Hauksbee 103 Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Now that WOFF 2.0 will be delivering Zeppelins and Gothas raiding England, I take up the case for the Pemberton-Billing P.B.31E 'Nighthawk'. We must have it, or England will be crushed! This was the stance taken by Noel Pemberton-Billing; a very conservative M.P. who was a 'thorn in the side of government' in 1916-1917, and founder of a company that would become Supermarine when he sold it in 1916. The P.B.31E Nighthawk, the first project of the Pemberton-Billing operation after it became Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd., was for anti-Zeppelin operations and was intended as a veritable 'giant battleplane'. It was built in 1916.was a prototype anti-Zeppelin fighter with a crew of three to five. With four wings generating lift, the designers vision was that of a slow aircraft, deployed in large numbers, that would languidly climb to altitude, remain on station for 9–18 hours and be ready to intercept Zeppelins crossing the coast. The Nighthawk had six-bay swept quadraplane wings and a biplane tailplane with twin fins and rudders. The fuselage filled the gap between the second and third wings; the cockpit, which carried up to the top wing "turret", was enclosed and heated. Along with the intended long endurance, it was suggested it would be able to patrol at low speeds to await the Zeppelins. For armament, it had a trainable nose-mounted searchlight, a 1½-pounder (37 mm) Davis gun mounted above the top wing with 20 shells, and two .303 Lewis guns. Power for the searchlight was provided by an independent petrol engine-driven generator set made by ABC Motors, possibly the first instance of a recognizable airborne auxiliary power unit. Although touted as being able to reach 75 mph (121 km/h), the P.B.31E prototype only managed 60 mph (97 km/h) at 6,500 ft (1,981 m) and took an hour to climb to 10,000 ft (3,048 m), which was totally inadequate for intercepting Zeppelins. Given the Anzani engine's reputation for unreliability and overheating, it is unlikely that the aircraft would have delivered the advertised endurance either. The design included nine separate petrol tanks with 'quick-change' gear, enabling any number of tanks to be used or isolated in case of puncture by gunfire. Another design feature mentioned in connection with this aeroplane was the carrying of all controls, pipes, etc. outside the fuselage in amour-plated casings and a 'special revolver' enabling 'incendiary flares' to be dropped in a stick of one every twenty feet, so that, in straddling a Zeppelin of 65-ft diameter, at least three would strike. The 'perpetual haze of escaped gas' just above the top surface of a Zeppelin was considered by Pemberton-Billing to make it very vulnerable to such attack. The eccentric Noel Pemberton-Billing envisioned a whole fleet of Nighthawks prowling the skies like a wolf pack to shoot down the dreaded Zeppelin. In reality the whole concept was fallacious and it ended in failure but not before one of the oddest aircraft ever designed was built. To top it off, a young Reginald Mitchell was part of the design team; a far cry from his Spitfire 19 years later! Edited November 24, 2014 by Hauksbee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
von Baur 54 Posted November 24, 2014 Proving again that it's a fine line between genius and idiocy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted November 24, 2014 Proving again that it's a fine line between genius and idiocy. 'Amen' to that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Nightshade/PR 6,875 Posted November 24, 2014 The line got blurred on this one......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted November 25, 2014 I got to looking for 'Pemberton-Billing' Nighthawk when I found this picture. Obviously, this can't be P-B because it's German. Anyone know what this is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 7, 2014 I must say I have never seen or heard of this Pemberton-Billing aircraft. (Maybe because it was such a failure). Strange aircraft were designed in those days! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 8, 2014 Strange aircraft were designed in those days! Yeah, everything had to be tried once. My favorite Rube Goldberg, jury-rigged device was part of A.V.Roe's first triplane. Since he had a day job, he tinkered and flew in the evening. Near dusk it was very difficult to judge his altitude off the pasture he was using for a landing field. After crunching his landing gear a few times, he rigged two small-linked chains to two toggle switches and attached a lead fishing weight to the ends. When the longer chain dragged on the ground it pulled the red light switch which told him he was ten meters off the ground. When the second, shorter chain dragged, it turned on a green light. Now he knew he was only five meters up and could cut the power and glide in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 8, 2014 Rather reminiscent of the Dambusters having two spotlights pointing downwards at angles so that when the lights merged they knew they were at the right height which was very low in order to get the bomb to work properly. Sometimes simple stuff works. It rather reminds me of the little wind vane on the nose of the Harrier which showed when the aircraft was drifting sideways, and also showed which way the wind was blowing like a windsock. We laughed at it but it seemed to work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 8, 2014 Rather reminiscent of the Dambusters having two spotlights pointing downwards at angles so that when the lights merged they knew they were at the right height which was very low in order to get the bomb to work properly. Sometimes simple stuff works. Agreed. The two-spotlight trick was a stroke of low-tech genius. The coathanger-like release point indicator was pretty slick, too. I hope Peter Jackson will go forward with his remake of "The Dambusters". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
von Baur 54 Posted December 9, 2014 And sometimes there is genius in simplicity. I hope Mr. Roe never flew too low over trees or fences with those chains. Tough to explain that to your insurance agent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 13, 2014 I downloaded 'The Dambusters'. Well worth watching for the shots of the Lancasters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 13, 2014 The 'perpetual haze of escaped gas' just above the top surface of a Zeppelin was considered by Pemberton-Billing to make it very vulnerable to such attack. Upon re-reading this, I began to wonder "Is there a 'perpetual' haze of escaped gas just above the top surface of a Zeppelin?" True, gas is vented to allow descent, but that wouldn't be happening over the target, and, in any case, it seems that the hydrogen would disperse very quickly, otherwise Zeppelins could be brought down with Very pistols. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeran 20 Posted December 17, 2014 I got to looking for 'Pemberton-Billing' Nighthawk when I found this picture. Obviously, this can't be P-B because it's German. Anyone know what this is? This is the DFW "Flea" http://forum.worldofwarplanes.eu/index.php?/topic/3635-german-experimental-aircraft-dfw-t28-floh-flea/ My apologies for linking to another forum, but this has the most information I could readily find. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 18, 2014 My apologies for linking to another forum, but this has the most information I could readily find. Thanks, Maeran. Good article/post. I've got it squirreled away in my "Strange WWI Flying Things" folder where it can keep the "Pemberton-Billing" company. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
