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| Supermarine Type 324 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Designer | |
| Status | proposed design not accepted |
TheSupermarine Type 324 andType 325 wereBritish two-enginedfighter designs proposed as the replacement for theSupermarine Spitfire andHawker Hurricane. Neither of them nor a revised design - theType 327 - to carry cannon was accepted for development and production.
As an aircraft to succeed the Hurricane and Spitfire then entering service,Air Ministry specification F.18/37 required a 400+ mph (at 15,000 ft) fighter with twelve .303 inch machine gun armament.Hawker Aircraft submitted a single seat, single engine design with two possible engines, theHawker Tornado powered by theRolls-Royce Vulture and theHawker Typhoon, withNapier Sabre engine.
Gloster submitted two similar twin-boom designs with 12 Browning machine guns in the nose and a pusher Sabre engine as well as an adaptation oftheir proposal to F.9/37 with nose-mounted armament. Bristol's design was one airframe offered with three alternative engines.
In 1938 Supermarine submitted brochures describing the Type 324 (under the company specification No.458) along with the Type 325. Both were compact twin-engine designs - one tractor and one pusher - with eitherRolls-Royce Merlin orBristol Taurus engines.
Hawker's designs - which Sydney Camm had been working on since April 1937 - were accepted and prototypes of each ordered.
The Type 324 was a low-wing, twin-engined monoplane featuring the elliptical wing shape of the Spitfire, with retractable tricycle undercarriage.
Twin engines were expected to give a maximum speed of 450 mph maximum. In addition, the twin layout gave the usual advantages of torque cancellation, improved pilot view, tricycle landing gear, performance, improved take-off performance and allowed the use of the proven Merlin engine.
The structure of the aircraft wasAlclad aluminium alloy. The wing was designed in sections, so that alternative engines (Taurus) or armament could be accommodated.Fowler flaps were fitted for take-off/landing. Spoiler flaps were fitted to improve performance.
A number of armament types were considered. The main was 12 Browning in two packs of six in each wing outer section; these could be removed complete with ammunition to allow rapid rearming and servicing of the weapons.
When the Air Ministry felt progress on theWestland Whirlwind cannon-armed fighter was too slow, they asked for the F.18/37 tenders to be revised with 20mm cannon armament. Supermarine dropped the pusher design and proposed a six-cannon fighter as theType 327. The Ministry did not feel its advantages outweighed other considerations, and that the Whirlwind - or theadaption of the Bristol Beaufort - would enter service before Supermarine's design could.
Rolls-Royce MerlinMax speed: 450 mphCruise speed at 15000 ft: 195 mph
Span 41 ft x 40 ftRoot Chord9mm x 9 ftMean Chord7.08mm x 7.08 ftLength31.5 ft x 33.5 ftHeight10.2 ft x 9.75 ft
