ISH TAL BRITISH EXPERIMENTAL TURBOJET AIRCRAFT CROWOOD AVIATION SERIES Other titles in the Crowood Aviation Series BRITISH Aichi DJA1/2 Val PeterC. mith Avro Lanca ter Ken Delve Avro Vulcan Kev Darling EXPERIMENTAL BACOne-Eleven Malcolm L. Hill Boeing 747 Martin W. Bowman Boeing B-29SLiperfortress Steve Pace Bristol Beaufighter JerrySCLItts Concorde Kev Darling TURBOJET AIRCRAFT Consolidated B-24 Liberator Martin \'(/ Bowman Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Peter . mith De Havilland omet Kev Darling De Havilland Mosquito Martin Bowman De Havilland Twin-Boom Fighters BarryJones Douglas Havocand Boston ScottThompson English Electric Lightning Martin W. Bowman HawkerTyphoon, Tempestand Sea Fury Kev Darling Heinkel He 111 Ron Mackay Lockheed F-l04 Starfighter Martin W. Bowman Barry Jones Lockheed P-38 Lightning Jerry cutts Lockheed R-71 Blackbird Steve Pace McDonnell DouglasA-4 kyhawk Brad Elward Messerschmitt Me 262 David Baker ieuport AircraftofWorld WarOne Ray anger orth American B-25 Mitchell Jerry Scutts North American F-86Sabre Duncan Curtis North American F-lOO L1perSabre Peter E. Davies North American T-6 PeterC. Smith Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshlw PeterC. Smith V-Bombers BarryJone Vicker VCIO Lance Cole Vickers Viscountand Vanguard lalcolm Hill 1)~CI Th rowood Press Contents Firstpublished in 2003 by Acknowledgements TheCrowood PressLtd Ramsbury, Marlborough WiltshireS 82HR introduction 6 Trawlingthroughthe23-yearspancovered the late R. B. 'Bee' Beamonr, Cranfield www.crowood.colll by this bookhas beenexciting, butIreadi University Press, eville Duke, Ian Frimi PART ONE 1941 TO 1950 7 lyadmitthat itmightnothavebeensobut ton, the late A. E. 'Ben'Cunn, the Hand fortheassistancefreelygivenbymanypeo leyPageAssociation,Harry Holmes,Derek Paperbackedition2006 1 GLOSTER E.28/39 7 ple, two of whom sadly left us before its James, Philip Jarrett, Tricia Jones, Ben completion. Inparticular1givemygrateful May, MichaelOakey,Stanley'Olly'Oliver, 2 DE HAVillAND DH.108 15 ©TheCrowood PressLtd2003 thanks to Aero/)/ane's staff, Adrian Balch, Dennis Robinson and MichaelStroud. 3 SAUNDERS-ROE SR.A/1 23 All rightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmay 4 HAWKER P1040, P1052, P10n AND P1081 31 bereproducedortransmitted inanyformorbyany means,electronicormechanical,includingphoto 5 ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH AW.52G AND AW.52 41 copy, recording,oranyinformationstorageand 6 GLOSTER E.1/44 49 retrievalsystem,withoutpermission inwriting from thepublishers. 7 SUPERMARINE E.41/46 55 BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData 8 AVRO 707 SERIES 63 Acataloguerecordfor thisbookisavailablefrom 9 AVRO TYPE 706 ASHTON the BritishLibrary. Woodford's Flying laboratory 75 ISBN I861268602 10 BOULTON PAUL P1ll, Pll1a AND P120 85 EAN 9781861268600 PART TWO 1951 TO 1960 95 11 FAIREY FD.1 95 12 HANDLEY PAGE H.P88 102 13 SUPERMARiNEN.9/47 107 14 SHORT S.B.5 115 15 SHORT S.B.1 AND S.B.4 SHERPA 122 16 FAIREY FD.2 AND BAC TYPE 221 129 17 SHORT S.C.1 139 18 SAUNDERS-ROESR.53 149 19 HAWKER Plln 157 PART THREE 1961 TO 1964 169 20 HANDLEY PAGE H.P1l5 169 2l BRiSTOLTYPE 188 176 22 HUNTING H.126 183 Typefacesused:Goudy(text),Cheltenham(head ings), UniversCondensed(captionsandboxes). PART FOUR 189 Typesetanddesigned by 23 CANCEllED PR JECTS 189 D& N Publishing no, Mile M.52, up rmarine 545, Avro Hawker Pll2l, Lowesden BusinessPark, Hungerford, Berkshire. Saunder -R R.l77, BAC TSR.2 Printedand bound in MalaysiabyTimesOffset(M) Sdn. Bhd. Appendix Experim nt ir r ft onservation 205 Index 206 PART ONE 1941 to 1950 Introduction CHAPTER ONE The adaptation of the gas turbine into a practical meansofpoweringan aeroplane Gloster E.28/39 presented the designer with entirely new vistasintowhich tochannelhisambitions and theories. He is by his very nature an enterprising breed, so that, with the con straints ofthe propeller eliminated, there appeared virtually limitless boundaries of The British Pioneer By 1939, WgCdrReynolds was the Air overseas customers and the production of speed, range and operatingaltitudes to be Ministry'soverseerat theGlosterAircraft 200 Henley aircraft for Hawker Aircraft. explored. The circumstances whereby the Gloster Company, ituated at Hucclecote in The company wa a co-member, with It was the innovative approaches to AircraftCompany was projected into the Gloucester hire. (Whenitwa fir tfound Hawkerand Arm trongWhitworth,ofthe these factors that made the era covered by vanguard of British turbojet aviation are ed,on 5June 1917, it wa registeredasthe Hawker iddeley Group, and in August thisbook-1941 to1964-sospecial.ltwas quite complicated. GloucestershireAircraftCompany Limit 1938 the foundation for a vast new 'shad one in which the numerous companies' While Frank (later Air Cdre Sir Frank) ed, but the long and virtually unpro ow' factory had been laid down on the engineers, aerodynamicists, metallurgists WhittlewasattheRAF ollege, ranwell, nounceable county name became a prob othersideofthe airfieldsite, to handIe the andsy temsdesignershad torun inorderto he collaborated withJ. H. leC. Reynolds lem when export orders started to be mass productionofthe HawkerHurricane. keep up with oneanother,as never before. in researching piston-engine supercharg received, 0 the company wa officially (By March 1942, 2,750 Hurricanes had Th Society of British ircraft on- ing, and on 23 July 1931 they filed a joint renamed the Gloster Aircraft Company been handedovertothe RAFand thepro structors( BAC)staged itsfirstdisplay in patenttocovertheirfindings.Thetwooffi Limited on 11 November 1926.) He had duction of 3,330 Hawker Typhoon wa June 1932. As the industry's 'shop win cers went their individual ways after leav been following Whittle's researches with ompleted by ovember 1945.) dow', it became an annual event until ing Cranwell, but maintained contact