: not known Armaments 90-mm (3.54-in) gun Powerplant: V-6 gasoline, (15
ft)
Width:2A9
m
(8 ft
140 bhp Speed: 110 km/h (68 mph) Crew: 3
Panther Austro-Hungarian cruiser class, built 188486. Two small craft corresponding to the Royal Navy's torpedo gunboats were ordered from Armstrong's Elswick yard, followed by the slightly enlarged Tiger from Stabilimento appearance they Tecnico, Trieste. In resembled contemporary British 2nd Class cruisers, with a ram bow, two funnels and sponsoned gun positions in the waist. They were built with two single 4.7-in (120-mm) guns (four in Tiger) forward and aft, but later in their careers they were reconstructed and armed with four 66-mm (2.6-in)/45-cal guns on the poop and forecastle. Tiger was partially disarmed as the hulk La croma before August 1914, and in 1915 she was completely stripped of all but six 3-pdr, 47-mm (1 .85-in) guns for service as an accommodation ship for U-Boats at Pola. She was scrapped in Italy in 1920. Leopard was laid in May 1914, but was reactivated as a guardship at Pola, and like Lacroma was scrapped in Italy. Panther was the seagoing
up
2068
Panther German medium tank, in service from 1943. The German army had been rudely surprised by the appearance of the Soviet T-34 tank, and they carefully studied some captured samples. Hitler ordered the development of a similar vehicle, to weigh about 30 tons, and prototypes were developed by Daimler-Benz and Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Niirnberg
(MAN).
MAN
After
some
initial
indecision
the
model was selected for production,
originally scheduled to begin in
December
1942.
Displacement: 1683 tons (normal) Length: 71 m (232 ft 1 1 in) pp Beam: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) Draught: 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) Machinery: 2shaft triple-expansion, 6000 ihp=18 knots Protection: 75-40 mm (3-1.6 in) deck Armament: 4 4.7-in (4x1); 10 3-pdr (47-mm)/44-cal (10x1); 4 45-cm torpedo tubes (above water; 1 bow, 1 stern, 2 beam) Crew: 175-198 (Tiger)
The first model was the Ausfiihrung D version. It incorporated torsion-bar suspension with overlapping road wheels, sloped plates to deflect shot (a feature copied from the T-34) and a long 75-mm (2.95-in) gun in the turret. No hull machine-gun was fitted, though a flap in the glacis plate could be opened to allow a machine-gun to be thrust
'
Panther
The PzKpfw V Panther Ausf D suffered from mechanical breakdowns when it was first introduced, but once these had been cured subsequent models were formidable vehicles. The tank illustrated here has spare track links added partly for protection and also for repairs in the field using the tools attached to the hull sides. This Panther D has an armoured cupola which later became standard with the A and G. The angled armour not only reduced the number of shock traps (vertical surfaces vulnerable to AP shells and projectiles) on the hull and turret, but also increased the effectiveness of the armour. The Panther was invulnerable to US and British tanks if attacked from the front, and the recommended tactic was to manoeuvre into position for a flank shot, which had a better chance of penetrating the thinner armour
2069
Panther through and fired. Production began in January 1943. but in April all issues were recalled for modification and it was not until May that the first equipments reached service units. They were first used in action at Kursk in July 1943. A total of 850 were produced before manufacture of this model stopped in
September 1943. The second series model was the Ausfuhrung A. This had strengthened suspension, a better cupola for the commander and a ball-mounted machine-gun in the hull front. Numerous mechanical modifications
were made to improve reliability. Two thousand of this model were produced between August 1943 and May 1944. Experience in the field brought several suggestions from the troops, and these were incorporated
in
the
third
series,
the turret, and provision was made for upgunning with an 88-mm (3.46-in) gun in due course. Various improvements were also made to the hull and running gear. Only eight hulls were ever completed and only three or four prototype turrets were made. A number of late production Ausfuhrung G models were built as Befehlwagen (command tanks) in which the ammunition storage capacity was reduced to make room for additional radio sets. These vehicles could be identified by their added antenna. A number of reworked Panthers were converted into Beobachtungspanzer (artillery observationpost tanks) in late 1944 in which the gun was *
replaced by a
make room
in
equipment and
wooden dummy
in order to for extra radio artillery plotting boards. The
the
turret
was closed by an armour plate, on which an additional ball-mounted machine-gun was placed. turret front
(Ausfuhrung G) 6.68 m (21 ft 11 Height: 2.95 m (9
20
mm
Weight: 44.8 tonnes Length: Width: 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) ft 8 in) Armour thickness: 120in)
(4.7-0.8 in)
Armament:
1
75-mm
(2.95-ln)
KwK
42 gun, 81 rounds Powerplant: MayLach V-12 gasoline, 700 bhp at 3000 rpm Speed: 46 km/h (29 mph) Range: 175 km (110 miles) Crew: 5
the
Ausfuhrung G, production of which began in March 1944. The hull side-armour was thickdriver's vision arrangements the improved, armoured ammunition bins were fitted, and further mechanical improvements were made. Many later production models had heaters fitted to improve crew comfort, and on some the gun mantlet was modified to obviate the danger of shot being deflected downwards onto the hull top. A total of 3126 of the G model were made and it was extensively used in every theatre of war. The final model to be developed was the Ausfuhrung F, though this never went into production. The principal change was the adoption of a new turret known as the Schmal Turm (narrow turret), intended to provide a small frontal area. Thicker armour was provided, together with a mantlet capable of deflecting shot in any direction.
ened,
An
optical rangefinder
in
A Panther in ambush. This tank has parked close to a farm house near Monte Colombo in Italy and the crew have camouflaged with some underbrush. Below: A Sherman tank passes a knocked out Panther Ausf D on the dusty Normandy roads on July 9, 1944
Above: it
was incorporated
2070
/.
Panther
A Grumman XF9F-2 Panther
in
a striking colour
scheme. This aircraft does not have wingtip fuel tanks which were standard on production marks
Panther, Grumman F9F US carrier-based fighter aircraft. The first jet fighter designed by Grumman for the US Navy, the prototype XF9F-1 was ordered on April 22, 1946. It was a single-seat unswept mid-wing monoplane, and was intended to be powered by four Westinghouse 680-kg (1500st J30-WE-20 axial-flow turbojets 1b) mounted in the wing roots. The four engines were necessary to achieve the speed and performance required for the night-fighter specification, but as development progressed it was soon found that this unorthodox installation was not going to be satisfactory, and the original design was cancelled. Two XF9F-2 prototypes were produced for a day fighter, with a single jet engine installed in the more conventional centre-fuselage position. The powerplant selected was the 2268-kg (5000-lb) st Rolls-Royce Nene imported from the UK. These prototypes, with the Grumman model number G-79, had wing-root air intakes, with the tailpipe under
A Grumman
the rudder. The fin carried a high-mounted tailplane and the glazed cockpit was in front of the wings to ensure good pilot visibility. The first XF9F-2 was flown for the first time on November 24, 1947. third prototype, XF9F-3, flew on August 16, 1948, powered by a 2086-kg (4600-lb) st Allison J33-A-8 engine, which was under consideration for Whitney J42 licence-built use if the Pratt version of the Nene did not prove satisfac-
A
&
tory.
Armament was
to
comprise four 20-mm
cannon in the nose and six 5-in (12.7cm) underwing rockets or two 500-kg (1102lb) bombs. Wingtip tanks for extra fuel were not fitted on the prototypes but were standard on production aircraft. They were a perma(0.79-in)
nent fit, but their fuel could be jettisoned in an emergency. There were under-fuselage brakes to reduce the speed of descent, and the wings could be folded upward for stowage. Production contracts were issued for 47 F9F-2 Panthers with the Pratt & Whitney J42P-6 engine and 54 F9F-3s with the Allison
J33-A-8.
The engines could be interchanged
between aircraft, and eventually all F9F-3s were equipped with the Pratt & Whitney licence-built Nenes to F9F-2 standard. A total of 477 F9F-2s and 69 F9F-3s were built. Deliveries began to VF-51 in May 1949. Seventy-three of the F9F-4 variant were ordered with a 0.6
and
m
(2 ft) longer fuselage,
with a 2880-kg (6350Allison J33-A-16 engine, which would have raised the maximum speed to 1019 km/h (633 mph). Only the XF9F-4 prototype was completed, however, and the projected production aircraft became part of the total order of 842 F9F-5s, the final model in the Panther series, which was flown for the first time on December 21. 1949. The F9F-5 was powered by a 2835-kg (6250-lb) st Pratt Whitney J48-P-2, P-4 or P-6A, licence-built versions of the Rolls-Royce Tay turbojet. taller tail fin,
fitted
lb) st
&
Production continued until 1952, with some of the later aircraft being equipped with nose cameras for reconnaissance duty, these being designated F9F-5P. On some of the final
Panther on a bombing mission against targets in North Korea in September 1951.
It
could
lift
two 500-kg (1102-lb) bombs
2071
Panther, Parnall The Grumman F9F-2B Panther (below) could carry rockets or bombs and four 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon. Wingtip fuel tanks were fixed, but it was possible to
aircraft the engines
dump
to be used under combat conditions when during the early stages of the Korean war in the summer of 1950 they were flown off the USS Valley Forge and Philippine Sea. Most of the USN's carrier-borne fighters during 1949-52 were Panthers, and they were fol-
the fuel
in
an emergency.
were
fitted
with water
injection to give 3175 kg (7000 lb) st. Panther F9F-2s were the first US naval jets
lowed
into service by the Cougar swept-wing version of the original design. As they were phased out of front-line duties Panthers were modified for special tasks, such as the target drones or dronecontrollers designated F9F-5KD. Those still in service when the new designation system was introduced in 1962 became known as DF-
9Es. (F9F-5) Span: ft
10
in)
Maximum
1 1
.58
m (38 ft)
Length: 1 1 .84
m
Gross weight: 8492 kg (18721 speed: 932 km/h (579 mph)
(38 lb)
Panther, Parnall British
naval
reconnaissance
aircraft.
A
small, two-seat single-bay biplane designed in 1917 for operation from early aircraft carriers, the Parnall Panther embodied a number of unusual features. The crew positions were raised above the basic monocoque fuselage to give good pilot view for deck landing, the
fuselage folded to starboard behind the observer's cockpit for shipboard stowage, and entry to the pilot's cockpit was through a hole in the upper-wing centre section. Special naval equipment included a hydrovane in front of the undercarriage to provide stability if the aircraft had to be ditched, and flotation bags attached to the undercarriage struts and inside the rear fuselage. Armament was a pillar-mounted Lewis machine-gun in the observer's cockpit, and power was provided by a 230-hp Bentley B.R.2 engine.
A
Parnall Panther showing its hydroplane, designed to prevent nosing-over in the event of ditching, and the flotation bags which could keep it buoyant up to ten hours in a calm sea
2072
1
;
Panzerbuchse Development continued through six protoand just before the Armistice 300 Panthers were ordered. A reduced order of 150 was declined by Parnall, and production Panthers were built by the British and Colonial (later Bristol) company. They were delivered during 1919 and 1920, and served with the Fleet Air Arm, both at shore stations and aboard the aircraft carriers Argus and Hermes, until 1924. Two were sold to the United States Navy in 1920, and 12 to Japan types,
The German PzB 38 antitank rifle fired a 7.92-mm (0.31 2-in) shell but used a 13-mm Mauser-designed cartridge which gave it the impressive muzzle velocity of 1210 m/sec (3970 ft/sec)
in 1921-22.
Span: 8.99 m (29 ft 6 in) Length: 7.59 Gross weight: 1177 kg (2595 lb) speed: 175 km/h (109 mph)
in)
m
(24
ft 1
Maximum
39, a modification of the PzB 39 antitank rifle designed to take a standard rifle grenade which was fitted into the discharger cup which had been added to the cut-down barrel
The Granatbiichse specifically
Panzerbuchse German
antitank rifles. The small-calibre antitank rifle was a fairly standard armament of most major armies in the 1930s, since it appeared to be the only way of providing the infantryman with an easily portable weapon effective against armour. It was the Germans who had begun this trend with their Mauser T-Gewehr of 1918, a simple bolt-action rifle firing a heavy 13-mm (0.51 -in) armourpiercing bullet. When the time came to rearm the Wehrmacht, a new antitank rifle was rapidly developed. The first model to appear was the PzB 38, from Rheinmetall-Borsig. This produced great velocity and penetration by allying a 7.92-mm (0.31 2-in) bullet to a much oversized cartridge based on the 13-mm Mauser design of 1918 and necked-down to the bullet size. The bullet had an armour-piercing steel core a tiny capsule of lachrymatory gas included in the bullet was supposed to overcome the vehicle's crew but proved to be quite useless. The rifle was a single-shot weapon using a vertically sliding breech block. The barrel and action were a sliding unit in the stock, and the recoil of this unit opened the breech and ejected the spent cartridge case. Inserting a fresh round automatically closed the block. The PzB was a satisfactory weapon for its
2073
Panzerfaust time,
but
weapons
it
like so many prewar German was too well made for high-speed
production, and in 1939 the simplified PzB 39 model appeared. This abandoned the sliding barrel and semi-automatic breech and instead opened the vertical breech block by simply swinging the pistol grip down and forward. A
muzzle brake was fitted to absorb some of the recoil which had previously been absorbed by the sliding barrel. While the PzB 38 and 39 were the standard antitank rifles of the German army, two others were also used in very small numbers. Both appear to have been developed in the hope of improving performance against the day when heavier tanks might appear. The PzB 41 was specified in 1939 and appeared as a variant of a Solothurn 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon design. It was a self-loading weapon, operating by recoil and feeding from a magazine mounted on the left side. Its performance was an improvement on the 7.92mm weapons, but it was three times as heavy and it proved to be quite ineffective against Soviet armour and was rapidly dropped from production.
The SS41 rifle is a mystery weapon; it was of 'bull-pup' design, with the action close against the firer's face and very little length of stock. Its mechanism was most unusual: a sleeve, which formed the chamber, was attached to the pistol grip. It locks at its front end to the barrel and at its rear end to the face of the fixed breech. A box magazine lay under the action, canted at 45° to the left so as to be out of the way of the firer's hand. To load, the pistol grip was swung up to the right, unlocking the sleeve; the grip was then pushed forward so that the sleeve slid over the rear of the barrel and exposed the space between the breech face and the barrel. The top round from the magazine was pushed into this space by the magazine spring. When the pistol grip was drawn back, the sleeve slid over the cartridge and chambered it, carrying it back to engage with the extractor claw and seat firmly against the breech face. The pistol grip was then turned down to lock, and the weapon was ready to fire. The recoil was somewhat moderated by a highly efficient muzzle brake and a lot of padding on the stock. The SS41 fired the same 7.92-mm cartridge as the PzB 38 and 39 and was no more effective. It is believed to have been made by the CZ factory in Brno, but no official record exists and it is believed that
very few were ever made.
By
the spring of 1942 it was obvious that day of the antitank rifle was over, and most were withdrawn from the German army, eventually to be replaced by such devices as the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck. Large numbers of PzB 39 were then modified into grenade launchers by having the barrel cut short and fitted with the stanthe
dard
rifle
grenade-discharger cup.
guise they were 39,
this
known
as the Granatbuchse in service throughwith infantry regiments.
and numbers remained
out the war
(PzB 38) Calibre: 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Weight: 15.88 kg (35 lb) Length: 130 cm (51.2 in) Barrel length: 109 cm (42.9 in) Operation: single shot Muzzle velocity: 1210 m/sec (3970 ft/sec) (PzB 39) Calibre: 7. 92 mm Weight: 12.35 kg (27 lb 4 oz) Length: 158 cm (62.2 in) Barrel length: 109 cm (42.9 in) Operation: single shot Muzzle velocity: 1265 m/sec (4150 ft/sec) (PzB 41) Calibre: 20 mm (0.79 in) Weight: 44 kg (97 lb) Length: 21 1 cm (83.1 in) Barrel length: 910 mm (35.8 in) Magazine: 5- or 10-round box Muzzle velocity: 735 m/sec (2410 ft/sec)
mm
Weight: 18.15 kg (40 lb) (SS41) Calibre: 20 Length: 120 cm (47.2 in) Barrel length: 840 (33.2 in) Magazine: 10-round box Muzzle velocity: 1220 m/sec (4000 ft/sec)
mm
was
sight
and the bomb was which wrapped boom and were tucked inside fitted,
around a
tail
steel fins
the firing tube before launching. This was issued as the Panzerfaust 30, the figure indicating the fighting range in metres. It went into production in October 1943 at a rate of
A second model, the Panzerfaust 30 Klein, which used a smaller bomb, was put into production at a rate of 100000 per month. The penetration of the Panzerfaust 30 200000 per month.
mm
bomb was 140 (5.5 in) at a striking angle of 30°. This seemed adequate, and development work concentrated on improving the weapon's range. This was achieved by increasing the propellant charge, which consequently demanded a thicker and heavier launching tube. The new design was known as the Panzerfaust 60, and in the summer of 1944 production of the '30' ended in favour of the '60'.
The next step was to break the propelling charge into two units separated by an air gap, to achieve staggered ignition and a more sustained thrust. This gave an increase in range and led to the Panzerfaust 100, which went into production in addition to the '60' in
November All these
1944.
models were
general pattern.
A
built
on the same
steel tube held the propel-
charge and was fitted with a simple percussion firing mechanism and hand trigling
which the tail unit of the bomb The bomb warhead was 150 mm (5.9 in) in diameter and contained just over 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) of a Cyclonite/TNT mixture; a base fuze was fitted in the tail boom. To fire, the user tucked the tube beneath his arm, withdrew a safety pin, and erected the rear sight, which freed the trigger. He then sighted through one of three apertures, marked for 30, 60 or 100 m (33, 66 ger, in front of
Panzerfaust
was
German antitank projectile launcher. In 1942 the German troops fighting on the Eastern Front were in need of a lightweight one-man weapon capable of stopping Soviet tanks, since existing antitank rifles were no longer of any use. The problem was presented to the Hugo Schneider (HASAG) of Leipzig, and their designer Dr Heinrich Langweiler produced a simple recoilless device which he called the Faustpatrone. This was a 360-mm (14-in) tube carrying a small gunpowder charge in its centre and a hollow-charge bomb at one end. The firer held it at arm's length and squeezed a trigger to fire the gunpowder charge; this shot the bomb forward, while blast from the rear of the tube cancelled out the recoil force. The weapon worked, but was impossible to aim when held properly. Langweiler than extended the tube so that it could be held more closely, with the blast directed away from the firer. simple aper-
AG
A
J.
2074
In
ture
provided with thin
inserted.
or 109 yards), using a pin in the edge of the bomb as the foresight. He then squeezed the trigger to ignite the propelling charge by means of a percussion cap. After firing, the launch tube was discarded. The Panzerfaust 150 had improved per-
formance and was designed to be re-usable. In this model the propelling charge was attached to the tail boom of the bomb, and the firing mechanism on the launch tube used a strip of ignition caps. The tube could, therefore, be reloaded with a fresh bomb and re-used up to ten times before it was too battered to fire any more. The bomb was
The Panzerfaust became the standard short-range infantry antitank weapon of the German army at the close of the war. Simple to operate and cheap to make, it was effective against any enemy tank. It was used by women and boys of the Hitler Youth as well as the German armed forces
,r
Panzerjager K redesigned in order to retain the same per-
formance while economizing in explosive. A notched cast-iron sleeve could be slipped over the bomb to act as a rudimentary antipersonnel splinter device. Production of the Panzerfaust 150 began in January 1945 and about 100000 were made before the war ended, though few of them reached the hands of troops. The Panzerfaust has been derided as a primitive and ineffective emergency device used only in the last throes of the war, but it was a highly efficient service equipment which served well through two years of combat. It could deal with any tank of its time, and could still give several modern tanks a hard time.
Panzerjager German
self-propelled antitank guns. The idea of a self-propelled antitank gun arose in 1939. It was becoming apparent that the PzKpfw I light tank was no longer much use on the battlefield and a number of these were therefore converted to the PzJg I selfequipment. The turret was propelled removed and on top of the hull was placed an armoured shield, open at the top and rear, carrying a 4.7-cm (1.85-in) Czech antitank gun, numbers of which were captured when the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia earlier in the year. Daimler-Benz and Skodawerk began production in March 1940,
and 202 had been produced when production ended in February 1941. The PzJg I was an efficient enough equipment and the gun was capable of punishing most tanks of the day, but the design was ungainly and the height of the gun mounting made it a difficult vehicle to
saw considerable use in the 1940 campaign, in North Africa and in the early days of the Soviet campaign, but as its gun became outdated it was gradually phased out of service, being obsolete by late 1943. The general concept was carried over to conceal.
PAK
tank chassis. The turret was hull was plated over, and an open-shielded 7.62-cm (3-in) antitank gun was mounted firing forward. The gun was a captured Soviet weapon, large numbers of which had fallen into German hands. This equipment, together with several other simi38(t)
removed, the
lar
weapons, was
In
gun. The first was simply the 38(t) chassis with the gun in the usual open-backed shield on top of the hull, but only one prototype was built before it was finally realized that such construction was no longer feasible. A second design was therefore begun, using an open-topped turret to mount the gun, capable of 360° traverse. The standard 38(t) chassis was no longer sufficient for an assembly of such size and weight and a lengthened variation was developed, in which a new Tatra diesel engine was mounted at the front, leaving the rear of the hull free for the turret mounting. The resulting chassis was known as the 38(d), but only one prototype, built by the Ardelt company, was completed before the end of the war. See also Hetzer, Hornisse, Jagdpanzer,
Nashorn.
It
the next vehicle, designated Panzerjager 38(t) fur 7.62-cm 39(r), which used the ex-
Czech
equipments on the Eastern Front led to the development of the Panzerjager RSO, which by any standards was grasping at straws. It used the chassis of the Steyr-built Raupenschlepper Ost tracked, unarmoured cargo carrier, with the cab replaced by a lightly armoured shield. The cargo deck was strengthened to carry a 7.5-cm (2.95-in) PAK 40 antitank gun stripped of its wheels and trail legs. The standard gun shield was retained, but beyond that the gun's crew had no protection. Hitler is said to have become highly enthusiastic about this equipment and projected production of up to 400 a month. Sixty were built in late 1943 and were sent for extended user trials with Army Group South in 1944. They were all shot up in a short time, and nothing more was heard of that idea. Two more experimental Panzerjager were proposed in 1944 and 1945, both using the well-known 8.8-cm (3.46-in) PAK antitank
1943
the
later
named Marder.
acute shortage of antitank
Right: The Panzerjager RSO, a crude type of panzerjager which used an unarmoured tracked cargo vehicle and a 7.5-cm (2.95-in) PAK 40
^^^^
mm
Panzerjager G-13 Swiss self-propelled antitank gun. After the end of the Second World War Czechoslovakia took over the Hetzer 75-mm (2.95in) tank destroyer, which had been developed by the Germans, based on the prewar Czech 38(t) tank chassis. In 1946 Switzerland purchased 146 of these equipments, fitted them with new engines and muzzle brakes on the guns and designated them Panzerjager G-13. Some vehicles were fitted with 150-bhp diesel
became known as G-13D. The G-13 was phased out of service in the engines, and these early 1970s.
Weight: 16 tonnes Length: 4.85 m (15 ft 11 in) 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in) overall Width: 2.63 m (8 ft 8 in) Height: 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) Armour thickness: 60-8 (2.4-0.3 in) Armament: 1 75-mm (2.95hull,
mm
7.5-mm
machine-gun Powerbhp at 2600 rpm (G-13D, 6-cylinder diesel, 150 bhp at 2000 rpm) Speed: 40 km/h (25 mph) Range: 100 km (60 miles) Crew: 4 in);
1
(0.295-in)
plant: 6-cylinder gasoline, 160
Panzerjager K Austrian tank destroyer. In the late 1960s Saurerwerk developed Panzerjager K as an offshoot of their armoured personnel carrier programme. The first prototype was completed in 1967 and production vehicles, also known as Cuirassier, entered service in 1972. The hull is a complete redesign of the Saurer APC hull, having the engine at the rear, the driver at the front, and the centre section occupied by the French FL-12 turret, as used on the AMX-13 tank. The turret rocks back and forth in order to produce the necessary elevation for the gun, which is fixed relative to the turret. This allows automatic loading gear to be used, and the 105-mm (4.13-in) main armament is provided with two sixround revolving magazines in the turret which allow a rate of fire of one shot every five seconds. Empty cases are automatically ejected through a small hatch at the rear centre of the turret, which is power operated,
and can make a complete rotation in 12 seconds. The gun has a range of elevation from -6° to +13°. A coaxial machine-gun is fitted and there are three smoke dischargers on each side of the turret. Suspension is by torsion bars on five road wheels. The automatic loading system allows the crew to be reduced to three: the driver, the commander and the gunner/signaller. The basic chassis has also been used for an armoured recovery vehicle, the Bergpanzer K, also known as Greif This has no turret, but carries a built-up superstructure which houses a hydraulic crane and the four-man crew. Towing bars, winches, and a bulldozer .
blade are also
fitted.
Panzerkampfwagen
I
Recent reports indicate that an armoured load-carrier is now being developed using the chassis and hull of the Bergpanzer. Weight: 17.5 tonnes Length: 5.58 m (18 ft 4 in) 7.78 m (25 ft 6 in) overall Width: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) Height: 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in) Armour thickness: 70-8 (1.6-0.3 in) Armament: 1 105-mm (4.1hull.
mm
velocity: 80X3 m/sec (2625 Fighting range: 2700 m (2950 yards) Powerplant: Steyr 6-cylinder diesel, 300 bhp at 2300 rpm Speed: 65 km/h (40 mph) Vehicle range: 525 km (325 miles) Crew: 3 in),
43 rounds Muzzle
ft/sec)
Panzerkampfwagen German first
light tank.
I
The PzKpfw
I
was
the
tank to be developed for the rearmament
of the
Wehrmacht
after 1933.
To evade
restrictions of the Versailles Treaty
it
the
was
secretly developed as an 'agricultural tractor'
without a turret or any form of armament, and early in 1934 the first Panzer regiments received 15 vehicles as driving instructional vehicles. The PzKpfw I was a light, fully tracked vehicle. Its peculiar form of suspen-
on an external beam and owed much to an early CardenLoyd design. The vehicle used an air-cooled engine, and had a two-man crew. Production sion,
which
relied
leaf springs,
A
version, which of the Ausfuhrung with a turret and armed with
fitted
7.92-mm
(0.312-in) machine-guns,
was two
began
in
July 1934, and 818 were made before manufacture ceased in mid- 1936. It remained in service largely as a reconnaissance vehicle until late
1941.
August 1936 production of the Ausfuhrung B version began, 675 eventually being produced. This had a longer chassis and redesigned suspension (though it retained the external beam) enabling it to accommodate a larger and more powerful water-cooled In
engine. It also stayed in service, in diminishing numbers, until 1941.
A Klein Panzerbefehlswagen
or Kl Pz Bef
The lengthened chassis of
the
Ausfuhrung
too high a price to be paid in reduced speed and poor cross-country performance, and the design was abandoned.
B was developed for use in an armoured command tank known as the Klein Panzerbefehlswagen, or Kl Pz Bef Wg, of which 184 were built during 1935-37. The standard PzKpfw I could only accommodate a radio
Weight: 5.4 tonnes Length: 4.03 m (13 ft 3 in) Width: 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Height: 1 .72 m (5 ft 8 in) Armour thickness: 13-7 (0.5-0.3 in) Armament: 2 7.92-mm (0.312-in) machine-guns Powerplant: 4-cylinder gasoline, 60 bhp at 2500
Wg
mm
receiving set, while the Bef carried both transmitter and receiver and was used by commanders for passing orders to individual tanks. This system had the advantage that the tank commanders could not answer back, but later tank designs incorporated transmitter/ receivers. The chassis of the PzKpfw I was widely used for auxiliary vehicles, particularly after the tank itself was no longer in first-line service. These included the Panzerjager I; a maintenance vehicle; an ammunition carrier and resupply vehicle; the 15-cm (5.9-in) infantry self-propelled howitzer; a bridgelaying tank; and a flame-throwing tank. Somewhat confusingly, two totally different vehicles were also classed as PzKpfw I variants. The first was the Ausfuhrung C, intended as an airborne tank. Work began on this in September 1939. The chassis was designed by Krauss-Maffei, with torsion-bar suspension and overlapping road wheels; the Krupp hull carried a turret with coaxial
20-mm
rpm Speed: 37 km/h
cannon
The
II
original
German
II.
first
MAN
PzKpfw I. The two-man turret was provided 20-mm (0.79-in) cannon and a coaxial
with a
7.92-mm (0.312-in) machine-gun. A large number of this type was sent to Spain with
German 'volunteer' forces to be thoroughly tested in combat, but it proved to be not particularly successful, obviously requiring a more powerful engine and better armour protection. Steps were taken to deal with these defects, boring out the engine to extract more power and thickening the armour. At the same time some modifications were made to the suspension. About 25 vehicles so modified were built in 1937, but by that time it had become clear that a complete redesign was necessary. the
The
result
was the PzKpfw Ausfuhrung A,
production of which began in March 1937. A modified Christie-pattern suspension was
Eastern Front. The extra protection required
Wg in
the markings of the Polish campaign of 1939. It had a radio transmitter as well as a receiver and
space for a map board for plotting the course of a tank action
L-
The
version to be produced was derived from a design and featured a suspension which used small road wheels and an external beam similar to that on the
combat on the
\
tank.
which became the PzKpfw
and
in
light
plans for equipping their Panzer force envisaged light and medium tanks, but production of the medium vehicles proved to be more difficult than had been expected. As an interim measure an improved design of light tank was called for in 1935, and it was this
used torsion-bar suspension with overlapping wheels. It had very wide tracks and the frontal armour was 80 mm (3.1 in) thick. The turret carried two 7.92-mm (0.312-in) machine-guns. Thirty of these were made, but only a handful
were issued for evaluation
mph) Range: 200 km
Panzerkampfwagen German
7.92-mm machine-gun. Forty of these vehicles were ordered, but development was slow, and it was 1943 before they were issued. Two vehicles went to the Eastern Front while the rest were issued to units in France. The other non-standard variation was the Ausfuhrung F design, which was intended to mount the heaviest possible armour. This too (0.79-in)
(23
(124 miles) Crew: 2
I
Panzerkampfwagen
Men
of a reconnaissance unit of the
The PzKpfw
Royal Armoured Corps examine an abandoned PzKpfw
was moderately well-armed for 1939-40 with its and 7.92-mm (0.31 2-in) guns, but by 1941 was outclassed by Soviet tanks with heavier guns and armour
20-mm
II
(0.79-in)
which were being encountered on the Eastern Front
II of the
Africa Korps
dug
in hull
down
in
II
Libya
Panzerkampfwagen
II
adopted, using large road wheels carried on quarter-elliptic leaf springs. Ventilation cooling of the engine was improved as
the transmission system,
and
was
and the tank's gen-
was enhanced. By the time production ended in April 1940, a total of of these produced. 1113 had been Ausfuhrung B and C versions featured relatively minor improvements mainly coneral
reliability
cerning vision arrangements for the crew. Additional armour plate was added retrospectively, bringing the frontal thickness (1.4 in). from 15 (0.6 in) to 35 In May 1938 production of the Ausfuhrung D model began. This was intended as a light and fast vehicle to accompany cavalry and was to have a top speed of 55 km/h (34 mph) compared with the 40 km/h (25 mph) of the standard PzKpfw II models. The hull was changed in contour, and the torsion-bar suspension was used the first time this system
mm
mm
—
had been used in German armour. Only the turret remained unaltered. The type appears to have been less successful than hoped, since only 43 were built. None seem to have been used in combat, and all were later withdrawn and converted into flame-thrower tanks. The Ausfuhrung E design was only a slight modification of the D, and met the
same fate. The final production model was the Ausfuhrung F, of which 24 were built beUveen March 1941 and December 1942. The only major change was the adoption of a flat and hull front, and just why an obviously obsolescent design was put into production as late as this is far from clear. Numerous experimental designs of the PzKpfw II were put forward. Ausfuhrung G, all used the interleaved roadH, J, L and wheel suspension developed by MAN. Of these the only success was the L, which entered service in limited numbers as an vehicle and armoured reconnaissance remained in use until the end of the war. The basic chassis, with standard suspension, was also used as the starting point for a number of glacis plate
M
auxiliary vehicles, including self-propelled guns, a bridge layer and a pioneer vehicle.
