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SUPERIUARINEATTACKER,SWIFTNDSCIMITAR

PHILIP BIRTTES

Postwar Military Aircraft: 7

SupermarineAttacker, Swiftand Scimitar

PHILIP BIRTLES

The name of Supermarine is universallyassociated with the Spitfire, an aircraft whichhelped to defeat the Luftwaffe during theBattle of Britain; the company's fundamentalrole in the development of Britain's military jet

arrcraft is less well known. Although now over-shadowed by the success of the HawkerHunter and of the BAC Lightning, the Super-marine Attacker, Swift and Scimitar wereamongst the most influential of Britain's post-war military aircraft.

The Attacker, first flown in 1946, was thefirst jet fighter to be standardised on forsquadron service with the Fleet Air Arm' TheAttacker was followed by the Swift. The first ofthis type of jet interceptor flew in 1951 andwas introduced to squadron service in Febru-ary 1954; it thus gained the distinction of beingthe first swept-wing jet fighter to enter servicewith the Royal Air Force, beating the HawkerHunter by several months. The teething prob-lems apparent with the Swift, however,ensured that it was the Hunter that was to go

on to great success. Further success was tocome to the Supermarine company with theScimitar. Again destined for the Fleet Air Arm,the Scimitar holds the distinction of being thefirst swept-wing single-seat jet fighter in ser-vice wiih the FM as well as being the first FAAaircraft to be equipped to carry atomicweapons.

ln the latest of the popular 'Postwar MilitaryAircraft' series, Philip Bidles narrates the oftendramatic history of these influential, but nowunfairly ignored, aircraft. Forty years after theevent the book will enable the aviation his-torian to appreciate better the importance ofSupermarine's role in the development ofBritain's military jet aircraft.

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SUPERNNTRINEATTACKER, SWIFTAND SCIMITAR

Publisbing

Contents

For*-orrl

lntrcduction

l. Vickers Supermarine

2. AttackerDevelopment

3. Attacker in Service

4. Swept Wing Development - The Type 510to the 545

RAF Service With the Swift

Twin-Engine Developments

The Scimitar

Flying the Supermarine Jets -Test Flying Impressions by David Morgan

Future Projects

First published 1992

rsBN 0 71 10 2034 5

All rights reserved. No part of thisbook may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording or by any informationstorage and retrieval system,without permission from thePublisher in writing.

O lan Allan Ltd 1992

Published by lan Allan Ltd,Shepperton, Surrey; and printedby lan Allan Printing Ltd at theirworks at Coombelands inRunnymede, England

Line drawings byM. A. lTonyl Burns.

Front cover:A trio of FAA SupermarineAttackers in tormation,

Rear cover top:Swift FRS XD953:F of ilo 79Squadron, RAF Germany. MoD

Rear cover bottom:Scimitar F1, XD264t154N ot8o3 Squadron, aboard HMSVictorious.RAF Museum/Cyril Peach

Previous page:

Swift FR5 on a production testflight. M. J. F. Bowyer

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Appendices

I. Attacker Specifications, Production and Service

II. Swift Specifications. Production and Service

III. Scimitar Specifications, Production and Service

IV. Surviving Supemarine Jet Fighters

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Foreword

This book is about three jet fighters of the fifties; a

decade unique in the history of aeronautical develop-nent when the rate of change was faster than it had:rer bccn bclbre or hrs been since.

In the 1950s the SBAC Show at Farnborough rvas;o ilflllurl event and was opened to the public fbr the:rr:t time. They were rewarded every year with a dis-riav of new typcs of aircrali and engines in 'flying tcst:eds'. Until the Royal Ail Force Aerobatic Team was:r'iormed there was no service participation; the Indus-:r had quite enough to make a great show and it was.ll British.

This was the time when the latest prototypes took:,rn in air races, when records 1br absolute speed and.riitude wele established, also closed circuit and inter::ir records. In the early filties the potential seemed

-:rlimited but if the decade started with a roar it ended.,":th a rvhimper alter the Government White Paper onJ:tence \n 1957 ploclaimed thc end of development: '\lanned Fighter Aircraft'.

-\11 this was around 40 years ago and, as anyone.,. no has tried to preserve records will tell you. the pas-.i_{e of tinle and the passing of people involved makes::: task difficult and often thankless, which is surpris-r: in view of the great interest therc is in historical as..:ll as contemporary aviation. So books like this one

-:.- important because they prescrvc the records as

..:il as making it easier to study them.Philip Birtles has assembled a substantial quantity

: Jctail and has presented it vcry clearly. You will::rl u 9r'ett deal about these three aircraft and the

::,i:ot\pes from which they were developed. You will- -,. read about the aircraft which might have fbllowed::'::r had lhcse projects not been cancelled. Perhaps

.. .r riill reflect on what it meant to the futurc of the.---r.i11 und the flying services.

Thc' fighter vcrsion of the Swifi was also cancellcd

-:: hranded a failure. This was more a matter of polit-:.. crpediency than technical fact because even thei i.as a great advance on what was in servicc. lt was-: r-\cnts of the day liom which the Swift suff-ered. It:. ioo late fbr the Kolean War and it was the first of- r:nd to reach the service; everybody was lcarning.

l.-.r' rtandard of the fighter pilots wanted was manifest- :hc North American F-86, the Sabre. This was-:r'r'd thc Spitfirc of the early fifties and like the!:.:iire had some unusual handling qualitics which

pikrts were prepared to put up with because of its out-standing perfbrmance and manoeuvrability. They alsoliked the cockpit systems and thc enginecrs liked theease of maintcnance. However, it must be said, that allthcsc f'eatures benefited lrom not having to cornplywith British technical lcquiremcnts.

Politics began to play an increasingly important partin the developmcnt of aircraft during the fifiics. Dur-ing the sixties thc Govcrnment of the day succecded incancelling the most significant military project everyundertakcn in Britain. the TSR2. in order to release

funds for the Party programme. This book is not aboutpolitics - it would be much thicker if it was - but letme mcntion two points which link the beginning andthe end of thc story and, perhaps, show us what mighthave becn.

In the first chapter we read about the Spitfire:'Mitchell's aim was to produce the most compact and

cleanest design around the Rolls-Royce engine and a

pilot, rvhile retaining the armament of the eightmachine guns'.

And in the final chapter, about the submission toGOR 339 (which becarne TSR2): 'The SupermalineDesign team tavoured the lower weight, singleengined project. Their reasoning was that powerplantunrcliability was more likely to be caused by ancillar-ies rather than the basic engine and by providingduplication of the engine systems a great deal could besaved in terms of cost of dcveloping and operating theaircraft'.

It was the brilliant submission of the Supermarineteam which got Vickcrs chosen to partner EnglishElectric in the development of TSR2. The customerdecided to have two cngines. The last ol the linewhich can be traced back through the aircraftdcscribed in this book to the Spitfire and the SchneiderTrophy winners can be seen at Duxford where it has

been beautifully restored by the Imperial WarMuseum. When you look at it remember that had itnot been cancelled 25 years ago, Tornado pilots oftoday could be flying an aircraft their fathers had

flown; and they would find it had all the capability ofwhat they fly now, and then some.

David MorganBuckfastleigh

December l99I

Introduction

The story of the Supermarine jet fighters appeared tobe a much neglected subject as far as recording theirhistory and development was concerned. This mayhave been due to the poor performance of the earlySwifts, which was more than made up lor by the latermarks. During the research and development of theseaircraft, a considerable pioneering spirit becameapparent, pushing forward the unknown boundaries oftransonic flight research within a low budget andachieving eventually a high degree of success in termsof reliability and performance. It was unfortunate thatlarger numbers were not required to make the pro-grammes more profi table.

In compiling this book I should like to thank DavidMorgan fbr his firsthand knowledge of the test flyingand much of the significant design activity. For photo-graphic selections, I would like to thank MichaelBowyer, John Rawlings, Mike Gradidge, MauriceMarsh, Tom Crossett and Alan Fisher for searchingthrough their photo collections to give a broad cover-age of pleviously unpublished pictures. Also, I wouldlike to thank Andrew Renwick of the RAF Museum,David Richardson ol the FAA Museum and BrianWexham of Vickers Plc for assistance in obtaininosome of the ofTicial photographs from their archives.

Finally, I should like to thank Tyler Parris and mywife, Martha, for their major contributions in puttingmy handwritten script into the word processor.

Philip J. BirtlesStevenage, May" l99I

Right:

No 8OO lBl Squadron Scimitar Fl, XD32{:ll6lE, ispictured flying from Lossiemouth in August 1965.J. D. R. Rawlings

6

1

Vickers Supermarine

Undoubtedly best known fbr the fine World War 2Spitfire, Supermarine had a long pioneering historyfrom the earliest days of aviation, right through to thejet age with all the challenges of breaking the soundbarrier.

It was in October 1913 that Noel PembertonBilling registered the name Supermarine as his tele-graphic address, the aim being to build a flying boat.His start in aviation was in 1904 when he built a man-lifting glider and he gained his Royal Aero Club Cer-tificate as a qualified pilot in 1912.

His first design was the Supermarine PB I flyingboat with a single tractor engine mounted betweenbiplane wings on a cigar shaped hull. Despite theadvanced concept of the design, it failed to fly.

The company was lormally registered on 27 June1914 with its factory next to the Woolston Ferry onthe River Itchen at Southampton.

At the outbreak o1' World War 1. PembertonBilling decided to produce a single-seat fighter whichwas designed and built in the incredibly short time ofnine days, officially known as the PB9. The speed of

production was assisted by the purchase of an existingset of wings, and attaching them to a braced morticeand tenon-jointed fuselage which could be made byany competent cabinet maker, to give rapid produc-tion. This aircraft flew successfully on 12 August1914, but was not ordered into production.

Towards the end of 1916 the organisation wasnamed The Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd, withHubert Scott-Paine as the managing director. Also in1916, Reginald Mitchell joined the company, later robecome the designer of the Schneider Trophy winnersand the immortal Spitfire. The major duties duringWorld War I were aircraft repair and experimentalwork for the Admiralty, and the design of single-seatpusher propeller scout aircraft. Supermarine's mostsuccessful aircraft of World War I was the N 1B Baby,

Below:The advanced-looking Pembedon Billing PBI flyingboat exhibited at the 1914 Olympia Aero Show.Unfortunately it failed to tly! yickers

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Below:The rather unattractiye PB3IE ilight Hawk, 1388,designed to detend Britain against the Zeppelins.RAF Museum

Bottom:Pemberton Billing's mo6t successful aircraft of WorldWar I was the illb Baby 1159. RAF Museum

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a pusher flying-boat, but the war ended before it was

able to enter service.In the difficult years of economic hardship follow-

ing the postwar slump in aviation in 1919, Superma-rine produced a new three-passenger commercial fly-ing boat known as the Channel Type, which was soldin South and Central America, Norway, Japan andBritain.

The company then began to evolve its expertise infour diflerent areas of aircrafi development. Thesewere basic single-engined amphibians; larget' passen-

ger-carrying flying-boats; Schneider Trophy mono-plane racing seaplanes; and finally single-seat, single-engined fighters culminating in the Spitfire.

Designs of the general purpose single-enginedamphibians started with the Seagull ol the 1920s andfinished with thc advanced variable incidence wingSeagull air/sea rescue aircraft of 1948. The classic fly-ing boats started with the twin-engined Southamptonof 1925 and ended with the Stranraer of 1936. TheSchneider Trophy experience commenced as early as

l0

-r lait;Tha Air Yacilt, G.AAgtr, vJas Supcilmarine's first rnuiti.:ngincal F:ono[:!rnc, cr{jcrcd a5 a lju]luFy trrnapGri t]y':irc I'lori A, E, Cuinilcs3. [)/\i'i\,;Lt,::t]ri,

',r,,t,i,Sreguln Vs for ihc nf"\Ai: r,v.rc .in.!iXar !c thc ciasslc,'l:lrus usc.! Lv;clcly for a!r/:lca rcscue and'rcorintjssancc duircs lry lhc l:]A[r. l:/\i:i.:tt :Jrii

. ::tii l::it::irc ultiinxato Surpcrmarinc fiyinJ bcat r?es t['io Scsglui!.a,S A 1 adua.rcc.l f, do.'{ r'econ nalslance a n:ph ltrian. Only:ro protchTpes trcro cornplctc.l and t)AX47 toJJS th.l: lcond, W'lliar.

lcsigncci by [t, .J. Fdiicl']cl!, ilic Scrltinermpioll v,ras tlro',rst of tlre larEci scrics cf Sii]rcrmarino flying baats,Southamip"{oei !, S'fl043, hcC a La'c3{.len hull amcl r.Jas:curcreci lry a pa!r* o'f F{a$r!3r Llori engirbes, l)t\F lLi\:::rtni

Southannpton lV, S{948, became the prototype Scapa,3c\ver€d by a pair of Rclls-$loyce Ksstrel enginss, andr;as of a!l-rretal €onstfi,lction. l/i./(ei"s

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Above:The Stranraer was Supermarine's last twin-enginedflying boat. Vickers

l9l9 when the Sea Lion I single-engined pusherbiplane flying boat was entcred. but the monoplaneracing seaplanes did not participate in the cornpetitionuntil after 1925. This series of major intcrnationalcompetitions was fbught over primarily by Britain. theUSA and Italy as well as a numbcr ol othcr nations.Britain eventually became the outright winner in 193 I

with the Supermarine 568 by winning over three con-sccutive years.

The designer of these high perfbrmance singlc-engined scaplanes was Reginald Mitchell, building upexpericnce tiom which he eventually created the Spitfire. In the early years, Supermarine had sponsorcd itsown cntry in the Schneider Trophy, but in 1927 theBritish Covernment supportcd thc cvent by orderingseven special high-speed racing seaplanes fbr theRAF's High Speed Flight. Three of these were Super-

marine S5s, one of them winning the trophy that yearat an average spccd of 28 l.65mph.

Latc in 1928. Vickers (Aviation) Ltd acquired theSupermarine Aviation Works, bccolning VickersSupermarine Ltd. In 1929 Rolls-Royce dcveloped thenew 'R' engine which achieved l,900hp; Mitchellincorporated it into the S-5 development known as the56. In 1929 the 56 beat the Italian entry in the Schnei-der contest at a speed of 328.63mph.

If Britain rvon the I 93 I Schneider Trophy race, thetrophy would be theirs to kecp outright. However, thegovernment unaccountably withdrew its supporl.Supermarine was unablc to provide the finance but, atthc clcventh hour, Lady Houston stepped into thearena and offered the considerable sum of f100.000 tocover the costs of building a new aircraft and entcring

Below:Amongst a number of single-engined amphibians, theSea Lion lll, l{170, was flown in the 1923 SchneiderTrophy race at Cowes. RAF Museum

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Right:Supermarine 55, N22O, uras the second of threeSchneider Trophy racers sponsored by the AirMinistry for the 1927 event, powered by a Napier Lionengine. lt was flown by Flt Lt S. N. Webster to tirstplace at an average speed of 281.65mph. yickers

., British team. With only six rnonths to go. the Super-::rlrine 568 powered by an improved Rolls-Royce;neinc devcloping 2.300hp fbr a short pcriod. was.upplied. In the event the Italians, who were the main:hallcnsc, wcrc unable to participate. allowing Britain:,, fly the course solo at an avcrage specd of-:10.08rnph to retain the Trophy fbl all time. Later theS68 achieved a new world speed record of407.5mph.

During this period, flying boat development had- jntinued, including thc adoption by the RAF of theSr.rpa.

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::a.e:For the I 929 Schneider Trophy race Supermarineproduced the 56, similar to the 55, but of all-metal:€nstruction. lt was also powered by the new Rolls-Royce R engine. N247 al Woolston was the first oftwo ordered by the Air Minlstry. This aircraft wastlown to victory against the ltalians by Flg Off H. R. D,Waghorn at a speed of 328.63mph. yickers

T}te ultimate Supermarine Schneider Trophy designwas the 568, 51595, sponsored by Lady Houston,virich was flown to victory in 1931 by Flt Lt J. il.Boothman, winning the Trophy outright for Britain.. :. i,fuseum

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13

The roots of the Spitfire began in 1934 with a fairlybasic single-seat aircraft to an unimaginative Specifi-cation F.7/30. Powered by a steam-cooled Goshawkengine, top speed was only 228mph, additional dragbeing generated by the fixed faired undercarriage.Supermarine therefore set out to design its own privateventure fighter which - combined with the availabilityof the Rolls-Royce PV12 engine expected to develop1,000hp, and the new Air Ministry SpecificationF.5/34 calling for an eight-gun fighter - resulted in theworld-beating Spitfire. Mitchell's aim was to producethe most compact and cleanest design around theRolls-Royce engine and a pilot, while retaining an

armament of eight machine guns in the wings. Thewing was a totally new elliptical planform with a thinsection giving a fast, deadly, but docile combat air-craft. The main disadvantage of this classic wing wasthe difficulty of production.

Construction of the prototype proceeded rapidly at

Eastleigh Airport near Southampton, and the aircraft is

reported to have made its first flight in the hands ofMutt Summers on 5 March 1936. Having conceivedthis remarkable aircraft, its creator, Reginald Mitchell

t4

Top:

The Supermarine F7l3O lype 224 prototype, K289O,whach was completely redesigned by Mitchell tobecome the Spitfire, RAF Museum

Above:Spitfire prototype, K5O54, at Eastleigh, the first ofover 22,OOO Spitfires running to 33 different versions.RAF Museum

died of cancer the fbllowing year at the age of 42. Theresponsibility as chief designer was taken over by Joe

Smith, who led the Supermarine design team through-out World War 2 and into the jet age with a wholerange of Spitfire developments. The Spitfire was theonly combat aircraft to be in production from thebeginning to the end of World War 2, although its pro-gressive development led to many changes, giving theaircraft only a superlicial resemblance to its prewarorigins. One of the major changes was the substitutionof the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine for the Merlin at

about halfway through its operational life. The cockpitcanopy was also changed to the bubble type toimprove all-round visibility.

: aave:Early Spitfire developments in the Hursley Parkerperimental hangar. Yickers

-:--i.The splendid Hursley Park design and administrativecifices used by Supermarine after enemy action hadiriven them from Woolston. Vickers

j: : .',:Spitfire Mk VBs in production at Castle Bromwich.

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The Spitfire entered servicc with No l9 Squadronat Duxfbrd in 1938 and in 1939 production was build-ing up not only at the home factory, but also at a newshadow tactory at Castle Bromwich near Birrningham.Spitfire Is and IIs played a major part in the Battle ofBritain alongside the numerically sr.rperior HawkerHumicanes. The experience of trying to destroy thearmour protected German aircraft, r'esulted in lour ofthe Spitfirc machinc guns bcing replaced by a pair olthe more destructive 20nrm cannons.

The Superrnarine Woolston Works rvere bombed inSeptember 1940 resulting in thc dcsign team and head-quarters stafl moving to Hursley Park. a country housencar Winchester, where they remaincd into the jet agc.Production rvas also widely dispersed. rcaching over60 sites by 19.14.

As r.vell as being a day fishter. unarrred Spitfircsrverc used fbr photo reconnaissance. Sonte had thewingtips clipped f or bettel lorv-lcvcl perfbrrnrncc.rl'hilc othcrs had thcrr extended and a prcssulc cabinwas addcd fbr high altitr.rdc interccptions. Follorvingthe cxpcricncc ol the Blttle of Britain. the SpitfircMk V rvas procluced. but onc ol' the nrost succcssfulversions \\,as the Mk IX porvclcd by lt two-stasesLrpcrchalgcd !lcrlin (rI cngine. This gar,c a top speedof .just ovcr'-100nrph. Thc Spitlirc Mk XII was thc I'irstto be pou,crcci by the 2.t)t)0hp Glilfirn cngine. butothcr variants still appcarccl rvith the \,lerlin cnsine.Thc llk XIX rvas thc major Gril'1bn-no.,r,eled photoreconnaissAncc Spitlire. three ol rvhich urc presencriin i'l1ing conr-iition rvith ihe Battle ol Britain McntolialFlight.-fhc \{k 11.22 and 24 \\'erc the ultirnatc vcr-sions ol'thc Spitlirc. porvered by thc ?.050hp Gritfbncnginc. lcaturirr-u lar-slcr. stl'ongel rvings and in sontecascs contl'a-r'otating airscrcrvs. 'fhc Seafire wasclcr,clopc-d firr thc Flcct Air Alm. but thc closelyplacecl relativell' flagilc undcrcart'iage was not idealfor clcck opcmtiorls.

Fxrn 1936 to 194-5 the Spitfire's top spccd hadincrerscrl fionr 35Onrph to 450rnph. blinging thc air-cralt close to the comprcssibility problcrns ol' tran-sonic f'light associatcd rvith the jet a-ee pionccrs. Atotal ol 20.351 Spitfircs wcrc built. in addition to2.40E Sealires lbr the Fleet Air Arrn.

