Supermarine Swift - Background Information
The Supermarine Swift was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF), built by Supermarine during the 1950s. After a protracted development period, the Swift entered service as an interceptor, but, due to a spate of accidents, its service life was short. A photo reconnaissance variant resolved some of the Swift's teething problems.
the F Mk.4, which included a variable incidence tailplane intended to correct the handling problems that the Swift suffered from. It did indeed fix the problem; however, it was found that reheat could not actually be ignited at high altitude which added to the problems that the Swift variants suffered from.
The Swift never saw combat action with the RAF. It did break a number of speed records in its time; in Libya, on 26 September 1953, an F.4 (WK198) piloted by Commander Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record, reaching a speed of 737.7 mph (1,187 km/h), though it was broken in turn just eight days later by the Douglas Skyray, aUnited States Navy (USN) fighter.
General characteristics
§ Crew: 1
§ Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)
§ Wingspan: 32 ft 4 in (9.85 m)
§ Height: 13 ft 2 in (4.02 m)
§ Wing area: 328 ft² (30.5 m²)
§ Empty weight: 13,435 lb (6,094 kg)
§ Max takeoff weight: 21,673 lb (9,381 kg)
§ Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7R/114 turbojet
§ Dry thrust: 7,175 lbf (31.9 kN)
§ Thrust with afterburner: 9,450 lbf (42.0 kN)
Performance
§ Maximum speed: at sea level 713 mph (1148 km/h)
§ Range: 630 mi (1,014 km)
§ Service ceiling: (service) 45,800 ft (13,960 m)
§ Rate of climb: (initial) 14.660 (74.5 m/s)
Armament
§ 2 × 30 mm ADEN cannons and provisions for bombs and rockets
Info taken from wikipedia. Much more about the Supermarine swift history here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Swift
Description
This is one of the two only complete WK275 (F Mk.4) in existence to our knowledge (the other being the wk198 which resides Manchester by the north-east Aircraft museum), its also the very same variant (F Mk.4) of the Supermarine swifts which broke the absolute speed record as above. The exterior of the plane is in reasonable condition considering how old it is (and how long its been exposed to the elements), there are a few spots where there is damage as illustrated in the photos that will be in the ebay listing but from what I can see of the insides they look in almost perfect condition considering its age. The cockpit was made water tight 45 years ago to prevent water from penetrating the interior in a ditch to preserve the aircraft and it seems some what successful! This truly is a piece of history that any keen restoration guru would be itching to get there hands on. It will be on sale on ebay 14/09/2011