theWUengineovertheyearsand realized However,activityontheshopfloorwas 1937,after which the international polit throughcorrespondence.Alongsidehisfly that eventually an aeroplane would be not mirrored in the Design Office. This ical climate worsened and the Society's ing car er in the RAF, Whittle worked in required to prove Whittle's theories in was engaged with designing single- and membershad theirtrueabilitiesputtothe his spare time on gas-turbine aeroplane practice. twin-engined fighter to meet Specifica test in no uncertain way by \V'orld War propulsionand,despiteafru tratinglackof With his position at Hucclecote, tion F5/34 and F9/37, respectively, nei Two. Resumed in September 1946, the official intere t, etupthe PowerJetscom Reynolds was aware ofthe whole compa ther ofwhich progressed beyond the pro Shows annually featured new types on a pany in 1936todevelop theW (Whittle ny'sactivities.Theshopfloorwasoccupied totype stage. Gloster' Chief Designer, scale never to be repeated, until 1962, Unit) turbojetengine. with the tail-end ofGladiator orders from Harry P. Folland, had left the company in when the financially ruinous impractical 1937,toformhisownFollandAircraftlim ity of competition between so many ited and hi succe or was Wilfred George British manufacturers generated a con Carter, who had been Chief Designer at traction, and the resultant company Fairey'sfirstdeltadesign,theFO.l.bankshardtoporttodisplaythedefunctrocket HawkerAircraftfortwoyear beforetrans mergers only justified a biennial di play. motorhousingundertherearfuselage.whichwasusedasabrakingparachute fetTingtoHucclecotetojoinFolland'steam Thefirst ofthese, from 7to 13September housing. Author'scollection in 1925. 1964, ended a fortnight before the final With the capacity available within aircraftdescribed in this volumefirst flew. Carter' team in mind, Reynolds set up a A multitude of weird, imlxactical and meeting between the design I' and Whit over-ambitious projects poured off the was not intended for production in it the resultthattheprogrammeswerequiet tle, which was held at Hucclecote on 28 drawingboards, butthe realitiesofwalking original guise. Inevitably there are border lyabandonedanddonated toaeronautical April 1939. The company's Chief Test before running prevailed and the subject linecases, such as Hawker's variousexplo history. othing is gained by questioning Pilot ( TP), Fit Lt P. E. G. 'Gerry' ayer, of thi book are the experimental aircraft rations that led to the ea Hawk, theseambitiousprogrammesin retrospect. together with his deputy, Michael Daunt, that either flew or were in an advanced Hunter and Harrier, and upermarine's Itisthefactthattoday'saircraftdesignsare were also introduced to Whittle. George state ofconstruction before the industry's single-engined experimental programmes computer-generated,makingthemsovisu Carterand Frank Whittlequickly formed bete noire, the politician, intervened. The that culminated in the Swift and twin ally comparativelysimilar, that makes the agood relationship,such that the compa order ofappearance in the book has been engined trials that produced the Scimitar. 23-yearperiodcovered heresuch an excit ny's latest design, to meet pecification determinedbythedateofthemaidenflight However, these early first steps justify ingera. Ihope the readerwillconsiderthis FI8/37, was presented at the meeting. made by the first prototype or, in the case inclusion. volumeconfirmssuch an assertion. This wasa twin-boom fighter powered by ofthe cancelled projects, the datessched Manyofthe avenues that were initially a apier abre engine and Whittle con uled for the first flight. Each aircraft was explored and for which type were pro BarryJones Thestartofitall.Whittle'soriginalWU(WhittleUnitl.thatwa fir trunon12April sidered the configuration to be ideal for produced as an experimental type, which duced, were found to be cul-de-sacs, with May 2003 1937.attheRugbyworksofBritishThomson-Houston. Author'scollection the WU turbojet in place of the Sabre. 6 7 GLO TER E.2KI.W GLOSTER E.2 /39 Dr D. R. Pye, the DirectorofScientific to which serial numb I' W404l and to1,5001bjqin,andabottleofcompressed l5,000rpm and Whittle made the initial yellow. Type A.I fuselage an I wing W4041/G was taken by road to the base Research, had been acquainted with the W4046 wereallo ated. air was provided for the emergency lower run beforehandingoverto ayeI'.The next roundels, together with equal-sized red/ where, coincidentally, Whittle had first arter/Whittle meeting and decided to Carter's de ign team produced an un ing of the undercarriage. The boldness of three weeks were taken up with a serie of white/blue band on the fin, brought it up consigned his theories to paper years visit Whittle's PowerJets Limited at their complicated low-wing monoplane with a Carterand Whittle'sselection ofa tricycle taxi trials, during which the WlX's speed to date so far as the national insignia was before. At Cranwell, with the 601b Lutterworth works. He went there on 30 nose intake, the cockpit raised above the undercarriagecanbeappreciated when itis was increased to 16,000rpm and several concerned. Also,a new ystem had recent thrust(390kg) W1flightengine installed, June 1939, armed with a natural inclina ducting to the WU, and an81gal ( 681tr) realized thatboth Willy Messerschmittand short hops were made due to the undula lybeen introduced,whereby erial numbers the first E.28/39 waspreparedfor its maid tion to treat the whole project with an air fuel tankbetweentheco kpitand themid ErnstHeinkel,whoatthetimeweredesign tionson the ailfield'sslllface. With the tri on importantaircraftweregivena'G'suffix en flight which commenced, with 'Gerry' ofscepticism, but the WU performed per positioned engine, which had a straight ingGermany's first turbojet-powered aero als completed to everyone's atisfaction, to denote that they required guarding ayer at the controls, at 19AOhr on 