Supcrrnarine was now on the threshold of thc .jctage. u'ith all the challenges and unknoi.l'ns rvhich thatrvas to brinu.

Left:The classic Spitfire: Mk ll P735O was restored for thefilm Batt e of Britain and is now a part of the RAFrsBattle of Britain Memorial Flight. P. J. Birtles

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Top:Later versions of the Spitfire had the Merlin enginereplaced by the more powerful Rolla-Royce Griffon.PRXIX PSA53 now seryes with the Battle of BritainMemorlal FIight, P. J. Biftles

Above:Two-seat Spitfire Mk Vlll' G-AlDl{r was named after R.J. Mitchel! and attended an air day at South Marstonin June 1967. P. J. Biftles

Left:The Seafare XV powered by a Griffon engine was a

navalised veFion of the Spittire FXll for operationswith the Fleet Air Arm. Yickers

l8

Attacker Development

Supermarine had taken the development of piston-:nsined aircraft to the extreme with the ultimate Spit-:ire developments, known as the Spiteful lor the RAF.rnd the Seatang for the Fleet Air Arm. The majorjerclopment with these aircraft was to design a lami-:ar flow wing f'eaturing a whole new aerodynamicrrollle with the greatest thickness located further aft of:re section than the conventional wings then in use.

However, it was found in practice that the smooth-:css of the skin was critical, and that minute irregular-::ies. surface roughness or even dead f'lies stuck to the..rrtace, could destroy much of the improvement in:rag characteristics.

Supcrmarine wrote its own Specilication 470 to:.rrer the design of the laminar flow wing, allocatingTlpc No 37 l, which was eventually adopted to cover:.re complete Spiteful aircratt. The object of the speci-:l;ation was threefold: to produce a wing design to:risc as much as possible the critical speed at which:re increase of drag became serious due to a phe-rrrrr€rlor known as compressibility, on reaching the-:--cd of sound; to obtain a higher rate of roll than any:risting fighter; and to improve perfbrmance by::Cucing the profile drag.

Extensive assistance was received fiom the\rtional Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the develop-::ent of the most suitablc wing section, which was to.-hieve laminar'flow as tar back on the wing as poss-:rle. where interference from slipstream or projection:.jch as gun barrels would be avoided. The maximum

thickness was at about 427a of the chord with an

aileron reversal speed of 850mph being aimed for. Thefamiliar Spitfire wing shape was abandoned for a

straight tapered leading and trailing edge design toease production, with conventional two-spar construc-tion. Wing area was reduced by 38.5sq ft to 210, andthe weight was 2001b lighter than the wing on the Spit-fire Mk 21. A gain in speed of some 55mph was esti-mated.

The Spiteful was notable fbr the high level of windtunnel testing made by the RAE and NPL, much ofthis work concentrated on the wing perfbrmance. Testsup to Mach 0.82 included diff-erent wing setting andthe evolution of perfectly smooth wing surface, evento the extent of considering a complete compositewing well ahead of its time.

Flighr rrials of rhe Spiteful highlighted a number ofunsatisfactory features, such as aileron snatching,wing drop just prior to the stall and a pronounced f'lickat the stall under high gravity loadings, or'g'. It soonbecame apparent that the Spiteful did not offer anysignificant advantages over the later Spitfires. but thenew wing development appeared promising. The batch

Below:

The naval version of the Spiteful was the Seafangfeaturing a new fuselage and fitted with a laminarflow wing, later to be used on the Attacker.RAF Museum

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SPITEFUL

of 17 Spitefuls completed were therelore allocated to

the improvement of the laminar flow wing in prepara-

tion for its use in a jerpropelled application. In these

trials a level speed of 494mph was achieved, but the

boosted Rolls-Royce Griffon engine suffered from the

extreme treatment.With the Spiteful failing to gain a service entry,

Supermarine then looked at a naval developmentknown as the Seafang. This aircraft featured the same

basic wing, but with folding tips to allow storage

aboard ship. This combination handled very well indeck trials and simulated landings at the test airfield ofChilbolton and RNAS Ford. Two Seafang prototypeswere built, and l0 production aircraft out of an orderfor 150, before cancellation of the programme.

However, despite their cancellation, these twotypes contributed a considerable amount to transonicresearch leading neatly into the jet age.

A week before the lirst flight of the prototypeSpiteful on 30 June 1944, Supermarine started the

drawing for a jet propelled aircraft to the official spec-

ification 8.10144, the initial outline design being sub-

mitted to the Ministry of Aircraft Production as Super-

marine Specificalion 477 only a week later.

With official approval, Rolls-Royce had started the

design of a large jet engine in March 1944 with twicethe thrust of existing turbojets available, including the

Derwent engines for the Gloster Meteor. The new

engine, designated the RB40, was to be capable of

20

developing over 4,0001b static thrust, and it was thrs

engine which Supermarine was asked to consider in its

submission for 8.10144, making use of its laminarflow wing experience. However, Joe Smith, Superma-

rine Chief Designer, preferred a srnaller engine and

the turbojet was reduced in size to develop an antici-pated 3,0001b thrust, re-designated the RB4l and

eventually became the Nene as palt of the family ofRolls-Royce jet engines named after British rivers.

The Supermarine design submitted f'eatured a new

fuselage containing the Nene engine, a forward-mounted pressurised cockpit, and the Type 371 lami-nar flow wings with additional fuel tanks replacingradiators. Fuel capacity was increased to 395gal and

the four 20mm wing-mounted cannon armament was

retained. Supermarine allocated Type No 392 to whatwas eventually to become the Attacker.

Initial flight trials of the RB4l engine were disap-

pointing, but with minor modification the engine

exceeded its original estimates, achieving 4,5001b

thrust.Following studies by the Ministry of Aircraft Pro-

duction, it was realised that any problems with the

laminar flow wings would be solved with the Spitefulprotoiypes. Supermarine was advised that three proto-

types of the new jet aircraft would be required, and the

order was placed on 5 August for three 'Jet machines

of the Spiteful type', allocated identities TS409, 413'

416. The second and third aircraft were to have provi-

rs!

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v

Left:The first navalised Attacker, TS4l3, is pictured hereon HMS lltustrious for deck trials in October 1947.Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Museum

sion fbr naval opcralions. After ollicial inspection ofthe partly completed mock-up, the first drali specifica-tion E. l0/44 was issued, rnatching csscntially theSupermarine Type 477.

Despitc thc carly loss of the first Spitclirl prototypeand some problems with low speed characteristics, theMinistry supported the continuation ol'the programmcand Treasury approval was obtained fbr a prc-produc-tion batch of 24 aircrafi. Six of thcsc aircraft werc tothe original E.l0l44 specification and the remainingl8 were to a new E. l/.1-5 naval requiremcnt, the con-tract being issued on 2l Novcmber 1945.

Due to the handling diftlculties rvith the Spiteful.t)rst flight of the E.l0/44 was delayed. and so in

Left:l{avalised Attacker prototype, TS413, is seen on finalapproach to HMS lllustrious during deck trials inOctober 1947. RAF Museum

Below:The first prototype Attacker, TS4O9, probably at HighPost before transfer to the more suitable airfield atChilbolton. FAA Museum

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21

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February 1946 the Admiralty asked for work on the

naval version to be suspended, ordering l8 Sea Vam-pire F20s instead. The contract for the 24 pre-produc-tion aircraft was shelved for the time being, but workon the three prototypes was permitted to continue.

The aileron development caused major delays, withflight trials of the Spiteful revealing that the slottedaileron with geared balance tabs become too heavy at

speeds of more than 400mph. It was therefore decidedto reserve the second aircraft for development and

investigation of the handling characteristics. Thiswork at that time was on the threshold of knowledgeof the approach to the speed of sound.

Flight trials with the Attacker commenced at

Boscombe Down on 21 July with the maiden flight byJeffrey Quill, Supermarine's Chief Test Pilot. Notonly was the aircraft new, but it was the first to be

powered by the new Nene engine, and the first proto-type to be flight-tested from Boscombe Down. Initialflights were powered by Nene No 13 limited to12,000rpm giving 4,3001b thrust. Later, however, a

No 28 engine was fitted, raising the rpm to 12,440delivering a thrust of 5,0001b, a power level whichbecame standard for all production Nenes. Thisincreased power provided for TS409 raised the maxi-mum speed from 542 to 580mph. At 15,000ft the

speed was raised from 552 to 568mph.Following its initial flight trials at the A&AEE

Boscombe Down, the prototype E.10144 was displayed

22

at the first postwar SBAC Display at Radlett inSeptember 1946. h was the sccond prototype, TS4l3completed to naval specification E.l/45 with foldingwingtips, that acquired the type name Attacker F1. Itwas first flown on 17 June 1947 by Mike Lithgow and

different from the first prototype in a number ofdetails. The fin size was reduced, but the tailplane wasincreased in size; the flaps were modified and liftspoilers were fitted above the wing; balanced ailerontabs replaced spring tabs; the air intakes were modi-fied; extra fuel tanks were fitted aft; the main under-carriage legs were modified to absorb the increased

deck-landing loads and the pilot's safety wasimproved by the addition of a Martin-Baker ejectionseat.

The directional 'snaking' experienced when flyingthe first prototype was even more apparent from thefirst flight of the second prototype. occurring at allspeeds. The problem was corrected before the secondflight by fitting beading from the top of the rudder, tothe bottom of the tab. The aircraft safely achieved a

speed of 375kts at 20,000ft, equivalent to Mach 0.823,and development then concentrated on the operationand effect on handling of the lift spoilers.

A series of some 30 airfield dummy deck landings(ADDLs) were flown in preparation for deck landingtrials on HMS lllustriors, commencing on 28 October1947. These trials were shared by Mike Lithgow, LrCdr E. M. (Winkle) Brown of the RAE and Lt S. Orr

rf the A&AEE. Mike Lithgow's flight-test report con--idered that the average pilot should have no difficulty.r landing the Attacker, providing the correct pro-:edures were followed. The major problem encoun-::rcd was the shearing of the arrester hook from the\'-frame to which it was attached, during the prelimi-:.rr) trials. but this was corrected before the deck trials:-:emselves. Further trouble was experienced with the:,.'ok anangement during the trials causing a two-.,.cck break while further modifications were made.- ie tailwheel was considered unusual for a jet aircraft

-rd. although it was not an outstanding aircraft, it per-.rmed reasonably well in service as the Navy's firstrrrational jet fighter. Lt Orr lound a tendency for the

:.f.raft to float on approach, but the aerodynamic-:oilers proved to be etlicient enough.

A second series of sea trials were observed by-::lcers of the US Navy, one of whom commented on.:.e landing gear configuration. It was suggested that:.-.: tail-down approach gave a good aerodynamic::.rking effect. The tail down attitude was an advan-::e for the catapult launch where high wing incidence.. r\ required.

.\ proposal to use the prototype Attackers as engine':.t-beds was considered. In place of the 4,5001b-::.:ust Nene engine, the Attacker Mk 2 was proposed

-- TS.+09, powered by a 5,0001b-thrust de Havillandl:ost II as Specification 510. Further developments

under Specification 527 suggested the fitting of the6,0001b-thrust Rolls-Royce Avon or Tay engines.Other developments included the fining of a 270galventral fuel tank on TS413, but this prototype crashedkilling the A&AEE pilot, Lt T. J. A. King-Joyce RN,in June 1948.

With the loss of TS4l3, TS409 was brought up toNaval standard to undertake trials for the Attacker as a

Royal Naval fighter. In September 1948, the Admi-ralty placed a production order for 60 Attacker Mk 1s,

the plan being to deliver the complete batch by the endof March 195 l. To facilitate early deliveries to allowthe Fleet Air Arm to gain operational jet experience as

soon as possible, the need was to produce a stock air-craft with the minimum of changes. TS409 com-menced its naval development programme on 5 March1949 and within six weeks had made 22 generalhandling flights, with particular attention to elevatorand trim angles with various combinations of flap andspoiler settings.

Below:

The origanal Attacker prototype was later fitted with adorsal fin to avoid fin stall, and was present for theKing's Cup Air Race at Hatfield in 1951 in FAAcolours. M. J. F. Bowyer

23

Flight testing of the prototype continued in theevaluation of airbrake installation, the lack of whichhad been previously criticised. and to give naval pilotsADDL training in preparation fbr actual landings onHMS lllustriou.r. The airbrakes were fbund necessarydue to lack of deceleration of the streamlined jet air-craft without the advantage of propeller braking on theapproach to land.

Another problem encountered was the rudder lock-ing over under certain sideslip conditions, particularlywhen the central fuel tank was fitted. It was thought

this may have been the cause of the loss of TS4l3 aswell as production aircrafr WA47i, killing Superma-rine test pilot Peter Robarts. The cure was found to befitting of a dorsal fin which also improved directionalcontrol, and became a t'eature of the production air_craft.

The third prororype. TS4l6, joined the develop-ment programme with its maiden flight on 24 January1950. and was the tirst to be fined with a pressurecabin. This prototype f'eatured a number of refine-ments as a result of earlier experience, examples being

Y-

:!l!i :i..i!r!i!]Js/

:- :ired air intakes and the setting back of the wings-- --d 13in. However, such was the rush to put the- :.-'ker into service, the Mk ls were completed to.': :;rlier confi guration.

: iiLs also becoming apparent that the jet cnginc: alloq, aircrafi to achieve much higher speeds.i.r\ possible with propellcr aircralt. At the begin-'i 19,+8. jets started breaking thc various speed

-:!. the Me tcors achicving the absolute speed-:. putting it out of reach of the Attacker. The': also achieved 542mph in the l00km closed-: record. but when Mike Litheow reached around

Above:First production Attacker Fl, WA469, without theadditional dorsal fin, pictured during flight-testing atChilbolton. Ylckers

quent occasion when -570rnph was again achicved,only 20mph below the top speed in level flight.

Thc next month Mikc Lithgow flew the Attackerprototype to Paris at the invitation of the Frcnch AirForce and Navy. He had the unique opportunity to l1yalong the Champs-Elysces in Paris at as low an alti-tude as he wished, something that would never beallowed now. Alicr flying ovcr the Arc de Triomphe at600mph, thc return to Huln near Bournemouth wasmade in under 25 minutes.

In July 1950 the prototype TS409 was flown b1,

Mikc Lithgow to Sherburn-in-Elmet to takc part in theSBAC Challenge Cup at the National Air Races. The570mph over thc l00km co'.rrse was achieved on thisoccasion. winning thc tlophy for Mikc Lithgow. Evenbetter speeds were anticipated at the samc cvent atHatlield in June l9-5 l. but bad weather caused thecvcnt to be cancelled.

Various dcsign excrciscs werc looked at with theAttacker including a two-seat version, the fitting o1'

floats similal to the Spitlire installation and jet detlec-tion rvas considered as a means of reducing landingspccd. RATOG tests wcrc tricd to reduce take-ofT runwith eight rockets mounted in pairs above and beloweach rvrn-e.

'- -.:h in a practicc. Superrnarine was cncouragcd to.- : :hc record. The selected course ncar the Super--*- r test airfield at Chilbolton was otficially sur-: :: .ri 100.136km, and on 26 Fcbruarv 1948 thc.- -: \\a: raised to -564.88 lmph, despite poor visibil-

-. :hc' day of the attempt. Bcttcr visibility could'.- - .r-!-n a bettcr resull, as u,as shown on a subsc-

ri. tnird production Attacker Fi, later to serve withFrE Squadron, was shown at the 195O SBACa-nborough Air Show. M. J. F. Bowyer

lcacker FB2, WK338, at the SBAG display at:rnborough in 1952 with rocket proiectiles undertG rings, and rocket-assisted take-off above and

-rq the wing roots. J. M. G. Gradidge

25

The first Attacker, of a total of 181 to be built,WA469, was flown by Mike Lithgow on 5 April 1950,

18 months after the placing of the contract, to be fol-lowed soon after by R4000, the first for Pakistan, thesole export customer for the Attacker.

During a test flight on WA409, Les Colquhoun,one of the Supermarine test pilots, qualified for theaward of the George Medal. The purpose of the flighton 23 May 1950 was to assess high Mach numberbehaviour and the effectiveness of the dive brakes.Two dives were made up to 400kts with the divebrakes being operated. In a further dive over the

Supermarine production airfield at South Marston,near Swindon to 430kts, when the airbrakes were

opened there was a sudden nose-up trim change, fol-lowed by a sharp nose-down trim change. During thenose-up trim change there was a loud bang and the

starboard wingtip folded up into the vertical position.The aircraft momentarily dropped its starboard wing,but with application of full port rudder it was possible

to fly more or less straight and level. With speed

reduced to 270kts, it was decided to attempt a landing.With undercarriage down, a wide lefthand circuit wasflown using the rudder, since the folded wingtiplocked the ailerons solid. On the final approach, flapswere lowered and the speed was reduced to 2l0kts,but control became difficult as the speed decayed. Theairfield boundary was crossed at 200kts, followed by a

landing, the aircraft using all but l0yds of availablerunway. The port tyre burst in the last 100yds, causingthe aircraft to swing to the left, but no further damagewas sustained.

Deck landing proving trials continued usingTS413, and modifications embodied retrospectively onall aircraft included the new dorsal fin. flat sided ele-vators and lighter aileron controls. Structured provi-sion for a bomb-carying beam had already been buiitinto the design, making it relatively simple to complywith a Navy fighter-bomber requirement by adding thenecessary electrical wiring. The 55th productionAttacker, WA529, first flew on 7 January 1952 as thefirst of six FB 1 s.

The fighter-bomber role was further developed inthe FB2 which was powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene 7

engine, later designated Nene 102, improvementsincluding an electric stafter, a metal-framed cockpitcanopy, provision for six rockets in two tiers undereach wing and other refinements. The first AttackerFB2, WK3l9, flew on 25 April 1952, a total of 84being produced for the Fleet Air Arm.

Below:The export version of the Attacker, G-i5-llO' wasshown at Farnborough in 1951r fitted wath the ventralfuel tank and a range of warloads. J. D. R. Rawlings

26

3

Attacker in Servlce

'i nen the Attacker entered service with 800 Squadron

-: R\AS Ford on 22 August l95l it became rhe pre--:.:er jet squadron of the Fleet Air Arm, the aircraft,:':n,q the first jet fighter in frontline service with the

i.rral Navy. The aircraft were equipped with Martin-3,ker ejection seats, provisions for Rocket Assistedl;ie-off Gear (RATOG) and a bulbous ventral 250galr:.rp tank to inclease the endurance of the thirsty early:: engines. No 800 Squadron was equipped with a' :al of eight Attacker Fls, the commanding officer:ring Lt-Cdr George Baldwin, later an outspoken sup-:.,ner of the fixed wing Fleet Air Arm. On 4 March.'-il

the squadron embarked on HMS Eagle for a::ce-rveek training period, and then alternated:-r!\een For{ and HMS Eagle, apart from a brief:*riod at Hal Far in Malta in April 1954. In December.:-il the squadron strength was increased to 12 F1sr:en they received some of the complement of the

Xo 8OO Squadron, FAA, Attacker Fl, WA492, visitingSosth Marston a couple of months after the squadronvas formed at RilAS Ford. F. G. Swanborough

. int:Xo 8OO Squadron Attacker FB2, WK341, used RNASFord as its shore base, and went to sea on HMSEgle. J. D. R. Rawlings

short-lived 890 Squadron. HMS Eagle had been serv-ing both in home waters and the Mediterranean, but800 Squadron finally disbanded at Ford on 1 June1954, later reforming at Brawdy with Sea Hawks.

27

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Above:l{o 8oo Squadron, FAAS, Attackers are seen aboardHMS Eagre as she passes Southsea. FAA Museum

Left:Attacker Fi WA496; 1O1lJ ol 8OO Squadron aboardHMS Eagrre, FAA Museum

Below:Attacker FB2WK322; 1O2IJ oI 8OO Squadron inbarrier engagement on HMS Eagte, 4 March 1953.FAA Museum

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The second Attacker squadron was 803 at Ford onln \ovember l95l led by Lt-Cdr T. D. Handley, also- \erve a rotation between Ford and HMS Engle simi-:: to 800 Squadron. Like 800 Squadron, 803 also::;eired lour Attacker Fls when 890 Squadron dis--:nded. When 800 Squadron disbanded, 803 went on: rerve abroad the RN carriers Albion and Certaur:.:lore its disbandment on 4 November 1955.

.{s already mentioned 890 Squadron operatedlllackers, reforming at Ford on 30 January 1952, but- \\ as not until 22 April that it was commissioned-:tler the command of Lt-Cdr R. W. Kearsley who::':nained in charge until disbandment on 3 December-9-52. 11-t" reason for its short service was that the::.rin duty was to act as a pool to provide aircrafi and::,ots to the other two squadrons. In October 1952 the

-:it embarked on HMS Eagle where it disbanded two-:.inths later.

