The Miles M.33 Monitor was a twin-engined British
target tug aircraft designed and built by
Miles Aircraft
Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herbert ...
towards the end of the
Second World War. Intended for use by the
Royal Air Force and the
Fleet Air Arm, 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
Royal Air Force. The specification called for a towing speed of not less than , be capable of 90 mph while streaming targets,
an endurance of 3–4 hours
[Bridgman (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 is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it.
Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...
''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 Beaufort ...
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
The Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14 (also called Twin Cyclone) is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright and widely used in aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
In 1935, Curtiss-Wright began work on a more powerful version of their ...
-31
radial engines 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
Fleet Air Arm, 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, only 20 in total were built.
As with all aircraft for service use, the Monitor was evaluated by the
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at
RAF Boscombe Down.
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
Royal Air Force, one built.
;Monitor TT Mk II
:Target tug for the
Fleet Air Arm, one prototype and 20 production aircraft.
Specifications (TT.Mk.2)
See also
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
Fleet Air Arm Archive
{{Miles aircraft
1940s British military trainer aircraft
Monitor
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1944
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft