Miles Mohawk
| M.12 Mohawk | |
|---|---|
| |
| Miles M.12 Mohawk flown by Charles Lindbergh | |
| Role | Civil touring aircraft, trainer |
| Manufacturer | Phillips & Powis Aircraft
|
| Designer | G.H. Miles |
| First flight | 22 August 1936 |
| Introduction | 1 February 1937 |
| Retired | 1950 |
| Status | On display |
| Primary users | Charles Lindbergh Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 1 |
The Miles M.12 Mohawk was a 1930s British two-seat, tandem cabin monoplane built by Phillip & Powis Aircraft (later to become Miles Aircraft) to the order of Charles Lindbergh in 1936. After being used by Lindbergh in Europe it was impressed into service with Royal Air Force as a communications aircraft in 1941.
Design and development
In 1936, after Lindbergh had moved to England, he asked George Herbert Miles to build a fast, long-range machine for use between the various capitals. As a result of close co-operation between the pilot and designer, a first-class design was produced.[1]
The M.12 Mohawk followed earlier
Operational history
The M.12 was
In August 1939, the aircraft was inspected by the Air Ministry for possible impressment into military service. On 31 October 1941, it was impressed into service with the
In May 1946, the Mohawk was bought by Southern Aircraft (Gatwick) Limited and following refurbishment was advertised for sale in July 1947.[5] In August 1947, the Mohawk was flown into second place at the Folkestone Trophy Air Race at a speed of 138.5 mph.[5] By October 1949, the aircraft was owned by Bruno Pini who along with Neville Browning flew it to North Africa to participate in the Oran International Rally.[5] On 1 January 1950, on the journey home, they were forced to land the aircraft in Spain. Although the aircraft had little damage, it was abandoned, with the pair returning to England. The Miles Mohawk was not to fly again.[5]
In 1973, the Miles Mohawk was discovered in a junkyard near Seville and was rescued by Lew Casey, a curator at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, and taken to the United States for restoration.[5] After many moves and a slow restoration effort, Casey decided to donate the Mohawk to the Royal Air Force Museum.[5] In October 2002, the aircraft was shipped to the United Kingdom and the museum began restoring the aircraft for static display.[5] In August 2008, the restored aircraft was put on display at the "Milestones of Flight" exhibition at the RAF Museum Hendon.[5]
Operators
Specifications
Data from [6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
- Wingspan: 35 ft (11 m)
- Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
- Wing area: 182.75 sq ft (16.978 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,605 lb (728 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,700 lb (1,225 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Menasco Buccaneer B6S air-cooled inverted 6-cylinder inline engine, 200 hp (150 kW)
Performance
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of aircraft of the RAF
References
Notes
- ^ Berg 1998, p. 362.
- ^ Lukins and Russell 1945, pp. 40–41.
- ^ "Miles M 12 Mohawk performance and specifications." Certified Aircraft Database. Retrieved: 30 May 2013.
- ^ Mosley 1976, p. 213.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Amos 2009, pp. 243–254.
- ^ Flight 5 November 1936, p. 475.
- ^ a b Jackson 1988, p. 266.
Bibliography
- Amos, Peter. Miles Aircraft: The Early Years Tonbridge, Kent, UK: ISBN 978-0-85130-410-6.
- Amos, Peter and Don Lambert Brown. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-2.
- Berg, A. Scott. Lindbergh. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1998. ISBN 0-399-14449-8.
- Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.
- Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
- "Lindbergh Buys British: His New Miles Mohawk Described: A High performance "Custom-built" Tourer". Flight, 5 November 1936. Vol. XXX, No. 1454. pp. 473–475.
- Lukins, A.H. and D.A. Russell. The Book of Miles Aircraft. Leicester, UK: Harborough, 1945.
- Mosley, Leonard. Lindbergh: A Biography. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1976. ISBN 978-0-385-09578-5.
- 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
