The Also Rans, Part I

The aircraft mentioned above certainly have achieved immortality in aviation history and have assured their manufacturers of a place in the continued future of commercial aviation as we know it today.

However, if we look closely at past war production lines, all would not augur well for the legions of aircraft manufacturers who tried but failed. World War II brought with it an urgency for new and improved designs that could carry more payload either in the form of weapons or cargo, and greater range to meet commitments in theatres of battle throughout the Pacific and Europe.

The timing for the production of the Douglas DC-3, could not have been more perfect. Its success has been unparalleled, and the design spawned such other successes as the DC-4 and the DC-6 series A, B and C. These aircraft are still flying in various parts of the world today fulfilling a different need than that for which they were built, but living proof that a good design will endure long after the raison d’etre has passed.

The war years were good for Douglas, and they waxed fat on their continuing production lines of solid piston-engined airliners which were by 1947 being taken up by the airlines that formed to fill the need for the increasing use of air travel. The Lockheed company had been successful with their Constellation designs and models 1049 and 1649A Super Constellation and Starliner followed their namesake the Constellation model 749.

So that by the 1950’s the future of these two companies would have seemed unshakeable and so it would have had it not been for Frank Whittle and his invention that was to change the face of aviation more completely than any other single factor – the jet engine.

Whilst the Germans had been developing a jet fighter and were first to get the Messerschmitt ME262 into the air in the latter stages of WWII, it was a British company under Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth, that developed Britain’s first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor, which paved the way for the giant push of the 1950s that gave the jet engine its absolute leadership in commercial aviation.

The economics and speed of the new generation of commercial airliners far outweighed their initial costs and brought advantages to the travelling public and the airlines themselves undreamed of only a year or two before. It was almost as though the curtain had been brought down on another era because many of the “also-rans” were literally shot down in full flight.

It all started where it began, in Great Britain.

Four de Havilland Ghost turbojets rated at the then startling 44501b thrust powered the Comet 1 which took off in 1952 for Rome and heralded an era of unprecedented speed and luxury. The timing was good, but the development and design procedures left a lot to be desired. After a series of unexplained crashes, the Comet 1 aircraft were withdrawn from service, and subjected to the most rigorous airframe testing which showed up serious metal fatigue around the window frames. The airframe virtually exploded after repeated pressurisation and depressurisation had been carried out for only a few months. The former General Manager of Qantas, Capt Scotty Allen had previously been sent to England to study the de Havilland Comet 1 as a future possible aircraft for Qantas but had rejected the aircraft on the very grounds that it was structurally unsafe in respect of the airframe not being strong enough around the windows for repeated pressurisation. A view that was to hold Qantas in good stead, and has enhanced their reputation worldwide.

Thus before it had even started on its flight path to glory the Comet 1 became the first “also-ran” of the Jet Age. Even though it was singularly instrumental in carving a niche for itself and for the future of aviation as we know it today.

I have included Comet 1 as the first of the “also-rans” not because it was the first casualty, but because it heralded an era that changed the face of aviation more than any other. The Comet 1 was sold only to BOAC and subsequently, it was not until July 19h1954 that the de Havilland Comet 3 flew for the first time. The Comet 3 differed from its predecessor in having a much-lengthened fuselage, increased wing and tailplane area, and additional fuel tanks mounted forward of the wing leading edge. Avon turbojets of higher thrust were employed and fuel capacity was increased from 69001mp gals to 80501mp gals.

Initially ordered by Pan American Airways and BOAC the Comet 3 subsequently was used as the prototype for the successful Comet 4, the long-range version of the Comet 3. The Comet 48 was the medium-range version with cropped wing and lengthened fuselage. The final basic version however was the Comet 4C combining the lengthened fuselage’ of the Comet 4B and full span wing of the Comet 4.

Powerplant for the Comet 4 was four Rolls-Royce Avon turbo jets, of 10,500Ib st. Two engines are installed side by side in each wing root.

Performance: High-speed cruise 536mph at 33,000ft. Long-range cruise 460mph at 36,000ft. Max payload range 3350mls with 23,000lb payload. Max fuel range 4310 miles with 11,445Ib payload.

