XG797 On display at IWM Duxford. The peculiar shaped Gannet had cranked wings and tail finlets, hardly looking aerodynamic but it served well in the RN carrier search and strike role. The aircraft was powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba 101 engine with complicated gearing that drove contra-rotating four-bladed Rotol propellers. Double-folding wings in a ‘Z’ shape were another interesting feature. As Gannets started to be withdrawn by 1960, they got a new lease of life with 831 RNAS as refurbished AS.6s for electronic warfare. When fitted with equipment updates, they became ECM.6s.
(mehr von XG797)