The Worlds

Fastest Aircraft
26 AIRCRAFT FEEL THE
NEED FOR SPEED
U DI NG
IN C L

Blackbird
Concorde
Me 262
Bell X-1
Valkyrie

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ISSUE 33 7.95

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AA33_p1.indd 1 09/08/2017 09:49
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 The Worlds Fastest Aircraft

T
he need for speed. This natural instinct is embedded in all way. And then along came the aircraft that would smash all records and,
our psyche, so it is of little surprise that from the moment the amazingly, remains unsurpassed to this day some 50 years after it tore the
Wright brothers staggered into the air, flying fast became heavens apart the undisputed speed-master of them all, the Lockheed
an obsession. Freed of our earthly bonds, previously unimagined SR-71 Blackbird.
speeds could now be attained and the kudos of being the fastest This then is the incredible story of mans conquest of the air, ranging
person on the planet quickly manifested itself into a new sport from the 6.82mph of the Wright Flyer to the Mach 2+ Concorde. Looking
air racing. back over the first 60 years of powered flight, Aviation Archive has picked
However, with the advent of World War 1, the power games turned out 26 of the most notable record-breaking aircraft that have gone faster
deadly serious. Speed now equated to survival. The art of dogfighting than anything before. Like Maverick from Top Gun, quite simply, we feel
became the art of energy management, a ballet of life and death. War the need
powered the technology, and by the early 1920s aircraft were exceeding
200mph. Come World War 2, this speed had already been doubled, AVIATION ARCHIVE SERIES
but the limits of propeller-powered aircraft were now reaching their The Worlds Fastest Aircraft is No 33 in the successful Aviation Archive
extremes. The arrival of the jet engine changed everything. Now the series. It features unparalleled photographic coverage, including many
only barrier was the sound barrier and when this was smashed by Chuck exclusive and rare shots that have never been published before. The
Yeager in 1947, history was changed forever. The 1950s and early 1960s words and photographs are complemented by period cutaways from
was a golden time for speed with records rapidly changing hands from the talented pens of the Flight and Aeroplane artists of the era, together
one side of the Atlantic to the other, with the UK and US pioneering the with exclusive aircraft profiles from Pete West and Rolando Ugolini.

Aviation Archive Series

The Worlds Fastest Aircraft
Editor: Allan Burney Design: Philip Hempell
Publisher and Managing Director: Adrian Cox Executive Chairman: Richard Cox Commercial Director: Ann Saundry Group Editor: Nigel Price
Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0)20 7429 4000 Printing: Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.
All rights reserved. The entire content of Aviation Archive is Key Publishing 2017. Reproduction in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Publisher. We are unable to guarantee the
bona fides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in
response to any advertisements within this publication. Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs PE19 1XQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1780 755131. Fax: +44 (0) 1780 757261. Website: www.keypublishing.com ISBN: 9781912205028

AA33_p3.indd 3 09/08/2017 08:47

 4 CONTENTS

AA33_p4-5.indd 4 09/08/2017 09:12

 CONTENTS 5

The Worlds
Fastest Aircraft
6 WRIGHT FLYER
8 BLERIOT XI
10 SPAD XIII
14 RAF SE5A
FOKKER DVII
SUPERMARINE S6
24 MACCHI M.C. 72
25 MESSERSCHMITT ME 209
26 MESSERSCHMITT ME 163
30 MESSERSCHMITT ME 262
34 GLOSTER METEOR
41 BELL X-1
44 NORTH AMERICAN F-86 SABRE
46 HAWKER HUNTER
50 SUPERMARINE SWIFT
52 DOUGLAS F4D SKYRAY
54 NORTH AMERICAN F-100 SUPER SABRE
58 FAIREY DELTA 2
61 LOCKHEED F-104 STARFIGHTER
66 CONVAIR B-58 HUSTLER
68 ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING
72 MCDONNELL F-4 PHANTOM
74 NORTH AMERICAN X-15
81 NORTH AMERICAN XB-70 VALKYRIE
86 LOCKHEED SR-71 BLACKBIRD
92 AEROSPATIALE/BAC CONCORDE

AA33_p4-5.indd 5 09/08/2017 09:12

 6 UNITED STATES
Wright Flyer
I
t is something of a paradox that the
slowest aircraft of its time should also be
the fastest! But that was the situation on
17December 1903 when the Wright brothers
inaugurated the aerial age with their first
successful powered flights at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina. Flying 120ft in 10 seconds,
the Wright Flyer achieved a speed of just
6.82mph, thus becoming the worlds fastest
powered aircraft!
Below: The Wright Flyer takes to the air.
AA33_p6-9.indd 6
The Wright Flyer, sometimes referred to
as the Kitty Hawk Flyer, was the product of a
sophisticated four-year programme of research
and development conducted by Wilbur and
Orville Wright beginning in 1899. During the
Wrights design and construction of their
experimental aircraft they also pioneered many
of the basic tenets and techniques of modern
aeronautical engineering, such as the use of a
wind tunnel and flight testing as design tools.
Having gained much experience successfully
flying gliders, during the spring and summer
of 1903 the Wright brothers built their first
powered aircraft. Essentially a larger and
sturdier version of their 1902 glider, the only
fundamentally new component of the 1903
aircraft was the propulsion system. With the
assistance of their bicycle shop mechanic,
Charles Taylor, the Wrights built a small 12hp
gasoline engine. While the engine was a
significant enough achievement, the genuinely
innovative feature of the propulsion system
was the propellers. The brothers conceived
the propellers as rotary wings, producing
09/08/2017 09:13

a horizontal thrust force aerodynamically.
By turning an airfoil section on its side and
spinning it to create an air flow over the surface,
the Wrights reasoned that a horizontal lift
force would be generated that would propel
the aircraft forward. The concept was one of
the most original and creative aspects of the
Wrights aeronautical work. The 1903 machine
was fitted with two propellers mounted behind
the wings and connected to the engine,
centrally located on the bottom wing, via a
chain-and-sprocket transmission system.
By the autumn of 1903, the powered machine
was ready for trial. A number of problems with
the engine transmission system delayed the
first flight attempt until mid-December. After
winning the toss of a coin to determine which
AA33_p6-9.indd 7
WRIGHT FLYER 7
brother would make the first try, Wilbur took
the pilots position and made an unsuccessful Wright Flyer
attempt on 14 December, damaging the Flyer
Max speed: 30mph (48km/h) with
slightly. Repairs were completed for a second
later Flyer
attempt on 17 December. It was now Orvilles
Engine: 1 x straight-4
turn. At 10.35hrs the Flyer lifted off the beach
piston engine
at Kitty Hawk for a 12sec flight, travelling 120ft
Power: 12hp
(36m). Three more flights were made that
Wingspan: 40ft 4in (12.3m)
morning, the brothers alternating as pilot. The
Length: 21ft 1in (6.4m)
second and third were in the range of 200ft.
With Wilbur at the controls, the fourth and last Height: 9ft 4in (2.8m)
flight covered 852ft (255.6m) in 59sec. With
this final long, sustained effort, there was no tumbling across the sand. The aircraft was
question the Wrights had flown. severely damaged and never flew again. But the
As the brothers and the others present Wrights had achieved what they had set out to
discussed the long flight, a gust of wind do. They had successfully demonstrated their
overturned the Wright Flyer and sent it design for a heavier-than-air flying machine.
10/08/2017 08:19
 8 FRANCE
Bleriot XI
A
viation came of age when Louis
Bleriot flew across the English
Channel on 25 July 1909. For the first
time, the potential of the aircraft had been
demonstrated and set the template for all
that was to follow. As well as setting new
standards in design, the pioneering aircraft
also set new speed records.
The Blriot Type XI was the most famous and
successful of several classic aircraft that
emerged during the summer of 1909, when
all Europe seemed to be taking to the sky.
Louis Blriot, a French engineer, first became
interested in aeronautics in 1901. Over the next
eight years he moved through a series of
distinct aircraft designs, only one of which was
AA33_p6-9.indd 8
capable of a flight of more than ten minutes.
This all changed with Blriots next effort, the
Type XI. Although it was designed primarily by
engineer Raymond Saulnier, it was a natural
evolution from earlier Blriot aircraft and one
to which Blriot himself made substantial
contributions. It was first flown at Issy-les-
Moulineaux, on 23 January 1909. By the end
of May, the Type XI was fitted with a 25hp,
three-cylinder Anzani engine, which had a
reputation for reliability, which was critical to
Blriots next challenge.
Blriot achieved immortality in the Type XI
on 25 July 1909, when he made the first aircraft
crossing of the English Channel, covering the
25 miles (40km) between Calais and Dover in
36min 30sec. For the effort, Blriot captured
the London Daily Mail prize of $2,500 that had
been put up by the newspaper the year before
for any successful cross-Channel flight. The
event also caused a major reappraisal of the
importance of aviation; the Daily Express led its
story of the flight with the headline: Britain is
no longer an Island. As well as creating aviation
history, the flight assured the future of Blriots
aircraft manufacturing business. Following the
achievement, Blriot received the first of many
orders for copies of his Type XI monoplane.
Variants of the original 1909 machine were
produced by the Blriot firm, foreign licensees,
and enthusiastic amateur builders in Europe
and America into World War 1.
09/08/2017 09:13
 BLERIOT XI 9

Blriot XI
Max speed: 68mph (109km/h)
Engine: 1 x Anzani 3-cylinder
radial piston
Power: 25hp
Wingspan: 25ft 7in (7.79m)
Length: 25ft 0in (7.62m)
Height: 8ft 10in (2.69m)
Ceiling: 3,300ft (1,000m)

The need for speed

Louis Blriot himself established two
records in his Bleriot XI, culminating in a
speed of 47.8mph (77km/h) on 28 August
1909. Just over a year later, Alfred Leblanc
in New York took a Bleriot XI up to 68mph,
the fastest speed achieved by the XI.

Above: Blriot took off at sunrise for his cross Channel flight. Flying without the aid of a compass, he
deviated to the east of his intended course, but, nonetheless, spotted the English coast to his left.
Battling turbulent wind conditions, Blriot made a heavy pancake landing, nearly collapsing the
undercarriage and shattering one blade of the propeller, but he was unhurt. The aircraft, which never
flew again, was hurriedly repaired and put on display atSelfridgesdepartment store in London.

Left: The Blriot XI monoplane was advanced for its time and laid the foundations for future
generations of aircraft design.

Below: Blriot perches on the cockpit rim of his Blriot IX for a photographer.