Top:ilo 8O3 Squadron FAA Attacker FB2, WP292, alsooperated off HMS Eagre when not shore-based atBilAS Ford. J. D. R. Rawlings

Above:No 89O Squadron, FA.A, Attacker FB2s at RNAS Fordin 1952. FAAMuseum

Before the Attacker passed from frontline service itwas able to participate in Her Majesty the Queen'sReview olthe Royal Navy at Spithead in 1953.

A number of secondline units also operated Attack-ers. The first was 787 Squadron, a trials unit formed atWest Raynham in January 195L The initial comman-der was LrCdr B. H. C. Nation, followed by Lt-CdrCampbell, and later Lt-Cdr S. G. On who had partici-

29

pated in the service trials of the aircrafi. There was a

detachment to St Davids in mid-1952 and thesquadron opemted all versions of the Attacker beforedisbanding on l6 January 1956.

No 703 Squadron fbrmed with Attacker Fls at' Ford in July and August alongside 800 Squadron, act-

ing as trials unit. It was aircraft of ?03 composite unit,which did the initial carrier trials on the new HMSEogle. By May 1953 the unit's duties included thetesting and calibration ol catapult and arrester gears

after carrier refits, as well as testing equipment devel-oped by the Salety Equipment School and Medical AirSchool, both at Gosport. AII versions of the Attacker

served with 703 Squadron until the final aircraft left inAugust 1955.

No ?02 Squadron received Attacker Fls at Cul-drose in March 1952 to undertake the conversion ofpiston engine-traineil pilots on to jet fighters. How-ever, on 26 August 1952 the unit was renumbered 738Squadron under a reorganisation of FAA trainingunits, and returned to Sea Fury training at the shore

base ol Lossiemouth.The major Anacker training unit was "736

Squadron, reformed at Culdrose on 26 August 1952,replacing 702 Squadron. It was known rs anAdvanced Jet Flying School and the comrnanding offi-

.-er \\"as LrCdr N. Perrett who transferred lrom 702Squadron. In addition to the single-seat Attackers, as

no two-seat training variant existed, Meteor T7s were:.rsed lor conversion training tbr jet techniques, partic-ularly the lower acceleration on rake-ofi and thereduced drag on landing. As part of the Naval AirFighter School, the unit moved to Lossiemouth in

Below:Attacker F9.2, WP282 of 787 Squadron - a trials uniibased at West Raynham - with underwing carriers forpractice bombs. M. P. Marsh

November 1953, where weather conditions were moresuitable fbr flying training. Attacker Fls and FB2swere used by 736 Squadron until replaced in August1954 by Sea Hawks, the Meteors being replaced byVampire T22s.

No 767 Squadron moved to RNAS Stretton on20 September 1952, where ii received Attackers inFebruary 1953. The duty of the squadron was to pro-vide training for deck landing control officers, flyingcontinual circuits and landings. With the introductionof the Mirror Landing Aid, 767 became the SignalOtflcers Training Squadron, but soon after the Anack-ers depaned.

#!i;ry

Above:Attacker FB,2W2277 with 7o3 Squadron, FAA.FAA Museum

No 700 Squadron refbrmed at RNAS Ford onl8 August 1955 as the Tlials and Requirements Unit,leplacing 703 and 771 Squadrons. Attacker FB2sserved li'om August 1955 until February 1956 as parto1'a wide collection of aircraft in current FAA servicc.

With the re-equipn.rent of thc fiontlinc FAAsquadrons rvith Sea Hawks. a numbel ol Attackerswerc surplus and put into store. However. the re-equipping of thc RNVR squadrons gave a new leasc o1

lif'e to thesc relatively sholt-lil'cspan aircrali. No 718Squadron was reformed at RNAS Stretton on 25 April195-5 to convcrt the RNVR pilots o1' l83l SquadronIrom propellel ailcral't. Aircrali used rvere AttackerFB2s rvith Vampirc T22s bcing used firr dual conver-sion, and the commanding ofilcer was Lt-Cclr W. C.

Cook. Thc squadron mo'n'ed to Honilcy in July 195-5 totrain the pilots o1' ltl33 Squadron. ciisbanding on3l Deccrrbcr I955 when its task was complctc.

As alrcady mentioned. the RNVR units u,crc allo-catcci Attackels. 183 I Squadlon at Strctton with seven

FB2s ancl Vampirc T22s in May 1955. The unit u,as

palt of the Nolthcln Air Division. having previouslvopcratcd Sea Furies, bLrt disbandrnent camc lirr all theRI-VR Squadr'ons on l0 l\{arch 1957 in the clelencccuts.

No 1832 Scluadron reccivccl thcir' filst jct cquip-n)cnt at RAF Bcnson in Juli' l9-55 u'ith thc f irst trvoVanrpire T22s lbllorvcd the next month by the f irst ol'eight Attackcr FB2s. By Novcr.nbcr thc Attackcrs had

nrovcd on and rverc leplaced by Sca Halvks thc nextJanuary. disbandnrent conring in Malch lcl-57. ThcAttackels usecl RAF Bcnson due to thc unsuitability o1'

nearbl' I{NAS Culhanr lbl jet f i-uhter opcrations. lncfl'cct thc aircrafi were opclatcd on a pooled basis rvith

32

1835 and 1836 Squadrons who were all part of theSouthern Air Division.

The flnal RNVR unit equipped with Attackers was1833 Squadron, based at Brarncote as part of the Mid-land Air Division. Seven Attacker FB2s arivcd inOctober 1955, necessitating a move to RAF Honilcywhere hard l'unways were available. When 1833

Squadron was disbanded in March ,l957, it was the

last flying unit at Honiley befbre closr.rre.Following thc disbandment of thc RNVR

Squadrons thc majority of the Attackers lefi in flyingcondition were lerried to RNAS Abbotsinch. nowGlasgow International Ailport. About 70 ailclali wereleccived and scrapping continued with completion bymid-1958. However. onc aircrali survived. WA437 as

a gate guardian at thc airficld. cventually finding itsway to the Flcct Air AIm Museunr at Yeovilton.

Support units allocated somc of'thc surplus Attack-ers wel'c the Flect Rcquircnrcnts Unit (FRU) at Hurn.which opened on I Septernber l9-52 and usecl Attack-els ll'om Octobcr l9-55 until February 1957. and Air-rvork which lbrmed at Brawcly on 5 January 19.50 and

operated Attackcrs at St Davids fl'clrr Decerrrbcr 1955

to Januarl' I 957.

Tap right:No 1832 (RNvRl Squadron operated Attacker FB2,WP2a9, at RAF Benson from August 1955.J. D. R. Rawlings

Centre right:

llo 1832 (R]{VRI Squadron was part of the SouthernAir Division operating Attacker FB2s, includingW2273, from RAF Benson. J. D. R. Rawlings

Bottom right:Attacker FB2, WK32O, of 1833 (RNYR) Squadronwhich tormed part of the Midland Air Division atHoniley. M. P. Marsh

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Top:Following the disbandment of the RNVR units inlllarch 1957, their aircraft, including the Attacker FB2WP3O2 of 1833 Squadron, were stored at RNASAbbotsinch pending their ultimate fate as scrap.M. J. F. Bowyer

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Above:Attacker FB1, WA53l, which served with the AirworkFRU at Brawdy and St Davids, ioined many otherAttackers in storage at Abbotsinch in 1958 beforebeinE scrapped. M. J. F. Bowyer

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Above:Attacker FBl, WA533, seen here been broken up atBramcote ln mid-l957, had served with 736 SquadronFA,/A, the advanced jet flying school at Lossiemouth.Woodward

Below:The first of six Attacker FBls, WA529 was used forfire practice at RI{AS Ford in June 1958.J. M. G. Gradidge

Above:The only expon sale of the Attacker was to Pakistan,R4O3l passed through Luqa, Malta, on delivery inJanuary 1953. B. C. B. Ashwofth

In the early part of 1950 it was decided to send anAttacker on a demonstration tour of the Middle East.

accompanied by a Vickers Valetta as a support air-craft. The air forces in question mostly operatcd obso-lete propeller-driven aircralt, but the jet aircraft waslimited in its appeal due to the high tirst cost, and sub-sequent running costs.

A customs departure was made irom Manston on19 May, the plan being to use as many as possible ofthe regular RAF facilities en-route. Nice was the firststop and then thc route went via North Alrica to Tuniswhere the first impromptu demo was hcld. The nextdestination was Cairo via Tripoli and EI Adem, theEgyptian Air Forcc being considered a possible cus-tomer. Beirut was the next port of call, reached by t'ly-ing at a saf'e distance off the Israeli coasl, but at thattime there were no jets or rnissiles to catch thcunwary, especially at a cruising speed of Mach 0.8.

The tour then continued to Damascus and Baghdadwhere rising sand over the f'eatureless desert was a

major hazard. Tehran was the most easterly point onthe tour where demonstrations were made to the Shahof Iran, who was almost tempted to fly the aircrafthimself.

On the return to Baghdad. one of the tuel tankssprung a leak and had to be sealed off on landing,reducing the range of the aircraft. Following anothel'transit at Damascus, Ankara was rcached lor demos tothe Turkish Air Force, followed latel by a visit toAthcns to show the aircrafi to the Greeks. A new fueltank was littcd in Athens, and the retul'n continued viaRome where a short demo was flown in support of theValetta. During the entirc six-wcek tour, over 7,000nautical milcs rvere flown and the only snags were onehydraulic pump failurc and the leaking fuel tank. Noteven a tyre was changed. Regrcttably, no salesresulted lrom this tour.

One export success was in 1949 when 36 Attackerswere ordercd by the Royal Pakistan Air Force as itsinitial jet equipmcnt in the early build up of the airfbrcc. All the jet aircraft were delivered fl'om SouthMarston mainly by Supermarine pilots. During these

dclivery flights, the aircrafi operated in pairs fbr safetyas they over f'lew 85,348 miles of sea and 54,568 milesof desert. The routc chosen rvas to allow stage lcngthsof about 500 nautical miles, equivalent to about halfthe still air range at best cruising height and with ven-tral drop tank. Also. thc prcvailing weathet' conditionsand natu|e of thc tenain dictated a morc southerlyroute. although a stop at Cyprus was preferred toCairo. The average timc fbr a delivery flight was oneweek. althor-rgh it was achieved insidc thlee days bythlee pairs of aircraft. In scrvice with Pakistan, thcAttackcrs were used as fighter-bombcrs. being capableof carrying up to two l,000lb bombs and eight rocket-propelled projectiles undel the wings.

Left:Royal Pakistan Air Force Attackers. RAF Museum

36

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ATTACKER

37

Supermorine Atfocke r F.7

fony Eornes 1992

Swept Wing DevelopmentThe Type 510 to the 545

From the results of German research during WorldWar 2 it was realised that by sweeping back the wingsand tail surfaces of jet-powered aircraft, drag rise athigh subsonic speeds was delayed, allowing stillgreater speeds. While this was realised quite quicklyin the USA, where the North American F-86 Sabrewas produced - and also in the USSR with theMiG-15 - Britain took a little longer to take advantageof this major improvement. The irony o1'the MiG-15

Below:The Supermarine 51O/517, Itlrl06, became 7175M inJanuary 1955 when it was grounded for technicaltraining at Melksham and Halton. lt was preserued fora while at Cardington and is now part of the RAFMuseum collection at Co$ford. J. M. G. Gradidge

in particular rvas that it was powered by a Russianequivalent of the Rolls-Royce Nene engine donated bythe British Government as a goodwill gesture after theend ol World War 2.

Eventually the British Government went for a lowcost developmcnt programme, covering the adaptationof the two cuffent straight wing jet fighters to theswept wing configurations: the Hawker P1040 wasone example and the Attacker the other. Supermarinetook a basic Attacker fuselage and fitted 40o sweptback wings and tail-surfaces, to SpecificationE.4l146.T'he Supermarine aircrafi was designated the Type5 I 0, the purpose of the aircraft being to investigate theflight characteristics of swept wings at high subsonicspeed, with a maximum speed of 610kts.

40

TYPE 510

O

--

L

The contract covered the construction of the two:rototypes, VVl06 and VVI19, both built at HursleyP.rrk and each powered by a single Rolls-Royce\r'ne 2 engine. The basic Attacker fuselage was.japted to accept the new flying surfaces, which in the:.i:e of the wings had to be mounted furlher forward to::.iintain an acceptable centre of gravity. The original:.il$heel undercarriage was retained. but no naval fea-:..ics were included initially.

The first prototype, VVl06, was moved by road to3'.,.combe Down and, afier reassembly, Mike Lithgow:.rde the maiden flight on 28 December 1948, 21

:r.rnths after the developmcnt contract was placed.It was immediately obvious that the high-speed

-:rracteristics ol the new layout were exceptional andI J malter of only a f'ew weeks Mach numbers close: 0.90 were being achieved. Thoughts turned to-:in_cing this modest experimental aircraft into a

: :hter. The American equivalent was the North.-:rerican F-86, as already mentioned, upon which the

-.S Government had invested large sums of money. In: rtrast Supermarine had to modify the second proto-

,.:e u'ith a nosewheel undercarriage and gun installa-. r at their own expense due to lack ol funding. The

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9rpermarine 51O, Wl06, makes a high-speed flypast.t Farnborough in September 7949. Vickers

official policy of not investing in high speed aircraftresearch between 1946 and 1950 took a great deal ofeffort and extrjnse from which to recover.

Despite the good high speed perlormance of theType 510, there were handling problems at both lowand high speeds which made it unsuitable as such forsquadron service. Tip stalling of the wing was experi-enced at low speed, causing pitch up. Provision hadbeen made for leading-edge slats on the outboard sec-

tion of the wing, but they r,vere found unnecessary and

remained locked up. In July 1949 they were removed.At high speeds, a very strong lateral trim change

required full right control column movement to keepthe wings level. This was effective until Mach 0.93when control was lost altogether, limiting Mach to thislevel. To try and improve controllability a servodyneprovided power assistance to the ailerons, but it wasobvious that for higher speeds, not only would therehave to be some aerodynamic improvements, but alsothe full provision of power control.

The Rolls-Royce Nene 2 engine which developed a

static thrust of 5.0001b was also not trouble free. one

engine failure causing a forced landing at BoscombeDown on 17 March 1949. There was severe enginevibration when power was reduced below 6,000rpm.When taken down to 4,000rpm directional stabilitywas affected, the aircraft yawing left and right approx-imately 5o in a series of random darts. The cause wasfound to be a function of both airspeed and enginespeed, and was found to originate from turbulent air-flow in the engine air intakes. The cure was to raiseand redesign the boundary layer bleeds above andbelow the intake lip and to fit a more robust Attacker-type fi'ont engine mount.

At an engine speed of l2,300rpm a speed of630 to635mph was reached at 10,000 to 15,000ft. The earlyflights were with a rounded nose cone, but speed

increased slightly when a pointed one was fitted.Another fault found during early trials was the loss ofthe cockpit hood in flight, after which the hood jetti-son mechanism was modified.

The Supermarine 510 made its public debut at theSBAC Display at Farnborough in September 1949during which the aircraft made six daily demonstra-tions. Later the same month the aircralt went toBoscombe Down fol initial service evaluation where itwas generally well received. The lift was considerablyimproved at high speeds due to better high Mach num-ber drag, despitc limitations to the maximum usablclift-coefficient in the transonic region. The sweepbackdid, however, introduce longitudinal instability lead-ing up to thc stall, particularly at high altitude. At40,0001i the aircraft was practically conlined tostraight llight due to limited manocuvrability. The air-crali did not suffer fiom the predicted problems ofhigh wing sweepback. and was easy and pleasant to11y. It had no tendency to snake or dutch-roll, and theailerons gave a high rate of roll at low altitudcs. The

42

tailwheel undercaniage was criticised, the recommen-dation being that with a tricycle undercarriage andimproved elevator control, it fbrmed the basis of a

good fighter.In July 1950 the Type 510 went to the RAE at

Farnborough where, although the aircraft was found tohave a generally poor finish, it was appreciated that itwas only a quick conversion to assess the viability ofswept wings and tail surfaces. Comparative tests weremade between the Type 510, by this time known as

the Swift, and the F-86 Sabre. As would be expected,the Sabre proved to be overall superior in perfor-mance, but at 25,000ft they were about equal in termsof speed. The Sabre obviously gained due to betterproduction finish and the greater thrust of the engine.

Following these trials the Type 510 returned toSupermarine to be modified for naval testing, as a pos-sible follow-on for the Attacker. An A-type alresterhook was fitted under the fuselage and the normall3.5ft/sec main undercarriage oleos were replaced byl6ft/sec units to absorb the high landing rates on deckoperations. The all-up weight was increased to12,7001b, additional take-offl boost being provided bythe provision of four RATO units grouped above andbelow the wing root trailing edges.

Mike Lithgow recommenced the flight trials in thisconfiguration on 14 September 1950 and it was thendelivered to Farnborough for dummy deck landings inpreparation for the first deck landing by a swept wingjet on 8 November by Lt Jock Elliot on HMS l11r.srri-

ols. A total of 12 landings and rocket assisted take-offs were achieved in one day, three by Lt Elliot, andthe remainder shared by Mike Lithgow and Lt-Cdr D.G. Parker ol Boscombe Down. later to reach the rankof Rear Admiral. Generally. there was a 50kt windspeed along the deck, the carrier travelling at up to25kts, and the sea state was lairly stable for all land-ings. Take-off with only two rockets fired resulted inan acceptable run of 500ft, with a slight starboardwing drop.

Approach spceds were in the region of 124 tol34kts indicated, resulting in good landings withexcellcnt oleo rebound characteristics. Dcck landingproved straighttbrward with refuelling, rockct changeand other turn round activitics allowing landings to bemade on avcruge erery 20min.

Thc ncxt day thc trials continued with three furtherlandings. but a fuel pressure warning light required a

return to the shore base. On this lalter take-ofi therockcts failed to produce full thrust on onc side caus-ing an alarrning swing to the left. As a result thervingtip hit the top of a gun turrct, but Lt-Cdr Parkcrrctained control and safely tlew the aircraft to its homebase.

Following repairs. the aircraft rcturncd to the RAEfbr more developmcnt flying bcfbrc removal of thcnaval cquiprnent. It then was flown at Farnborough onhigh Mach nurnber trials during l9-5 I and I 952. but on

i'.lit:lij{iil:lfi:iliir::tr.rylt1,9irtlfliilllyl;t!ii1:rar'1dq:!fi;i1}r$!rr:1fr:ei!ri:ri:}r'"'

Supermarine 5lO, lfYl06, makes the first landing by aswept-wing iet aircraft on a carrier, HMS n ustrioustl7 November 1950. RAF Museum

Above:Supermarine 51or \rvl06r aboard HMS ttlustrious lotdeck trials on 17 November 195O' FAA Museum

43

l4 December 1952 a wheels-up landing was made dueto failure of the main undercaniage to come down.

During this programme of high speed rescarch itbecame obvious that modifications would have to bemade to improve controllability at high speeds. Theelevator spring tab was removed to reduce a possibleflutter source and a full power control was providedwith an elevator of reduced chord. However. a morepractical solution was to hinge the whole rear fuselageand jet pipe just aft of the fin to give up to 4o of move-ment. while keeping the tailplane fixed. Wolk on thisstarted at Supermarine on l0 July 1953 and because ofthis relatively major change the new Type No 517 wasallocated. This somewhat radical solution worked. butwas initially too fast acting, and worked well when thegearing was reduced.

Following its wheels-up landing, thc aircraft wasrepaired and flown again by Dave Morgan, Superma-rine test pilot, on 2 Scptembcr 1953, and the aircrattcontinued its contribution to high subsonic speedresearch until 14 January 1955 when it was allocatedto RAF Melksham as a ground instructional airfiame.It soon moved to RAF Halton. and when it had ceasedto be of use to the trainee engineers there, it was savedfrom destruction and put on open display at RAFCardington, in company with its contemporary, theHawker P1052. The Type 517 then moved to the RAFColerne Museum but upon the closure of that fine col-lection, this swept wing research aircraft joined theRAF Cosford Museum.

The second prototype Swift, VV119, was exter-nally similar to the first prototype, but due to internalchanges it was designated the Type 528. The aircraftwas built to the same specification. but one of themajor changes was provision fbr afterburning theNene engine to increase the power.

Meanwhile the design office had been busy look-ing at operational versions of the Swift, the Type 520having four wing-mounted 20mm cannon, and anexpoft version proposed for Australia had a longerpointed nose and a more powerful Nene or Tayengine. A nosewheel undercarriage was being seen as

desirable, although official policy did not recognisethis need.

The prototype 528, VVl19, was first flown byMike Lithgow on 27 March 1950. The fuel capacitywas increased to 600gal, the hope being that therewould be sufficient endurance to attempt the fbur runsat reheat power on the absolute speed record. How-ever, the need to consider the aircraft as a possiblefighter gained priority over the thought of a spcedrecord attempt and the aircraft went back to the draw-ing board on 6 May for major modifications.