15 fectly at nearly l6, OOrpm and the Direc through jet-pipeexhaustingatthe fu elage plane,did not take thi radical tep. W4041 was again prepared for road trans whenever 'away from home'. Consequent May. A speed of24 mph (390km/h) was tor became an instant convert to the rear. Two wing de igns were to b pro Although construction started at Huc portation. Besides Regent Motors, Gloster ly, the first E.28/39 becameW4041/G. attained during the seventeen-minute flight, with the aircraft behaving quite wholeconcept. On his return he reported duced,on featuringan NA A 23012 ec clecote, the building ofthe large Hawker had requisitioned a garage section of the conventionally, and although there was a to the Air Mini try his opinion that an tion and the other employing an E l240 Siddeley shadow factory on the site, family motor engineering firm of E. R. airframe to te t-fly the W should be section,whichwasdubbedthe'high- peed' together with Gloster's existing works, Crabtree,also in Cheltenham,and the air Flying Begins slightover-sensitivityoftheelevators, the flight was rated as bcing vcry succcssfui. ordered a soon a possible. wing.Thefu elagewasfabricated asanall madethewholecomplexaprimetargetfor craftwasdelivered thereforfurtherwork to m tal monocoque clad with a light metal Luftwaffe attention. onsequently, in the be incorporated. It was appreciated that a It had already been recogni:ed that Huc Further flights were made over thc suc alloystressedskin, with thetwo-sparmain summer of 1940 all work on the E.29/39 longer-strokenose-wheelwouldberequired clecote's grass runway was unsuitable for ceeding two weeks, during which 300mph Contract SB/3229 planesand tail unit treatedlikewis ,while was transferred to a commandeered sec forasati factory take-offand thiswas fitted GAO flight trialsand, be ausesecrecy was theelevators,rudderandaileronswerefab tion of Regent Motors in Cheltenham before full undercarriage retraction tests ofparamount importance ranwell, with Thecombination ofWhittle and Carter' ric-covered. Thisform ofconstruction had (now buried under the foundations of a werecarried out. The aircraftalso required its 3,300ft (I,000m) hard runway in the On10May1941.W4041(beforeitwasgiventhe complete understanding of what was already been applied to Gloster's F5/34 shopping precinct), under the manage acamouflagepaintfinish and thethen-cur unpopulated, open spacesofLincolnshire /Gsuffix)wasgivenitsDesignCertificatefor required, together with the immediate fighter design and its basic wing planform, ment of Gloster's experimental depart rent Dark Green/Dark Earth scheme was and with only o. 3 OT as a resident FlightTrials.threedaysaftertaxiingtrialshad availability of a substantial portion of togetherwith the fin/rudderconfiguration, ment' superintendent, Jack John tone. applied, with the undersidepainted bright unit, was selected. Early in May 1941, commencedat20.00hron7April. DerekJames Gloster's design team, prompted the issu wascarriedforward totheE.2 /39.Tocom PowerJet constructedaspecialengine, ing of ontract B/3229 to the company, pensate for the absence of propeller slip the W1X with an output of only 750lb for the design and con truction ofa tur stream,both the rudderand elevator were (340kg) thrust, which was really a rebuild bojet-powered aircraft to pecification designedonthelargesideandtheall-metal ofthe original W ,to be used for taxiing I E.28/39, with the company designation hydraulically operated split trailing-edge trials and the positioning ofauxiliary sys ?01Ul113 ;!I\VI';f: (Revl••oJune, .;J.lll, GAO. The Air Ministry's enthusiasm for flap were imilarlygenerous in area. tems. As itwas believed that the heatcre JESlm: ::RTIPICA'lIpeRPLIGHT'liUAt.S. "lReRAPT. CLOSrERE.28/}.9 ~J:p.• ~~.) (v) Pror:Icnz1nededgnconaidoratiol\a, thefollowingr.p.1ll. arc t.oboadheredto: the project extended to them requiring ated by the rear bearings when at maxi SerlalNo. 'f.~ 1. l:1ni.l:ul::.for Wing5000. IncineTy~.lIh1.Ltlci1.~~pe.rcbargor llncineMo _ the design to be a fighter, as well as a mum power would need dissipating, a AiraerewtypeanaDr-I.inl,. . 2. arl.aut\tortake-ott (penUaeib1eupto1000ttortor3lIli."Iutesduration)16.500. Roco_ndedbl.deaett.1r.CII t. inch.:! r...J..... flight-test machine for the new ource of Construction Begins radiatorwas installedon eithersideofthe O.'f.D. Spec.NO. '::.2at.19 ppendix •'A" 110 1077 'n. "sll.. :;l..-.aryII", - 3. 4X1n=t"oro11J1bing&cru1.1ng16.000. Contuctor.Ct.o.twA1rcra.ttCo.Lt4. propulsion. Whittle's earlier thought of intake ducts leading to the engine bay. ~~:j.~~n:;a~:~t:~:~.P.~:;~r~m:;:~ltle~~~·~~•. 1... VG.x1r.w:lforleYr:1tUf!tit (5::d.nutellr.dt)16.500. 5. ~torgl1.d1n&6,000. the F18/37 twin-boom design being In February 1940, when metal was first cut The abo...e111rer"rt., repT••onteaby1,.1'••110ell..enl.liI110l.ltdi~orellnJ'I',is hllru't.>i adapted for the purpose had waned, prin and theconstructionofW404l started, tri c\!l''t('i(it1iie))d'aPalhIr:.hc'tarhtdesSrtdle~a.11-.l1.1+p!eo~crit~tte.hd~.)1";1u\r"ptho"a,e.'baot,...c.a,crro'y•ni•nt"rl'"a:c.o.t.u...t.._:I,4.J;;_..R_..~.40._..~. cipally because there was uncertainty cycle-undercarriage experience in Britain Taxi Trials ·(ilA1u)t.hoiritL.y~b_~he,r.,O)".hei-u:11t!o"!'"t.hea. tlicht leat.a toproc••.1with. ..,.~~.C.s..ra about the effect ofthe engine' jet efflux was rather limited. General Aircraft had ll!lpilotat/troa. Cr1u'u(ell .•u~ro__ tor1T11hCiahtcd.ruUlytl.eieanta.dia.ndondlyalovd.ltbd)'wthhfellnIna.c\c'Ioe.cpt.aonri-.idn-C0)h':aIIrcc.u,r4re.In.lt.l.:l'rtif1c:l.te ll'l~' .'~I.l ~ ~ otwnothbeootmaisI.plTahneerepfoosrietioanceodmbpeltewteleynntehwe MproodnuocsepdarainmAoudgiuficta1t9io3n,ttoo mtheeeirt anTA2i5r Winsittahllethde anAd CaAll 2sy3te1m2-sepcrtieolnimedinwariinlyg ! The'dAl'y•.dJ•Id1eeCnRnda.ca)ot(r0dt.h.eNo:.l.a_roplo_ne2iB.!'_9r.pErr;.pae..nr1_tme.ad_nt.bayl:- D.l., ':i.....,.... .'...';."'.d•.):hle!