Miles M.22

Myers M. 22 Story

The Miles M.22 is a high-performance, single-seat, twin-engine fighter jet that originated in Britain before World War II. This unique entry was developed in 1938-1939 and was eventually offered under the Department of the Air Force's 1939 Specification F. 6/39. The fighter certainly had unique features, especially at the time, including a streamlined cockpit arrangement within the main wing aircraft and a full 10 MG battery for standard armament.

The design was not used for further work.

The M.22 will be powered by two Rolls-Royce "Griffin" inline-piston engines nested in a streamlined nacelle on the leading edge of each wing. The main-wing aircraft is roughly oval in shape (similar to the Supermarine Spitfire) and has an engine and cockpit.

The cockpit is centered on the intermediate mass of the main aircraft, with a streamlined canopy integrated into the circular fuselage assembly. The fuselage terminates at the extreme stern, using a traditional twin rudder fin arrangement (in earlier drawings the vertical fins curve gracefully out of the common end of the horizontal plane, while the later M. 22 shape uses a more traditional design three flat shape with vertical fins mounted on the teardrop fairing).

Ground walking would involve a "trail" configuration, with the single-wheel main legs retracting into each engine nacelle and the tail wheel pulling up the tail.

In addition, the aircraft will be constructed primarily of wood to save a critical wartime resource and retain metal for the spars and other critical components.

To complete the design, the engineers developed a plan for a "gun nest" to accommodate all of their M. 22's fixed forward-firing weapons. This would be no less than 10 x .303 caliber (7.7mm) Browning air-cooled machine guns concentrated on the leading edge of the main aircraft, just forward of the cockpit, giving the fighter considerable frontal firepower against the day's any target.

While the M. 22 was never built or flown, it is estimated to have a top speed of 504 mph (15,000 ft), a service ceiling near 37,000 ft (requiring cockpit pressure), and - an ascent rate of approximately 15,000 feet per hour 5,200 feet in minutes. Dimensions include a barrel length of 33 feet and a wingspan of 39 feet (smaller than the classic de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito heavy fighter).

Power comes from 2 1,600 hp Rolls-Royce Griffon engines, each driving a three-bladed propeller unit in a "tractor" (tractor) fashion.

By comparison, the Spitfire Mk. VB fighter has a top speed of 370 mph, a service ceiling of 36,500 ft, and a RoC of 2,600 ft/min. Armament up to 8 x .303 machine guns, 4 x 20mm autocannons, or a mix of machine guns and cannons via the "variable wing" approach.

Despite the M.22's performance estimates and futuristic appearance similar to a racer, the M.22's design (at least on paper) immediately ran into problems, mainly affecting the pilot's visibility outside the cockpit, especially in the during takeoff and landing. One solution considered is to raise the pilot's seat by up to 12 inches and open the canopy for critical ground movements.

Also, for a fighter above 800km/h, the choice of machine guns is interesting, especially as machine guns become standard in the RAF and elsewhere, providing better strike power at range and expected speed.

The late 1940 updated, revised "M. 22A" was a firearm, Merlin-powered, offshoot proposal of the earlier M. 22, with more general features and arranged according to the F. 18/40 specification. This aircraft is described elsewhere on this website.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes