NEW FIGHTER PLANE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 180, 1 July 1940, Page 6

NEW FIGHTER PLANE

FORMIDABLE "DEFIANT" BATTLES OVER LOWLANDS Britain's new secret fighter plane, with guns mounted to protect it even from attack from below the tail, and a greater lire power than the famed British Hurricane, has been used in the air battles for supremacy over the Nazis over the Netherlands and Belgium. British communiques mentioned for the first time the new two-seat-er fighter, "Defiant," in telling of action over the Low Countries. In addition to an unknown number of machine-guns firing from forward position, the Defiant is equipped with a power-operated gun turret aft. This new fighter, whose details are secret, Avas known to have been in large-scale production last winter, and is believed to have appeared in surprising numbers in air battles over the Lowlands. The Defiant is powered bj r a 1030 horse-power Rolls Royce Merlin engine. It is a low wing, all-metal monoplane., The British reported earls'- last February that they had the new fighter in production as an answer to a new tyjje of German fast, longrange bomber which was expected to make its appearance this spring. • The power-driven turret is designed to swing easily at high speeds, whereas ordinary turrets are difficult to operate because of the wind pressure. The turret permits a broadside attack on a formation of enemy jjlanes.