~/lJ/al;ll~l/:ncr..f\.-.~. ~. dra.inCI quot.edorraferTidtoontheattach.d,h,.t. Countardf!)'led. H.T.O. furDirectorofTeohn1calDeWl1opment. design wascalled for. Ministrycontract, in order to evaluate the checked, W4041 wa tran ported from . Load1ngMlS1111htre.tdet10n.:-- for preUn:lnP.rYrligh.t leal.i. configurationanddeHavilland werework Cheltenham to Hucclecote soon after (1) l«nillUll~_h.ibledl-up••iChl~(b) Q¥fIlN.ft4_ '-?450 ___llbb.. Mot.1. oTrhel~e~xun!sitcl; :ItI'r.tI..C~·h::tl.rhde.bwahailccheavtte.rlihmitt.he1elrte.o.tbe.r.10% ofthebaale rance (Ii) The.eroplan.alUStalway_beaoload.d that thep.rpen.dlcularproj.ctiono! ing on a one-off tricycle-undercarriaged dawn on Monday7April 1941,and in the theC. atO. onthe4at.-linet.U.withinthe tollowlncIi_itsun4.r the IIote2. 4.S.I. 1 deli,._. t.n••'llllrulllOln.t r.ejh:&corr.etedfor lr.•lruoentbut corr••pondineloadlnes:-- ;not rorpoeit1'>n.rrtlr. The Gloster Type GAO variant of their DH.94 Moth Minor. But late afternoon Gerry ayer started up a Pro'ria1onalper;duibl!rangeotC.C,tra"el Not.S. (I•f.Cit. _ioh.nnec1.e:-::0uarl;:,'.:·aitto:ltiat.cln\I.21lO1b•apaeod.itolnonItre.r"r,ot.rh)tothde.tbe.~sltn.e...L.nhe.bAl.aS.41.at. Whittle had doubts as to whether his rurbojet engine fitted in an ailfram for ~ s_h5o%uldunbla.eD'U••ldl,.u"lreicI;';rdiavlrn-&r:a::e_'pn•t•dorHtm.h.ltAatlirownoart.h1lon••••vs.rD,eptl.h..hesrarobr.aniatob. obtai".d lOIIJirfOl'.nt.v.lue. Because the Air Ministry wanted afighter, engine could produce enough power to lift the first time in Britain. Hucclecote was (.)Take-offwith50£&lIonsoft'ucJ.-Toto.lmtiltlt3450lb•• Withun4crct..rr1.a.gcdomC.C. atJO.11n1l4.ftofdattm.(.284.A.J.:.C.) Mol.4. IIIthoAptlC' provhloJ Ie tob.st.atDdthe eonsi4eraUonwhichpreventa t.he aeroplanebl:ingdived tl ahilhersp••d; itthe r.s.on is.ncin. the new design had space on the drawings the rearofa tail-wheeled aeroplane within still suffering from the effects ofthe win (b)'I'lU'lkaEq>t:r-ToW_1gh.t):)50lba . ltihlelllCtalOUllorlnl,IlLtJe,et"...r"rdofe~'·luenlIaf1letsori.ls t..t.e.1Ai.lSlil.aI.tiOq:u1oSte"dar1e1ntootbt,odbe.lecterde.at.rIn for four Browning .3 3in machine-guns, the required distance to get airborne so, ter and the WIX needed winding up to • (1) lf1thunderoarriagedo-mC.G. at32.1"aI'tot"datul:l(.'16A.l:.C.) thanth.t t<l..iL:' t.le a.rplano!I'Sb••:'!dived incontrac~or·.trials. • Mot.5. The_xillll.-r.p.D. aUe...J tordivinlwiththrottle1...t.hanItSI'dop.n togetherwith2,00 roundsofammunition, with the engine already basically an 12,000rpm beforetheaircraftwould make (u) WithuM.e~upC.G. at3'.6"artofdatu.(." A.W.e.) .renOTDlllli'toil. r.p.lIl. retnailteJtorl.y.: tlllht (e_rc.neyu••). butthetrueconvictionsofbothCarterand unknown factor, Carter decided to 'go for its first movements. ayer then gave way ~:::~:~~:\~e_~.~t~t~_~:~~t~~ Whittlewereverydoubtfulaboutthefight broke'and theGAO'slayoutincorporateda toWhittleforafew taxiingruns, butwhile (iii) Th.p.rpendiculardlat.allce f t.heC. atG. frO'athehorhontalplane er aspect, considering the limited thrust tricycle undercarriage with very short legs, he, Carter and Sayer appreciated that the ctoo.n.ta.i5n"inAc.hot.vbc..4ldl..taUtl.lul.DOint (uendtcorob-..rrwiaigtheind;:.t.h.oewn::l.:1:)a~_{l-tal_...5"..I,a.b..o..v..•.::.-&-tuapo1nt _ available from the engine. These feelings which was designed and manufactured by softgroundconditionswerenotconducive A.S.t. m.p.h. coPrroeacittiioonn'.1s's13u'0,.1r':oJ. were expre ed to Whitehall and, on the DowtyEquipmentLimitedatCheltenham. to satisfactory taxi trials, observers to the .....- ----l~(s..Not.2) (S..!fou Indl.,.. (du. t.o A1.rl:mt':t..iaQU.to_bJdi'l"ed strength of George Carter's belief that a The steerable nose-wheel was operated by occasion were a little disappointed that unlesa• 10-.1'speedis.nforcedb1 an,in.runnInillmUatlone twin-turbojet de ign was required to fulfil the rudder pedals and retracted rearwards, W4041 did not charg away like a Grand (Se.)sIou t)~ ~__ __~~251_. Withfla .' _ 10..p.h. the fighter role, it wasaccepted thata new while the main wheels I' tracted inwards Prix car. The day was rounded off by the Withundercarrie,.down. -'7--~_~ _ ..10m.p.h. design, with the company Type number into housings in the wings, which conse obligatory official photographic session. "1th(0a.u)tOclluatt-ioeuctodnilaraonlc:a-l-edornot!'itted _ ~ - GAO, would bean aircraftspecifically pro quently required bulging to the upper and ThefollowingdaywasdryerandHuccle (b) cul-out.'n«ad ·Delete.enecesllary. duced to evaluate turbojet propulsion and lowerskinpanelsdue to the thin wing ec cote'sground hardenedenoughforgenuine Por!fot.....,;,.,erl••f. 1'·1.0. Specification E.2 /39 was raised to cover tion. The wholesequence was hydraulical taxi runs to be undertaken. Adjustments the project. Two prototypes were ordered, lyoperated by an accumulator pre-charged weI' made to allow the engine to run at 8 9 GLOSTER E.28139 GLOSTER E.28/39 decrease in atmospheric pressure at high to Edge Hill, but this time it was a dead altitude, but although the CTP reported sticklanding,whichconfirmedthattheair that the WIA was a smoother-operating craft's basicaerodynamics were ound. engine than the WI, the aircraft was It was three and a half months before grounded after the sixth flight, a the anotherWIA, withamodifiedoilsy tem, exhaust cone had wrinkled due to heat, arri\'ed for in tallationand on 27 eptem while the clearance between the turbine her 1942 the aircraft first flew with the bladesand theshroud ringhad reduced to replacement engine, for a demonstration below safety limits. Power Jets remedied hefore a visiting delegation of officials the defects, and ten days later flying from from the nited States. However, the Edge Hill was resumed. (During this peri flight had to be aborted immediatelyafter od, the author was living in Banbury and take-off, once again due to high-pre sure much cyclingwa doneoverthe9milesto