Davis Manta

FLIGHT

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JANUARY 29TH,

1942

A NOVEL FIGHTER DESIGN Mr. Davis Produces a Wing of Great Thickness and Low Aspect Ratio : Tip Stalling said to be Avoided

Front view of model of the Manta long-range fighter. Note great wing root thickness.

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I N C E y o u n g David R. Davis succeeded in persuading the Consolidated people t h a t his formula for calculating a wing section, patented b y h i m in 1934, ample proof of the qualities of the Davis wing h a s been forthcoming in t h e Consolidated model 32, better k n o w n a s the B-24, a n d in this country still better k n o w n as the Liberator, which has a thin wing section of the Davis t y p e , as has also the Catalina flying b o a t . T h e success of t h e Liberator h a s caused most people to think of a Davis wing as being s y n o n y m o u s with a thin wing. T h a t this is not necessarily so seems to b e indicated by the news from America t h a t Mr. Davis is producing a long-range fighter a feature of which is its very thick wing. Apparently Mr. Davis h a s succeeded in forming a c o m p a n y known as the M a n t a Aircraft Corporation of Los Angeles. His new project is, so far, proved in the wind tunnel only, although a fullsize mock-up has been m a d e , . • • • w n | | | | and the Manta design office is said to b e ready for production. I n contradistinction to the wings of the Catalina a n d Liberator, the wing of the Manta long-range fighter is of low aspect ratio ( 6 : 1 as against 1 1 : 1 ) a n d of very considerable t h i c k n e s s / c h o r d ratio. T h e pictures, for which we are indebted to our contemporary, American Aviation, show the Manta to h a v e also a n unusual plan The model on the right gives some idea of the unusual plan form. (Below) A picture of the Manta fullscale mock-up.

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form. W e do not know whether Mr. Davis was led to this b y mathematical or b y zoological considerations, b u t it is perhaps, significant t h a t h e has chosen to n a m e his machine the Manta, which is the devil fish of the ray family a n d mm n o t unlike t h e new fighter, even to t h e slim fuselage whicfi is not unlike t h e tail of t h e r a y . T w o years of wind-tunnel research went into t h e p l a n n i n g of the Manta, a n d Mr. Davis claims t h a t , in addition to the low drag which is so important for high-speed, longrange work, his new wing h a s got over the trouble with tip stalling in a very tapered p l a n form. T h e mock-up has a wing span of 50ft. a n d a m a x i m u m thickness of 42m., well forward in the section. W i t h a n engine of 1,200 h . p . , the calculated top speed is 445 m . p . h . when carrying four cannon, four machine guns, a n d a large a m m u n i t i o n load. R a n g e is estimated to b e 2,500 miles.