Project Cancelled: Alternative Never-Were British Aircraft

More Hawkers! This time four in one!

Sir Sidney Camm, John Fozard and Ralph Hooper at Hawkers began work on a turborocket-powered Mach 3 research aircraft in 1956 and in 1958 visited the RAE who gave their support. Bristol RP.20 ramjets would be used and after much discussion between Hawkers and the engine firms it was decided to pair the RP.20s with a Rolls-Royce RB.146 reheated Avon. The two ramjets and one turbojet would share common intakes but had three separate exhaust nozzles. Work on P.1134 by Fozard began in November 1958. The P.1134/1 dates from march 1959 and has the Rolls-Royce Avon. The ventral fins could fold upwards for ground clearance on landing and take-off. It would be built from stainless steel. The P.1134/2 design moved the intakes forward and added canard foreplanes. Further refinements led to the P.1134 which would be Hawker's official submission for a Mach 3-4 research aircraft. In April 1959 the RAE wanted Hawkers to design an aircraft suitable for Mach 4-5 and this had a standard hypersonic delta wing. However, in June 1959 the Ministry of Supply halted all work stating that the P.1134 duplicated the Bristol Type 188, to which Hawker's protested as the 188 was for a totally different programme. However, with no funds forthcoming stopped. Fozard went onto the P.1127 and Hooper carried on with some military Mach 3 studies. These impressive aircraft may have proved highly expensive and irrelevant to Britain's aircraft requirements and the combination engine probably possessed many technical unknowns too. But they still have that Hawker magic.

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

Another highly interesting addition. Excellent work!

_________________
Worklist:
- Victorian Navy - LINK
- ROC/Taiwan - 中華民國空軍 / 陸軍航特部 / 海軍航空兵 - LINK
- RHKAAF / HKGFS - 皇家香港輔助空軍 / 政府飛行服務隊
- Gunbucket - LINK

天滅中共全黨死清光!

This seem to be a cross between F/A-18 and F-16 with "British" touch.

This is the text from the British Secret Projects - Jet Fighter Since 1950:
"HS.1202
An altogether larger aircraft, this comprised a long series of designs over three years, mostly outside AST.403 requirements.
Power came from two reheated RB.199s or single RB.431 (essentially a straight - thought Pegasus).
The first HS.1202 was drawn in November 1975 and featured a canard with square side intakes (there was also a tailed version with intakes above the fuselage).
Two 27mm cannon and the forward undercarriage were housed in a lower fuselage bulge beneath the canards. four bombs were placed in a low drag recess behind it. A year later, studies had advanced to layouts more akin to the McDonnell Douglas F-18 which introduced leading edge root extensions.
In 1977 the aircraft became a British "F-16" and with a single fin. looked remarkably like the General Dynamics machine.
Four Sidewinders were carried, two 27mm in the LERX and a variety of ground attack weapons on four more under wing hard points."

The HS.1202 looks great Darth. The resemblance of 1970-80s fighters to each other across the world was probably as much due to the laws of aerodynamics than 'cultural' influences but certainly the 1202.9 looks like a carbon-copy F-16. It seems a few of these British designs at this time were approaching slavish copies, perhaps reflecting a hopeful idea to get something approaching US fighters which the country could not afford.

[ img ]

The Hawker Siddeley (Brough) P.139B AEW.1 of 849 Squadron circa 1973.

[ img ]

Hawker Siddeley P.139B COD.2 of 849 Squadron C Flight circa 1975.

This was among the favoured carrier-based AEW aircraft of 1965-66. It had the ideal FMICW (Frequency Modulated Interrupted Continuous Wave) radar with nose and tail randomes which the Navy wanted. I'm not sure what the engines would have been, presumably one of Rolls-Royces stillborn small turbofans before the collapse of 1971. Of course CVA-01 was cancelled and this never got off the drawing board. This could have been an expensive aircraft, the radar and electronics were ambitious. Exports were unlikely but the French and British were following common studies of naval AEW and its possible the French might have adopted the radar and possibly the aircraft.
One small sidenote, I've seen an artists impression of P.139 with ejection seat warning markings for the pilots and the plans in Derek Wood's 'Project Cancelled' clearly show the pilots had ejection seats. The picture Klag posted earlier (which I've used) comes from Wikipedia and I've not seen it before. It indicates extra cockpit windows and roof windows behind the pilots not shown in 'Project Cancelled' (but the transport version shows enough space behind the pilots). It's possible one or the other is nearer the final design. So, I've decided to give the two operators behind the pilots ejection seats too (especially after the V-Bomber arguments over provision of ejection seats). This would leave the entire fuselage deck for the bulky electronics racks. I don't think the operators and avionics would fit in the fuselage hold given the compact dimensions.

EDIT: The P.139B COD transport added above.

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

That thread is simply amazing! Gem of infinite value!

Hawker Siddeley HS.681 XV220 at RAF Lyneham circa 1970. Note that in the real world the C-130 Hercules fleet was centrally serviced and the aircraft carried no squadron markings. Probably the same would apply to the HS.681 fleet too.

This drawing completes the trio of famous cancelled aircraft, though in reality from what I've read at the National Archives I don't think the HS.681 was ever a goer, the Hercules was looming over it even before its birth as OR.351. This operational requirement called for a STOL transport capable of a take-off to 50ft in 1,700ft at 171,000lb TO weight. Normal range was 2,000nm and ferry range 4,200nm. The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.681 was chosen (it soon became Avro-Whitworth and then simply Hawker Siddeley HS.681). The engines were never really decided, either they would have been Bristol Siddeley Pegasus or BS.100 (as the RAF wanted) but Rolls-Royce also saw this as the last attempt to get their Medway engine onto an aircraft. By the end the BS.100 looked the favourite. Treasury and Ministry of Defence delays cost a year and when the go-ahead was given in March 1963 it was too late and the aircraft fell victim to the Labour government axe of 1964. The HS.802 was a last ditch attempt to keep the aircraft alive by the simple expedient of putting the wings and engines of the Comet onto the fuselage. Even then it still beat the Hercules for the intended role but it was too late. The HS.682 was a slightly longer civil version.

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

Shipbucket

Who is online