AA33_p6-9.indd 9 09/08/2017 09:13

 10 FRANCE
SPAD XIII
T
he SPAD XIII was the ultimate
expression of French fighter
technology in World War 1. Derived
from the highly successful Societ anonyme
pour lAviation et ses derives SPAD VII and
limited-edition SPAD XII, the XIII was
developed to make use of the powerful
Hispano-Suiza 8B engine, which cranked
out 200hp. The extra performance offered
by the motor allowed the designers to fit
two 0.303in Vickers guns into the XIII. It also
made it the fastest fighter of its time.
The development of improved German
fighters in the late summer of 1916, most
notably the Albatros D.II with its twin machine
AA33_p10-13.indd 10
guns, led ranking French ace and zealous
SPADVII advocate Georges Guynemer to
write to designer Bchereau calling for more
power and heavier armament. After testing
the new Hispano-Suiza 8B engine in a SPAD VII,
Bchereau concluded that a larger, more robust
airframe would be required to accommodate
it. In addition to its size, the SPAD XIII.C1, which
Below: Ranking American ace of World War 1
Capt Edward V. Rickenbacker poses with his
SPAD XIII S4523 Old Number 1 of the 94th Aero
Squadron at Rembercourt on 18 October 1918.
Note the fighters star-spangled wheel covers.
Rickenbacker scored victories 7 through to 26 in
this machine.
was ordered into production in February
1917, had rounded wingtips, inversely tapered
ailerons, forward-staggered cabane struts with
a frontal bracing wire and, most significantly, it
was armed with twin 0.303in Vickers machine
guns with 380 rounds each.
However, a combination of manufacturing
problems and chronic engine reliability
drastically slowed the delivery process, and of
the 2,200 XIIIs promised by SPAD for completion
by March 1918, just 764 had been built, of
which only 300 were in operational service!
Although the SPAD XIII could attain a
commendable maximum speed of 124mph
and climb to 13,000ft in 11 minutes, the aircraft
10/08/2017 08:20
 SPAD XIII 11

Above: RFC SPAD XIII B6732 of No 23 Squadron.
This aircraft was piloted by Lt Doyle on
26 February 1918 when he was shot down by
Oblt Von Tutschek, north of Laon.
experienced problems with the spur reduction
gear of its Hispano-Suiza 8B engine. This
delayed the fighters introduction at the front,
and would handicap the aircraft for months.
With the engine woes eventually rectified,
production finally began to meet demand in
the late spring of 1918, SPAD churning out
11 XIIIs a day until manufacturing ceased in
1919. By this time, more than 8,472 aircraft
had been built (more than any other Allied
fighter in World War 1), and aside from its use
by no fewer than 81 French Escadrilles, British,
Italian, Belgian and American units also saw
action with the XIII. Indeed, some 16 pursuit
squadrons of the American Expeditionary
Forces United States Air Service were equipped
with the French fighter.
Despite the engine maladies, which were
never totally cured, the SPAD XIIIs firepower,
combined with its ability to lose most pursuers
in a dive not only because of its speed, but
because of the wing cellules ability to hold up
to the stress made it immensely popular with
its pilots.
The first aerial victory claim in a SPAD XIII,
came from the Royal Flying Corps, which had
adopted the SPAD VII in the summer of 1916
and acquired SPAD XIII S498 in late May 1917.
Given the British serial number B3479 and
tested at Candas, it exceeded expectations with
a speed of 140mph at 15,000ft, reaching that
altitude in 16 minutes and 18 seconds.

SPAD XIII aces

The sheer number of SPAD XIIIs built
made it inevitable that a large number of Lt Charles Eugne Jules Marie Nungesser
French pilots would make ace flying the one of the most prolific French aces of World
War 1. His victories were scored while flying
aeroplane. Aside from ace of aces Ren Nieuport 17s and 25s and SPAD XIIIs.
Fonck, Charles Nungesser (43 victories),
Georges Flix Madon (41 victories), Maurice
Boyau (35) and Michel Coiffard (34) all
achieved significant victory tallies with the
SPAD XIII.
By 1918, the great days for the French
aces were over, as most aerial action
was now taking place over the British
sector. Consequently, most SPAD pilots
had to spend their time hunting German
observation balloons a deadly task, as
the latter were always ringed with multiple
ack-ack batteries. Boyau and Coiffard were
particularly effective balloon-busters, as
was American Frank Luke he downed
14 of them. Top-ranking USAS ace Eddie
Rickenbacker scored most of his 26 kills in
the SPAD XIII.

AA33_p10-13.indd 11 10/08/2017 08:21

 12 FRANCE

Above: Pictured at Foucaucourt Airdrome, France, in November 1918, is SPAD XIII of 93rd Aero
Squadron. The unit was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the3rd Pursuit Group,
First United States Army.

The need for speed

The mount of virtually all the great French aces, and leading Americans such as Eddie
Rickenbacker and Frank Luke Jr, the SPAD XIII was responsive yet steady in combat. This made
it the perfect machine for an experienced pilot, but like its British contemporary, the Camel,
the French fighter was tricky for a novice to handle. It could, however, withstand the stress of
dives at speeds in excess of 280mph, followed by steep climbs. The aircraft manoeuvred easily
in the vertical plane, but was not as agile in tight turns as its contemporaries. Nevertheless,
units equipped with the SPAD XIII enjoyed an advantage over the enemy until the arrival of the
Fokker D.VII in the spring of 1918.
The advantage in level and especially diving speed that the SPAD XIII held over even the
BMW-engined Fokker D.VII was attested to by Ltn Richard Wenzl of Jasta 6 as he described
several combats he had with American fighters on 30 October 1918: The scene was always
the same. A tight turn, then the SPAD was overtaken and saved itself by a vertical nosedive.
Naturally we couldnt follow them. So we forced an entire SPAD flight of seven aircraft down in
turn. My rage over this bunch knew no bounds.

Left and right: SPAD XIII S15202 of 2 Lt Frank

Luke Jr of 27th Aero Squadron 1918. Luke
was an American fighter ace, ranking second
among US Army Air Service pilots after Capt
Eddie Rickenbacker in number of aerial victories
during World War 1 (Rickenbacker was credited
with 26 victories, while Lukes official score was
18). However, on 28 September Luke was shot
down and mortally wounded by anti-aircraft
fire. Posthumously, Frank Luke was the first
airman to receive the Medal of Honor.

AA33_p10-13.indd 12 10/08/2017 08:22

 SPAD XIII 13

SPAD XIII
Max Speed: 131mph (209km/h)
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 8Ba
Power: 220hp
Length: 20ft 6in (6.25m)
Wingspan: 27ft 8in (8.29m)
Height: 8ft 6in (2.6m)
Armament: Two 0.303in Vickers
machine guns
Max T/O weight: 1,888lb (856kg)
Range: 220 miles (350km)

AA33_p10-13.indd 13 09/08/2017 09:17

 14 UNITED KINGDOM
Royal Aircraft Factory SE5/5a
R
egarded by many as the best British
fighter of World War 1, the Royal
Aircraft Factory SE5a was less nimble
than its frontline contemporary, the Sopwith
Camel, but could out-dive and out-climb its
rival, sustain more combat damage and yet
remain intact despite performing high-g
manoeuvres. As the fastest British aircraft
of its time, it soon became a firm favourite
amongst the leading British and Empire
aces of World War 1. Indeed, men such as
James McCudden, Mick Mannock, Anthony
Beauchamp Proctor and George McElroy
would all claim more then 40 aerial victories
with the SE5/5a.
The development of the RAF SE5/5a and the
Sopwith Camel paralleled each other to the
point where the prototypes of each machine
flew within five weeks of each other. Unlike
the squat, light and agile Camel, the SE5 was
rakish, angular and heavy in comparison. Yet
the latter machines tractability meant that it
AA33_p14-17.indd 14
was much easier to fly than the Camel, dived installed in the third prototype, A4563, thereby
and climbed faster and could withstand severe creating the first SE5a.
battle damage. Tragically SE5 A4562 broke up during
Royal Aircraft Factory engineers John a test flight on 28 January 1917, killing its
Kenworthy, Henry P. Folland and Maj Frank pilot Maj Goodden. Simple modifications
W. Goodden designed the SE5 around the corrected the aeroplanes structural problems,
promising new Hispano-Suiza 8A V8 engine, however, and the first production SE5, A4845,
the Royal Flying Corps requesting that the cleared its final inspection on 2 March 1917.
scout be robustly built and capable of being The first production batch of SE5s did not
flown safely by pilots of limited experience. make a promising impression on their pilots,
When the first 21 French-made Hispano- who complained of poor lateral control a
Suiza8A engines were delivered to the RFC shortcoming that was alleviated somewhat,
on 20 September 1916, two were used to but never entirely, by shortening the wingspan
power the first and second SE5 prototypes, and reducing the rake of the wingtips in later
A4561 and A4562. On 28 November the RAF production SE5s and SE5as. Engine reduction
received its first example of the new geared and gun synchronisation problems also
200hp Hispano-Suiza 8B, which it subsequently afflicted early SE5s.
Below: For ease of manufacture, the SE5/5a featured a box-girder fuselage made up from ash
longerons and spruce spacers, the whole structure being wire-braced, fabric-covered and surmounted
by curved decking formed by stringers. A headrest fairing was soon fitted to the fuselage decking
immediately aft of the cockpit, although some pilots chose to have this removed in the field.
09/08/2017 09:18
 Right: These SE5as of No 85 Squadron were built
under sub-contract and have had their serial
numbers deleted by the censor note that none
of them have headrests. The SE5 was the first
British single-seat fighter to mount two machine
guns. The RAF combined a synchronised Vickers
machine gun in the fuselage with a Lewis firing
over the propeller arc by means of a Foster
mount on the upper wing. The 0.303in Vickers
gun was enclosed in the left fuselage and was
synchronised to fire 400 rounds of belt-fed
ammunition through the propeller. The 0.303in
Lewis gun above the upper wing could be pulled
down for reloading.

The subsequent replacement of the SE5s

150hp Hispano-Suiza with a more powerful
200hp model, along with further refinements,
produced the SE5a, the first of which began
arriving at No 56 Squadron in June 1917. Fast,
rugged and almost viceless, the SE5a became
a mainstay of the RFC and later of the RAF over
the Western Front right up to the end of the
war. Light on the controls and with innocuous
stalling characteristics, the fighter was usefully
manoeuvrable yet stable enough for the pilot
to shoot accurately at his target. The SE5 was
also solidly built, which meant that it could
be thrown around the sky during a dogfight

AA33_p14-17.indd 15 09/08/2017 09:18

 16 UNITED KINGDOM

without its pilot having to fear the onset of
structural failure. It is unsurprising, therefore,
that the SE5a was the mount of most of the
RFCs leading aces. The first unit to employ
it, Fighting Fifty-Six, was also the most
successful, being credited with 401 victories by
the end of the war, and producing numerous
famous aces, two of whom Albert Ball and
James Thomas Byford McCudden were
awarded Britains highest military decoration,
the Victoria Cross (VC). By the end of World
War1, 2,765 SE5/5as had been built, and
some 2,500 more would be completed before
production ceased in 1919.

Below: RAF engineers made a serious attempt to organise a functional instrument panel. This saw
gauges for the oil temperature, oil pressure and radiator temperature grouped near the altimeter,
airspeed indicator and compass on the right side of the instrument panel.

RAF SE5a
Max Speed: 138mph (222km/h)
Engine: Wolseley W.4a Viper
Power: 215hp
Length: 20ft 11in (6.37m)
Wingspan: 26ft 7.5in (8.11m)
Height: 9ft 6in (2.89m)
Armament: 1 x fixed 0.303in Vickers
machine gun and 1x
0.303in Lewis machine
gun on Foster mount
Max T/O weight: 1,976lb (896kg)
Range: 300 miles (483km)

The need for speed

The key to the success of the SE5/5a was its V8 liquid-cooled engine, initially in the form of
the direct-drive 150hp Hispano-Suiza 8A. After 77 SE5s had been built with this powerplant,
production switched to the SE5a, which was fitted with the geared 200hp Hispano-Suiza8B
engine. Production of this engine under licence by Wolseley Motors Ltd initially proved
problematic due to unreliability. Things only started to improve when Wolseley modified a
150hp engine into the high-compression, direct-drive W 4A Viper of 200hp. This engine was
vastly superior increasing the SE5as top speed by a full 7mph and improving its rate of climb.
It was faster, though less manoeuvrable, than the Camel. With the Camel revelling in medium
to low altitude combat, the SE5a was the superior aircraft at altitudes exceeding 10,000ft.
Therefore, squadrons equipped with the fighter tended to be used more for aerial combat at
medium to high altitudes, and much less in the air-to-ground role. Furthermore, the SE5as
armament of one forward-firing Vickers machine gun in front of the pilot and a single Lewis
gun affixed to the top wing made the aircraft ideal for stalking high-flying prey. Pilots could
sneak up beneath a hostile machine, ratchet down the gun and fire up into the underbelly of
the enemy aircraft.