The most obvious external change was to extendthe nose and fit a nosewheel undercarriage. Othermajor changes included enlarging the rear fusclage toaccommodatc the reheatt a new tail cone to increasethe tapel of the fuselage to the smaller jet pipe diam-

44

eter; larger reshaped air intakes; provision fbr wing-mounted guns; stronger steel-fiamed cockpit canopy;and an improved fuel system. The wing area at thecentl'c section was increased by reducing the swcep-back at the trailing edge root end. These drastic modi-fications to the prototype incrcased its length by 4ftand the original tailwheel was retaincd in the event ofa tail-down landing.

With the new designation Type 535, the aircraftflew again from Boscombe Down on 23 August 1950.the lirst use of reheat being a week later. This was theonly reheat application for the Nene engine, but theearlier elevator buffet was climinated by the change inshape of the fuselage. The aircraft appeared at theSBAC display at Farnborough during September of1950, rnaking its public debut.

Aerodynamic testing ol the prototype continuedthrough the remainder of 1950 and into 1951, leadingto measured speed checks of the aircraft in July. Levelflight speeds at various altitudes were recorded as622mph at 15,000ft, 609mph at 26,000f1 and 583mphat 35,000ft. In October' 1951, Sqn Ldr Dave Morgantook over the testing of VV1 19, having recently joinedthe Supermarine team. The aircraft was used in theresearch for pilots' anti-gravity clothing from30,000f1, and it became a stal under the name of'Prometheus' in the frlm Sound Barrier. much ofwhich was made at the de Havilland airfield at Hat-field and at Chilbolton.

On January 1952 the aircraft was slightly damagedon landing, but was flying again by mid-March. Air-brakes were tried on the upper sulfaces of the wings,but caused considerable buffet at high spceds, whilethe existing flaps provided sufficient aerodynamicbraking. Selection was by a two-position switch.which rapidly selected 35o or 55o, allowing a reduc-tion fiom top speed to l60kts at low altitude in lessthan one minute. The aircraft could also descend frorn40,000ft at a rate of 25,000ft/min without exceedingMach 0.79.

The wing-drop experienced on VVl06 at highspeed was still apparent to a lesser extent on VVI19,but the power assisted manual controls had a limited

Top right:Vackers Supermarine E.41146 Type 535 prototype,Iwf 19, after conversion to a nosewheelundercarriage and powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene 3engine. MOS

Centre right:Supermarine Type 535, Wl 19, makes a flypast at themanufacturer's test airfield at Chilbolton, ylckers

Bottom right:The Supermarine Type 535, Iwl19, wasdemonstrated at Farnborough in September f951.J. D. R. Rawlings

0 T

TYPE 535

intake, larger span ailerons, a small dorsal fillet to thefin, modified tail-cone and flared out wingtips. Theretractable tailwheel was retaincd, but with doors,and a variable incidence tailplane was titted givingtravel from -9 to +4o.

Preparations were in hand fbr the public demon-strations at the SBAC display at Farnborough, but thenew Avon engine was not entirely reliable. On 3

August Mike Lithgow was tlying in fbrmation with a

Spitfire fbr publicity photos of the old and the new.However when power was increased on completion ofthe exercise. a massive uncontrollable vibrationoccurred, followed by thc cngine failing. The vibrationcontinued until speed reduced by the use of the veryeffective airbrakes, and it was possible to glide the tenmiles to Chilbolton lor a sale landing. The vibrationwas found to be caused by aileron flutter, which wassoon corected allowing Dave Morgan to continue theflying programme.

Unfbrtunately. on 8 September, two days beforethe aircraft was due to appear in the Farnboroughshow, Dave Morgan was on the final approach to land,when at 800ft the engine stopped without warning.Betrveen the aircrafi and the lunway was thc RiverTest in a stcep-sided valley 400ft frorn the threshold.Thc only alternative was to select the undcrcaniage upand turn downwind to a slightly less rough fbrcc land-ing area. After skidding undcr high tension telegraph

effect at high transonic speeds. Missile trials were car-ried out in 1955 by fitting dummy Fairey Fireflashmissiles under the wings to investigate the eff'ects ondrag and handling. Two dummy weapons were caniedup to Mach 0.95 and four up to Mach 0.90. There waslittle change in overall handling apart from an increasein loll inertia.

The flight-testing duties of the aircraft ccascd on28 September 1955, when it was allocated to RAFHalton for ground instruction with the identity 7285M.Unlike VVl06, the Type 535 was scrapped at Haltonilt the end ol'its uselul life.

The Supermarine Type 541 looked very similar tothe Type 535, but was the next step towards a produc-tion standard Swift fighter. The major improvement inthis fighter prototype. WJ960, was the fitting of an

axial flow Rolls-Royce Avon RA7 engine developing7,5001bs of thrust, in place of the earlier Nene. Toconserve iuel and maintain a reasonable endurance noreheat was fitted to this engine, its powcr being 507c

better than the earlier aircraft.This interim fighter prototype first flew on

I August 1 95 I , and the bcnefit of increased powel wasimmediately shown with the improved take-ofT and

climb performance. However, duc to aerodynamiclimitations already experienced with the earlier proto-types, the aircraft was not capable of supersonicspeeds. The external changes included improvcd air

46

a

TYPE 54I olines, the aircraft hit an apple tree with the starboarduing and a brick-built privy - fbrtunately unoccupied

- rvith the other wing.Despite this rough treatment, the airclaft proved its

toughness; it was repaired and flying again withinihree months. It suffered a further engine tailure on8 April 1952, but the problem was cured by I I July,*hen Dave Morgan f'lew the aircraft to the BrusselsExhibition. It was therefbre decided to attempt theLondon to Brussels record, and by flying at 12,000ft at

a reduced throttle setting to conserve fuel, an averagespeed of 665.9mph was achieved over the 200.38miles in a time of lSmin/3.3sec. It was returned toSupermarine from Boscombe Down on 14 August1953 for the installation of the variable incidence

Below:The Rolls-Royce Avon-powered Supermarine Type541, WJ96O, pictured at Chilbolton, the experimentalfliEht-test centre. MOS

47

i*-,w * "*&*@.*r's'k@i1l irlil q. etir; -- - , i,

rlr,f iii:..,]}:!iriiil!:;t"ltly*:rf*ii,;iiiA

r.,!ri;.:o.rl*,".liio;ii1.t'

Top:The second type 541 prototype, WJ965, which wasvery similar to the production Swift Mk 1. Vickers

Above:The Type 541 production prototype Swift, WJ965,which first flew on 18 July 1952, is shown here atFarnborough in September of the same year.J. D. R. Rawlings

tailplane and geared aileron tabs, flying again inFebruary 1954. In 1955 trials were made with nose-wheel braking and in 19-56 the aircraft was moved toRAE Bedford for amester barrier trials. Following a

further accident. the aircraft was withdrawn from useon 15 Septembcr 1959 and sold for scrap.

The next prototype, WJ965, was much more l'cpre-sentative of the production Swifi, which made itsmaidcn flight lrorn Boscombe Down in the hands ofDave Morgan on l8 July 1952. The major differenceswere a shorter nose and improved cockpit to give thepilot a better view, modified air intakes fbr a moreefficient engine, a new fin and repositioned wing. Fuelcapacity was increased significantly and provisionmade for operational equipment.

During the early flight testing, wing and aileronflutter was experienced which was worse than befbredue to the weight saving reduction in wing skins. Thecure was found to be full power-operated ailerons

48

which at long last allowed the aircraft to be flownsupersonically in a dive without loss of control. Thiswas achieved fbr the first time on 26 February 1953.

Although very different, the ultimate single-engined jet fighter development used much of theexperience gained with thc Swift programme. Thiswas the Type 545 designed to specification F/105D2in competition with Hawker P. 1083, the contract beingplaced in February 1952. This more advanced designwith its area ruled fuselage and compound sweep-backon the wing leading edge promised a high perfbr-mance, the Supermarine project clearly outclassing theHawker aircraft which was cancelled in July l9-53.Two prototypes of the Type 545 werc ordered with thefirst one, XAl8l. planned to fly in thc spring of 1954followed by the second aircraft. XAI 86, in early 1955.

The aircraft was intended as a supersonic replace-ment fbr the Swift, and thc crescent-shaped wing wassharply swept back 50o on the thicker inboard section,which houscd the main undercat'riage, and thinnerwith 30' sweep-back outer scction fbr good high alti-tude performancc. Although the swept tail surtaceswere along similal lines to the Swifi, anothcr majordifference was the moving fbrward of thc engine airintakes to lhc nose, the orifice split by a centre-bodyavoiding thc need for bypass bleed.

The engine initially selectcd was the 9,5001b thrustRolls-Royce RA l4 Avon, which could achieve

l

TYPE 545 o o14.5001b thrust with reheat. This should have giventhe aircraft a speed of Mach 1.3 in lcvcl flight, but as

the delayed design programme progressed, it wasrealised that due to higher dlag estimates, this per-lbrmance would only be achievcd in a dive. A devel-opment was offered using either the Rolls-RoyceAvon RA35R or thc RBl06 to power the second pro-totype, which was expected to provide sufficicntpower to achieve Mach 1.68.

Around the latter part of 1954 the competingEnglish Electric Pl was proving its much higher per-tormance and capability, resulting in the cancelling ofthe second prototype 545 on 9 November, and thescrapping of the work in progress. Construction of themore complete first prototype continued, but as RAFintercst waned in anticipation of the cventual entryinto service of the Mach 2 Lightning, work was cov-ered by the research specification Ei /54. The intentionrvas to deliver the aircraft to Farnborough for experi-mcntal flying fbllowing the initial manufacturer'strials. All provision for armament was removed and,powered by the RA28R Avon, the planned first flight

Right:The Supermarine 545 prototype, XAl8l, was nevercompleted, and was preserved for a while fortechnical training at the College of Aeronautics atGranfield. J. M. G. Gradidge

was to be in mid- 1955. However. thc remainder of theprogramme was canccllcd in eally 1955 when proto-type 545, XAl8l, was structurally complete, and allrvork on developed versions ceased. The partiallycompleted aircraft was moved lo the College of Aero-nautics at Cranfield for instructional purposes until itwas scrapped in the early I960s. The scrapping of thisaircraft was unusual since the majority of the otherhistoric aircraft used by Cranfield fbr instructionalpurposes fbund their way into museums, assuring theirpreservation.

5

RAF Service With the Swift

In November 1950 an order was placed by the RAFfor 100 production Swift day fighters, in addition tothe two pre-production prototypes. All were to bepowered by a single Rolls-Royce Avon axial flow jetengine developing 7,5001b thrust.

Of the development and trials batch of an initial 20aircraft, the first two, WKl94 and WKl95, were builtin the experimental department at Hursley Park. Sub-sequent production was set up at the South Marstonfactory. The Swift was reputedly the favoured aircraftover the rival Hawker Hunter, partly because of thebetter endurance of the Swift, made possible by theadditional room for fuel in the bulbous fuselage devel-oped around the larger diameter Nene engine.

The first production aircraft WKl94, an Fl, firstflew on 25 August 1952 and was allocated to servicetrials at Boscombe Down, research flying at Farnbor-ough and company development. When its flyingduties were completed it became an instructional air-frame at Kirkham in March 1956, being scrapped onlysix months later at No 33 MU Lyneham. The secondproduction aircraft from the experimental departmentshared service trials at Boscombe with WKl94. Itbecame the F3 prototype and finally was used byRolls-Royce for Avon reheat development.

The first Swift off the South Marston productionline, WKl96, first flew in March 1953 fitted with full-boosted flying controls. The Swift Fl was only armedwith two 30mm Aden cannon underneath the cockpit,

but when it was decided to double this armament, theFls were too far advanced to be modified.

The Swift F2 therefore featured four 30mm Adencannon in the lower fuselage, with ammunition storedin a forward extension of the inboard section of thewing root leading edge. Production commenced withWK214, and finished with WK246, a total of 16 beingcompleted. Many of these were not issued for opera-tional service. However, the modified wing rootresulted in a violent and uncontrollable pitch-up wheng was applied at Mach 0.85 and above, a highly unde-sirable characteristic in a combat aircraft. When thepilot pulled back on the stick, the nose reared up andthe aircraft flicked over on its back. This may be auseful manoeuvre in defence, but it would certainlynot help in an attacking situation. The time taken forrecovery also made the aircraft very vulnerable incombat.

In an attempt to overcome the problem a wingfence was fitted on the top surface of the wing and theleading edge was extended forward in a small step atabout half-span. This did not prove to be a fully effec-tive answer, the ideal cure being to move the centre of

Below:The firct production Swift Fl, WKl94, flew on25 August I 952 and was used for development andtrials at Ghilbolton, Boscombe Down andFamborough. J. M. G. Gradidge

50

Above:The second production Swift Fl , WKl95, was usedfor Rolls-Royce Avon reheat deyelopment and becamethe F3 prototype. J. M. G. Gradidge

gravity forward. However, this could only be achievedby fixing heavy ballast weights in the nose, which lim-ited the high altitude performance.

Despite these major problems, the Swift becamethe first swept-wing jet fighter to enter service withthe RAF. No 56 Squadron at RAF Waterbeach inCambridgeshire received its first Fl WK209 on20 February 1954, followed by the first F2 on 30August. A total of eight Fls had been delivered by

Right:A rare photograph of six No 56 Squadron, RAF SwiftFls in formation, the lead three in silver finish andthe other three camouflaged. M. J. F. Bowyer

Below:No 56 Squadron Swift Fls start up at Waterbeach inAugust 1954. M. J. F. Bowyer

ll'- tr!GSWIFT Fl o o

May, but WK209 was abandoned in a spin near WestRaynham on 7 May and WK208 crashed shortly altertake-off on l3 May killing the pilot, Flg Off Thornton,who was on his second flight in the type. This lattercrash caused the grounding of the Swifts pendingmodification of the aileron control system and the rec-tification of a number of other more minor problems.

The first modified aircraft was test-flown by aSupermarine pilot on 23 July 1954. But inherent prob-lems still existed with the Fls, when the last produc-tion aircraft WK2l3 - the only serviceable aircraft onthe squadron - had undercarriage problems on25 August. Unable to lower his nosewheel, Flg OffHobbs abandoned the aircralt successfully, landingnear Newmarket. All the other Swifts with thesquadron were formally grounded.

Meanwhile the F2s were ready to enter service andWK22l and WK240 were delivered to No 56Squadron on 30 August, with enough arriving by13 September to allow five to be part of the Battle ofBritain flypast over London. By November, service-ability was still very poor, and flying training had tobe maintained using Gloster Meteors. There were stillhopes that the Swift would make a useful groundattack and reconnaissance aircraft, but on 15 March1955 the order came to withdraw them from servicepending disposal. By early May the surviving aircrafthad been flown to No 33 MU at Lyneham for prepara-

52

tion as ground instruction airflrames, pending the evcn-tual re-equipping of No 56 Squadron with HawkcrHunters.

None of the 25 production Swift F3s entered ser-vice. The second one, WK248, was used fbr Con-troller Aircraft (CA) release handling trials atBoscombe Down in November 1954 and January1955; WK253 was on service trials at BoscombeDown from February 1955 until Ocrober 1956. All theremainder went straight from the production line toground instluction at various RAF technical trainingschools.

Top right:Swift F2, WK24O, which was delivered to No 56Squadron on 30 August 1 954, became Z3OOM inFebruary I 956 for technical training at Halton.J. M. G. Gradidge

Centre right:First production Swift F3, WK247, seen here atFarnborough in September 1954, was not issued forsen ice, being used for technical training.J. M. G. Gradidge

Bottom right:Swift F3, WK24A, was delivered to Cranfield inDecember f957 for technical training,J. M. G. Gradidge

-v\;\&*_-1g\

The F3 was similar to rhe F2, but the Avon enginewas fitted with a reheat. The first example, WK247,was demonstrated at the Farnborough Air Show inSeptember 1953, showing a very lively take-off per-formance. Pitch up was still a problem, but it had beenreduced by fitting vorlex generators on upper andlower surfaces of the tailplane.

Amongst the normal trials tasks of the early devel-opment Fls, WKl98 was converted to the F4 proto-type, making its first flight on 27 May 1953. MikeLithgow f'lew this prototype to the Paris Show on5 July 1953 at an average speed of 669.3mph, cover-ing the 212.5 miles in 19min 5.6secs.

The F4 was produced under the Type No 546 andwas similar to the F3 but featured a variable incidencetailplane to overcome the pitch-up characteristics. Theaircraft appeared to be capable of winning back theAbsolute World Speed Record from the USA, andplans were put in hand for the attempt in the lattel partof 1953. The ideal climate was located over the desertsof Libya, to enable the aircraft to reach the highestpossible speed. The warmer climate gave an increasedspeed of sound at low level, delaying compressibilityand avoiding increased drag. Not only was Libya idealfrom the temperature point of view, but there was a

well equipped airfield to land at and it was accessiblefbr both the Swift and its support aircraft.

However, belore the attempt could be made therewas some high priority development flying required,and it was desirable to participate in the SBAC displayduring the second week in September. This left therecord attempt timing towards the end of September,when the temperatures were lowering a little fromtheir summertime peaks. It was still hoped that up to

Below:The fifth production Swift, WKl98, became theprototype F4, the ultimate Swift faghter variant. lt wasdisplayed at Farnborough in September 1953.J. D. R. Rawlings

105'F would be available around mid-afternoon,putting the speed of sound at 790mph. In these condi-tions it was estimated that the Swift with reheat couldreach around 743mph. But Supermarine was not to gounchallenged. Neville Duke, the chief test pilot ofHawker flew the specially prepared red-paintedHunter F3 prototype off the south coast of England toa speed of 729mph, still leaving an adequate marginfor the Swift. In the USA plans were also being madefor the Douglas Skyray and North American F-100Super Sabre, both considerably laster than the Swift,to make their attempts on the Absolute World Speed

Record.The Supermarine team left for North Alrica on

22 September, a linle later than ideal, but still with a

good chance of breaking the record before the Ameri-cans put it totally out of reach. Despitc maintaining a

low profile during the initial surveys in Libya,advanced news leaked out at the Farnborough show,largely confirmed by the request for the one and onlyset of special timing apparatus. The hope had been tofind a suitable straight line along the coastline in thevicinity of Tripoli, but the temperature records showeda clear 1OoF cooler than just south of Tripoli, and evenhigher temperatures could be found further inland.Eventually an ideal course was located by the surveyparty some 50 miles southwest of Tripoli. It was a

dead straight main road running for over l0 milesacross the Azizia Plain. The only undesirable aspect

was the 100 miles from the base airfield, making a

return difficult if engine trouble occurred. A forcedlanding on the l5ft 9in wide road would have been a

very challenging operation on the l5ti wide mainundercarriage track of the Swift.

The survey of the course was undertaken by theOrdnance Survey ol Great Britain and considerablehelp was given by the RAE Farnborough, which sec-onded Sqn Ldr John Harvey. The Ordnance Surveyteam guaranteed the 3km course to an accuracy of3mm. and a further kilometre was marked out at eachend over which the aircraft needed to be in level flight.

A Handley Page Hastings was used to support therecord attempt, carrying the timing equipment, theRoyal Aero Club observers and the servicing team.The Swift flown by Mike Lithgow, was accompaniedby Les Colquhoun in an Attacker, and although thejets arrived in good time, the Hastings was delayed inMarseilles for a day with engine trouble.

The team then began to set up the timing equip-ment. which had to be mounted on concrete blocksl.000yds from the side of the road across very difficultterrain. The timing equipment consisted of two pairsof cameras, a pair set up at each end of the course,connected to an electronic timing device. The rules ofthe record attempt were that the aircraft had to maketbur runs over the measured course, two in each direc-tion, within a total elapsed time of 30min, durings hich a landing could be made. At no time fiom take-off until completion of the fourth run was the aircraftto exceed 1,640ft (500m) altitude, and while over thecourse the height must not exceed 100m. To helpmaintain these heights a Gloster Meteor was used toobserve one end of the course and an Avro Anson theother end. The Meteor was also used to monitor thetake-off and flight to the course of the Swift. The.\ttacker flying at 5,0001t provided the vital radiocon-rmunications link.

The first attempt was made on 25 September, butuhen the fuel gauges ceased to work. Mike Lithgowrcduced the reheat time to conserve fuel fiom an eight-ntile approach to the course, to four miles, thus notachieving the full acceleration. The start and finishsas indicated by smoke markers on the road. and therurns were made over the desert at about 600mph,climbing to around 1,000ft before making each re-run.

