General Aircraft GAL.56
Encyclopedia
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The General Aircraft GAL 56 was a British
tail-less swept wing
glider design of the 1940s built by General Aircraft Ltd.
There were three GAL 56 of different wing form:
The first flew in November 1944, the last after the end of World War II
. They were followed by the GAL.61 intended to be part of the series in a more finished form complete with retracting undercarriage and more of a flying wing
but this was never completed and flown.
The GAL 56 prototypes were flown by pilots at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
, Farnborough
and by General Aircraft themselves - their test pilot Robert Kronfeld
was killed when one of them stalled and crashed.
The General Aircraft GAL 56 was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tail-less swept wing
Swept wing
A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...
glider design of the 1940s built by General Aircraft Ltd.
There were three GAL 56 of different wing form:
- Medium-V (TS507Serial numberA serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
) with constant sweep on leading and trailing edges - Medium-U (TS510), with a parallel-chord centre section,
- Maximum-V (TS513), with increased sweepback on the quarter-chord line.
The first flew in November 1944, the last after the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They were followed by the GAL.61 intended to be part of the series in a more finished form complete with retracting undercarriage and more of a flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
but this was never completed and flown.
The GAL 56 prototypes were flown by pilots at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
, Farnborough
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...
and by General Aircraft themselves - their test pilot Robert Kronfeld
Robert Kronfeld
Squadron Leader Robert Kronfeld, AFC, was an Austrian-born gliding champion and sailplane designer of the 1920s and 30s. He became a British subject and an RAF test pilot...
was killed when one of them stalled and crashed.