AA33_p14-17.indd 16 09/08/2017 09:18

 RAF SE5a 17

Left: SE5a E5765 of Capt E. Davies, No 2

Squadron Australian Flying Corps, Auchel,
France, November 1918. This aircraft was used
by Davies to claim the last four of his seven kills
between 1 October and 4 November. The fighters
individual letter A was repeated on the upper
surface of the starboard top wing.

Below: Officers of No 1 Squadron, Royal Air Force,

at Clairmarais near St Omer, France, 3 July 1918
with their SE5as.

AA33_p14-17.indd 17 10/08/2017 08:23

 UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED KINGDOM
Supermarine S6
The need for speed
On 13 September 1931 Britain won
the Schneider Trophy outright
with Flt Lt John N. Bootham flying
Supermarine S6B S1595 and setting
a course speed of 340.08mph. On
the same day, S6B S1596 flown by
Flt LtGeorge Staniforth, set a new
Absolute World Speed Record of
379.05mph. On 29 September this was
further increased to 407.5 mph.
Left: Supermarine S6B, S1596 being readied
for its record-breaking flight.
AA33_p21-22.indd 2-3 21
N
owadays, it is difficult to envisage
that there was a time when the
fastest machines on the planet
were seaplanes. Competing for the
prestigious Schneider Trophy, these air
racers pushed the technology of the
day to its limits, inspiring designers
like Supermarines Reginald J. Mitchell
to produce a series of record breaking
aircraft. The sleek S6 ruled them all.
For many years the internationally
recognised test for a fast aircraft, was the
legendary Schneider Trophy Air Race. By
1925 it was time for Mitchell to unveil a
basic design that would go on to greatness
in the next 10 years. The S4 floatplane
22
first flew on the 24 May 1925 and was a
quantum leap from the flying boat designs
entered in earlier races. It featured a
wooden wing and a mixed metal and
wood fuselage, powered by a 680hp
Napier Lion VII. Over Southhampton
waters on the 13 September 1925, the S4
set a new world Seaplane Speed record,
reaching a top speed of 226.7mph. This
success was followed the race, held in
Venice on 26 September 1927, when two
S5s were placed first and second. Mitchell
had achieved a world beater and regained
the Schneider Trophy for Britain for the first
time since 1922. But that was by no means
the end of the story.
09/08/2017 09:21
 21 UNITED KINGDOM
Supermarine S6
The need for speed
On 13 September 1931 Britain won
the Schneider Trophy outright
with Flt Lt John N. Bootham flying
Supermarine S6B S1595 and setting
a course speed of 340.08mph. On
the same day, S6B S1596 flown by
Flt LtGeorge Staniforth, set a new
Absolute World Speed Record of
379.05mph. On 29 September this was
further increased to 407.5 mph.
Left: Supermarine S6B, S1596 being readied
for its record-breaking flight.
AA33_p21-22.indd 2-3 21
N
owadays, it is difficult to envisage
that there was a time when the
fastest machines on the planet
were seaplanes. Competing for the
prestigious Schneider Trophy, these air
racers pushed the technology of the
day to its limits, inspiring designers
like Supermarines Reginald J. Mitchell
to produce a series of record breaking
aircraft. The sleek S6 ruled them all.
For many years the internationally
recognised test for a fast aircraft, was the
legendary Schneider Trophy Air Race. By
1925 it was time for Mitchell to unveil a
basic design that would go on to greatness
in the next 10 years. The S4 floatplane
22
first flew on the 24 May 1925 and was a
quantum leap from the flying boat designs
entered in earlier races. It featured a
wooden wing and a mixed metal and
wood fuselage, powered by a 680hp
Napier Lion VII. Over Southhampton
waters on the 13 September 1925, the S4
set a new world Seaplane Speed record,
reaching a top speed of 226.7mph. This
success was followed the race, held in
Venice on 26 September 1927, when two
S5s were placed first and second. Mitchell
had achieved a world beater and regained
the Schneider Trophy for Britain for the first
time since 1922. But that was by no means
the end of the story.
09/08/2017 09:21
 20 SUPERMARINE S6
The Supermarine S4 and S5 paved the way for
the all-conquering S6. This machine was of all-
metal construction and used the more powerful
and heavier Rolls-Royce R engine. The latter
was developed from the Rolls-Royce Buzzard
and featured the addition of supercharging.
However, there were some major engine design
trade-offs which revolved around power output
and reducedengine life.
Two Supermarine S6s were ordered and
built at Woolston (N247 andN248). They were
initially operated by the RAF High Speed Flight,
a unit specifically formed for competing in the
Schneider Trophy Races. The 1929 event was
held in the western corner of Southampton
Water at Calshot on 7 September and was won
by FlgOff Waghorn, flying N247 at 328.63mph.
The second aircraft (N248) was disqualified
when it turned inside one of the marker pylons.
But it was not to be denied its moment of fame.
AA33_p23.indd 23
After the race it went on to set the Worlds 1927 winner N247 was destroyed during take-
Absolute Air Speed Record of 357.7mph. off, its pilot Lt G. L. Brinton being killed in the
The following Supermarine S6B was an even accident. On the day of the race, the winning
more powerful development of the design, run was flown by Flt Lt John N. Boothman in
refined in terms of reduced drag, increased fuel S1595, reaching a speed of 340.08mph.
and oil capacity and higher engine powers. Two Ultimately, the achievements of R. J. Mitchell
new S6Bs (S1595 and S1596) were built whilst and his team competing for the Schneider
the two S6s were fitted with new engines and Trophy, was fundamental in the development of
modified to a similar standard before being another Supermarine aircraft the Spitfire.
designated S6A.
Supermarine S6
The S6Bs first flight took place on 21 July
1931 at Calshot, flown by Sqn Ldr Orlebar.
That years competition was once again held Max speed: 407.5mph (655km/h)
at Calshot, but this time under somewhat Engine: 1 x Rolls-Royce R
controversial circumstances. Both the inline engine
competing French and Italian teams had Power: 1,900hp
been forced to pull out of the race, but Britain Wingspan: 30ft (9.14m)
decided to continue anyway, meaning that Length: 25ft 10in (7.65m)
there was no real competition. Sadly, disaster Height: 12ft 3in (3.8m)
struck on one of the practice days, when the
10/08/2017 08:24
 GERMANY 21

AA33_p18.indd 18 09/08/2017 09:19

 FOKKER D.VII 20

Fokker D.VII
C
reated by Fokkers highly talented
design team, the D.VII proved
to be one of the best scouts in
service with either side. Proof of the
fighters formidable reputation came
when the victorious Allies specifically
stated in the surrender terms dictated to
Germany that all surviving D.VIIs had to German fighter
be handed over. pilots immediately
The D.VII made use of some of the warmed to the inherent
revolutionary structural features first seen structural soundness
in the Fokker DrI almost a year earlier, of the D.VII. Many of
namely thick-section high-lift wings the D.VIIs virtues lay in its cantilever wing, 185hp BMWIIIa, that exhibited the best
each built up on two wooden box-spars whose thicker airfoil and high aspect ratio performance, especially at altitudes of
and dispensing with flying, landing and gave it a lift coefficient of 1.1, compared 18,000ft or above. Regarded by those that Above: Fokker D.VII of Max Holtzem of Jagdstaffel 16b at St Marguerite, France,
incidence wires. The fuselage, however, to 1.0 for its great rival the SPAD XIII, and flew it, and its foes, as the best all-round summer 1918. The D.VII was armed with two 7.92mm LMG 08/15 Spandau
retained the typical Fokker wire-braced fighter of World War 1, the D.VII earned synchronised machine guns. The gun butts protruded into the cockpit at near eye
consequently a superior rate of climb.
level, and the pilot aimed these weapons using a ring-and-bead sight at the very end
welded steel-tube primary structure. One Once in service, many pilots thought this accolade by being a fairly easy, yet of the weapons.
of the key features of the D.VII was its the aircraft would benefit from a better responsive, fighter to fly. It was forgiving,
reworked Mercedes D III engine, which had engine and later in 1918 it got two. yet extraordinarily responsive; its stall was Below: White Knight Fokker-built D.VIIf 5125/18 was the personal aircraft
been installed in most German fighters Mercedes produced the 200hp IIIav, but straightforward and it spun reluctantly. The of Oblt Hermann Gring, the final Kommandeur of JG I during World War 1.
from 1916 onward. The version developed it was the Fokker D.VIIf, powered by the fighter remained under full control when its By the time this photograph was taken in late September 1918 Gring had
claimed his 22nd, and last, victory. The formidable Fokker D.VII is widely
for the Fokker fighter, however, was the adversaries stalled and spun, and it could
regarded as the finest German fighter aircraft of World War 1 and turned many of its
Fokker D.VIIf
IIIa, which boasted higher compression hang on its propeller at angles up to 45 pilots into aces.
that saw its 160hp soon increased to 180hp. degrees and remain a stable gun platform,
When the first examples of the Fokker Max Speed: 125mph (200km/h) allowing pilots to pepper their opponents
D.VII reached the frontline, German fighter Engine: BMW IIIa from below with machine gun fire.
units were firmly on the back foot against Power: 185hp The arrival of the D.VII in the frontline in
their Allied opponents, who were flying Length: 22ft 9.7in (6.95m) the spring of 1918 was eagerly anticipated
better machines in greater numbers. Wingspan: 29ft 2.3in (8.90m) by the Jagdflieger, who were struggling
Height: 9ft 2.25in (2.75m) to deal with vastly superior Allied aircraft
Left: Fokker-built D.VIIs of Saxon Jasta72 types. One of the leading proponents of
Armament: 2 x 7.92mm Maxim
show off their individual insignia in
LMG 08/15 Spandau the new Fokker scout was World War 1s
this impressive line-up on Bergnicourt
aerodrome, near Rethel, north Reims, in July machine guns ranking ace, Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr
1918. First in line is the M-marked aircraft Max T/O weight: 2,006lb (910kg) von Richthofen. He was killed in action on
of Staffelfhrer Karl Menckhoff, a war Range: Endurance of 21 April just days before his unit received
survivor credited with 39 victories a large 1.5 hours production examples of the Fokker fighter.
number of these claimed with the D.VII. Men such as Ernst Udet and Paul Bamer
cut a swathe through Allied formations,
the latter pilots parent unit, JG III, being
The need for speed credited with 130 victories over RAF
The fastest German machine of World War 1, the Fokker D.VII had the ability to turn a aircraft in September 1918 alone after the
mediocre pilot into a good one and a good pilot into an ace. Such was the increase in Geschwader had been issued with BMW-
performance of the BMW Fokker D.VIIs that everyone was keen to get them as quickly engined D.VIIfs. Bamer would finish the
as possible. One such individual was Oblt Hermann Gring, the final Kommandeur war with a score of 43.
of JG I, who stated: I noticed how much of a performance advantage I enjoyed in my The D.VII allowed the German fighter
BMW-engined fighter over the other Mercedes-engined machines of my Staffel. I gave force to remain a constant threat to Allied
a second BMW machine to Ltn Heinrich Drekmann, and we carried out many patrols air operations right up until the Armistice
together. We now used to cross the lines at a height of 5,900 metres, which had not brought an end to World War 1. Precise
been possible with other engines, and we could stay at this altitude six to twelve miles production figures for the D.VII have been
behind the enemy lines without being spotted. Our fights began mostly with surprise lost, but it is thought that 3,200 were
attacks, giving us tactical advantage that usually resulted in victory. ordered and 1,720+ delivered before the
end of hostilities.