Within four hours of this attempt, the speed wasrecorded at 737.3mph, later conected to 735mph duelo a camera shutter tault. This speed was f'elt to begood fbr a first try, especially taking account of theiuel gauge problem, and the bumpy air turbulence atihc time which could reduce thc speed by up tol5mph. The next day a second attempt was made, but

faults in the timing equipment caused this flight to bevoid, and spare parts had to be sent out from Britain.

The problem then was to decide to submit the cur-rent less than best time as an official record, as if a

claim is not made within 48hrs it becomes invalid.Any further attempt, even flown by the same aircraftonce claimed, must exceed the previous record by onepercent, which would mean exceeding 745mph. If a

claim was not made. the lowering temperature in thedesert might mean losing the chance ofeven achievingthe figure reached so far. It was therefore decided tosubmit the claim, but make further runs to improve theprevious figures, even though they would not be validfbr the record. On one of these attempts 743mph wasaveraged on the first two runs, but when the reheatfailed to ignite on the third run, the sortie was aborted.Soon after, a desert wind blew up making visibility toobad to continue flying. and while waiting fbr this todie down. the Skyray pushed the record to over753mph, well out of reach of the Swift.

The Supermarine team then returned home havingachieved the Absolute World Speed Record, fbr only a

short period, in a production standard aircraft operat-ing in tropical conditions, demonstrating high perfbr-mance and long endurance in the most demandingconditions.

In the event only nine Swift F4s were built, ofwhich five were converted to FR5 standard leading toproduction of 89 of this fighter reconnaissance versionof the Swift. A furthel I I FR5s were cancelled.

Having had its earliel operational problems cor-rected. the Swift was not adopted as a fighter due tothe lessening of international tension tbllowin-e theend of the Korean conf'lict. The Hunter was in full pro-duction and in widespread squadron scrvicc, and there

Below:Swift F4 prototype, WKl98, ls prepared for itsattempt on the World Absolute Speed Record at E!Adem, RAF Museum

I

J

I

ffi

The Swift F4 prototype, WKt98, achieved the WorldAbsolute Speed Record over l{orth Africa, flown byMike Lithgow. Vicke rs-Armstrong

/ffin \dffi

KI-l

Above:Swlft F4, WK275, was used for engine noase trials atHatfield in the mld-l96Os, and as now presewed atUpperhil!, P. J. Birtles

just rvas not the need fbr yet another day fighter. eventhough the Swift had a higher speed and a greaterendurance. Service entry of the Hunter had not been

without problems, particularly in respect ol the Avonengine which surged when the guns were fired. Thiswas overcome in the short term by fitting the Arm-strong Siddeley Sapphire engine to some versions.

The Swift, however, was still capable of making a

valuable contribution in the fighter reconnaissancerole, to replace thc outdated Meteor FR9s. As theTypc 549. the FR5 was basically a F4 with a lcngth-ened nose housing three cameras. Onc was mounted inthe extreme nose, and the other two werc uscd fbroblique photography and mounted on eithcr side ofthenose, a short distance in front of thc air intake.

One of the surviving development Swift Mk ls,WK200, was converted to the prototype FR5 and

undertook service trials at Boscombe Down in July1953. This aircraft was finally scrapped at Bicesterthree years later. The first production FR5, XD903,made its maiden flight in the hands of Les Colquhounon 27 May 1955, the next two aircraft havingimproved clear view canopies and 220gal drop tankstaking fuel capacity to 998gal. The previous F4sWK28l, WK287 to 315, and WNl24, were all con-verted to FR5s before issue to the RAF. Swift FR5production went from XD903 to XD930, and XD948to XD977. The final batch from XD978 to XD988were cancelled. The Type 550 unarmed Swift PR6was proposed to replace the Meteor PRl0s, butalthough XD943 was the first airframe allocated tothis task, development was abandoned and the aircraftwas not completed.

Below:Swift F4, WK273, is pictured at Farnborough inSeptember 1954 with eight rocket proiectiles underthe port wang. M. J. F. Bowyer

58

J-

SWIFT FR5

-59

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Top left:Camera installation in prototype Swift FR5 atChilbolton. Gameras were located in the extremenose and just forward of the engine air bleed intake,Supermarine

Centre left:Swift FR5, WK296, at Farnborough in September1956. M. P. Marsh

Bottom left:

Swift FR5, XD969, at Aldergrove Battle of Britainshow in September 7957. Tom Crossett

Below:

Swift FR5, XDgl6, which was delivered to ilo 2Squadron, RAF Germany, in February 1956. Air Ministry

Bottom:Swift FRS, XD962:J of No 2 Squadron, RAF, visitedBiggin Hill for the Battle of Britain display inSeptember 1960. J. M. G- Gradidge

The Swilt FR5 was the first aircratt in RAF serviceto be equipped with reheat, when in January 1956No 2 Squadron of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF)in Germany began to take deliveries at itsGeilenkirchen base. In October 1957 a move wasmade to Jever and the Swifts were gradually replacedby Hunter FR10s from April 1961. No 79 Squadroncommenced receiving Swift RF5s at Gutersloh in1956. also as part ol the 2TAF, and continued fighterreconnaissance duties alongside No 2 Squadron. No79 Squadron was disbanded on I January 1961 whenit was absorbed into No 4 Squadron to be equippedwith Hunter FR10s. While re-equipping with Hunters,No 4 Squadron continucd to operate briefly SwiftFR5s, some of the aircraft canying the markings ofboth thc old and thc ne\ unit.

Two Swilis of No 79 Squadron had gained firstand second places in the NATO Annual Reconnais-sance Competition, 'Royal Flush', held at Laarbruch,

Top:Swift FRS, WK295:G of llo 2 Squadron, at Westilalling in October 1959, J. D. R. Rawlings

Above:Swift FR5, Wlrll24:S of 1{o 2 Squadron, atBassingbourn in September I 958, crashed just undera year fater on 27 August 1959. J- D. R. Rawlings

Below:Visiting Tangmere in September 1957 was Swift FRS,XDgl2:C of l{o 2 Squadron, J. D. R. Rawlings

Below right:The other m4or operator of the Swift FRs was 1{o 79Squadron, also in RAF Germany. MOD

tselow:

Swift FR5, XD949:D of No 2 Squadron rvas stored atRAF Aldergrove in December 1959. Tom Crosseft

Below centre:RAF Aldergrove was the last resting place of manyretired Swift FRss, one being XD959:V of ilo 2Squadron, in December 1959.Tom Crossett

Wcs{ Germanl'. in Nlaf i957. Thc rnission rvas iou'lcVe I rcconnais:itncr $ itlr photographic re col'iiillllbe lorr, 5001t cove rirlg 2(r[) nar-rticl] tttrle s. Tire col]ll)e tition rruin1,l, consisictl ol RF-8-il:'l'hLtndc|jets tlpclatcdb1 tiro ,4llieci ait' lirlcc:. 'i'u'o ycars latei- tirc Swiit;lepcatcd thcii sttcccs'.

-lhc fighiei rcconttltissltttce Ssilis llioilcclcd higilsl.lccrl ioq'lcvei opclitliolts Lrntlet thc Ilortilc racilu'

scrccrjs. Tirc lobusi constttrciiort ol th: Su ilt stood ltp*'el1 to thc purtisitilg conditions. and tne lcl'r'tlitl tbiIou'ing tecirniclucs ticvcloped b1' tirc R,\E Iirl ltrtLrlc

coinbat iiircraii rrctc t'cf incti usiltg tlrc Srr itis in tirtnrLilti-high g envir-onrttcnt. Not onlr' \\'as ti)J Sri'il't ilr:tand u'itlr thc ciesilcd long cntluiancc. blli cluc t() tilchiglr intcgritY o1'tltc liriianlc titctc ucrc llo strl-tcttlral

f aih-rre s in tiris hosttlc colntrltt rcgirno.

64

Abo,/e:Swift FRs XE953:F of l{o 79 Squadrono from RAFGermany. MOD

Tap righi:Swlft FRS, \{tK315:F of 79 Squadron ' J. D. R. Rawltng:

Cenire righi:Swift FR5, WK3Og:S of No 79 Squadron, was stored atAldergrove in lrecember { 959 after retirement fromseruice. Io[) Cros.39ll

Boltam right:

For a brief period after No 79 Squadron finishedoperating Swift FR5s, No 4 Squadron flew them for a

month in January 1961 at Gutersloh. FR5' WK293.features No 79 Squadron markings on the rearfuselage and No 4 Squadron markings on the nose.Eric Tayior

:',j' ,:, ,:'..3 -:::;-:i...:

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The trnal version of the Switt was the F7 first pro-posed in August 1952 as a design study tbr the ailcrallto be able to carry four Bluc Sky air'-to-air missilesunder the wings with radar guidance. These rvere inaddition to the standard fit ol four t-ixed Aden cannon.The radar was accommodated in a lengtl-rened nose

and the wingspan was increased to 36.08fi from theoriginal 32.,33tt ol the earlier marks. Power caure fi'oma Rolls-Royce Avon [16 engine uprated to 7,5501b

thrust and F4 WK279 was modified as an iierody-namic prototype. It was fitted with detachablc launch-ers for the n"rissiles and successtully lired thlee inOctober l9-55.

The first pre-production F7s were XF774. i'irstflown in April 1956, followed by XF778 in June, bothused fbr developrnent flying. The iirst lull productionaircraft of a total of 12. XFll3, f'lew in'August 1956,

and these three aircraft, plus the developmcnt proto-type were delivered to Boscornbe Down lbr handlingand perlbrmance trials. With missiles carried undel thewings maximum speed was restricted to 580kts orMach 0.92 up to 20,00011. The two pre-productionprototypes then went to RAF Valley fbl firing trials,XF778 being fitted with cameras in the nose to recordfirings from the radar equipped XF774. Ten oi' theproduction batch, XFI l5 to XFl24 were allocated toNo 1 Guided Weapons Development Squadron(GWDS) at RAF Valley to be the first British tighters

Right:Sryift FR7, XFI 13, the first production aircraft is seenat Farnborough in September t956, carryingundet ing-mounted Fairey Fireflash missiles.J. M. G. GradiCge

to be equipped rvith guided nrissiles in service. TheBlue Sky rnissile was renamed the Fairel, Firellash,and was in fact a radar beam-riding unpowered dartwith a high explosive impact warhead. Thc rnissileswerc accelerated to Mach 2 after launch by a pair oi.jettisonable booster mok)rs. Although these rnissilesnever entered lull operalional sen'ice, 300 wele issuedto No I GWDS tbr operational developrnent lirings ar

targets over Cardigan Bay. When thcse trials r.r'ere

completed the aircrai't werc rctired and scrapped.The remaining tu,o ailcraft did not participate in

the weapons trials. XFI l3 being f'lolvn by tlieHandling Squadron at Boscombe Down in 1956. andthen becon.ring part of the Empile: 'Iest Pilots' School(ETPS) lleet at Farnborough until retiremeni in carlv1962. The other aircrait, XFI 14, r.r'as used by BristolSiddeley Engines at Filton and then rvith the mainundercaniage doors t'emcved ra'as used fol wet rllnwaytrials at Filton, Heathrow, Upper Heyford anii Clan-tield in mid-1962 to check the aquaplaning character-istics of r,arious run$,ay surlaces. During this time itwas painted overall black and afier retil'ement was

SWIFT F7

66

:

B:::tI

iclirerecl by road to Fiint Technical College onl-.1 April 1967 fbr technical training. still without its;i'rlrin unclerciirriage cloor-s. It survii,ed for manv years.,nrl \\ils rccovcred in exccllent condition in carlv 1989rr .Tct Iieritage at Fiurn Airport. Currentlr'. it is being:;bLriit to 1'lvins condition. naliing this the last flf in-e

-',rrnpic of an1- of the Supermaline jet fl-ghters.Tlie S*'ifi ciime in fbr more than it,s fair-share of

.:iticism ciuring its dgvslopllent and service. some of

it unjustified. However. it achieved a number of firsts,pafticujarly in its later versions, and became a popularand cii'cctive aircrait.

Beiow:Swift FR7, XFI 19, pictured here whilst in service withthe Guided Weapons Missile Development Squadronat Yalley, carryinE underwing Fairey Fireflash beam.riding air-to-air missileE,

67

Twin-Engine Developments

In the early days ofjet engine development, the lowerpower of the engines encouraged the designers torcducc drag and unnecessary weight wherever poss-ible. One aspect looked at by both Britain and Francewas the operation of aircraft without an undercarriage.The French line of development was the Sud-Barouder, a singlc-cngined lightweight fighter whichuscd a trolley lbr take-off and skids for landing, theaim being an independence from airfields and longrunways. In Britain, however, the approach was to usea flexible deck, dispensing with the weight and com-plexity of the normal undercan'iage, and the problemsof stowage in thin wings, and land the aircraft on itsbelly on a rubber carpet.

Initial trials of the flexible deck were undertakenby Capt Eric Blown using specially adapted Vampirefighters, starting at Farnborough where the firstattempt caused considerable damage, but eventuallyproving the concept as practical in a series of 40 land-ings. Not only was the plan to use the flexible deck onaircraft caniers, but also site it on land to providequick landing strips close to the battle zone. The majorweakness was of coursc the lack of mobility on theground. and the probability of damage to the undersideof the ailclaft.

It was for this task that the Supermarine twin-jetdevelopment was originally planned with a heavy twinAvon-engined Type 505. Once landed on the carpet,the take-off for the next sortie would be catapultassisted. The side-by-side engine installation ensured a

flat cross-section underside for grcater stability onlanding, and the absence of a main undercarriageallowed a seven percent thickness chord ratio straightwing giving performance improvements in speed andclimb rate.

The Type 505 was being designed in 1945 whenlittle was known about swept wings, so a straight wingwith a symmetrical section constant over the wholespan was provided to avoid tip stalling. The leadingedge radius was as large as possible to prevent earlyairflow breakaway.

To reduce high speed interf-erence effects and drag,a butterfly V-tail was chosen to achieve the requiredstrength for its relatively thin surfaces, and to clear thejet efflux. Pitch control was effected by an all-flyingtail, the clevators giving additional control, and ruddermovements was replaced by dilftrential movement olthe elevators. Lift spoilers were fitted to increase drag

68

on the approach and dive flaps assisted recovery fromhigh Mach numbers. A lightweight fixed tricycleundercarriage was to be fitted during the initial testingof fl ight characteristics.

When the Admilalty abandoned the undercarriage-less schemes in 1947, Supermarine adapted its designto the Type 508 fitted with a conventional tricycleretractable undercarriage, and increased the thicknessof the wing to nine percent to accommodate it in thestowed position. All-round dimensions were increasedto reduce landing speed, the thicker wing also benefit-ing low level performance and landing characteristics.Wing area was increased from 270 to 3 lOsq ft.

With this all-round increase in size, the Superma-rine 508, by now designed to Specification N.9/47,had become the heaviest and most powerful aircraftever built for the Royal Navy.

Three prototypes were ordered, the iirst and thirdto be fully instrumented for experimental flying andthe second aircraft allocated to service trials, fittedwith the new 30mm cannons under the forward fuse-lage and radar-ranging mounted in the extreme nose.In addition to a camera gun in a fairing under the nosecone, two vertical and one oblique camera were fittedfor fighter reconnaissance duties. The first two proto-types were powered by two Rolls-Royce RA3 Avonengines, each delivering 6,5001b thrust.

The first prototype Type 508, VXi33, was trans-ported by road to Boscombe Down, from where MikeLithgow made the maiden flight on 3l August 1951.The aircraft logged l0 flying hours in time to qualifyfor an appearance at that year's Farnborough AirShow. where its display was restrained so as not torisk a new unknown type. As latel experience was toshow, it was perhaps fortunate that the manoeuvreswere modest.

Top right:The Supermarine Type 5O8, VXi 13, which first flewon 3l August 1951, was demonstrated atFarnborough one month later. J. D. R. Rawlings

Centre right:The prototype Type 5O8, VX133, during itsdeyelopment test programme at Chilbolton. Vickers

Bottom right:The Type 5O8, VXl33, flies past the control tower atChilbolton. Yickers

o^

rlLl

wPE 508

To provide additional lift for deck landings, theleading edges of the wings automatically droopeds hen a certain degree of flap was selected. At the

'ar.ne time the ailerons also dropped to form a goodlorv-speed section. Controls were still operated aero-d1'namically rather than fully powered. rvhich resulte drn some undesirable incidents with the Type 508.

The first was when Mike Lithgow was flying the

.rircraft on 5 December 195 l. at low altitude and a

rpeed well below the maximum. For no apparent rea-\on the aircraft began to vibrate violently rvith no indi-crtion of the cause. A very strong uncontrollable nose-

rp pitch developed, and to attempt to regairt controllhe pilot disengaged the elevator power. This howevernade things a lot worse and Mike Lithgorv blackedrrut due to the high g forces, regaining consciousnessrn an upward verlical role at 11,0001t. Control rvas

::gained and the accelerometer showed a maximum ofi lg which had caused some minor structural damage:ncluding loss of both wingtip pitot heads, resulting in:o airspeed indication. The return to Chilbolton was

nlde very carefully to avoid any furthel strain on the.rr erloaded airframe.

The Type 5O8, VXl33' seen during deck trials on HtlSEagle,28 ilay 1952. FAAMuseum

Top:The Supermarine Type 529' yxl36' was fitted withdorsal strakes ahead of the butterfly tail' MOS

Above:The Supermarine Type 529' VX136' wasdemonstrated at Farnborough in September 1952. ltwas intended to equip the aircraft with gun-rangingradar in the nose and a radar warning device :n the|ail. J. D. R. RawlinEs

It was assumed duling the subsequent investigationthat for some reason, the undercaniage had come

dorvn in flight. The aircraft was repaired and rhe

undercamiage modified to avoid an inadvertent lower-ing before it leturned to its flight development tasks. Af-ew flights later the same thing happened, but at least

the undercaniage stayed up. Also, the incident was

viewed from the ground and it was established that

aileron flutier caused the problem. The use of power

controls overcame this problem, and the Type 508 was

otherwise a trouble free aircraft, achieving all itsdesign targets.

On completion of its flight trials the aircraft, withits outer fblding wing panels removed, was used bythe School of Aircraft Handling at RNAS Culdrose toteach deck handling techniques. It was then relegatedto fire practice and was burnt beyond repair before it

71

was realised it might have been worthy of preserva-tion.

The second prototype, VX136, was sulliciently dii-ferent in detail and armament liorn the first, 1cl bc ailo-cated the new Type 529. It lnade its tirst flight alnxrsta year after the first on 29 August 1952, with four30mm cannon fitted in pairs below the engine intakes.It was planned to instail smail radomes in the nose fbrradar ranging, and the tail for tail warning radar, butneither were fitted due to development delays. ThcMk 5 gyro gunsight was also withdrawn, so that theaircraft was never used for its planned service trials,although it was not planned to put the aircrafi into pro-duction. Both the fir'st and second ailcraft wcredeployed on carrier trials where their takc-off andclimb performance was found to be exccllent.

During flight trials both aircraft were found to beprone to flutter which put limitations on their use, butthey did provide useful data in operating largc andpowerful aircraft on carricr decks in preparation forwhat was due to emcrge in the future.

The Type 529 was delivered to rhe RN testsquadron at RAE Bedfbrd on 15 April 1953 fbr rail-down landing trials, culminating in slight damage in aforced landing on 5 May. The airclaft was soon

Below:The Type 529, VXl36, with folding wings on HMSEagle, S November t953, tor deck trials, FAA Museum

repaired and contmenccd catapult acceleration trials inmid-June. The Bedford trials were completcd inNovembcr, when the aircraft returned to Supermarineat Chilbolton lor further development flying, but itwas damagcd again on 19 December 1953 during anemel'gency landing.

The aircraft was stored pending a decision on itsf'utule, but lepair was consideled uneconomic with themore representative Type 525 becoming availablc.The Type 529 was thcrefbre struck olf chargc on27 Octobcr. 1954 and the major cornponents finaliywere delivered to the Prool and Explosivcs Establish-ncnt on 29 June 1956 to be used ibr damage assess-ment of guntire on aircraft sll'ucture s.

Ihe third prototype of the trio of research air-craft,VXl38, dil'f'cred considerably fiom the earlier two andwas designated thc Type 525. The major difi'erencebetwecn this and eariicr aircraft v/as that the wingsand tail surf'aces wele all swept back, the fin andtailplane being of more conventional crucilormdesign. It bore an overall simiiarity to thc evcntualproduction aircrafi, which in effect was ;r ccmpleteredesign. Despite the major dif]'erences, this aircraliwas still included in the original specification andhigher power came flom a pair of Rolls-Royce RA7Avon engines with a thrust of 7,5001b. Provision wasmade to lit a reheat RA7R, but this never took place.

Follor.ving constl'uction by Supermarine, the air-crafi was dismantled and taken by road to Boscombe

Right:The swept-wing Supermarine Type 525, YXl38, wasfitted with generous flaps on the wings and under thefuselage. M. J. F. Bowyer

Down where Mike Lithgow made the first flight on27 April i954. The aircraft was fitted with a sting-typearrester hook in the tail cone, and the fin leading edgearea was increased early in thc flight trials to improvedirectional stability.

