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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0179.PDF
79 r, 601 Sea Vixen THE ROYAL NAVY'S STRIKE FIGHTER By HOLLY NEAL, BSC, oic, AFR/US "Flight" photograph IT is a remarkable fact that at the present time the aeroplanewith the highest performance in British service is a carrier-based machine, seating a crew of two side-by-side, which was conceived 13 years ago and first flew in 1951. But the de Havilland Sea Vixen is an exceptional aeroplane; it was the first British aircraft designed as an integrated weapon system, the first British aeroplane to become operational with guided weapons and the first fighter of recent years not fitted with guns. More ujan any other aeroplane, the Sea Vixen typifies the process whereby a somewhat embryonic prototype may take many years to evolve into an effective operational vehicle. Thirteen years is admittedly exceptional, but the D.H.I 10 and today's Sea Vixen are only superficially similar. In fact the two aircraft are markedly different in their structure, equipment, weapons, flying-controls, systems and in every other major respect. To some extent the protracted development must be ascribed to official vacillation, which once resulted in the entire programme being cancelled by the Royal Navy and subsequently by the RAF also. It was only the manufacturer's dogged determination to continue to develop a design which they knew to be good which finally enabled them to persuade the Ministry of Supply and Royal Navy that it was the answer to the needs of the latter Service. Moreover, during the years that the project was in abeyance there were tremendous advances in weapons, fire-control systems, radar and flight instrumentation and, above all, in the integrated weapon-system concept. Thus, when de Havilland were at last able to go ahead with the operational version, the Sea Vixen was a weapon system, and not merely an aeroplane containing some off-the-shelf stores and equipment. It was in mid-1946 that de Hayilland Aircraft started to discuss with the Royal Navy the possibility of a carrier-based all-weather fighter of outstanding performance. For maximum radar and navigational efficiency it was decided that a crew of two should be carried. Since the aircraft was to operate over the sea, twin- engine reliability seemed desirable. For performance, the wing was given the unprecedented sweep angle of 45°. The aircraft was to have a moderate wing loading, for manoeuvrability at altitude as well as for deck take-offs and landings; and for the latter purpose highly effective flaps were required. Folded dimen- sions had to conform to the limitations imposed by lifts and hangars, and the twin-boom layout was chosen in order to reduce both length and, particularly, height. The arrangement chosen aiso makes possible economical ship stowage, since the high tail- Plane gives ample clearance for the following aircraft to be run forward beneath it. Moreover, the twin-boom layout minimizes engine-out asymmetry, shortens the jetpipes and facilitates access. It was around these considerations that the basic D.H. type 110 came into being. Almost simultaneously the F.44/46 night-fighter specification for the RAF was issued (it later was reissued as F.4/48) and de Havilland decided that a non-navalized version of the 110 could be the answer to it. Early in 1947 they submitted tenders for F.44/46 and the Naval N.40/46 specifications. Both tenders were favourably received. Although the subsequent design conferences produced the inevitable uncertainties on armament and equipment, by January 1949 the Ministry of Supply had agreed to place development contracts for seven RAF night fighter and two long-range fighter prototypes, two naval night fighters and two naval strike fighter prototypes. But later that year the first blow fell: owing to political and financial manoeuvres, the Navy cancelled their order. However, that for the RAF still stood and the manufacture of two RAF prototypes went ahead at de Havilland's main plant at Hatfield. The first of these, bearing the serial number WG236, was rolled out in the autumn of 1951 and John Cunningham took it into the air for the first time on September 26. From the outset its behaviour was exemplary and its performance even better than had been expected. By April of the following year WG236 was regularly flying beyond the speed of sound, being the first British aircraft definitely to achieve this distinction. Few who were around at that time will forget the thrill of the small puffs in the sky and the deafening bangs on the ground as this big twin-boom machine demonstrated Britain's entry into a new realm of flight. Both WG236 and its stable-mate WG 240, first flown on July 25, 1952, were painted silver. Each was powered by a pair of Rolls- Royce Avon RA.7s of some 7,5001b thrust. No provision was made for underwing stores; a conventional tailplane and elevator were fitted, air brakes were provided above and below the jet tailpipes and the 110 at this time can in retrospect best be described as an outstanding basis for development—it was certainly far from being an operational machine. In 1951, the de Havilland Enterprise took over Airspeed's works at Christchurch, Hampshire, and filled it with assembly lines for Vampires, Venoms, and Sea Venoms. In 1953, development of the D.H. 110 was transferred there from Hatfield, under the direction of the chief designer (Christchurch), W. A. Tamblin. (Today, the process has just been reversed: the entire Christchurch design staff has been transferred to Hatfield, although Sea Vixen produc- tion remains in Hampshire.) But while the 110 was still a Hatfield project its story was retarded by two shattering setbacks. In 1952 the RAF chose the
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