AA33_p19-20.indd 2-3 19 20 09/08/2017 09:20

 FOKKER D.VII 23

Fokker D.VII
C
reated by Fokkers highly talented
design team, the D.VII proved
to be one of the best scouts in
service with either side. Proof of the
fighters formidable reputation came
when the victorious Allies specifically
stated in the surrender terms dictated to
Germany that all surviving D.VIIs had to German fighter
be handed over. pilots immediately
The D.VII made use of some of the warmed to the inherent
revolutionary structural features first seen structural soundness
in the Fokker DrI almost a year earlier, of the D.VII. Many of
namely thick-section high-lift wings the D.VIIs virtues lay in its cantilever wing, 185hp BMWIIIa, that exhibited the best
each built up on two wooden box-spars whose thicker airfoil and high aspect ratio performance, especially at altitudes of
and dispensing with flying, landing and gave it a lift coefficient of 1.1, compared 18,000ft or above. Regarded by those that Above: Fokker D.VII of Max Holtzem of Jagdstaffel 16b at St Marguerite, France,
incidence wires. The fuselage, however, to 1.0 for its great rival the SPAD XIII, and flew it, and its foes, as the best all-round summer 1918. The D.VII was armed with two 7.92mm LMG 08/15 Spandau
retained the typical Fokker wire-braced fighter of World War 1, the D.VII earned synchronised machine guns. The gun butts protruded into the cockpit at near eye
consequently a superior rate of climb.
level, and the pilot aimed these weapons using a ring-and-bead sight at the very end
welded steel-tube primary structure. One Once in service, many pilots thought this accolade by being a fairly easy, yet of the weapons.
of the key features of the D.VII was its the aircraft would benefit from a better responsive, fighter to fly. It was forgiving,
reworked Mercedes D III engine, which had engine and later in 1918 it got two. yet extraordinarily responsive; its stall was Below: White Knight Fokker-built D.VIIf 5125/18 was the personal aircraft
been installed in most German fighters Mercedes produced the 200hp IIIav, but straightforward and it spun reluctantly. The of Oblt Hermann Gring, the final Kommandeur of JG I during World War 1.
from 1916 onward. The version developed it was the Fokker D.VIIf, powered by the fighter remained under full control when its By the time this photograph was taken in late September 1918 Gring had
claimed his 22nd, and last, victory. The formidable Fokker D.VII is widely
for the Fokker fighter, however, was the adversaries stalled and spun, and it could
regarded as the finest German fighter aircraft of World War 1 and turned many of its
Fokker D.VIIf
IIIa, which boasted higher compression hang on its propeller at angles up to 45 pilots into aces.
that saw its 160hp soon increased to 180hp. degrees and remain a stable gun platform,
When the first examples of the Fokker Max Speed: 125mph (200km/h) allowing pilots to pepper their opponents
D.VII reached the frontline, German fighter Engine: BMW IIIa from below with machine gun fire.
units were firmly on the back foot against Power: 185hp The arrival of the D.VII in the frontline in
their Allied opponents, who were flying Length: 22ft 9.7in (6.95m) the spring of 1918 was eagerly anticipated
better machines in greater numbers. Wingspan: 29ft 2.3in (8.90m) by the Jagdflieger, who were struggling
Height: 9ft 2.25in (2.75m) to deal with vastly superior Allied aircraft
Left: Fokker-built D.VIIs of Saxon Jasta72 types. One of the leading proponents of
Armament: 2 x 7.92mm Maxim
show off their individual insignia in
LMG 08/15 Spandau the new Fokker scout was World War 1s
this impressive line-up on Bergnicourt
aerodrome, near Rethel, north Reims, in July machine guns ranking ace, Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr
1918. First in line is the M-marked aircraft Max T/O weight: 2,006lb (910kg) von Richthofen. He was killed in action on
of Staffelfhrer Karl Menckhoff, a war Range: Endurance of 21 April just days before his unit received
survivor credited with 39 victories a large 1.5 hours production examples of the Fokker fighter.
number of these claimed with the D.VII. Men such as Ernst Udet and Paul Bamer
cut a swathe through Allied formations,
the latter pilots parent unit, JG III, being
The need for speed credited with 130 victories over RAF
The fastest German machine of World War 1, the Fokker D.VII had the ability to turn a aircraft in September 1918 alone after the
mediocre pilot into a good one and a good pilot into an ace. Such was the increase in Geschwader had been issued with BMW-
performance of the BMW Fokker D.VIIs that everyone was keen to get them as quickly engined D.VIIfs. Bamer would finish the
as possible. One such individual was Oblt Hermann Gring, the final Kommandeur war with a score of 43.
of JG I, who stated: I noticed how much of a performance advantage I enjoyed in my The D.VII allowed the German fighter
BMW-engined fighter over the other Mercedes-engined machines of my Staffel. I gave force to remain a constant threat to Allied
a second BMW machine to Ltn Heinrich Drekmann, and we carried out many patrols air operations right up until the Armistice
together. We now used to cross the lines at a height of 5,900 metres, which had not brought an end to World War 1. Precise
been possible with other engines, and we could stay at this altitude six to twelve miles production figures for the D.VII have been
behind the enemy lines without being spotted. Our fights began mostly with surprise lost, but it is thought that 3,200 were
attacks, giving us tactical advantage that usually resulted in victory. ordered and 1,720+ delivered before the
end of hostilities.

AA33_p19-20.indd 2-3 19 20 09/08/2017 09:20

 24 MACCHI M.C. 72
Macchi M.C. 72
O
n 23 October 1934, Francesco Agello
and the scarlet Macchi Aeronautica
M.C. 72 achieved the absolute world
speed record for a piston-powered seaplane;
a recordwhich still stands to this day.
Italian racing pride was hurt when the
Schneider Trophy was irretrievably lost to the
British in 1931, but Italy was determined to at
least regain the absolute speed record. Prior
to losing the trophy, Macchi Aeronautica had
already developed the powerful but unreliable
M.C. 72. Unfortunately, the aircrafts engine was
pushing the boundaries of available technology
and suffered from serious problems, which led
to two fatal accidents. These tragedies resulted
in an Italian request to postpone the 1931
races, but the British refused so Italy pulled out
of the competition.
Nevertheless, the team was convinced that
it had the fastest aircraft and by early 1933 the
engine problems had been resolved. The final
design of the M.C. 72 used contra-rotating
propellerspowered by a modified FIAT AS.6
AA33_p24-25.indd 24
Above: The powerful Macchi M.C. 72 still holds a
seaplane speed record today.
The need for speed
supercharged V24 engine generating some The Macchi M.C. 72 broke its own speed
2,500-3,100hp. record on 23 October 1934 when it
Warrant Officer Maresciallo Francesco Agello achieved an average speed of 440mph
was selected to fly the M.C. 72 on its record over three passes. This record remains the
attempts. On 10 April 1933, the ground crew fastest speed ever attained by a piston-
pushed the M.C. 72 down the slipway into Lake engine seaplane. The M.C. 72 held the
Garda and Agello flew the five required laps world speed record for all aircraft for over
over a 1.86 mile (3km) course. The aircraft lived five years.
up to expectations and it was quickly confirmed
that it had beaten the previous absolute world
speed record by some 17mph, with an average Macchi M.C. 72
lap speed of 425mph. Despite the euphoria of
Max speed: 440mph (709.2km/h)
the moment, the Italians were convinced that
Engine: 1 x Fiat AS.6 Liquid-
they could go faster.
cooled 24- cylinder
After a further series of delays, finally on
V-engine
23 October 1934 Agello was ready to try again.
Power: 2,850hp
This time he completed the circuit at an average
Wingspan: 31ft 1in (9.48m)
of 440mph, a world record for piston-powered
Length: 27ft 3.5in (8.32m)
seaplanes. After this success, the M.C. 72 was
Height: 10ft 9in (3.3m)
never flown again.
09/08/2017 09:22

