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I know you got soul: machines with that certain something

Page 16

by Jeremy Clarkson


  The shuttle’s main engines suck fuel through a 17-inch-diameter pipe at such a rate that they’d drain an Olympic-sized swimming pool in ten seconds flat.

  In space, the crew take just the most astonishing photographs.There they are, fiddling about in their balloon suits, while far below we can see Italy sliding by.

  The pilot has got to slow the machine down from 17,000 mph to a safe landing speed of 211 mph.This is tricky, partly because he has no fuel left and therefore no power and partly because the Shuttle has the aerodynamic properties of an Aga. As a result, he has to make a series of sweeping turns,washing off speed with each one, but even then the rate of descent is still seven times greater than in a normal plane.

  When, as a boy, I first heard that a Ford was going to take on these exotic alien spaceships from Italy I could sense that David was loading his sling in readiness for the battle with Goliath.

  The Ford GT 40 initially had a 4.2-litre V8 that produced 350 bhp and a top speed of 207 mph. But this was deemed too wet so it was increased in size to 4.7 litres.

  Some might say that no machine conceived only to kill could ever be called beautiful. Magnificent maybe, and awesome perhaps. But not beautiful.The thing is, though, that in the battleship’s short life of just 90 years it turned out to be a less effective killing machine than almost any other weapon of war. All they did was steam around the oceans, making the people who paid for them feel good. So I do consider them beautiful and I consider the Yamato to be the most beautiful of them all.

  The Yamato had 141 anti-aircraft guns. But these were an amuse-bouche compared to her main 18-inch weapons, which were simply humungous. Each one could fire a 1.3-ton shell 25 miles.Yup, that’s right. 1.3 tons and 25 miles. And she had nine of them.

  The battleship had to be fast, supremely well armoured and fitted with massive guns. No more pea-shooters for close-range stuff. Just lots and lots of monsters.

  The fact is simple.The Spitfire looked good. It was every bit as dashing as the young men who flew it, and in flight it was as graceful as any bird. Its progress through the sky seemed effortless, as though it was simply riding the breeze and its Merlin engine was only there to provide a suitable soundtrack.

  It may have been hard to create the Spitfire but the finished product was demonstrably better than anything the Nazis sent our way. In essence, the Spit could climb, turn and fly faster than a Messerschmitt. More importantly, when an Me109 reached its ceiling the Spit had 3,000 feet in hand. And height, in a dogfight, is everything.

  Possibly, just possibly, the Spitfire is the greatest machine ever made.

