The Avro Abergavenny, an anthracite powered aircraft.

[Rheged]

Ladies, gentlemen and amorphous things .  For your delectation and amusement (following a brief discussion elsewhere on this site about alliteration in aircraft names)  I give you the coal fired aeroplane.  A surprising amount of the story is true, it's your job to work out where real life ends and written whiffery takes over.

The Avro Abergavenny: an anthracite powered aircraft

Following the German surrender in May 1945, there was an unseemly scramble to acquire the results of German aeronautical research.  Piratical raiding parties from  Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union ranged widely over the shattered industrial areas of the former Third Reich in an attempt to locate documents, artefacts and individual design engineers. Harold Watson of "Watson's Whizzers" and Eric Brown from Farnborough were amongst the team leaders.

A naval team organised by Ian Fleming  was responsible for collecting and shipping to Farnborough three complete prototype  examples of the Lippisch P13a aircraft together with an archive of material on the Kronach Lorin ramjet. Former allies were given to understand that even the prototype DM-1 test glider had not been finished when it was captured by American forces. The Americans had ordered Lippisch's team to complete the glider, and it was then shipped to the United States where it was test-flown. According to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics the results were positive and lessons learned were incorporated into NASA's research aircraft of the 1950s .

Having been examined in detail at Farnborough, the P13a design was passed to AVRO to develop as a possible short range fighter using "an alternative fuel source", COAL!    The coal was to take the form 400 lb of small granules instead of irregular lumps, to produce a controlled and even burn, held in a a mesh drum revolving on a vertical axis at 60 rpm and mounted behind a nose air intake, protruding slightly into the airflow  . A jet of flame from tanks of bottled gas would fire into the basket once the P.13a had reached operating speed of 200mph (whether by using a RATO unit or being towed). The air passing through the ramjet would take the gases from the burning coal towards the rear where they would mix under high pressure with clean air taken from a separate intake.  A maximum speed of at least 700 mph and a range of 500 miles was said to be theoretically possible.

Avro built a single prototype at their shadow factory at Maindiff Court Military Hospital  on the outskirts of the town of Abergavenny.   This small plant had been established in 1941 to produce prototypes for testing at Llanbedr airfield.  Eric "Winkle" Brown flew a series of unpowered tests  in  late 1947 and reported that the machine was "remarkable"  as a glider.  He was unavailable to fly the powered series of tests as he was in Australia testing the Miles M52.

The first powered flights were not promising, but adjusting the air intake and size of coal particle produced improved results.  In each test, the Avro Abergavenny (as the airframe became known) was towed to height and ramjet ignition speed by a Mosquito before the tow was  slipped .  Following concerns about test pilot safety, the airframe was modified so that in case of emergency, explosive bolts would  blast the cockpit and fin away and allow the pilot to bail out of the "escape pod"  in relative safety.

Following a request from the radar research staff at Malvern, it was decided to fly the Abergavenny prototype to Defford in Worcestershire to investigate its radar echo.  The delivery flight  was to include elements of the test programme , involving towing to 12,000 feet, slipping the tow over the Brecon Beacons and a landing at Defford having flown past AI radar equipped Beaufighter development aircraft en route.    Unfortunately, the Abergavenny  experienced  uncontrollable engine surges over Brecon and   the pilot was obliged to use the escape system.  He bailed out  successfully, and landed uninjured but extremely shocked near Llanfrynach.  The shattered remains of the Avro Abergavenny came down in Llangorse Lake, where they remained undisturbed until 2003, when they caused much consternation amongst a team of archaeologists investigating a Neolithic crannog  at the lake edge.

The Avro Abergavenny programme was abandoned and the Lippisch 13's placed in storage at St Athan.  One is currently being restored for possible display  by a team at Cosford.


The official verdict on the whole programme was that much aerodynamic information had been acquired for a reasonable cost. Coal fired aircraft development  material was filed and forgotten, only coming to light after the Marches Archaeology dig report on the Llangorse Lake Crannog investigation

[Weaver]

Youtuber Billy Winn Jnr built one of these in KSP recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww-gXj6Vevo

[NARSES2]

I'd forgotten about this use of coal as a fuel in aircraft. Probably more practicable then the steam turbine that the German's were also developing.