Messerschmitt Me 209
I
n the years between 1935, when Germany
first revealed formation of the Luftwaffe,
and the outbreak of World War 2, Adolf
Hitler was most anxious to impress upon the
world the capability of the fighter aircraft
that equipped his new air force. This resulted
in the design of the Messerschmitt Me 209
to be used to establish a new absolute world
speed record.
Tasked with producing the worlds fastest
aircraft, Willy Messerschmitt designed a
compact aircraft which bore only a superficial
resemblance to the Bf 109. The Me 209 was
tailored around a specially-built Daimler-Benz
DB601ARJ engine with a take-off rating of
1,800hp, which could be boosted to 2,300hp
for very short periods. It had a cockpit placed
far back along the fuselage just in front of
its unique cross-shaped tail section. Unlike
the Bf109, the Me 209 featured a wide track,
inwardly-retracting undercarriage mounted in
the wing section. The aircraft was completed
in June 1938 and first flew on 1 August 1938.
Below: The Messerschmitt Me 209 bore only a
passing similarity to its illustrious forebear.
AA33_p24-25.indd 25
MESSERSCHMITT Me 209 25
However, on 30 March 1939 Hans Dieterle flew
a Heinkel He 100 V8 at a speed of 463.92mph to Messerschmitt Me 209
break the then existing absolute speed record
Max speed: 469mph (755km/h)
set five years earlier by Italian pilot Francesco
Engine: 1 x Daimler-Benz DB 601
Agello in a Macchi M.C. 72. Dieterles glory was
ARJ inverted V-12 liquid-
to be short-lived when test pilot Fritz Wendel
cooled piston engine
flew the first specially-prepared prototype
Power: 1,775hp
Me 209 on 26 April 1939 at an average speed
Wingspan: 25ft 7in (7.8m)
of 469.22 mph. At this point the German
Length: 23ft 9in (7.24m)
propaganda ministry stepped in, details for
ratification submitted to the FAI identifying the Height: 10ft 6in (3.2m)
record breaking aircraft as the Messerschmitt
Me 109R in an attempt to convince other 18months later by Heini Dittmar, flying another
nations that the record had been gained by a Messerschmitt aircraft design, the Me 163AV4
variant of the Luftwaffes new fighter. rocket fighter prototype. However, the Me 209
The Me 209 V1s speed record was itself officially remained the fastest piston-engined
shattered in terms of absolute speed, aircraft for another remarkable 30 years.
The need for speed
For 30 years, the worlds fastest piston-engined aircraft was held by the stocky Messerschmitt
Me 209 V1 which set the absolute world speed record of 469.22 mph on 26 April 1939, flown
by Flugkapitan Fritz Wendel. This record was not officially broken by another piston-engined
aircraft until 16 August 1969 by a highly modified F8F Bearcat.
10/08/2017 08:25
 26 GERMANY
Messerschmitt Me 163
D
esigned by Alexander Lippisch, the
revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 163
has the distinction of being the only
rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have
seen service. The Komet was capable of
performance unrivalled at the time (it was
the first aircraft to exceed 600 and 700mph)
but this wonder weapon would always
be hampered by its limited endurance, its
temperamental powerplant and its landing
gear. As a result, the most immediate threat
posed by the Komet was to its own pilots.
AA33_p26-29.indd 26
Allying cutting-edge technology with
blistering performance, the Me 163 was an
ultra-short range fighter designed to make
devastating slashing attacks against the Allied
bomber streams that were wreaking daily havoc
upon Germanys industrial heartlands and its
population centres.
The origins of this deadly little fighter owed
much to a more peaceful form of flight. Its
chief designer, Dr Alexander Lippisch, had
accumulated many years of experience in the
design of tailless sailplanes, and it was this
Left: A pilot climbs into his Komet at Bad
Zwischhenahm. His one-piece flying suit and
overboots were made from a special acid
resistant material which was supposed to protect
the occupant from the corrosive T-Stoff, in the far
from likely event of a bad landing assuming his
aircraft did not explode.
configuration that served as the template for
what would emerge as the Me 163. In 1937
the research section of the RLM commissioned
Lippisch to draft a design for an aircraft that
would serve as a testbed for a new type of
rocket engine, the Walter R I-203 with a rating of
400kg thrust. The key to the impressive power
output of the new powerplant was its use of
two highly reactive chemicals that were mixed
together: T-Stoff, which consisted mainly of
concentrated hydrogen peroxide, and Z-Stoff,
based on a solution of calcium permanganate
in water. Lippisch and his design team were
brought within the fold at Messerschmitt
in Augsburg, and work began to adapt an
existing tailless research glider to receive
rocket propulsion. In early 1940 the aircraft
was transported to Peenemnde, Germanys
Below: The prototype V1(A), KE + SW, taking off
on a test flight from Kallshagen, Peenemunde,
with the record breaking test pilot, Heini
Dittmar at the controls, in September 1941.
Propelled by a rocket engine fuelled by a
volatile combination of chemicals, the Me 163
offered only around 6min of powered flight,
but was capable of climbing to a height of over
30,000ft in just 2.5min.
09/08/2017 09:23
 rocket research establishment on the Baltic
coast, and was here equipped with the I-203
rocket engine. In this configuration the aircraft
was flown in summer 1940, and demonstrated
speeds of almost 340mph in level flight. After
completing a successful test campaign an order
was received for six prototypes, designated
Me163A. The challenges of high-speed flight
were just one of the many problems to be
overcome in the Me 163 test campaign. While
aerodynamic demands could be met through
design changes, the issue of the extremely
volatile liquid rocket fuel was one that would
remain with the aircraft throughout its career.
Equally troublesome was the undercarriage Above: Produced by the Hellmuth Walter Werke,
configuration, in which the aircraft took off on the HWK 509A was originally known by the
a jettisonable, wheeled take-off dolly, before designation II-211. It was a notably compact
recovering on a retractable skid-type gear. engine, with a weight of just over 100kg and a
length of 2.13m.
Dubbed Komet (comet), the Me 163B
production version had a more powerful Left: A member of the groundcrew completes the
engine and appeared in service with hazardous task of refuelling the Me 163 with
I./Jagdgeschwader 400 at Wittmundhafen in C-Stoff propellant.
the spring of 1944, although introduction was
Below: A direct comparison between the Me 163
slow, and it was July before the first USAAF A and B. The photograph was taken soon
bomber crews would encounter the radical after the first of the Klemm-built aircraft were
rocket-powered fighter. delivered to Bad Zwischenahn in January 1944.

AA33_p26-29.indd 27 10/08/2017 08:26

 28 GERMANY

Above: A row of new Junkers-built

Me 163Bs in storage at the aircraft
park at Kiel-Holtenau after capture.

Left: The most successful Me 163 pilot, Siegfried

Schubert, had just three successes to his credit,
though he scored two B-17 kills in a single
Komet mission.

Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a
Max speed: 702mph (1,130km/h)
Length: 19.16ft (5.84m)
Height: 9.09ft (2.77m)
Wingspan: 30.58ft (9.32m)
Weight (empty): 4,200lb (1,905kg)
Max T/O weight: 9,061lb (4,110kg)
Powerplant: 1 x Walter HWK 509A-2
Service ceiling: 39,700ft (12,100m)
Range: Powered endurance of
7min 30sec
Armament: 2 x MK 108 cannon

AA33_p26-29.indd 28 09/08/2017 09:24


While its ensuing combat record was less
than stellar, the Me 163 was nonetheless a
milestone in aviation history. In the event, the
Me163 accounted for just a handful of the
daylight raiders, while sustaining heavy attrition
among its own ranks. Ultimately, the two
operational squadrons of Me 163s claimed just
nine bomber kills, while 14 of their own number
fell to enemy fighters and bombers. In fact, the
enemy had downed two Komets before the
AA33_p26-29.indd 29
German fighter even had a chance to open its
tally. However, these combat losses represented
a relatively moderate toll of just 5 per cent, and
a staggering 80 per cent of attrition was as a
result of take-off or landing accidents, often in
association with the unstable rocket fuels.
By the time Komet production ceased in
February 1945, almost 400 examples of all
versions had been completed, perhaps 300 of
which made it as far as front-line service.
MESSERSCHMITT Me 163 29
Left: A LuftwaffeMe 163being shot down by a
USAAFP-47of the 8th Air Force, as seen from the
P-47s gun camera.
The need for speed
Propelled by a rocket engine fuelled by a
volatile combination of chemicals, the Me 163
offered only around six minutes of powered
flight, but was capable of climbing to a height
of over 30,000ft in just 2.5 minutes.
On 2 October, a Me 163A was towed to an
altitude of around 4,000m, with test pilot Heini
Dittmar at the controls. Dittmar engaged the
rocket engine and proceeded to reach a speed
of 623mph, thus becoming the first person to
exceed 600mph. At this point, however, the
aircraft suffered the effects of compressibility
and quickly lost stability, the nose pitching
down violently. Dittmar managed to regain
control of his mount, and after a successful
recovery, the design team set to work on
modifications to the wing to defeat the onset
of compressibility. In 1944 the Me 262 reached
a speed of 624mph, but this was blitzed
once again by Heini Dittmar in Me 163B V18
when he broke the 700mph mark on 6 July,
an unofficial speed record that would stand
until Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound.
This was perhaps the highlight of the Me 163s
troubled career.
Left: Messerschmitt Me 163B, BV41, PK+QL,
was flown by Hptm Wolfgang Spte, with
Erprobungskommando 16, at Bad Zwischenahn,
on 14 May 1944.
Below: Messerschmitt Me 163B, White 54 of
14./EJG2.
10/08/2017 16:08
 30 GERMANY

Messerschmitt Me 262
I
t felt as though angels were pushing.
So said Luftwaffe ace Adolf Galland on
flying the the worlds first operational
jet fighter. Sleek, fast and powerful, the
Messerschmitt Me 262 changed air warfare
and dictated the future of fighter aircraft
design. With its swept wings and shark-like
appearance, it represented an aviation
marvel. But the revolutionary Me 262
could never meet its potential. Blighted
by unreliable engines, a lack of fuel and
metals, the Me 262 was curtailed by its
leaders. Although small numbers of the
Me262 terrified the Allies, it was too little,
too late to save the Third Reich.
The Messerschmitt Me 262 was born
from German turbojet engine development
in the mid-1930s, conceived by engineer
turbojets in nacelles under the middle of the
wings. The wings were slightly swept to ensure
a centre of gravity and were unusually thin for
high-speed performance.
Airframe development outpaced work
on the turbojets, so the first prototype took
to the skies with a single piston engine for
preliminary flights. As the aircrafts future
looked promising, the German Air Ministry
(RLM Reichsluftfahrtministerium) ordered
more prototypes. Finally, Me 262 V1 was fitted
with two BMW 003 turbojets as well as the
standard prop in the nose as the engines were
still unreliable, a wise move as both jets failed
on its maiden flight.
The Jumo 004 was a more promising turbojet,
and on 18 July 1942 the Me 262 became a
true jet when it took to the air in the hands of
piston aircraft. But by 1943 after Adolf Galland
had flown the Me 262 and sang its praises the
RLM placed an order for 100 jet fighters. Even
then, the Me 262 was plagued by bureaucratic
obstacles when Hitler demanded that the
fighter be converted into a Jabo (bomber).
For Erhard Milch, the German Field Marshal
who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe,
the idea of robbing the Me 262 of its superior
speed was unacceptable. So, with the Fhrer
believing that the Me 262 was in production as
a bomber, work continued on its development
in the fighter role. On learning that his order
has been ignored, Hitler was furious and
Messerschmitt engineers feverishly converted
the fighters to carry two 550lb (250kg) bombs.
The Jabo version achieved little in France and

Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a

Hans-Joachim Pabst von Ohain. By 1938, a test pilot Fritz Wendel. However, the future of
Messerschmitt design team had drawn up the Me 262 was threatened by a number of
concepts for an interceptor fighter with two jet influential figures (including Hermann Gring) Max speed: 559mph (900km/h)
engines as Project 1065. The new fighter had who favoured the advancement of proven Length: 34ft 9in (10.60m)
Wingspan: 41ft 6in (12.60m)
Below: Willy Messerschmitts revolutionary masterpiece. The menacing shark-like shape of the Me 262 Height: 11ft 6in (3.50m)
terrorised Allied bomber crews in the latter stages of World War 2.
Empty weight: 8,366lb (3,795kg)
Loaded weight: 14,272lb (6,473kg)
Max T/O weight: 15,720lb (7,130kg)
Powerplant: 2 x Junkers Jumo 004
B-1 turbojets
Range: 652nm (1,050km)
Service ceiling: 37,565ft (11,450m)
Rate of climb: 3,900ft/min (1.2km/min)

AA33_p30-33.indd 30 09/08/2017 09:25


Hitler reluctantly reversed his order to return
production to the fighter variant.
At last the Me 262 could streak through
the skies and devastate enemy bomber
streams. Serving in small numbers and starved
through a lack of fuel and reliable engines,
the brief operational history of the Me 262
was remarkable for its potency. Even after the
war had come to a close, the Me 262 was still
AA33_p30-33.indd 31
superior to its Allied counterparts, such as the
Gloster Meteor.
Ironically, the Me 262s Achilles heel was
its jet power. The Me 262 was vulnerable on
take-off and landing, the engines taking a long
time to throttle up. Once a pilot was on the
landing approach, he was committed as the
engines could not accept sudden power inputs.
The Me262 may have been untouchable in
MESSERSCHMITT Me 262 31
Above: Me 262s of Erprobungskommando 262
lined up at Lechfield in September 1944. The
futuristic shape of the Me 262 was far in advance
of any other aircraft of its time.
Left: The pilot sat high in a canopy that tilted open
to the right and offered good all-round visibility.
The front window glass was bullet-proofed and
the seat (non ejection) was armoured.
the skies, but on landing or take-off, it was
fair game for marauding Mustangs. The high
attrition of pilots and lack of training also took
their toll. Fresh pilots, inexperienced and new
to war, found themselves in the worlds fastest
fighter. As they rocketed through bomber
streams at exhilarating speed, some made the
mistake of slowing down to line up for the
kill, they themselves becoming a target for
bomber gunners and fighters.
There is no doubting that the Me 262
terrified the Allies. In September 1944,
USAAF Gen Carl Spaatz expressed fears that
if greater numbers of the jets appeared over
the Third Reich, it would be enough to cause
cancellation of the Allied daylight bomber
offensive. Too late, the chaotic bureaucracy of
the Luftwaffe came to realise that the Me 262
was Germanys only salvation and the project
was given top priority.
In all over 1,400 Me 262s of all versions were
produced but numbers never exceeded 200
on combat duties at any one time due to fuel
and pilot shortages. Despite the limitations
imposed upon it, the Me 262s brilliance
confirmed it as the worlds most advanced
fighter of World War 2.
10/08/2017 08:28
 32 GERMANY

Above: Captured Me 262s were extensively

studied by the Allies, aiding development of early
post war US and Soviet jet fighters. The F-86
Sabre used an airfoil and slat design similar to
that of the Me 262.

