If you make a list of the strangest aircraft that were developed during the Second World War, then the British sky slug General Aircraft GAL 38 Fleet Shadower will definitely take its place in it. It was difficult to imagine a more unusual and highly specialized patrol aircraft. The aircraft, developed by order of the Admiralty, was refined for a long time and subjected to various tests, until they realized that the chosen concept did not justify itself. In the form in which the patrol aircraft was created, the GAL 38 Fleet Shadower was simply not needed.
Flying shadow. Curiosity of history
The aircraft GAL38 Fleet Shadower can be safely called a flying curiosity, there are plenty of reasons for this. The aircraft, created by order of the British Admiralty, had a very narrow specialization, and the concept itself provided for an ultra-low flight speed. The plane had to remain in the air even at a speed of 70 km / h. Fleet Shadower was originally created in order to silently follow the ships of the enemy fleet, enemy convoys at a very low speed, but for a long time, both during the day and at night, when taking off from an aircraft carrier. According to the plans of the British admirals, when an enemy squadron was detected, an unusual plane was supposed to follow it at a safe distance for itself, from time to time transmitting the coordinates of the target to British ships by radio communication.
The role assigned to the projected aircraft left an imprint on its name. Fleet Shadower ("Fleet pursuer"), like a shadow, had to follow the enemy fleet, not allowing him to hide from the field of view of the Admiralty. The Royal Navy issued a competition assignment for the creation of a new aircraft to three British companies, among which were Fairey Aviation, Airspeed and General Aircraft. After evaluating the projects submitted for the competition, the choice was made on General Aircraft and Airspeed, with which they signed contractual agreements for the production of two prototypes by each of the firms. The contract with General Aircraft was signed on November 15, 1938.
The first flight of the new aircraft took place on May 13, 1940. At the same time, the appearance of the machine was such that the aircraft could safely be entered in the competition among the most unprepossessing aircraft in the entire history of aviation. The appearance of the aircraft was largely dictated by the tasks that were set for the new aircraft and by their solutions. The fact that the appearance of the aircraft could hardly be called elegant, the British, who have always been distinguished by their purely utilitarian approach to aircraft and aviation in general, did not particularly care, they simply did not pay attention to such things. Especially when you consider the fact that the competitor aircraft from Airspeed (project A. S.39) turned out to be worse and work on it was curtailed already in February 1941.
Suffering from aerodynamic stability problems, the G. A. L. 38 reconnaissance aircraft lasted longer. They tried to modify and modernize the aircraft; this work continued from June 1940 to June 1941. Flight tests of the novelty ended only by September 1941. All this time, only one aircraft took off into the air, and the second built prototype G. A. L. 38 Fleet Shadower stood on the ground and was used as a donor of spare parts, that is, in approximately the same role in which a part of the Russian passenger airliners Sukhoi Superjet 100 is used today. The completed tests put an end to the "naval pursuer", already in October 1941 it was decided to send the sample standing on the ground for scrap, and in March of the next year, a similar fate overtook the flying sample of the new aircraft.
The cross on the whole concept of creating such a reconnaissance put progress in the field of radar technology. The patrol aircraft with visual control of the maritime situation gave way to the aircraft, which was planned to be equipped with an onboard radar, aimed at action against surface ships of the enemy fleet. Such radars, designated Air to Surface (ASV) radar, were planned to be deployed on long-range patrol aircraft Consolidated Liberator I (the British name for the American four-engined bomber Consolidated B-24 Liberator). A similar project left the British sky slug out of work, the project was canceled, and the Admiralty specification, according to which it was developed, was canceled.
Design features of the GAL 38 Fleet Shadower
The design of the GAL 38 Fleet Shadower aircraft was influenced by the requirements of the technical task, which prescribed to provide the new patrol aircraft with up to six hours of flight at an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) with a minimum speed of no more than 38 knots (approximately 70 km / h). At the same time, the cruising speed of the car was still higher and amounted to 151 km / h, the maximum speed was 181 km / h. For comparison, the famous Soviet "heavenly slug" U-2 developed a maximum speed of 150 km / h, being at the same time a biplane.
In order to meet the criteria that were put forward by the Admiralty, General Aircraft engineers turned to not the most obvious design decisions. It was decided to make the patrol aircraft according to the scheme of a three-keel strut-braced one-and-a-half glider with a non-retractable landing gear. A half-glider in aviation is a biplane type aircraft, the area of the lower wing of which is significantly less than the area of the upper wing. The three-keel one and a half-glider of General Aircraft also received advanced wing mechanization; four small-power radial engines manufactured by Pobjoy Niagara were initially considered as the power plant. Each of the motors developed a maximum power of 125-130 hp. The presence of four engines and the requirements for taking off the aircraft from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier made the GAL 38 Fleet Shadower a unique machine, the aircraft was supposed to be the first carrier-based four-engine aircraft in the history of aviation.
The chosen scheme allowed the aircraft not only to stay in the air even at a very low flight speed, but also helped to save fuel. According to the calculations of the designers, the non-stop flight duration of the new aircraft was estimated at 10 hours. The possibility of a long reconnaissance flight at a very low speed - up to 70 km / h - became possible due to the action of the air flow from the propellers on the slotted flaps / ailerons located along the entire wing span (the Crouch-Bolas principle).
Since the aircraft was originally designed as a deck-based aircraft, special requirements were imposed on it in terms of basing on board an aircraft carrier and storing the aircraft. The wings of the aircraft were designed folding, when the wing console was parked, together with the engine nacelles, they turned back and were fixed in this position along the fuselage of the patrol car. At the same time, the overall dimensions of the new aircraft could be called impressive - the fuselage length is about 11 meters, the wingspan is 17 meters. Despite its serious dimensions, the aircraft could hardly be called heavy, its weight in the loaded version did not exceed 3900 kg. For comparison, the Soviet La-5 fighter with a wing almost half the span weighed 3200 kg. Based on this, it can be recognized that the GAL 38 Fleet Shadower patrol reconnaissance aircraft was made a very light aircraft, some single-engine fighters exceeded it in weight.
The crew of the reconnaissance aircraft consisted of three people: a pilot, an observer navigator and an airborne radio operator. No weapons were installed on board the aircraft and were not planned to be deployed. The pilot of the aircraft was in a closed cockpit, which was located in the upper part of the fuselage in front of the wing. The place of the navigator-observer was located in the nose of the combat vehicle, and the place of the radio operator was below and behind the pilot. The presence of the observer in the bow of the aircraft in a large-area glazed cockpit was intended to guarantee him a good view.
The flight tests of the new aircraft quickly enough revealed the unsatisfactory track stability of the aircraft in the air. For this reason, the designers from General Aircraft had to make edits to the project. The tail unit of the aircraft was decided to be altered in full. It was decided to replace three small keels with one large one. This decision of the engineers made it possible to improve the stability of the reconnaissance flight. But this did not affect the fate of the project in any way. In September 1941, the program was curtailed, giving preference to aircraft with radar. Moreover, aircraft with radar on board did not depend on sudden changes in the weather and would not miss the detected target even at night.
