Miles Martinet

The Miles M.25 Martinet was a target tug aircraft of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm that was in service during the Second World War. It was the first British aircraft to be designed specifically for target towing.

M.25 Martinet
Role Target tug
Manufacturer Miles Aircraft
First flight 24 April 1942
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Navy
Produced 1942–1945
Number built 1,724

Design and development

Based upon the Miles Master II, the Martinet featured a strengthened airframe to handle the stresses of towing a target drogue. Other differences from the Master included a longer nose, higher cockpit and greater wingspan, but otherwise the two aircraft shared many common components. The targets and towing gear were contained in a fairing beneath the fuselage and were retracted by an external, wind-powered winch.[1]

The first prototype Martinet was first flown on 24 April 1942, by chief test pilot Flight Lieutenant Thomas Rose from Woodley Aerodrome. In total, 1,724 Martinets were produced by Miles Aircraft Ltd for the RAF and FAA to meet Air Ministry Specification 12/41.[1]

There were two other variants of the Martinet; the M.50 Queen Martinet, a radio-controlled target drone of which 69 were built and a further 17 produced through conversion of production Martinets. The M.37 Martinet Trainer was developed during the war but only two were built. All Martinets and their variants were manufactured at Woodley.[1]

Variants

Data from:Miles Aircraft since 1925[1]

M.25 Martinet
Two-seat target tug aircraft ; 1815 built.
Martinet TT.Mk I
Service designation for the target tug M.25
M.50 Queen Martinet
Unmanned radio-controlled target drone; 11 built and 58 converted from TT.1s.
M.37 Martinet Trainer
Two-seat training aircraft; 2 converted from TT.1s.

Operators
Martinet in RAF service
 Belgium
  • Belgian Air Force (11 operated from 1947–1953 as target tugs)
 France
 Ireland
 Portugal
 Sweden
 Turkey
 United Kingdom

Data from:[2]

Specifications (M.25)

Data from Miles Aircraft since 1925,[1] The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II.[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 30 ft 11 in (9.42 m)
  • Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 7 in (3.53 m)
  • Wing area: 242 sq ft (22.5 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 6.3
  • Airfoil: root: NACA 23024; tip: NACA 23009
  • Empty weight: 4,640 lb (2,105 kg)
  • Gross weight: 6,750 lb (3,062 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Mercury XX or Mercury 30 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 870 hp (650 kW)
  • Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 221 mph (356 km/h, 192 kn) at sea level
240 mph (209 kn; 386 km/h) at 5,800 ft (1,768 m)
238 mph (207 kn; 383 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
  • Cruise speed: 199 mph (320 km/h, 173 kn) maximum at 5,000 ft (1,524 m)
  • Stall speed: 62 mph (100 km/h, 54 kn) flaps down
83 mph (72 kn; 134 km/h) flaps up
  • Never exceed speed: 330 mph (530 km/h, 290 kn) IAS
  • Range: 694 mi (1,117 km, 603 nmi)
  • Endurance: 5 hours
  • Time to altitude: 5,000 ft (1,524 m) in 3 minutes 30 seconds
10,000 ft (3,048 m) in 8 minutes
  • Wing loading: 27.9 lb/sq ft (136 kg/m2)
  • Take-off run: 780 ft (238 m)
  • Take-off distance to 50 ft (15 m): 1,380 ft (421 m)
  • Landing run: 1,275 ft (389 m)
  • Landing distance from 50 ft (15 m): 1,614 ft (492 m)

Surviving aircraft

A single Martinet survives; it is owned by the Museum of Berkshire Aviation in the United Kingdom. The aircraft (RAF serial number MS902) was built in 1943, and spent its operational life in Iceland at RAF Reykjavik. In 1949, MS902 was sold to the Akureyri Flying Club and given the Icelandic civil registration TF-SHC. The club flew it until it crashed in 1951 near Kopasker in north-east Iceland. The wreckage remained at the crash site until 1977, when it was recovered and placed in storage by the Icelandic Aviation Historical Society.

The aircraft was returned to the United Kingdom in 1996 by the Museum of Berkshire Aviation and has since been the subject of a lengthy restoration project.[4][5]

See also

Related development

Related lists

References
  1. Brown, Don L. (1970). Miles Aircraft since 1925 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 189-193. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.
  2. Sturtivant, Ray; Ballance, Theo (1994). The squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm ([Revised.] ed.). Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain. p. 362. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
  3. Mondey, David (1994). The Hamlyn concise guide to British aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press. p. 171. ISBN 1-85152-668-4.
  4. "Miles M.25 Martinet TT.1." The Museum of Berkshire Aviation. Retrieved: 13 Aug 2019.
  5. "Martinet Restoration News." The Museum of Berkshire Aviation. Retrieved: 13 Aug 2019.

Further reading
  • Amos, Peter. Miles Aircraft – The Wartime Years, 1939 to 1945. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2012. ISBN 978-0-85130-430-4.
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