THE HUNCHBACK OF SEATTLE

THE HUNCHBACK OF SEATTLECarrier-based fighter Boeing F4B. Fighter Boeing F4B firms on merit according to the United States one of the best fighter biplanes of the late 20-ies of the last century. He was in service for about 20 years and was the last fighter-biplane of mixed construction. His successor aircraft had all-metal construction of fuselage and wing.

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FRIGATES AND CORVETTES

FRIGATES AND CORVETTESNot to say that after the First world war, the British did not think about the problems of a future war, but their reasonable ideas are embodied in a metal surprisingly slowly. For example, the Admiralty issued an order for a new patrol and guards of the court only after their predecessors came almost to a complete standstill, having exhausted their resources. As a result, by the time of Hitler’s attack on Poland “mistress of the seas” had only six small patrol ships of the “Kingfisher”, and three were in the same building.

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WINGED “FIATS”

WINGED Fighter FIAT CR-32. The plane, which will be discussed, for the five years preceding the Second world war, was a symbol of Italian fighter aircraft. Small, nimble, he observed the conflicts that arose in South America, in China, in Africa, in the middle East. And in Europe is also not without “Italian fighter”—so in most cases called FIAT CR-32 in various countries around the world.

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OUR ANSWER “STRATOJET”

OUR ANSWER Long-range bomber Tu-16. Large-scale development of high-speed jet bombers, long-range flight, which began in the USA after the Second world war, could not remain unnoticed in the Soviet Union. A year after the publication of American requirements for such aircraft (in late 1946) to the design Bureau of A. N. Tupolev, Ilyushin and Sukhoi began the design of machines with the same parameters.

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“POLONAISE” BY VLADIMIR BARANOVSKY

The first time I saw “Polonaise” in the picture. He was standing on one of the Central squares of Warsaw, surrounded by a dense ring of spectators. Interest in the yacht and its captain, engineer and journalist Krzysztof Baranovsky was extremely well-deserved. The first among the poles and the thirteenth in the world, he skirted “an old cannibal” — Cape horn — solo.

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RIVALS CRUISERS

RIVALS CRUISERSBy the end of the First world war the British Navy had a fair amount of patrol type “flower”, but at the end of the 1920-ies it became clear that these hastily built ships will be developed very quickly. Therefore, the renewal of the composition of forces escort and protection, the British started ahead of time.

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THE PERFECT BIPLANE

THE PERFECT BIPLANECarrier-based fighter Grumman F3F of the company. In the early 30-ies of the American company Grumman was the undisputed leader in the production of fighter biplanes for carrier-based aircraft. The reason for this was the desire of the designers of this company to apply on their aircrafts with the latest technical achievements. The firm’s assets — development of the original scheme of the landing gear, enclosed cockpit and all-metal fuselage-monocoque with a smooth lining.

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