Thanks folks!
finsrin Love your R-2800
Harvard concept. Maybe F4U main undercarriage too?
ericr Later on, I'll return to Noorduyn and the
Norseman - floats included
But for now...
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With the marginal success of the CAC/Noorduyn '
Super Harvard' - the ML-KNIL's purchase for military use in the Netherlands East Indies - Bob Noorduyn embarked upon a European sales tour for the type. The
Armeé de l'Air expressed some interest but France's STAé assessed the '
Super Harvard' as overpowered for the AdA's needs. The Portuguese air force was very keen on the '
Super Harvard' concept ... but lacked the funds for immediate procurement. The risky European sales junket was beginning to look like a bust.
Fortunately, sales of
Norseman spares packages - especially in Scandanavia - looked set to make the entire trip worthwhile. A Finnish operator was interested in rebuilt
Norsemans (with Edo float and ski gears) and the Royal Norwegian Air Force signed a parts support contract for its
Norseman fleet. Sweden had just purchased the first two of three second-hand
Norseman floatplanes so Stockholm was added to the list of cities to visit. As it happened, Sweden's air force - the
Flygvapnet - saw no need for a support package for its handful of Tp 78
Norseman air ambulances. However, the
Flygvapnet also operated a large fleet of surplus Noorduyn-built
Harvards.
A spare parts supply contract was rapidly concluded but elements within the
Flygvapnet were also interested in the '
Super Harvard' concept. Could, they wondered, the
Harvard accommodate the complete powerplant from Sweden's FFVS J22 fighter aircraft? If so, the
Flygvapnet could quickly introduce a potent lead-in trainer for its more advanced Saab J21 fighter which was just entering service. Bob Noorduyn saw no obstacle to adapting the existing '
Super Harvard' design to take the J22's SFA STWC-3G radial - a Swedish copy of the US Pratt & Whitney
Twin Wasp) engine.
The conversion work was to be undertaken at a government-owned Central Workshop - the
Flygvapnet's CVM [1] using a Swedish-supplied
Harvard IIB combined with a
Boomerang centre section especially shipped out from Port Melbourne. As predicted, the engine conversion was comparatively simple. However, work was complicated but late add-on changes demanded by the
Flygvapnet technical office - the TCF. [2] The first was the fitted of a new canopy based on that of the single-seat J22. Bob Noorduyn strongly recommended against this arrangement of hinged canopies. This was partly on aerodynamic grounds but was mainly an objection to the canopies being hinged in opposite directions - making a successful bail-out by the pilot highly doubtful. Nevertheless, the TCF insisted.
Another TCF insistence was upon greatly increased tail area to ensure good controllability. Once again, Noorduyn objected - believing the original tail to be more than adequate. Again over-ruled, CVM modified a P-51
Mustang vertical tailplane for mounting on the
Harvard airframe. The effect, in Bob Noorduyn's opinion, was grotesque but work proceeded nonetheless on the 'SFA
Harvard'. At this point, it was agreed that Noorduyn Aircraft Pty. had met its contractual obligations and an increasinly tense working relationship was brought to a close.
Top 'SFA
Harvard' - the Swedish '
Super Harvard'
The 'SFA
Harvard' was presented to
Flygvapnet brass as an FFVS product to suggest a continuity with the in-service J22 fighter. As a ruse, it was rather transparent with the high command viewing development of this aircraft as the technical office overstepping its brief. Few would judge the awkward-looking 'Swedish
Super Harvard' - to be any more successful than the ruse. It flew reasonably well but there was virtually no chance of the conversion being adopted as a standard advanced trainer. Instead, the 'SFA
Harvard' prototype was taken into service as the sole SK16M, operating as a 'hack' with a J22 squadron until late 1952.
The next stop for Bob Noorduyn was Helsinki to meet with a Finnish civilian
Norseman operator. While a contract was being negotiated for spares and support, the Noorduyn team was approached by representatives of the Finnish air force - the
Ilmavoimat. This came as a surprise since the
Ilmavoimat operated no
Norseman and had just introduced the locally-design
Vihuri military trainer. It seemed that the
Mercury-powered
Vihuri was very successful but surplus
Harvards were available quite cheaply and the Finns were interested in a higher-performance trainer as well. Noorduyn was asked: Could the '
Super Harvard' be adapted to the smaller Pratt & Whitney
Twin wasp Junior?
The
Ilmavoimat held stocks of 825 hp R-1535-SB4G
Twin wasp Junior radials which powered their obsolete Fokker D.XXI fighters. The Finn's question was easily answered - Noorduyn had considered the
Twin wasp Junior as a possible alternative for his original
Commonwealth Harvard proposal. [1] A scheme was quickly drawn up whereby those Finnish engines complete with their cowling and motor mounts would be adapted to the '
Super Harvard'. This resulted in weight balance problems which could not be solved simply by re-arranging internal equipment. Noorduyn's solution was to add a small extension to the rear fuselage monocoque section and move the vertical tailplane aft. That 'fix' simultaneously shift the c/g rearward while enhancing rudder 'authority'.
This was easily answered - Noorduyn had considered the
Twin wasp Junior as a possible alternative for his original
Commonwealth Harvard proposal [3] The
Ilmavoimat held stocks of 825 hp R-1535-SB4G
Twin wasp Junior radials A scheme was quickly drawn up whereby those engines complete with their cowling and motor mounts would be adapted to the '
Super Harvard'. This resulted in weight balance problems which could not be solved simply by re-arranging internal equipment. Noorduyn's solution was to add a small extension to the rear fuselage monocoque section and move the vertical tailplane aft. That 'fix' simultaneously shift the c/g rearward while enhancing rudder 'authority'.
Bottom First Valmet/Noorduyn '
Super Harvard' conversion with
Twin wasp Junior with a temporary Finnish civilian registration.
[
And yeah, I know I got the temporary reg wrong ... 'Super Harvard' for the Faroe Islands' secret air force? ]
[
Fin]
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[1] As the name suggests, the
Centrala Flygverkstaden Malmslätt was located at Malmslätt just outside of Linköping.
[2] This office came under the
Teknisk Chef Flygvapnet or Technical Director of the
Flygvapnet.
[3] In that scheme, Noorduyn proposed sourcing surplus R-1535s from ex-RCAF
Bolingbroke IVW recce-bomber/trainers.