2078
Below:The PzKpfw Ausf F which appeared in September 1939. It was originally armed with a 37-mm (1 .46-in) gun, but this was changed in later models to a 50-mm (1 .97-in) KwK L/35 and retrofitted to those with the 37-mm gun III
(Ausfuhrung C) Weight: 8.95 tonnes Length: 4.82
m
(15
ft
10
Height: 2.03 m (6 (1.2-0.4 in) 10
mm
7.92-mm
in)
Width: 2.16
m
(7
ft
1
in)
Armour thickness: 30Armament: 1 20-mm (0.79-in); ft
8
in)
machine-gun Powerplant: bhp at 2600 rpm Speed: 40 km/h (25 mph) Range: 160 km (100 miles) Crew: 3
1
(0.31 2-in)
6-cylinder gasoline, 140
I
Panzerkampfwagen Panzerkampfwagen German medium
above and below:Jhe PzKpfw III Ausf (1 .97-in) gun. The side hatches in the turret and escape hatch by the tracks allowed the crew a reasonable chance to abandon the vehicle if it caught fire. Though the ample stowage bin on the turret was intended for the Left,
with
50-mm
crews'
kit this
often spread to the rear decking
^
III
III
By
1935 the German armoured force was fairly confident that it wanted three types of tank: a light tank; a medium tank with a high-velocity gun; and a medium tank with a large-calibre gun. capable of firing a respectable high-explosive shell as a support weapon. The PzKpfw III was produced to answer the second of these requirements; but while the Panzer troops wanted a high-velocity 50-mm (1. 97-in) gun, the infantry had just accepted a 37-mm (1.46in) antitank gun, and this smaller calibre was forced onto the tank men in the interests of standardization. However, the PzKpfw III was designed with the turret ring, the vital dimension of any tank, large enough to take the 50-mm gun.
The
tank.
model, Ausfiihrung A, appeared built, featuring a suspension with five large road wheels on each side and two track-return rollers. The turret had a 37-mm (1.46-in) gun and a 7.92-mm (0.312-in) machine-gun coaxially mounted. There was a five-man crew of commander, gunner, loader, radio operator and driver. The first
in 1936.
Ten were
armour was
14.5
mm
(0.6 in) at
its
thickest,
giving protection only against small-arms fire. The vehicle weighed 15.6 tonnes. Trials soon showed that the suspension was not good enough, and within a few months the Ausfiihrung B model appeared, of which 15 were built. This employed eight small road wheels and three return rollers on each side and included some minor changes in the
and hull fittings. It was still though both the A and B models were used in combat during the invasion of Poland in 1939. Next came the Ausfiihrung C (15 made) and D (30 made), both incorporating minor changes to the suspension intended to improve the cross-country ride. In December 1938 it seemed that the suspension problems had at last been solved, and the Ausfiihrung E was put into production. This model, of which 96 were built, used six medium-sized road wheels and three return rollers, the turret cupola
unsatisfactory,
Below: A PzKpfw III Ausf B or C, one of 30 1937 with a leaf suspension. It has an extra machine-gun fitted in the turret built in
Though they did see service in Poland this was more of a troop trial than serious action
for the radio operator.
2079
Panzerkampfwagen
IV
wheels being suspended on torsion bars. This improvement also enabled more weight to be carried, allowing the basic to be increased to
30
mm
armour thickness (1.2 in), giving far
better protection.
September 1939 the Ausfiihrung F appeared. This was more or less the same vehicle as the E but with some improvements in the engine and with small changes intended to facilitate mass production. A total of 435 were built, the last 100 or so being fitted with a 50-mm gun in place of the original 37-mm, since combat experience had borne out the In
Panzer troops' original preference for the heavier weapon. Eventually most of the 37-mm equipped tanks were refitted with 50mm weapons. Next came the Ausfiihrung G, of which 600 were built between April 1940 and February 1941. This had improvements to the armour, the turret and the engine cooling system, and various other small changes. First production
mounted the 37-mm gun, but as with the F this was changed to the 50-mm weapon; the early models were retrofitted with the heavier gun in due course. The Ausfiihrung H, which actually predated the F and G versions, was the first to be designed from scratch to take the 50-mm gun; 308 were built. Experience in Poland and France had shown that 30 mm of armour was barely adequate, and in the H model additional 30-mm plates were used to double the thickness on the hull front and rear faces. In March 1941 the Ausfiihrung J model went into production, and 1549 were built. This brought the basic armour thickness up to 50 mm (2 in), with spaced plates added to the gun mantlet. A new ball mount for the hull machine-gun was fitted and there were improved cooling arrangements for the transmission and brakes. But by the time this vehicle got into serious combat, notably on the Russian front, it became obvious that the
50-mm/L42. which had so far served well, was no longer adequate. A heavier weapon could not be
fitted into the turret but a longerbarrelled gun capable of generating higher velocities could. 60-calibre weapon was developed, and this was fitted into 1067
A
Ausfiihrung
December June
models
J
built
between
1941 and July 1942.
1942
saw
the
introduction of
the
Ausfiihrung L model, which was simply the J with thicker armour and some detail improvements; 653 of these were made. It was followed by 250 of the Ausfiihrung model, which were the L with deep-fording apparatus added to give more mobility in the Soviet Union. There was still a demand for a heavier weapon, and abortive attempts were made to
M
mount
the
PzKpfw IV
turret into the III hull.
Eventually a low-velocity
75-mm
(2.95-in)
gun was fitted into the existing III turret. This gun fired an effective high-explosive shell, and a newly developed hollow-charge antitank shell capable of penetrating any tank of that time. Seven hundred of these support tanks were built, a few of them being reworked from earlier models, and this version
became known
as the Ausfiihrung
N
model. (Ausfiihrung F) 5.38
2.44
Weight: 19.5 tonnes Length:
m (17 ft 8 in) Width: 2.91 m (9 ft 7 in) Height: m (8 ft) Armour thickness: 30-12 mm (1.2-
Armament: 1 50-mm (1.97-in) KwK L/35; 2 7.92-mm (0.31 2-in) machine-guns (1 coaxial, 1 hull-front) Powerplant: Maybach V-12 diesel, 300 bhp at 3000 rpm Speed: 40 km/h (25 mph) Range: 165 km (103 miles) Crew: 5 0.5 in)
Panzerkampfwagen German heavy
tank.
IV
The PzKpfw IV was
intended as the heavy support tank to equip the fourth company of the tank battalion, the
other three being equipped with PzKpfw III. In the event the PzKpfw IV was to become the backbone of the Panzer force, and because its sound basic design left room for improvements it remained in production and service throughout the war. After a number of prototypes had been tried, the Ausfiihrung A model was put into production by Krupp in October 1937; a total of 35 were made. The general design - a hull with boxy superstructure and a turret resembled that of the PzKpfw III. The suspension used eight road wheels and four return rollers. A V-12 engine drove through a five-speed gearbox. An auxiliary engine drove an electric generator/motor set, which provided power to traverse the turret. The
gun was a short-barrelled 75-mm (2.95-in), and the armour was based on 15 mm (0.6-in), sufficient only to protect the crew against small-arms fire and shell splinters. The fiveman crew was composed in the same way as that of the
PzKpfw
Even before
III.
the tank could get into
combat
users were complaining vociferously about the poor performance and protection, and in 1938 the Ausfiihrung B model appeared. This had a larger engine driving through a six-speed gearbox, and the thickness of armour on the frontal surfaces was its
mm (1.2. in). The hull machinegun was replaced by a simple pistol port inserted into the front plate. Forty-two were doubled to 30
built in the latter half of 1938 before being
superseded by the Ausfiihrung C. This incorporated numerous small improvements in the gun mantlet, turret race, engine bearers and carburation, and with the completion of 134 of these in August 1939, the Panzer battalions had their authorized allotment of PzKpfw IV's plus spares.
Poland soon showed that the it to be made the standard combat tank. Production of the Experience
IV was
in
sufficiently versatile for
The PzKpfw IV Ausf D was first produced in 1938 and included some small improvements over earlier models but still retained the short 75-mm gun protected in its armoured sleeve
2080
,r
Panzerkampfwagen
IV
D model, of which 229 were began after September 1939. This had improved armour, a redesigned front to the Ausfiihrung built,
superstructure to allow better vision for the and an improved gun mantlet. At the same time 223 of Ausfiihrung E were produced. This was much the same vehicle but driver,
with several detail improvements in the turcupola and armour. Next came the F model with wider tracks and thicker armour. The initial order for this model ran to 625 tanks, but about half-way through the production run it was decided to improve the armament by adopting a longer, high- velocity, 75-mm gun. ret,
The new gun was installed after 462 had been produced to the 'F' design. Various alterations to the ammunition-storage system were required, and these in turn meant that other parts of the tank's interior had to be altered. There was a month's interruption of production before the F2 model appeared in March 1942; 175 were built, ana 25 earlier F models were retrofitted with the long gun. In May 1942 the G model began production, and eventually 1687 were built. This was more or less the F2, mounting the long gun, but in the latter part of the production run some small changes were made to the turret. A prominent change was the fitting of burster plates outside the track to defeat hollowcharge projectiles. The model followed in April 1943. This had the armour base thickness increased to 80 (3.1 in) and a new transmission, and was fitted with an antiaircraft machine-gun.
H
mm
Krupp, Vormag and Nibelungenwerk built 3774 of these between April 1943 and July 1944.
A
change
command
in
led to
German Krupp and Vormag being
policy within the
transferred to the production of assault guns and self-propelled antitank guns. Only Nibelung were left to make the PzKpfw IV,
The engine and fighting compartment of the PzKpfw IV Ausf D. Though spacious inside, early German tanks had numerous shot traps with their vertical
armour on the
hull
and
turret
The long 75-mm gun on the PzKpfw
IV Ausf F2 improved the ballistic performance of the main armament, but otherwise the tank used the same well-tested Mk IV chassis and hull
2081
Panzerschreck mid- 1944 they made some changes in aimed at simplifying manufacture. The auxiliary engine and the electrical turret traverse were replaced by a two-speed man-
and
in
the design
ual traverse; the turret armour was thickened: the burster plate became an expanded-
metal screen, weighing considerably less than the original thin armour shield; only three return rollers were used to support the track; and various pistol ports and vision ports were removed. The resulting Ausfiihrung J remained in production until the war ended, a total of 1748 being produced.
Parabellum German
machine-gun. The Parabellum machine-gun originated in the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken AG in Berlin before the First World War. The plant used the codeword Parabellum in correspondence (and as a telegraphic address) and
DWM
it
was applied
1909
The German Parabellum machine-gun, a popular and efficient defensive gun for observers in First World War two-seater aircraft. Those guns mounted in Zeppelins were given water jackets, but normally the Parabellum was cooled with a perforated jacket protecting A 250-round cloth belt fed from the right from a spool
air
the barrel.
to several of their products. In
German government wanted a version of the Maxim machine-gun for
the
lighter
MG
(5.5-0.8 in)
mounting in Zeppelin airships, the 08 being far too heavy for aerial use. At that time had unquestionably the best designers and gun experts anywhere in the world, and they were joined in 1911 by Karl Heinemann, an engineer with a fine reputation -and plenty of experience. He was given
km
the task of lightening and refining the Maxim, which he completed within two years. It was decided to improve the Maxim, rather than design a new gun, since it was
DWM
(Ausfiihrung D) Weight: 19.7 tonnes Length: 5.91 m (19 ft 5 in) Width :2.92 m (9 ft 7 in) Height: 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) Armour thickness: 90-20
mm
Armament: 1 75-mm (2.95-in) KwK 2 7.92-mm machine-guns L/24; (0.31 2-in) Powerplant: Maybach V-12 diesel, 300 bhp at 3000 rpm Speed: 40 km/h (25 mph) Range: 200 (125 miles) Crew: 5
Panzerkampfwagen
V German
tank
See Panther
Panzerkampfwagen VI German tank See Tiger
already in service with the German forces, and it was felt that a completely new weapon would unnecessarily complicate training and the supply of spares. Heinemann's job was not easy, as the Maxim did not lend itself to a high rate of fire, nor was it easy to lighten. He followed much the same path as did Vickers, the toggle joint break upwards instead of downwards thereby reducing the size of the body by about 50%. The return spring was placed centrally against the crank, instead of at the side. The feed was also changed: instead of the lock moving up and down to take rounds out of the belt, the Parabellum had a pawl working off the lock,
which were carried on Zeppelins were given a water jacket.
Not
many
Parabellums
survived
the
restrictions of the Versailles peace treaty,
there being no call for an aircraft gun. It therefore faded away, though it was the best development of the Maxim principle ever
achieved.
making
Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) German designation Czech TNH tank See TNH
for
Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) German designation See Skoda Czech LT38 tank
for
Panzerschreck
and a
German
rocket launcher. The German army captured a number of US 2.36-in (60-mm) Bazooka rocket launchers in North Africa in 1942, and after examining them produced a similar device which they called Panzerschreck (tank terror) also known as 8.8-cm Raketen Panzerbiichse 54, or Ofenrohr (stovepipe). It was of 8.8-cm (3.46-in) calibre and incorporated some improvements on the original, which were later recopied by the US for later versions of their weapon. The calibre was increased so as to provide a more
—
warhead; a drum tail was used to improve accuracy at the low velocities involved, and the electric firing current was produced by a simple magneto in the pistol grip instead of the more temperamental batteries used in the US model. The rocket motor was effective
still
burning after
it
left the tube,
but the
firer
was protected by a small shield into which the rear sight was incorporated. The foresight was on a bracket attached to the end of the tube.
The bomb contained a hollow-charge unit of 0.66 kg (1 lb 7 oz) of Cyclonite/TNT and could pierce about 100 (3.9 in) of armour at any range.
mm
mm
(3.46 in) Length: 1 .64 m (5 ft 5 in) Weight: 9.18 kg (20 lb 4 oz) loaded Weight of bomb: 3.28 kg (7 lb 4 oz) Effective range: 100 m (110 yards)
Calibre: 88
2082
differential action was used to speed the movement of the next round into line with the breech. Another innovation was a set of cams to force the barrel forward before the
(Parabellum-Maschinengewehr Model 14) Calibre: 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Ammunition: 7.92-mm Gewehr Patrone 98 Weight: 9.8 kg (21 lb 9 oz) Length: 122 cm (48.1 in) Barrel length:705 mm (27.8 in) Operation: recoil Magazine: 250-round cloth belt on spool Rate of fire: 700 rd9/min (cyclic) Muzzle velocity:892 m/sec (2925 ft/sec)
rearward action of the crank had finished. These design changes, coupled with the use of lighter materials, resulted in a gun weighing 38% of the 1908 Maxim, and firing at 700 rds/min twice as fast as the Maxim. The Parabellum had an air-cooled barrel since it could rely on a steady stream of cold air, and had a 250-round cloth belt wound on
—
a spool held to the right side of the gun. The ammunition supply therefore swung with the
gun, although handled.
it
added
to the weight to be
The Parabellum was an instant success and became the standard free-mounted gun for early armed aircraft. All such guns were given a pistol grip and a wooden shoulder stock, and some had a primitive optical sight. A few were given to ground troops when the position on the Western Front became desperate in 1918. For safety reasons, a few it
Parca,
Thomson Houston
French surface-to-air training missile. Parca was developed by France's Laboratoire de Recherches Balistiques et Aerodynamiques (LRBA) and Ateliers de Construction de Puteaux (APX). Though originally intended as an operational surface-to-air missile Parca entered service in 1959 as a training and familiarization system after the French army had chosen the Raytheon Hawk as its operational system. Parca was intended to intercept aircraft flying at speeds of up to 1080 km/h (670 mph) and manoeuvring at 3 g. Targets were tracked by a Thomson Houston LJ radar, which also issued instructions to slew and elevate the launcher and to point the Gl target-tracking radar (used for gathering) and command antenna in the right direction. The round was accelerated by four solid-propellant booster motors, each burning for four seconds before being jettisoned; cruise propulsion was then
The Panzerschreck (tank terror), known by its users by the more parochial name of Ofenrohr (stovepipe), but an effective antitank weapon superior to the bazooka
Patagonia
Partenope, Calatafimi(ex- Tersicore), Euridice and Iride built by Castellammare di Stabia Aretusa and Caprera (ex-Clio) built by Cantiere Orlando, Livorno Minerva built by Ansaldo, Genoa
—
—
— — built
Urania
Fleet destroyers, Seymour becoming leader of the 11th Flotilla, Saumarez leader of the 12th, Grenville and Parker leaders of the 15th and Anzac leader of the 14th. Hostewas sunk on December 21, in collision with the destroyer Negro. alterations were made to the during their careers, but in 1918
Very few class
assumed by a sustainer motor which burnt for 18 seconds. The LJ radar tracked both the missile and its target, steering instructions
being computed and transmitted to the round in flight. Parca had four fixed wings at the rear, with canard fins for control. Length: 4.6 m (15 ft) Span: 1.7 m (5 ft 6 in) Diameter: 45 cm (17.7 in) Weight: 1000 kg (2200 lb) with boosters, 550 kg (1210 lb) without
Speed: Mach 1.8 Maximum altitude: 12000 (39400 ft) Range: 14 km (8.7 miles)
m
Seymour was modified to serve as a minelayer. In March 1919 Anzac was presented to the Royal Australian Navy and served with this force until sold for scrapping in 1930. Parker was sold for scrapping in 1921 and the remaining three during 1930-31. Displacement: 1670 tons (load), 2200 tons (deep) Length:99 m (325ft) oa Seam;9.68 m (31 ft 9 in) Draught:3.66 m (12 ft) Machinery: 3-shafX direct-drive turbines, 36000 shp=34 knots Armament: 4 4-in (102-mm) (4x1); 2 2-pdr AA (2x1); 4 21 -in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (2x2)
Crew: 110
Gun' German
rail
gun
See Panther, Peto, Plover
See Kaiser YVilhelm Geschutz
Partenope Parker
Italian cruiser class, built 1889-92.
British destroyer leader class.
The Parker
Class of the 1915-16 Programme were repeats of the Lightfoot Class of the 1913-15 Programmes, differing only in improvements made to secure greater firepower forward and better seakeeping. The earlier class proved wet forward, so the bridge was moved further aft and raised slightly, which necessitated combining the two forward funnels into a single uptake. No 2 gun, formerly located between the two forward funnels, was moved to a superfiring position abaft No 1 gun on a new superstructure forward of the bridge, where it had an excellent command and could be worked in almost any weather conditions. This arrangement was later adopted in the very successful 'V and Classes, which also had a superfiring gun aft. The topweight added by these changes helped to reduce the period of roll, which had been rather quick in the Lightfoot Class. Five of the class were ordered from Cammell Laird: Grenville and Frobisher (later renamed Parker) in February 1915, and Hoste, Seymour and Saumarez in July 1915.
Although
described by the Italians as cruisers, the eight vessels of this class conformed to the contemporary British torpedo gunboats in size, armament and function, and were very similar in configuration. The design, a development of the Goito Class, was prepared by Engineer Inspector Carlo Vigna. The main difference was the provision of a light armoured deck and armoured conning tower, and as the dimensions and displacement were virtually the same the power had to be nearly doubled to provide higher speed.
The
Italian cruiser
Calatafimi and Euridice were scrapped in 1907, followed by Urania and Aretusa in 1912 and Caprera a year later. The survivors, Iride, Minerva and Partenope were given shortened funnels. Minerva and Partenope were reboilered in 1906-10, and were converted to minelayers, hut in the First World War they were good for only 15-17 knots.
On March 25, 1918, Partenope was torpedoed by UC 67 while escorting a convoy from Bizerta; the U-Boat subsequently surfaced and finished off her victim with gunfire. Iride and Minerva were scrapped in 1921. Displacement: Q46 tonnes (normal), 1000tonnes load) Length: 73.9 m (242 ft 5 in) oa Beam: 8.22 m (27 ft) Draught: 3.48 m (11 ft 5 in) Machinery: 2-shaft triple-expansion, 4000 ihp=20 knots Protection: 40-25 mm (1.6-1 in) deck, 40 mm (1.6 in) conning tower Armament: 1-2 4.7-in (120-mm)/40-cal (1-2x1); 4-6 6-pdr (full
(57-mm
mm
[2.24-in])/43-cal (4-6x1); 2-3 1-pdr (37-
45-cm (17.7-in) bow, 1 stern, 4
[1.46-in])/20-cal (2-3x1); 5-6
torpedo tubes (above water; beam) Crew: 96-121
1
Patagonia
Parnall British aircraft 'Paris
by Odero, Genoa
Partenope, torpedoed on
Argentine cruiser, built 1885. This small vessel, really a large gunboat, was built at Trieste and armed with a 10-in (254-mm) gun forward and three 6-in (152-mm) guns. The protection consisted of a thin deck. She was rebuilt in 1909 with reduced superstructure, lighter masts and an armament of a single 6-in quick-firer
ship
by
was
and a
still
4.7-in
(120-mm)
listed in 1914,
aft.
The
but was deleted
1918.
Displacement: 1442 tons (normal) Length: 67 .1 (220 ft) pp Beam: 10 m (32 ft 10 in) Draught: 3.9 m (12 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 2400 ihp=14 knots Armament: 1 10in (254-mm) BL; 3 6-in (152-mm) (3x1); 8 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in]) Crew: 210
m
March
25,
1918 by
UC
67
off
North Africa
'W
A
Anzac, was ordered from Denny 1915. All were laid down in 1915, launched in 1916 and completed during 1916-17 (except Anzac, which was laid down in 1916 and launched and completed in 1917). sixth unit,
in
On
December
completion, the class joined the Grand
2083
Patchett
Above, right and below .The Patchett submachine-gun showing the and the simple working parts of the SMG. The weapon in current service with the British Army, universally known as the Sterling, is the improved version of a Patchett gun submitted for trials in the 1950s. The name is derived from the manufacturing company at Dagenham. Though the Sterling is heavy by modern standards, it is robust, reliable, accurate over the short ranges and easy to strip and maintain silencer stripped
Patchett British
submachine-gun.
George
William
Patchett was an armaments engineer with the Sterling Engineering company, Dagenham, who had been involved during the Second World War with the production and development of the 9-mm (0.35-in) Lanchester machine carbine. The Lanchester, first manufactured in 1941, was almost wholly derived from the German Schmeisser MP28/11. In the autumn of 1942, Patchett submitted his own design for a submachine-gun to the Ordnance Board for evaluation. It was not accepted, but Patchett continued development work on the weapon and a few were used by British airborne forces in Normandy and at Arnhem in 1944. The Patchett was put through comparative testing in 1947 to find a successor to the 9-mm Sten. The tests disclosed faults in the Patchett, and once more it was altered and improved and entered for comparative evaluation in 1957 against the Madsen, the BSA Experimental 1949, and the Australian X 1 This time there was no doubt that the Patchett was the best weapon, and it was conditionally recommended for acceptance, provided that the 2 rifle was not found suitable for the role. .
EM SMG
The EM2 was not, in fact, taken into service and on September 18, 1953, the Patchett was approved and production began at Sterlings. Since then it has become the standard for all British forces. It is also made in Canada, where it incorporates some minor modifications, and is known as the CI. A silenced version of the Patchett was developed in 1958 and taken into British service. All Patchett SMGs are now known by the confusing numerical designations current in British service and so should be referred to as the L2A3, the silenced model being the
SMG
design which inspired it. The magazine is curved and feeds from the left side, the pistol grip is at the point of balance, just behind the ejection opening, and the skeleton butt folds underneath to give a useful forehand grip. The weapon is robust and reliable and although there are more modern SMGs on the market the Sterling will undoubtedly continue in British service until replaced by the next change of calibre in small-arms.
L34A1. It is still made by Sterlings, from which it derives its popular name and is never now referred to as the Patchett. The British
(Machine carbine, 9-mm Sterling L2A3) Calibre: 9 (0.35 in) Ammunition: 9-mm Parabellum Weight: 2.72 kg (6 lb) Length: 686 mm (27 in) stock extended Barrel length: 197 (7.75 in) Operation: blowback Magazine: 34-round box Rate of fire: 550 rds/min Muzzle velocity: 380 m/sec (1250 ft/sec)
production order has long since finished but 1970s Sterling was continuing to supply a variety of police and military customers, throughout the world.
British cruiser class.
in the late
The
and tubular body of the Sterling are strongly reminiscent of a Lanchester. but little else remains from the
2084
barrel jacket
mm
mm
Pathfinder The Pathfinder Class
were part of a group of eight scout cruisers laid down in 1903, all of which were constructed
to
the
same
specification.
The
detailed design was left to the builders, and there were sufficient differences to divide them into four subclasses of two ships each, the Pathfinder, Forward, Sentinel and Adventure Classes.
Pathfinder and Patrol were constructed by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead and launched in 1904. They were commissioned in 1905 and
served throughout their lives as leaders to destroyer flotillas. They could be distinguished from the other ships of the group by their three tall funnels, the rest having three or four short funnels. On trials Pathfinder achieved 25.32 knots with 17 176 ihp and Patrol achieved 25.02 knots with 16460 ihp. As completed they carried an armament of ten single 12-pdr and eight single 3-pdr guns, but in 1913 these were replaced by a more powerful battery of nine single 4-in (102mm). During the First World War Patrol was fitted with a 3-in (76-mm) AA gun. On the outbreak of the First World War, Pathfinder became leader of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla operating from the Firth of Forth, and Patrol became leader of the 9th
Patriot,
operating from the Tyne. On September 5, 1914, Pathfinder was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U21 off St Abb's Head, Berwickshire. She went down in four minutes and was the first British warship to be lost from submarine attack. Patrol and her flotilla later moved to the Forth but late in 1915 she left the 9th Flotilla Flotilla
become leader of the 7th operating out of Humber, where she remained until the end of the war. She was sold for scrapping in to
the
1920.
Displacement: 2940 tons (load) Length: 1 15.5 m ft) oa Beam: 1 1 .8 m (38 ft 9 in) Draught:3.96 m (13 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft triple-expansion, (1.5 in) 16500 ihp=25 knots Protection: 38 deck Armament: 9 4-in (102-mm) (9x1); 2 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes (above water) Crew: 268 (379
mm
A US
Raytheon Patriot
SAM
leaves
its
Patriot,
US
Command assumed
Raytheon
surface-to-air
Patriot, formerly
missile.
known
as
Command was
The XMIM-104 SAM-D, is being
responsible:
FABMDS
(field army ballistic-missile defence system) and AADS-70 (army air-defence system for the 1970s). The SAM-D requirement was laid down in January 1965, and in August Missile
launcher canister during a
control of the project.
was followed by advanced development, with engineering development beginning in March 1972. The schedule laid Project definition
developed to replace both the Hawk and Nike Hercules systems from about 1983. The single Patriot radar is able to perform all the functions (and more) which required nine separate units in the two earlier weapon systems, and the missile is intended to intercept targets at both medium and high altitudes in the presence of heavy countermeasures. Patriot evolved from two earlier programmes for which the US Army's Missile
Raytheon
test firing
on a range
down 26 to
in that
year called for an
initial series
firings: ten of control test vehicles
of
and 16
TVM (track via TVM system was
prove the principle of
proved
The
guidance.
missile)
the first six of the planned 16 and the missile easily passed through the remaining firings even though more difficult objectives were set to stretch the system to its limit. in
launches,
Full engineering
was therefore relaunched
October 1976, when Raytheon was awarded a $425-million contract covering 49 months' work. Firings with the first set of prototype tactical ground equipment began in December of that year, and the first mobile unit, FP-2 (firing platoon No 2), began firing
in
trials
in
November
1977.
Multiple engage-
ments started in June 1978, when three rounds were fired from the same launcher at intervals of a few seconds against different targets. Raytheon is building four sets of prototype equipment, and production is expected to begin in 1980. A Patriot firing platoon (two of which make up a battery) comprises an MPQ-53 multifunction phased-array radar mounted on an XM-860 trailer and towed by an M-818 tractor; an MSQ-104 engagement control station mounted on an M-814 truck, which includes displays and controls, a high-speed digital computer and communications equipment; a truck-mounted MJQ-20 electric powerplant, which has four 60-kW turbine-driven generators; and typically five XM-901 launching stations which can fire four missiles each. The engagement control station is the only
manned element. The heart of
Patriot is the computercontrolled radar. The main array, 2.4 (8 ft) across, has 5161 elements and is switched from one function to another ten times a second so that it can perform all search, acquisition, tracking and guidance functions. The radar, which operates in G/H-band. (formerly known as C-band), can track more than Information 100 targets simultaneously. about aircraft selected for interception is processed automatically and transmitted by data link to the missile launchers. Up to eight rounds can be controlled in flight simultaneously, with three in the terminal mode at any given time. The missile flies out of its launcher canister and is accelerated to more than Mach 3 by a Thiokol TX-486 single-stage high-impulse solid-propellant rocket motor. Both the missile and its target are tracked by the radar on a time-sharing basis, with steering commands computed in the engagement control station and transmitted to the round in flight. During the last ten seconds of an engagement the unique track-via-missile guidance comes into operation. Illumination signals transmitted by the ground radar are reflected off the target and received by an antenna in the missile's nose, which is commanded to look in the correct direction. No signal processing takes place in the missile; instead, target information is transmitted back to a subsidiary antenna on the ground radar over a G/H-band down-link. Final steering corrections are calculated and then transmitted back up to the
m
TVM
missile
—hence
'track
via
missile'.
