The Miles M.33 Monitor was a twin-engined British

target tug A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent c ...

aircraft designed and built by

Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used for aircraft and associated businesses of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine Blossom Miles, Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother ...

towards the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Intended for use by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

, the aircraft did not enter service with either.

Design and development

The Monitor came about as a response to Specification Q9/42 for a twin-engined high-speed target tug for the

. The specification called for a towing speed of not less than , be capable of 90 mph while streaming targets, an endurance of 3–4 hoursBridgman (Jane's) 1998, p. 131. and - most unusually - be capable of being dismantled and fitted into standard packing crates. Two prototypes were ordered; the first prototype (

Serial Number A serial number (SN) is a unique identifier used to ''uniquely'' identify an item, and is usually assigned incrementally or sequentially. Despite being called serial "numbers", they do not need to be strictly numerical and may contain letters ...

''NF900'') first flew on 5 April 1944, and was capable of reaching .Thetford 1978, pp. 256–257. The Monitor was a high-winged aircraft with an all-metal fuselage and wooden wings. It was originally stipulated that the aircraft would incorporate the

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

wing and landing gear to speed up design and production, but owing to increased demand for the Beaufighter only the landing gear was used, and a new all-wood one-piece wing was designed. The aircraft was powered by two Wright Cyclone R-2600-31

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s driving Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers. It was fitted with a novel hydraulic winch as the normal windlasses could not be used at speeds of much more than , while the Monitor was required to tow targets at double this speed. The original requirement for a target towing aircraft for the RAF was abandoned, and the orders for Monitors was taken over by the

, who required an aircraft capable of simulating dive-bombing attacks on warships. To meet this requirement the aircraft, fitted with hydraulically actuated dive brakes, nose cameras for marking Fleet gunnery, a dorsal midship cupola and radar equipment was used to accurately determine height was known as the Monitor TT Mk II. The Monitor's winch was fitted with of towing cable, and was capable of towing flag and sleeve targets as well as -span special winged targets. Spare targets were stowed on board and could be changed in flight, while winged targets were towed off the ground on a line. At the end of the war, contracts for 600 Monitors were cancelled and only 20 were built. As with all aircraft for service use, the Monitor was evaluated by the

Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its wo ...

(A&AEE) at

RAF Boscombe Down MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the D ...

. The first received at the A&AEE (NF900) caught fire during a landing in August 1944 killing one crew member, the second prototype (NF904) made a wheels up landing at the A&AEE in August 1945, and NP409 on Intensive Flying crashed into the sea in August 1945 killing both crew.Mason 2010, p. 252. None entered service and all survivors were scrapped.Sturivant, 2004.

Variants

;Monitor TT Mk I :Prototype target tug for the

, one built. ;Monitor TT Mk II :Target tug for the

, one prototype and 20 production aircraft.

Specifications (TT.Mk.2)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. ''Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1''. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. * * Bridgman, L, (ed.) (1998) Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. . * Mason, Tim. ''The Secret Years: Flight Testing at Boscombe Down, 1939–1945''. Crowborough, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2010. . * Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise guide to British Aircraft of World War II''. London: Chancellor press, 2002. . * Sturivant, Ray. ''Fleet Air Arm Fixed-Wing Aircraft since 1946''. Tonbridge, Kent: Air-Britain, 2004. . * Thetford, Owen. ''British Naval Aircraft since 1912 ''. London: Putnam, Fourth edition, 1978 .

External links

*
''Flight'' The Miles Monitor First Target-towing Twin-engined Aircraft to be Specifically Designed for the Work 4 October 1945
{{Miles aircraft 1940s British military utility aircraft

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft 1940s British special-purpose aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear