Winging It.Home Front Pilots.

Anyone else spotted the weird propellor arrangement in Steve’s photo…. maybe its just a poor copy of the original image, but it looks like the four blades are split, two on each section of the contra rotating “hub” but in a very “assymetrical” arrangement.

Or if its not a contra-prop then two blades appear to be closer to the tip of the spinner, and two closer to the back plate….?

Anyone care to confirm this is an optical (or photo-induced) illusion?

Otherwise the propellor(s) would be very unbalanced on the shaft 😮

Possibly a censor trying (unsuccessfully) to disguise the nature of the propellors?

“Putnam is your friend”. Fairey Aircraft since 1915 gives the answer. The Fairey P.24 “double” engine was test flown in Battle K9370 in 1939-1941 and was test flown at Wright Field c.1942 before eventually being returned to the UK.

Anyone else spotted the weird propellor arrangement in Steve’s photo…. maybe its just a poor copy of the original image, but it looks like the four blades are split, two on each section of the contra rotating “hub” but in a very “assymetrical” arrangement.

Or if its not a contra-prop then two blades appear to be closer to the tip of the spinner, and two closer to the back plate….?

Anyone care to confirm this is an optical (or photo-induced) illusion?

Otherwise the propellor(s) would be very unbalanced on the shaft 😮

The serial number,K9370, can be clearly seen and K9370 was the Monarch test bed. There is a section on the various Battle engine installations in the ‘Fairey Battle in Focus’, Flypast Jan 2009. It does not mention any RR Eagle, only Merlin, Peregrine and Exe (K9222). Nor can I find any mention of the Eagle being fitted to a Battle anywhere else.

The installation of the Exe in K9222 looks very different. No contra-rotating propellers. Lacks the huge belly radiator, and has a very large rectangular air intake on the front end.

Monarch engined Battle?

And thanks to Pprune it is suggested the Battle is powered by the Fairey Monarch H24 engine and was tested at Wright Field see previous Key thread http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=84783 posts #7 and #13

Forgotten Pilots

What are the US aircraft behind the Battle and where and when (and it’s shown reversed later)? An early overview in the prog showed a big base with a Lanc on it but also the Boeing XB-15/XC-105?! so where’s that? The Fairey Firefly is taxying at a camouflaged Heston

The clips on the TV only showed the nose and forward fuselage but I think the Fairey Battle testbed is the answer,many thanks.
Colin.

I’ve just had a look on Wikepedia and apparantly the engine was the Rolls Royce Exe and the aircraft flew on 30th.November 1938 and was later used as a communications aircraft.

I didn’t get a chance to see the programme, but could this be the aeroplane.

Fairey Battle, testbed for the Rolls-Royce Eagle 24 cylinder engine (destined for the Westland Wyvern before it went all whistley). Was probably kicking around White Waltham in early 1945……

Fairey Battle?

Was that the same as the aircraft shown staring up that had two sets of exhausts on each side of the cowling – that one looked like a Fairey Battle test-bed to me?

Yeh I have not seen that aircraft before. It looked very unusual. A great, informative programme.