Авиаконструкторы

Митчелл

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Spitfire был творением тихого, спокойного, гениального Реджинальда Д. Митчелла, создавшего, начиная с 1925, серию скоростных гидросамолетов для участия в гонках на Кубок Шнейдера, завершившуюся превосходным S6B, который в 1931 навсегда завоевал кубок для Великобритании, развив скорость 548,3 км/ч (и который, две недели спустя, установил мировой рекорд скорости 655 км/ч). Hепосредственным предшественником Spitfire, постольку-поскольку это касается настоящей конструкции, был Supermarine Тип 224 (К2890), одноместный истребитель-моноплан. Supermarine Тип 300, как называлась окончательная разработка, значительно превосходил F. 5/34, и в январе 1935 он был принят AM к строительству в качестве прототипа по спецификации F. 37/34, которая фактически была составлена для контрактных целей. Окончательное представление макета состоялось в Вулстоне 26. 3. 35, а менее чем через год (5. 3. 36) прототип Spitfire (К5054), снабженный 990-сильным Rolls-Royce Merlin C, сделал первый полет на аэродроме Истлей (Саутгэмптон) под управлением Дж. "Матта" Саммерса. Саммерс был главным летчиком-испытателем "Vickers (Aviation) Ltd. ", приобревшей в 1928 полный пакет акций "Supermarin Co. "
Первоначальный срок контракта на серийное производство Spitfire истекал в марте 1939, однако из-за проблем, связанных с налаживанием производства, его продлили до августа. Между тем в 1937 первичный контракт был продолжен заказом на 200 последующих машин. В том же году, в возрасте 42 лет, будучи в течение многих месяцев серьезно больным, умер Реджинальд Митчелл. Его преемником на посту главного конструктора "Supermarine" стал Джозеф Смит, внесший основную долю в дальнейшее развитие Spitfire, его различные модификации и варианты.
Когда в начале июля 1940 началась Битва за Британию, в боевом строю FC RAF (Fighter Command Royal Air Force) имелось 19 дивизионов Spitfire.

Сидней Кэмм

Sydney Camm, one of Britain's most distinguished aircraft designers, was born in 1893. From his schooldays he had shown a keen interest in aviation, founding the Windsor Model Aeroplane Club and constructing many successful model aircraft.

In 1914 he joined Martinsydes as a woodworker, and while there was fortunate to come under the influence of G H Handasyde, one of the leading aircraft designers of the period. He assisted Handasyde with design work, until, in 1923, he joined the Hawker Engineering Company, successor to the Sopwith Aviation Company Ltd. Camm joined the company as a senior draughtsman but within two years had been appointed Chief Designer. He was to remain with Hawkers for forty-three years, until his death in 1966.

Camm's remarkable series of successful aircraft designs range from his Hawker Cygnet biplane of 1924 to the VTOL P1127 of 1960 and include such immortals as the Hart and Hurricane. The beautiful little Cygnet weighed only 375 lb and was the Hawker entry for the Air Ministry Light Aeroplane Competition at Lympne in 1924.

In 1925, with Fred Sigrist, Hawker's Managing Director, Camm developed the distinctive Hawker metal construction, using cheaper and simple jointed tubes rather than the alternative welded structure. In the late 20's and early 30's Camm designed the classic Hart family of fabric and metal biplanes. The Hart's success put Hawkers in the front line of aircraft manufacturers and its design was used by Camm as a basis for aircraft to meet other requirements. These included the Demon fighter, Hart trainer, Audax army co-operation aircraft, Hind, Fury and the Osprey and Nimrod Fleet Air Arm machines. This new generation of aircraft boasted performances far in advance of their contemporaries. At one time in the 1930's no fewer than 84 per cent of the aircraft in the RAF were of Hawker design.

Official prejudice had for many years precluded the adoption of monoplanes by the RAF, but Camm managed to overcome the Air Ministry's apprehension with his superbly designed Hurricane. This, Camm's most famous aircraft, was based on the Fury. It played a leading role in the Battle of Britain shooting down more enemy aircraft than all other British aircraft and ground forces combined. Almost as celebrated were Camm's high-performance piston-engined Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury.

After the Second World War Hawkers did not rush into the new field of jet propulsion but, as always, at the propitious time they brought out the Sea Hawk and swept-wing Hunter jet fighters, both designed under the direction of Camm. The Hunter, one of the longest lived jet fighters and ground attack aircraft, first flew in 1951.

Towards the end of his career Sydney Camm was closely associated with the very advanced concept of vertical take-off and landing. The P 1127, a forbear of the Harrier, made its first vertical take-off in 1960. A clear line of development can be traced throughout its designs. More of a perfectionist than an innovator, Camm's designs evolved logically, progressively and successfully from each other. Although Camm started his career without any advanced scientific training, he had a masterful eye and an intuitive feel for a well-designed aeroplane. Endowed with these rare gifts he produced a succession of aircraft that were not only extremely good-looking but also boasted excellent performances and handling characteristics.

Sydney Camm, credited by Sir Thomas Sopwith as being the greatest designer of fighter aircraft the world has known, was knighted in 1953. He received the British Gold Medal for Aeronautics in 1949, was elected President of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1954 and received its highest honour, the Gold Medal, in 1958. In 1966 Sir Sydney Camm was awarded the Guggenheim Gold Medal, the leading American aeronautical award, which had to be presented
posthumously. He died in 1966 at the age of seventy-two.

Sir Sydney once said, "The main requirements of an aircraft designer were a knowledge of aerodynamics, some elementary maths, and an eye for beauty." He had a sharp eye for picking out a poor piece of design. His comments such as 'struts like floorboards' were long remembered. His dedication to aircraft design was to last over 50 years, a dedication that lead to his being knighted, the award of the Gold Medal and Honorary Fellowship of the Aeronautical Society and the Daniel Guggenheim Medal in 1965 - an honour that he heard of shortly before his death in 1966.

His designs will be seen by future generations in that part of the RAF Museum at Hendon which is set apart in his memory.

Мессершмитт, Вилли (Messerschmitt), (1898-1978), немецкий авиаконструктор и промышленник. Создатель многих самолетов, вертолетов, планеров различного назначения. Родился 26 июня 1898 во Франкфурте-на-Майне. В 1923 основал авиационный завод в Бамберге, а в 1926 создал первый цельнометаллический самолет. Его истребитель Ме-109 - основной истребитель ВВС Германии - впервые поднялся в воздух в 1935; впоследствии многократно дорабатывался и модернизировался, во время 2-й мировой войны успешно конкурировал с лучшими истребителями союзников. Также Мессершмитт создал самолет многоцелевого назначения Ме-110 и один из первых реактивных истребителей Ме-262. Мессершмитт обрел мировое признание как один из выдающихся авиаконструкторов XX века. После войны эмигрировал в Испанию, где консультировал проекты ряда самолетов, а также занимался производством сборных домов. В 1959 вернулся в ФРГ, воссоздал фирму и возобновил производство самолетов по лицензиям для бундесвера. Был почетным председателем концерна "Мессершмитт - Бёльков - Блом"; держатель значительного количества акций этого концерна.