New R.A.F. Types

ALTHOUGH the Defiant is scarcely a new aeroplane, it makes an interesting comparison with the Rolls‐Royce Merlin single‐engined types already illustrated in this series. It is a conventional all‐metal mono‐plane of stressed‐skin construction. The rather curious plan of the main plane, with its double taper, represents a compromise between the acrodynamically perfect ellipse and the easily‐produced straight taper and the reason for it is explained in the accompanying article.