  Index

  Affleck, Ben, 45

  Afghanistan, military radio traffic, 84

  Agnelli, Gianni, 33

  Agutter, Jenny, 118

  Airbus, 97

  aircraft carriers, 151, 220

  accommodation on, 154, 161

  flotilla, 156

  landing on, 153

  size, 155, 156, 157, 158

  steam catapult, 154, 160–61

  taking off from, 160

  airfields

  requirements, 46

  wartime expansion, 52

  Air France, 11

  airships. See also Zeppelin airships

  long-haul flight, 113, 114–17

  silence, 114

  used in advertising, 113, 116

  air traffic control, communications, 88, 89

  air travel

  in business, 16

  cost, 8, 16, 53, 94

  discomfort, 115

  early, 110, 111

  holidays, 16

  safety, 93

  AK47 machine gun, 101–5

  design defects, 102

  power, 104

  simplicity, 103

  street cred, 105–6

  Albert, Prince Consort, 69

  Alcock, John, 43–4

  Alfa Romeo 166

  driving experience, 166

  front-wheel drive, 162, 163

  sales, 163–4

  styling, 165–6

  Alfa Romeo company, management, 164–5

  Allen, Andy, 193

  Arctic, SS, 60–62, 64

  Argentina, Falklands War, 185–6

  Ark Royal, HMS, 212

  Arthur, satellite dish, 82–5

  Aston Martin DB7 car, 26, 123

  astronauts, 187

  problems, 193–4

  Atlantic, SS, 62–4

  Atlantic Ocean

  crossing time, 59

  dangers, 55–7, 58–61

  atmosphere, supersonic flight and, 7–8

  atmospheric railways, 74

  Australia, space debris, 78

  BA, Concorde flights, 11, 12, 13, 14

  Bacon, Francis, 123

  Bahrain, Concorde flights, 11

  Barbados, Concorde flight plan, 5

  Bardot, Brigitte, 32

  Barry, John, 31

  Battle of Britain (1940–41), 229, 230, 233

  battleships

  armour, 204, 205, 209

  British, 206–10, 220

  cost, 219

  design, 204–5

  German, 206, 208–9, 210–16

  Japanese, 216–20

  prestige, 205

  role, 214, 220

  tactics, 206–10

  B-52 bomber, 128, 130–37

  accuracy, 134

  conventional arms, 133–7

  design, 129, 130

  length of service, 130

  nuclear bombs, 126, 131–3, 133

  safety, 132–4

  scrapping, 127

  size, 130

  Belgrano, sinking, 185–6

  Benn, Tony, 6

  Beretta family, 29

  Bismarck, KMS, 210–13

  Black, Cilla, 105

  Blackbird. See SR-71 (‘Blackbird’) spy planes

  Blake’s Seven (TV series), 35

  BMW cars, 20–21

  5-series, 162, 163

  i-Drive computer, 22

  Boeing 314 flying boat, 47, 48

  Boeing 747 plane, 3, 9

  development problems, 96

  first passenger flight (1970), 87, 96

  flight decks, 97–8

  flying height, 3

  hump, 95–6, 97

  Lockerbie disaster, 92

  Los Rodeos air crash (1977), 87–91

  safety, 91–3, 98

  San Francisco accident (1971), 92

  speed, 93

  statistics, 94–6

  Boeing 777 plane, 93, 97

  bombers. See also B-52 bomber

  long-range, 129, 137

  Borge, Victor, 32

  Boulder Canyon, 144, 147

  Branson, Richard, and Concorde, 14

  Bristol

  Concorde development, 9

  floating harbour, 58

  SS Great Britain, 69, 70, 73

  Britain. See also Royal Air Force; Royal Navy

  Concorde, joint development, 6–7, 9

  engineering, development, 141

  flying boats, 47–8, 49

  Industrial Revolution, 57

  British Empire Exhibition (1924), 119, 122

  Brunel, Isambard Kingdom

  ambition, 58, 69

  engineering skill, 57–8, 70, 71, 73–4, 74, 75

  persuasiveness, 72

  steamships, 27, 58–9, 68

  BUFF. See B-52 bomber

  Bugatti, Ettore, 19

  Bugatti cars, 19

  Burton, Richard, 32

  Bush, President George W., 197

  Canada, space debris, 78

  cars

  European manufacturers’ idealism, 19

  front-wheel-drive, 162, 163

  mass production, 17–18, 24

  personality, 17

  rear-wheel-drive, 162–3

  torque steer, 163

  Caspian Sea Monster, flying boat, 52

  Catalina Flying Boat, 48

  Cerise satellite, 78

  C-5 Galax
y plane, 129

  Challenger Space Shuttle accident (1986), 190, 195–6

  Chapman, Colin, 19

  Chris-Craft engines, 29, 32

  Churchill, Winston, 222, 233

  and FW190, 231