The 2085
2
Patton ground r;idar in effed makes use of an antenna which is rapidly approaching the target, thus producing ever more accurate
Considering the circumstances of its birth, the M47 turned out to be a surprisingly sound design, and as well as serving with the US
Army
information.
it was widely supplied to other counSeveral of the foreign recipients made their own improvements: the Austrian army replaced the gasoline engine with a diesel; the Italians regunned theirs with the British 105(4. I3-in) gun; and the Spanish army also
tries.
Length: 5.18 Diameter: 41
Patton US medium the
m cm
(17
ft)
Span: 91
cm
(3
ft)
(16 in)
mm
tank series, officially
M46. M47 and M48. 'Armor Board' of the
In 1949 an
made proposals
known
as
US Army
new
family of tanks to replace the wartime designs which were then in service. As an interim measure, until these proposals bore fruit, the existing M26 Pershing tank was overhauled and modernized by installing a
for a
new 90-mm
(3.54-in)
gun
fitted
with a fume extractor and muzzle brake, replacing the Ford GAF engine by a Continental AV-1790 model and replacing the Torquematic transmission by the new Allison CD-850 combined cross-drive transmission and steering unit. In this modified form the
M26 was upgraded to become the M46 and was christened the 'General Patton' in memory of the famous Armored Force general. In June 1950 the Korean war broke out, and found the new family of tanks, the T41 light, T42 medium and T43 heavy, a long way from being ready for production, and the US forces had to fight that war with the M26/M46 and even older tanks. At that time, though, the design of a new turret for the T42 had been completed and since this suggested instant improvement, it was mounted into the existing M46 hull, turning the combination into the M47 tank. This, from its parentage, became known as the Patton II. Other improvements incorporated in this change included better frontal armour protection, improved engine cooling, and a redesigned electrical system. The new turret mounted the 90-mm gun M36, with a forward-set bore evacuator but without a muzzle brake.
2086
converted theirs to diesel power. The Americans, however, did not develop any significant variations, since in their view the M47 was a stop-gap design, and in 1950 design of a completely new 90-mm gun tank had begun. This model became the T48 and was based on the earlier T42 design but with several improvements. The first pilot models were completed in December 1951 and the design was standardized as the M48 early in 1952. Production began in April 1952 and continued until May 1956. This model became known as the Patton 48.
The M48 mounted
the
90-mm Gun M41,
with fume extractor and no muzzle brake. The extractor is set close to the breech, instead of being close to the muzzle, as on the
M47, and there is a blast deflector on the gun muzzle. The hull machine-gun, hitherto a standard fitting on all US tanks, was removed since experience had shown that the space could be better employed to carry additional ammunition; moreover, removing the gun dispensed with one crewman. The engine and cross-drive transmission were at the rear of the hull and suspension was by torsion bars. The fire-control system in the turret was considerably advanced, using a coincidencetype rangefinder coupled to a ballistic computer feeding deflections and ranges to the gunner's sight. The basic M48 was supplemented by a number of variant models. The M48A1 used a larger driver's hatch and improved the sus-
An
Italian
autumn.
M48A2 was a major redesign which made more improvements to the firecontrol system and turret controls, fitted fuel injection to the engine and larger fuel tanks, and again modified the suspension. The pension; the
M48A3
used a diesel engine. The M48A4 was it was intended to use the turret of
still-born;
the
M60 Main
Battle
Tank
in the
M48
hull,
but the idea was abandoned in favour of the M48A5, a rebuild of earlier M48A1 and A3 tanks to bring them up to the combat standard of the M60. A 105-mm gun was installed in place of the 90-mm gun, and numerous detail modifications made. At present the M48A5 is in reserve status with the US Army. M48s of various models have also been supplied to Germany, Israel, Greece, Pakistan, Spain, Turkey and a number of other countries, where they are still
by
They have been used and Pakistan.
in use.
Israel
in
combat
(M46) Weight: 44 tonnes Length.?. 05 m (23 ft in) Width: 3.51 m (1 1 ft 6 in) Height:2.76 m (9 ft 1 in) Armour thickness: 102-12 mm (4-0.5 in)
Armament: 90-mm
(3.54-in)
Gun M3A2 Power-
bhp Speed: 55 km/h (34 mph) Range: 160 km (100 miles) Crew: 5 plant: Continental 12-cylinder gasoline, 810
(M47) Weight: 46 tonnes Length:!. 08 m (23 ft 3 in) Width: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) Height: 3.35 m (11 ft) Armour thickness: 116-12 mm (4.6-0.5 in) Armamenf; 90-mm Gun M36 Powerplant: Continental 12-cylinder gasoline, 810 bhp Speed: 55 km/h (34 mph) Range: 150 km (90 miles) Crew: 5 (M48) Weight: 47 tonnes Length: 7.44 m (24 ft 5 in) Width: 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) Height: 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in) Armour thickness: 122-12 mm (4.8-0.5 in) Armament: 90-mm Gun M41 Powerplant: Continental 12-cylinder gasoline, 750 bhp Speed: 52 km/h (32 mph) Range: as M47 Crew: 4
M47 Patton tank supporting an infantry attack from Ml 13 APCs during an exercise in
It
remains
in service
abroad although production has ceased
in the
United States
P-Boats
Paulding US
destroyer
class,
built
Ten
1908-12.
improved editions of the Smith Class were authorized in 1908 (DD. 22-31), followed by five in 1909 (DD. 32-36) and six (DD.37-42) in design was very similar to the Smith Class, with four funnels and a raised forecastle, but Roe, Terry, Perkins, Sterrett, Warrington, Mayrant, Monaghan, Walke and Patterson had three funnels, with the centre boilers placed back-to-back. They were the first US destroyers equipped to burn
The
1910.
Jenkins was
damaged
Fanning sank
in a collision in
U 58 off
Milford
June
Haven
on November 17, 1917. In 1924, 13 of the class were transferred to the coastguard (redesignated CG) to operate against 'rumrunners'. They were returned in 1930-31, and with the rest of the class were scrapped in 1935.
DD.22 Pudding (CG.17), DD.23 Drayton, DD.41 Jouett Trippe DD.33 (CG.20), (CG.13), DD.42 Jenkins— built by Bath Ironworks DD.24 Roe (CG.18), DD.25 Terry (CG.19), DD.32 Monaghan (CG.15), DD.37 Fanning (CG.ll) built by Newport News navy yard DD.26 Perkins, DD.27 Sterrett, DD.34 Walke, DD.39 Henley (CG.12)— built by
—
Bethlehem, Fore River.
McCall (CG.14), DD.29 Burrows DD.35 Ammen (CG.8), DD.38 Jarvis built by New York Shipbuilding DD.30 Washington, DD.31 Mayrant, DD.36
DD.28
(CG.10),
—
Patterson
—
built
(CG.16),
DD.40
Beale
(CG.9)
by Cramp
Displacement: 742-787 tons (normal) Length: m (294 ft) oa Beam: 8.2 m (27 ft) Draught: 2.5 m (8 ft 3 in) Machinery: 2/3-shaft steam turbines, 12 000 shp=29.5 knots Armaments 3in (76-mm) (5x1); 6 18-in (46-cm) torpedo tubes (3x2) Crew: 89 89.6
Paveway, Texas Instruments US
P-Boats
computer generates commands
British escort vessel class.
laser-guided bombs.
The Paveway
to deflect the
four canard surfaces until the output from all four detectors is equal, thus steering the
bomb
onto
The
official
oil.
1917.
from the target and detected by the fourelement silicon array in the seeker head. The
the
first
its objective. type of bomb to be converted
USAF's 340-kg
(750-lb)
was
Ml 17, which
is
no longer used. This has been followed by laser-guided versions of the 227-kg (500-lb)
Mk 82 general-purpose bomb
in
conventional
and low-drag versions; the 450-kg (1000-lb) Mk 83 weapon used by the US Navy; and the 900-kg (2000-lb) Mk 84 general-purpose bomb, again in standard and high-speed versions. These types modified for laser guidance are designated the GBU-12, GBU-16 and GBU-10 respectively. The 136O-kg(30OOlb) Ml 18 demolition bomb can also be converted, as can the Pave Storm dispenser. Paveway weapons are operated by the air forces of Iran, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, South Korea and Saudi Arabia in addition to the US services; a modified version of the British 450-kg (1000-lb) Mk 13/18 bombs is being adapted for use by the Royal Air Force.
PB-2, Consolidated
US
fighter aircraft
See P-30
P.B.25, Pemberton-Billing scout aircraft. Noel PembertonP.B.23 of 1915, a pusher biplane with engine and cockpit in a metal-covered British
Billing's
mounted mid-way between the wings and twin rudders carried on booms, was developed into the P.B.25, with a fabriccovered, elliptical nacelle mounting a single Lewis machine-gun at the pilot's eye level and a 100-hp Gnome Monosoupape engine. The wings of the P.B.25 were swept back, the nacelle
undercarriage struts being attached to the lower centre section. Some 20 P.B.25s were ordered by the RNAS, and were used at two RNAS stations, but in spite of their good performance they saw no operational use.
kit was developed in the mid-1960s improve the accuracy of conventional bombs, allowing point targets such as bridges to be destroyed by a small number of air
to
strikes. The first laser-guided bomb was tested in April 1965, and converted weapons saw action in Vietnam from 1968.
of 1915-16 provided for the construction of a large number of patrol sloops, or P-boats, to meet the heavy demand for vessels suitable for patrol and escort duty and general antisubmarine work in coastal waters. In order that they might be constructed quickly and cheaply their design was as simple as possible, and their size reduced to the minimum consistent with reasonable seakeeping qualities. In all 54 boats, numbered P. 11 to P. 64, were ordered between May 1915 and June 1916 from 18 yards, most of which were mercantile shipbuilders. Nine of these vessels, P.42-44, 51, 55 and 60-63, were converted on the stocks to Q-ships (numbered PC), the remaining 45 being completed to the original design during 1916-18. P. 13 was renamed P.75 in August 1917 in deference to superstition. The P-boats were of unusual appearance with a very low silhouette to reduce visibility, a single mast and a single funnel with a raked top. For their A/S duties they were provided with a reinforced high-tensile steel ram bow, and a large rudder and heavy cut-up at the stern to enable them to turn rapidly. Their speed of 20 knots, which was considered to be the minimum consistent with A/S work, was provided by a comparatively sophisticated machinery installation. Two boilers in separate rooms supplied two sets of geared steam turbines, and gave very good fuel economy. The main faults of the design were low freeboard, which made them wet, and an open bridge which exaggerated the problem by leaving the bridge personnel unprotected from weather and spray. For a wartime expedient they were comparatively successful ships, although they could claim only one
submarine, UC47 sunk off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, by P. 57 on November 18, 1917. in
The designed armament consisted of two 4(102-mm) guns, one mounted on the super-
in)
Span: 10.06 m (33 ft in) Length: 7. 34 m (24 ft 1 Gross weight: 715 kg (1576 lb) Maximum
structure forward and one on the upper deck a single 2-pdr gun on the upper deck amidships and two fixed 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes angled out over the stern and firing aft. The after 4-in was later omitted
speed: 159 km/h (99 mph)
from
laser-
guidance
The Emergency
War Programmes
The
British patrol
AA
aft,
all
except P. 52, and two depth charges
and escort boat P. 13. She was subsequently renumbered P.75in August 1917 were a comparatively successful wartime expedient
in deference to naval superstition. P-Boats
The conversion kit comprises nose- and tail-mounted assemblies which are attached to standard bombs of various weights. The guidance and control units are identical for all bombs but the canard steering surfaces and tail sections are of varying sizes. The nose section consists of a gimbal-mounted aerostabilized seeker head containing a quadrant silicon detector and a small computer, and is fitted with four steerable canard control surfaces. The rear section, which replaces the bomb's normal tail assembly, has fixed cruciform wings. Both sections simply bolt on to existing bombs. Once the bomb has been dropped,
air
flowing over the ring at the rear of the seeker unit steers the complete seeker assembly into the local wind so that it points approximately at its target. Light from an aircraft-mounted or ground-based laser illuminator is reflected
2087
PC-Boats at the extreme stern. During 1917-18 antisubmarine armament was further increased by the fitting of two depth-charge throwers and several more depth charges, the I4-in torpedo tubes being removed from the
added the
majority of the vessels. During the war they operated with the Dover Patrol, the Nore local defence force and the Portsmouth escort force. Two of the class were lost: P. 26 mined off Le Havre on April 10. 1917. and P. 12 sunk in a collision in the English Channel on November 4, 1918.
The majority were
sold during 1920-26, but in 1925 for service as a fishery-protection vessel), P. 40 and P. 59 survived until 1937-38.
P.3S (renamed Spey
Displacement: 613 tons (load) Length: 74.5 (244
m
ft
(8
6
ft)
m
Beam .7.3 m
(23 ft 9 in) Draught:2A Machinery: 2-shaft geared steam tur-
in)
bines, 3500 shp=20 knots Armament: 1 4-in (102-mm); 1 2-pdr AA; 2 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes (fixed, above water) Crew: 54
PB2Y, Consolidated
US
patrol flying boat
See Coronado
PB4Y, Consolidated
US
patrol flying boat
See Privateer
were P.42-44, 51, 55, 56 and 60-6.?, the numbers being retained but the initial letters being altered to PC. In 1917 a further ten boats, PC. 65-74, were ordered from scratch
PC. 56— Bird wood. Panache PC. 60— Burlington Meredith PC. 61 Chesney, Downton PC. 62 Kingsnake, Mornington
same design as the converted boats. Modifications to the original design included the raising of the hull and superstructure to give a typical merchant-ship profile, with forecastle and well-deck forward, a tall funnel amidships and two masts (though the mainmast was omitted in a few vessels). To offset the reduction in stability caused by the additional topweight the beam was increased by fitting a belt of wood sheathing around the hull. The armament consisted of a single 4-in (102-mm) gun abaft the superstructure, normally hidden behind some form of dummy deck cargo, and a 12pdr on each side of the bridge, hidden behind lidded ports in the superstructure. The boats entered service during 1917-18, and all operated from Pembroke dockyard until the end of the war. During this comparatively short period they claimed two enemy submarines; UC44 sunk by PC. 61 off the southern coast of Ireland on September 26,
PC.63—Orrisroot
to the
1917, and the U61 sunk by PC.51 in St George's Channel on March 26, 1918. They operated as decoys under the following names:
,
— —
PC. 65— Milfoil PC. 66— none PC. 67— Chintz, Flashlight
PC.68—Nakerby, Telford PC. 69-73—none PC.
74— Chatsgrove
The majority of the class were sold for scrap during 1921-26, but PC. 55, 69, 73 and 74 had lengthy careers. The first pair were transferred to the Royal Indian Marine in 1922 and renamed Baluchi and Pathan respectively. In 1939 Baluchi was sold for scrap, and
sunk
off
on June
Bombay by
Galvani. The PC. 73 was renamed Dart in 1925 and served as a fishery-protection vessel until sold for scrap in 1939. PC.74, the longest-lived of the class, was employed as part of the antisubmarine training squadron at Portland, and during the first month of the Second World War returned to her original role. She was finally sold for scrap in 1948. See also Q-ships.
Displacement: 682
PBM, Martin US
patrol flying boat
See Mariner
PBY, Consolidated US
patrol flying boat
See Catalina
PC.42—Culloden, Mallory PC. 43— Charing, Trego PC. 44 Mortmain, Rolask PC.51 Cockelyte, Mopsworth PC. 55 Juggernaut, Methyl
— — —
1940, Pathan was the Italian submarine
23,
tons
m (247 Draught: 2 A m (8
(PC. 60-74 694
tons)
oa BeamJ A m (25 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft ft 9 in) geared steam turbines, 3500 shp=20 knots Armament: 1 4-in (102-mm); 2 12-pdr (2x1) Crew: 55
(load) Length:75.3
ft)
PC-Boats British escort vessel class. In
December 1916
modify a number of the Pboat escort sloops, which were then under construction, to resemble small merchant vessels. The purpose of this disguise was a it
was decided
to
variation of the Q-ship tactic of providing a
decoy to submarine attack. In this case it was hoped that the convoys they would accompany would give the appearance to an attacking U-Boat of being unescorted, thereby giving an opportunity to the escort to make a surprise counter-attack. The P-boats selected
Above:
2088
HMS
PC.74 or SS Chatsgrove. Below: PC.69, which survived
the First
World War and was then sunk in 1940 under
the
name Pathan
Pe-2/Pe-3, Petlyakov
PC/PD/PE, Pomilio Italian reconnaissance aircraft. The Fabbrica Aeroplani Ing O Pomilio was founded by the Pomilio brothers in Turin in 1916, and produced some of the most widely used Italian
aircraft of the First
World War, namely
the
P
two-seat equal-span biplanes. The first was the Pomilio PC, which began to appear in March 1917 with both wings and rudder having the scalloped trailing edge which was a feature of many designs of that time. Landing gear was also conventional, the main wheels being supported by V-struts, with a tail skid beneath the rear of the fuselage. The box-girder fuselage had slab sides with the upper decking rounded over the two cockpits, which were built very close together. The observer/gunner had a Revelli machine-gun on a Nieuport mounting. The pilot had a Revelli gun fixed over the top wing and angled to fire outside the propeller arc. The powerplant was the 260-hp Fiat A12, which was only semicowled, leaving the cylinder heads exposed. The PC was a neat, tidy design, although somewhat angular in appearance. It was speedy enough to outstrip contemporary enemy fighters and therefore djd not require fighter escorts. It did, howseries
of
armed,
ever, suffer from certain instability problems which led to numerous accidents. In an effort to make good this failing it was decided to produce the PD. Developed during 1917, this aircraft was of basically the same configuration as its predecessor. Certain modifications were incorporated to overcome the stability problem, including a small, curved underfin incorporating the tail skid. The engine cowling was changed and the behind slotted cylinder heads enclosed panels; a box radiator was installed in front
The Pomilio PE reconnaissance of the vertical
aircraft, the
top wing in place of the previous type ahead of the cockpit. The
powerplant and armament were retained. The PE variant which followed was undoubtedly the most successful. It was equipped with the 300-hp A- 12 bis watercooled in-line engine, which had a frontal radiator. A larger, redesigned main fin was incorporated and the tailplane area was increased. Armament was changed to a forward-firing synchronized gun for the pilot, and a Scarf? ring in the rear cockpit to mount one or two Lewis guns. A climb to 3000 m (9840 ft) could be achieved in 16 minutes, and the service ceiling was 5000 m (16400 ft). The PEs gave significantly better performance than their predecessors, and 112 of them
were in service for the Battle of Vittorio Veneto on October 20, 1918. At one time the various P types equipped 30 squadrons of the Italian air force. Total
the series
were
was 1616
built in 1917,
production figure for
PCs and PDs and 1071 PDs and PEs in aircraft: 545
1918.
most successful variant
The
final
model
of the
PC/PD/PE group
in the series
was
the
PY,
but only seven were built. It was generally similar to the other P types, but the top decking was squared off to give the observer a better field of vision of his target. After the war the Pomilio company was sold to another Italian aircraft manufacturer, Ansaldo. The two Pomilio brothers went to the United States, where they continued to work fairly successfully in aviation. (PE) Span: ft
4
1 1
.8
m
(38
ft
9
in)
Length: 8.94
Gross weight: 1537 kg (3389 speed: 194 km/h (121 mph)
in)
mum
lb)
m
(29
Maxi-
Pe-2/Pe-3, Petlyakov Soviet multi-purpose combat aircraft. Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov, like most leading Soviet aircraft designers of his time, studied under the great father-figure of Russian aviation, N E Zhukovskii. From 1920 he worked at the TsAGI (Central AeroHydrodynamic Institute) as an associate of A N Tupolev, and, when he graduated to the leadership of his own bureau in the late 1930s, one of his first tasks was the design of a high-speed, high-altitude fighter aircraft in 1938-39. Designated VI- 100 (for vysotnii istrebitel, high-altitude fighter), this was an extremely good-looking aeroplane with a
The Pomilio PD, an improved version
of the original PC, with a number of mainly intended to cure the instability problems of its predecessor including a curved underfin incorporating the tail skid
detail modifications
2089
Pe-2/Pe-3, Petlyakov
clean aerodynamic shape and a small, circular fuselage cross-section. The powei plant comprised a pair of MOO-hp Klimov M-105R liquid-cooled, turbo-charged \'-type engines, with wing-mounted radiators. A pressurized tandem-Seal cockpit was provided for a two-
man crew. The first
of two prototypes was completed by that time the original Soviet air force requirement had been cancelled, and the design was adapted instead as a three-seat light bomber. Two bomber prototypes were completed, of which the first is believed to have flown on May 7, 1939; but the Soviet authorities had again changed their minds, believing that more reliable results were likely to be achieved from divebombing than from pin-point attacks from high altitude. To accommodate this further change of direction, the Petlyakov design was modified as the PB-100 (pikiruyushchii 1939. but
in early
bombardirovshchik. its first
flight in this
1939. with a large,
dive-bomber), making form on December 22, slatted divebrake under
each wing. After an eventful first flight, the fin and rudder area was increased by nearly one-third. In later diving trials the PB-100 reached speeds of up to 725 km/h (450 mph), and in level flight it was faster than many contemporary fighters. Official acceptance trials were completed within six months, and in June 1940 the aircraft entered production as the Pe-2 to replace the Tupolev SB-2 bis and the Archangelskii Ar-2. In its initial production form the Pe-2 could carry a 600-kg (1320-lb) bombload, and was armed with one 12.7-mm (0.5-in) Beresin UBS machine-gun and one 7.62-mm (0.30-in) ShKAS gun in the nose, both fixed and firing forward; one movable, rearward-firing 12.7mm Beresin UBT behind the cockpit; and a similar rearward-firing UBT gun in a ventral position.
On some
sion for a pair of
aircraft there
7.62-mm
was provi-
ShKAS guns to fire
through small ports in the fuselage Only 200 kg (440 lb) of the bombload could be carried internally in the fuselage -centre-section weapon bay. Small bombs could be carried in the rear of each engine nacelle, but the majority (or, if laterally
sides amidships.
desired, the entire bombload) was carried externally on underwing points between the engine nacelles and the fuselage. Some 450 Pe-2s had been delivered by the time that Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941, and these divided their efforts between air defence and bombing or strafing attacks on enemy targets. One of several intriguing tactics employed by Pe-2 units was to carry a searchlight under each wing, with which they illuminated enemy bombers at night for them to be dealt with
by accompanying
fighters.
Not
when
that
the
came
Pe-2
itself
was
a
sluggard
combat. It had the edge in performance over the Messerschmitt Bf 109K. though it became necessary to it
to air-to-air
incorporate improvements in the Pe-2 for it to maintain its advantage over the F and G models of the Messerschmitt fighter. The first of these resulted in the Pe-2FT, whose suffix signified trebovaniye letters frontovoye (front-line demand) and indicated the installation of the dorsal UBT gun in a turret. From February 1943, production Pe-2s were also fitted with more powerful 1210-hp Klimov VK-105RF engines. These, and progressive aerodynamic refinements added from 1942 onwards, not only increased the maximum speed by 41 km/h (25.5 mph), but also shortened the take-off run and permitted the maximum bombload to be increased to 1000 kg (2205 lb). An outstanding warplane in all respects, the Pe-2 operated against the invading German forces from the Arctic to the Black Sea. For the first year or so it was not exploited extensively in its originally intended divebombing role, although there were some highly successful individual instances, but as the war progressed the Pe-2 became the mainstay of the Red Air Force's tactical bombing arm. Despite the necessity to evacuate Pe-2 production factories eastwards, when production ended in 1945 a total of 1 427 aircraft of this type had been built. This total included a number of variants, most of which were developed under later heads of the bureau, for Petlyakov had been ironically, killed in late 1942 in an air crash while flying in a Pe-2 to a meeting to discuss its future development. He was succeeded 1
—
first
by
A
I
Myasishchev.
Putilov,
and
later
by
V M
A
straightforward adaptation of the basic model resulted in the Pe-2R (razvedchik, reconnaissance), equipped with three vertical or oblique cameras for aerial
photography, and two 145-litre (32-Imp gal) underwing drop-tanks which increased the maximum range from 1500 km (930 miles) to 1700 km (1060 miles). A version with a second, 'stepped' cockpit for an instructor, aft of the existing canopy and fitted with dual controls, was designated Pe-2UT, indicating uchebno-trenirovachnii (advanced trainer). At the beginning of 1941 the Pe-2 had been modified as a multipurpose fighter. Incorporating some features of the original VI- 100, introduced wing leading-edge slots to it improve manoeuvrability, and the underwing divebrakes were omitted. Nose-mounted forward-firing
armament consisted of two 20two 12.7-mm Bere-
mm ShVAK cannon and sin UBK machine-guns, UBT guns were installed
and single Beresin dorsal and ventral
in
positions for rearward defence. This version, designated Pe-3, entered production in 1941, and between 300-500 are thought to have been built. They were used as fighters, for high-speed reconnaissance (Pe-3R), and for ground-attack with bombs or underwing 13.2cm (5.2-in) RS-132 rocket projectiles. The last production version, and fastest of all Pe-2 models, was the Pe-2I (for istrebitel, fighter), a prototype of which was flown in 1944. Redesigned by Myasishchev, its span and length were increased, and it was powered by two 1650-hp Klimov VK-107A engines, a significant increase in power which gave it a considerably enhanced performance. Its armament was similar to that of the Pe-3, except that the 20-mm (0.79-in) nose guns were replaced by 23-mm (0.9-in) VYa
cannon, and the ventral 12.7-mm gun was omitted. Relatively few were produced as pure intercepters, but the fighter-bomber version was able to carry an internal bombload of 2000 kg (4410 lb), in addition to 1000 kg (2205 lb) on the underwing racks. Not much is known about experimental models of the Pe-2/Pe-3. One such was a ground-attack conversion of one of the PB100 prototypes, with a quartet of downwardfiring guns mounted in the under-fuselage. Another interesting testbed was the Pe-2RD, so designated because the rear fuselage was modified to accept a 300-kg (660-lb) thrust Glushko-Korolev RD-1 liquid-fuel rocket motor which, with a burn time of three minutes, could increase maximum speed by 92 km/h (57 mph) and allowed a shortened takeoff run. This aircraft made its first flight using the rocket motor on October 1, 1943, and altogether made 110 test flights, 29 of them with the rocket operating. Problems in evolving a satisfactory ignition delayed its development, however, and proposals to fit this system to the Pe-2I and to produce a special high-altitude 15000-m (49200-ft) intercepter were therefore not realized. The Pe-2 remained in Soviet air force (and navy) service for a number of years after the Second World War long enough for it to be allocated the reporting name Buck when the
—
NATO
nomenclature system was introduced During the war, eight Pe-2s served with the Finnish air force (seven sold by Germany, which had captured them during its advances through the Soviet Union, and one captured by the Finns themselves). Others were supplied to the air forces of Czechoslovakia (where the Pe-2FT and Pe2UT were known as the B 32 and CB 32), Communist China, Poland and Yugoslavia. in
1954.
(Pe-2 with M-105R engines) Span: 17.11 m (56 ft 2 in) Length: 12.78 m (41 ft 11 in) Gross weight:
8520 kg (18783 (336
lb)
Maximum
speed: 540 km/h
mph)
m
(Pe-2FT) Span: 17.25 (56 ft 7 in) Length: 12.78 m (41 ft 11 in) Gross weight: 8520 kg (18783 lb) Maximum speed: 581 km/h (361
mph) (Pe-3) (41
ft)
mum
Span: 17.1 1 m (56 ft 2 in) Length: 12.5 m Gross weight: 8040 kg (17 725 lb) Maxispeed: 657 km/h (408 mph)
Span: 18.25 m (59 ft 11 in) Length: 12.93 5 in) Gross weight: 9000 kg (19842 lb) Maximum speed: 657 km/h (408 mph)
(Pe-2I)
m
2090
(42
ft
The Petlyakov Pe-8 Soviet heavy bomber. Although not built in any quantity, the few that did see service went on raids deep into German-held territory and even bombed Berlin in 1941
Pe-8, Petlyakov bomber aircraft. The Pe-8 was evolved to meet a specification issued by the Soviet heavy
Soviet air force in 1934 for a fast, highlong-range strategic bomber to replace the ageing TupolevTB-3. It originally bore the designation ANT-42, signifying that Tupolev design it was a product of the A bureau; the leader of the design team, V Petlyakov, received belated credit for the bomber when the Soviet designation system was changed after the end of 1940, by which time Petlyakov was in charge of his own design bureau. The ANT-42 prototype flew for the first tim$ on December 27, 1936, powered by four 930-hp Mikulin M-34FRN V-type engines. With these alone it was unable to maintain its performance at a sufficiently high altitude, and trials therefore began on August 11, 1937, with a fifth engine (an 850-hp M-100, a licence-built version of the Hispano-Suiza 12 Y) installed in the fuselage and driving an ATsN-2 compressor to supercharge the propulsion engines. This system proved effective, and in the words of an official test report its speed of 402 km/h (250 mph) at 8000 m (26 250 ft) made it "a very difficult target for contemporary altitude,
N
fighters"; in fact,
above 8000
M
m
it
was
faster
than the then-current Messerschmitt Bf 109B of Germany. The M-100/ATsN-2 installation was both heavy and clumsy, and fortunately, before the aircraft entered production in late 1939, a new engine became available that could maintain its output at altitude without the help of a compressor system. This was the 1200-hp Mikulin AM-35A, four of which formed the powerplant of the initial production version, which received the Soviet air force designation TB-7 (changed to Pe-8 in 1941). It entered service in 1940, and in the summer of 1941 Pe-8s (in company with Ilyushin Il-4/DB-3Fs) made their first major attack of the war: a raid on Berlin. They continued to make similar deep-penetration raids into Germany and the Balkans, sacrificing some of the normal maximum bombload of 4000 kg (8820 lb) in order to carry additional fuel for these long-range missions. The AM-35A-powered Pe-8 carried a crew of eight. Defensive armament consisted of six guns: two 7.62-mm (0.30-in) ShKas machineguns in a hand-operated nose turret: one 12.7-mm (0.5-in) Beresin UBT gun in the rear of each inboard engine nacelle to fire rearwards and downwards; one 20-mm (0.79in) ShVak cannon in a dorsal turret; and a similar gun in an electrically operated turret
Production of AM-35A engines was, however, halted in November 1941, after which three alternative engines were installed in the Pe-8. First of these, following experiments in 1940 with four 1000-hp M-40s, was the 1250hp Charomski ACh-30B diesel engine, whose greater fuel economy would, it was hoped, significantly increase the Pe-8's range. So it did, but this advantage was offset by a distinct worsening in other aspects of performance, and only a few Pe-8s were so fitted. Tests in May 1941 suggested that a better choice might be the 1330-hp Shvetsov
appearing
radial, but performance was only marginally improved. The final production version, with airframe improvements introduced after Petlyakov's death by I F Nezval, was powered by 1700-hp ASh-82FN directinjection engines, and omitted the two nacelle guns of earlier models. This entered production in 1943. The effect of these successive engine changes on the Pe-8's payload/range performance was considerable. With a 2000-kg
(ACh-30B) Span: 39.94 m (131 ft) Length: 22.47 m (73 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 31 000 kg (68340 lb) Maximum speed: 393 km/h (244 mph)
ASh-82
bombload, the initial AM-34FRN version had a range of 3000 km (1865 miles). This was extended to 4700 km (2920 miles) in the AM-35A model, and to 7820 km (4860
(4410-lb)
miles) in the version with ACh-30B diesels. It to 5800 km (3605 miles) with the introduction of the ASh-82 version, but rose again, to 6000 km (3730 miles) in the final
dropped
model with ASh-82FNs. Only 79 Pe-8s were produced in all, the small total being due in part to the delays occasioned by successive engine and airmore importantly frame changes, but because of the successes of the DB-3F/I1-4 medium bomber which made the presence of
bomber
a bigger
less important.