[rickshaw]

Eric "Winkle" Brown flew a series of unpowered tests  in  late 1947 and reported that the machine was "remarkable"  as a glider.  He was unavailable to fly the powered series of tests as he was in Australia testing the Miles M52.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
[Creak of front door opening]
"Yes?  What can I do for you?  My, you are all rather large burly gentlemen!"
"You are to come with us!  You are under arrest!  You have contravened the Official Secrets Act!  You have revealed information deleterious to the safety of the Realm.   Her Majesty's Government is not pleased with you!"
"M-m-me?  All I do is make up stories about 'What if..." online!"
[Men push their way inside, scuffle occurs, cursing in the background, sounds of thumping occur]
"What is going on?" Comes the sound of a female voice, "Put him down at once!  You hear?  Stop that, unhand me!"
[Sounds of more scuffles, sounds of more cursing, microphone goes silent...] 

[Rheged]

I'm still waiting for MI 9 and 3/4 to appear, but the story is more likely to end with a resounding THUDDDDD!  or two,  and Madame Rheged clutching a large cast iron frying pan in a self satisfied way!   Incidentally, how does one dispose of a pair of  heavily stunned Government officials?

Actually, has it ever struck you that  stories such as the above, the magnificent tale of the Meteor  PR19 and similar alleged whiffs might just possibly be officially sanctioned  disinformation  (Russian Maskirovka) that a small group of Whiffers have been contracted by GCHQ to put about in order to confuse the opposition.  There again, it might not be so.

  To quote the motto of the Royal Society "nullius in verba"  or "take nobody's word for it"   It is an expression of determination  to withstand the domination of authority and to verify all statements by an appeal to facts.

[Old Wombat]

Actually, has it ever struck you that  stories such as the above, the magnificent tale of the Meteor  PR19 and similar alleged whiffs might just possibly be officially sanctioned  disinformation  (Russian Maskirovka) that a small group of Whiffers have been contracted by GCHQ to put about in order to confuse the opposition.

Kit's an agent of the Ministry of Disinformation!

[NARSES2]

Actually, has it ever struck you that  stories such as the above, the magnificent tale of the Meteor  PR19 and similar alleged whiffs might just possibly be officially sanctioned  disinformation  (Russian Maskirovka) that a small group of Whiffers have been contracted by GCHQ to put about in order to confuse the opposition. 

Yes, until I remember that having signed the Official Secrets Act eons ago it stays signed for life 

[Weaver]

I'm still waiting for MI 9 and 3/4 to appear, but the story is more likely to end with a resounding THUDDDDD!  or two,  and Madame Rheged clutching a large cast iron frying pan in a self satisfied way!   Incidentally, how does one dispose of a pair of  heavily stunned Government officials?

Promote them... 

[steelpillow]

An altogether excellent thread. Whiffworld and that other place mixed with a mastery I still aspire to.

But did you know that Lippisch actually pinched the idea from the Avro Lanacastrain (note spelling)? The only bits that were new to the Avro team were the simplified revolving grate allowing the engine to be buried, and the delta flying-wing airframe it was buried in.

Incidentally, how does one dispose of a pair of  heavily stunned Government officials?

Pop them in a couple of Avro P.13a's and fly them out over Brecon?

a small group of Whiffers have been contracted by GCHQ to put about in order to confuse the opposition.

A safe enough while ago now, I don't mind confessing I worked in there for nigh on fifteen years. Great bunch of guys, but that's another story. Suffice to say that I did not join this forum until I had officially left. I have also in my time known a few folks who worked at RSRE Malvern and/or Defford (even did a short on-site contract for, err - one of them). Suffice to say that I will not contest your wise assertion that no "trying fliangle" ever made it this far.

Not that I intend to look (for it is surely bugged), but in the aftermath of Snowden you'll probably find whatever is now public knowledge about Codename WHIFF on Wikileaks.