AIRCRAFT ENGINES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 167, 13 October 1941, Page 6

AIRCRAFT ENGINES

AMAZING ACHIEVEMENTS

"We are disclosing everything to the Americans ruvl they are doing {he same to us, both scientifically and technically," said the Minister of Aircraft Production, Colonel Moore-J3rabazon, in the House of Commons recently. The Minister said aircraft engines of high horse-pow-er were things oi. s'iow development. It took four yenrs to get an engine from its original drawings into operational completeness. We now had engines of 2000 hoi si> >>..v er.

One difficulty on the technical side was not only keeping the power but keeping it there the higher the aircraft Hew. Wc had adopted engines with carburettois. The Germans, through the absfice of good fuel, had adopted the infection system. We were chasing up fast and had now got our fighters to 37.000 feet, and soon they would be over 40.000 feet..

Now we had long-range bombers with four engines of 1100 h.p. each ■ —75,000 man-hours m the machine. It was a terrific xiieee of work. He did not say that we had got exactly where we wanted to get, but progress was being made.

It was easy, to raid London from France; it was more difficult to raid Berlin from London, but he could assure the House that it would not be many months before a raid like that on London would be child's play compared to the raids we should be able to make on Berlin.