Left: Allied pilots soon learnt that the only time

the Me 262 was vulnerable, was when it was on
final approach for landing.

Right: The Junkers Jumo 004 was the worlds first

turbojet engine to see operational use. Some
8,000 of these powerplants were produced and
they powered the experimental Horten Ho 229,
the Arado Ar 234 recon-bomber and the Me 262.
The first prototype engines, which showed great
promise, had been built without restrictions
on scarce materials such as nickel, cobalt and
molybdenum. However, wartime necessities
would only allow low-grade metals. As a
consequence, its lifetime expectancy was poor.

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 MESSERSCHMITT Me 262 33

Above: Me 262A-1a W.Nr.501232 Yellow 5, 3./KG(J) 6. This aircraft is now on show at the National
Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

The need for speed

The Me 262 does not hold any official FIA records, but during the war it is reported that Heinz
Herlitzius achieved a speed of 624mph in level flight in a standard Me 262 S2. One Me 262
pilot, Hans Guido Mutke, claimed to be the first person to break the sound barrier. Mutke states
that on 19 April 1945 he exceeded Mach 1 by flying a Me 262 in a dive. However, during speed
tests, Messerschmitt determined that the Me 262 went out of control in a dive at Mach 0.86,
and that higher Mach numbers would cause a nose-down trim that the pilot could not counter.
Continued interest in high-speed flight resulted in a single Me 262 V9Hochgeschwindigkeit I
(HG I) that was actually flight tested in 1944 and had small changes compared to combat
aircraft, most notably a low-profile canopy. It may have achieved an unofficial record speed
for a turbojet-powered aircraft of 606mph, but this wartime record was quickly eclipsed by
another Messerschmitt design, theMe 163B V18rocket fighter.

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 34 UNITED KINGDOM

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 Gloster Meteor
T
he Gloster Meteor holds a very special
place in British aviation history. It may
have been too late to play a major role
in World War 2, as well as just being beaten
into service by Germanys Messerschmitt
Me 262, but as far as the RAF was concerned,
it truly ushered in a new era being its first
operational jet fighter. It was also a record-
breaker, securing the outright world air
speed record.
When Germanys He 178 became the worlds
first jet aircraft on 27 August 1939, the UK Air
Ministry became increasingly concerned that
it was losing the lead in the new technology
that had been forged by the inventor of the
jet engine, Frank Whittle. Consequently, the
UKs first jet aircrat, the Gloster E28/39, took to
the air from RAF Cranwell on 15 May 1941.
Having proved the concept, the next step was
a production jet aircraft for the RAF. Given
its close relationship with Whittle and Power
Jets, the Gloster Aircraft Company became
the obvious choice to build such a machine.
After much delay, the Meteor, as the aircraft
eventually became, first flew in 1943. The
Whittle engine, now known as the Rolls-
Royce Welland, was selected for production
MeteorIs. They began arriving with No 616
Squadron in July 1944, not long after the
troubled Me 262 had entered Luftwaffe
service. The Meteors first mission was
mounted later in the month from Manston,
Kent, against V-1 flying bombs. The unit, and
the aircrafts, first two V-1 kills were scored

Top: A rare image of a Meteor I, displaying the types original rounded wingtips. The faired over gun
ports and prototype P letter signify its use as an experimental test aircraft. At the outset, the MeteorI
had four 20mm Hispano cannon mounted in the nose, and this armament persisted throughout the
types RAF service. Only the number of rounds carried would change. On the later night fighters, the
cannon were moved to the outboard sections of the wings.

Left: Heralding the dawn of a new age. A stunning image of RAF Meteor F4s attacking a Lancaster.
None of the early jets could ever truly be described as easy to fly. The technology relating to engines
and systems was in its infancy, and there was by definition no pool of experience on such machines
from which to draw.

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 36 UNITED KINGDOM
on 4 August, one by tipping the doodlebug
out of control with the Meteors wing and the
second in a more conventional gun attack.
In total, 13 V-1s were destroyed by No 616
Squadrons Meteors before the campaign
ended. The Meteor I was not long for service
and by December 1944, 616 took on its first
MeteorIIIs, and had completely re-equipped
with this mark by the time of its deployment to
mainland Europe at the start of 1945.
Thus began many years of incremental
improvements to the RAFs Meteor force,
a process that would see the type being
developed way beyond its original design
specifications. All but the first few MeteorIIIs,
soon known as F3s, were powered by the
Rolls-Royce Derwent engine, a more potent
development of the types original Welland. It
was with the F3 that the large-scale conversion
AA33_p34-38.indd 36
to jets of the RAFs front-line force began. A still
greater advance came from May 1945 with the
Meteor F4, its Derwent 5 engines each offering
a substantial thrust increase to 3,500lb st and
the short-span clipped wings of most
production examples giving superior handling
and manoeuvrability.
Throughout its life, the Meteor remained
a very conventional aircraft in terms of its
construction, being a simple all-metal airframe
typical of the period. The Meteor had a
conventional low-mounted straight wing, on
which the engine nacelles were positioned
about a third of the way across the span.
By the time the Meteor F8 appeared, flying in
prototype form on 12 October 1948, Glosters
fighter was no longer at the cutting edge.
However, more of this mark (over 1,000) were
produced than any other. It was also the basis
of the FR9 for fighter-reconnaissance duties,
while from the T7 was derived a series of radar-
equipped two-seat night fighters, four marks
in all from NF11 to NF14, built not by Gloster
but Armstrong Whitworth between 1950 and
1955. With these, the design really reached the
end of the line.
As a front-line day fighter, the Meteors RAF
career was over in April 1957, when No 245
Squadron relinquished its F8s. However, the
RAF wasnt done with the Meteor, as examples
of various marks were used for second-line
duties right into the mid-1980s. This was a
truly remarkable service career by a truly
remarkable aircraft.
Below: EE457 was one of the last production
Meteor F3s and featured extended engine
nacelles. Lack of squadron markings suggest
this image was taken prior to delivery.
10/08/2017 08:31
 GLOSTER METEOR 37

Left and below: Early Meteor F4s being put

through their paces. The Meteor came of age
with the F4, its Derwent 5 engines each offering
a substantial thrust increase to 3,500lb st and
the short-span clipped wings of most production
examples giving superior manoeuvrability.

Gloster Meteor F8
Speed: 600mph (965km/h)
Engines: Two Rolls-Royce
Derwent 8 turbofans
Power: 3,600lb thrust each
Length: 44ft 7in (13.6m)
Wingspan: 37ft 2in (11.3m)
Height: 13ft 10in (3.99m)
Armament: 4 x 20mm Hispano
Type 404 cannon
Max T/O weight: 15,700lb (7,120kg)
Max range: 980 miles at 30,000ft

Below: Charles Browns well-known picture of

Meteor F8s of Nos 601 and 604 Squadrons at RAF
North Weald on 20 September 1953.

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 40 UNITED KINGDOM

The need for speed

In 1945, the RAF re-formed its High-Speed Flight, last extant before the war when it operated the Schneider Trophy-winning seaplanes. Its purpose
was to claim for Britain the outright world air speed record, in those days a source of great pride. Months of preparation went into the speed record
effort. Two Meteor F3 fighters, EE454 and EE455, were modified on the production line to the new F4 version to attempt the record. The standard
B.37 Rolls-Royce Derwent Series I turbojet engines were replaced with Derwent Series V turbojets and lengthened jet nacelles. The wings were
shortened, the tips reshaped and the canopy was cut down and strengthened. All trim tabs on flight control surfaces were disabled and their
edges sealed. Landing gear and gear door up-latches were strengthened to prevent them from being sucked open at high speed. The aircraft were
lightened and all armament deleted. The surfaces were smoothed and painted in a gloss finish. EE454 retained the standard camouflage pattern,
while EE455 was painted in a distinctive yellow-gold colour. Flying EE454, Gp Capt H. J. Wilson re-set the speed bar at 606mph on
7 November 1945. The course was an 8 mile (12.9km) straight away from the Herne Bay Pier to Reculver Point, alongthesouth coast oftheThames
Estuary. Gp Capt E. M. Donaldson raised the mark yet further, to 616mph in EE549 on 7 September 1946. Neither of these records, however,
exceededHeini Dittmars 623mph unofficial record velocity in one of the Me 163A rocket fighter prototypes. Test pilot Roland Beamont had
previously taken EE549 to its compressibility limit at 632mph, but not under official record
conditions, and outside its official safety limits. A standard Meteor F4 also gained a 100km closed-
circuit record at a speed of 542mph.

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Bell X-1
A
booming thunder roared across the
clear skies of the Mojave Desert on
14 October 1947, as Capt Chuck
Yeager nudged an experimental rocket-
powered aircraft faster than the speed of
sound. Though only a handful of people
realised it at the time, history had just
been made. The flight demonstrated that
aircraft could be designed to fly faster than
sound, and the concept of a sound barrier
crumbled into myth.
The XS-1 was developed as part of a co-
operative programme initiated in 1944 by the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA) and the US Army Air Forces to develop
special manned transonic and supersonic
research aircraft. Bell Aircraft Corporation was
awarded a contract to develop three transonic
and supersonic research aircraft under project
designation MX-653. The Army assigned the
designation XS-1 for Experimental Sonic.
The XS-1s were constructed from high-
strength aluminium, with propellant tanks
manufactured from steel. The first two XS-1s
did not utilise turbopumps for fuel feed to
the rocket engine, relying instead on direct
nitrogen pressurisation of the fuel-feed
system. The smooth contours of the XS-1,
patterned on the lines of a machine gun
bullet, masked an extremely crowded fuselage
containing two propellant tanks, 12 nitrogen
spheres for fuel and cabin pressurisation, the
pilots pressurised cockpit, three pressure
regulators, a retractable landing gear, the
Bell X-1
Max speed: Mach 1.45, 957mph
(1,541km/h)
Engine: 1 x Reaction Motors
XLR-11-RM3 liquid-
propellant rocket
Power: 6,000lb thrust
Length: 30ft 11in (9.4m)
Wingspan: 28ft (8.5m)
Height: 10ft (3.3m)
Max T/O weight: 12,250lb (5,557kg)
Service ceiling: 71,902ft (21,916m)
Left: The Bell X-1 streaks over over Rogers Dry
Lake during a test flight.
Right: The B-29 mothership with the Bell X-1
slung underneath.
AA33_p43.indd 43
BELL X-1 41
The need for speed
One of the greatest moments in aviation
history occurred on 14 October 1947
wing carry-through structure, a Reaction Motors when the Bell X-1 became the first aircraft
6,000lb-thrust rocket engine, and more than to fly faster than the speed of sound in
500lb of special flight-test instrumentation. level flight. Piloted by US Air Force Capt
Bell Aircraft chieftest pilot Jack Woolams Charles E. Chuck Yeager, the X-1 reached
became the first person to fly the XS-1 making a speed of Mach 1.06 (700mph) at an
ten glide-flights before March 1946, when the altitude of 43,000ft (13,000m). Yeager
aircraft was returned to Bell for modifications named the aircraft Glamorous Glennis in
to prepare for the powered flight tests. These tribute to his wife.
were performed at Muroc Army Air Field near Below: The first man to fly faster than the
Palmdale, with Chalmers Slick Goodlin as the speed of sound. Capt Charles Chuck Yeager
seated in the cockpit of the Bell X-1.
primary Bell Aircraft test pilot for the X-1-1 (serial
46-062). He made 26 successful flights in both
X-1s from September 1946 through June 1947.
The USAAF was unhappy with the cautious
pace of flight envelope expansion and the test
programme was acquired from Bell. Flight tests
of the X-1-2 (serial 46-063) would be conducted
by NACA to provide design data for later
production high-performance aircraft.
Capt Charles Chuck Yeager entered the
history books on 14 October 1947 when the
first manned supersonic flight took place, less
than a month after the US Air Force had been
created as a separate service. Two days before
his historic flight, Yeager was thrown from a
horse while riding with his wife and broke two
ribs. Knowing that he would never be allowed
to fly, he travelled to a doctor off base and had thefirst sonic boom. Following burn-out of the
them taped up. Unable to close and latch the engine, Yeager glided to a landing on the dry
side door by hand, he used a broom handle at lake bed. On 26 March 1948, again with Yeager
the suggestion of a fellow pilot. Yeager and the at the controls, the X-1 attained a speed of
X-1, were dropped from the B-29, and quickly Mach 1.45 (957mph) at an altitude of 71,900ft
accelerated away. As the X-1 reached Mach (21,900m), the highest velocity and altitude
1.06 (700mph), controllers on the ground heard reached by a manned aircraft up to that time.
10/08/2017 08:32
AA33_p41-42.indd 2-3 41 42 09/08/2017 09:28
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 44 UNITED STATES