Production
A
small number of Pe-8s continued to serve until the early 1950s, some
ended
The
in
1944.
British
cruiser
Pearl,
built
for
the
in civilian guise as Arctic supply transports with their armament deleted and fairings in place of the nose and tail turrets.
(AM-34FRN) Span: 39.94 m (131 ft) Length: 22.47 m (73 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 32000 kg (70550 lb) Maximum speed: 403 km/h (250 mph) (AM-35A) Span: 39.94 m (131 ft) Length: 22 .47 (73 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 33325 kg (73470 lb) Maximum speed: 441 km/h (274 mph)
m
(ASh-82/82FN) Span: 39.94 m (131 ft) Length: 22.47 m (73 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 28000 kg (61 730 lb) Maximum speed: 450 km/h (280
mph)
Peacemaker, Fairchild AU-23 Licence-built tactical support version of Pilatus TurboPorter Swiss STOL utility transport airSee Turbo-Porter craft
Pearl The first five 2nd Class protected cruisers of the Pearl Class, Pandora, Pelorus and Persian (built by ArmBritish cruiser class.
strongs) and Phoenix and Psyche (built by
Thompson) were ordered under the 1888-89 Programme together with two torpedo gunboats to form a special squadron for service in Australasian waters. In April 1890, prior to completion, they were given Australian names and became Katoomba, Mildura, Ringarooma Wallaroo, Tauranga and respectively. A further four ships of the same
Royal Navy by Pembroke dockyard, in 1890
in the tail.
2091
Pedersen design Pallas (built by Portsmouth dockyard). Pearl (built by Pembroke dockyard), Philomel and Phoebe (built by Devonport dockyard) were ordered for the Royal Navy under the 1889-90 Programme as part of the Naval Defence Act. In design and appearance they were similar to the previous 2nd Class cruisers of the Medea Class but were slightly smaller and slower and were armed with eight 4.7-in (120mm) QF guns instead of six 6-in (152-mm) breech-loading guns. They were laid down during 1888-89, launched during 1889-90 and completed during 1890-91. All except Wallaroo and Philomel were sold for scrapping in 1906. Wallaroo was relegated to harbour service until the outbreak of the First World War, when she served as a guardship during 1914-15, and as a depot ship during 1915-18. She was renamed Wallington in 1919 and was sold for scrap in the following year. Philomel was transferred to the New Zealand government in 1914 and served in the Persian Gulf during 1914-17, when she transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. She was returned to New Zealand at the end of the First World War and became a base ship at Wellington in 1921. In 1947 she was sold and in 1949, sixty years after her launch, she was scuttled off the coast of New Zealand.
Displacement: 2575 tons (load) Length: 84.7 m ft) oa Beam: 12.6 m (41 ft 6 in) Draught: 4.7 m (15 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft tripleexpansion, 7500 ihp=19 knots Protection: 64 (2.5 in) deck, 51 (2 in) gun shields Armament: 8 4.7-in (120-mm) (8x1); 8 3-pdr (8x1) Crew: 217 (278
mm
mm
Pedersen US
D
Pedersen was a talented weapons designer with the Remingsmall-arms.
John
ton Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge company who achieved a considerable reputation for his work on commercial small-arms, notably sporting weapons. In 1917 he designed what came to be known as the Pedersen Device, a kit to convert the standard 0.30-calibre (7.62mm) US Army 1903 Springfield rifle into a semiautomatic carbine for general infantry
M
use.
The idea
for such a device derived from studies of infantry attacks on the Western Front in 1916-17. It was discovered that the most dangerous time for the attacking infantryman was during his advance
US Army
across no-man's-land when covering fire had ceased and the enemy was alert. It was concluded that the solution to the problem was to issue a weapon which could provide 'walking' or continuous fire during the advance. This implied an automatic rifle capable of being fired from the hip.
Pedersen realized that it was impracticable manufacture a completely new weapon, and he evolved the simplest possible conversion kit to fit onto the Springfield with only
acceptable than his
to
cartridge just missed selection as the Army's service round.
minimum
an
modification to the rifle itself. The kit consisted of a simple blowback unit with a short barrel which fitted into the chamber of the Springfield after its bolt had been removed. A detachable stick magazine fitted onto the unit, and this held 40 special 0.30-in cartridges, similar in appearance to a considerably lengthened 0.32 ACP. The cartridges were designed for the kit by Pedersen and have never been used in any other weapon.
The complete Pedersen Device, excluding the magazine, weighed 0.9 kg (2 lb). The loaded magazine weighed 0.45 kg (1 lb), and ten were supplied in canvas carrying pouches. metal holster held the blowback unit when it was not in use. The Springfield was adapted by cutting an ejection slot in the side of the body, and the weapon so modified was known officially as the rifle, Magazine, Caliber 0.30 M1903 Mark I. With the device fitted, the user could fire off the 400 rounds at any speed desired, using the rifle trigger for each shot. It was claimed that the Springfield could be converted in 15 seconds, but a postwar evaluation showed that this applied only to the best possible conditions of light and weather, hardly ever experienced in the battlefield. There was a risk of the Springfield's bolt becoming lost after it was removed, and the possibility of damage to the Pedersen Device
A
itself.
During 1918, 65000 Pedersen
kits
were
made by Remington under conditions of great secrecy, and an equal number of Springfields were converted. The order was intended for issue to the US Army before the projected 1919 spring offensive on the Western Front, but the end of the war in November 1918 meant that the Pedersen Device was never tested in combat. The kits were ordered to be scrapped, and almost the entire stock was few broken up under military control. Pedersen kits were produced for trial use with the M1917 Enfield rifle. It is probable that other kits were specially produced under contract by Remington for the French Fusil M07/15 and the Russian Ml 891 rifles. In 1923, Pedersen left Remington to work for the US government at their Springfield,
A
Massachusetts armoury. Here he designed a rifle cartridge and a semiautomatic rifle to take the ammunition. Pedersen made his own choice of the cartridge calibre of 0.276in (7-mm). It was unusual for a designer to have the freedom to do this, but at the time the US Army was considering a change from
new
standard Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, more popularly known as the 30-06. Pedersen's cartridge proved more the
Model of 1906
—
The Pederson
The
rifle,
and
in
1932 the
US
designated the T2E1, employed
rifle,
which typified the designer. It operated on the blowback principle, but incorporated a hesitation lock. The action consisted of a toggle joint, breaking upwards, and in this respect resembled the Luger pistol and the Vickers machine-gun. The thrust axis through the toggle was slightly below the pivot axis, and careful design of the toggle hinge, which embodied progressive cam surfaces rather than a simple pivot, made the first movement of the opening so slow that the chamber pressure had time to fall before the full opening movement was developed and the empty case extracted. When the extraction movement began, however, there was still sufficient pressure in the chamber to keep the cartridge case expanded against the chamber wall. The resulting friction led to hard extraction, torn rims and separated cases, and to remedy this Pedersen developed a waxing process to coat the cases during manufacture. Unfortunately waxed or lubricated cases are disliked by most military users, and this ruled out acceptance of the T2E1, despite its good performance in the comparative trials of 1929. unusual
system
ingenuity of
its
Pedersen-system weapons were manufactured for testing by Vickers-Armstrongs in 1930-32, and similar rifles were later made in Japan, again for trials. None of the foreign models ever entered production. The principal problems with the Pedersen rifle lay in its blowback operation and the need for ammunition waxing. In all other respects the weapon and its cartridge were excellent and well liked.
(T2E1
rifle)
Calibre: 0.276 in (7
mm) Ammuni-
Pedersen Weight unloaded:4 .1 kg (9 lb) Length: 1 143 mm (45 in) Barrel length:6"\0 mm (24 in) Operation: blowback with hesitation lock Magazine: 10-round box Muzzle velocity: 762 m/sec (2500 ft/sec) tion: 0.276-\n
Peder Skram Danish coast-defence ship, built 1905-09. Peder Skram was similar to Olfert Fischer, but with slightly thinner belt and higher speed. She was launched at Copenhagen dockyard on May 2, 1908. During the First World War, two of her 75-mm (2.95-in) guns were replaced by AA weapons of the same calibre.
In 1934 she was taken in hand for complete reconstruction, and emerged with a new secondary armament of eight 75-mm, two 37(1.46-in) and four 20-mm (0.79-in) guns. In the first months of 1940, two Bof ors 40-mm
mm
rifle showing the toggle bolt action. The need to lubricate the rounds for a smooth feed made the rifle unpopular with trials teams since it attracted dirt in action and led to jams and wear on the working parts and after extensive tests was rejected in 1929
2092
Penguin, Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk (1.57-in) AA guns were also shipped, having been removed from two submarines. She was laid up in Copenhagen during the occupation, but she was scuttled by her nucleus crew on August 29, 1943, when German troops tried
to seize her.
The
ship
was salvaged by
the
ihp=25 knots Armament: 2 6-pdr (57-mm [2.24-in])/43-cal (2x1) (Perseo Group only); 2-3 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in])/53-cal (2-3x1) (not PerseoGroup); 1 3-pdr (47-mm)/43cal;3 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (3x1) Crew 35-38 triple-expansion, 3000
Germans and
never put to sea under her own steam. She was sunk in Kiel harbour by British bombing in the last days of the war. After being raised she was
Pegasus British seaplane carrier, originally Ark Royal See Ark Royal
towed to Copenhagen, and was scrapped Odense in 1949.
at
Peggy Allied codename for Mitsubishi Ki-67 Japanese bomber See Ki-67
Displacement: 3500 tons (normal) Length: 87
m
rebuilt as the flak-ship Adler, but
m
(51 ft) Draught: (285 ft 5 in) oa Beam: 15.55 5.03 (16 ft 6 in) maximum Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 5400 ihp=16 knots Protec-
m
mm
mm
57 (2.2 in) deck 2 24-cm (9.4-in)/45-cal (2x1); 8 75-mm (2.95-in)/55-cal (8x1); 2 37-mm (1 .46-in) AA (2x 1); 4 20-mm (0.79-in) AA (4x 1); 4 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes submerged; 1 bow, 1 stern, 2 beam) Crew: 265 tion:
195
(7.7 in) belt,
Armament: (As
rebuilt)
Pegaso torpedo boat class, built 1905-09. Three separate groups were built. The four vessels of the Perseo Group, laid down in 1904, were followed by the eight of the Cigno Group in 1905-08, and the six of the Alcione Italian
Group
in
1905-06.
They were
knots, and by 1915 it was only 16 knots. She had a flush deck with a turtleback forecastle, and a pronounced camber to the after deck. With her unreliable machinery she was only fit for subsidiary duties in wartime, and was discarded in 1920.
all
basically
similar, with a flush deck, turtleback forecastle and two funnels, but details of rigging and armament differed widely. The earliest boats were armed with two 6-pdr guns and one 3pdr, but later boats had a uniform armament
Pelayo Spanish battleship. Built in 1885-90 at La Seyne, Toulon, Pelayo was armed with two single Canet 320-mm (12.6-in) guns forward and aft, and two 280-mm (11-in) guns amidships. The design was obsolescent when built, and in 1897-98 the ship was modernized
by the builders
to
remedy some of her
faults.
A
further rebuilding followed in 1910, and she was scrapped in the early 1920s.
Displacement: 9733 tons (normal) Length : 104.2 (341 ft 10 in) oa Beam: 19.9 m (65 ft 3 in) Draught: 7.75 m (25 ft 5 in) max Machinery: 2shaft reciprocating steam, 6800 ihp=15 knots Protection: 406-305 mm (16-12 in) belt, 89 mm (3.5 in) deck, 406 mm (16 in) barbettes Armament: 2 320-mm (12.6-in)/35-cal (2x1); 2 280(11-in)/35-cal (2x1); 9 139-mm (5.5-in)/35cal (9x1); 12 2-pdr (40-mm [1.57-in]) QF (12x1); 9 1-pdr (37-mm [1 .46-in]) QF (9x1); 2 machineguns; 7 36-cm (14-in) torpedo tubes (above water; 1 stern, 6 beam) Crew: 621
m
—
—
Ponente In 1908-11 three of the Perseo Group were oil fuel, followed by two of the Cigno Group and three of the Alcione Group. From 1947 most became fast minesweepers and were re-armed with two 3-in (76-mm) guns, sacrificing a 45-cm (17.7-in)
Pemberton-Billing British aircraft See P.B.25
Penguin, Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk Norwegian antiship missile. Penguin is unusual among Western antiship missiles in having a passive infrared seeker, rather than the active radar homing head adopted for weapons such as Exocet, Harpoon and Otomat. This choice was made for a number of reasons, not least that at the time the Penguin project was initiated radar-seeker technology was not sufficiently advanced to allow the electronics to be packaged into the small space available. Norway recognized
1896-1900.
the potential of antiship missiles mounted on a good deal earlier than many other Western countries. In the late 1950s the Norwegian navy realized that it could no longer afford to operate large warships, and the emphasis was shifted to fast patrol boats armed with torpedoes and guns to counter any attempt by the Soviet Union to seize the ports in the north of the country. In 1962 the Norwegian Defence Research
Odero, Sestri Ponente, before the prototype Condore, the coastal torpedo boat Pellicano was not completed until six months later. She was wellbuilt and seaworthy but the designed speed of 25 knots was never attained. Within a few months of commissioning speed fell to 20-21
Establishment was authorized to proceed with initial development of Penguin to prove the new principles involved, and at the end of that year the US Navy agreed to provide half the money needed for this demonstration phase. Test facilities in the US were made available during 1963-65, and the success of
mm
of three 3-pdrs.
{Perseo Group) Pallade, Pegaso, Perseo, Procione; (Cigno Group) Calipso, Calliope, Canopo, Cassiopea, Centauro, Cigno, Climene, Clio built by Pattison, Naples {Alcione Group) Airone, Albatros, Alcione, Ardea, Arpia, Astore built by Odera, Sestri
Displacement: 134 tons (normal), 166 tons (full m (159 ft 10 in) oa Beam: 5.74 m (18 ft 10 in) Draught: 1.53 m (5 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft triple-expansion, 2680 ihp=21 knots Armament: 2 1-pdr (37-mm [1.46in])/20-cal (2x1); 2 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes (2x1) Crew. 30 load) Length: AS. 72
Pelllcano Italian
Although
torpedo laid
boat,
down
built
by
fast patrol boats
converted to burn
A
Royal Norwegian Storm Class fast patrol boat fires a Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk Penguin antiship missile. The Penguin Mk 1 has a range of 20 km (12.5 miles)
torpedo tube.
On the night of February 6, 1917, off Stromboli, Perseo was rammed by her sister Astore, and sank after one of her own torpedoes exploded. A much stranger accident befell Arpia, on January 17, 1918, when she struck the uncharted wreck of the old Neapolitan frigate Torquato Tasso, which had sunk in 1860. The torpedo boat sank in shallow water between Porto d'Ascoli and San Benedetto del Tronto, but she was refloated and towed into Ancona. After repairs she returned to service six months later. Centauro ran aground in the Gulf of Adalia on the night of November 5, 1921 and ,
was a total loss. Most of the class were discarded
in 1920-24 but Calipso, Climene and Clio lasted until
1926-27.
Displacement: 210-216 tons (normal) Length: m (165 ft 2 in) oa Beam: 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) Draught: 1 .7 m (5 ft 7 in) Machinery: 2-shaft
50.35
2093
Pennsylvania initial
trials
led to authorization of full deset for
velopment, with the service-entry date
1970. West Germany made a contribution to COSta incurred during 1966-69, and received information about the guidance system and other aspects in return. Forty development rounds of gradually increasing complexity were fixed during 1964-69, these being followed by 20 evaluation missiles over the following two years. Penguin entered service with the Norwegian navy at the beginning of 1971, arming frigates and patrol boats. The version is also operated by Turkey. Penguin is fired from fixed launcher/containers which are canted up by about 20° and aligned 15° off the ship's fore-and-aft axis. The canisters used in the 1 systems are made of glass fibre, but those adopted for the 2 are constructed from aluminium honey-
Mk
I
Mk
Mk
comb. The Mk 2, developed jointly by Norway and Sweden, has a longer range than its predecessor and the computer-controlled mid-course guidance unit has greater store The Mk 2 is being fitted to the Norwegian navy's 14 Hauk Class fast patrol boats and to the Swedish navy's 16 similar capacity.
The first navy to receive the of Greece, was due to take delivery in the autumn of 1978, with the two Scandinavian customers accepting the weapon soon afterwards. Penguin Mk Is use a variety of fire-control systems which were already fitted to the ships before the missile Hugin
Mk
2,
vessels. that
system was added. The Hauks and Hugins carry six launchers for the Mk 2, and are fitted with the specialized Kongsberg MSI2 fire80S and Swedish Philips 9LV200 control systems respectively. Target data are fed to the missile before launch, and the round is accelerated out of its container by the boost stage of the dualthrust Kongsberg/Raufoss solid-propellant rocket motor. After some two seconds the sustainer stage ignites to maintain the cruise speed at Mach 0.9. Penguin cruises at a height of about 100 (330 ft) under the control of an inertial guidance unit and a laser altimeter. When within 5 km (3 miles) of its target the infrared seeker is switched on; it acquires the enemy ship, locks on and tracks the vessel, providing information for the guidance computer which generates steering corrections. The warhead is a modified version of that fitted in the US Bullpup air-tosurface missile. The Mk l's range of 20 km (12.5 miles) is increased to at least 27 km (17 miles) in the Mk 2 simply by programming the guidance system so that the missile is controllable while coasting after the motor has burnt out; no other changes are made, and the dimensions are unaltered. The US Navy was expected in late 1978 to order a small quantity of Mk 2s for evaluation and may fit the weapon to its small patrol craft. Kongsberg has also proposed versions for coastal defence, including a variant which would comprise three missiles in armoured boxes on a Swedish Hagglunds tracked vehicle equipped with its own search radar. The Royal Norwegian Air Force has expressed strong interest in a Mk 3 for launching from General Dynamics F-16 fighter-bombers. Such a development, which could enter service in the mid-1980s, would have clipped wings, no booster and a larger sustainer motor, conferring a maximum range of over 40km (25 miles).
Mk
m
2094
Length: 3 m (9 ft 10 in) Span: 1.4 m (4 ft 7 Diameter: 28 cm (11 in) Weight: 340 kg (750 Warhead: 125 kg (276 lb)
in) lb)
Pennsylvania
contemporary battleships in size, and would have been rated as 2nd Class battleships a few years earlier.
—
CA.4 Pennsylvania, CA.7 Colorado built by Cramp CA.5 West Virginia, CA.8 Maryland— built by Newport News Shipbuilding CA.6 California, CA.8 South Dakota—built by Union Ironworks Pennsylvania
off
sioned early in 1905. This class introduced the 8-in (203-mm)/40-cal Mk V, with a 15-kg (250-lb) shell fired at 825 m/sec (2700 ft/sec), using a 52-kg (115-lb) charge of smokeless (cordite) propellant. The torpedoes were the Bliss-Leavitt 1905 Pattern '18-in' (actually 17.7-in) with a 60-kg (132-lb) warhead and a range of 3200 m (3500 yards) at 28 knots. Pennsylvania earned her place in history when on January 18, 1911, Eugene B Ely landed an aircraft on a 36.4 m (1 19 ft 4 in) x 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) platform built over the stern and after gun turret. This was the first powered landing on a ship attempted, and it took place only two months after Ely's takeoff from the forecastle of the light cruiser Bir1
US armoured cruiser class, built 1899-1908. Six big armoured cruisers were authorized by Congress in 1899-1900, as much to keep up with the Royal Navy's Cressy and Drake Classes as to meet any specific tactical need. Like the big British cruisers they exceeded
USS
Completion of the last pair was delayed 1907-08 by the San Francisco earthquake, whereas the others were commis-
until
New York, Christmas
mingham. All except Maryland received a cage foremast in 1911. In August 1912 Pennsyl-
—
Eve, 1918
often wrongly captioned as
USS Nevada
M Pennsylvania vania was renamed Pittsburgh to release her for a new battleship; in due course California became San Diego (September
name
1914);
West
Virginia,
Colorado and Mary-
land became respectively Huntington, Pueblo and Frederick (November 1916); and South Dakota became Huron (June 1920). The ships played a relatively minor role in the First World War, being confined to patrol
153.6
m
(504
ft)
Draught: 7.34
m
oa Beam: 21.2
(24 ft shaft triple-expansion, tection: 152-89 in)
turrets
mm
1
in)
m
(69
ft
7
in)
mean Machinery:
2-
23000 ihp=22 knots Pro-
(6-3.5 in) belt,
Armament: 4
165
mm
(6.5
8-in (203-mm)/40-cal
(2x2); 14 6-in (152-mm)/50-cal (14x1); 18 3-in (76-mm) QF (18x1); 12 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in])
QF(12x1);4 1-pdr(37-mm[1.85-in])QF(4x1);6 0.5-in
(12.7-mm) machine-guns (6x1); 2 45-cm torpedo tubes (beam, submerged)
duties in the Pacific and Atlantic. In February 1917 Huntington was given a catapult for launching a Curtiss N-9 floatplane but this was removed in September the same year. San Diego was sunk after striking a mine on July 19, 1918. Unlike armoured cruisers in most navies, the survivors saw considerable service. Four were used as transports for
(17.7-in)
US troops back from France in 1919, and were then used for 'showing the flag' on foreign stations. All five were scrapped in
was retained in the two Pennsylvania Class ships. The opportunity was taken in the two
bringing
1930-32. See also Chester.
Displacement:
13680 tons (normal) Length:
Crew: 832
battleship class, built 1913-16. General
satisfaction with the that its all-or-nothing
new
the
following year.
The contracts
were awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and New York navy yard respectively, and they were completed in 1916. Pennsylvania made a courtesy visit to Haiti commissioning in June 1916, returning to Yorktown in 1917 on the day before the US entered the First World War. She remained on the east coast as flagship of the
after
Atlantic Fleet, and did not cross the Atlantic December 1918. During 1922-29 she served with the Pacific Fleet. Arizona commissioned in October 1916 and joined Division 8 of the Atlantic Fleet just before the United States entered the First World War. She remained at Norfolk as a gunnery training ship, and did not join the 6th Battle until
Pennsylvania US
March
Nevada Class meant scheme of protection
ships to fit four triple 14-in (356-mm) gun-turrets as had originally been planned for the Nevada Class. Congress approved Pennsylvania (BB.38) in August 1912, and the Arizona (BB.39, ex-North Carolina) in
Squadron in Europe until November 1918. She escorted President Wilson to France for the peace conference and repatriated US troops from Brest in December before returning to the US. She served subsequently with the Atlantic Fleet until 1929,
began a two-year reconstruction
at
when
she Norfolk.
2095
Pensacola During 1929-31 both ships underwent extensive reconstruction along the lines followed in the Nevada Class, with antitorpedo bulges, new lighter boilers, heavy tripod masting and a new AA battery. After completion of her overhaul at Norfolk, Arizona was sent to the Pacific and was at Pearl Harbor on 1941, when the Japanese 7, attacked. After a hit from a torpedo and eight
5-in(127-mm)/51-cal(10x1);12 5-in(127-mm)/25cal AA (12x1); 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine-guns (8x1); (Pennsylvania, 1943) 12 14-in (356-mm) (4x3); 16 5-in (127-mm)/38-cal DP (8x2); 40 40(1 .57-in)/60-cal AA (10x4); 42 20-mm (0.79in) AA (42x1); 2 floatplanes, 1 catapult Crew: 1358-2290
mm
December
bombs
a magazine detonated, and she sank with the loss of 1117 men. A major part of the wreck still lies there, serving as a permanent memorial. Pennsylvania underwent her reconstruction at Philadelphia navy yard, subsequently rejoining the Pacific Fleet. Trapped in dry dock at Pearl Harbor, she was fortunate to receive only slight damage from a single bomb hit. During repairs her 5-in (127-mm)/ 51-cal surface armament was replaced by four twin 5-in/38-cal dual-purpose mountings on either side, and a heavy battery of 40-mm (1.57-in) Bofors and 20-mm (0.79-in) Oerli-
kons was fitted. The tripod mainmast was removed. She spent the rest of the war on escort and bombardment duties, and took part in the final annihilation of the Japanese surface fleet in the Battle of Surigao Strait in On August 12, 1945, she was badly damaged aft by a hit from an aircraft torpedo, and was never fully repaired. She was used as a target at Bikini in 1946 but suffered only slight damage; in 1948 she was finally sunk as a target for conventional
October 1944.
bombs. Displacement: 31 400 tons (normal), 33 000 tons (full load) Length: 185.3 m (608 ft) oa Beam: 29.6 m (97 ft) Draught: 8.8 m (28 ft 9 in) mean Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam turbines, 31 500 shp=21 knots Protection: 356-203 mm (14-8 in) belt, 102-38 mm (4-1.5 in) decks, 457 mm (18 in) turrets Armament: 12 14-in (356mm)/45-cal (4x3); 22 5-in (127-mm)/51-cal (22x1); 2 3-in (76-mm) AA (2x1); (As reconstructed, 1929-31) 12 14-in (356-mm) (4x3); 10
The US heavy
2096
cruiser Pensacola. She
Pensacola US
heavy cruiser
class, built 1926-29. This
of the 8-in (203-mm) gunned, ships permitted under the Washington Treaty of 1922, originated before the Washington Conference, and its existence considerably influenced the outcome of the conference itself. The Omaha Class scouts had been designed to operate with battleships, but from 1919 the fear of a war with Japan led to a new US requirement for 'strategic' scouting, ie reconnaissance across the Pacific and on the trade routes. On the question of armament, the Bureau of Ordnance favoured a new 8-in (203-mm)/50-cal, whereas many officers favoured the 'smothering' effect of 6-in (152-mm) salvoes. After protracted discussion a design known as the Series B Scout was produced, with two twin 8-in mountings, displacing 8 100 tons and capable of 35 knots. When the British Hawkins Class appeared, a Series C Scout was produced, with seven or eight 8-in guns in three turrets (1x3, 2x2; or 2x3, 1x2), with a speed of 36 knots. In January 1921 the General Board discussed the possibility of going to 10000 tons, and it was soon realized design, the 10 000- ton
first
35 knots at this displacement would require a virtually unprotected ship. Out of this evolved a 10000-ton design armed with eight 8-in guns and protected by a thin belt and deck. It was the existence of this and other studies, not the Hawkins Class, which prompted the US delegates to stick out for the cruiser clauses at Washington. In April 1923 work had to begin on a proper design, and problems immediately arose. By that
was severely damaged
at the Battle of Tassafaronga
now
it was realized that protection against other 8-in gunned cruisers could not be achieved, and a 76-mm (3-in) belt and 25-mm (1 -in) deck had to be accepted. The armament was increased by the unusual expedient of making the superimposed turrets triple, not twins. By great attention to detail a number of weight savings were made, and the design was 900 tons within the treaty limit.
Pensacola (CA.24) was built by New York navy yard, and Salt Lake City (CA.25) by New York Shipbuilding. They were goodlooking ships, with catapults between two widely spaced funnels, and heavy tripod masts. They were criticized widely for being overgunned, short on freeboard, and generally inferior to
Japanese contemporaries, par-
Myoko. But, apart from the British Kent Class, these contemporaries were either devoid of protection (French and Italian) or, ticularly
Japanese ships, considerably in excess of 10000 tons. They served as a model for future development and, although not perfect, must be judged as good
in the case of the
value.
Both ships enjoyed successful war careers, from Midway to Okinawa. Pensacola was severely damaged in the Battle of Tassafaronga and Salt Lake City was damaged at Cape Esperance and again in the Komandorski Islands action. Both were used as targets at Bikini in July 1946, and subsequently. Following a series of tests both ships
were scuttled
in the Pacific in 1948.
Displacement: 9100 tons (standard), 12 050 tons load) Length: -\78.5 m (585 ft 9 in) oa Beam: 19.9 m (65 ft 3 in) Draught: 6.7 m (22 ft) Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam turbines, 107000 shp=32.5 knots Protection:76 mm (3 in) belt, 51-25 mm (2-1 in) deck, 38 mm (1.5 in) turrets Armament: 10 8-in (203-mm)/55-cal (2x3, 2x2); 4 (from 1931, 8) 5-in (127-mm)/25cal AA (4/8x1); 8 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machineguns (8x1); 6 21 -in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (2x3) (removed 1931) Crew: 653 (full
and subsequently used as a
target at Bikini atoll
Peres vlet inferior
Pentane British torpedo. Following the collapse of the Z-series torpedo project, the British Naval Staff in 1947 drew up a requirement for a new air-dropped homing torpedo. It was to be a
21 -in (53-cm) active homer running at 30 knots, and was to be carried by Gannet, Lancaster, Shackleton and Sturgeon aircraft.
The
Staff
Requirement
stipulated
that
it
should be capable of hunting the current generation of submarines and the much faster boats expected in the later 1950s. In 1954 design details were settled for Pentane, by then known as the Mk 21, and it appears to have been a very advanced and soundly engineered weapon. But by this time the Wyvern and other aircraft capable of carrying a 21-in torpedo were being withdrawn from naval service, and the emphasis
was
At this point abandon Pentane
shifting to helicopters.
might have been wiser to favour of a lightweight torpedo, but tinued to eat up
when
money
until
it
it
it
was
foresee the demise of torpedo-carrying fixedwing aircraft and the improvement in submarines' performance effectively wrecked what was left of the British postwar torpedo programme. Pentane had been given top priority,
and the very promising Mk 30 Mod 1 in favour of
was consequently cancelled The Russian
battleship Peresviet
homers, and other research pro-
it represented more than twice the cost of the successful Mk 20 and Mk 23 put together. The abortive Pentane project also led to a British decision to stop development of air-launched torpedoes, which was only reversed some ten years later when the Sting Ray project went ahead. Experience with Pentane did, however,
dards
have some beneficial effects. The problems with propulsion encouraged research into silver/zinc batteries and thermal propulsion systems, and the revised parameters of performance were applied to the Mk 24 Tigerfish.