oil-feedfluctuations. Thistime the under Edge Hill, in order to get glimpses ofthe side of the port wing came into contact aircraft. Be ides its quietness, the lasting with Edge Hill's tarmac on landing and impression i howsmall it looked.) wasdamaged. In retrospect, the ummel'of ItseemsamazingthattheonlyrecordoftheE.28/39'smaidenflightwasmadeonan Furtherdelays occurred two flights later 1942 was not the happiest time for the amateurcinecamera,fromwhichthisisaverygrainystill. DerekJames whena turbine bladefailed in flight, which E.2 139 project. Thoughts that things produced vibrations serious enough for couldonlygetbetterweredashed, howev Sayer to reduce the engine to 10,000rpm er, when Gerry Sayer was killed in early and return to base. On completion of ctober, when the HawkerTyphoon that ThisisthoughttobeW4046/G,thesecondprototype.herewithitsenginemaintenance (4 Okm/h) was exceeded on several occa was again loaded onto a transporter, this repairs, testflyingwasagain resumed,with he was flying collided with another, and panelsremovedtorevealitsW2I500engine.whichdelivered1,760lb(800kg)static sionsand an altitude of25,000ft (7,6 m) time bound for the Midlands. a series of high-altitude trials that com both aircraft crashed into the lorth ea. thrust.Thecombustionchambersaresurroundedbyasubstantialheat-shroud. was rea hed. It wasconfirmed that, with a New taxiing trials with the WIA menced on 2June. Troubles with the baro ayeI" deputy, Michael Daunt, now Author'scollection full fuel load, a maximum endurance of engine installed began on 4 February, stat's relay piston eizing up at 30,000ft becameGloster'snewChiefTestPilot. He fifty- ix minuteswasattainable.Then itwas before ayer resumed full flight trials. A (9,000m) were followed four days later by had been fully appraised of the E.2 139's back to Hucclecote for a detailed inspec barostat had been fitted at the same time furthervibrationsandacompleteflame-out progress throughout the test flying, so his tion, together with the removal ofthe WI a the new engine, which automatically due to a baring failure through loss ofoil having to step into the breach at such companyin 1941 asaproductionflighttest the programme, including the Flight' CO -engineand the installation ofaWI ,pro reduced fuel flow to compensate for the feed. ayeragain broughtthe E.2 139 back shortnoticedid notaffect the programme pilot for the ub-contracted Hurricane and qn Ldr Douglas Davie, the RAE' Com ducing 1,160lb(530kg) static thrust. o much as was first feared, and he made Typhoon programme, before becoming a mandant Gp Capt Allen Whe IeI', and From 15 ugust 1941, ervice camou three preliminary handling flights on 6 memberofGloster'sexperimental testpilot Wg dr Wilson, McClure and Macrack flage forfighters- andsofarasofficialdom ovember, after the damaged port wing team. W4 46/G wa hi first prototypeand en. After much 'string pulling', Frank wa concerned, the GAO came into this had been repaired. The oil-flow problem itinitiallypresentedhim withabrake-over Whittle obtained permission to fly category - was changed from Dark had been cured by a combination of heating problem, due to the high idling W4046/G, but on the appointed day, the Green/Dark Earth to Dark Green/Ocean increa ing the bore of the system's pipe thrust ofthe W2B. This was overcome so aircraft wa declared unservic abl and Grey. TypeC.l roundels were introduced, line and applying substantial lagging as that,on I March 1943, he tooktheaircraft was to remain so for what was officially whi h had a reduced thickness of the protection against the drop in tempera into the Oxfordshire air for the first time stated 'an indefinite period'. Were they white and yellow bands, together with a ture at highaltitude. and followed this with a econd flight on trying to tell Whittlesomething] thinner width ofwhite on the fin bands. the same day. A dozen more sorties were W4041/G received the new colour flownduringthenexttwoweeks,andon 17 scheme during its period of inspection at Second Prototype April he flew from Edge Hill to de Havil Troubles and Disaster Hucclecote, as well as the prototype-air land'sHatfieldaitfield togivean impressive craft markingofa yellow 'P' within a yel ompletionofW4046/G hadbeenarather demonstration to no less a dignitary than Ncar the end of July 1943 (when it i low circle aft of the fuselage roundel on lengthy process, due to the late arrival of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. pre umed that Whittle was oth rwise eachside,whichhad been promulgated in the first Rover-built W2B flight engin . engaged), flying was resumed and on the an Air Ministryorderof II July 1941. This 1,200Ib-thrust (540kg) unit arrived 27th,Wg drMcClurehadaflame-outat early in February 1943 and towards the Farnborough Testing 6,000ft (I, OOm). He was very relieved end ofthe month the aircraft, fitted with when the recently installed relightswitch The Oxfordshire Era the ECI240 'high-speed' wing, was trans On 3 May, W4046/G wa flown to the operatedsucce sfully. Threedays later, on ported to Edge Hill for flight-te ting. By RAE by another m mber of the experi 3 July, qn Ldr Davieapplied full aileron CranwellwastoofarfromGloster'sworksto this time, W4 41/G had been transferred mental test pilot team, John Crosby-War at 35,000ft (II,000m), whereupon make it viable as a lasting site for their to RAE Farnborough, where the E tab ren, tojoinW4041/G for enginedevelop W4046/G yawed Violently and the pilot experimental turbojet aircraft, so a earch Ii hment operated it under the security mentflying. A newW2B/23 engine (later was thrown straight through the canopy. for an alternative was made and o. 21 codename 'Weaver'. named the Weiland), producing 1,5261b Hisoxygenmaskwastornoffin theprocess OT 'sba eatEdgeHill,9mile north-west Michael Daunt was fully occupied in (692kg) thru t, wa testedoverafifty-hour and partial unconsciou ness occurred dur of Banbury in