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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0239.PDF
FLIGHT, 25 February 1955 238-239 and are brought to bear by means of a radar-ranging sight.The Hunter is the first Hawker jet fighter to serve with the R.A.F. and its particular history may be considered to date fromSeptember 2nd, 1947, when, at Boscombe Down, Hawker's W. ("Bill") Humble made the initial flight in his company's firstjet fighter prototype, the P. 1040. The seven years between this event and the issue of Hunters to the squadrons had seen thephased development of partially swept and fully swept prototypes, and then the arduous process of adaptation and development tomeet a particularly stringent operational requirement. The P.1040 had straight wings and straight tail surfaces, andwas powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene, breathing through wing- root intakes and having a Hawker-patented bifurcated tailpipe.Although it had not been adopted by the R.A.F. (which Service was fully committed to the Meteor and Vampire), the newmachine was developed, to Specification N.7/46, as a carrier- borne fighter for the Royal Navy, and this variant made itsfirst public appearance at the S.B.A.C. Display of 1948. Thence- forth the Sea Hawk project went its own way as work on moreadvanced swept-wing, land-based fighters was put in hand. It is fitting to mention here, however, that the P.1040 (serial numberVP401) was later adapted for flight-testing the Armstrong Siddeley Snarler rocket motor, and with its mixed power plantwas redesignated P.1072. This pioneer British aircraft appeared in the S.B.A.C. static display of 1951. Hawker's first venture in sweepback was the building of theP.1052, which resembled the P.1040 in all essentials except that the wings were swept at 35 deg. Two examples—serial-num-bered VX272 and VX279—were built during 1949, and the former was subsequently "navalized" for carrier trials. The next development phase entailed the conversion ofVX279 to the "all-swept" configuration, under the designation P. 1081—a conversion, be it said, which was effected in theremarkably short space of four weeks. While the wings, under- carriage and forward fuselage remained unaltered, a completelynew tail, with swept-back surfaces, and a tail jet-pipe, with provision for reheat, were incorporated. Only three days after thefirst flight Trevor ("Wimpy") Wade gave a spectacular demonstra- tion in Belgium. Development flying continued for almost a year—until, onApril 3rd, 1951, Wade lost his life when the P.1081 was destroyed. The next design to materialize was far more ambitious in termsof performance and armament. Bearing the Hawker project number P. 1067, it conformed to Specification F.3/48 and borethe Service number WB188. This fighter was the first true Hunter, though the name was not officially confirmed until manymonths after the first flight—by S/L. Neville Duke at Boscombe Down on July 20th, 1951. A few weeks later Duke presented itat Farnborough with shattering effect. This first prototype, like the second (WB195) which flew in May 1952, was powered with aRolls-Royce Avon at 7,500 lb thrust, the fitting of the Avon engine being signified by the suffix F.I. The third prototype was the•first F.2, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. Its serial number was WB202 and it was first flown on November 30th, 1952. While development flying of these prototypes was going for-ward, plans for large production were being implemented; but, as Sir Sydney Camm, C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., director and chiefdesigner of Hawker Aircraft, Ltd., has himself remarked, this was a task which was beset with many difficulties, not the least beingthe lack, in the early stages, of technicians, skilled craftsmen, jigs, (Continued on p. 242, after double page of Hawker jet-fighterdevelopment pictures) [E HUNTERS ARE HERE ... ee R.A.F. squadrons, of which No. 43, at Tangmere, was thet. Its Furies were delivered during the spring of 1931, and a ht performed aerobatics at the R.A.F. Display of that year,hey were certainly fast," Flight observed, "but it may, perhaps, doubted that they attained the 250 m.p.h. in the dive which: loud-speakers announced." ^ow, after a quarter of a century, during which period thenes Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury have been t large in the scrolls of military history, another Hawker inter-ter—the graceful Hunter—is to be seen in R.A.F. service. By appy turn of fate the first squadron to be equipped was again. 43; and if, as we have said, an element of doubt was expressed respect of that squadron's first demonstration at Hendon (innt of fact the Fury's terminal velocity was all of 350 m.p.h.), re is abundant aural proof that the Hunter is readily capable ofeeding the speed of sound in a shallow dive. As for armament, Fury mounted two O.3O3in Vickers guns, aimed by meansthe Aldis and ring-and-bead sights of basic 1918 pattern, :reas the Hunter commands the devastating fire-power of fournm Aden cannon, which are installed as a self-contained "pack"
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