Diameter: 21-in (53-cm) Speed: 30 knots other details classified)
(All
in
conwas cancelled it
realized that the active homing head's search rate was too slow to cope with fast submarine targets. Pentane remains a classic example of how a project can get out of control. Failure to
in 1958,
US
jects were allowed to die stillborn. Although the sum of £1726000 spent on Pentane's development sounds paltry by recent stan-
was sunk
Peres vlet Russian
battleship
class,
built
1895-1901.
These ships were unusual in sacrificing armament and armour in favour of higher speed, and were considerably weaker than contemporary pre-Dreadnought battleships in other navies. Peresviet and Pobieda were built by the Baltic works at St Petersburg, and Osliabia by the New Admiralty works. They are now considered to be a thoroughly bad design, with a low reserve of stability. The guns were of French Canet design built in Russia at the Obukhov works. The 10-in (254-
at Port
Arthur
in
mm)/43.3-cal gun weighed 27 tons and fired a 225-kg (496-lb) shell at 777 m/sec (2550 ft/sec) muzzle velocity. The 6-in (152-mm)/43.5-cal gun weighed 5.7 tons and fired a 41-kg(91-lb) shell at 792 m/sec (2600 ft/sec). Osliabia was hastily recalled from the Mediterranean in 1904 to join Rear-Admiral Felkerzam's division being sent via the Suez Canal to reinforce the Port Arthur squadron at the outbreak of the war against Japan. At the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905 she came under fire from several Japanese ships. At about 1418 hours she was hit near the waterline by a heavy shell, and took in a lot of water. More flooding followed a second hit, and she soon took a heavy list to port. By 1440 hours the fore turret had been smashed and she was burning so badly that Shikishima could no longer fire through the smoke. At 1450 hours she veered to starboard and had a second huge hole blown in her side on the waterline. The list increased rapidly and by 1510 hours she had sunk, with the loss of 514 of her crew of 899. Pobieda was a unit of the 1st Pacific Squadron based on Port Arthur. She took all the actions, and was damaged by a mine on April 13, 1904. On November 24 she sank at her moorings in the inner harbour after hits from Japanese 11 -in (28-cm) siege guns. She was later raised and refitted in 1908-09 as the Japanese Suwo, and in 1917-18 was a gunnery training ship at Yokosuka. While being disarmed in 1922, she capsized, and after salvage was used as a hulk and
part in
survived until 1945.
1904 and renamed Sagami by the Japanese
who captured and
repaired her
2097
Perino Ftresviet was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Prince Oukhtomsky at Port Arthur, and was badly damaged by gunfire in action on August 10. 1904. She returned to Port Arthur and there was sunk by howitzer shells. Under the name Sagami she was repaired and commissioned by the Japanese, and served on coastdefence duties until 1915. At the end of 1915 the Russians asked the Japanese to retrocede a number of the Port Arthur and Tsushima prizes to enable a White Sea Squadron to be formed, and as the Japanese had more ships than they could man. the transfer was agreed. As a result Sagami was returned to the Russians at Vladivostok and took her old
name The
Italian authorities submitted the Perino to innumerable comparative tests against every machine-gun then known. They failed to decide before war broke out in 1914, and although it was superior to many guns being made at the tfme there were no production facilities to
Displacement: 13500 tons
m
(424
ft)
wl
Beam:
(normal) 21.8
m
(71
Length: ft 6 in)
Draught: 8.3 m (27 ft 3 in) Machinery: 3-shaft reciprocating steam, 14 500 ihp=18 knots Pro(9-6 in) belt, 70 tection: 229-1 52 (2.75 in)
mm
mm
mm
deck, 254 (10 in) turrets Armament: A 10-in (254-mm)/43.3-cal (2x2); 11 6-in (152-mm)/43.5cal (11x1); 20 75-mm (2.95-in) (20x1); 20 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in]) (20x1); 8 1-pdr (37-mm [1.46(8x1); 5 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes in]) (above water, 1 bow, 2 beam; submerged, 2
all
were
built to the
there were
conning-tower structure between the boats built at the
two yards.
Gemina, Berillo, Diaspro, Turchese, Corallo—buih by CRDA, Monfalcone Amhra, Onice, Iride, Malachite built by Perla,
—
OTO, La
Spezia
A number 7.7-mm (0.303-in) Weight: 22.7 kg (50 lb) Magazine: 12-round trays Rate of fire: 600 rds/min Muzzle velocity: 730 m/sec (2400 Calibre:
ft/sec)
Per/a
of the boats conducted opera-
western Mediterranean Spanish Civil War. Iride and Onice were loaned to the rebel Nationalist navy for several months, being renamed Gonzalez Lopez and Aguilar Tablada. By the time Italy entered the Second World War the tional patrols in the
during the
entire class (except Perla)
were stationed
in
was
Italian
submarine class. These submarines were derived from the Sirena Class but were equipped with more powerful machinery,
stationed in the Red Sea in June 1940, but transferred to the Italian group at Bordeaux and returned home
resulting in a slight increase in displacement.
in
More modern equipment was fitted, and extra
Class submarines carried out a number of successful patrols during the war which included the sinking of the cruiser
bunkerage raised the radius of action from the 3670 km (2280 miles) of Sirena Class to 4020 km (2500 miles) at 12 knots. The boats were constructed at two yards, and although
the Mediterranean. Perla
September
1941.
Perla
Bonaventure by Amhra on March 31, 1941. Amhra were converted
In 1940-42 Iride and
transport Maiale human torpedoes in watertight containers fitted on deck after removal of the deck gun. Iride carried four Maiale craft and Amhra three, fore and aft of a modified conning tower. to
beam) Crew: 732
Perino machine-gun. The weapon patented in 1900 by Giuseppe Perino operated by a combination of recoil assisted by gas action derived from a muzzle gas trap. Breech locking was by a bell-crank lever. The original belt feed was later replaced by a feed box carrying five trays of 12 rounds each. The gun was cooled by an ingenious system in which the recoiling barrel acted as a pump to move cooling water around the system, and also acted as an air pump to draw cool air across Italian
the breech as the bolt opened. A Perino gun was tested by the British Army in 1911. They considered it to be a
robust and reliable design, though they expressed doubts as to its utility in the field because of the number of sliding surfaces
The Perino machine-gun, patented in 1900 by the Italian designer Giuseppe Perino. It was originally fitted with a belt feed but this was replaced by a tray with 12-round clips. Though a robust and efficient gun, the Perino was rejected by the British because it had too many working parts which could attract dirt in the field 2098
same design
slight differences in the profile of the
spare for the Perino.
Peresviet.
old ship took some time to be worked up. and did not leave the Pacific until the end of 1916. On January 4, 1917, she left Port Said, but struck two mines about 16 km (10 miles) out; after an explosion and fire she sank with the loss of 1 16 men.
129.2
which could attract dust, but it was a heavy weapon, and the test board felt that it showed no advantages over the existing Vickers. The
Pershing Four of the class were sunk in action: by the destroyers Havoc and Hasty; Corallo by the sloop Enchantress; Iride by carrier aircraft from Eagle; Malachite by the Dutch submarine Dolfijn. Perla was captured by the corvette Hyacinth, and was handed over to the Greek navy who renamed her Matrozos. She was finally scrapped in 1954. Ambra was scuttled in September 1943 to prevent her capture by the Germans; Gemina was sunk in error by the Italian submarine Tricheco. Diaspro, Onice and Turchese survived the war and were incorporated in the new Italian navy before being discarded in 1947-48 and scrapped.
Name
Berillo
Displacement: 696-700/825-860 tons (surfaced/ m (197 ft 6 in) Beam: 6.4 m (21 ft) Draught: 4.6 m (15 ft) Machinery: 2shaft Fiat diesels (Corallo, Diaspro, Turchese, CRDA diesels; Ambra, Malachite,Tos\ diesels)/2 electric motors, 1400 bhp/800 shp=14/18 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 1 3.9-in (100mm); 2-4 13.2-mm (0.52-in); 6 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern), 12 torpedoes Crew: 45
submerged) Length: 60.2
launched
Parthian
6/29
Chatham dockyard
Perseus
5/29
Vickers, Barrow
Phoenix
10/29
Cammell Laird
Poseidon
6/29
Vickers, Barrow
Proteus
7/29
Vickers, Barrow
Pandora
8/29
Vickers, Barrow
(ex- Python)
shp= 17.5/9 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament:
(102-mm); 2 machine-guns; 8 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern), 16 torpedoes Crew: 56 4-in
1
Pershing US tank. In 1942 the US Armored Force realized that the 75-mm (2.95-in) gun on the tank would soon have to be improved upon. They pressed for the adoption of the
British
submarine
90-mm class.
The
six
submarines
of this class were almost identical to the Odin Class submarines, differing mainly in having a raked stem whereas the Odin Class had a straight stem or ram bow. As with the Odin and Oberon classes, part of the bunkerage was contained in sections in the saddle tanks, but this was a poor feature of the design as these tanks suffered from oil leaks. This made the boats extremely vulnerable when submerged, since their position could be revealed by the oil slick they left behind. The 4-in (102-mm) gun, sited on a breastwork in front of the conning tower, was initially mounted in a shield; this was subsequently removed and the gun carried in an open mounting. Experience during the First World War had shown that better results were obtained against heavily defended warships by grouping torpedoes in salvoes. These boats therefore mounted a powerful battery of six bow torpedo tubes. The boats proved difficult to manoeuvre when submerged and generally were not as satisfactory in service as had been hoped. Apart from Poseidon, accidentally sunk in collision with a merchant ship off the Chinese port of Wei-Hei-Wei on June 9, 1931, the class all served in the Mediterranean during the Second World War. Pandora and Parthian had a section of the battery compartment altered and all spare torpedoes removed to enable them to carry stores to Malta. Parthian was lost in the Adriatic in August 1943, probably having struck a mine. Perseus was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Enrico Toti on December 1, 1941. Phoenix was sunk by the Italian torpedo boat Albatros off Sicily on July 13, 1940. Pandora was sunk by German aircraft in Malta on April 1, 1942. The wreck was salvaged and scrapped in 1945. Proteus survived the war to be scrap-
ped
in
1946.
on
trials of various engine and transmission systems, suspensions and different guns and mountings.
From
since
was refused was not large
(3.54-in) gun, but this
the
enough
to
Sherman take the
turret
90-mm with
its
larger
breech and recoil system. When faced with the same problem the British had fitted the 17-pdr gun to the Sherman with conspicuous success, but for reasons never publicly revealed the US Ordnance Department refused to have anything to do with the 17pdr, choosing instead to develop a completely new tank to accommodate the 90-mm gun. The resulting T20 series was approved in May 1942, and a great deal of time was spent
An M26 Germany
Tflw
i
these
all
appeared
M4
Perseus
builder
deliberations
in 1944. It
the
T26
had an automatic trans-
mission, torsion-bar suspension, a 610-mm (24-in) track, and a high-velocity 90-mm gun. The Armored Force requested manufacture of this on a high priority, but the Army Ground Force refused, considering that a 76-
mm (3-in) gun was all that was needed, though by late 1944 reports from Europe made it obvious that the 76-mm gun was not the success its designers had hoped. After a considerable struggle between the
Armored
Board, the Ordnance Department and the
Army Ground
Forces, the T26 (now classified as a heavy tank) was put into production. In January 1945 the first 20 were shipped to Europe where they were known as the General Pershing. They were assigned to the 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions of the 1st US Army, and were used by the latter unit in the advance on the Remagen Bridge on March 7,
Pershing tank on display at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The M26 saw action in at the end of the Second World War and later during the Korean war in the 1950s
'
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i
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Jj23
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MED TANK
¥26
.gi.jVr^ifl
m.
w
'^^JWH
Displacement: 1475/2040 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length :89.2 m (292 ft 6 in) oa Beam: 9.1 m (29 ft 9 in) DraughtA.2 m (1 3 ft 9 in) Machinery: 2-shaft diesels/2 electric motors, 4400 bhp/1320
2099
Pershing, Martin Marietta 1^45. That same month the design was standardized as the M26. By the end of March 210 had been shipped, and by the end of the war there were 310 in Europe, though only the first 20 had been used in combat. Twelve wen shipped to the Pacific for use in Okinawa, but the war had finished before they were ready. A total of 2428 M26s were produced, at a unit cost of about $81 000. In May 1946 they
damage to surrounding areas. Pershing intended to deliver quick-reaction strikes against hardened point targets, using only a small number of rounds to guarantee their destruction, and thereby free 'dual-capable' bombers (those which can carry either nuclear or conventional weapons) for other
more as medium saw action in Korea, but by that time many of them had been withdrawn from service and fitted with
RAD
were
reclassified
once
tanks. In the early 1950s they
new
engines, transmissions and guns to turn them into M47 medium tanks. The M26 chassis formed the basis for a number of self-propelled equipments, most of which were never taken into service, and
experience gained with this vehicle formed the foundation for the subsequent US the
development which led
to the
M60
series.
Weight: 41 .7 tonnes Length: 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) Width: 3.5 m (1 1 ft 6 in) Height: 2.77 m (9 ft I in) Armour thickness: 101-50 (4-2 in)
hull
mm
Armament:
90-mm
M3, 70 rounds Powerplant: Ford V-8 gasoline, 500 bhp at 2600 rpm Speed: 48 km/h (30 mph) Range: 175 km (110 miles) Crew: 5 1
(3.54-in)
Pershing, Martin Marietta US battlefield-support missile. The MGM31 A Pershing I entered service with the United States Army in 1964, giving European-based units the ability to deliver nuclear warheads against targets far behind the enemy's front line. An improved version, the IA, was deployed in the summer of 1969
and
has superseded the earlier version. Pershing IA, which is operated by four battalions of the US 7th Army and by two wings of the German Luftwaffe, uses wheeled vehicles based on the M-656 truck in place of the XM-474 tracked types employed with Pershing I. The missile itself remains the same, but the erector/launcher carries the warhead as well as the weapon's body (they were previously transported separately) and the reaction time has been shortened by the adoption of automatic countdown procedures.
Further improvements were introduced during 1976 in the form of the azimuth reference system (ARS) and sequential launch adapter (SLA). The former greatly reduces the time needed to fire missiles from unsurveyed sites, by using a gyro-compass to replace manual survey methods, and the latter allows up to three rounds to be launched in rapid sequence from one control station.
In 1978 Martin Marietta was working on the proposed Pershing II, which would use the existing first and second stages but would
carry a terminally guided re-entry vehicle in place of the existing warhead. Pershing IA, which employs inertial guidance, has a comparatively large CEP (circular error probable the radius of a circle in which half the warheads would fall) and therefore has to carry a large nuclear payload to be reasonably certain of destroying the target. Pershing II should have a CEP only one-tenth of the 365 (1200 ft) achieved by the earlier weapon and can thus be fitted with a much smaller warhead, thereby reducing uninten-
tional II is
tasks.
The new
re-entry vehicle developed for contains a Goodyear Aerospace AG (radar aimpoint and guidance) mapmatching guidance system, a new Bendix digital computer and a Singer Kearfott inertial measurement unit. The re-entry vehicle reaches an apogee of 240 km (150 miles) and its trajectory is corrected by thrust- vector control while it is outside the atmosphere. Once the vehicle has descended below 15000
Pershing
II
m (50000 ft) the RAD AG system is switched on and searches the area beneath it with a narrow beam scanning in a circular pattern to reduce the effects of attempts to jam it. The view seen by the J-band radar is automatically correlated with a mosaic made up of hundreds of points representing natural and man-made objects in the target area. The mosaic is prepared using information from spy satellites and other reconnaissance vehicles, and is stored on 35-mm film, although an all-digital correlator has been proposed. The on-board computer issues commands to
hydraulically
operated
steering
vanes
which manoeuvre the vehicle so that the radar image matches the stored map. The computer can be programmed to overfly the target before turning back to attack it, or to carry out other evasive manoeuvres designed to defeat terminal defences.
The maximum
range of Pershing II remains the same as that of its predecessor, but the minimum range is reduced below 185 km (115 miles) so that targets nearer the forward edge of the battlefield can be attacked. Payloads proposed for Pershing II include a normal low-yield warhead; a steel-cased nuclear earthpenetrator device, developed by Sandia Laboratories to withstand impact at 600 m/sec (2000 ft/sec) so that hardened underground targets can be destroyed; and a dispenser carrying submunitions. Flight trials of Pershing II began in November 1977 and continued through the spring of 1978, with varying degrees of suc-
The future of the project still remained doubt by the autumn of 1978, because
cess. in
Pershing II clashed with a number of USAF proposals. One of these was the groundlaunched cruise missile, which was intended for much the same role as the Pershing II. A further project which may involve Pershing (conventional airfield technology is attack missile), a weapon based on a singlestage version of the missile and using a twowould deliver subround launcher. munitions to hamper operations from Warsaw Pact air bases.
CAAM
CAAM
—
Length: 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in) Diameter: 1 m (3 ft 3 in) Weight: 4500 kg (10000 lb) Range: 740 km (460 miles) Warhead: 60-400 kilotons nuclear
m
Left: A Martin Marietta Pershing IA lifts off from a range in the US. The Pershing IA employs inertial guidance, a fairly inaccurate system requiring a nuclear warhead to guaran-
2100
tee the destruction of its target. The missile has a range of 740 km (460 miles)
,
Perth, Blackburn
saw much action in was responsible for
Perth Australian
cruiser class.
The Perth Class
cruisers of the Royal Australian Navy were originally laid down under the 1932 Programme for the Royal Navy as modified versions of the Leander Class. Their principal difference from the earlier ships was the
adoption of the unit machinery arrangement
which the boilers were not grouped together in a single boiler room, but were alternated with the engine rooms. This greatly reduced the possibility of the ship being put out of action by a single hit. The widely separated boiler rooms required two funnels, instead of one as in Leander, and a slight rearrangement of the upperworks. It was also necessary to lengthen the machinery spaces, which in turn required longer side armour. The compartments at the ends of the ship were shortened to avoid greatly increasing the overall size, and this resulted in excessive cramping of the crew accommodastandards of tion which was below the the time. The system did not lend itself to the adoption of the six boilers of the Leander so four large boilers, capable of developing the same power, were substituted, two being in
RN
fitted in
each boiler room.
The three ships of in
were
laid
down
Swan Hunter)
by Devonport dockyard) and Amphion (built by Portsmouth dockyard); they were launched in 1934 and completed during 1935-36. Phaeton was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy on completion and renamed Sydney. The remaining pair served initially with the RN, during which time their four single 4-in (102-mm) AA guns were replaced by four twin 4-in HA/LA mountings. Apollo was transferred to the RAN in 1938, renamed Hobart and Amphion was transferred in 1939, renamed Perth. Sydney operated in the Indian Ocean and (built
Australian waters until May 1940, when she transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet. She
The Blackburn Perth was
tolomeo Colleoni which was sunk on July 19, 1940, in an engagement with Sydney and five destroyers. Sydney returned to Australian waters in 1941, and on November 19, while operating west of Australia, she sighted a suspicious merchant vessel and closed to investigate. Unknown to Sydney this vessel was the German raider Kormoran formerly of the Hamburg Amerika Line and converted by the German navy to carry a hidden arma.
ment of
six
150-mm
(5.9-in) guns, four 21-in
(53-cm) torpedo tubes, 320 mines and several AA guns. The raider did not have the speed to escape, but kept Sydney busy with a confused series of signals until the cruiser had closed to a point-blank range of 900 m (1000 yards). At this point Kormoran dropped her disguise and opened fire. Sydney, with her main armament still facing fore and aft, was taken completely by surprise and received serious damage both from gunfire and from a torpedo which hit her forward. She did manage to fire on her adversary, and started a fire among Kormoran' s mine cargo before drifting away, ablaze, never to be seen
Kormoran later blew up and sank after being abandoned. The majority of her crew reached Australia, and but for them the fate of Sydney would have remained a complete mystery. Perth served on the North America and again.
the class
1933 as Phaeton (built by
Apollo
the Mediterranean and the first sinking of a major Italian unit. This was the cruiser Bar-
the
biggest
West
Indies Station in the early months of the war, and with the Mediterranean Fleet in 1941 but spent the rest of her wartime career in Australian waters. She was sunk, together with the US cruiser Houston, on March 1, 1942, by Japanese cruisers and destroyers while attacking an invasion convoy in the Sunda Straits, off Java. Hobart served in the East Indies and Red Sea during 1939-40, and spent the remainder of the war in Australian waters and the Pacific. She was the only member of the class
seaplane to serve in the
RAF. Only
enough to receive any subwar modifications. In 1943 six 20-mm (0.79-in) AA guns (6x 1) were added to her armament, and in 1944 these and the quadruple 0.5-in (12.7-mm) A A were replaced by five twin 20-mm. At the same time the aircraft catapult between the funnels was removed and two quadruple 2-pdr pom-pom mountings fitted in its place. She was also to survive long stantial
with the usual outfit of air-warning, surface-warning and gunnery radar sets and received a second AA director which was
fitted
sighted in a wing position abreast the bridge, with the original AA director moved from above the bridge to the other wing position. She was sold for scrap in 1962.
Displacement: (Perth) 7040 tons (standard), 9140 tons (full load); (Hobart) 6980 tons (standard), 9080 tons (full load); (Sydney) 6830 tons (standard), 8940 tons (full load) Length: 169.2 m (555 ft) oa Beam: 17.3 m (56 ft 8 in) Draught: 5 m (16 ft 3 in) Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam turbines, 70000 shp=32.5 knots Protection:
mm
102 (4 decks, 25
in)
mm
(1
sides, 38-32 in) turrets,
mm
(1.5-1.25 in)
mm
89-25
(3.5-1 in)
magazines Armament: 8 6-in (152-mm) (4x2); 4 4-in (102-mm) AA (4x1); 12 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine-guns (3x4); 8 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (2x4); 1 aircraft Crew: 570
Perth, Blackburn British coastal patrol flying boat.
from the Blackburn
Iris
Developed
Mk VI, the Perth was
the largest biplane flying boat ever used by the RAF, having a biplane tail of 9.14 (30 ft) span and three 4.27 (14 ft) diameter twoblade wooden propellers driven by 825-hp
m
m
Rolls-Royce Buzzard engines mounted midthe wings. Main changes from the Iris were a broader hull and enclosed pilots' cabin. The five-man crew comprised pilot, co-pilot/navigator, bow gunner, radiooperator/gunner and flight engineer/rear gun-
way between
ner,
armament consisting of
single
four Perths were built as replacements for the
Lewis Iris
VI
2101
Pertuisane
The French destroyer Pertuisane (MS) which made a long and unsuccessful attack on machine-guns amidships and Lewis and a 37-mm (1.46-in)
bow, plus
in the tail
and a
COW gun in the
1 13-kg (250-lb) or four 227-kg carried under the wing roots and released by the bow gunner. The first of the four Perths built flew for the first time on October 11, 1933, the other three following during 1934, and the type was used by 209 Squadron on patrols of the Irish Sea until 1936, when it was replaced by the
(500-lb)
eight
bombs
Short Singapore. One was lost in September 1935 when it crashed on takeoff and another was used for experimental purposes until 1938.
Span: 29.57 m (97 ft) Length: 21.34 m (70 ft) Gross weight: 17237 kg (38000 lb) Maximum speed: 212 km/h (132 mph)
Pertuisane built 1899-1903.
Following
the success of the first '300-tonne' boats of the Durandal and Framee Classes four more were ordered from Rochefort arsenal: Per-
Escopette (M9), Flamberge (M 10) and Rapiere (M 11). The beam was slightly greater but the hull was otherwise very similar to Durandal. Escopette brought Henri Bleriot back to France after his successful flight across the English Channel in 1910. All four were based in the Channel in 1914, but in 1915 Rapiere and Flamberge were sent to Bizerta. Pertuisane made a lengthy but unsuccessful tuisane (M8),
on UB40 off Le Havre in 1917. Flamberge was sent to Salonika in 1918. Three were stricken in 1921 and scrapped. Pertuisane was stricken in 1923 but was not attack
scrapped
until
Displacement: 57.64
2102
m
(189
ft
1928.
340 tons 1
Draught: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 7000 ihp=26 knots Armament: 1 65-mm (2.56-in) QF; 6 3-pdr (47-mm
in)
(full
Beam:
6.3
load)
m
(20
Length: ft
8
in)
Havre
Channel
in 1917 while patrolling the
British reconnaissance floatplane.
useful reconnaissance work, and the problems of operating it from such a small deck deterred the Royal Navy from repeating the experiment of carrying aircraft in submarines. The loss of the M.2 on January 26, 1932, when she failed to resurface after a dive during exercises off Portland, was attributed to a fault of the hangar doors either that they collapsed while the submarine was submerged or that they were not closed properly before she dived but although the wreck was located it was in deep water and was never raised, so the true cause of her loss was never definitely established. Only the two original prototypes of the Peto were ever
1920s,
built.
[1.85-in]);
2 38-cm (15-in) torpedo tubes Crew:
52
Pete Allied
codename
for Mitsubishi
Japanese navy observation aircraft Petlyakov Soviet aircraft
See
F1M F1M
See Pe-2, Pe-8
Peto, Parnall During the one of the Royal Navy's 'M' Class submarines, M.2, had her original main armament of a 12-in (305-mm) gun removed and replaced by an aircraft hangar to investiof using aircraft to provide long-range reconnaissance for submarines operating in distant waters such as the Pacific. The aircraft was to be launched by a short, inclined catapult on the forward casing and recovered by a crane mounted above the hangar. The Parnall company was asked to design a suitable floatplane with folding wings, the result being the Peto, a small, single-engined unequal-span biplane of stainless steel. The two prototypes built were originally powered by 135-hp Bristol Lucifer IV engines, though these were subsequently replaced by the Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose of the same power. The engines were mounted uncowled in the nose driving twoblade propellers and a two-man crew was gate
French destroyers
UB 40 off Le
the
possibilities
carried.
of the M.2 was completed and experiments began with the Peto the same year. These were not entirely successful, however. Because of the size restrictions the Peto itself proved to have insufficient range and too low a ceiling for
The conversion
in April 1928
—
—
See also M.I British submarines. Span: 8.66 m (28 ft 5 in) Length: 6.86 m (22 ft 6 Gross weight: 885 kg (1950 lb) Maximum speed: 182 km/h (113 mph)
in)
Petrel, Fairchild
US
air-launched antiship and antisubmarine was developed via the Kingfisher and Grebe test vehicles by the Guided Missile division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane corporation to attack ships from stand-off ranges. The weapon was built around a standard Mk 13 torpedo enclosed in an airframe and powered by a J44 turbojet. Extensive testing and evaluation were carried out by the Bureau of Ordnance at the Naval missile. Petrel
Ordnance Test Station, Chincoteague, Virand later by the Fleet Operational Development Force. A number of Lockheed P-2 Neptunes were armed with the weapon but the project was ginia,
cancelled in 1957.
Length: 7.3
m
(24
ft)
Diameter: 60
Range: 32 km (20 miles)
cm
(2
ft)
Petter Petropavlovsk Russian battleship class, ships
were
laid
down on
built 1891-99.
Three
same day
at the
the
New
Admiralty yard, St Petersburg: Petropavlovsk, Sevastopol and Poltava. They followed the lines of contemporary preDreadnoughts in other navies, but carried eight of their 6-in (152-mm) guns in twin turrets.
were sent out to reinforce the 1st Squadron at Port Arthur when war broke out with Japan, Petropavlovsk becomAll three
Pacific
ing the flagship of the talented Vice Admiral Stefan Makarov. On April 13, 1904, just over a month after she had arrived, she led a sortie from Port Arthur against the Japanese. A short distance from harbour she ran into a minefield laid the night before; an exploding mine detonated the forward magazine, destroying part of the ship. She sank within U minutes, with the loss of Admiral Makarov and most of the crew. Sevastopol escaped desL uction from Japanese howitzer fire, but had to be scuttled in the outer harbour when the fortress fell in November 1904. She was not raised by the Japanese, unlike Poltava which sank in the
inner harbour after several hits, and was raised and recommissioned as the Japanese Tango. She was ceded back to Russia, and in April 1916 was renamed Chesma. She was safely transferred to the White Sea, and became the flagship of Rear-Admiral Bestouyev-Roumin in January 1917. Laid up at Murmansk after the revolution, she was later immobilized by Anglo-US forces and was scrapped in 1922.
Displacement: 10960 tons (normal), 11 400 tons load) Length: 111.9 m (367 ft) wl Beam: 21 m (69 ft) Draught: 8.5 m (28 ft) Machinery: 2shaft reciprocating steam, 10600 ihp=16 knots Protection: 381 -178 mm (15-7in) belt, 76-51 mm (3-2 in) deck, 254-152 mm (10-6 in) turrets Armament: A 12-in (305-mm)/40-cal (2x2); 12 6in/45-cal (12x1); 12 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in]) QF (12x1); 28 1-pdr (37-mm [1.46-in]) QF (28x1); 6 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes (above water, 2 beam, 1 bow, 1 stern; submerged, 2 beam) Crew: 716 (full
The Russian
battleship Petropavlovsk in 1900.
Petter French automatic pistols. Charles Petter is reputed to have served in the French Foreign Legion in the 1920s and some time in the early 1930s became an engineer with the Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Mechaniques at Cholet in Alsace, later becoming a director of the firm. In 1934 he took out patents covering an automatic pistol. This was basically the same as the Browning swinging-link design of recoil action used in the Colt 191 1 pistol, but Petter improved the overall design by build-
M
ing the hammer and lockwork into a removable module and supporting the recoil spring on a rod throughout its entire length. The design was submitted to the French army, then looking for a service pistol, and was adopted as their Model 1935A in 7.65-
mm
Longue chambering. Production was done by SACM and also by the state arsenals at Chatellerault (MAC), Tulle (MAT) and St Etienne (MAS) and by the (0.301-in)
Societe d' Applications Generates Electriques Mechaniques (SAGEM). In 1938 the St Etienne arsenal slightly redesigned the pistol in order to make it easier to produce in et
She was
lost in the
Russo-Japanese
War
in
1904
wartime, short-cutting many manufacturing steps and making the general outline more angular. This entered service as the Model 1935S.
The Petter pistols were of sound design and quite serviceable, but they were marred by the use of an ineffectual cartridge. In 1937 the SIG company of Switzerland, who were looking for a suitable pistol design to develop, bought a licence from SACM to exploit the Petter patents, and from this they subsequently developed the SIG line of automatic pistols. In the postwar years the French army revived the Petter design, this time in 9-mm (0.354-in) Parabellum calibre. This became the Model 1950 pistol, a thoroughly sound
weapon which
is
still
in service use.
