DEFIANT FIGHTER.
BRITAIN’S SURPRISE ’PLANE. News of the campaign in Flanders has mentioned the decisive part played by British aircraft, notably the Defiant fighters. So far as is known this is the first occasion on which these machines have come into action, and their performance cannot but have aroused satisfaction-. The “pocket battleships” of the R.A.E., these are said to make an R.A.F. dream come true. Surrounded by secrecy, not many details have emerged, but a recent review mentioned their principal points. Their speed is a secret, but it exceeds that of the Spitfire—previously Britain’s fastest fighter at 367 miles an hour. Twoseater craft, they are powered with a ■>oso hip. Rolls-Royce Merlin engine driving a three-blade controllable pitch air screw. Their 'eugtli is 30ft, wing span 59ft 6in. and wing area 250 sq ft. By comparison the Spitfire has a length of 29ft llin, span of 36ft lOin, and wing area of 242 sq ft. The undercarriage of the Defiant, a low wing monoplane, retracts inwards. The gunner is located in a power-operated turret, but the armaments, which ’ embodv .new air-fighting principles, are a secret.
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Bibliographic details
Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 143, 17 May 1940, Page 5
Word Count
186DEFIANT FIGHTER. Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 143, 17 May 1940, Page 5
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