DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF AIRCRAFT IN TIME OF WAR

Starting with the statement that command of the air in warfare rests largely with the side that produces the best single-seater fighter, the author proceeds to outline some of the problems confronting the designer of fighting airplanes, and particularly the smaller ones. Considering better performance and better fighting qualities as the main desiderata, the author discusses means of obtaining them by:

1. (1)
   increasing the horsepower-weight ratio;
2. (2)
   decreasing the wing or structure resistances;
3. (3)
   devising a new arrangement of the supporting planes, with regard to the position of pilot or crew, or by a combination of the above.

Considerable space is devoted to methods of decreasing wing resistance, principally by employing low-resistance aerofoils, and the shaping of wing tips is also referred to. A diagram shows the relation of speed range to available horsepower for wing resistance of various types of aerofoils, and practical advantages of the low-lift type of aerofoil are pointed out with the aid of these curves.

The paper concludes with reference to the desirability of encouraging American designers to compete in the production of the best fighting scout.