(M1935A) Calibre: 7.65 mm (0.301 in) Weight: 735 g (1 lb 10 oz) Length: 194 mm (7.6 in) Barrel length: 110 mm (4.3 in) Magazine capacity: 8 Muzzle velocity: 345 m/sec (1130 ft/sec) (M1950) Calibre: 9 mm (0.354 in) Weight: MS g lb 12 oz) Length: 195 mm (7.7 in) Barrel length: 112 mm (4.4 in) Magazine capacity: 9 Muzzle velocity: 355 m/sec (1 1 65 ft/sec)
(1
designed by Charles G Petter. Petter was a to have been invalided out of the French Foreign Legion after service in the 1 920s. His pistol was adopted by the French army in 1935 but chambered for the underpowered 7.65-mm (0.301-in) round. After the Second World War the design was reworked for 9-mm (0.354-in) Parabellum and is still in service with the Services and Police as the Model 1950
The French
MAS
colourful figure
1935A
pistol
who was said
2103
Pfalz
D 1
Above: A German Pfalz D.III single-seat fighter powered by a 160-hp Mercedes engine. Below: The Pfalz D.XII which in June 1918. The exact number built is not known but has been reliably estimated at up to 800
first
appeared
*
-
'?
M
.~**rf^£i -
J
-
Pfalz
The
D
Pfalz D.XII was initially coolly received by its pilots but after they had become acquainted with they discovered that it was as good as the popular Fokker D.VII and a good match for the British Camels and S.E.5 fighters encountered in the autumn of 1918
Pfalz German
D
fighter aircraft series. The first Pfalz D-series fighters were licence-built Roland D.Is and D.IIs. These were followed, in the summer of 1917, by the Pfalz D.III, an original design which used construction techniques similar to those used on the
Roland
fighters but completely different in appearance. Powerplant was a 160-hp Mercedes D.III engine with the cylinder block protruding above the pointed nose and twin synchronized Spandau machine-guns enclosed in the engine decking, though difficul-
servicing in the field led to their removal to the top of the forward fuselage in ties
later
of
production machines.
The D.III entered service in was issued mainly to Bavarian
late 1917
and
units. In 1918
an improved model, the D.IIIa, with a 180-hp Mercedes D.IIIa engine and modified semicircular tail plane, appeared. A combined total of some 600 of the D.III and D.IIIa were produced; 350 were in front-line service in August 1918, and in spite of their inferiority to the latest Allied fighters, over 300 were still in service at the end of the war. One of the main uses of the two types was against balloons and airships. Meanwhile, by the end of 1917 Pfalz had a number of new fighter designs in hand. Among them were biplane and triplane developments of the D.III and D.IIIa. Most were built only as prototypes, though some 40 of
it
the D.VIII, a two-bay biplane powered by a 160-hp Siemens-Haske rotary engine, were produced out of an order for 200, and some of these were undergoing operational trials at the end of the war. The D.VI had a 1 10-hp Oberursel U.II engine, while two versions of the D.VII were built, one with a 160-hp Siemens-Haske Sh.III and the other with a 160-hp Oberursel U.III. small number of the Dr. I triplane development of the D.VII were built towards the end of 1917, but these performed less satisfactorily than the superior Fokker Dr. I.
A
The most promising D.III development, however, was the D.XII, with a two-bay wing assembly similar to that of the Spad XIII. Two D.XII prototypes, powered by 180-hp Ilia Mercedes D.IIIa and 165-hp engines, and a D.XIIa with a 195-hp Benz Bz.IIIb, took part in the fighter trials held at Adlershof in mid- 19 18. In fact, the Mercedespowered version had already been ordered
BMW
into production in
March
1918, before they
had undergone official acceptance trials, because of the army's desperate need for fighters in the last year of the war. During the Adlershof trials the BMW-powered version proved to have the best rate of climb, but the Mercedes engine gave the highest speed, and by this stage speed was considered the most important attribute of new fighters. Armament of the D.XII consisted of two synchronized machine-guns on top of the for-
ward fuselage. 2105
_
Pfalz E
of the early production order, with installation the radiator delayed the start of production until June 1918. At the end of that month, during which the official trials had been completed success fully, five D.XIIs had been delivered to frontline units, and by the end of August 168 were spite
In
problems
m
sen ice. The eventual
total of D.XIIs delivered has been estimated at 750-800, and the type was used by ten front-line squadrons as well as a number of home-defence squadrons and training units. Its initial reception by its pilots tended to be hostile, largely because it was not the Fokker D.V1I, which every fighter pilot wanted, though it was at least as fast, if not as manoeuvrable, as the Fokker. It was difficult to fly and very tricky to land because of the poor downward view from the cockpit,
but those pilots who survived to become familiar with it seem to have enjoyed some success. Its service achievements were also overshadowed by the fact that Allied pilots frequently mistook it for the Fokker. Another D.XII development, the D.XIV, with a 200-hp Benz Bz.IV engine, was ordered in the spring of 1918, but it proved disappointing in the Adlershof trials and the order was subsequently cancelled. The final Pfalz fighter, the D.XV, underwent trials at the beginning of November 1918, only days before the Armistice.
duced, and
in service during 1915 they were often identified by Allied pilots as Fokker
use what is now known as the centrelinethrust system, patented by Dr Claudius Dor-
monoplanes
nier in 1937, and had a propeller at the front and rear of the aircraft. One engine was installed in the nose section, driving a normal tractor propeller, while another was fitted in the middle of the fuselage and was connected by an extension shaft to a pusher propeller aft of the tail unit. The system was tested experimentally on the small Go 9 monoplane in 1940, and a single-seat fighter, initiated as Dornier Project 231, received a development contract from the RLM in 1942 as the Do 335. A low-wing single-seat monoplane, powered by two I750-hp liquid-cooled V-type Daimler-Benz 603A-2 engines, the prototype Do 335 VI flew for the first time on October 26, 1943. Fourteen experimental aircraft, 10 preproduction Do 335A-Os, 11 Do 335A-ls and three two-seat trainers (either A-lOor A12) were ordered 'off the drawing board'. The prototype had long-stroke nosewheel landing gear and an ejector seat for the pilot. All the aircraft were used in an extensive test programme, during which the Do 335 V2 was
—
themselves largely inspired by the Morane-Saulnier H to which they were very similar in appearance, though different
—
construction, being all-wood where the Fokkers had a steel-tube fuselage. The E.I and E.II were allocated in small numbers to Bavarian units as escort fighters, but had only a brief career on the Western Front. After their withdrawal they were used on the Eastern Front and as trainers. The later models were produced too late to see front-line service, their performance being inadequate by 1916. in
Span: 9.26 m (30 ft 5 in) Length: 6.3 8 in) Gross weight: 535 kg (1179 Maximum speed: 145 km/h (90 mph)
(E.I)
(20
ft
m lb)
Span: 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in) Length: 6.45 m 2 in) Gross weight: 694 kg (1530 lb) Maximum speed: 160 km/h (99 mph)
(E.IV)
(21
ft
Pfeil,
Dornier
Do 335
German fighter-bomber aircraft. From some views of the Do 335 Pfeil (arrow), it might be difficult to tell in
to fly, since
it
which direction it was meant of the few aircraft to
was one
destroyed. The
V4 was
intended (but not
completed) as the prototype for the more advanced Do 435 two-seat night-fighter variant, powered by Jumo 222 engines. The first armed prototype was the Do 335 V5, which
Span: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) Length: 6.95 m 10 in) Gross weight: 905 kg (1995 lb) Maximum speed: 165 km/h (102.5 mph)
(Dill)
(22
ft
Span: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in) Length: 5.65 m in) Gross weight: 738 kg (1627 lb) Maximum speed: 190 km/h (118 mph)
(D.VIII)
(18
ft
6
Span: 9 m (29 ft 6 in) Length: 6.35 m in) Gross weight: 902 kg (1989 lb) Maximum speed: 170 km/h (105.5 mph)
(D.XII)
(20
ft
10
Span: 10 m (32 ft 10 in) Length: 6.32 m 9 in) Gross weight: 1032 kg (2275 lb) Maximum speed: 180 km/h (112 mph)
(D.XIV)
(20
ft
Pfalz E German reconnaissance
aircraft
and escort
The Pfalz Flugzeugbau was established in 1913, and was financed by the Bavarian government. Based on the Moranefighters.
Saulnier H, which Pfalz had built under licence before the First World War, the company's E.I was produced in 1915 with an 80-hp Oberursel U.O rotary engine in a horseshoe cowling. Originally used as an unarmed scout, the type was subsequently fitted with a synchronized forward-firing Spandau machine-gun. After 60 E.Is had been produced a 100-hp Oberursel U.I was substituted to produce the E.II, which was otherwise largely unchanged from the original model. The E.III had the same engine and armament as the E.II, but was a completely different design, being based on the Pfalz A. II, itself a development of the parasol-wing MoraneSaulnier L, and was built only in small numbers. Further development of the E.II resulted in small numbers of E.IV, with a 160-hp Oberursel U.III two-row engine in a
new cowling and
a second machine-gun, and the E.V, with a 100-hp Mercedes D.I engine. A total of some 150 E types were pro-
2106
Above: A Pfalz E.I, one of the 60 built with a synchronized Spandau. Earlier models were unarmed. Below: Fighter pilot Otto Augst with his crewman and Pfalz E.III monoplane
PH, Hall MG
151 cannon had twin 15-mm (0.59-in) installed over the forward engine plus a 30103 cannon which fired mm (1.18-in) through the front propeller hub. The V6 and V7 prototypes were kept by Dornier for equipment tests, and the V8 went to DaimlerBenz, for engine testing. The Do 335 V9 production prototype was
tually a
standard design to be put out to
different
companies for manufacture under
delivered for official trials in May 1944, by which time the ten preproduction A-Os were almost completed, and were included in this
designations. the Hall corporation of Bristol,
MK
programme. They were single-seat fighter-bombers, armed as the V5, but carrying a 500-kg (1100-lb) bombload. The first test
production model, the Do 335A-1 single-seat fighter-bomber, followed the same lines but was powered by 1800-hp DB 603E-1 engines; they were delivered during the closing months of 1944. A reconnaissance model designated Do 335A-4, was to have carried two RB 50/30 cameras, but only one prototype was completed. Several two-seat variants were developed alongside other models of the Pfeil. One such was the Do 335 V10 with 1750-hp DB 603A-2 engines and a second cockpit, directly behind and slightly above that of the pilot, for a radio/radar operator. FuG 217J Neptun radar aerials were attached to the wing leading edges. The VI 1 and V12 were also two-seat variants, which served as prototypes for the
Cyclone engines, which increased the maxi-
PH, Hall US
patrol
mum
and air-sea rescue
flying boat.
During the interwar period the US Naval Aircraft Factory produced a number of flying-boat designs, leading to what was vir-
their
own
was placed with
December
One such contract Aluminum Aircraft Pennsylvania,
on
produce a prototype based on the NAF PN-11. The resulting XPH-1 appeared two years later and bore a strong resemblance to its predecessor, with almost identical hull and wing configuration but with a larger fin and rudder, and powered by two cowled 537-hp Wright GR-1750 Cyclone radial engines. This prototype had open cockpits for two gunners, one in the bow and another behind the wings, with open side-byside seating for two pilots in between. The armament consisted of two pairs of movable 0.30-in (7.62-mm) Lewis guns. A production order for nine aircraft was placed with Hall on June 10, 1930, the first of which was completed in October 1931. Desig29, 1927, to
PHit incorporated a number of modifications. Power was improved by the installation of two 600-hp Wright R- 1820-86 nated
1 ,
speed in spite of their greater weight. A simple covering was placed over the centre cockpits, and service testing of the type began immediately. The PH-1 served with Navy Patrol Squadron 8 during 1932-37. It was not until 1936 that a further order was placed for seven PH-2s, to be used by the US Coast Guard for air-sea rescue duty. Powered by two 750-hp Wright R-1820F-51 engines, they were specially equipped for this purpose, but the general configuration was
same as the PH-I. The PH-2 aircraft remained in service until 1941, together with an additional seven aircraft designated PH-3. The PH-3s were equipped with the same powerplant, but had long-chord NACA cowlthe
ings rather like those of the original
XPH-1
prototype. The cockpit canopy was of a more sturdy construction, and the number of crew varied from four to six. When the US entered the Second World War after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the PH-3s were adapted for a short time to be used as antisubmarine patrol aircraft, carrying up to 450 kg (1000 lb) of bombs, but were rapidly superseded. The basic design of the PH can be traced back to the British Felixstowe flying boats of the First World War, making this one of the few types of aircraft to serve in both wars.
A-10 and A-12 conversion trainers. During the closing stages of the Second World War, several variations were under development or construction. These included the more heavily armed Do 335 V13 and V14, the latter having a total armament of three 103 and two 20-mm (0.79-in) 151
MK
MG
cannon. The B-3 and B-7 would have had uprated engines with two-stage turbochargers. However, these plans were halted when the Allies captured the main Dornier factory at Oberpfaffenhofen, and although a few Do 335A-Os and A- Is reached a Luftwaffe operational evaluation squadron before the end of the war, they were never used in
combat. (Do 335A-1) Span: 13.8 m (45 ft 3 in) Length: 13.85 m (45 ft 5 in) Gross weight:9600 kg (21 160 lb) Maximum speed: 763 km/h (474 mph)
The Dornier Do 335 V10 two-seater exhibits
at
the
Enemy
Aircraft
night-fighter version of the Pfeil (arrow)
Display
at
Farnborough
after
the
among the numerous Second World
War
The Do 335 was capable of 763 km/h (474 mph). It could carry a bombload of 500-kg (1 100-lb), while later models were armed with three MK 103 30-mm (1.18-in) and two 20-mm (0.79-in) MG 1 51 cannon. Developments stopped when the Allies captured the factory at Oberpfaffenhofen
2107
a
Phantom, McDonnell FH (PH-1) Span: 22.2 (51
ft
10
m
(72
ft
10
in)
Length. 15.8
Gross weight: 7429 kg (16378 speed: 216 km/h (134 mph)
in)
Maximum
m
A McDonnell Phantom F-4E of the Israeli Defence Force armed with an M61 20-mm Vulcan cannon, AAMs, bombs, napalm and rocket pods
lb)
(PH-3) Span: 22.2 m (72 ft 10 in) Length: 15.54 m (51 ft) Gross weight. 8015 kg (17670 lb) Maxi-
mum
speed: 256 km/h (159 mph)
Phantom, McDonnell FH US
carrier-based fighter aircraft.
In
1943,
with most major US aircraft manufacturing companies already up to full production with
McDonnell Aircraft company was asked by the US Navy to produce a
existing types, the
design
for
Though
new carrier-based fighter. company had been in existence a
the since 1939 it had not previously been commissioned to produce any of its designs in quantity, but McDonnell's enthusiastic designers tried a number of different layouts. The first had three very small Westinghouse turbojets in each wing but this, like the
four-engined version which followed, was rejected, in favour of a twin-engined design which had been evolved by the end of 1943. A long, slim fuselage supported the low, straight wings, whose thickened roots housed the two 528-kg (1165-lb) st Westinghouse 19 XB-2B engines, later called J30. The tailplane had dihedral, and was situated well clear of the exhaust outlets. Armament comprised four fixed forward-firing 0.5-in (12.7-mm) guns in the nose. Two prototypes were ordered, designated
XFD-1,
of which flew initially on production contract was issued for 100 FD-ls by the US Navy on March 7, 1945. On July 21, 1946, the XFD-1 prototype landed on the deck of USS FrankRoosevelt and became the first all-jet lin US aircraft to land on a carrier. The producthe
first
January 26, 1945.
A
D
was later reduced to 60 aircraft, powered by 726-kg (1600-lb) st J30-WE-20 turbojets, all of which were delivered by May 1948. To avoid any confusion between the Phantom and the Douglas aircraft being built for the navy at the same time, the Phantom was redesignated FH-1. First squadron to take delivery of these machines was VF-17A. Phantoms were the first jet aircraft to serve with the US Navy and Marine Corps, though their life was curtailed by the arrival of more modern designs giving better performance. tion order
Phantom, McDonnell Douglas F-4
US
multirole fighter and reconnaissance airThe pre-eminent fighter of the modern era was not built to an official specification, but is the outcome of the manufacturer's dogged persistence in overcoming official reticence. The McDonnell Aircraft company lost the 1953 contract for a US Navy supersonic fighter to Vought (with the XF8U Crusader) but nevertheless decided to carry on and attempt to do better. In early 1954 a mock-up was built of the F3H-G Phantom II multirole carrier-based attack aircraft with two J65 engines, four 20-mm (0.79-in) guns and 1 1 stores pylons. In November 1954 the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics signed a contract for two prototypes designated XAH-1, similar to the mock-up but with the new J79 engine. In April 1955 the concept was changed to that of a fleet-defence fighter, designated craft.
F4H
but
2108
named Phantom
II.
The guns
AAMs
car-
ried recessed into the broad flat underside of
the fuselage. Ten of the weapon pylons were removed, leaving only a rack for a large centreline tank. In the nose there was to be a large Westinghouse radar fire-control system, with continuous-wave (CW) target illumination for the missiles. Pilot and radar-observer were seated in tandem Martin-Baker seats, and there were many changes to the airframe including blown flaps, sharply downturned tailplanes and very advanced fully variable engine ducts. In May 1955 the navy switched the prototype contract to the XF4H- 1 while also buying the competing Vought XF8U-3 ,
Crusader
The Span: 1 2.42 m (40 ft 9 in) Length: 1 1 .81 m (38 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 5459 kg (12035 lb) Maximum speed: 771 km/h (479 mph)
still
were replaced by four Sparrow
III.
first
Phantom
II
flew at
Lambert
Field,
adjacent to the St Louis plant, on May 27, 1958. After evaluation against the single-seat single-engined XF8U-3 the navy ordered 23
development F4H-1
Phantom lis plus 24 production aircraft in December 1958. By this time the aircraft had acquired a folding flight-refuelling probe, an infrared scanner under the nose and a pylon under each inner wing for a pair of Sidewinders or an extra Sparrow (making total armament six Sparrows, or four Sparrows and four Sidewinders). In its final quantitative evaluation the addition of all the minus and plus scores totalled an unprecedented 75% on the plus side. The navy knew it had a winner, and while it planned a series of attempts on world records it multiplied orders for itself and the marine corps. Most unusually, the Phantom also studied by the air force, who superior on almost every count to its own special-purpose fighters, intercepters and attack aircraft. II
was
found
By
it
navy and marine corps more world records than had ever before been gained by one type of aircraft (discounting records between pairs of cities). The first was an absolute altitude of 28852 m (94658 ft). Next came the 500-km (311 -mile) closed circuit, flown at 1958 km/h April
1962
Phantoms had
set
(1216.7 mph), the true average over a considerably greater still-air distance being much
Then came the 100-km (62-mile) flown at an average of 2237 km/h (1390 mph); because the flight was circular, round the outside of the turning points, this corresponded to an actual 2348 km/h (1459
greater. circuit,
mph, Mach
2.24).
Then came the US transLos Angeles to
continental records, from
New
York, culminating in 2 hr 48 min at an average 1399 km/h (869 mph). Next followed the toughest of all, the 3-km (1.86-mile) lowlevel two-way record flown at below 53 m (175 ft) altitude in very turbulent air at a twoway average of 1453 km/h (902.7 mph) record which stood for over 16 years. The marines grabbed the high-level absolute speed record at 2585 km/h (1606.3 mph,
—
Phantom, McDonnell Douglas F-4
RAF
Phantoms pass Elsinore
castle in
Denmark during
a patrol in 1966.
The
British
were the
Mach 2.6), after which the navy held a sustained altitude of 20252 (66443 ft), beating the previous record by over 3350 m ( 1 1 000 ft) and never surpassed by a combat aircraft. The final set of records were times to height, which included passing through the 3050 m (10000 ft) level within 35 sec of releasing the parking brake, reaching 12000 (39370 ft) in 77.15 sec for an average of
m
m
9500 m/min
A McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom
II
in
sen/ice with
the RAF. This multirole aircraft
is
capable of
speeds up to Mach 2
at altitude
(3
1
000 ft/min), and
finally setting
m (98425 ft), with apogee at well over 30500 m ( 100000 ft). Delivery of the Phantom to VF-101 for conversion training and carrier qualification took place in December 1960. In the 1962 scheme the F4H-1 became the F-4 A. There were 47 of this model, which had a canopy level with the top of the fuselage and a small radome for the APQ-50 radar with 610-mm (24-in) aerial in the first 18. Subsequently the APQ-72 was fitted, requiring a large bulged nose radome to house the larger aerial. The engine was the General Electric J79-2 rated at 7326 kg (16150 lb) with afterburner. In 1960 manufacture switched to the F-4B, of which 637 were built. These introduced the raised cockpit, giving a better view, and the new
records at heights to 30000
first
foreign purchasers of the
J79-8 rated at 7711 kg (17000
redesigned
match the (32-in)
lb),
Phantom fed from
The nose was redesigned to APQ-72 radar, with the 813-mm
inlets.
aerial
in
a
revised
and
enlarged
radome angled downwards, and with
the
entire set arranged to slide out forwards rails.
Most important,
the
B had
on
five strong
pylons on which could be hung ordnance loads up to a nominal maximum of 7257 kg (16000 lb). Subvariants include the F-4G with digital data link (12 aircraft converted); the DF-4B, equipped as mother aircraft for RPVs; the QF-4B, rebuilt as orange-painted pilotless RPVs and used in many weapon trials and research programmes; and the RF4B, a conversion of the B for the marines with equipment similar to the RF-4C. In 1961 the remarkable decision was taken to
buy the Phantom
despite
II for the air force, the existence of the supposed all-
TFX
(later F-l 1 1). The F-4C (earlier F-l 10) was a minimum-change model which retained carrier equipment, but it swiftly became the chief weapon platform of Tactical Air Command. Powered by J79-15 engines with cartridge/air starters, the F-4C
purpose
designated
had larger main wheels and more powerful 2109
'n
ntom, McDonnell Douglas F-4
1
:@)
A F-4J/S Phantom
II. These aircraft have improvements intended to add ten years to the service including a modified low-smoke long-life J79-GE-10B engine and new wiring
life
The F-4J/S is the modified version of the 260 F-4Js which besides receiving a new engine has also been fitted with AN/AWG-10A weapons control system and new hydraulic and pneumatic tubing
2110
-
.
Phantom, McDonnell Douglas F-4 An F-4D Phantom
Wing 'Wolfpack' over North Vietnam. !t is armed guided bombs. Phantoms saw extensive service in Vietnam and encountered enemy fighters as weli as heavy flak and SAMs during raids over the North
with Sparrow
II
of the 8th Tactical Fighter
AAMs and
laser
antiskid brakes, APQ-100 radar, Litton ASNinertial navigator, AJB-7 bombing system, Bull pup guidance, dual controls in the rear
48
cockpit (at first the back-seater was always a rated pilot) and various minor changes. Production amounted to 583, delivered in 196366. Small numbers were passed on to other air forces, including 36 designated C-12 by Spain. The RF-4C, a completely redesigned reconnaissance aircraft, was introduced by
A US Navy Phantom
HMS
of the
Ark Royal during
USS Independence a
NATO
is
towed to a catapult on the
cross-training
exercise
in
the
flight
spring
deck of 1975
of
the air force in 1964.
many
sensors and
Never before have so
ECM
devices been
nose houses a forward-looking radar for terrain-avoidance, mapping and other modes; it also includes a camera bay giving photographic coverage ahead, below and oblique. Flush under the fuselage is an APQ-102 SLAR (side-looking aircraft radar) giving high-definition radar pictures along each side of the flight path. Further back there is an AAS-118 infrared reconnaissance system, giving precise thermal linescan output. An ALR-18 intercept receiver automatically identifies and classifies hostile reprofiled
APQ-99
radars.
The
Elint
(electronic-intelligence)
receiver and recording system
An APR-25
*%
—
fitted
into a tactical aircraft, and this in addition to tankage for an all-weather radius of action exceeding 1600 km (1000 miles). The
crystal
video
is
the
ALQ-61
radar-warning
receiver and an APR-26 missile-launch warning receiver assist penetration of missiledefended airspace. A Westinghouse ALQ101 combined noise and repeater jammer provides ECM. Above the rear fuselage there are photoflash cartridge ejectors and a
powerful HF radio whose shunt aerial forms the forward skin of the fin. In most configurations the RF can process optical, SLAR or infrared film in flight and eject cassettes before landing. Total production was 505 aircraft.
March 1964 the air force was permitted buy a Phantom more closely tailored to its needs. The F-4D is fitted with the APQ-109 In
to
radar, and usually does not have the infrared sensor under the nose. Emphasis on air-to-
2111
Philadelphia
surface weapon delivery is seen in the design of the radar, the lead-computing optical sight.
ASG-63 inertia] navigation system. ASQ-91 Weapon-release computer, and a considerably enhanced range of radar-homing and warning systems, chaff/jammer pods and other aids to penetration of hostile territory. The D was the first Phantom to be compatible with all the USAF guided bombs of the
Paveway and Hobos
ASM.
series,
the
Maverick
AAM
family and several other stores. First flown in December 1965. a total of 843 were delivered, export customers including Iran and South Korea. In June 1967 the first F-4E began its flighttest programme. This had been planned as a minimum-change improvement over the D, with a new radar and weapon-control system, the
the Falcon
Westinghouse
all-solid-state
APQ-120
being chosen after three changes. The F-4E carries a much sleeker nose, and in response to persistent requests from combat pilots in South-East Asia it was decided to fit an internal gun. The 20-mm (0.79-in) M6I Gatling-type gun was installed on the bottom centreline of the nose, with its 640-round
drum
of ammunition between the radar and cockpit, making the nose longer. To preserve balance a new No 7 fuel cell was added in the rear fuselage above the engine nozzles, giving greater range and endurance. The heavier aircraft is fitted with the J79-17 engine, rated at 81 19 kg (17900 lb), to maintain or improve flight performance. The tailplane is the slotted type developed for the J, and MartinBaker 'zero-zero' rocket-assisted H7 seats are fitted. After several hundred aircraft had been delivered, the decision was taken in June 1972 to fit a largely redesigned wing with powerful hydraulically extended slats. Since early in the F-4 programme it had been recognized that the one unforgiving feature of the aircraft was a tendency to stall and spin if the stick was pulled back at low airspeed. Low-level war in South-East Asia with very heavy loads of ordnance (never envisaged in the original design) resulted in
Mk
heavy
casualties,
and
it
was decided
to re-
design the wing with fatigue straps on the spars, a new slatted leading edge with no blowing, thicker skins and entirely new outer panels. By 1979 the slatted-wing
E was the only production, with over 1400 already delivered. Customers include the USAF, Iran (219), Israel (about 200), Greece, Turkey and Spain. Australia hired 24 while awaiting the F-111C. Many early aircraft were retrofitted with the slatted wing, and most USAF aircraft have subsequently been fitted with more than 15 new items of avionics including Northrop's Tiseo (target model
still
in
system electro-optical), Pave
identification
Spike, Pave Knife or other designator pods, ARN-101 digital navigation and many extra penaids and devices. The F-4EJ is the version manufactured by a Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi, the 128 delivered from Nagoya being the only Phantoms not assembled at St Louis. The platEF-4E Wild Weasel series are forms and defence-suppression aircraft, 1 16
ECM
ECM
having been converted from existing Emodels. The main equipment is the APR-38 warning receiver, with large fin-top pod; extensive external loads include various
Westinghouse 2112
ECM
pods and Shrike, Stan-
dard ARM or Harm missiles. The RF-4E was developed for West Germany, which bought 88 and got its industry into the manufacturing programme. The F-4F, Germany's fighter version, resembles a slightly simplified E, with 175 built. In 1963 the navy completed specifications for a second-generation F-4B replacement, and the resulting J flew in June 1966. It has J79-10 engines of 8120 kg (17900 lb) thrust, the pulse-Doppler APG-59 radar (part of the comprehensive AWG- 10 fire-control system), extensive homing and warning including the APR-32 system with fin-cap aerial, H7 rocket seats, uprated 30-kVA alternators on constant-speed drives, and completely updated weapon-control and navigation systems. An advanced airframe to preserve carrier compatibility at increased weights incorporates restressed larger-wheel main gears, fixed inboard leading edges, drooping ailerons and a fixed inverted slot along the tailplanes. The last of 522 was delivered in 1972. The F-4K, of which 52 were delivered as Phantom FG. 1 to Britain (24 for the Royal Navy and 28 to the RAF) was based on the F4J. The main change was a switch to the Rolls-Royce Spey 202/203 afterburning turbofan engines rated at 9305 kg (20515 lb) thrust. These required major redesign with larger inlet ducts, wider fuselage and shorter but larger nozzles. Many other changes included AWG- 11 fire-control, with the
radome hinged
180° to
fit
Ark Royal's
lift,
and a double-extended nose leg for tilting the aircraft to an increased angle of attack to hold height after catapult launch. The final new-build model was the
F-4M
of
which 18 were built for the RAF as Phantom FGR.2, without the carrier features but with a new Ferranti navigation/attack system and 1
other changes including a large EMI multisensor reconnaissance pod carried on
many
the centreline. In addition to these versions, there are 178
B-models, designated F-4N, which had previously far exceeded their original design life yet were restored to full service in rebuilt
a configuration closely resembling that of the The F-4S aircraft are refurbished or remanufactured J models, the rebuilt examples having the slatted wing. By late 1978 Phantom production was almost complete, with some 5100 aircraft built in the most costly aircraft programme since the Second World War. Its numbers are exceeded in Western military programmes only by the various versions of the Bell Huey helicopter and the
J.
North American Sabre fighter. The Phantom, in many versions, was by far the most important US combat type in Vietnam. It was used for low-attack, 'fast mover' forward air control, top cover, multisensor reconnaissance, and marking targets at night or in bad weather for attack by other weapon carriers such as the AC- 119 and AC- 130. A specialized Phantom duty was 'seeding' areas with acoustic or seismic sensor buoys to pinpoint enemy truck parks and other activMany subsequent air strike. ity, for thousands of laser-guided weapons were dropped by F-4s on targets designated either by the aircraft or ground lasers. Numerous precision navigation systems were used to put down weapons on exact locations in featureless terrain. One of these, named Pave _ Phantom, linked the F-4 inertial system with i
a .oran area-coverage radio and an airborne computer for exact weapon delivery. Phantoms have also seen intensive action in Israel. In the Middle East war of 1973 no fewer than 33 were lost, nearly all to the SA-6 missile against whose guidance no ECM was then available. In 1974 Phantoms of both Greece and Turkey were in action over Cyprus, but so far as is known no Phantomversus-Phantom combat took place. I
CW
(F-4E) Span:
1 1
.76
m
(38
ft
7
in)
Length: 19.2
m
Gross weight: 28030 kg (61 795 lb) Maximum speed: cleared to exceed Mach 2 (2124 km/h [1320 mph]) at altitude with external
(63
ft)
stores
Philadelphia US protected cruiser,
built 1887-90.