Oxfordshire, was selected. preparing the first prototype of Gloster's flight programme, which included trial ingtheensuing 10,000ft(3,OOOm) free fall In1944.W4041/GwasatRAEFarnboroughandhadacquiredsmallstabilizingfins Beingroughlyequidistantbetween Huccle onitstailplanetocorrectslightinstabilityencounteredathigher Ileeds.together twin-engined F9/40, forerunner to the mao imum 'nduran e sortie at 35,000ft until his para hute deployed. He sucked coteand PowerJet'sfacilityat Lutterworth, withthegrey/greencamouflageschemeintroducedintoFighterCommandon15 Meteor,for its maidenflight. E.2 139flight (11, OOm) under the juri diction of the oxygen from theemergency bottletokeep Edge Hill was far more convenient that August1941.Theshapeofthestabilizingfinswasalteredslightly talaterdate. testing was therefore put in th hand Establi hm nt" newly-formed Turbine himself awake during the long descent ranwell,solateinJanuary1942W4041/G Author'scollection of John Grierson, who had joined the Flight. t'am ofRAEpilots took part in and was lucky to eventually touch down 10 11 GLOSTER E.2R/39 GLOSTER E.28/39 withnothingmoreseriousthanfrostbite in And Then There Was One John, S miles the other side of Banbury one hand. W4046/G hit terra firma much from Edge Hill. Gloster had been granted harderand wascompletelydestroyed.The W4041/G had left the RAE in the late the use ofhalfaT.4 hangarfor F9/40test laterinvestigationcametotheconclusion spring of1943 and returned to the man ing while the company's airfield at More thattheaileronhadprobablyjammeddue ufacturer, where a W2/S00 engine was ton Valence had its runway strengthened, to differential thermal contraction at the installed. This initially produced 1,700lb andGriersonsharedthefacilityforE.28/39 high altitude. (770kg) thrust, which was later increased testing. An EC1240-section wing was to 1,7601b(800kg). MichaelDauntunder deliveredon30June tobefitted totheair took the first test flight with the new craft, and the maiden flight with the new WhenphotographedatBentham,W4041/Ghad enginebeforehandingthetaskofdevelop mainplanewas madeon6July. theEC1240-sectionwing,butnostabilizingfins, mentflyingtoJohnGrierson.TheOxford As F9/40 test flying had now taken anditwascarryingitstitleonthenose,as shire connection was maintained, but this precedenceoverthe E.28/39, theW2/S00 displayedattheScienceMuseum,London. Author'scollection time at No. 16 OTU's base at Balford St was removed from W4041/G later in the ThefirstprototypeE.28/39isdepictedinthecondition asfirstflownon15May1941. GLOSTER E.28/39 summer of 1943, to be returned to Huc clecotefor installation in an F.9/40 proto CHAPTERTWO type, which goes to show how few turbo jet engines were available at that time. The first E.28/39 prototype remained at De Havilland DH.108 Barford for many weeks before a replace ment engine was delivered, and once it was installed the aircraft's test flying was taken over by RAE Farnborough. Modifi cations were made to the cockpit canopy and small stabilizing fins were fitted on The Tailless Trio Ronald Bishop was given the go-ahead to companygavetheexperimentalaircraftthe the tailplane, to overcome the inherent come up with a realistic turbOJet-powered design number DH.1O and the Ministry directional instability which, while being By December 1942 the British push in the long-range transport aircraft. issued Specification E.18/45 to cover the acceptable in the high intensity testing Middle East, under General Montgomery, design and construction of two prototypes programmes of the preceding years, was had started, but that was then about the under contract number SB.66562, the first now considered worth curing at the more sumtotalofBritishsuccessin thewar,apart The Type 106 Design to investigatelow-speedcharacteristics,the leisurely pace ofthe RAE. As the Meteor from the BattleofBritain. Throughout the other to bea high-speed trialsaircraft. was now in full production, test flying of country's industries, design, manufacture The company Type number 106 was allo W4041/G became rather academic. and finance were totally concentrated on cated to the project and, as the propeller Thename'Pioneer'hasbeenassociated munitions, so it does indicate a mammoth did not feature in any requirements, some The DH.l08 is Born with the aircraft over the years, but this slice ofoptimism that, in that month, the prettyradical ideashad beentossedaround was never o{(jcially recognized by the MAPshouldset upacommittee, underthe de Havilland's Project Office by the end In the interestsofeconomyand as it wasto manufacturer, the Ministry of Aircraft chairmanship ofLord Brabazon ofTara, to of1944.A layout basedon the twin-boom be thesweptwingthatwas tobeevaluated, Production (MAP) or the Air Ministry. deliberateaboutcivilairtransport'srequire configuration of the company's Vampire the design was based around the Vampire Gloster'sType number, GAO, has similar mentsonce the warwasover. turbOJet-powered fighter and a rear F1fuselage nacelle. English Electric'sworks ly grown out ofuse and the Specification enginedcanardtype wereamongthe pro at Preston was handling the building ofa number E.28/39 has universally been posals, as was a taillessdesign with swept total of300Vampires under licence,so the accepted as the aircraft's title. Another The Brabazon Committee wings.The BrabazonCommittee issued its tenth and forty-fifth fuselages from the first interestingfact isthattheaircraft isoneof final report to the Ministry of Supply contract for 120aircraft were taken of{the the very few types that did not go to the As may be imagined, numerous meetings (MoS) in the late summer of 1945, and production line for turning into the two A&AEEat Boscombe Down duringsome were convened without any form ofdeci the Ministry wasso impressed by the idea swept-wing trialsaircraft. The two fuselage partofitsdevelopmentflying. sion being made, for the question 'how ofa tailless DH.106 that an official air nacelles were transported by road to de A certain amount of flying to provide long will the war last!' was very much craft recognition wall-chart was pro Havilland's works at Hatfield but one, aerodynamic statistics was made by the 'how long is a piece ofstring!'