Word: mccutcheons
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Every war, says Colonel McCutcheon, produces at least one new weapon, which usually appears too late to get in its full effect. The airplane, used in World War I, dominated World War II. The most promising new weapons of World War II were the German V-1 and V2. (The atom bomb, in the military man's book, is not a complete weapon at all, but only a super-explosive, to be lugged to the target by aircraft and perhaps, later, by directed missiles...
...weapons, though they did enormous damage, did not win the war. They were incomplete, says McCutcheon, in one vital respect: "Suitable guidance and control of the missiles after launching. In the strict sense of the word, they were not true guided missiles but artillery projectiles with extended range...
...Driver's Seat. Military scientists in every major country are working to correct this defect. "Practically all natural physical laws," says Colonel McCutcheon, "are being investigated to determine their suitability for guidance systems. Television, heat, light and sound all offer possibilities; magnetic, electric and gravitational fields are also being considered. . . . The first nation which arrives at a workable and practical solution to the problem will be in the driver's seat...
Power supply is no problem. Colonel McCutcheon describes the various reaction engines which will power guided missiles, at least until atomic propulsion is perfected. Best known is the familiar turbojet. A compressor draws air through the engine's nose. Burning fuel heats and expands it. The hot blast roars out the tail at over 1,000 miles an hour, giving a mighty push. Before the gases reach the open, they spin a turbine, which powers the compressor...
Equipped with either jets or rocket engine motors (or a combination), World War Ill's guided missiles will have power to drive them at thousands of miles an hour. No engineer doubts this. The problem of how to guide them is more difficult. Colonel McCutcheon outlines various possibilities...