  and loss of HMS Hood, 211–12

  and U-Boats, 179, 181

  City of Glasgow, SS, 64

  City of New York, SS, 66

  Clarke, Arthur C., 78, 79, 80, 82

  Clifton Suspension Bridge, 58

  Clippers (flying boats), 47

  Clipper Victor, air crash (1977), 87–91, 96

  Cod (cargo plane), 152, 155, 160

  Cold War, 130, 185

  Collins, Joan, 32

  Collins Line, 65

  Colorado Desert

  irrigation, 141–2

  Rockwood’s canals, 141–3

  Colorado River, 138–9, 148. See also Hoover Dam

  power, 138, 140

  silt, 138–9, 140, 142

  Columbia Space Shuttle accident (2003), 197

  Columbus, Christopher, 56

  communication, satellites, 77, 78, 84

  computers, soulless, 175

  Concorde, 1–16

  airworthiness certificates, 14, 15

  Anglo-French development, 6–7, 9, 14

  confidence in, 13

  design costs, 1, 4, 5

  engines, 5, 10

  final flight (2003), 1, 4, 14

  flights, problems, 12–13

  flying height, 3–4, 168

  interior design, 2–3, 4

  loss, 13–16

  marketing, 11

  as museum piece, 16

  noise, 4–5

  Paris crash, ix, 12, 13

  range, 11

  replacement, lack of, 14–15

  seen as tool, 2, 4

  speed, 10

  tickets, cost, 12

  wings, 10

  Conqueror, HMS, 185–6

  Convair, C-5 Galaxy plane, 129

  convoys, wartime, 180–81, 210

  Cooke, Alistair, 82

  Corsair, Empire Flying Boat, 43–5, 48

  Corsairville (Coster), 44

  Coster, Graham, 44

  Cribbins, Bernard, 118

  Crimean War, 73

  Crowe, Frank, 146

  cruise liners, 67–8

  Cuba

  missile crisis (1962), 125–6, 175

  planes, 152

  Cunard Line, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70

  Cuniberti, Vittorio, 204, 205

  Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, 126–7

  Dean, James, 106

  Delta rockets, 81

  delta wings, 10

  Deltic diesel engines, 123

  desert driving, 37–9

  Detroit, Chris-Craft company, 29, 32

  Diaz, Cameron, 123

  Doncaster, 119, 120, 123

  Dorsetshire, HMS, 213

  Dreadnought, HMS, 205–6, 207

  driving

  desert, 37–9

  off-road, 38

  Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS, 151–2, 153–61

  Echo satellite, 81

  Eckener, Hugo, 115

  Edwards Air Force Base, California, 173, 194

  Edward VII, King, 205

  Elgar, Sir Edward, 25

  Elizabeth II, Queen, 81

  Empire Flying Boat, 48

  Empire State Building, use as airship mooring, 113

  engineering, British, 57, 141

  Enterprise, USS (Star Trek), 35–6, 41, 42

  F-14 fighter jet, 151, 155, 159, 160

  F-15 fighter jet, 34

  F-16 fighter jet, 123

  F-18 fighter jet, 151

  Falkland Islands, SS Great Britain in, 55, 73

  Falklands War (1982), 185–6

  Faslane submarine base, 186

  Ferrari, Enzo, 199, 200

  Ferrari cars, 19, 199

  Fiat company, and Alfa Romeo, 164–5

  First World War (1914–18), 107–9

  naval battles, 207–9

  submarines, 179

  flying boats, 43, 45–8, 52, 54

  wartime service, 49–51

  Flying Scotsman (film), 121

  Flying Scotsman train, 119–23

  Focke-Wulf 190 fighter, 223, 231

  Ford, Henry, 199, 200

  Ford company

  centenary, 202

  Consul GT car, 198

  fast cars, 198–200

  Ferrari deal, 199

  GT 40 car, 198, 199–203

  XR3 car, 198

  France

  Concorde, joint development, 6–7, 9

  engineering, invention, 57

  satellites, 78, 80

  France, liner, 68

  Fuji Heavy Industries, 18

  Furious, HMS, 217–18

  Gatwick Airport, 46

  Gaulle, Charles de, 6

  Germany

  battleships, 206, 208–9, 210–16

  Second World War, 222, 228–31, 232

  U-Boats, 179–82

  Zeppelin airships, 107–9, 113, 116

  Gibson, Hoot, 187–8, 190, 191, 193

  glass-fibre boats, 32, 33

  Goering, Hermann, 116

  Goonhilly satellite tracking station, Cornwall, 82–5

  Graf Zeppelin airship, 114–15, 116–17

  Granger, Stewart, 31

  Grand Banks, North Atlantic, 56, 60, 63

  Grand Canyon, 139–40

  Great Britain, SS, 55, 68–75, 75

  Great Depression (1930s), 144

  Great Eastern, SS, 73