. However, duced, depictingsuch an aircraft. VN856(fG2 3 (see below),wenton tothe RAE, withthe lastflight beingcarriedout in the summer of 1944, the British Over De Havilland appreciated that their RAEatFarnboroughforaweek. Itwasback on20February 1945. Itsfinal move, tothe seas Airways Corporation (BOAC) did swept-wing tailless project would require at Hatfield by the beginning of October Science Museum at Kensington, was makea numberofrecommendationsas to much research into the aerodynamics of 1945 and construction of the two experi madeon 28April 1946,and fifty-six years the typeofaircraft that they would like to this layout, and so they proposed that a mental aircraftgot under way. after its maiden flight the first E.28/39 is seebeingproduced byBritish manufactur small single-seat experimental aircraft TheirserialnumbersontheVampireline still on display, to substantiate Britain's ers for theiroperations would be required to investigate all aspects had beenTG283andTG306;however, the early participation in the turbojet-pow In1980,thisbronzeplaquewaserectedonthesiteofthegatewaytotheformerGloster A section oftheir proposalscentred on of this DH.106 design; the MoS strongly Ministryconsidered that newserialsshould ered era. AircraftCompany'sfactoryandairfieldatHucclecote,butsadlyistherenolonger. DerekJames a paper written by Sir Geoffrey de Havil approved ofsuch a prudentapproach. The be bestowed on them, so that TG283 land on the prospects for the turbojet powered commercial airliner, and these wereembodied in the propositionsubmit Technical Data- GlosterGAO ted by the Committee's Type 4A (which Dimensions: Span29ft(BBml;length25ft3Xin(76m);height9ft3in(27m) became the de Havilland Comet). Natu Powerplants: W4041/G:OnePowerJetsW1Xturbojet,producing750lb(340kg)thrust,fortaxiingonly;onePowerJetsW1 turbojet.producingB60lb(390kg)thrust; rally, with his company having a thriving onePowerJetsW2/500turbojet.producing1,7001b(770kg)thrust(thiswaslaterincreasedto1,7601b(BOOkg)thrust);onePowerJetsW2/700turbojet, engine division under Major Frank Hal producing2,7001b(1,220kg)thrustinstalledatRAEinMarch1945. ford, whichalreadyhad itsfirst indigenous W4046/G:OneRover-builtW28turbojet,producing1,2001b(544kg)thrust;oneRover-builtW28turbojet.producing1,5261b(692kg)thrust turbojet, the Goblin, in production, Sir Geoffrey'sargumentscarried considerable Weights: Empty,approximately2,B901b(1,310kgl;loaded,approximately3,7501b(1,700kg) NB:Weightschangedwithdifferentenginesinstalled weight and an eager design team led by Performance: MaximumspeedwithW1 engine310mph(500km/h),withW1A3BBmph(624km/h),withW2/500460mph(740km/h),withW28engine476mph (766km/hl;normalserviceceiling32,OOOft(9,750m);maximumaltitudereached41,600ft(12,6BOm) Thefirstprototype,TG283,onitsmaidenflight Production: TwoaircraftbuilttoSpecificationE.2B/39,withserialnumbersW4041/GandW4046/G abovetheWoodbridgeairfieldon15May1946. Itisnotknownwhethertheundercarriage waskeptdownthroughouttheflightorhadbeen loweredherewhileontheapproach. Aeroplane 14 15 DE HAVILLAND DII.IOM DE HAVILLAND DH.I08 locked in the open position. Cylindrical diagonal stroke was inserted between the A fewdaysafterTG2 3 was rolled onto DH.I08,and wasalways referred toassuch housings were fined on each wing tip to prefix lettersand the numberon early pro de Havilland's dispersal area at Hatfield in all company literature and advertising. take anti-spin parachutesand asmall skid duction Vampire FIs, butnoofficial reason and underwent preliminary systems As flying experience was gained, the was attached under each housing, to pro haseverbeengleaned.Thissystemwascar checks, it was dismantled to be taken by RAE'santicipated low-speed instabilitydid tectthewingtipsduringuneven landings. ricd into the DH.I08 fuselage nacelle, but road into thedepthsofSuffolk. The rapid not materialize and speed was increased to thc under-wing presentation was conven re-assembly and further systems checks the300mph(480km/h) maximum imposed tional, without thestroke. carried out by a de HavilIand Working bythefixed leading-edgeslats. nearlyles The DH.l06 is Revised Party meant that by the second week of son learned was that theelevonflyingcon May theaircraftwasstartingtaxiingtrials. trol layouton a tailless aircraft meant that During the time of the DH.l08s' con Woodbridge With Geoffreyde HavillandJm, thecom it required a greater landing speed com struction, Ronald Bishop and his design pany's ChiefTest Pilot (CTP) and son of paredwith moreconvenrionalaircraft.This teamcametotheconclusionthatatailless During World War Two, the increase in the founder, at the controls, the first was because the elevons were in the raised configuration for a long-rangecivilairlin operationalsortiesflown by Ilied bombers DH.W8 made some preliminary hops on position to increase the angle ofincidence erwasfraught with potential problems, to during the day and night offensive meant 14 May. and depress the wingtips, thereby reducing a point where the whole conception bor that even if the percentage of losses theusablewingarea,whichcreatedalossof dered on the impractical, bearing in mind rcmained constant,agreaternumberofair lift from the outersections. But these new the limited experience in thisfield at that craftwould be returning inadamaged con Maiden Flight characteristicswerequickly mastered. time. Therefore, it was literally back to dition. Experience had shown that aircraft the drawing board and the airlinerdesign often managed to reach the British coast The following day, Wednesday 15 May tookon a moreconventionalappearance; line, but were unable to make it to their 