Invisible Themepark

Tag: 1950s

  • French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956

    French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956

    Where’s the pilot?  Well, maybe it’s not a plane.  Maybe it’s a missile of some sort.  But then, where’s the warhead?

    You’re looking at a G.H. Davis cutaway drawing, 1956, of a Leduc 021 ramjet aircraft.  No pilot, no warhead.

    The Leduc 021 was carried up by a Languedoc airliner, Space Shuttle-style, and then released.  The Leduc’s maximum ceiling was 65,000.

    The reason for this unusual launch was because the Leduc used a ramjet instead of a rotary compresser (like you see on passenger jets) to force (i.e., ram) the much-needed air into the engine.  The jet had to build up a certain minimum airspeed in order for the jet to fire.

    Click to Enlarge to 894 x 755 px:

    French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956
    French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956
  • French Baroudeur SE 5000 Fighter Jet Cutaway, 1956

    French Baroudeur SE 5000 Fighter Jet Cutaway, 1956

    A nice G.H. Davis cutaway (note “France” added just above his signature) of a French Baroudeur SE-5000.

    See the landing gear on the Baroudeur?  No?  That’s because the Baroudeur (roughly translated to “adventurer”) is leaving its landing gear behind on the ground.  That’s right, the SE-5000 carried no gear, instead relying on a wheeled trolley to assist its takeoff.  It landed on grassy fields on skids.  This cutaway drawing shows the skids retracted.

    Developed for NATO, this lightweight fighter, with a range of 1,500 miles, never entered production.

    Enlarge to 1560 x 712 px:

    French Baroudeur SE 5000 Fighter Jet 1956
    French Baroudeur SE 5000 Fighter Jet 1956

    Source:  Popular Mechanics May 1956

  • Lark Ground-to-Air Guided Missile Cutaway, 1950

    Lark Ground-to-Air Guided Missile Cutaway, 1950

    Even though development of the Lark began during World War II, it was not finished in time to assist U.S. troops.  Development picked up again during 1946-1950, and it was used mainly for testing at sea.

    The real soul of the Lark was in its “brain”:  a set of guidance controls (shown on the cutaway), which made this 1,200 pound missile the “first U.S. surface-to-air missile ever to intercept a moving air target,” according to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

    Click to Enlarge to 1088 x 721 px:

    Lark Ground to Air Guided Missile 1950
    Lark Ground to Air Guided Missile 1950
  • White House Cutaway Drawing, 1950

    White House Cutaway Drawing, 1950

    The occasion for this cutaway of the White House was its $5.4 million, 2 year-long renovation project under President Harry Truman.

    By 1950, the White House was a wreck:  saggy floors, weakened beams, crumbling masonry.  The project gutted the entire inside of the house, replacing it with steel girders, but leaving the outside intact.

    Click to Enlarge to 1300 x 748 px:

    White House Cutaway Drawing 1950
    White House Cutaway Drawing 1950

    Source:  Popular Science September 1950

  • DeHavilland Comet Cutaway, 1950

    DeHavilland Comet Cutaway, 1950

    The Comet was quite a big deal when it was unveiled in 1950.  Both Popular Mechanics (Popular Mechanics’ deHavilland Comet Cutaway) and Popular Science pulled out all “cutaway stops” to feature this luxurious liner of the skies.

    Here, illustrator Jo Kotula tips the Comet to an angle rarely seen in aircraft cutaways.

    Source:  Popular Science May 1950