Supermarine experienced the same basic aerody-namic prcblerns fbund in the USA with the secondgeneration jet aircraft. Despite the swept surfaces andmore powerful engines, there was clnly a very modestincrease in speed, as the area rule r.vas not applied.This allowed for a smooth curve if the overall crosssection was plotted. but if thc wings gave a sharpincrease in the cross-sectional area, the spced wouldbe limited. The familiar waisted or 'Coke bottle' elfectovercame this problem. Therelore although it was thenprobably the most powerful swept wing aircraft in the*orld, it cor-rld only jr.rst exceed the speed of sound ina dive. This basic shortcoming was corected in thedcsign of the Type 544, destined to become the pro-duction Scimitar.

The Type -525 was fittecl wirh a taller undercarriagepositioned furthel out on the wings and the overalliength was 52fi due to the swept back tail surfaces. To,rllow practical carrier operations. high lift devices

were essential for approach and landing. The Type525 had NACA double-sloned flaps on the wing trail-ing edge, joined by cxtensions under the fuselage, andtapered leading edge slots fiom wing root to tip. Inaddition. lift spoilers, Attacker-type air brakes anddive recovery flaps were provided as part of the com-plex controi systems.

-L

wPE 525

73

()

Top:The swept-wing and tail Type 525, VXt38, ted to thedevelopment of the Scamitar. Vickers

Above:Type 525, VXl38, seen at Farnborough on8 September 1954.J. D. R. Rawlings

A swept butterfly tail had been originally proposed,with variable incidence through a hingecl tail cone, butstructural considerations resulted in the more conven_tional design.

As a lurther part of the programme to improvehandling on the approach to landing, Supermarinedeveioped its experience of laminar flow. The sutplusof air available from the compressors of the morepowerful jet engines coming into service would allowthe boundary layer turbulence to be overcome bysucking or blowing throu-eh perforations in the aero_foil surfaces. Supermarine developed a flap blowingsystem for the Type 525, which projected a thin jet ofhish pressure air through a narrow slot along the wing

74

trailing edge, just ahead of the flap hinge. This jet ofair tended to follow the contour of the flap when itwas deflected, avoiding the turbulence caused by theboundary layer separation and rapid rise of drag. As aresult the approach speed was reduced by some l8mphand the smaller angle of attack gave an improved viewfor the pilot on the approach. Control and stability wassignificantly improved at lower speeds because of asmoother wake and more stable airflow over the trail_ing edges.

A denavalised version of the Type 525, designatedthe Type 526, was oflered to RAF SpecificationF.3/48 but was not adopted. A tandem seat trainer ver-sion was considered, still with a swept butterflytailplane. as the Type 539.

The Type 525, painted in a gloss cream overallcolour scheme, participated in the September 1954SBAC display at Farnborough, bur on 5 July 1955 itwas totally destroyed in a latal crash following anuncontrolled spin, ending the era of twin-jet experi-mental design, which paved rhe way for an eff'ectiveproduction programme.

The Scimttar

As.a logical developmenr of the Type 525, the Type544 was produced, known initially ajthe N113, beiorebecoming the Scimitar for the FAA. This was to be thelast in a long line of Supermarine aircraft, the namebeing absorbed fully into Vickers when that companybecame part of the British Aircraft Corporation.

The first protorype Nl13, WTg54, made irs initialflight with Mike Lithgow from Boscombe Down on19 January 1956, followed by two more prototypes,WT895 and WWl34 in the same year. The thirdiro-totype was the first aircraft to be fitted with blownflaps. Deck trials were flown with the first prototvDein April 1956 from HMS Arft Royal, with funner OecXtrials flown in January 1957 using the more represen_tative third prototype.

Changing operational requirements caused theScimitar to shift its designated role from single_seatfighter to a low Ievel strike aircraft capable oi usingthe below radar coverage Low Altitude-Bombing Sys_tem (LABS) attack method. In addition, the iirciaftri'ould be capable of launching a tactical nucleardevice, all with a single pilot as crew and modest radarfor.weapon sighting. The overall design had compliedn,ith the area rule, giving the Nl13 a iupersonic capa_bility in a shallow dive, rhe high speedbeing helpiulin departing from a hostile environment. Thelirframe

therefore was of robust construction to withstand theheavy flight loads and gusrs ar high speed and low alti_tude, especially when pulling high g manoeuvr.es.

With the high subsonic speeds at which the Scimi_tar would be expected to operate, elfective control wasa major problem to overcome. This generation of highspeed aircraft was experiencing a pitch-up in longitu_dinal control apparenr at high altitude and high Machnumbers. This unwelcome characteristic was causedby the sonic shock wave-induced separation ol the airflow over the wing, leading to a high speed tip stall,aggravated by the increased downwash over the all-flying tailplane, without its own elevators. The solu-tion to the problem was to introduce saw tooth notchesin the wing leading edge together with boundary layerfences and Kuchemann-shaped flared out wingtips.This worked fbr many of the contemporary sweptwing jet fighters of the time, but the N1 l3 benefited asmuch as anything from converting the tailplane from aten degree dihedral to a ten degree anhedral.

Below:The strop drops away as one of the lfl t3 Dprototypes climbs away from HMS lrk Foyat at decktrials in 1957. Vickers

Above:Supermarine lilt f 3, WT854, with the original dihedraltailplane on arrester trials at RAE Bedford. ylckers

Below:Supermarine Nl'E 3, WTg54, prototyFe for theScinnitar, seen at Farnborough in September 1956after the anhedral tailplane had been fitted.J. M. G. GradiCge

The rate of roll was very high at moderate Mach:rumbers. and thc ailcrons tendcd Io bc overscnsitii,e.Thc Nl l3 was the flrst British naval aircrafl to r.rse

tluplicated power controls. the lequircd accuracy being.ichieved by addin-u snpplemcntary hydraulic jacks toihc original Fairey power contlols, and introducingclilterential gearine to prodr.rcc thc llncr dcgree of.lccuracy rcqr-rired.

A concern of the Supermarine design tcam was thc:nertia fbrces gencratcd during rapid roll-s. particularlyJuring roll pull-outs. which could induce exccssivei.rn,. This could cause structural damaqe to an aircralt,rl the N I l3 layout rvith short lighnvcight u'in,g: and a

Selow left:The somewhat battered Nl l3 Scimitar prototype,WTa54, in use at RNAS Guldrose in l97O for trainingground handlers. J. D. R. Rawlings

Selow:Third prototype Nl13, WWl34, with blown flapsaboard HMS lrk Royal ,o? deck trials in early 1957,with tC'Squadron at Boscombe Down. Supermanne

Above:Supermarine N113 second prototype' WT859' stillwith the dihedral tailplane. Vicker.s

heavy long firselage. The conrputcr studics conlirrncdthat the strength contingcncy allou'ancc ploviiicd bythe advanccd cngineerirrg rvoulcl cope with anv plotr-lcrrs o1'this nature.

To \\,ithstand the high ioads on thc structulc. hi,'htensilc stccl rvas used lirr- thc main u'inr spars. and fbrarcas of rrajor strcss in thc u'ing anci tail. 'Iitaniurn

sas uscd in lou'cr strc-\s arcas u'here heat l'csistanccrlas r-ecluircd. To ovcrcort.tc lcoustic dlmage b1' thccnginc.jct el'llur on rcar llsclagc pane ls. thickcl skinsuere mountcd on steel libs. bondccl *'ith a synthctiurcsin backcd b;' a lbanr f illing. The nraioritl, o1' thelcnrrinder of thc airlianrc u'as conventional light alloystructurc rvith the skins chcnrically rnillcd to rcduccricight *,herc appropliate. An overall latiguc lil'c ol'1.000hrs rvas achicved. an averagc lbr high pcrlirr-rnancc militarl, ailcratt, bui hardly acccptable in com-mcrcial aircrali.

Above:XD212 was the first production Scimitar F1. Vickers

Left:Scimitar F1512!FO of 7OO{XI Squadron, FllAr duringdeck service trials. F,zlA Museum

T'he Scirriitar was the large:st, heaviesr and mostpon'elful single-scat .jet figlrter to sgrve r'",ith rhe FiectAir Arm and \\'as conlplcntentar), ro thc t\\'o-seai dcHavilland Sea Vixen all-weather Iighter.

As mentioned earlier. the prototvpc WT8-5.1 rnaclcthe initial deck landing trials on !'lMS Ar* Rrrr,a1, iol-lowing a sclics ol'simulated dcck landingr on anarrestcr gcar'-equipped run\\,ay at RAE ileCtirrd. ByNovcrnber l9-57 a totai of i4li deck landings ancl cata-pult take-olfs had bccn achieied. gir.inl an idcalapproach specd of i2-lkt at a lanCing ivcight o1-

18.0001b. l-o acltieve this, 1'lap blovn,ing v.,as used gir-ing a steeocr attitude on the approach. ancl implovinathe pilot's vier.r' ovcr the nose. Thg maxinrut.n perinis-sible $,eiqht fbl a stcarn catapr-rlt launch was -14.0(X)lb.-l-he tirst production Scimiter. XD2l2, rnadt itsmaidcn 11ight on I I January l9-i7 and sharcd clcvclolr-ment with a nurrbcr o1'thc ear:ly batch of'aircret't. Thisincluded Builpup nrissile trials, acccpranud tlirls atBoscombe Down and F{MS AlL Aolrrl, and ihe iirnn,ing of 700X Fli-eht iirr opcrational trials. Inirill ilccktraining was can'ied ou! at Bosconrbc l)ou'n, and thcfbrmation ol 700X Fliglrt u'as an innovation lbl rhcintroductiorr ol' a complcx wea])ons systeln. to dcrcr-milc thc best wa1's to oporati the neu' ailcrali in :t

rcali stic scrvicc environr.nent.

78

Abave:The Scimitar was introduced to FAA service with 7OO

Squadron at RNAS Ford from August 1957 to June1958. XD22O:5il of 7oO Squadron is prepared forflight in June 1958. J. D. R. Rawlings

Left:fll{o ao3 Squadron Scimitars, XD242:152N, andXD23O:151/V, ready tor catapult departure from HMSYictorious. FAA h'f useu m

Below left:Scimitar Fl, XD264:154/v of ao3 Squadron' aboardthe HMS Victorious. RAF Museum/Cyril Peckham

700X Flight lbrmed at RNAS Forci on 27 August1957 commanded by Ctlr T. G. Innes, receiving itsfirst Scimitar in May 1958. It continued rvith the oper-ational development task until February 1959. Mean-rvhile. BO3 FAA Squadron commenced operationaltraining at Lossiemouth on 3 June 1958, as the firstfrontline squaclron under the command of Cdr J. D.Russell. The cight Scimitar Fls embarked on HMSVictoriou,s in September, wolking up in home watersbelbre spencling a few 'uveeks in the Mediterranean Seatowards the end of 1959.

Nluch of the lbilorving year was spent ashcre based

aI Lossiemouth. re-ernbarkin-e on FiMS Victorious tnOctober lbr a further peliod in the Mediterranean.including l0 da1,s on shr,.re at Hal Far in Nlalta. Areturn was made to l-ossiemouth on 19 I)ecember toprepare tbl Far Eastern service fbr a duration of 10months. The departure was rnade on HMS \lictoriousin Janr.rarl, 1961. r'eaching 1'engah in Singapore twomonths later. While afloat. a visit wirs nrade to Butter-

70

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fr

1]fr*%lf: _2;

"*

d*ry"

p

EKNo 8O3 Squadron, FAA, Scimitars aboard HMSVictorious, with Sea virens and Gannets. FAA Museum

Right:Scimitar Fl: 15O/V of 8O3 Squadron: the barrierarrest on HMS yictorioars has caused some damage tothe wing leading edges and fuselage. FAAMuseum

Below right:ilo AO3 Squadron Scimitar, XD269, rolls over the sideof HMS Victorious lO July 196'1, brake failure havingcaused it to miss the arrester wires and barrier. Thewings are partially folded. FAA Museum

worth in Malaya lbr a month in the summer. testingthe operation of the Scimitar in the lull range of hotweather climates. The squadron departed ihe area on5 October 196i, aniving back at Lossiemouth viaYeovilton on 9 December.

On 25 May 1962, 803 Squadron transfen'ed toHMS Herme,s, returning to the Mediterranean untilOctober when a month was spent in preparation for a

further tour of the Far East on HMS Hermes, whichwas to become the 803 Squadron floating base for a

couple of years. During this tour from November 1962until October i963, further shore detachments weremade at'l'engah. In February 1964 the strength of thesquadron was doubled to l6 aircraft when 803

ii;i:,,i;i;iihiirr,i{iritiiijlliriit,r$Silipi.

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Aocva leit:Scimitar Fl, XD2iiEr 156/V 403 Squadroil, FAA, isabout to take off from the Farnborougn runway.:.: J .F:. bcwyer

Scimitar F1, XO23l;152/V of 8O3 Squadron, fromHMS Victorious at RI{AS Ford in June '1958.,,' J ;: Eowyer

Tcp'Scimitar F{, XD267, of 8OS Siquadron at Lossiemouthin April 1964. J. D. R. Rawlings

AbovzScimitar Fl af 8O3 Squa<lron is about to leave thedeck of HllllS Arft Royal with the assistance of thesteam cataparlt.

6)

absorbed the disbanded 800 Squadron. No 803Squadron spent much of the year at its Lossiemouthbase, with detachments south to Yeovilton. Eight air-craft from 803 Squadron participated in the servicecontribution to the Farnborough Air Show in Septem-ber 1964, sharing the FAA limelight with Sea Vixensand Wessex. In December its allocated ship becameHMS Ark Royal. After work-up on this carrier in Jan-uary, 803 departed in June, once more lor the Far East,where Changi in Singapore and Butterworth were theland bases. Amongst the operational duties were twospells on the Beira patrol before returning toLossiemouth and disbanding on I October 1966.

Above:ilo 8O3 Squadron Scimitar Fl, fitted with underwing'buddyt refuellang pod, is ready for catapult take-offfrom HMS lrk Foyar.

Below:ln May 1964, the FAA celebrated its 6oth annivercarywith a review at Yeovilton. Scimitar XD235:149/R of8O3 Squadron was part of the line-up ofrepresentative serving aircraft. P. J. Birtles

Bottom:Scimitar F7, XD276, of 8O3 Squadron at the point oftouchdown on HMSArkFoyar, in May 1965,J. D. R. Rawlings

Right:

Scimitar F1,XD?25, of 8O3 Squadron picks up thearrester wire on HMS Ark Royal an May 1965.J. D. R. Rawiings

Below:The moment of truth! Scinritar Fl XD333:'f 5O/R of8O3 Squadron prepares to leave the deck ot HMS^Ar*Royal in May 1965. J. D. R. Rawlings

Botton:After serviee with AO3 Squadron, Scimitar XD276served on ground instruction duties at RNAS l-ee-on-Solent where at was put in the static display for aNavy Day in June 196a. P. J. Birtles

85

<D

86

Top:

A Bullpup air-to-air missile is fared from a Scimitar Fl,FAA Museum

Above:Scimitar Fl of 736 Squadron, FAA, lands on a runwayat Yeovilton in July 1963. M. J. F. Bowyer

As well as being able to fire Bullpup missiles in theair-to-ground role, the Scimitar could also carry theSidewinder air-to-air missile, unguided rocket pro.jec-tiles. four l,000lb bombs or four 200gal drop tanks.Fixed armament was four 30mm Aden cannon and thcaircraft could cany a flight refuelling 'buddy' pack to\upport other Scimitars.

The Scimitar operational training task was under-taken by 736 Squadron based at Lossiemouth fromJune 1959 until March 1965, when it took over Bucca-neer training. The duty of the squadron was to trainpilots to frontline standard, providing them with expe-rience in photo reconnaissance and ground-attackusin,s bombs, rockets, guns and Bullpup missiles,Sidervinder air-to-air interceptions, low level naviga-tion and army cooperation. Five Scimitars from the736 Squadron aerobatic team performed at the Farn-borough Air Show in September 1962, often flyingclose to the now banned Mach I and doing a forma-tion quartet 'twinkle' roll, now more famous with theRed Anows. Following its disbandment as a Scimitartraining unit, this task was taken over by 764 (B)Squadron fbr a couple of months, before HawkerHunter TSs took on Air Warfare Instructor training.

87

rcp left:Scimitar Fl XD239:613 of 736 Squadron visited theWethersfield air show in illay 1962 carryingSidewinder air-to-air missiles on undetving pylons.'.1. J. F. Bcwyer

aentre left:Early production Scimitar Fl XD2i5:61f of ?36Squadron appeared at the Biggin Hil| Air Fair in May1965, carrying dummy 25olb bombs and fuel droptanks under the wings. J. M. G. Gradidge

3cttam left:

At Farnborough Air Show in September 1962, ?36Squadron participated with its Scimita6 within theRoyal Navy set piece. XD219 is seen on the point oflanding alongside another Scimitar. M. J. F. Bowyer

Top:Scimitar Fl, XD332:6'12 of 736 Squadron atLossiemouth, the home of the Scimitar units, inAugust 1966. J. D. R. Rawlings

Above:No 736 Squadron Scimitar F1,XD224, at Lossiemouthin I 960 before the tail markings were adopted.R. C. B. Ashworth

89

Above:The 8o7 Squadron, FA[, Scimitar aerobatic teampractises near lnvergerdon whilst operating fromLossiemouth, FAA Museum

The second Scimitar frontline unit was 807 whichrecommissioned on l October 1958 at RNASLossiemouth with eight aircraft. It remained on shore

working up to operational status until March 1960

when it embarked on HMS Ark Royal for a tour in the

Mediterranean. During the work-up period the

squadron introduced the Scimitar to the public at the

SBAC Farnborough Air Show in September 1959.

Their demonstration was the finale of the show withfour in a box formation and two solos led by Lt-CdrLeppard. No 807 Squadron's display featured a solo

LABS bombing technique, a high speed target snatch

by a hook from the runway, and when the two single-

ton Scimitars landed in one direction on the Farnbor-ough runway, they folded their wings to let throughanother Scimitar landing in the opposite direction.Their tail markings featured a scimitar.

During its tour of duty in the Mediterranean, theaircraft were shore-based at Hal Far and Gibraltar. InApril 1961 a transfer was made to HMS Centaur, and

after a further spell in the Mediterranean, the ship

sailed to the Persian Gulf where 807 Squadron helped

Below:No 80? squadron, FAA's, Scimitat XD267 is picturedat Farnborough in September 1959. M. J. F' Bowyer

90

Right:Scimitar Fl, XD249:196/R of aOZ Squadron, on theapproach at Farnborough in September 1959.

Belaw:No 8O7 Sguadron took part in the Royal Nayypresentation at Farnborough in September 1959;XD268:194/R Iands on conclusion of its display.J. M. G. Gradidge

Bottom:No 8O7 Squadron Scimitar, XD248:195/R, with anadditional message hook attached to the norma!arrester hook at Farnborough in 1959.J. M. G. Gradidge

Right:An 8oo Squadron FAA ScimitarFl is armed at RNASLossiemouth in August 1961.M. J. F. Bowyer

Below & bottom:An aOO Squadron Scimitar,XD28O, made an emergencylanding on HMS Ark lloyal with afire in the port engine.via A. Fisher

to keep the peace in an earlier Gulf crisis when Iraqwas threatening Kuwait. In August, the Scimitarsreturned to Lossiemouth via Malta to prepare for a FarEast tour on HMS Centour commencing in October1961. On the return home from this tour, some timewas spcnt at Nlalta, befbre finaily flying toLossiemouth and disbanding on l-5 May 1962.

No 800 Squadron received its first of eight Scimi-tars on I July 19-59 at Lossicmouth under the cont-mand of Lt-Cdr Norman. After working up at its homebase the squadron cmbarked on FIMS Art Rorzrl, pass-

ing through the: Mediterranean with detachmcnts at

Hal Far, cn route to the Far East. Herc it spent a num-ber o1 detachments at Tengah befbre returning toLossiemouth to be absorbed into 803 Squadron on25 Fcbruary 1964. During one of its home base

deployments, 800 Squadron combined rvith the Scimi-tars ol 804 Squadron at the SBAC Irarnborough AirShow in September 1961. No 8(X) Squadron was rep-resented by six Scimitars led by Lt-Cdr Danny Nor-man, supportecl by three fornrations frorn HMS Her-nes including a fbrmation of live Scimitars ancl onc

Top right:Scimitar Fl, XD268:1 l2lE of 8OO(BI Squadron, FAA,being made ready for take-off with the steamcatapult. FAA Museum

Centre right:Scimitar Fl, XD276:loo/R of 8oo Squadron,participated in the Paras Air Show in June 1961.J. M. G. Gradidge

Bottom right:Scimitar Fl, XD279 tO3/R of 8OO Squadron, is seenon the Lossiemouth flight line in August 1961.J. D. R. Rawlings

92

'4rt_-R*r" #, ",,.

ffi,:ffi3r

Above:Scimitar F'f , XDz?7 'lo't/R of 8oo Squadron'participated at the Farnborough Air Show inSeptember1961.J. D'; I;aw; nas

s()lo aircnrli liorn 80'i Squadron. Tlre soio aircraltfionr ii04 Sctuarilrn shared a Li\liS Centonstralionwith u Sca Vrxcn fionr 890 Srirrrtilon.