1946, Britain's first swept-wing aircraft Second Prototype the swept wings were retained, but at a hasesfurther north. took to the air. The CTP carried out a reduced angle ofsweep. While the design Consequently, in 1942 special emer trouble-free half-hour flight and on land Specification E.l8/45 covered twO air hardened toamoreorthodoxfuselage and gency-landing airfields were constructed ing expressed complete satisfaction with frames and they were both put in hand at Thewingtip-protectingskidsandfixedleading-edgeslatsarediscernableasTG283 tail assembly, it wasduringthe prototype's near the east coast, at Carnaby, Manston the maiden flight ofsuch an unorthodox roughly thesame time. However, with the crossestheairfieldboundaryroad,withthelightssetatred. Aeroplane construction that the name Comet was andWoodbridge. Each hada3,000yd-long aircraft. Further flights were made over second aircraft,TG306, being for trials at resurrected from the record-breaking (2,740m) runway thatwasa verygenerous thenextfourdays, beforeTG283 returned the high-speed end ofthe flightenvelope, DH88racerofthe 1930s.On 27July 1949, 250yd (230m) wide, with considerable to Hatfield on 19 May, for the future full a considerable number of modifications the gracefully proportioned prototype G additional under- and over-shoor areas at flight-test programme to be carried out had to be implemented compared with became VN856 and TG306 became wing-roar fairings. The question of there ALVG had its first flight. citherend The Woodbridgesite, being in from its home base. TG283. In particular, the wing leading VN860. The thinking behind this renum being no ejector seat was raised by the themiddleofadenseconiferousforestarea With typical impetuosity and without edge sweep was increased by 2degrees, to beringisdifficulttoascertain, butthen, itis MoS, butwhen itwaspOintedoutthatthe inSuffolk,wasideallysituatedfrom asecu any reference to the constructors, the 45 degrees, and Handley Page retractable probably better nor to: before the end of cockpit was basically of wood construc First DH.I08 rity point ofview which, while nor being Under-SecretaryattheMoSreferred tothe slats replaced the fixed units on the first construction the serial numbers V 856 tion, so that the redesign and construc necessary in wartime, wascertainlyadvan aircraftas theSwallow. The name became aircraft. Additional wiring for fully auto and VN860 were cancelled and the two tion necessary to accommodate such a Althoughtheairliner'sshapehadchanged, tageous now, when an experimental air a colloquial title on the shop floor at Hat matic recording instrumentation was fit DH.108s reverted to the original numbers seatwouldcauseconsiderabledelay to the de Havilland proceeded with the experi craft, cloaked in secrecy, required to be field, but so far as de Havilland manage ted and a Goblin 3, producing 3,3001b asallocatedon the Prestonproductionline. trials programme, the Ministry said no mental prototypes. The view was taken test-flown. ment was concerned, the aircraft was the (1,500kg) thrust, was installed. The two VN serials became void and were more on the subject. The work to create thatswept-wing experience in Britain was never reallocated to any other airframes. the first DH.108 wascarried out in record verysparse, and whilea certain amountof time, and when TG283 emerged from the data obtained from the 108s could be GeoffreydeHavillandbringsthefirstprototypeclosetothecamera,todisplaytheindividualwaythatdeHavillandinsertedaslashbetweentheserial's assemblyshopin pril1946, thiswasonly incorporated in the Comet's trials pro lettersandfigures.ThiswasuniqueinthefirstbatchofVampireF.ls,fromwhichthefirsttwoDH.l08centrebodiesweretaken. Author'scollection Construction Begins seven monthsfrom thetime when the two gramme, it would be valuablefor the com fuselage nacelles arrived from Preston. pany's DH.110 all-weather fighter project, The newall-metal wings for TG283 were which was in the embryonic stage. On a mated to the fuselage nacelleat the exist more national level, research into swept ing pick-up points. It featured a leading The RAE's Warning wing behaviour and handling would be of edge sweepback of 43 degrees, with 25 value to the aircraft industry in general. degrees ofsweepon the trailingedge, and Farnborough had beenawareofde Havil TG283 was fitted with a de Havilland the total span was 39ft (11.8m). The tall land's workonan unconventional tailless Goblin 2centrifugal-flow turbojet,deliver single fin, with a 51 degree leading-edge design and expressed their opinion that ing 3,lOOlb (1,400kg) thrust, receiving air Sl.veep,carriedaconventionaltip-balanced there was considerable theoretical evi viathebifurcatedwing-rootintakesalready rudder, thatoperated in conjunction with dence to prove that such a configuration proven on the Vampire. On roll-out, the the wing'selevons. could enter intoa'Dutch roll' at low alti aircraft'sfinish wasoverallmansilver,with Although the undercarriage was also tude. This would result in a wing drop Type C roundels on the upper and lower straight off the Vampire production line, with a loss ofcontrol at the stall, thereby wing surfaces, but with none on the fuse the main wheels were actuated to retract inducinga spin from which, they consid lage. he fin flash was red and blue, with inwards. Like the fighter's, the DH.l08's ered, there would be little chance of a out any dividing white stripe, pOSitioned fuselage nacelle had no ejector seat and recovery. In viewofthis informationfrom above the regulation yellow 'P' in a circle was unpressurized, but its rear end was the well-respected Establishment, de adjacent to the engine's orifice. At that lengthened to take the single fin and was Havilland incorporated large Handley time, de Havilland had a strange anomaly recontoured to meet up with the large Pageslatson the leadingedge, which were with theirpresentation ofserialnumbers: a 16