Accommodation: Basic flight crew of four with accommodation for 102 passengers in high-density configuration.

Principal Operators: Comet 4-Aerolineas Argentinas, British Eagle International, CAUSA, MEA, Kuwait, AREA, Dan Air, EAAC, Malaysian, Mexicana; Comet 4C Aerolineas Argentinas, Kuwait, Mexicana, MEA, Sudan, UAA.

Dimensions: Span 114ft 10in. Length 118ft 0in. Height 29ft 6in, wing area 2121sq ft.

The Comet 1 set out on a courageous attempt to revolutionise the long-range airliner market and failed. The Comet 4 which first flew on April 27, 1958, and 4C which first flew on October 31, 1959, were far superior aircraft, that will be remembered by Australians and New Zealanders alike in their trans-Tasman crossings with BOAC but by the time production had ended only 62 models of the l. omet 4 variant had been produced, as airlines were looking at the newer jets on the other side of the Atlantic soon to be built by Boeing and Douglas, the 707 and the DC-8 which would have greater payload and range and show far greater scale of economy than the Comets.

The total number of Comets built was 78, and as of December 1979, only six Comets remain. All with British charter company, Dan Air, the six Comet 4Cs are all that remain of a beautifully proportioned airliner, highly regarded by the crews that flew it and the travelling public, but which initially failed on all points to become an outstanding success.

Initial Comet 1 aircraft flew with the French Air Force and the French Airline UTA. After the first 10 aircraft had been sold to BOAC, six were subsequently sold to France but were returned a month or two later when the disastrous crashes, occurred.

The first overseas airline to fly the Comet 1 was Canadian Pacific Airlines on December 24, 1952, but the ill-fated Comet was to crash just nine weeks later on March 3, 1953, when it failed to get airborne on take off from Karachi.

The three Mexicana Comet 4s later became the property of Westernair in the early 1970s and these with an early Comet 1A were the only US-registered Comets. This in itself would have been sufficient reason for the Comet to have been given the title “also ran”.

The last carriers to operate the Comet commercially were AREA of Ecuador, Aerolineas Argentinas, Middle East Airlines – King Saud of Saudi Arabia owned a Comet 4C for less than 10 weeks before it crashed at Monte Matto on June 15, 1962 – Sudan Airways, United Arab Airlines, then EgyptAir; three MEA Comet 4Cs were written off when an Israeli Commando raid on Beirut Airport destroyed all aircraft on the ground. Olympic Airways of Greece owned four, East African Airways owned three, and Mexicana of Mexico had eight aircraft. East African Airways, including Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya used seven Comet 4s and Kuwait Airways had three Comet 4s. Malaysian Airways Comet 4s numbered two, whilst the combined MSA fleet of Comet 4s totalled five and they were seen on Australian routes. Two Comet 1s were used by the Royal Canadian Air Force for 12 years, and 29 variants were used by the RAF and Ministry of Defence for testing and development work. The RAF aircraft were used as transport aircraft and were seen in Australia right up to 1975 when the British Government cancelled all Comets from the register. These were subsequently broken up or purchased by Dan-Air. Three Comet 4 aircraft were leased by Qantas for the Far East and Kangaroo routes, during 1959-60.

The one redeeming feature of the entire Comet episode is that the EAW/MR aircraft the Nimrod is based on the Comet airframe. Designed as a long-range maritime patrol aircraft with four Rolls-Royce spey Mk250 turbofans the Nimrod first flew on May 23, 1967. Forty-one Nimrods have been built and eight of a batch of Mk1s are completed but have been retained in storage, which would seem to have shades of the Comet still hanging over the whole affair. The Nimrod carries a full range of ASW weapons (homing torpedoes, mines, depth charges and two under-wing pylons on each side for four Aerospatiale ASMs. A normal crew of 12 comprises two pilots and a light engineer on the flight deck and nine navigators and sensor operators in the tactical compartment. The Nimrod has been mainly overshadowed by the success of the Lockheed Orion, son of the Electra, which we shall discuss later.

The stored Nimrods have now become part of an order for the AEW version of the aircraft which is currently in production, and the earlier models are being updated to the latest specifications.

