Miles Master

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Master

The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer built by
Miles Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm during the Second
World War. It went through a number of variants according to engine availability
and was even modified as an emergency fighter during the Battle of Britain. It
was a fast, strong and fully aerobatic aircraft which served as an excellent
introduction to the high performance British fighter aircraft of the day: the
Spitfire and Hurricane.

The M.9A Master I was based on the M.9 Kestrel trainer that was first
demonstrated at the Hendon Air show in July 1937, although it never entered
production. The M.9 Kestrel, powered by the 745 hp (555 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel
XVI V-12 engine, could reach 296 mph (477 km/h). The Air Ministry had selected
the de Havilland Don as its advanced trainer, but this proved to be a failure,
and the RAF placed a £2 million order for 500 examples of a modified version of
the Kestrel, the M.9A Master. Miles rebuilt the prototype M.9 to form a
prototype for the Master, fitting a lower-powered (715 hp (535 kW)) Rolls-Royce
Kestrel XXX engine, of which there were large surplus stocks available, with
extensive revisions to the airframe, which included a new cockpit canopy, a
modified rear fuselage and tail, also moving the radiator from under the nose to
under the centre-section of the wing. These modifications significantly reduced
the aircraft's speed, but it remained one of the fastest and most manoeuvrable
trainers of its day.

The first true production Master I made its maiden flight on 31 March 1939. The
Master entered service just before the start of the war, and eventually 900 Mk.
I and Mk. IA Masters were built. This total included 26 built as the M.24 Master
Fighter which were modified to a single-seat configuration, and armed with six
..303 in machine guns for use as an emergency fighter, but did not see combat.

When production of the Kestrel engine ceased, a new variant of the Master was
designed to use the 870 hp (650 kW) air-cooled radial Bristol Mercury XX engine.
The first M.19 Master II prototype flew on 30 October 1939 and 1,748 were
eventually built. When the Lend-Lease programme began to supply engines from the
United States, a third variant of the Master, the M.27 Master III was designed,
powered by the American 825 hp (615 kW) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Junior two-row
radial engine. A total of 602 Master IIIs were built.

In trainer form, the Master was equipped to carry eight practice bombs, plus one
..303 in Vickers machine gun mounted in the front fuselage. In 1942, all variants
had their wings clipped by three feet (c. one metre) to reduce stress on the
wings and increase manoeuvrability.

United States Army Air Forces – A total of 44 Masters were loaned to the USAAF
for communications duties and target tugs for use in the United Kingdom.

Role
Advanced trainer

Manufacturer
Phillips and Powis Aircraft Ltd

Designer
F. G. Miles

First flight
31 March 1939

Introduction
1939

Status
retired

Primary users
Royal Air Force
Egypt
South African Air Force
Turkey

Number built
3,250

Variants
Miles Martinet

Service use primarily revolved around (Pilot) Advanced Flying Units, while
several hundred Miles Master IIs were converted, or delivered new, for the
glider-towing role, with the bottom of the rudder cut away to allow fitting of a
towing hook. Miles Masters were extensively used from 1942 as tugs for General
Aircraft Hotspur gliders at Glider Training Schools. Examples were also operated
by the RAFs Anti-aircraft Co-operation units for liaison with army units.

Mainly initially used for training, few aircraft thus entered squadron service.
Known deployments were to No. 287 Squadron RAF between February and August 1942,
to No. 286 Squadron RAF from November 1944 to February 1945 and to No. 613
Squadron RAF between August 1941 and October 1943.

Miles Master IIs were used for target tug purposes at the Central Gunnery School
whilst the School was based at RAF Sutton Bridge from April 1942 to March 1944.
In this role, they pulled the drogue targets required for aerial gunnery
training by pupils at the Pilot Gunnery Instructors' Training Wing. The Miles
Martinet, a derivative of the Master, was a developed specifically to be a
target tug and would see widespread use.

Specifications (Mk II)

General characteristics
Crew: two (instructor and student)
Length: 29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Wing area: 235 sq ft (20.83 m²)
Empty weight: 4,293 lb (1,947 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 5,573 lb (2,528 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Mercury XX 9-cylinder supercharged air-cooled radial
engine, 870 hp (623 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 242 mph (389 km/h) at 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
Range: 393 mi (342 nmi, 632 km)
Service ceiling: 25,100 ft (7,650 m)

Armament

Guns: 1 × .303 in Vickers K machine gun




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