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The Curtiss-Wright C-76 Caravan (company designation CW-27) was an all-wood military transport aircraft. The C-76 was intended as a substitute standard aircraft in the event of expected wartime shortages of light alloys.〔Dreher, Carl, ''Wood Is A War Weapon'', Popular Science, Vol. 141 No.3 (September 1942), pp. 48-74〕 However, both prototype and production aircraft failed several critical flight and static tests, and after U.S. aluminum production proved sufficient for wartime defense requirements, orders for the C-76 were cancelled and production terminated.〔Kleber, John E., ''The Encyclopedia of Louisville'', University Press of Kentucky (2001) ISBN 0-8131-2100-0, ISBN 978-0-8131-2100-0, pp. xxvii, 235-236〕 ==Design and development== In 1941, Curtiss-Wright was contracted by the United States Army Air Forces to design and construct an all-wood military transport aircraft, with performance specifications meeting or exceeding that of the C-47 Skytrain then in service.〔〔Dorrell, David (ed.), ''Curtiss Caravan'', Air Pictorial: Journal of the Air League'', Air League of the British Empire, Volume 35, No. 7 (July 1973), p. 69〕 The Curtiss-Wright CW-27 was designed by Curtiss-Wright's chief designer George A. Page, Jr. as a high-wing, twin-engine, cargo transport aircraft, utilizing plywood construction with a tricycle undercarriage. Though the British de Havilland Mosquito had successfully employed a ply construction using a balsa wood core and birch hardwood exterior, Curtiss-Wright engineers, using research provided by Forest Products Laboratory,〔Forest Products Journal, January 1, 2007: "G.A. Page, chief engineer of the Curtiss-Wright Division at St. Louis, Mo., wrote, "It (Design Handbook ) has expedited and facilitated our work in connection with the design of the C-76 airplane to a degree that is hard to estimate." ''(Forest Products Laboratory: supporting the nation's armed forces with valuable wood research for 90 years )''〕 rejected this approach, insisting instead on a ply construction of dense mahogany, which greatly increased the plane's weight.〔Sessums, Col. J.W., ''Design and Engineering Problems of Aircraft Production'' , May 14, 1946, pp. 6-8 (National Defense University Archives )〕 At Curtiss' request, Army Materiel Command laid in large supplies of mahogany, and a number of furniture manufacturers, including the Baldwin Piano Company, were subcontracted to build components for the plane, which would be assembled at Curtiss-Wright's new defense plant in Louisville, Kentucky.〔〔 A radial engine was mounted on each wing, and the aircraft was capable of carrying 23 personnel or a cargo payload. The Caravan had a nose section that swung out to the right to enable outsize loading, including a jeep or small artillery pieces.〔("Army In Long Pants" ) ''Popular Mechanics, July 1944'' - bottom of page 21 photo showing front nose opened for loading〕 The original contract called for 11 YC-76 preproduction aircraft, and the first aircraft would be built and tested at Curtiss-Wright's St. Louis, Missouri Division plant.〔 Subsequently, orders for five C-76 production aircraft and nine revised YC-76As were placed by the USAAF, with line production to commence at the Curtiss-Wright plant in Louisville as well as a Higgins Aircraft factory in New Orleans, Louisiana.〔〔〔Burck, Gilbert, ''Mr. Higgins and His Wonderful Boats'', Life Magazine, 16 August 1943, p. 112〕 To keep the plywood flexible during construction the factory was kept hot and damp.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Aircraft: Curtiss C-76 Caravan )〕 The prototype YC-76 first flew on May 1, 1943.〔 Only five production aircraft were completed in 1943: three from Curtiss-Wright's St. Louis Division, and two from a new plant at Louisville, Kentucky, which was finished in May 1942.〔〔〔 The Higgins Aircraft Co. contract was cancelled by the Army on August 3, 1943 before the Higgins factory in New Orleans had been completed, and Higgins was awarded another contract to produce the C-46 Commando.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Curtiss-Wright C-76 Caravan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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