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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0595.PDF
344 FLIGHT International, S March 19a WORLD E W S Future Equipment as Predicted The few hard and central aviation facts which came out of last week's defence debate in the House of Commons (reported on page 347) were entirely predictable and only in details were there any surprises. Full development has been ordered for the Hawker Siddeley P.I 154 for the RAF as a ground attack aircraft, "capable of some daylight intercepter role" in the Minister's words. "It would be a magnificent achieve- ment if we could get a common aircraft in this role for the RAF and RN ... a really genuine effort was made to get this aircraft . . . our joint judgment was that it was too near the margin ... to risk going to full development and, in these circumstances, we decided not to develop it," Mr Thorney- croft continued. He indicated that "we should make the simplest and most robust P. 1154 that we can, with a Bristol Siddeley BS. 100 engine." The Royal Navy, predictably, is to get the McDonnell Phantom fighter as its Sea Vixen replacement but with the Rolls-Royce Spey in place of the GE J79 engine. This was one of the surprising details, as it was understood that the Navy considered a Sea Vixen replacement to be an urgent matter but it is now known that the Phantom is not required until mid-1967 (at which time it will be phasing out of the US Fleet) which should give Rolls-Royce ample time to develop the Spey for this application. The Minister seemed to scotch any hopes that remain about Britain ever developing an advanced carrier-born aircraft again in saying "what we require to make is a limited buy ... for the RN only, of an aircraft which on any hypothesis will win practically no export orders at all. In those circumstances . . . because of the specialist nature of the aircraft, one has to consider with exceptional care whether one is justified in going to the full R & D costs of making an aircraft of that kind."' The Hawker Siddeley 681, the Minister said, would be ordered into development as a replacement for the RAF's Hastings and Beverleys and would be powered by Rolls- Royce Medway engines. A "substantial" amount of work would be sub-contracted to Shorts, he said. Turning to the Army's unit light heli- copter, the Minister deferred giving any decision between the Hiller E4 and the Agusta-Bell 47G-3 until this week, but confirmed that the "Howard Hughes"— presumably the Hughes 300—was now eliminated. His having stressed to Northern Ireland members that HS.681 work would be placed with Shorts, who hold licence agreements on the Hiller E4 covering about half the world, seemed to confirm a growing belief that the decision will go to the Agusta- Bell 47G-3, on which Westland holds rights. But in fact the Army's "unit light heli- copter," which will be outside Army Air Corps control and be integral equipment of fighting units, will be far from being every unit's light helicopter, for Mr Thorneycroft said that the order would be for 150—50 from the foreign makers and 100 to be built under licence here—when the Army's realistic requirement is known to be more like 300 machines. The question concerning the size of the Navy's Polaris submarine fleet—the keel of the first ship, HMS Resolution, was laid on February 26, the day he was speaking—was clarified by Mr Thorneycroft. "We have come firmly to the conclusion that we should have a fleet of five boats and we intend to have such a fleet," he said. Non- committal remarks he had made some days earlier had been widely interpreted as an indication that only four submarines would be built. US Military Aircraft It is also appropriate to outline the development of new US military aircraft:— A-ll Since 1959 Lockheed Aircraft have been engaged in the development of a Mach 3 (2,000 m.p.h.) fighter for the US Air Force. Designated A-ll, the existence of the project was revealed on February 29 by President Johnson; it had previously been a secret kept as closely as the com- pany's earlier U-2. Obviously derived from the X-15, the A-ll is appreciably longer (estimate, 110ft) and has an air-breathing engine: a single Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT-11) of some 45,OOOIb thrust with reheat. It carries the experimental radar fire-control and air-to-air missile originally developed by Hughes Aircraft for the defunct F-108 Rapier. According to Sen Robert Russell "11 or 12" of these aircraft are now flying from Edwards AFB, and are "almost ready to be accepted formally by the Air Force." The A-ll is constructed largely of titanium, and has a range of "thousands of miles" at 70,000ft. President Johnson said that the A-ll had brought "major advances in aircraft technology of great significance to both military and commer- cial application." 7Ve»v Intercepter Gen LeMay, Air Force Chief of Staff, requested $40m in the Fiscal 1965 Budget for a new intercepter. The Senate Armed Services Committee have rejected the request in view of the existence of the A-ll. New Bomber The excellent per- formance of Minuteman and Polaris has made Defense Secretary McNamara luke- warm towards a new strategic bomber, but the House of Representatives has voted 121-29 to spend $52m on a successor to the B-52. The B-70 programme is being held to $ 1,500m, which will limit flight testing to two aircraft (the first of which should now fly in May, following a year trying to seal the welded integral-tank wings). The new bomber is known as AMPSS, for advanced manned precision strike system. TFX Both the USAF F-111A and USN F-1UB have run into problems and are faced with sharp increases in weight, drag and cost. But Mr McNamara envis- ages the F-U1A as the principal tactical strike aircraft of the next decade. Naval Attack The House Armed Ser- vices Committee question the need for the VAL carrier-based aircraft (the Ling- Temco-Vought A-7A illustrated in last week's issue). Rep S. S. Stratton states "we have been told that the one big factor was the cost, and yet ... we see here that the unit cost is almost identical for this plane and the A-6." V/STOL Aircraft The House Com- mittee has called for an end to US partici- pation in the Hawker Siddeley P.I 127 programme, asking "why, when there are a number of developments going on within the US, should this country be investing in the development of a foreign aircraft?' CX According to Air Force Secretary Eugene M. Zuckert the CX giant cargo- transport programme "may "run as high as three billion dollars." The 1965 request The Duke of Edinburgh and the Lord Mayor of London receive Mr A. M. A. Majendie, Master of the Guild. Later, Prince Philip presents the Pike Trophy to Mr L. V. Worsde// . . . At the Banquet of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (report on opposite page) the Duke of Edinburgh, as Grand Master, presented the Guild's annual awards. In addition to recipients portrayed here, Messrs W. G. Charnley and J. S. Shayler received the Cumberbatch Trophy on behalf of the RAE Blind Landing Experimental Unit flight teams; and Mr Michael Rymer received the Brackley Memorial Trophy, awarded posthumously to his father, Capt R. Rymer. The awards and citations were listed in our issue of February 6
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