Thc iin;ri lnrntline Scinritar unit u lr 80-{ Scluaciron.

aircaiv mentionc(i riue tt rts l)ait in the ScpicinirctSB,\C Frurbox;ugi: Aii Sitorv. T hrs sa'.iaclrtrn oni,'opcraicd the Scirnitlil lor lE rnonths. irorir llarch l9(d)

untii Scltemher 1961 . The squadro!1 for"mcrl at

Loss:emoulh rvith sir Scimitllt's on 1 lliarch 1960 lrnci

enrbari<ed on FlliS I!anne.r' on (r .lul. l'rrr a ri'oti<-un.

iiilor to bc:ng stationeci il: tl:c Frr Elist rvith its lenubasc at 'i eni:ah. Singapore. A lcturlt r'^.lts Itt:tcic to

Lcs-siernrilrth in Aprii i!t(: l. and l()iio\f iltg lttoir' workr"'ith HlriS llanrtc.s in liottte

"'"atct's. the stlLiltdtcit * li'

di:banciccl on i5 Scptcrnbcr'.

Beiow:Nine Scimitars of 8OO Squadron w€re pari oi rheRoyal Naw contribution to the Farnborough Alr Showin September 1961. J. M. G. Cradidge

L)4

The Scimitar was withdrawn trom fiontline servic:at its home base at Lossiemouth when 803 Squadrondisbanded in October 1966, in preparation to receivethe replacement two-seat radar-equipped Buccaneers.

A total of 76 productiorr Scimitars had been built atSouth Marston, the last bcing delivered in Septernbcr196C. A further batch ol 24 aircraft had been can-celled.

Following the retiremcnt of the Scimitar from ser-vice, a number of the aircraft were put into storage at

Above:Following its serryice with AOO (Bl Squadron, ScimitarF1 XD243 was issued to RllAS Lee-on-Solent fortechnical training where it was used in the air dalrstatic park in June 196a. P. J. Bifties

Below:Rarely photographed Scimitars of 8O4 Squadron, FA[,tor erample XD325!163/H from HHS Herrnes.FM Museunl

95

Brawdy pending their release to Airwork FRU at HurnAirport. Others were allocated to ground trials ortraining work, consisting of aquaplaning research atFarnborough with XD219 with the outer wingsremoved, carrier deck handling training, and gunfiredamage assessment at Foulness.

Airwork operated the Scimitar on Fleet Require-ments duties from December 1965 to December 1970

when the aircraft were finally withdrawn from flyingduties.

The Scimitar was, therefore, the last in a long andillustrious line of Supermarine single-seat high perfor-mance aircraft, from the world-beating Schneider Tro-phy racers, to the war-winning Spitfire and the pio-neering jet fighters. A truly proud heritage for such a

modest company.

Above:During the latter days of its service, RI{AS Brawdywas used as a holding unit, where Scimitar Fl,XD32l, was stored an September 19!57. P. J. Birtles

Below:The ultimate user of the Scimitar on flying duties wasthe Airwork FRU at Hurn, of which XD236 was anexample. J. M. G. Gradidge

96

8

Flying the Supermarine Jets

Test Flying Impressions bY

David Morgan

David Morgan, recently retired from BritishAerospace, was a development test pilot with Super-

marine through the majority of the test programmes on

the jet fighters and the associated experimental air-craft.

Dave had served initially in the RAF and thenjoined the RNVR in 1944 flying Seafires with the

FAA. At the end of World War 2 he joined a feny fly-ing unit before being posted to the Central FlyingSchool at Little Rissington to become a Qualified Fly-ing Instructor. From here he was posted to RNAS Lee-on-Solent to retrain pilots following ground tours, fly-ing Harvards, Seafires and Fireflies. Following his

attendance at No 7 Course at the Empire Test Pilots'School, Dave returned to Lee-on-Solent with the Car-rier Trials Unit. A feature of the FAA at that time was

that appointments tended to be short and it was onlysix months before a move was made to take over the

Naval section of the Handling Squadron at RAFManby, tasked with the compilation of the pilot'snotes for the new aircraft then entering service.

On 2 June 1950 David Morgan joined Supermarine

at Chilbolton as a test pilot on the Attacker pro-gramme. The design office and experimental hangar

were at Hursley Park and the prototypes built there

were taken by road to Boscombe Down for the maiden

flights. A1l experimental and development test flyingwas from Chilbolton, while production and the associ-

ated routine test flying was from the South Marstonworks near Swindon.

When Dave joined Supermarine there were three

Attackers on test, the aircraft being basically a Spitef'ul

wing fitted to a jet fuselage. With the loss of the sec-

ond prototype, TS4l3, the original prototype was

adapted for naval work, as there was no RAF interest

in the type. One prototype had larger air intakes and

the wing position changed to significantly improvelongitudinal control, but the urgency of production

called fbr the original configuration.The prototype, TS409, was very heavy on the con-

trols fore and aft, particularly at low speeds and pro-

duction aircraft were heavier. An elevator with flatsides brought about some improvement. The aileronswere also improved by fitting lighter springs to the

tabs, reducing forces in the roll.Production aircraft never flew as well as TS409,

probably due to tolerances affecting aerodynamic bal-ancing, although the first production aircraft, WA469,was quite close to the earlier standards' The wings ofRN aircraft folded across the mid-span of the aileronsand the RPAF aircraft which did not have this feature

were generally more pleasant to fly'A problem which emerged quite late in the devel-

opment programme was stalling of the fin when recov-ering from a flat turn or straight sideslip Full rudder

could be reached in both cases, without any sign of finstali or rudder overbalance, and normal flight regainedby progressively centring the controls' However, a

complete release of the controls resulted in the aircraftrearing up and doing one - and sometimes two - vio-lent flick rolls before control was regained. A dorsal

tin provided a complete cure.Dave's first flight in an Attacker was some months

before.joining Supermarine when he took the opportu-nity to feny TS409 from Boscombe Down toChilbolton. His immediate impression was how much

faster it was than a Vampire and how much less

'tense' than a Meteor 8 at 500kts low down. The liftspoilers, designed to facilitate carrier landing were

also a great help landing an unfamiliar aircraft on a

shortish runway, but manoeuvring at low speeds on

the ground was not easy due to the twin tailwheel.In August 1950, Dave was tasked with taking the

prototype Attacker to Pakistan for the Independence

Day celebrations. He experienced an electrical fault inCyprus which necessitated a complete electrical panel

being flown out by a civil airline. The panel was then

fitted by the RAF squadron's electrician at Nicosia.

The next leg to Baghdad ended in a landing with one

main undercaniage leg up. Much of the load was

taken by the belly tank which was replaced with one

brought out by the rescue team who flew straight

97

Above:Jeffrey Quill, wartime Spitfire test pilot (leftl withDavid Morgan, preparing to deliver a brace ofAttackers to Pakastan. Su permari ne

through from Weybridge in a Valetta and had theAttacker serviceable in five days. He anived in timefor the Commander-in-Chief, Air Vice-MarshalAtcherley, to lead the flypast in TS409 painred in thecolours of the, then, Royal Pakistan Air Force.

For production test flights a calibrated sensitivealtimeter was fitted to check the functioning of thecockpit pressurisation system. When climbing through40,000f1 on a normal test flight, Les Colquhoun hadthe canopy seal explode causing a rapid depressurisa-tion and the calibrated altimeter settled at 42,000ft. Irwas checked and found to be accurate. It was con-cluded that the suction generated around the canopycaused the increase in cabin altitude and it made one|ealise how close one had been to anoxia flyingunpressurised aircralt like TS409, not to mentionMeteor 7s to heights of 45,000ft breathing oxygenwithout pressure assistance.

The Supermarine 510 was an Attacker with sweptback wings and tail surfaces. It was lookcd upon as theNo I sharp aircraft in 1950 and was splendid whenflown by Mike Lithgow at the RAF Display at Farn-borough that year. Thc Hawker P1052 was in a similarclass to the Type 510. but the American F-86 Sabrewas fastcr at low altitude due to lower drag and amuch morc efficient intake/engine combination. ThcSabre had also exceeded the speed ol sound becauseol its virtually fully-powcrcd ailerons and variableincidence tailplanc with a boosted elevator.

Afier some development work mainly concernedwith the power assisted controls, the Type 510 became

98

the first swept-wing jet aircraft to land on the deck ofan aircraft carrier. It was fitted with an arrester hookand rocket assisted take-off gear (RATOG). The trialswere flown on HMS lllustrious by Mike Lithgow,Chief Test Pilot of Supermarine, LrCdr (Later RearAdmiral) Doug Parker from Boscombe Down and LtJock Elliot from Aero Flight Farnborough. The trialrevealed no great problems in landing and the onlymajor incident was during a take-off when RATOG onthe port side failed to light and the ensuing swing andwing drop brought the wingtip into contact with theship's forward gun turret. The powerful aileronsenabled the subsequent out-of-trim forces to be heldquite easily and the aircraft was flown to Chilboltonand landed safely.

The second Type 510, VV119, had guns built intothe wings; it was soon given a nosewheel undercar'-riage in a lengthened nose, and became the Type 535.It was still powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene engine,initially with reheat, but this was not successful. It wasa beautiful looking aeroplane and was first seen pub-licly at the 1950 SBAC Farnborough Air Show, flownby Mike Lithgow.

The second Type 535, WJ960, was the first to bepowered by the Avon RA7 engine, which became theType 541. Dave Morgan was due to demonstrate thisnew aircraft at Farnborough in September'195 l, whileMike Lithgow flew the larger twin-engined Type 508.

On the Saturday just before the show, Dave wastasked with a high altitude test, followed by a Farnbor-ough practice in WJ960. On completion of the sortie,preparation was made for the landing at Chilbolton,approaching over the valley in which flowed the RiverTest. As full flap was selected on final approach,engine power was increased to overcome the extradrag. The RA7 engine suffered a kind of'flat spot' atthis parl of the rpm range due to the operation ofintake swirl vanes and compressor bleed valves, soone was used to somewhat uneven response to throttlemovement. On this occasion, however, there was a

loud bang, a vapoul'cloud around the intakes and analmost complete loss of power.

The Swift was not a very efficient glider underthese conditions so the undercarriage was selected'up'and the flaps set to'max lifi'. Even so, the rapidinitial height loss made clear that there was no chanceof clearing the ridge which confronted the aircraft,much less gaining the airfield, and a turn to the rightwas made towards what was more open country. Thedescent continued and no response to throttleoccurred. The intended flight path was now con-strained by the ridge on the left and a line of high ten-sion cables converging from the right. There existedsome doubt as to the possibility ol clearing thc cablesand the aircrati was pushed down to fly undelncathther.n. There was then little height left and only mini-mum flying speed and a touch down was expected onthe crest of a grass covered slope. When the crcst was

reached there was a house right on the nose. It was justpossible to tum enough to go between the house andthe barn but the gap was narrower than the wingspanand some three feet off the port wing were left on theiroutside privy, built strongly in brick and fortunatelyunoccupied! On inspecting the approach afterwards,Dave found that the tail pipe had actually dragged onthe ground for some 20yds before impact.

The aircraft came to a halt in a stubble field, withthe engine still running, which Dave stopped with thelow pressure cock (the HP cock linkage having been

broken), and rapidly jumped out of the aircraft. Helooked into the air intake and saw the starter motorfairing lying in the compressor inlet.

The first person to arrive on the scene was a

woman running from the farm, whose comment onarrival at the aircraft was 'Oh dear, we have beenexpecting something like this to happen. They havebeen coming over very low recently.' All Dave couldsuggest was that people should keep away from thescene as there was an explosive ejection seat fitted.

They walked back to Charity Down Farm along thelanding path and Dave was surprised to find a group offour or five elderly men sitting down to tea, butnobody looked up when Dave entered and apologisedfor the disturbance. They did, however, come to lifewhen he produced his cigarettes. Each man took oneand laid it carefully by his plate, with one chap saying'Thank you, I will have just one!'.

Air Traffic at Chilbolton had told Chunky Horne,who was airborne in an Attacker from South Marston,that they had seen the Swift disappear into the TestValley on the approach to runway 12 and it was notlong before Dave heard him fly over, after which heleft the tea party. Chunky had spotted the Swift and

called the Tower to give directions for the fire truck.Soon other people appeared on the scene, including

Above:Swift F?, XFI14, is seen here at CEnfield in June1966, with the main undercarriage doots removed'configured for braking trials on wet runways. lt wasthis aircraft which so nearllr was bulldozed off therunway at Upper Heyford. Following pneservation atFlintshire College' it is now being restored to flyingcondition at Hurn. P. J. Birtles

Joe Smith, the Chief Designer. He was still running-inhis new Humber Super Snipe, the cross country driv-ing not being the best way to treat the new car. Thenext day Dave took VV I 1 9 to Farnborough and flew itin the SBAC Show. WJ960 was flying again withinthree months.

It was decided to exhibit the Swift prototype at theNATO display in Brussels in June 1952, alongside theHawker Hunter and the North American F-86 Sabre.

To take full advantage it was also planned to breakthe London to Brussels speed record. To achieve themaximum speed, one needed to arrive with minimumfuel. Since there was no knowledge of the ultimaterange of the aircraft, closed circuit flights were made

to determine the endurance. The gallons used weremeasured against time in the closed circuit at altitudesof 10,000ft, 5,000ft and on the deck. It was establishedthat for the record attempt all the fuel would be used atlow level, but that 60gal would remain in the tanks ifthe aircraft was flown at 10,000ft; for safety the latterwas chosen. The start was planned from London-Heathrow airport and a visibility of at least l0 mileswas required to pin-point the destination, especially as

the approach to Brussels lacked landmarks. Visibilitywas too bad on the first day, but marginal enough onthe second to make an attempt worthwhile. Beforedeparture, however, the BBC reporter recorded boththe departure and arrival interview from Dave in antic-ipation of success.

99

Departure was by flying down runway 10 left atthe required height of l00m and a gentle climb starledto 10,000ft, reaching the coast at North Foreland injust six minutes. It was planned to start descending,maintaining speed, about the town of Ghent but a largecumulus cloud caused this to be delayed for about30sec (5 miles). All other traffic was being held clearof Melsbroek so Dave only had to look for their air-port; this came up on the nose at about five miles. Thetime was just over l8min, an average speed of666mph. There was just under 100gal of fuel remain-ing which, in theory, meant that the flight could havebeen made at a lower altitude and in a faster time. Therecord was recognised by the FAI and still stands.

The next progression in the development pro-gramme was the first Swift F1 prototype, WJ965. Thisaircraft had a roomy cockpit, 500gal of internal fuel, anew wing position, and new Fairey power controlswhich were very smooth in operation. Dave made themaiden flight lrom Boscombe Down of this aircraft,which he found quieter than the previous aircraft. Theproduction Mk I aircraft were armed with two 20mmcannons mounted in the fuselage with ammunition inthe wing roots. The flaps, as developed on the Type535, were used as airbrakes and were most effective;however, the change in wing position had introduced a

trim change which was not acceptable and early workwas aimed at curing this. It was eliminated by 'clip-ping' the outer end of the flaps and adding to theinboard end; the previous impeccable qualities werethen restored.

During the flight-testing programme on WJ965, aviblation started at 520kts which stopped when theengine was throttled back. As the handling programmeprogressed the vibration built up rapidly at 560kts,bluning thc instrument panel. leading to a suspicionthat the elevators may be a problem.

However, Dave felt that the problem was moreassociated with aileron flutter, although other expert

opinion suspected aileron 'buzz' which was a highMach number oscillation.

WJ965 was fitted with instrumentation to traceaileron, elevator and tab operation, with a camerarecording control surface movement, starting towardsthe end of 1952. As speed built up, the control columnwas banged to excite the aircraft, at high and low alti-tudes. At high altitude, the vibration could be stoppedby pulling g, and indicated the need to replace thespring tabs with geared tabs.

At low altitude, the vibration was found to be veryserious; it had not occurred on WJ960, although thewing was claimed to be identical. As speed wasincreased from 530kts the vibration built up, theaileron oscillating, but on looking along the wing lead-ing edge, Dave could see the whole wingtip flexing atan estimated 8 cycles/sec. He drew on his knee-padthe position of where the wing was bending.

Alan Clifton, the Deputy Chief Designer, took thissketch back to Hursley Park to check the drawings andthe resonance testing results. What he found was thatfor ease of production and lightness, the outer wingskins had been made thinner, giving a change of stiff-ness and causing a different flutter characteristic. Bystiff'ening up the wing structure this was avoided, andthe 'knee-pad' report by Dave turned out to be a veryaccurate assessment of one part of the problem.

The other was finally solved by replacing thespring tabs by geared tabs, and although the aircraftwas less pleasant to fly, flutter was avoided. Daveflew this aircralt in trials to exceed the speed of sound,increasing the angle of each dive progressively to see

what happened. The aircraft had power boosted con-trols and a fixed tailplane, but at high Mach numbers

Below:Left to right: David Morgan, Alan Clifton, MikeLithgow, Jeffrey Quill and Alan Greenwood at Wisleyin July 1957, Yicker.s

close to Mach 1.0, there was no longitudinal or lateralcontrol. Pulling the stick back had no effect, but nei-ther did pushing forward. Eventually, having set theaircraft into the required angle of dive, Mach 1.0 wasexceeded with hands off the controls, recovery beingby throttling back and pulling out at lower altitudewhere the Mach number and speed dropped due to thedenser air.

At about this time the feature f/.m Sound Barrierwas being made. This film featured VVl l9 which hadbeen flown by Dave. A certain degree of artisticlicence was invoked to depict recovery of control atspeeds around Mach I by reversing the control move-ments, but in all other respects the film was a faithfulportrayal of events at the time.

The Swift and Hunter were both put into super pri-ority production, potentially supplying up to 50 air-craft a month to the RAF. With the end of the KoreanWar, the need was no longer there and the aircraft tosuffer from the greatest cuts was the Swift. The air-craft became a political football and when the firstSwifts were delivered to No 56 Squadron at Water-beach, they had limitations of 25,000ft altitude and topspeed of Mach 0.9. The reason for this was thatBoscombe had not at that time finished the CA clear-ance, and the limitations were imposed pending com-pletion. However, the pilots at the CFE criticised theselimitations and Boscombe Down did not provide anysupport.

The Wing Leader at Waterbeach made his fintflight in the aircraft and after landing was very enthu-siastic, saying it was an absolutely marvellous aircraftand congratulated Supermarine. However, after twoweeks with the criticism and lack of support from theCentral Fighter Establishment (CFE) and BoscombeDown, no one had a good word for the Swift. Thepoor serviceability of the aircraft at squadron level didlittle to encourage support either.

The Swift FR5, however, was closer to the ultimatesuccess with excellent handling and endurance at lowlevel for tactical fighter reconnaissance at high speed.

The Swift F7 with greater wingspan and armedwith the early Fairey Fireflash missiles, was a verypotent aircraft capable of providing a confirmed killfor every sortie. A trials squadron of 12 aircraft wasformed at RAF Valley in North Wales. The overalllarger aircraft was powered by a 100 Series Avonengine with larger diameter reheat giving an excellentperformance. Reliability was also high and the aircraftwas popular with the pilots, for its good manoeuvra-bility. The commanding officer of the trials squadroninsisted on having squadron fighter pilots, not testpilots, in his unit in order (he said) to get the bestresults from the aircraft and not to find fault. Thanksto this approach, the Swift F7 proved to be a goodmissile platform up to its maximum level speed ofabout Mach 0.93, and was deemed capable of makinginterceptions of Mach 0.85 targets at 47,000ft - well

beyond the capability of the threat at the time - but itwas not put into production.

Two Swift F7s (WK275 and WK308) were fittedwith slab all-flying tails, non-linear gearing and datumshift trimming. This allowed the aircraft to pull up to59 supersonically and contributed to the Scimitar lon-gitudinal control design, reducing significant develop-ment problems and providing outstanding longitudinalcontrol for that aircraft.

