Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

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]'\o\\', pacbgil1'-; ;111the improvcu.cut , po"iblc from ext
cuxivc cxpcricur«: \1 it h thmc fightlll'-; pLII1C', ((mIC' the
1\/\)'''s ncwcvt, t!,tc,t .u u.l clc:ldlic,t .it t.rck bomber .. the
1\-26 Inv.rdcr, \\ Inch 110\\' i, 'lTil1g action,
The Invader i, the h,tc"t bomlx r C\Tr built in this
country. It ix n hopped-up. tou,-;h, big brother to the Blhh)]] ,
Speedy and nirnbk-, the i\-:::(l CI1I xlril«: from tree-top ult itudes
:J11e1prcscul ol1ly- a fl.r-h npo"me to ack-ack fire, It i,
e1e,igneel 'pc'Cifictily for opcr.i t iou-, ;lg:limt cncmv .urcr.rft on
the ground, n.rval \T"eL, Limlll1g p.nt ic-; wlr.rrvc«, to\\"11'
harhorin,-; cucm v troop', auti.uur.rf t cmpl.rccmcn tv. ,upply
dumps, t.ml., ancl troops on the m.rrch or iu bivou.ic.
Doughs Aircr.rf t C(J111P;lI1\', wluch bthereel tlte A.:'.-f and
1\.:'.0, now !LIS the nrw bombcr in IILI,S proeluetion a]](1 h:I'
made po,'ihle il x rcm.uk.iblc potcuti.rlitics bv me of ,0111e
cxccpt ion.rl e1e,ign fc.rt urc»: The l nvudcr is e1e,igneel to c.irrv
an cxt rcnu-lv Ilc-x il.lc selection of gum, CII1I1(J1ISand bonib-,
or fnel \\ h ich sll oul d IlLIkc ih offemi\'C ,trikil1g PO\\'lT
adaptable in :t1mo:,t :lllY comb.it sit n.rt iou, It is exeeptiol1:ilhclean
;\erodvn:\1nicllh', emploving the recently clC\'Clopecl
I\'ACA ICl\\'.drag (Lamillar 1-'10\\) airfoil \\ing sect ion, It is
equipped wit]: twiu :'.,OO() 11OrsepO\\LT ]\.:'.SOO scric-, enginc',
It 1Ia, a ne-w double "lotted Ilip \\hich rl'ChleeS Lllleling spcccl
and a"i,h Llke.otT. Anc] the entire' .urp l.inc e!uplO\, fCltmes
of m.uurcu.mcc ,implificltion stre"iug acce"ihility to all
pur t s.
Duct (AI shoots hot air between inner and
outer skins of wing (B, C), through holes
in spars (D) and out slot near aileron (E).
A change in design now permits the heated
air to escape through perforations in the
skin (D) instead of traveling through wing,
Anv ground crewman accustomcu to work on the 1\-:'.0
,houlcl he able quickly to adapt him-elf to the l nvack-r. 011e
mcch.uuc on the line at \Vright held CJuipped: "This b.iby
is a rcp.unu.ms dream."
\ Vc have lIlany reports, from pilots wlro have flown the
ship dming te,ts, on ih flIght chur.uh-r ivtics. 1\11 agree that
the A.26 is one of the IlL'st fhing :Iircr:,ft they ever hale
flown. It i, cxtrcuu-lv cl'y to h.md!c, ILlS \\cll groupcd controls,
comfor tub!o sClting, good m.un-uvor.ihilitv .md is ell"
void of ;I11~' vicious tricks, There i, no tcndcncv to ,nap off
into a xpin , and the pl.nu: performs hC:lntiflIih' in a st.ill.
\\'J,ile sccuri lv prcvcnl s a ele'LTiption of the l nv.idcrx
,t:ntlillg pertorl1l:lnce, we em tell y011 t li.ir CO!. J, IT. ]):I\ies,
who !LIS h.rd cx tcnxivc cxpcricucc fll'iug '\.:'.4s, g.:'. 'i, .iud
,\.:'.()s agaimt the J:lpS, recently h.id (hi, to s:IY ~Ifter lie h.ul
lest-flown the luv.ulcr:
"'1'11\, uirpl.mc, if properh- e1llplo;l'c1, can l,c the grclte,t
striking arm of the Air lorr:c."
\\'e \\110 helped engineer the l uv.idc-r into rc.ilitv arc
d.ulv m:lking improvcincn t-, in .um.muu t. pcrfnnu.mcc.
m.uutcuuucc, ut ilitv aud cockpit .ur.uu.cmcn! to make that
prophecy conic true.
Heated Wing Anti-Icing For AAF Planes
Ile:lted \\'ing ~llIti.icing svstt-ms, long under stuclv bv
:'\'\C.\ .mc! ;.,l.rtcric] 'Cmllm:lnel, arc heing :ldoplc'd on
B.:'.4h B.32s and all future A\j, aircraft designs, Other
present production aircraft will continne to he equipped
wi th de-icer hoots.
Limitat ious of the de-icer boot svstcm have been its [.rilme
to break off smile tvpcs of icc 'and its in.ihil itv to prevent
icc build-up. \\hich di -t ributc-, smooth a irfloxv mer the
\\'ing, before breaking it ott. The heated \viug svstcm , cffcct
ivc in IHe\cntin;:; icing of ;Il1V kind, ;11,0 provides hc.rt for
anti.icing the .urpl.i nc'x \\'indshield, I,'or summer operation,
ducts, heat exchangers and the cloublc-skiu leading edges of
\\'ings c.m he removed.
The new Thermal Icc Prevention Svstcm utilizes a series
of ducts which pipe heated air from the cm;ines to lc:lding
edges of the \vings, empe1111:lge and the cockpit windshields.
Cold air is scooped in through the cooling system of each
engine, dueled to ;1l1 exhaust hcut-cxchanacr, then to the
\\'ings and empennage, In the 13-24, inbourd engine heat
exchangers ,upplv heat to the inner wing panels, the empel1-
40 AIR FORCE