North American
F-86 Sabre

The need for speed

Counter to a modern-day urban myth,
George Welch did not take the XP-86
to supersonic speed in the two weeks
between its first flight and Capt Charles
E. Chuck Yeagers 14 October 1947 first
journey beyond the speed of sound in
the Bell XS-1 rocket plane. The XP-86 may
have been the second US aircraft to crack
the sound barrier, but it was not the first.
However, in September 1948, an F-86A set
the Sabres first official world speed record
of 570mph. This mark was bettered in 1952
by an F-86D interceptor that reached a
speed of 698mph.

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 NORTH AMERICAN SABRE 45

T
he first swept-wing warplane in US
fighter inventory, the F-86 Sabre North American F-86F Sabre
would be immortal if it had never
Max speed: 695mph (1,118km/h)
done anything except rack up victory after at 40,000ft
victory over Soviet-built MiG-15 fighters Engine: One General Electric
during the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. J47-GE-27 axial-flow
But when it entered service it was also the turbojet
fastest aircraft on the planet. Power: 5,910lb thrust
In 1944, North American Aviation (NAA) Length: 37ft 6in (11.44m)
submitted a design for a jet-propelled day Wingspan: 37ft 1.5in (11.31m)
fighter that could also be used as a dive- Height: 14ft 8.75in (4.47m)
bomber or escort fighter. The US Army Air Armament: 6 x .50-calibre (12.7mm)
Forces (USAAF) were still using the term P M-3 machine guns with
for pursuit when they issued a June 1945 a rate of fire of 1,100
contract to NAA for construction of three rounds per minute
XP-86 prototypes, with the X prefix indicating and an ammunition
supply of 1,802 rounds
experimental status. The original straight-
or 267 rounds per gun;
wing design became a swept-wing thanks to
provision for up to 6 x
study of German aerodynamics. The first XP-86 500lb (227kg) or 1,000lb
prototype flew on 1 October 1947 at Muroc, (454kg) bombs or other
California the future Edwards Air Force Base weapons loads plus
piloted by North American test pilot George 2 x 200 US gal (755lit)
Welch and powered by a non-standard 3,750lb jettisonable fuel tanks
thrust General Electric J35 turbojet engine. Max T/O weight: 20,357lb (9,234kg)
Welch pronounced the aircraft a super ship to Max range: Combat radius 680 miles
fly and without doubt, a world-beater. (1,086km), with tanks
The F-86A Sabre was an all-metal, low-wing 1,270 miles (2,044km)
cantilever monoplane with tricycle landing
gear, bubble canopy and 35-degree swept When the first F-86A Sabres entered service
wing. To minimize the depth of the fuselage in in 1949, it was recognised as a spectacular
the cockpit area, the shape of the duct leading combat aircraft and F-86A models were in
from the inlet to the engine was changed from combat in Korea as early as December 1950.
a circular to an elliptical shape. The pilot of Early variants of the F-86 could not out-turn,
the Sabre sat on an ejection seat enclosed in a but they could out-dive the MiG-15, although
bubble canopy with windshield partitions. The the MiG-15 was superior to the early F-86
cockpit controls included conventional stick, models in ceiling, acceleration, rate of climb
throttle and rudder pedals, and a succession of and zoom. With the introduction of the F-86F
gunsights that were new to the jet era. in 1953, the two aircraft were more closely
matched, with many combat-experienced pilots
Left: The XP-86 prototype was revealed to the claiming a marginal superiority for the
world on 24 November 1947, some eight weeks F-86F. All were rated in the 650mph
after its maiden flight on 1 October 1947. An class with a 600-mile combat
NAA press release disclosed only that it had radius and a service ceiling
successfully completed initial flight tests.
of over 45,000ft. Versions
Below: North American F-86A-5 Sabre, 49-1225, were manufactured in
flown by Maj Richard D. Creighton of the 336th Australia, Canada,
FIS during the Korean War. Italy and Japan.

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 46 UNITED KINGDOM

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Hawker Hunter
T
he age into which the Hunter was
born was one in which test pilots
were well-known heroes, and British
aircraft were still seen to rule the aviation
world. With its record-breaking exploits,
stunning appearance and spectacular
aerobatic displays, the Hunter became an
icon of its era.
An official Air Ministry Specification, F3/48,
was issued in 1948 for a new fighter for the
RAF. The successful aircraft was to be a single-
seat day fighter able to intercept the latest
breed of fast, high-flying bombers before
they reached their intended targets, and the
performance parameters thus laid down went
way beyond the abilities of any existing RAF
type. Key was the need to reach 45,000ft in six
minutes from engine start, and a maximum
speed of 629mph at 45,000ft. The RAF was
excited by the prospects offered by swept-
wing designs and the new breed of axial-flow
turbojet engines. Coming out of Sydney
Left: Fresh from its record breaking exploits
Neville Dukes scarlet Hunter F3 WB188 thrilled
the public at the 1953 Farnborough airshow with
some transonic flypasts.
Below: Hunter prototypes under construction,
with the tail of WB188 in the foreground.
AA33_p46-49.indd 47
HAWKER HUNTER 47
Camms office in Kingston, Hawker offered its
new concept, the P1067, which was awarded
the contract and an order for three prototypes
was placed.
The trio of P1067 prototypes built in the
Hawker facility at Langley, Buckinghamshire,
reflected a split engine choice, with two having
Avon power and the third a Sapphire. The first,
serial WB188, was finished in a duck-egg blue
colour scheme and taken from Langley to the
Ministry of Supply test airfield at Boscombe
Down in Wiltshire ready to get air under its
wheels. Its powerplant was an Avon 103, as
used in the early English Electric Canberra
bombers, and no armament was fitted. Hawker
chief test pilot Neville Duke made the P1067s
maiden flight on 20 July 1951, reporting no
major problems.
Britain became firm in the belief that Hawker
had produced a world-beating jet fighter.
Just a few weeks after WB188s maiden flight,
it was put on show at the SBAC Display at
Farnborough, where, Flight rather prematurely
stated that there is no reason to doubt that
Duke exceeded by a substantial margin the
official world record speed of 670.981mph now
standing to the credit of that excellent, though
none too heavily armed, American fighter the
North American F-86.
10/08/2017 08:35
 48 UNITED KINGDOM

But all was not well. It is no exaggeration to
say that the early Hunter F1s, as delivered to the
Central Fighter Establishment and Leuchars-
based No 43 Squadron in July 1954, were all
but useless to the RAF as fighters. Over a year
had elapsed since the inaugural flight of the
first production-standard F1, during which time
some of the types glitches were ironed out, but
by no means all. Service pilots were soon to
discover this. The Hunters range was woefully
short and, worse still, the Avon engine would
often surge if the guns were fired.
The need for more power from the Avon
was only truly addressed with the Hunter F6,
the first big-engine mark. It was the Avon 200
series that gave the extra grunt. At last, here
was a definitive production Avon-powered
Hunter mark with something like the desired
performance. Range and endurance were
further improved, too. The F6 prototype flew
on 22 January 1954, and deliveries to No 74
Squadron started during 1956.
RAF Hunters served around the world
in numerous trouble spots. Some of these
aircraft would find themselves back on foreign
shores once their UK service was over, as many
hundreds were refurbished and sold on to
overseas customers. Indian, Iraqi, Omani and
Rhodesian Hunters went into action during the
1960s and 1970s, and notched up some notable
successes for what was by now an outmoded
fighter aircraft.
No confirmed air-to-air kill was ever scored
by an RAF Hunter. However, the same could
not be said of their counterparts with other
air arms. Indian Air Force Hunter F56s flew
against Pakistani F-86 Sabres during the 1965
Indo-Pakistan war, and acquitted themselves
well despite their lack of missile armament and
other shortcomings. Iraqs Hunters were in the
fray when hostilities between Israel and various
Arab countries broke out again in 1973, and
claimed further aerial victories.
The long-lasting conflict between
government forces and guerrillas in Rhodesia
included some notable actions by Rhodesian
Air Force examples, while Chilean Air Force
pilots flew Hunters in the 1973 coup that
deposed Salvador Allende. This is merely a
snapshot of the role played by Hunters in
military conflicts for the best part of 30 years,
during which the types ruggedness and
versatility continued to see it through even
when it was outclassed by more modern
combat jets.
The word legend is over-used, but, when
applied to the Hunter, entirely apposite.

Above right: Painted in duck egg blue, the Hunter

prototype WB188 (later to become sole scarlet
F3) first took to the skies in July 1951 before
creating a sensation two months later when it
appeared at the Farnborough Air Show.

Right: Showing off the types famous planform,

Hunter F6 XF432 had a slightly nomadic career.
Following delivery to the RAF it served with
No208 Squadron for just over a year from March
1958 before it was converted into a fighter
reconnaissance FR10 in November 1960. It
then saw service with Nos 2 and 4 Squadrons
before it was returned to Hawker Siddeley to be
rebuilt to FR74B standard to become a company
demonstrator. Eventually it found its way into
the service of the Singapore Air Force before
finally being retired in 1995.

Below right: Hawker Hunter F1 WT587 of No 43

Squadron based at RAF Leuchars.