The
hull
and machinery of Cruiser No 4 Philadelphia were identical to those of Baltimore, but in place of the latter's 8-in (203-mm) guns she was given a uniform armament of 12 6-in (152-mm) guns. With her heavy three-masted schooner rig and high freeboard she rolled badly, and the steel masting was soon replaced by light wooden polemasts to reduce topweight. The 6-in/30-cal Mk III gun fired a 45-kg (100-lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 610 m/sec (2000 ft/sec), using a 20-21 kg (4447 lb) charge of brown powder. Her 14.2-in (36-cm) torpedoes were the Howell type, driven by a flywheel, and were mounted above water. Philadelphia was built by Cramp at Philadelphia, and commissioned on July 28, 1890. She served until 1893 in the Atlantic and then transferred to the Pacific as flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. She continued as flagship until 1900, and paid off into dockyard hands in 1902 for conversion into a receiving ship. Roofed over and disarmed, she assumed this humble role at Puget Sound in 1904. During 1912-1915 she was used as a prison ship, but reverted to her previous role at the beginning of 1916. In 1924 she was numbered IX. 24 as an unclassified hulk and was sold for scrap in 1927.
Phoenix, Hughes Displacement: 4324 tons (normal) Length. 102.1 (335 ft) oa Beam: 14.8 m (48 ft 6 in) Draught: 5.9 m (19 ft 3 in) mean Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating steam, 9000 ihp= 19 knots Protection: 102-64 mm (4-2.5 in) deck Armament: 12 6in (152-mm)/30-cal QF (12x1); 4 6-pdr (57-mm [2.24-in]) QF (4x1); 4 3-pdr (47-mm [1.85-in]) QF (4x1); 5 1-pdr (37-mm [1.46-in]) QF (5x1); 4 14.2-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes (above water, beam) Crew: 384
m
(1000
lb)
and could be guided accurately to
intercept targets at long ranges. Hughes was selected as AIM-54 prime contractor in 1962, and the first guided firing took place success-
from an A-3A Skywarrior hack aircraft in May 1966. Guided trials from the F-l IB followed from March 1968. fully
1
The F-lllB's Hughes AWG-9 fire-control system was intended to be capable of guiding four missiles simultaneously, and when the F-l IB was cancelled the F-14 Tomcat inherited the AWG-9 and Phoenix. Whereas the F11 IB was intended to counter mass bomber 1
Phoenix, US air-to-air
Hughes
missile. The AIM-54 Phoenix forms the primary armament of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighters operated by the United States Navy and the Imperial Iranian
Air Force. The weapon was originally intended to equip the General Dynamics I'll IB fleet air-defence fighter, and the initial requirement laid down in 1960 specified a missile which weighed not more than 450 kg
Tomcat was given
additional responsiincluding interception of manoeuvring targets at long ranges, aircraft flying in close formation, high-altitude intruders such as the MiG-25 Foxbat, and low-flying cruise misraids,
bilities
The F-14 launched
its first Phoenix in and Phoenix has proved more than adequate to meet these new challenges. Potential targets are acquired by the Tom-
siles.
April
1972,
AWG-9 fire-control system, which uses a pulse-Doppler radar to detect fighter-sized targets at any altitude while they are more cat's
than 212 km (132 miles) distant. This coverage extends across a 278-km (173-mile) front, providing a surveillance volume ten times that which can be achieved by the AWG-10 radar in the F-4J Phantom. The AWG-9 can simultaneously track 24 targets while still searching for new intruders. The F-14 carries six missiles, each of which can simultaneously be guided to attack a different target. Phoenix has been designed to produce very low induced drag during sustained manoeuvring and when climbing to high altitudes, and it is claimed to be more effective against manoeuvring and high-speed airborne targets than any other weapon. Immediately after launch Phoenix enters a preprogrammed climb to reduce interference
between its receiver and the AWG-9 radar, and to initiate a low-drag trajectory in case the weapon is called on to intercept a longrange target. Mid-course guidance is provided by the AWG-9, which illuminates targets in turn on a time-sharing basis so that up to six rounds can operate simultaneously in semiactive mode. Alternatively, the radar can illuminate a single target continuously if only one missile is in flight. Once within 16 km (10 miles) of its objective the missile switches to active guidance, illuminating the target with its own on-board radar transmitter. The high-explosive warhead, which is detonated by contact or proximity fuzes, is claimed to have a larger lethal radius than that fitted to any other non-nuclear air-to-air missile.
Phoenix has chalked numerous up impressive performances during its career. In November 1973 six missiles were launched against individual targets for the first time, the full salvo being fired in 38 seconds. Five months earlier, a Tomcat flying at 13 400 (44000 ft) and Mach 1.5 was required to intercept a drone augmented to appear as though it were a Soviet Backfire bomber
m
AAM
A Hughes Phoenix mounted on a US Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter. The Phoenix is capable of intercepting cruise missiles as well as bombers. Below: The cruiser USS Philadelphia in 1892
m
(50000 ft) and Mach 1.5. began tracking the simulated bomber at a range of 245 km (152 miles) and the F-14 launched a single Phoenix at a range of 204 km (127 miles). The missile climbed to 31 550 m (103 500 ft) and dived on its target, destroying it even though the drone was operating an on/off blinking jammer in an attempt to confuse the Phoenix. In a typical
flying at 15
The
240
fighter's
AWG-9
test against a simulated cruise missile, the
a Phoenix while flying at an 3000 m (10000 ft); the missile dived to intercept its target at a height of only 15 m (50 ft). The weapon has also far exceeded its design requirements as a dogfight missile, pulling up to 16 g to attack fighter
fired
altitude of
violently
manoeuvring
targets.
In early 1978 Hughes was awarded a $41millton contract to develop the AIM-54C version as a successor to the original AIM54A. The new variant, designed to meet threats which are expected to be encountered in the 1990s, will have a digital electronics with a solid-state unit and autopilot, togeth' transmitter/receiver. The S Naval Weapons Center is meanwhile developing a new complementary target-detection device for the Tomcat. The initial AIM-54C contract
covered 15 engineering-development rounds. An unmodified Phoenix was fired from a
2113
Phonix D surface-based launcher in the autumn of 1975 to prove that the weapon would be suitable for arming nuclear aircraft carriers, replacing Sea Sparrow. The proposed Sea Phoenix proved too expensive, however, and has since been abandoned.
Length: 3.96 m (13 ft) Span: 1 m (3 ft 3 in) Diameter: 38 cm (15 in) Weight: 442 kg (975 lb) Maximum range: 200 km (125 miles) or more Speed: Mach 5 Warhead: 60 kg (132 lb)
Phonix D Austro-Hungarian fighter aircraft series. Following its licence production of the HansaBrandenburg D.I, or K.D, the Phonix company produced a new design, the Phonix 20. 14, in parallel with a similar HansaBrandenburg design. The new type was abandoned by Hansa-Brandenburg, but the Phonix designers went on to produce the 20.16, with single-bay wings braced by twin struts
in
place
of the
1
KD's
'star
struts.
Powerplant was a 200-hp Hiero in-line engine, and armament consisted of a synchronized Schwarzlose machine-gun on each side of the engine inside the cowling. Deliveries of the 190 Phonix D.Is ordered began in early 1918, and the type was used for defence of the ports of Pola and Trieste as well as on the Italian front.
Meanwhile, an improved version, using the
same engine,
new
the D.II, with increased span, a
and a faired tailskid, was produced. Orders for 150 D.IIs and 50 D.IIas, with 230-hp Hiero engines, had not been completed by the end of the war. A final tailplan
version, the D.III, with the 230-hp Hiero, in the autumn of 1918, along with a completely new design, the D.IV, but none had been delivered before the surrender of Austria-Hungary on November 2, 1918. In 1919 the Prototype D.III was demonstrated in Sweden, with the result that the Swedish army bought it, plus a further 16, and decided to build the type under licence, ten being produced in 1924 with 185-hp exengines. The D.III was origiGerman nally designated Phonix 122 in Sweden, but after the formation of the Swedish air force in 1926 it was redesignated J. 1 and served as the standard Swedish fighter until the late 1920s, though a few examples survived into the mid- 1930s as communications aircraft.
was produced
BMW
The Phonix D.II had a poor PI-1,
rate of climb
and excessive
PI-1 (also
known as
the IP- 1)
went
into
—
The Austro-Hungarian Phonix ailerons fitted to
Span: 9.88 m (32 ft 5 in) Length: 6.62 m (21 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 805 kg (1775 lb) Maximum speed: 180 km/h (112 mph)
BMW
J.I, 185-hp engine) Span: 9.8 m 2 in) Length: 6.85 m (22 ft 6 in) Gross weight: 960 kg (2116 lb) Maximum speed: 170
(Swedish (32
ft
km/h
2114
(105.5
mph)
D.III It
fighter
It
in
chronized to fire through the propeller. It was a somewhat stubby, low-wing monoplane fitted with semi-retractable landing gear; powered by a 750-hp M-25 radial engine
was delivered
to naval air
had a 230-hp Hiero engine and both upper and lower wings
units just before the Armistice.
was
fitted with two underwing fairings, and also carried a single 7.62-mm (0.30-in) ShKas machine-gun in each wing root, syn-
production in 1934.
76-mm APK-4 cannon
,
(D.I)
but saw wide service in 1918
Grigorovich
Soviet fighter aircraft. In the early 1930s the USSR required an aircraft to be used as a firing platform for their newly-developed large-bore recoilless cannon. In 1931, trials had been made with a modified Tupolev 1-4 and a Grigorovich TsKB-7, equipped respectively with a pair of 63-mm or 76-mm (2.5-in or 3-in) recoilless cannon. Seventy production models of the TsKB-7, designated I-Z, were built for the Soviet air force. On December 19, 1931, the decision was made to continue two different lines of study for the installation of these cannon: a light fighter model to be equipped with two 63-mm or 76-mm cannon, and a heavier variant to carry the two 100-mm (3.9-in) or 105-mm (4.1-in) types. Three prototypes were built, and flew during 1934-35: the ANT-23 (or I12), a twin-boom twin-engined heavy fighter; and ANT-29 (DIP) twin-engined two-seat model; and the single-seat PI-1 (Grigorovich design bureau number DG-52).
The
stability,
Piat
driving a two-blade propeller it achieved a maximum speed of 410 km/h (255 mph) in (10000 ft). However, the level flight at 3000 armament installation proved to be overheavy and not always reliable, and the aircraft could not carry enough shells to make it under combat conditions. The effective underwing cannon were therefore removed
m
from the last 20 aircraft (of 90 ordered), and two 20-mm (0.79-in) ShVak guns fitted inside the wings instead. These gave a good rate of fire, and an adequate supply of ammunition could be stored, but in this state the PI- gave a less useful performance than the similarly armed 1-16 Type 17, already in 1
series production.
In the PI-4 development, which did not get beyond the prototype stage, the armament comprised two 45-mm (1.77-in) APK-11 cannon mounted in the wings.
Span: 10.97 m (36 ft) Length: 7.23 m (23 ft 9 in) Gross weight: 1880 kg (4145 ib) Maximum speed: 410 km/h (255 mph)
launching barrel, allowing the Piat launcher made lighter than a conventional mortar while launching a charge of equivalent
to be
and weight. The spigot had
The bomb weighed capable
German
cocked for the first from this and subsequent
to be
shot, but the recoil firings recocked the weapon automatically, provided that the user held the weapon firmly. There were snags to the Piat. Cocking first round was extremely difficult because of the strength of the spring. To fire, the gunner held onto the trigger guard with his left hand and pulled back hard; the trigger was so stiff that it had to be operated with two fingers, and after pulling it there was a noticeable pause while the spigot shot forward. Unwary recruits tended to loosen their grip at this point, receiving a massive blow on the shoulder as the grenade flew off, and finding that the spring had not recocked. The gunner normally lay prone; despite stories to the contrary, the Piat could never be fired from the hip or from the shoulder while
for the
carry.
(3 Ib)
and was
14.5
m
The
Some 115000 Piats remained the standard infantry antitank weapon, issued one to each platoon, until 1950. Blacker successfully pleaded patent rights on the design, and was Fort
Halstead,
were made, and
awarded £25000
standing.
kg
kg (32 lb) and was awkward to best fighting range was 100 (330 ft), which was adequate. A priceless virtue of the Piat, not surpassed after nearly 40 years, was that it could be fired from an enclosed space without risk to the firer. It was used in this way in innumerable street fights, including the defence of the Arnhem bridge. It could be tilted on its mount for use as a crude (and rather poor) mortar. Although Blacker devised the original idea, further development of this unique weapon was carried out by Watts and Jeffries, and the bomb and fuze were refined and developed at the Armament Research Establishment at
weighed
size
1.4
penetrating the armour of all tanks of its time. The projector
of
Kent. it
in
1944.
m Piat may have looked crude, but it was effective against German tanks and unlike recoilless weapons like the
The
Panzerfaust or Bazooka could be fired within buildings and confined spaces
Piat British antitank
grenade projector. The need
mm
Weight: 14.5 kg (32 Ib) Length: 991 (39 in) weight: 1.4 kg (3 Ib) Initial velocity: 76 m/sec (250 ft/sec) Range: 105 m (110 yards) (in mortar role, 685 m [750 yards])
for Piat (projector, infantry, antitank) arose in 1941 when it became obvious that the Boys
antitank rifle and the No 68 Grenade were quite inadequate against tanks. Some method was needed for launching a sizeable hollowcharge projectile to a range of 100 (330 ft) or so, with sufficient accuracy to be sure of hitting a moving tank. This was not an easy task, for in 1941 rocket technology was still in its infancy. Before war a retired officer, the Lieutenant-Colonel Blacker, had made a number of cheap weapons in his own workshop, among which was a large spigot mortar known as the Blacker Bombard. Blacker suggested a smaller version of the Bombard as an infantry launcher, and built a few trial models of the Piat. The grenade was held in a trough on the front of the projector. It had a hollow tail, flared to the rear, in the forward end of which was fitted a small cartridge. When the launcher was fired, a steel spigot was driven up the tail by a powerful spring to strike and detonate the cartridge, driving the grenade off the spigot. This arrangement was
Bomb
m
A sectionalized Piat showing the powerful spring that detonated bomb and was compressed and
the cartridge in the
1
.36-kg (3-lb)
recocked by the recoil action
analogous to a gun in which the 'barrel' (the tail of the grenade) was projected, while the 'shell' (the spigot) remained stationary. The spigot guided the grenade during the first moments of its flight, but the diameter of the bomb was not restricted by the diameter of a
2115
Piemonte Plemonte Italian
protected
cruiser,
built
1887-89.
Piemonte was the first Elswick cruiser to be designed by Sir Philip Watts, and also the first to have an armament made up entirely of quick-firers. Another innovation was the use of powerful short-stroke 4-cylinder engines, providing high speed but compact enough to be accommodated below the armoured deck. Although the armament of 6-in (152-mm) and 4.7-in (120-mm) guns was better than the previous arrangement of 10-in (254-mm)guns it was still too heavy for such a small hull, and in 1891 four 6-in guns were replaced by four of the lighter 4.7-in to improve stability; in 1913 the remaining pair of 6-in guns were also removed. Piemonte had an active career on overseas stations and took part in the war against
Turkey in 1912, capturing a ship in the Red Sea and engaging a flotilla of Turkish gunboats off Massawa. Although an elderly unit she played an active part in the First World War as well, and was not discarded until 1920.
Displacement: 2483 tonnes (normal), 2639 tonnes (full load) Length: 97.83 m (321 ft) oa Beam: 11.62 m (38 ft 1 in) Draught: 4.86 m (15 ft 11 in) Machinery: 2-shaft triple-expansion steam, 12200 ihp=23 knots Protection: 76 mm (3 in) deck and conning tower, 114 mm (4.5 in) gun shields Armament: 6 6-in (152-mm)/40-cal (6x1); 6 4.7-in (120-mm)/40-cal (6x1);10 6-pdr (57-mm [1.85-in])/40-cal (10x1); 2 1-pdr (37-mm [1.46-in])/20-cal (3x1); 3 14-in (36-cm) torpedo tubes (above water; 1 bow, 2 beam) Crew: 298
Pierre Chailley submarine, built 1917-22. Pierre Chailley was the second of two minelaying boats laid down in May 1917, design having been entrusted to Normand of Le Havre. The
Fenaux system adopted was similar to that in the British 'E' and 'L' Class
used
minelayers, with mines in a series of vertical wells in the saddle tanks, and proved greatly superior to the Laubeuf system used in Maurice Callot. Although the Chailley had only four torpedo tubes she carried 40 mines as against 27 in the Callot, and she became the prototype for the later Saphir Class minelayers. She had two internal bow tubes and two in a twin trainable mounting in the deck casing, a feature of many subsequent French submarines. She carried a 100-mm (3.9-in) gun in place of the 75-mm (2.95-in) previously used. She was stricken in 1936.
Displacement: 884/1191 tonnes (surfaced/subm (229 ft 8 in) oa Beam: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in) Draught: 4.04 m (13 ft 3 in) Machinery: 2-shaft diesel/2 electric motors, 1800 bhp/1400 shp=13.75/8.5 knots (surfaced/
merged) Length: 70
Armament:
1
100-mm
(3.9-in);
4 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (2 bow, 2 deck-
mounted); 40 mines Crew: AA
Pletro Calvl submarine class. This class of three submarines was ordered in 1932 to an Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO) design, in an attempt to improve on the Balilla design. All three were laid down in 1932 and launched in Italian
large
2116
1935 at OTO, Muggiano. Pietro Calvi was completed in March 1935, Giuseppe Finzi in January 1936, and Enrico Tazzoli in April 1936. Emphasis was placed on endurance, and on one occasion Enrico Tazzoli remained at sea for 80 days. The armament of two 120mm (4.7-in) guns was the same as the previous Pietro Micca Class, but an extra pair of torpedo tubes brought the total number of
tubes to eight. Originally the same type of motors as in the Balilla Class were to be installed, but a different type was eventually chosen to improve endurance. All three boats belonged to the 2nd Squadron when first completed, and were based on La Spezia. They carried out three patrols during the Spanish Civil War, between December 1936 and August 1937. The efficiency of these boats decreased rapidly after the outbreak of war as a result of hard driving. In the autumn of 1940 they were sent through the Straits of Gibraltar to Bordeaux, to reinforce the Italian forces in the Atlantic. On July 15, 1942, Pietro Calvi was sunk by a group of Allied escorts, including the ex-US electric
French
submerged)
Enrico Tazzoli, a Pietro Calvi Class submarine, which was
Pietro Calvi in
Genoa
in 1938.
lost in
1943 probably
off
France
Coastguard cutter HMS Lulworth. Giuseppe Finzi and Enrico Tazzoli were taken in hand for conversion to transport submarines in the spring of 1943, to enable them to bring essential materials from Japan. Enrico Tazzoli was lost at the start of a mission to Batavia to collect a cargo of rubber, probably on May 16, 1943, in the Bay of Biscay after being attacked by British aircraft. Giuseppe Finzi had not completed her conversion when German troops seized her from the Italians at Bordeaux on September 8, 1943. The work continued, and she
was renumbered UIT21. She was Bordeaux on August 25, 1944.
scuttled at
Displacement: 1550/2060 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 84.3 m (276 ft 6 in) oa Beam: 7.7 m (25 ft 3 in) Draught: 5.2 m (17 ft) Machinery: 2-shaft diesels/2 San Giorgio electric motors, 4400 bhp/1800 shp=16.8/7.4 knots (surfaced/submerged) Armament: 2 120-mm
(2x1); 4 13.2-mm (0.52-in) machine-guns (4x1); 8 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 4 stern), 16 torpedoes Crew: 77 (4.7-in)/45-cal
She was sunk by
HMS
Lulworth
in the Atlantic in July 1942
,
Savoia-Marchetti S.M.81
Pipistrello,
The
Savoia-Marchetti
S.M.81
(bat)
Pipistrello
in
cm
Pietro
sien.
submarine. The minelaying submarine Micca was laid down by Tosi of Taranto on October 15, 1931, launched on 1
,
1935, and
completed on October
1
1935.
Built to a partial double-hull design,
Pietro
Micca was
the largest submarine to be navy. The large design
built for the Italian
was impractical for use in the Mediterranean, but submerged performance was reasonable, and Micca had good seakeeping qualities. Her offensive capability did not match up to her size, however, there being provision for only 20 mines compared to the 50 carried by the similar-sized British Porpoise Class. The mines were housed in a cylindrical chamber sited in the lower portion of the hull amidships, and were laid through a watertight hatch in the bottom of the hull. Micca carried 67 tons of diesel fuel to give her a radius of action of 19000 km (1 1 800 miles) at 8 knots surfaced; she had an underwater radius of action of 130 km (80 miles) at 4 knots. She carried out only two patrols as a minelayer before being converted to a trans-
port submarine. She was finally sunk on July 29, 1943, by the British submarine Trooper.
Displacement: 1371/1970 tons (surfaced/submerged) Length: 90.3 m (296 ft 3 in) oa Beam: 7.7 m (25 ft 3 in) Draught: 5.3 m (17 ft 4 in) Machinery: 2-shaft diesels/2 electric motors, 3000 bhp/1500 shp= 15.5/8.5 knots (surfaced/ submerged) Armament: 2 4.7-in (120-mm); 4 13.2-mm (0.52-in) machine-guns; 6 21-in (53-cm) torpedo tubes (bow), 10 torpedoes; 20 mines Crew: 72
Pine Allied
codename
for Mitsubishi
Japanese naval trainer aircraft
See
K3M K3M
Pinguin German
role
Schiff 33 or Pinguin. similar to Atlantis, and was
Italian
3
troop-carrying
wise
Pietro Micca
March
its
auxiliary cruiser. Built in 1936 as Kandelfels for the Hansa Line, she was converted in 1939-40 to Hilfskreuzer 5, other-
before
the
She was very armed with 15-
guns from the battleship SchleShe commissioned in February 1940 and began a successful career in the South Atlantic under Captain Kruder. Keeping on the move, she managed to tie up no fewer that 14 British cruisers. During this period, when she was designated 'Raider F\ she even ranged as
(5.9-in)
far
as
Antarctic to devastate
the
the
Norwegian whaling fleet. After sinking or capturing 28 ships amounting to 136 551 tons gross she was trapped on May 7, 1941, by the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall, which skilfully used her floatplane to check the raider's intentions. After a brisk but unequal gunnery action Pinguin s mines blew up, and she sank with the loss of Captain Kruder and 340 crew, as well as a number of prisoners. Tonnage: 7760
m (485 9.4 m (30 ft
grt Length: 147.8
ft)
wl
m (61 ft) Draught: 10 in) Machinery: 1-shaft diesel, 7600 bhp=17 knots Armament: 6 15-cm (5.9-in)/45-cal (6x1); 1 75Beam: 18.6
mm
(2.95-in)/35-cal; 2 37-mm (1.46-in) AA (2x1); 4 20-mm (0.79-in) AA (4x1); 4 53-cm (21-in) torpedo tubes (above water, 2x2) Crew: 420, including 5 prize officers
Piper
US aircraft
Pipistrello,
L-4
Savoia-Marchetti
S.M.81 bomber and transport aircraft. Designed by Allessandro Marchetti, the S.M.81 Pipistrello (bat) first appeared in 1934 as a military variant of the S.M.73 passenger transport. The S.M.73 was a conventional low-wing monoplane with fixed undercarriage. It carried 18 passengers and four crew, and was powered by three 760-hp Wright GR1820 Cyclone engines in accord with the contemporary Italian vogue for trimotor aircraft. A total of 48 were built, including seven licence-built by SABCA in Belgium. The S.M.81 was very similar, but was Italian
war.
It
also
served
as
a
low-level
bomber
equipped with a variety of engines during its life in order to improve performance. These included the 650-hp Gnome-Rhone 14K and the Alfa Romeo 125 RC 35 of 680 hp, or 126 RC 34 of 780 hp, but the most widely used was the 670-hp Piaggio P.X RC 35. Manufacture was shared between Savoia-Marchetti, CMASA and Piaggio. A crew of five, plus 18 troops, could be carried when used in the transport role, and one Piaggio-powered aircraft was used as a personal transport for Mussolini. As a bomber, armament comprised semiretractable dorsal and ventral turrets, each equipped with two 7.7-mm (0.303-in) Breda-SAFAT machine-guns, and there were two lateral hatches through which a similar gun could be fired for beam defence. Maximum bombload was 2000 kg (4410 lb). The S.M.81 entered squadron service just before the Italian invasion of Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, and during that conflict it was used for low-level bombing, reconnaissance and supply-transport duties, as well as in its intended roles. On the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, 12 S.M.81s were sent to the assistance of General Franco's Nationalists with the Aviazione Legionaria. the total serving in Spain later increasing to 55. Out of the 535 S.M.81s which had been built for military use, about 400 remained in service with the Regia Aeronautica (Italian air force) when Italy entered the Second World War, deployed by units in Albania, Libya and Italian East Africa. During the war they saw service in Greece, North Africa, the Western Desert, the Mediterranean area, and on the Eastern Front. At first they had considerable success against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean, but age and lack of speed began to take their toll and the S.M.81s were eventually superseded as bombers by the S.M.79 Sparviero and relegated to less arduous tasks in which speed was not essential. These included antisubmarine patrol duties, acting as glider tugs and. particularly, as troop and supply transports. The seven
S.M.73s which had been built in Belgium were flown to the UK to escape capture by 2117
Piranha the
Germans, and subsequently served
as
transports with the RAF. After the Italian surrender in 1943. a few S.M.81s still remained in service on both sides. Approximately 40 served with the RSI air arm as transports under German supervision, and after the end of the war in Europe a few helped to form the new Italian air force. One experimental variant was produced,
designated S.M.81 bis and powered by two 840-hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI RC V-type engines, the third engine being replaced by a heavily glazed nose section for the bombardier. It is probable that only the prototype was built, although a small number may have been manufactured and used for torpedo-
dropping
trials
and
tests.
P.X engines) Span: 24 m (78 ft 9 in) Length: 18.36 m (60 ft 3 in) Gross weight: 10055 kg (22170 lb) Maximum speed: 322 km/h (200 (with
mph)
Piranha Swiss armoured personnel carriers. Mowag Motorenfabrik AG of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, completed development of the Piranha series of vehicles in the early 1970s. Although not adopted by any army by 1978, they were under evaluation in several countries and were available for production. The range consists of four-, six- and eight-wheeled vehicles, all wheels being driven. There are many common components. The hulls are of welded armour which is proof against smallarms fire and splinters. The driver sits alongside the engine at the front, with the weapons installation immediately behind him and the remainder of the hull is available for payload or passengers. Two hatches are provided in the roof, but normal entry is via two doors in the rear of the hull. All vehicles are amphibi-
««k
Above:
A
aircraft.
Swiss
Mowag
Piranha
APC
disembarks from a Royal Canadian Air Force transport variety of mounts for heavy weapons
The Piranha 6x6 can carry 12 men or a
ous, water propulsion being by twin propellers. The makers suggest a variety of uses for these vehicles, including personnel carrying,
command and communications, or antitank
ambulance.
weapons
carrier,
antiaircraft
mortar carrier or
A Mowag Piranha 8x8 showing the remotely controlled 20-mm cannon and a 7.62-mm machine-gun in a pod covering the rear doors. It can carry up to 14 men and has a similar range and performance to the 6x6 vehicle on land and in water
Levasseur
P.L.5,
The smallest model, the 4x4, can mount a variety of 12.7-mm (0.5-in) to 20-mm (0.79-in) weapons and can carry up to nine passengers. The 6x6 model can mount a number of
armament packages, ranging from 12.7-mm machine-guns to 90-mm (3.54-in) cannon, or 20-mm (4.7-in) calibre. mortars up to Twelve men can be carried. The 8x8 model can mount similar armament to the 6x6, and in addition carries a remote-controlled pod at the rear of the hull roof in which is mounted a 7.62-mm (0.30-in) machine-gun. Up to 14 men can be carried. 1
(4x4) Weight: 7 tonnes (with standard armament) Length: 5.26 m (17 ft 3 in) Width: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) Height: (hull) 1.85 m (6 ft 2 in) Powerplant: 190-bhp gasoline Speed: 100 km/h (62 mph) land, 10 km/h (6 mph) water Range: 750 km (466 miles) Crew: 9 (including passengers) (6x6) Weight: 9.6 tonnes Length: 5.84 m (19 ft 2 in) Width: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) Height: 1 .85 m (6 ft 1 Powerplant: 300-bhp diesel Speed and in) range: as 4x4 Crew: 12 (8x8) Weight: 12.5 tonnes Length:6.24 m (20 ft 6 in) Width: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) Height: 1 .85 m (6 ft 1 jn) Powerplant: 350-bhp diesel Speed and range: as 4x4 Crew: 14
Pirate,
Vought F6U
US Navy
fighter aircraft.
Having achieved great success during the Second World War with their F4U Corsair series, the Chance Vought division of United Aircraft Corporation received a US Navy order on December 29, 1944, for three prototypes of the
XF6U-1
This was an unswept low-wing aircraft with a rather short fuselage. Compressed balsa wood bonded between two thin sheets of aluminium alloy was used for building the wings and fuselage. The single 1360-
jet fighter.
kg
(3000-lb)
st
tricycle undercarriage
It had a retractable and jettisonable wing-
The standard armament was cannon in the nose. The took place on October 2, 1946.
tip fuel tanks.
first flight
(0.79-in)
F6U-1 production
were fitted with Westinghouse J34-
aircraft
1916-kg (4225-lb) st WE-30 engine fitted with a Solar afterburner, the
making them
the
first
afterburner-fitted
US
Navy
fighter. They had a larger rear fuselage section, greater wing area, bigger air intakes, a large dorsal fin, and small fins attached near
the tips of the tailplanes. Thirty were built for the navy, the first of which flew on October 2, 1946. Delivery began in August 1949 to VX-3
Squadron, and was completed within three months.
