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Few aircraft, with the possible exceptions of the C-47 and C-130 Hercules, have seen such widespread military service as the Grumman Albatross, and certainly none have been put to such varied use. To date it has been operated by the armed services of twenty-three countries, in roles ranging from search-and-rescue to cargo and personnel transport, training, pollution control and even anti-submarine warfare. Long after production ceased the number of opera­tors constantly expanded. As aircraft were phased out of one service, they were usually refur­bished and passed along to another operator. Thus the Mexican Navy, for example, wound up with ex-RCAF machines, while those used by Greece originally saw service in Norway. All this accounted for a constant ebb and (low of finishes and markings, and so from an aircraft enthusiasts point of view, few subjects offer as wide a variety of interesting schemes.
The .Albatross is unusual in that, unlike most military aircraft, it's design .work started as a private venture. Grumman had a long history of expertise in the design of successful military amphibians, beginning with the single-engined JF-I Duck in 1933. The Goose, which first flew in 1937, was Grumman s first twin-engined amphibian, and a workhorse of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard during WW II. The slightly smaller Widgeon first flew in 1940, and although a successful executive aircraft, the military version (designated J4F| was hampered by the low power of its six cylinder Ranger engines. The first post-war Grumman amphibian, the Mallard, first flew during 1946. and a total of sixty-one were built. With the exception of two built as VIP transports for King Farouk of Egypt, all were used by civilian operators as corporate aircraft or with small bush flying airlines.

Название: HU-16 Albatross in Action (Aircraft Number 161)
Автор: Robert D. Migliardi
Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc.
Год издания: 1996
Страниц: 51 Pages
ISBN: 089747354X
Язык: English
Формат: PDF
Размер: 13,2 MB