Miles Mohawk
Template:Infobox Aircraft The Miles M.12 Mohawk was a British two-seat, tandem cabin monoplane built by Miles Aircraft to the order of Charles Lindbergh in 1936. Although intended as a civil aircraft, it was taken over by the Royal Air Force for evaluation.
Design and Development
In 1936, when Lindbergh was on an extended mission to Europe, he asked George Miles to build a fast, long-range machine for use between the various capitals. Coming from such an expert, this was no small compliment to the Miles organisation and as a result of close co-operation between the pilot and designer, a first-class design was produced.
The M.12 Mohawk followed earlier Miles Nighthawk and Hawcon designs and practice in having a low wing cantilever monoplane design of spruce structure covered in plywood. The centre section had no dihedral and of constant section, with outer sections having dihedral and taper towards the tip. The fuselage was similarly a spruce structure with plywood covering. The M.12 was a conventional "tailsitter" with fixed main wheels, each encased in an aerodynamic fairing beneath the wing and featuring a tail wheel. In incorporating an American 200 hp Menasco Buccaneer B6S engine to the classic Miles low-wing configuration, the M.12 was distinctly an Anglo-American machine. A second set of Miles M.12 wings were used in the M.7A hybrid.
Operational history
The M.12 as G-AEKW first flew on 28 January 1937. After use by Lindbergh, the aircraft was impressed for RAF service as HM503 in November 1941, However, the M.12 was little used other than by Maintenance Command Communications and Ferry Squadron, September 1943-January 1944, because of difficulties with the Menasco Buccaneer engine.
G-AEKW survived the war and today is being restored off-site as part of the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford Airfield
Specifications
- Length: 25ft 6 in (7.77 m)
- Span: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
- Gross weight: 2,620 Ib (1,188 kg)
- Max. speed: 185 mph (298 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 170 mph
- Range: 1400 miles
References
- Temple, Julian C. Wings Over Woodley - The Story of Miles Aircraft and the Adwest Group. Bourne End, Bucks, UK: Aston Publications, 1987. ISBN 0-946627-12-6.
External links
Related content
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