One of Dave Morgan's last tasks on the Swift waswith F7 XF1 14 on wet runway braking trials at RAFUpper Heyford. This major Strategic Air Command(SAC) base was at constant readiness and able toscramble B-47s at a l5min notice. As a result, if any-thing blocked the runway when an alert sounded, evena practice, any obstruction including an aircraft wouldbe cleared off by a bulldozer. During these brakingtrials, the inevitable happened, and a tyre burst duringa braking run down the wetted runway. The rescueservices appeared in ever increasing numbers headedby the Supermarine ground support truck, which in itsheadlong rush had violated a security boundary. Thepunctured wheel was removed and replaced by a slavewheel in l5min and the Swift towed safely awaybefore the next alert. This particular aircraft survivedto be restored to flying condition at Bournemouth Air-port where it is still in the workshops at the time ofwriting.

Dave Morgan had little to do with the Supermarine508 and 529. He says that the full flight envelope wassoon achieved up to 50,000ft, but it had a low criticalMach number, and snaked during flight. Following theincident when the undercarriage doors came down inflight, and control was lost, flutter of the ailerons wasconfirmed visually during an air display at Lee-on-Solent.

The Type 525 was flown occasionally by DaveMorgan, but it was not a very satisfying aircraft,although Mike Lithgow was able to present it well atFarnborough. The aircraft only had a short life, beinglost in a spin and the pilot ejected too late to survive.

When the Scimitar was ready for flighrtesting, thedevelopment centre was moved from Chilbolton to theVickers Flight Test Centre at Wisley in Surrey. Pro-duction aircraft continued to be built at SouthMarston. Direct real time telemetry was used for thefirst time, especially during spinning trials, with a pilotmonitoring the result on the ground.

The Scimitar was a large aircraft with a maximumtake-off weight of around 4 1 ,0001b. It could carry fourI,0001b bombs, or a 2,0001b bomb under one wing anda large fuel tank under the other and still pull 69. Theaircraft could release a 2,0001b bomb in a toss bomb-ing LABS manoeuvre and still remain in accurate con-trol with the tank remaining under the other wing. Inthe LABS manoeuvre the aircraft would pull up at 4gat 600kts, the pitch angle at which the bomb wouldrelease, being automatically preset.

l0l

Dave was responsible for the weapons and engi-neering development of the Scimitar, an aircraft whichhe found a delight to fly, particularly with its full pow-ered controls; as Allan Clifton, then Chief Designersaid,'270 men on each aileron and 540 on the tail.'

The first prototype was fitted with slotted flaps, butthe second had blown flaps as planned for the produc-tion aircraft. With blown flaps, extra lift was generatedand the loss of thrust due to bleed required, increasedthe engine rpm giving excellent control on theapproach. To assist on landing, an angle of attack sys-tem was fitted, and it was sufficient to follow this andignore the speed. A simple head-up display indicatedby a circle and two arrows whether the angle washigh, low or correct. In addition, an audio signal in theearphones gave a constant tone if a correct approachwas being flown.

For spinning trials, eight channels oftelemetry giv-ing altitude, airspeed, control angles, yaw, roll andpitch together, with a two-way R/T link were providedfor a pilot/test observer on the ground. This informa-tion was all recorded which dispensed with the needfor a chase aircraft. Because of the possibility of pilotdisorientation and the critical effect of aileron on spinrecovery, roll direction lights were fitted at eye levelin the cockpit.

The recommended recovery action was the well-known one of full opposite rudder followed by stickforward and centred until all rotation ceased, as theresult of Swift spinning and model tests at RAE. Afterthe first spin this was effective but on the second, afterstopping momentarily, rotation started again appar-ently against full opposite rudder. Within less than afurther tum the rate had increased so all controls werereleased and aileron applied in the direction of the rollindicated by the light, and the spin stopped at once.

Analysis of the records and discussions with RAEat Bedford confirmed that on recovery from the erectspin the aircraft had begun to transfer into an inverted

spin; in these circumstances, the roll continues to be rnthe same direction but the yaw, following the rudder,develops in the opposite direction. In either case theapplication of aileron into the direction of roll willstop the spin, hence the value of the roll lights.

The occurrence was induced by the 'classical'recovery action and Dave found it could be repeatedalmost at will. But to make life simple for the cus-tomer he established that the best way to begina spin recovery was to let go of everything; if the spinwas not fully developed it would stop. If it did not,one just took a moment to establish the direction fromthe turn needle of the turn and slip indicator and

applied opposite rudder.The Scimitar was a good strong aircraft which in

service had no limitation; it could provide all the g and

rate of roll a pilot wanted. It was designed for Mach1.1 at sea level which is 760kts IAS, although only700kts was ever achieved. A steep dive was requiredas the maximum level speed on the deck was about630kts, so it was unbreakable. From the operationalpoint of view the pilot had a reasonable workload andwas helped in navigation by a basic doppler system.The aircraft could act as a tanker so a buddy in-flightrefuelling operation gave it a good radius of action.With four l,000lb bombs fitteC it was cleared to 69and full aileron operation, so with multiple bombracks it could easily have carried 10,0001b for airfieldoperations but this, together with the two-seater and

thin-wing supersonic versions, were never produced.

There were other aircraft to do those jobs eventually,but Dave doubts whether they were ever as nice to fly.

Below:Left to right: Jeffrey Quill' Mike Lithgow' AVil SirRichald Atcherley and David torgan are picturedbetween a pair of deyelopment Scimitars at Wisley,Vickers

Future Projects

It was the advanced weapons system work undertakenby the Supermarine design office which not only con-tributed strongly to the TSR-2, but also gave Vickersat Weybridge a reasonable share with English Electricat Preston in the overall programme.

The two main projects to be studied at HursleyPark, before the design office was closed in 1958,were the Types 559 and 571. These programmes wereconceived as fully integrated weapons system fighters.The Type 559 was designed to satisfy OperationalRequirement 329 in competition with the SaundersRoe Pl77 mixed powerplant jet/rocket fighter and theAvro 720.

Specification Fl55T issued in January 1955required an aircraft capable of destroying targets fly-ing up to Mach 2 at altitudes of 60,000ft, and by usinga booster rocket to fly at Mach 2.3 at up to 92,000ft.The perceived threat was high-flying nuclear bombersand the requirement called for a two-seat radar-equipped fighter armed with four air-to-air missiles.Because of the demanding performance, a pair ofde Havilland Gyron PS26/1 turbojets mounted oneabove the other were the conventional powerplants.boosted by reheat and two de Havilland Spectre rocketmotors with a fuel duration of 45secs.

The aircraft had a deep fuselage with the air intakeunder the cockpit and a long nose housing the radar.Canard all-moving foreplanes were proposed givingan improved lift co-efficient. To avoid any vorriceswhich may have been caused by the foreplane, the tra-ditional fuselage-mounted fin and rudder werereplaced by wingtip-mounted vertical end plates. Theforeplanes were delta-shaped with clipped wingtips.while the main wing had a modest sweepback. Integralfuel tanks in the wings contained up to 960gal, givingan endurance of about 32min. The high operatingspeeds and altitudes brought problems both in kineticheating of the skin and solar heating through thecanopy which had to be overcome by air conditioning.

To cope with the extremes of the flight envelope a

fully automatic control and guidance system would berequired, but due to the time it would take to developsuch a system, provision was allowed for from thebeginning of the programme with a gradual integrationof the new systems as the flight development pro-gressed. This would at least avoid delaying the pro-gramme unduly and allow the aerodynamic testing tocontinue. The automatic systems were to control the

aircraft from take-off to touchdown, including mid-course guidance and air interception. Armament wasto be the infra-red heat seeking de Havilland Fire-streak or Vickers Red Dean semi-active homing mis-siles. All this development was in the infancy ofmicro-electronics, digital control and fly-by-wire, andwas therefore in an area of very high technologicalri sk.

The Type 559 appeared to stand a good chance ofbeing selected for development for the Fl55T require-ment, but all contestants lost out when the infamousDefence White Paper was published in 1957, can-celling all future development of manned fighters, infavour of ground-to-air missile systems, which at thattime were not even defined. The English ElectricLightning survived as an interceptor, and one otherrequirement for what was basically a Canberrareplacement was still needed. This was for anadvanced tactical-strike-reconnaissance low level air-craft. the opposite to Type 559 requirement.

This specification was covered by General Opera-tional Requirement GOR339. the main parametersbeing as lollows: a low level tactical-strike aircraft; a

medium level bomber: and an all-weather round-the-clock reconnaissance aircraft with a full photographiccapability. This requirement was eventually to lead tothe TSR-2 produced jointly by Vickers-ArmstrongAircrati and the English Electric Company. These twocompanies soon became part of the British AircraftCorporation, together with other organisations, later tobe nationalised as part of British Aerospace.

The Supermarine design team made two submis-sions to GOR339 covered by the Type 571, one a

single-engined 40,0001b all-up weight, and thc other a

twin-engined 8l,0001b all-up weight aircraft.Although the requirement called for a twin-enginedaircraft, the Supermarine design team favoured thelower weight single-engined project. Their reasoningwas that powerplant unreliability was more likely tobe caused by ancillaries rather than the basic engine,and therefore by providing duplication of the enginesystems. a great deal could be saved in terms of thecost of developing and operating the aircraft. Theengines specified were either one or two Rolls-RoyceRBl42 turbojets with reheat. The largerType 571 wasvery similar in overall layout to the eventual TSR-2.

The aircraft was recognised as being part of anoverall integrated weapons system, capable of ultra-

103

TYPE 559 o ----oo-TYPE 571 l4O,OOOlbl

r04

TYPE 57r (8l,OOOlbl

oolow level clearance operations over hostile territory.Navigation and target identification would includeinertial guidance, Doppler distance with moving map,sideways and forward looking radar and automaticweapons delivery. The early development of digitalavionics and computing, as compared with the earliermore bulky and less reliable analogue systems,allowed for a drastic reduction in the overall weightand size of the new miniaturised and more reliable

equipment. These design principles proved to be ofdirect benefit to the later development of the TSR-2.

Although the simpler and smaller Type 571 wouldhave followed well the Scimitar down the SouthMarston production lines, it was the more complexand expensive twin-engined version which formed thebasis of the highly political and costly TSR-2, whichwas abandoned by the British Government just as itwas beginning to prove its worth.

105

10 /fl,< -///ls\_^4*2=ffiXFre'ffi

M%,w3n/7/J)1->%

1 , -r4tr€fl%

SPITEFUL/SEAFANG (1944).Developed from the Spitf ire MkXIVwith o new lominor flow wing. Rolls-Royce Griffon engine.

Eto/aa arrrcxER (1946).Rotts-Royce Nene powered fighterwith modified Seofong wing.

TYPE 510/517 (19/.8).Reseorch oircroft using Attocker fusetogewith swept wings ond toil surfoces.

TYPE 535 ('1950). Tvoe 510 with nosewheeI in lonqer nose ondmodified wings . Stdiof the f itm'The Sound Borrie-r.'

TYPE 508/529 ( 1951 ). Proiotype for novol fighter with twoRotts-Royie Avon.

TYPE 5/+'l PROTOTYPE (1951 ). Simitor to Type 535, but withRotts Royce Avon ond Kuchemonn wing tips.

7 TYPE 525 ( 1954). Devetopment of Type 508 with swept wingonci conveniionot toit surfoces.

TYPE541 SWIFT F.l ( 1953 ) First of o series of f ighter ondreconnoissonce otrcroft for the Royot Air Force.

TYPE544 SCIMITAR (1956). Novol f ighier ond strike oircroftwith iwo Rolts-Royce Avon.

10 TYPE545 ( 1957) Rotts-Royce Avon-powered fighter. Proioiypebuitt but not f lown before project concetled.

106

Appendix IAttacker Specific ations,Production and Service

SpecificationSingle-seat, carrier-borne naval fighter of all-metalstressed-skin construction, manufactured by the Super-marine Division of Vickers-Armstrong Ltd, SouthMarston, Swindon, Wilts.

PowerplantOne 5,1001b thrust Rolls-Royce Nene 3

DimensionsWingspan:Length:Height:Wing area:

WeightsEmpty:Loaded:

Performance:Maximum Speed: 590mph at sea level

538mph at 30,000ftClimb: 6,350ft/min at sea level

6.6min to 30,000ftServiceCeiling: 45,000f1Range: 590 miles or 1,190 miles with

ventral tank

Armament:Four 20mm cannons mounted in the wingsFB1 also capable ofcarrying 8 x 60lb/RP or2 x l.000lb bombs under the wings

ProductionPrototypes: TS409, TS413, and TS4l6 3Fl: W4469-498, WA505-528 54FBI: W4529-534 6FB2: WK319-342,WP275-304, WT851,

w2273-302 85

Fls arrived at Culdrose 3152.BecameSquadron 26108152

Fls at Ford 07-08/51, FBI 144152,F8204-{8i55, later holding units for 827sqn

Reformed Stretton 25104155 to train l83lSqn then Honiley 07/55 to train 1833

Sqn, disbanded 3I I l2l 55Reformed at Ford 18/08/55 for trials,

replacing 7 03, 7 7 I and 7 87

Squadrons from 0l/56Reformed at Culdrose 26108/52 as

Advanced Jet Flying School, movingto Lossiemouth l1/53 and Attackersreplaced 08/54

Equipped with Attackers at Stretton02153 for Deck Landing Control Offi-cer training, disbanded 31103155

Trials unit at West Raynham usingAttackers from 01/5 1-09/54

Reformed at Ford 21108/51 with 8 x Fls,increasing to 12 x FB2s 12/52 when890 Sqn disbanded. 800 Sqndisbanded at Ford 01/06/54

Reformed atFord26lll/52 with 8 x Fls,aboard HMS Eagle, increased to 12 xFB2s 12/52, replaced by Sea Hawks08ts4

Reformed at Ford 30/01/52 and commis-sioned with 8 x Fls, 22/04/52 toprovide pilots for 800 and 803 Sqns.Disbanded 03/12/52

RNVR Re-equipped at Stretton 05/55with 7 x FB2s and disbanded10/03/57 in defence cuts

RNVR Re-equipped at Benson 08/55with 8 x FB2s. Attackers gone by end1956 and disbanded 10103/57

RNVR Re-equipped at Bramcote 10/55with 7 x FB2s, but moved jetoperations to Honiley. Disbanded10t03t57

Based at St Davids with Attackerst2/55-01157

Used Attackers 101 55-021 57

36ft 1 lin37ft 6in9ft llin226sqft

8,4341bI 1,5001b

Units702 Sqn

703 Sqn

718 Sqn

700 Sqn

736 Sqn

767 Sqn

787 Sqn

800 Sqn

803 Sqn

890 Sqn

1831 Sqn

1 832 Sqn

1833 Sqn

Airwork

FRU Hurn

t07

Appendix IISwift Specifications, Production

and Service

Specification PowerplantSingle-seat interceptor day-fighter or fighter-recon- One 7,5001b thrust Rolls-Royce Avon RA7 (Fl andnaissance of all-metal stressed-skin construction, man- F2)ufactured by the Supermarine Division of Vickers- One 7,5001b thrust Rolls-Royce Avon RATR (F3 and

Armstrong Ltd, South Marston, Swindon, Wilts. F4)One 7,1751b thrust Rolls-Royce Avon I 14 (F5)

9,4501b with reheatOne 9,9501b thrust Rolls-Royce Avon 116 (F7)

F7F2FI FR5

DimensionsWingspan:Length:Height:Wing Area:

WeightsEmpty:Loaded:

PerformanceMax Speed at Sea Level:

Initial Climb:

32ft 4.0in4lft 5.5inl3ft 6.0in306sq ft

l I,8921b15,8001b

32ft 4.0in 32ft 4in 35ft41ft 5.5in 42ft3in 43ft9in13fr 6.0in l3ft 6in l3ft 6in32lsq ft 328sq ft 348sq ft

13,1361b 13,4351b 13,7351b

t9,7641b 21,673tb 21,4001b

660mph 709mph 7l3mph 700mph12,300ft/min 14,540ft/min 14,660ft/min

39,000ft 45,800ft 41,600ft493 miles 630 miles 864 miles

Service Ceiling: 45,500ftRange: 730 miles

Armament2 x20mm cannon 4 x 20mm cannon 2 x Fireflash

Production UnitsPrototypes: Type 510 VV106, Type 535 VVI19, 56 Sqn Fls 02154-05/55 at Waterbeach and F2s

Type 541 WJ960, WJ965 4 1954 - 05/59Fl WK194-213 20 2 Sqn FR5s 03/56-04/61 at Geilenkirchen andF2 WK2I4-221,WK239-246 16 JeverF3 WK247-271 25 79 Sqn FR5 1956-01/01/61 at GutersltihF4 WK272-280 (many converted to FR5) 9 4 Sqn FR5 0l/61 at GuterslcihFR5 WK28l, WK287-315, WNl24 XE 903- I GWDS F7 0415'7-11/58 at Valley

930, XD 948-977 89(XD 978-988 cancelled)

Fi XFll3-124 (XFl25-258 with gaps,cancelled) 12

w XF774,XF778 2

108

Appendix IIIS cim ttar S pecific ation,Production and Service

SpecificationSingle-seat, carrier-borne medium to high level inter-ceptor, fighter-reconnaissance or low-level nuclearstrike aircraft, of all-metal stressed-skin construction.manufactured by the Supermarine Division of Vick-ers-Armstrong Ltd, South Marston, Swindon, Wilts.

PowerplantTwo 11,2501b thrust Rolls-Royce Avon202

DimensionsWingspan: 37ft2inLength: 55ft 4inHeight: l5ft 3inWing Area: 484.9sq ft

WeightsEmpty:Loaded:

PerformanceMax Speed: 7l0mph at 10,000 ftClimb: 12,000ft/minServiceCeiling: 46.000|tRange: 1,422 miles at 35,000ft

ArmamentFour 30mm cannon and 4 x 1,0001b bombs, or 4Bullpup air-to-ground missiles, or 4 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles

Type 508 VXl33, Type 529 VX136,Type 525 VXl38 3

Nl 13 wT854, WT8s9, WW134 3xD2 t 2-250, XD264-282, XD3 I 6-3 3 3

(XD334-357 cancelled) 76

08/57-06/58 at Ford06159-26103/65 at Lossiemouth for

operational training1959 at Lossiemouth for Air Weapons

training0l/07/59 at Lossiemouth and Ark Royal

until25/02/64 into 803 Sqn03/06/58 at Lossiemouth and, Victorious,

Hermes and Ark Royal untildisbandment 01110166

01/03/60 at Lossiemouth and, Hermes,disbanded 15109161

0 1/1 0/58 at Lossiemouth , Ark Royal andC e ntaur, disbanded I 5 I 05 I 62

12/65-12/70 at Hurn

23,9621b34,2001b

ProductionPrototypes:

FI:

Units700X Sqn736 Sqn

764 Sqn

800 Sqn

803 Sqn

804 Sqn

807 Sqn

FRU

109

Appendix IVSurviving Supermarine Jet

Fighters

Attacker FlWA473 ex-736, 702 and 800 Sqns - FAA Museum,

Yeovilton

Supermarine 517VV 106 -

RAF Museum, Cosfbrd

Supermarine 535VV I 19 cockpit section only - Lincs Aviation Society,

East Kirkby

SwiftF4 WKl98 fuselage only - NE Aircraft Museum,

SunderlandF4 WK275 - Lion Motors, Upper HillFR5 WK277 ex- 2 Sqn -

Newark Air MuseumFR5 WK28l ex*79 Sqn - RAF Museum, HendonF7 XF1l3 nose only - BathF7 XFI l4 under restoration to fly - Jet Heritage,

Bournemouth

Supermarine 544

WT859 fuselage in poor condition - PEE Foulness

ScimitarsXD317 ex-FRU, RAE. 800, '736,807 Sqns- FAA

Museum, Yeovilton (store)

XD332 ex-7648,736,807,804 Sqns - FlambardsMuseum. Helston

xD2 I 5, XD2l9, XD235, XD244, XD267, XD322fuselage only -

PEE Foulness

XD228 and XD23 I - Calvert's Scrapyard, ThirskXD24l and XD243 - PEE PendineXD220 Intrepid Air-Sea-Space Museum, New York,

USA

Below:Attacker Fl, WA473, was the only one of the type toescape scrapping at Abbotsinch. lt is now the solesuryivor, presen ed at the FAA Museum at Yeovilton.M. J. F. Bowyer

Top right:Swift FRs, WK277:l{ of No 2 Squadron, RAF ispresen ed at the Newark Air Museum and seen herein April 1976. P. J. Biftles

Centre right:Swift FRs, WK281:S of t{o 79 Squadron, RAF, wasdisplayed at the Royal Review of the RAF at Abingdonin June f968, having been presen ed at Finningley,and can now be seen at the RAF Museum, Hendon.P. J. Biftles

Bottom right:Scamitar Fl, XD317:112lR of 8OO Squadron, FAA, ispreseryed by the FAA iluseum, Yeovilton, and is seenhere in September 197O. P. J. Biftles

lt0

ln series with:

4: Avro VulcanA. Brookes Ref: 5481

6: Handley Page VictorA. Brookes Ref:8030

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