The production of Also Rans was always fully orchestrated with the–same amount of fanfare that ultimately befell the success stories of the aviation world. The stage was the same the only difference being the players were in the wrong act.

World War 11 saw the production of vast quantities of propeller-driven aircraft with increased range and the need for airstrips vastly improved to accommodate greater payloads. The need for increased numbers of airfields was soon satisfied and Pacific Islands such as Canton, Wake Island, and the Cocos Islands now had runways built that could take the largest aircraft then built.

Previous air routes had been pioneered by flying boats, which at the close of 1945 were still considered as being ideally suitable for the resumption of commercial aviation to the far-flung corners of the world from Great Britain and the USA.

The Short Sunderland which had proved so useful as an anti-submarine patrol aircraft, now became the Short Sandringham and the last two examples in Australia will be fondly remembered by all except the hard-bitten Rose Bay dowager wakened from her early morning bed. The Sandringham though a successful aircraft did not sell in large numbers other than to BOAC, Qantas and TEAL. The world’s intercontinental routes were sufficiently catered for by the Sandringham and travel was a more leisurely state of affairs. With the continuing interest in flying boats, Short Bros & Harland developed an improved version of the Sandringham, also based on the Sunderland but this time with a larger hull, strengthened wings and longer range. Although designed in four models with accommodation for up to 40 passengers, the Solent which was sold only to BOAC and TEAL must be rated as another Also Ran.

The Solent closely resembled the Sandringham but had a longer hull, taller dorsal fin and more powerful Bristol Hercules engines -14 cylinder, two rows, sleeve valved and radial air-cooled engines driving four blade constant speed full feathering metal airscrews. The Solent was the last word in luxury, and just about the last opportunity any manufacturer ever got to continue the production of multi-engined flying boats.

The last word was given also to Saunder’s Roe that being the ill-fated Princess class flying boats, but before we examine this giant of the skies let’s have a look inside the Solent. The hull was divided into two decks. On the upper deck were the crew compartment, galley, cocktail bar, and two passenger cabins. On the lower deck were three passenger cabins, dressing rooms, lavatories and a promenade cabin. The passenger cabins could be converted to sleeping accommodation. However, these aircraft for TEAL -Tasman Empire Airways – were fitted out for 40-day passengers and were used principally on trans-Tasman services and Pacific Islands services.

The Short Solent IV as flown by TEAL was powered by four Bristol Hercules 753 engines. Maximum speed was 282mph at 3400ft. Maximum economical cruising speed 251mph at 11,500ft. Range at 78,000lb 2025 miles. Maximum range with reduced payload 3120 miles. The take-off run at 78,000lb was 900 yards or 40 seconds.

Empty weight 48,2101bs. Maximum landing weight was a useful equivalent of the maximum take-off weight which meant an emergency landing could be made without dumping fuel.

It looked good. It would have revolutionised air travel in its time. It was one of the largest flying boats ever built, and certainly the largest ever built in Great Britain. It was the Princess flying boat, and she was killed at birth through the political manoeuvrings of a government without a positive aviation policy, and an uncertainty in the future, which we shall examine later.

When Henry Knowler designed the Princess he did so in the knowledge that bigger was better. The bigger the flying boat the more efficient it becomes. However, as pointed out earlier, timing is of paramount importance in the development of an aircraft, and for the Princess, the timing was on the wrong side of the development curve. One of the criteria for the development of the Princess was that it should be able to fly the Atlantic nonstop. By 1947 when the design had grown to 315,000lb it was intended to power the Princess with 10 Bristol Proteus gas turbine engines. Five other types of engine had been tried and had to be discarded when it was found during development that there was insufficient power. This lack of power was one of the major stumbling blocks to the development of the Princess flying boats.

The engines finally selected were 10 Bristol Proteus turboprops rated at 3500hp each. They were arranged as two single outer units driving a single propeller and four coupled inner pairs driving contrarotating propellers. The early Bristol Proteus engines were far from reliable and quite inferior to the present-day engine, but given time the engine would have been brought up to present-day standards. Instead of producing the required 35,000hp all that could be provided in 1952 was a total of 25,000hp.