One aircraft, designated F6U-1P, was modified for photo-reconnaissance duties; an order for 35 F6U-lPs was subsequently cancelled.
m (32 ft 10 in) Length: 1 1 .46 m Gross weight: 5702 kg (12571 lb) speed: 908 km/h (564 mph)
(F6U-1) Span: 10 (37
ft
7
in)
Maximum
Pisa Italian
she was reclassified as a coastal battleship, having meanwhile been rated as a 2nd Class battleship. She served as a training ship during 1921-30, and then as a headquarters ship until she was discarded in 1937. Displacement: 9832 tonnes (normal), 10 600 tons (full load) Length: 140.5 m (461 ft) oa Beam: 21 .1 m (69 ft 3 in) Draught: 6.99 m (22 ft Machinery: 2-shaft triple-expansion, 11 in) 20 000 ihp=23 knots Protection: 200 (7.9 in) belt, 51 (2 in) deck, 160 (6.3 in) main turrets, 140 (5.5 in) secondary turrets Armament: 4 10-in (254-mm)/45-cal (2x2); 8 7.5-in (190-mm)/45-cal (4x2); 16 3-in (76-mm)/40-cal (16x1);8 3-pdr(47-mm[1.85-in])/50-cal(8x1);4 machine-guns; 3 45-cm (17.7-in) torpedo tubes (submerged; 2 beam, 1 stern) Crew: 687
mm
mm mm
mm
armoured cruiser
carrier
Beam
in
1926.
They
suffered from
continuing engine trouble and were relegated to
training
reduced
duties
to scrap
in
by
1928.
All
had been
1932.
Span: 15.15 m (49 ft 8 in) Length: 11 m (36 ft in) Gross weight: 3652 kg (8051 lb) Maximum speed: 180 km/h (112 mph)
1
P.L.4,
Levasseur
French reconnaissance aircraft. Intended for carrier use and fitted with a deck-landing hook, 30 P.L.4 biplanes were ordered in February 1928 to equip Escadrille 7R1 (later 7S1) of the French Aeronautique Maritime aboard the carrier Beam. Their full designation was Levasseur P.L.4 A3 R3h> signifying a three-seat observation (A, artillerie) and
—
reconnaissance (R) aircraft. They differed
from the 1926 prototype in having two-bladed metal propellers and strut-connected ailerons on upper and lower wings. This latter modification and the enlarged rudder were introduced to counter the poor low-speed qualities found in the prototype. The P.L.4 was an avion marin and followed the French practice of the time in having the underside of its fuselage hull-shaped, with floats fitted to the underside of the lower wing. This was intended to allow the aircraft to make a forced landing at sea in an emergency and remain afloat for a reasonable time. The undercarriage, of conventional axle type, could be jettisoned before an emergency ditching. Construction was of wood with fabric covering. Nine more P.L.4s were built in 1931, a number of the type serving on Beam until 1932, while others equipped the training section for the carrier at Hyeres-LePalyvestre aerodrome. All were powered by a 450-hp Lorraine engine. The P.L.8 Oiseau Blanc long-range record-
breaking aircraft was developed from the P.L.4.
air
intakes in the wing roots.
20-mm
Giorgios Averoff, built shortly afterwards.
Amalfi served with the 3rd and then the 2nd Division, and in 1911 she and her squadron cruised in the Levant and played an active role in the war against Turkey. On July 7, 1915, less than two months after Italy joined the First World War, she was sunk in the northern Adriatic by a torpedo from the German U-Boat UB 14 masquerading as the Austro-Hungarian U26. Pisa also served in the northern Adriatic from 1915 but survived the war. In July 1921
Westinghouse J34-WE-22
engine was positioned in the fuselage with
four
two even bigger armoured cruisers, which were virtually 2nd Class battleships, apart from their light armour. As in the Royal Navy, armoured cruisers tended to be scaleddown editions of contemporary battleships, and in this case the model was the Regina Elena Class. Pisa was built by Orlando at Livorno and Amalfi by Odero at Sestri Ponente; both ships were completed in September 1909. They were handsome three-funnelled ships, with twin 10-in (254-mm) guns forward and aft, and twin 7.5-in (190-mm) turrets amidships. The design inspired that of the Greek build
class, built 1905-09.
Following the success of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Class, the Italians proceeded to
PK Soviet machine-gun
See Kalashnikov
Span: 14.6 m (47 ft 1 1 in) Length: 9.7 Gross weight: 2550 kg (5622 lb) speed: 175 km/h (109 mph)
in)
P.L.2,
Levasseur
French torpedo-bomber
aircraft.
Soon
after
turning to aircraft construction, the French aircraft-propeller manufacturer Pierre Levasseur, inspired by the successful designs of the British Blackburn company, set out to design his own torpedo-bomber biplane. The single-seat prototype P.L.2 ATI was a twobay equal-span biplane. Powered by a 580-hp Renault 12Ma water-cooled engine with a nose radiator, it was first displayed at the 1921 Paris Salon Aeronautique. When tested at Villacoublay it registered a maximum speed of 174 km/h (108.1 mph) at sea level, carrying a 400 torpedo of 670 kg (1477 lb). There were ailerons on both wings and a
DA
type undercarriage to permit launching of the torpedo. Flotation bags automatically guaranteed buoyancy in the event of ditching. The second prototype P.L.2 AT2 had a four-bladed propeller and split-axle
side radiators. Nine series
machines followed, differing mainly in being two-seaters and having a deck-landing hook. They could carry two 225-kg (496-lb) bombs instead of the torpedo. No machine-gun armament was fitted. The P.L.2s went into service on the aircraft
P.L.5,
m
(31
ft
10
Maximum
Levasseur
French carrier-borne fighter aircraft. Designed by the engineer Biche, the P.L.5 C2 (chasse, fighter) had more curved contours than
its
predecessors but retained the avion
marin layout, jettisonable undercarriage and two-bladed propeller of the P.L.4. Its lower wing was much smaller than the upper and was mounted half-way up the fuselage; bracing was by I-struts. Both wings had a very narrow chord, but ailerons were fitted only to the upper wing. The gunner sat in a cockpit immediately behind that of the pilot, and operated twin Lewis guns on a Scarff-type mounting. The pilot had two fixed forwardfiring synchronized 7.7-mm (0.303-in) guns. Four prototypes, differing in powerplant and wing layout, were tested. Twenty P.L.5 production aircraft powered by the 450-hp Lorraine 12Eb water-cooled engine went into service with Escadrilles 3C1 at Hyeres-Le Palyvestre and 7C1 on Beam during 1927. An experimental P.L.6 two-seat dualcontrol landplane fighter version, and six P.L.9 aircrew trainers, powered by a 330-hp Hispano-Suiza were also built.
2119
14/ P. L. 15, Levasseur
P. L.
Span: 12.36 m (40 ft 7 in) Length: 8.62 m (28 ft 3 Gross weight: 2030 kg (4745 lb) Maximum speed: 200 km/h (124 mph)
in)
P.L.7,
Levasseur
French torpedo-bomber
aircraft. Built as the
successor to the P.L.2, the P.L.7 was extensively tested with a number of experimental
wing configurations.
On
the ten
initial
pro-
duction machines the 550-hp Farman engine of the prototype was replaced by a 600-hp Hispano-Suiza, and the wing bracing was simplified by reducing the number of struts from eight to four. The unequal-span wings had rounded tips, and the divided main undercarriage members were widely spaced to improve landing on the carrier as well as reducing the problem of launching the torpedo. Aircraft with different upper wing spans
Beam, and was decided to reduce the upper wing span from 18 m (59 ft in) to 16.5 m (54 ft 2 in). This was achieved simply by chopping off the wingtips, leaving them angular instead of rounded. The fin and rudder shape was altered on the next 30 aircraft to be built, were tested from the carrier
eventually
it
1
which featured downward-folding outer sections to the upper wing to enable the P.L.7 to be fitted into Beam's lifts. A defensive armament of twin 7.7-mm (0.303-in) machineguns on a free mounting was operated from the rearmost of the three tandem cockpits, and there was provision for up to 550 kg (1210 lb) of bombs in place of the single 670-kg (1477-lb) torpedo.
with Escadrille 7B1 on 1930, but in June 1931 all flying with the type was forbidden after two machines disintegrated in mid-air. Beam's
P.L.7s
served
Beam from
P.L.7s were put ashore in Morocco and were returned to France. After extensive tests all existing aircraft, as well as those currently being delivered, had reinforced cabane struts and engine bearers to eliminate vibrations, and the engines were fitted with three-bladed metal propellers. In 1933 the P.L.7s were back in front-line service, but they were relegated to reserve duties the following year
when
Beam went
for
refit.
A number
returned to the carrier when she re-entered service in early 1936 and remained with her until the outbreak of the Second World War.
Span: 16.5 m (54 ft 2 in) Length: 11.68 m (38 ft 4 in) Gross weight: 3950 kg (8708 lb) Maximum speed: (as finally modified) 170 km/h (105.6
A
French Levasseur P.L.7 torpedo-bomber lands on
the lower wing. It differed in having an entirely new wide-track undercarriage with
two independent main members, and having slightly swept-back wings. Armament was the same as for the P.L. 10 a single fixed synchronized 7.7-mm (0.303-in) machine-gun operated by the pilot, and twin guns of the same calibre on a free mounting over the
—
middle cockpit. The observer was accommodated in the rearmost cockpit. A total of 30 P.L. 101s were produced, 12 of them going directly to Escadrille 7S1 in 1935 to replace the P.L.lOs. Five P.L. 101s were still air-
worthy
in
September
1939.
The experimental P.L. 11 was a P.L. 10 mounted on twin floats, and powered by an uncowled 420-hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter radial engine.
Span: 14.2 m (46 ft 7 in) Length: 9.57 m (31 ft in) Gross weight: (P.L.10) 2800 kg (6173 lb); (P.L. 101) 3150 kg (6945 lb) Maximum speed: 200
5
km/h (124 mph)
Levasseur
mph)
P.L.14/P.L.15,
P.L.10/P.L.101, Levasseur
French floatplanes. The P.L. 14 was simply an early-model P.L.7 with an 18-m (59 ft 1-in) wing span, mounted on twin floats. It was a
French reconnaissance
aircraft.
This three-
seat equal-span biplane replaced the P.L.4, and retained the avion marin configuration and jettisonable axle-type undercarriage of
the earlier machine. Overall dimensions were slightly reduced, and the wings folded for carrier stowage. The fin and rudder were
completely redesigned. After prototype testing during 1929, the 29 production P.L.lOs, powered by a single 600-hp Hispano-Suiza 12 LB water-cooled engine, served with Escadrille 7SI on Beam. The P.L. 101 retained the ailerons on upper and lower wings which had been the feature of the P.L. 10, as well as the slight dihedral on
2120
multipurpose seaplane; as a could carry a 410-kg (904-lb) load, or could be used for torpedo-dropping or reconnaissance. In the last role it carried additional fuel tankage in place of the offensive load. As with the previous Levasseur types it was mainly of wood construction. At the beginning of 1932 the first P.L. 14s were taken on charge with landplane undercarriages at Orly, then the Aeronavale reception centre. They were transferred to Berre for service on floats with Escadrille 7B2. Because of P.L.7's problems they were rigorously tested, and it was ruled that they were unsafe as seaplanes. Refitted with wheel three-seat
bomber
it
Beam
during
flight
trials
in
1933
undercarriages, a number went into storage and four served with Escadrille 7B1 on the aircraft carrier Beam from 1935. The P.L. 14 prototype had increased fin and rudder area beneath the horizontal tailplane, but in series aircraft this was eliminated and a large normal fin and rudder were fitted. A total of 30
were
built.
The P.L.
15
was
a
proper seaplane,
in
which the deep avion marin-type fuselage of the P.L. 14 gave way to a slim, new design. A water rudder was
fitted to the rear of the starboard float. The prototype was tested at Villacoublay in October 1932 with a wheel undercarriage. As a seaplane it was put through its paces at Les Mureaux. Sixteen production aircraft were ordered, and served mainly with Escadrille 7B2 on the seaplane carrier Commandant Teste, where they replaced the P.L. 14. The P.L. 15 had several operational roles, including one requiring a crew of four for long-range reconnaissance two pilots, radio operator and observer. In this configuration additional fuel tanks were fitted to increase range to a maximum 1500 km (930 miles). Both types were powered by the 650-hp Hispano-Suiza liquid-cooled engine Model 12Nb for the P.L. 14, and 12Nbr for the P.L. 15. Although they went into retirement at the end of 1938 with the appearance of the Latecoere 298, P.L. 15s achieved some fame when one of five P.L. 15s brought out of storage for service in the newly formed coastal-reconnaissance unit 356 sank a German U-Boat off Lorient on October 30, 1939.
—
—
Span: 18 m (59 ft 1 in) Length: 12.85 m in) Gross weight: 4200 kg (9260 lb) Maximum speed: 165 km/h (103 mph)
(P.L.14)
(42
ft
2
Span: 18 m (59 ft 1 in) Length: 12.85 m in) Gross weight: 4350 kg (9590 lb) Maximum speed: 190 km/h (118 mph)
(P.L.15)
(42
ft
2
I^HHMI^M^H
FRENCH ARTILLERY 2
Antitank Guns
French soldiers crouch under the camouflage net covering their canon leger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1934 L/72 antitank weapons include and compact hand-held infantry weapons; the SS 11 wire-guided missile and the HOT (Haut Subsonique Optiquement Tele-
ammunition as well as German 75-mm It was unstable in action and though unpopular with its crews it could just cope with heavy Soviet armour like the KV-1
guide) tube-launched missile developed with West Germany. During the First World War France had little need to develop any antitank guns and it was not until the early 1930s that she began to think seriously about them. She eventually went to war in 1939 with her vintage
or T-34. The Pak 97/38 could be called the first Franco-German antitank gun. It was still in use with reserve units in 1944 and was encountered in southern France by Allied forces.
Modern French some
original
—
75-mm
(2.95-in) mle 1897 guns in an antitank Although this had a low muzzle velocity at 570 m/sec (1870 ft/sec) it was also adopted by the Germans in 1941, though mounted on a lower carriage and fitted with a perforated Solothurn muzzle break. As the 7.5-cm Pak 97/38. L/36.3 it could fire captured French and role.
A
Polish
AP
rounds.
in the
autumn
of 1939
only engage light armour. In 1939 the BEF were issued with a few mle 1934s but found that they were unstable when towed at speed and were obliged to mount them en portee. It is an indication of the gun's poor performance that the Germans made little use of the many they captured in 1940.
Canon Canon
leger de 25 antichar SA-
L modele 1934 L/72 Mounted on
a
compact light carriage the mle good gun. It was, however,
1934 looks a flimsy and fired a shell weighing only 0.32 kg (0.7 lb) with a maximum range of 1800 (1970 yards). This meant that the crews could
m
canon de 47 antichar Puteaux mounted on an experimental 360° traverse carriage
leger de 25 antichar SAL modele 1937 L/77
Though issued three years after the mle 34, the mle 37 was no improvement. Ironically, by reducing its weight to 310 kg (683.5 lb) compared with the 4% kg (1093.7 lb) of the mle 34, French designers made it more vulnerable to towing damage.
Canon de 47 antichar SA modele 1937 Atelier Puteaux L/53 producing two inferior designs the French came up with one that was not only powerful, but had a tough, low carriage. In 1940 the mle 37 and mle 39 proved very effective against German armour. After the Armistice the Germans took over these guns and mounted them in four different Panzerjiiger vehicles as well as issuing them to second-line units. They were still in use in After
1944
when
the Allies landed in
Normandy
and with a muzzle velocity of 855 m/sec (2805 ft/sec) they could
still
give a creditable per-
formance against British and US tanks. The Germans combined the mle 37 with former French tank chasses in some of their Panzerjiiger
vehicles like the Lorraine Schlepper
and so produced the first 'French' SP AT guns. They proved very effective against Soviet armour and, during Operation Good-
wood
in 1944,
helped stop the British thrust
from the Orne bridgehead east of Caen. 2121
1
Antitank
Guns
COMPARATIVE DATA—ANTITANK GUNS Gun
Weight
Max
(kg/lb)
(m/sec/ft/sec)
range (m/yards)
Canon de 25 mle 1934
496/1093.7
0.32/0.7
950/3115
1800/1970
Canon de 25 mle 1937
310/683.5
0.32/0.7
900/2950
1800/1970
Cunon de 47 mle 1937
1070/2360
1.735/3.8
855/2805
Not known
Self-Propelled is
were
ironic that
built
The 155-mm
(6.1-in)
SP Howitzer
'
velocity
G
more self-propelled mounts on captured French vehicles by the Germans in the Second World War than were constructed by the French. The principle behind SP guns remains the same now as it did when the French and British experimented in the closing months of the First World War. SP guns are intended to give Are support to armoured infantry and tanks as they advance. The First World War had shown that once troops had advanced beyond the range of their artillery they were vulnerable to counterattack, but the ground over which they had attacked was often churned up and pitted with shell craters and so a major obstacle to horsedrawn guns. By mounting field artillery on tracks only the most impassable terrain It
Muzzle
Shell weight
in action
(kg/lb)
Mk
III
of the Second World War the Americanequipped French forces used US 105-mm (4.1in) and 155-mm (6.1-in) SP guns. Like so much of their ex-US equipment this saw them through their colonial entanglements and in the 1960s they began to look again at SP guns. The earliest SP gun used an AMX13 chassis
obstacle. These SP guns could also be brought up to give direct-fire support with
became an
their large-calibre
HE
shells
if
the infantry
encountered a well dug-in enemy. The French did some imaginative work with SP guns in 1917: one vehicle produced by St Chamond had its power supply in a separate vehicle which operated a generator to power the electric motors, which operated the tracks of both vehicles. After the war St Chamond continued with private ventures like a track and wheel vehicle mounting a 75-mm (2.95-in) gun. On roads it could travel on pneumatic tires, while over rough country it jacked up the wheels and travelled on tracks. A lack of official interest killed off any attempts to sell private venture SP guns. In the latter half
based on the
AMX
13 chassis can carry the gun
and mounted a 23-calibre 105-mm (4. -in) gun based on the US M101A1. It first appeared in 1952 and its design resembled some of the wartime SP guns with a box-like hull, minimal traverse and the shield fixed to the barrel. The latest gun is a new 155-mm (6.1-in) 40-calibre piece on an AMX 30 chassis. It has a 360° traverse and despite being over twice the weight of the 105-mm gun it is capable of the same top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph).
commander and a
driver in protected compartments
.'
r
'*
»N
.
ifJr^'***?,
"•-<«;"'*
2122
Self-Propelled
The 155-mm
(6.1 -in)
GCT
SP gun can be loaded
automatically and this gives a burst rate of six rounds in 40 seconds for
AMX
Schneider 155-mm Gun
105-mm Howitzer
This was powered by a six-cylinder gasoline
This equipment is still in service with artillery regiments of non-mechanized brigades and with divisional artillery reserve units. It is also used by the Moroccan and Dutch armies,
The
driver sat well forward and the crew had positions at the rear around the breech. The gun and vehicle were aligned with the target and final corrections made through a system of gears run off the engine.
engine.
St
Chamond 240-mm
Gun/Howitzer A
two-vehicle equipment. The gun or howitzer was accompanied by a second tracked vehicle carrying the crew and ammunition and also providing the electric power needed to drive the two motors to operate the tracks. On roads they were joined by a rigid tow bar, but on rough going their only connection was a flexible power cable. Despite this rather hazardous arrangement they were reported able to wade water up to one metre deep. St Chamond even designed a flat car for the vehicles to be transported by rail.
St
Chamond 75-mm Gun
There were several designs by Colonel M Rimailho which used a wheel and track combination. The earliest was not a true SP mounting, but rather a portee mounting on a utility half-track. After the war he developed
an SP 75-mm (2.95-in) mount which was novel, but in the 1920s few governments were keen to spend money on armament and it was never adopted.
105/50
the latter fitting a 30-calibre 105-mm (4.1-in) gun which has a range of 15000 (16400 yards). The gun fires both French and US
m
ammunition and the performance has been improved with French Mk 63 ammunition. It has an antitank capability and can penetrate 360 mm (14 in) of armour with the Mk 63
HEAT
round.
The AMX 13 chassis is a reliable stable mount with a good cross-country performance capable of carrying 52 rounds and a
crew of four.
105-mm Howitzer
AMX
105B
AMX
This is an improved version of the 105/50 fitted with a 360° traverse turret. It mounts the Dutch 105/50 but is capable of firing the full range of French and NATO 105(4.1-in) ammunition. Other performance is identical and the weight is 17000 kg (37500 lb), only 500 kg (1 100 lb) heavier than
mm
the 105/50.
155-mm Howitzer Mk
bombardments
the rear of the chassis and two spades are it is in action. The support vehicle with first-line ammunition and the
deployed when
three other crew
The gun
mm
fires
(6.1-in)
gives
a
is
both
an
AMX
13
NATO and
VCM. French 155-
ammunition and its longer barrel performance with older
better
A fast or slow burning propellant charge can be used, but the rate of fire is comparatively low at four or five rounds a minute due to the manual effort ammunition types.
needed for loading.
155-mm GCT Gun GCT (Grand Cadence de Tir) is a new gun mounted on the AMX 30 MBT chassis. The gun has a considerable overhang and The
being 40-caIibre it gives a better performance than the Mk III SP. It will take older 155-mm (6.l-in) ammunition, but is designed to fire TA 68 hollow-base shells which take a bagged charge and can be handled automatically. A planned rocket-assisted shell will increase the range of 30000 m (33 000 yards). The large turret holds 42 complete rounds and can be quickly reloaded via doors in the rear into the magazine. Loading from the magazine is by a fully automatic hydraulic mechanism, capable of nine rds/min. 30 chassis is powered by a The Hispano-Suiza HS HO engine capable of 60 km/h (37 mph) with an endurance of 450 km (280 miles). It can wade to 2.2 m (7 ft). In a private experiment the GCT turret has
AMX
III
In contrast to the 105-mm, this
gun which
uses the same chassis can only accommodate
and commander and carries no stowed ammunition. The gun is mounted to the driver
Guns
been
fitted to the
German Leopard
tank.
2123
Self-Propelled
Guns
COMPARATIVE DATA— SELF-PROPELLED GUNS Gun
155-
Gun
mm L
Schneider
240-tnm mle 1884
75-mm
St
diamond
range (m/yards)
Elevation (degrees)
Traverse
Weight
(degrees)
(kg/tons)
13600/14800
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
5*
N/A
10
N/A
N/A
5*
17000/18600
105/50
105-mm Howitzer
AMX
105B 155-mm Howitzer
Mk
'
Speed (km/h/mph)
Crew
140
-11
+18
6
N/A
N/A
3*
14000/15300
-4
+70
20
16 500/16.2
60
4
360
17000/16.7
60
4
+67
50
16700/16.4
60
11
+66
360
41656/41
60
4
11 100/12
105-mm Howitzer
AMX
'Estimated
N/A
15000/16400 21600/23 600
III
155-mm
GCT Gun
23 600/25800
-5
The 145 -mm RAFALE rocket launcher mounted on a Berliet truck. This system is claimed to be very accurate and can deliver a 19-kg (42-lb) warhead containing antipersonnel or antitank mines or bombs which scatter over the target further increasing the saturation blast effect. Details of the performance of the RAFALE are restricted but it probably has a range of around 16000 m (17500 yards) 2124
locket Artillery
common
In
with
many armies
the French are
working on multi-tube rocket launcher systems. are not normally very accurate multirail launcheres can deliver a barrage of rockets which with their thin casing have a higher-explosive content than conventional artillery shells. Thus a rocket barrage has a devastating blast effect as the defenders of Dien Bien Phu discovered when the Viet Minh deployed Russian Katyusha launchers at the end of the siege in French In do -China. The French have two systems under development, the 140-mm (5.5-in) RAP 14 and the 145-mm (5.7-in) RAFALE. Both systems are credited with greater accuracy than would be expected from multi-rail rocket launchers and are effective saturation weapons.
Though they
RAP
RAFALE
14
The system
consists of a trailer with 22 tubes
which are ranged in layers of five, six, five and six. The rocket comes in two sections consisting of warhead and motor which are mated together prior to launching. The warheads include HE, Incendiary, Smoke and Illuminating. They reach a speed in excess of Mach 2 with a two-second motor burn. Cruciform wings deploy in flight and the rocket a span of 360 mm. The manufacturers quote a delivery error of 1% with a beaten zone for a salvo of 25 acres. Using mechanized reloading the RAP 14 can be ready for a second salvo in one minute or three with manual loading.
give
This system was
still
under development
in
1970s and though it has only 18 launcher rubes it is not only more accurate, but also more versatile than the RAP system. By launching a radar-tracked meteorological rocket the meteorological correction for each target can be calculated with the result that accuracies are claimed of 1.1% for length zone and 0.4% for lateral spread. The warheads include AP with 35 fragmentation bomblets and antitank with 56 shaped charge bomblets or five light mines which give an added saturation spread to the target area, rocket launcher system is mounted on a Berliet the
late
truck.
COMPARATIVE DATA—ROCKET ARTILLERY Range
Rocket
Fuel
Guidance
(km/miles)
140-mm
RAP
145-mm
RAFALE
16/10
Solid
Nil
Not known
Solid
Nil
Warhead
Weight
(kg/lb)
(kg/lb)
(HE)
19/42
19/42
52/115 78/172
^H
A
French railway gun, captured by the Germans in 1940 and passed on to the Italians in use with the Italian co-belligerent forces against Germans in Italy in 1943. The gun, a 240-mm sur affut-truc mle 1917 was one of the older types which the Germans had little use for, but could fire a 159-kg (350-lb) shell up to 17400 m (19 025 yards) and had a 360 traverse because of its low velocity
the it
2125
ium
lal
The
hoist
is
lowered to receive a
There were some heavy guns
shell for a
in the
French
armoury at the beginning of the First World War, but they were either in static fortress positions or awaiting installation in warships: the French philosophy of attack, mobility and
rapid fire had no place for big guns. It reflects creditably on French designers that from some very crude rail-mounted guns they finished the war with efficient modern pieces which even included a massive 520-mm (20.5-in) gun. Some were in action in the Second World War and after the French defeat in 1940 passed into German hands. They included 305-mm (12-
320-mm (12.6-in), 340-mm (13.4-in) and 370-mm (14.5-in) guns and though most in),
remained in France to back up the Atlantic Wall defences some were sent East. One 370gun was in action as late as January 1945 against Soviet forces. Rail guns have passed into artillery history for, as one writer remarked, 'improved reconnaissance methods have made it hard to conceal a soldier, so a massive gun with a railway line extending behind it becomes an easy target'. The French built a large number of rail guns during the First World War; some were very crude lash-ups with guns taken from fortresses or naval pieces. Both types required a mount which could not be fitted on a railway flat car and as a result they were temporary arrangements which varied from gun to gun. The 194-mm (7.6-in) mle 1875 was straight
mm
out of the nineteenth century coastal forts
France and Britain. Guns like this and sophisticated Canon de 240-mm and 40-mm were mounted on sloping ramps which took some of the recoil, the rest was absorbed by the backward movement of the railway truck mounting. Some had ground anchors and could be cranked back into their firing position after each shot. found the
in
more
1
2126
285-mm
(11.22-in)
mle 1917 railway gun near Lamotte en Santerre on the
Somme
in July
1916
Canon de 240-mm modele 1884
Materiel de 274 modele 87, 93
This was one of the most widely used calibres
This was the smallest calibre adapted by Schneider for a non-recoil sliding mount. The basic design was similar for their 274-mm
the French army. The mle 70-81 was comparatively crude and the mle 1893-96 and 1884 were not only more powerful but
in
mounted on improved
carriages. The Vavasseur pattern carriage was similar to the inclined ramps of earlier designs, but with improved buffers recoil was reduced to 1.5
m
(5
ft).
Canon de 240-mm modele 1893-96 A heavier piece,
the mle 1893-96 had a 360° traverse platform on a well base wagon. It was also one of the first guns to be fired from
a
prepared
which was
platform-anchored mounting be incorporated into the
later to
Batignolles design.
Two 320-mm
(12.5-in)
mle 1874 guns
(10.78-in),
285-mm
(11.2-in),
305-mm
(12-in)
guns and howitzers. The 320-mm (12.6-in), 340-mm (13.4-in) and 370-mm (14.5-in) guns had a similar mount but with bigger bogies to take the greater weight. The basic design consisted of two heavy side plates rigidly connected by an elaborate system of crosstransoms to make a rigid box. The side members accepted the gun trunnions in a reinforced area with a solid steel bushing to take the shock of recoil.
Materiel de 400
modele
15,
16
This rebored ex-naval gun was shortened and turned into a howitzer by St Chamond. It was
in a battery position near Etelfay
on July 21, 1916
Guns
French North African gunners pose by their training at Camp de Mailly in the First World War. The striking camouflage scheme on the gun and its supporting rolling stock
370-mm gun during
reflected the increased effectiveness of aerial
reconnaissance during the war. Airpower would eventually render the railway gun obsolete since an aircraft could carry more high explosive further than any gun could fire. Bombers could also destroy the track and positions necessary for a railway gun to operate efficiently. However, during the First World War and parts of the Second, rail guns were daunting weapons, particularly when they were in a position to engage fixed
emplacements and fortresses
2127
iuns from a Batignolles emplacement though the majority of the recoil force was taken by the hydro-pneumatic buffers. The Batignolles mount was also used on the 305-mm (12-in)
fired
mle 43/06 and 370-mm (14.5-in) mle 1887.
Obusier de 520 mle 16 This piece was a product of Gallic pride and political pressure. After the Germans had deployed 42-cm (16.5-in) howitzers against the Belgian forts and French forts at Verdun the French demanded a bigger gun. The 520(20.5-in) howitzer was built and paraded for politicians. It saw little action, but is of interest as the only gun to be designed during the war rather than adapted from existing prewar stocks. Two were built, but since they weighed 255 tonnes, took three hours to emplace and only had a range of 14600 m (15965 yards) they were expensive luxuries.
mm
park of four
400-mm
(15.7-in)
A 320-mm
(12.5-in) rail gun on a Batignolles carriage. This carriage took some of the strain off the bogies by positioning the gun over a concrete pit which allowed an increased elevation and took the weight of the outriggers. Batignolles positions were built along the American seaboard after the First World War for coast
defence
artillery
COMPARATIVE DATA— RAIL GUNS Gun
Weight
in action (kg/tons)
Shell weight
(kg/lbs)
Muzzle
velocity
(m/sec/ft/sec)
Maximum
range (m/yards)
Materiel de 194 mle 70/94
65000/63.97
83/183
638/2093
18300/20010
Canon de 240 mle 1884
90000/88.58
159/350.2
575/1885
17400/19025
141000/138.77
162/356.8
840/2755
22700/24825
Materiel de 274 mle 87 ou 93
152000/149.6
237/522
758/2485
26400/28875
Materiel de 340 mle 1912
270000/265.5
430/947
927/3040
37600/41 120
Materiel de 305 mle 93-06
178000/175
348/766.5
795/2610
27500/29965
Canon de 305 mle 1906
178000/175
388/854.6
674/2210
28200/30840
Materiel de 320 mle 1874
162000/159.3
388/854.6
675/2212
24800/27120
Materiel de 400 mle 15 ou 16
140000/137.6
641/1412 900/1982
530/1740 465/1525
16000/17500 15000/16400
Obusier de 520 mle 16
260000/255.6
1654/3643
450/1477
14600/15965
Canon de 240 mle 1893-96
2128
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