WHY SPITFIRES?

Taranaki Daily News, 17 September 1940, Page 8

WHY SPITFIRES?

E. M. IZETT.

(To the Editor.) Sir, — Presenting , Spitfire aeroplanes to the British Government seems quite the vogue just now. But why Spitfires exclusively? This machine, although a first class single-seater fighter, is, however, in nowise superior to its vis-a-vis the Hawker Hurricane, since both these machines have identical motors and armament. Both are powered by 1000-horse-power Rolls Royce Merlins and both are armed with eight Browning automatics secreted in the wings and firing straight ahead. Now, the efficiency of these machines is limited by the fact that the guns are fixed and the pilot aims them by aiming the whole machine per medium of the stick and rudder bar. It is impossibl6 for him to shoot in any direction but straight ahead and if he is unable to get a frontal shot he is quite useless. Of course if he does contrive to get his sights on the enemy the effect is devastating, but the modern bomber is so fast and heavily armed that it is increasingly difficult to get him, and practically impossible when they come over in close formation. Indeed, about the only hope a single-seater has nowadays is to take his boipber unawares. An example of this disability was quoted in your paper recently, of a pilot who was helpless on this account. He could not do a thing. The object of this letter. is to recomrr.end a comparatively new and much more efficient fighting aeroplane, which should cost no more than a Spitfire. I refer to the Boulton-Paul Defiant. This lethal weapon has no fixed guns. The pilot only pilots, and he has enough to do at that. But behind him there is an armoured rotatable turret housing a gunner and four Browning automatics which can be quickly swung in any : direction. And one aimed gun is worth 10 fixed ones any day. Shades of the old Bristol Fighter! Remember how we rattled the Krauts with it ?Well, the Defiant is just a very much pepped up resurrection of that famous machine. As i a bomber interceptor this is the machine par excellence — the general idea being to get under and slightly in front of the enemy and cut him to pieces with the Brownings. The fact that it also is powered with a "Merlin" should give it speed and manoeuvreability comparable with the single-seaters and of which, in my opinion, it is worth at least two. A still further advantage of a two-seater is that each man lends moral support to his mate. I hope I have said enough to make clear the advantages of the Defiant. ■ I hope in view of the foregoing that those running the scheme will be induced to specify at least 50 per cent. of these extremely efficient machines in our gift to our sorely pressed fatherland. May they eet there in time! — I am, etc.,

Kaponga, Sept. 16.