At the time of development there were no suitors for the hand of the Princess, the British Government was reluctantly picking up development costs, and BOAC who was considered eligible, had not quite made up its mind whether to court the Princess, but when other airlines showed interest in the aircraft BOAC made definite proposals to go ahead with the project.

The first flight of the Princess was on August 19, 1952, and it was completely successful. The Princess featured such things as a powered control system which enabled the pilot to fly the plane with one hand on the control column at any time, as well as making adjustments to the throttles. Further testing followed and perhaps one of aviation’s highlights took place when the Princess visited the Farnborough Air Show and some lucky photographers recorded the event for posterity. Three Saro Princess flying boats were built, but only one flew. The other two were mothballed until later developments of the Proteus engine could be provided. The registrations were G-ALUN, G-ALUO, G-ALUP.

After Farnborough, the smart blue, white and yellow-liveried G-ALUN was grounded. All three remained cocoon­ ed, supposedly awaiting the more powerful engines now be­ing fitted to the Bristol Britannia. And they waited, and waited, and the British Government procrastinated, and Saunders-Roe, at immense cost spent night and day airconditioning their hangar to keep them dry and corrosion-free but the great flying boats had begun to deteriorate. This gave the government the excuse they had been looking for and a Southampton scrap merchant set about breaking them up. GALUN was, however, used as an office for the scrap merchant and today a motor boat has been built around six of her port holes!

Various plans had been put forward to make use of the Princesses. Aquila Airways, who later flew the Solents made a bid for them for three million pounds, the Air Ministry proposed to use them as 230-seat troop transports for RAF Transport Command, and between 1955 and 1958 it was rumoured that the US Navy wanted to use them as flying testbeds for atomic reactors. Two British businessmen planned to re-engine the aircraft with more powerful engines of 4795hp and instead of 10 engines, only six would have been required. The improved model Princess would carry 200 passengers in a mixed-class layout over 6000 miles. However, government approval was never given.

Aero Spacelines in the United States, of Guppy fame, even had their eyes on the aircraft. Eventually, all came to naught and the three Princesses suffered the ignoble fate already described. They were dead ducks, shot in the nest.

However, they represented some of the most outstanding features ever before assembled in an aircraft type. The advanced hull aided the development of such sophisticated craft as the Boeing jetfoil hull, and at the time of building, the Princess was the largest all-metal passenger transport aircraft ever built. It is still today the largest double-hulled pressurised aircraft ever built. With a wingspan of 219ft 6in the Princess was larger than the Boeing 747 by a full 24 feet! The tailplanes were larger than the wings of a DC-3!

Being pressurised the Princess would cruise at 40,000ft and the windows were designed to be fail-safe in the event of a fracture. They were large, and gave a good view, whilst the internal features combined a spiral staircase both fore and aft linking the upper and lower decks. Sleeping cabins had their own separate toilet compartments there was a promenade walk, lounges, cocktail bars, a dining room, and separate galleys with two service lifts, which shows that there is really nothing new under the sun.

Had the Princess flying boats been given a chance to prove themselves the development of the airliner as we know it today could possibly have been quite different. It is only conjecture, but it could have altered the entire design of airports and aircraft design. The aviation world has however turned its back on the great flying boats, and the Princess Flying Boats sadly must rank with the also-rans.

The end of World War II saw the production of a large four-engined passenger aircraft based on the Lancaster, under the title of Avro Tudor. The prototype flew in June 1945 and the first production aircraft in January 1946. Four variants were produced and the principal operators were British South American Airways Corporation, Tudor Mk IV; and BOAC, Mk IVB. The Tudor was a four-engined monoplane all metal construction, with a retractable two-wheel undercarriage. Power plants were Rolls-Royce Merlins, 12 cylinder liquid cooled engines of 1770hp. The crew of five consisted of two pilots, a flight engineer, a wireless operator and a navigator. The passenger compartment was divided into three subcompartments and a maximum of 24 passengers could be carried. Sleeping berths could be set up at night. Later versions of the Tudor, Mks V to VII could accommodate up to 44 passengers. The Mk VI I aircraft was fitted with Bristol Hercules air-cooled radial engines. Maximum speed was 346mph. Cruising speed 305mph. Range 3700mph. All the elements for the perfect airliner would appear to have been met, and would have been had it not been for the disastrous mishaps to the Star series of aircraft belonging to British South American Airways, which vanished on flights to South America, without trace. The entire fleet was grounded, British South American Airways Corporation was absorbed into BOAC, and the Avro Tudors suspected of breaking up in flight was never again a front-line aircraft. They were used in the Berlin Airlift, and certain aircraft were used as test beds for various jet-powered engines. The Avro Tudor’s short life was over.