  Great Wall of China, 27

  Great Western, SS, 58–9, 68

  Great Western Railway, 58, 120

  Great Western steamship company, 72

  Great Yarmouth, Zeppelin raid, 108

  Greenland, B-52 crash (1968), 133

  Gresley Pacific locomotives, 119, 122

  Grubbs, Captain Victor, 87–91

  Guevara, Ernesto Che, 105–6

  Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, 26

  Hanoi, Vietnamese War Museum, 136

  Harrison, Rex, 31

  Hawker company, 225

  Hay-Drummond-Hay, Lady Grace, 115, 117

  Heathrow Airport, London, 12–13, 46

  Heineken, Karl, 32

  Heston, Sir Henniker, 55

  Hindenburg airship, explosion, 113

  Hitler, Adolf, 49, 113, 231

  Honda cars, 18, 27

  Hood, HMS, 210–12

  Hoover, President Herbert Clark, 143

  Hoover Dam

  beauty, 149

  construction, 143–8

  engine, 138

  masonry, 138

  water power, 148, 149

  Humber Bridge, 26

  Hurricane fighters, x, 223, 225

  advantages, 232–3

  role, 229

  Hussein, King of Jordan, 32

  Imperial Airways, 47–8

  Imperial Valley (Colorado), irrigation, 141–2

  Indian Mutiny (1857-8), 73

  Indonesia, unrest (1963), 232

  Industrial Revolution, 57

  Inman Line, 65

  Intelsat 903 satellite, 83

  intercontinental ballistic missiles, 131, 183

  International Space Station, 197

  Iraq

  B-52 bombers in, 136–7

  military radio traffic, 84

  Republican Guard, arms, 101

  Iseo, Lake, 27, 33

  Italy

  aesthetics, passion for, 27

  motor industry, 30

  Jaguar cars, 19, 20

  Japan

  battleships, 206, 216–20

  cars, 18, 24

  kamikaze raids, 219

  Spitfire order, 228

  Johnson, Tex, 130

  Jumbo aircraft. See also Boeing 747 first passenger flight (1970), 87, 96

  safety, 91

  Junkers JU-88 fighters, 51

  Jupiter, moons, 197

  Jutland,
battle of (1916), 208

  Kalashnikov, Mikhail Timofeevich, 100–101, 106

  kamikaze raids, 219

  Keegan, Kevin, 119

  Kennedy, President John F., 125

  Kentucky, B-52 crash (1959), 132

  Khrushchev, President Nikita, 125

  Kidman, Nicole, 45

  King George V, HMS, 212, 213

  King’s Lynn, Zeppelin raid, 108

  KLM air crash, Los Rodeos (1977), 86–91

  Laker, Freddie, 8

  Lamborghini, Ferruccio, 32

  Lamborghini Miura car, 26

  Las Palmas airport, explosion (1977), 86

  Las Vegas, development, 144, 149

  Le Mans Grand Prix, 199, 200

  Lightning fighters, 232

  Lineback, Operation, 135

  liners, transatlantic, 65–7

  Linley, David, 27

  Lizard Point, satellite tracking station, 82

  locomotives, individuality, 118–19

  London

  Blitz, 230–231

  Zeppelin raids, 109

  London & North-Eastern Railway (LNER), 119, 120

  Loren, Sophia, 32

  Los Angeles Class submarines, 184–5

  Los Rodeos airport air crash (1977), 86–91

  Lotus cars, 19

  Lucas, George, 35, 40

  Lusitania disaster, 65

  Lyons, Sir William, 19, 20

  McAuliffe, Christa, 195

  machine guns, 100, 104–5

  machines, flaws, ix, x

  Macmillan, Harold, 6

  McQueen, Steve, 106

  mail, air transport, 47

  Mallard train, 122

  Mars, exploration, 197

  Mauretania, SS, 66–8, 75

  Mead, Lake, 148

  Mercedes Maybach car, 20, 22

  Merlin engines, 225, 227

  Messerschmitt Me109 fighters, 228–9

  meteorology, 76–7

  Meurs, Klaus, 89

  MiG fighters, 169

  Miles Aircraft Corporation, 10

  Millennium Falcon (Star Wars), 35, 36–7, 40–42

  Mir Space Station, 196

  Missouri, USS, 221

  Mitchell, Reginald, 223, 224, 226, 231

  Mitsubishi, battleships, 218

  Mogadishu, arms, 101

  Monsarrat, Nicholas, 179

  Moon, exploration, 5, 197

  Moon, Keith, 188

  Moore, Roger, 4

  Morris, Johnny, 201–2

  Mustang 9-51 plane, 223

  NASA, 54, 78, 189, 191, 196

  Nasser, President Abdul Gamal, 32

  New York, World Trade Center disaster, 13

  Nimitz Class aircraft carriers, 152

  nuclear power, 156, 157, 221

  size, 157

  speed, 156–7, 221

 

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