In 1943 the British Government was concerned that the dominance in the construction of large civil airliners was moving to the Americans. It was decided therefore to set up a committee to investigate five specifications for transport aircraft.

The de Havilland Dove and the Bristol Britannia were products of that investigation. The Bristol Brabazon was another.

Designated model Bristol Type 167 the Brabazon under the direction of Lord Brabazon was designed as a fully pressurised passenger monoplane specifically for operating the direct London-New York service non-stop, with a still air range of 5500 miles. Four aircraft were to be built, the first would be powered by piston engines, and the rest by turboprops. The Bristol Proteus engines were still behind in power and until later developments could be supplied the first aircraft was fitted with eight Bristol Centaurus piston engines. Each engine was an 18-cylinder two-row radial sleeve-valve air-cooled engine developing over 2500hp. The engines were grouped in pairs within the leading edge of the inner wing and drove four pairs of co-axial contra-rotating tractor airscrews, through extension shafts. The second aircraft was under construction awaiting the more powerful gas turbines, and was intended to be used by BOAC. It would be furnished to carry 100 passengers, with a flight crew of seven and five stewards. The first aircraft had already taken to the air by 1948 and was proving to be a capable performer on her flight tests. The wingspan of 230ft was greater than that of a Boeing 747, but the wing area at 5317sq ft was only fractionally lower than the 747. Considering the maximum payload of the Brabazon at 285,000 lbs with that of the 747 which is climbing above 810,000lb the wing loading of the Brabazon was very light. The length of the Brabazon was 177ft, Boeing 747 SP was 184ft 9ins.

The Centaurus-powered Brabazon was not underpowered and met all performance requirements. Maximum speed was 300mph at 25,000ft. Cruising speed was 250mph at 25,000ft and stalling speed was 95mph.

Once again the time was not right for the Brabazon.

Development was continuing with the Britannia and the Comet. While both of these aircraft were considerably smaller than the Bristol Brabazon they represented a smaller scale of economy as well, and at the same time fulfilled the requirements that the Brabazon was intended to accomplish. The funding for the whole program failed because research and development expenditures could not be met, at a time when there were possibly brighter stars on the horizon. The Brabazon never left the English skies and the whole scheme was brought to a close by 1951.

The Brabazon was broken up and the type became another also-ran. Not all these aircraft depart without paving the way for greater improvement in technology, and the Brabazon was no exception. A lot of the technology was used in the Comet and Britannia. The Comet was faster and the Britannia was half the weight and size. Flap switches which cost £125. 00 each and there were eight of them, on the Brabazon, cost 25/- when installed on the de Havilland Comet.

It is savings such as this that give the also-rans more value than is accorded them, the proving of technology is quite often sufficient reason for their existence, which is like chocolates if you win and chocolates if you lose. Whilst still with the Bra azon, during the flight testing, various cameras were set up on board the aircraft to take continuous photographs of the various instruments and controls, and after each flight, the film would be removed and analysed. However, during routine fire drills, the alert Mr John Burleigh, now Senior Regional Sales Manager of Shorts, suggested that the film should be examined for flammability. The upshot was that once ignited, the nitrate film generated its own oxygen and was impossible to extinguish. The flight testing was halted until safety film was brought over from the United States.

Part II of the Also-Rans will be featured in the March edition of AADR in which we examine the fate of the Canadair 4, Boeing Stratocruiser, Douglas DC-7C and the epitome of piston-engined airliners, the Lockheed Starliner.