The need for speed Hawker Hunter F6

The British public regarded the Hunter with great pride, buoyed by its high-profile exploits. Max speed: 715mph (1,150km/h)
None had been greater than the capture of the world air speed record by the modified first Engines: One Rolls-Royce Avon
P1067 prototype WB188. It had been converted to become the sole Hunter F3 (the F1 being 207 turbojet
the Avon-engined first production mark, and the F2 the Sapphire-powered derivative). WB188 Power: 10,140lb thrust
was duly readied for a record attempt, which would also hopefully show that the Hunter was Length: 45ft 11in (14m)
truly able to perform in accordance with the original requirements. The alterations rendered Wingspan: 33ft 8in (10.26m)
WB188 far from standard it had an afterburning Avon and a streamlined airframe with a Height: 13ft 2in (4.01m)
pointed nose but who cared when it secured the record for Britain? Neville Duke did so off Armament: 4 x 30mm Aden
the South Coast on 7 September 1953, setting the new benchmark at 727.6mph. The record cannon, plus four
only stood for a few weeks, but was a great underwing hardpoints
achievement nonetheless. able to carry up to
7,400lb of stores
Above and left: For a brief 19-day period in (bombs/rockets) and/or
September 1953 Neville Duke was the fastest tankage
man on earth, having gained the worlds Max T/O weight: 17,750lb (8,050kg)
absolute speed record of 727.6mph over a Max range: 1,900 miles (3,060km)
1.89mile (3km) course.
with external tanks

AA33_p46-49.indd 48 09/08/2017 09:32

 HAWKER HUNTER 49

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 50 UNITED KINGDOM
Supermarine Swift
S
wift by name, swift by nature. With its
swept-back wings and tail, the Swift
looked futuristic when it first graced
the skies. Indeed, for a short eight-day
period in 1953, the Swift held the distinction
of being the fastest aircraft on the planet.
Its brief moment of glory cannot be denied,
but unfortunately, its operational career was
similarly short-lived.
Given the success of the Spitfire in World
War2, it was reasonable to expect that
Supermarine would extend its domination in
the post war years with a jet-powered design.
The aircraft that was to become the Swift
evolved from several prototypes based on the
Supermarine Attacker. The final variant of these,
the Type 541, first flew in1951 and to all intents
and purposes constituted the pre-production
AA33_p50-51.indd 50
Swift an aircraft designed to replace the
Meteor in the air defence role. Despite its swept
wings, the portly fuselage of the design gave it
a rather ungainly poise and this was reflected in
its performance.
The first production Swift F1 took to the air
in 1953 and the aircraft entered service as a
fighter with No 56 Squadron, RAF Waterbeach,
in February 1954, thus becoming the RAFs first
swept-wing aircraft. Armed with two 30mm
Aden cannon, it was powered by a Rolls-
Royce Avon 109 turbojet. Almost immediately
thereafter came the F2, the only difference
being the addition of two more Aden cannons.
Handling problems persisted, as did the
unreliability of its engines. Tragedy struck very
early in the career of the Swift and following a
number of accidents the type was grounded.
Above: The record-breaking Swift F4 WK198
was briefly the fastest aircraft in the world in
September 1953. WK198 first flew on 27 May 1953
as an F1 to F4 conversion. On 5 July 1953, it made
a record breaking flight from London to Paris in
19min 5sec. Shortly afterwards it broke the world
absolute speed record at 737.7mph in Libya.
Very little is known of its service career but it did
display at Farnborough and was used by Vickers
for trials. Retired on 1 January 1957 the aircraft is
now on display in the Brooklands Museum.
The resulting afterburner equipped Swift F4
did enter operational service with the RAF
and featured a number of improvements but
the aircrafts handling was still quite lacklustre
especially at high altitudes. By this time, the
concept of using the Swift as a fighter was
falling out of favour, so the aircrafts nose was
09/08/2017 09:34
 SUPERMARINE SWIFT 51

Supermarine Swift FR5

Max Speed: 713mph (1,148km/h)
Engine: 1 x Rolls-Royce
Avon turbojet
Power: 7,175lb thrust dry,
9,450lb with afterburner
Length: 42ft 3in (12.88m)
Wingspan: 32ft 4in (9.85m)
Height: 13ft 2in (4.02m)
Armament: 2 x 30mmAden cannon
and provisions for
bombs and rockets
Max T/O weight: 21,673lb (9,381kg)
Range: 630miles (1,014km)

lengthened to accommodate cameras giving

birth to the Swift FR5 tactical reconnaissance
aircraft. This version exonerated the design as it
proved extremely capable and equipped three
squadrons in RAF Germany. The FR5 filled a vital
function on the central European front during
a critical period of the Cold War, but it was only
ever intended to be a stop-gap pending the
introduction of the Hunter FR10. When the
latter became available, the Swift gave way
and in 1961 departed Germany and front line
service. In total, over all marks, there were 193
Swifts produced.

The need for speed

At a time when speed records were bouncing across the Atlantic with some regularity, the
Swift F4, which had first flown in May 1953, soon made its name by breaking the world
absolute speed record. On 22 September 1953, Mike Lithgow, Supermarines chief test pilot,
took off in Swift F4 WK198 from Chilbolton bound for Tripoli, Libya. Three days later, four
successful low-level runs were achieved over the North African desert resulting in an average
speed of 735.7mph and a new World Airspeed Record thereby wresting from Neville Duke
the record established in Hunter WB188 just 18 days earlier. These were heady times it was
little more than a week later that Lt Cdr James Verdin USN took the record back for the US with
a speed of 753mph while flying a Douglas Skyray.

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 52 UNITED STATES
Douglas F4D Skyray
T
he Douglas Skyray was named after
the manta ray it resembled. It was on
the leading edge of aircraft design,
could climb to 40,000ft (12,000m) in two
minutes and reach Mach 1 during a dive. It
also wrested the world air speed record from
the British Swift.
Analysis of data captured in Germany after
World War 2 indicated that the delta-shaped
wing would take the most advantage of
jet propulsion for fast-climbing interceptor
fighters. In 1948, Douglas signed a contract to
build the F4D-1, affectionately known as the
Ford (after its designation).
The F4D Skyray was a wide delta wing design
with long, sharply swept, rounded wings. The
thick wing roots contained the air intakes
feeding a single turbojet engine. Its unique
design made the Skyray one of the best-known
early jet fighters.
Two prototypes were ordered and the first
flew on 23 January 1951. The test programme
AA33_p52-53.indd 52
soon indicated the aircraft had excellent bombs or Sidewinder AAMs. Over 400 examples
performance and handling. The production were produced, but as a dedicated interceptor,
F4D-1 for the US Navy was powered by a single the F4D was unsuited to the multi-mission
Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet giving 16,000lb capabilities soon in demand, so it had a short
thrust in afterburner. Initial production F4D-1s service career, the last aircraft being withdrawn
started to roll off the line in June 1954. The in 1964.
F4D-1 was the only production variant, and
would equip numerous US Navy and USMC
units, with no fewer than 17 squadrons flying it
Douglas F4D-1 Skyray
at the peak, and would embark in carriers with Max speed: 753mph (1,212km/h)
both Atlantic and Pacific fleets. While intended Powerplant: Pratt & Whitney J57
primarily as an interceptor, production aircraft turbojet, 10,500lb dry or
had six external stores pylons for rockets, 16,000lb in afterburner
Wingspan: 33ft 6in (10.21m)
Length: 45ft 8in (13.92m)
Below: Built for speed, the Skyray was an
interceptor through-and-through. Although Height: 13ft 0in (3.96m)
it was in service for a relatively short time and Max T/O weight: 28,000lb (12,700kg)
never entered combat, it was the first carrier- Ceiling: 52,000ft (15,850m)
launched aircraft to hold the worlds absolute Armament: 4 x 20mm canon plus
speed record, at 752.943mph. It was also the six under-wing stations
last fighter produced by the Douglas Aircraft for rockets, bombs,
Company before it merged with McDonnell Sidewinder AAMs
Aircraft and became McDonnell Douglas.
10/08/2017 08:37
 The need for speed
The Skyray prototype XF4D-1 proved supersonic in a dive, and second prototype 124587
established a world air speed record of 753mph over the Salton Sea on 3 October 1953, piloted
by the US Navys James Verdin. This record would last less than four weeks, but it did prove to
the world that the US Navy had a real hot ship nearing squadron service. Sadly, James Verdin
lost his life in the crash of 137815 on 13 January 1955 when his parachute failed to open after
he ejected. The Skyray was designed exclusively for the high-altitude interception role, with a
high rate and angle of climb. It set a new time-to-altitude record, flying from a standing start to
49,221ft (15,003m) in 2min 36sec, all while flying at a 70 pitch angle.

AA33_p52-53.indd 53 09/08/2017 09:35

 54 UNITED STATES
North American Super Sabre
O
K, two beers. So said Pete Everest in
the F-86D chase aircraft to George
Wheaties Welch during the maiden
flight of the YF-100A. This referred to a
private bet that Welch would take the
YF-100A supersonic on its first outing on
25 May 1953. This date can be seen as the
true start of supersonic military aviation.
Later that year, the Super Sabre would
become a record breaker.
North Americans F-100 Super Sabre was by
definition the first of the US Air Forces famed
Century series fighters and was designed to
be supersonic in level flight, its afterburning
J57 turbojet powering it to a top speed of
850mph at 35,000ft. But the F-100s design was
radically new, few of its pilots had previously
experienced Mach 1 and a number of handling
difficulties began to show up during testing.
One undesirable phenomenon suffered by
early F-100s was inertia roll coupling. This
could result when the highly manoeuvrable
aircraft entered a roll at high speed, a violent
AA33_p54-57.indd 54
Above: The Super Sabre heralded the age of the
true supersonic jet fighter. Not only was it fast,
but it was powerful. F-100A, C and D all featured
four internal 20mm M39 cannon. Six underwing
stores stations were fitted, along with a centre-
line station. The F-100D of Vietnam fame could
mount a variety of fuel tanks, rockets, napalm
pods and bombs. Several varieties of tactical
nuclear weapon could be carried, the Mk7
initially being the most widespread. In later
years, some aircraft were made compatible with
the AIM-9B Sidewinder for self-defence and the
AGM-12B Bullpup for precision attacks against
heavily defended targets.
combination of pitching and rolling leading
to an uncontrollable situation and the break
up of the airframe. Test pilot George Welch
experienced this on 12 October 1954 when
flying an F-100A on a demanding test sortie
from Edwards involving a high speed 8G pull-
up manoeuvre. Sadly, it was to cost him his
life. Subsequent production F-100As would be
built to a new standard, with wing and tail fin of
increased area to restore stability.
09/08/2017 10:25
 Above: You owe me two beers. Test pilot George
Welch took the YF-100 prototype supersonic on
its first flight, thereby winning a bet with his F-86
chase plane pilot.

Right: On 29 October 1953, Lt Col F.K. Pete

Everest flew the YF-100, 52-5754, to a new world
speed record of 755mph at low level over the
Salton Sea in California.

Left: Super Sabre record-setter Col Horace A. system. The stick grip mounted the bomb Sabres of all variants produced were the later
Hanes flew an F-100C to 822mph at 35,000ft over release, the gun trigger and nosewheel D models, and it was this variant that saw most
the Mojave Desert on 20 August 1955. steering button. The fuselage was of metal service in Vietnam and with NATO air forces
stressed-skin construction using mainly in Europe. The F-100Ds design incorporated
The Super Sabre was always considered a aluminium but with significant amounts an increase in fin height, flaps inboard of the
hot ship and it certainly looked the part with of titanium in the rear (hot) section. Three ailerons which gave rise to a kinked trailing
its clean lines and swept-back wings. The pilot fuselage-mounted fuel tanks contained the edge, and outboard wing fences.
sat on an ejection seat under a one-piece total internal fuel load on the F-100A, although The F-100s real period of active service
clamshell-type cockpit canopy. External view supplemented by additional fuel cells in the came in South-east Asia, the types
was generally good, although somewhat wet wing of the F-100C onwards. involvement starting in May 1962. US forces
restricted in the forward direction by the long The Super Sabre can be considered as were soon heavily involved in Vietnam; in
nose for take-off and landing. Conventional having come of age with the F-100C, this February 1965 the US President authorised a
stick and rudder pedals connected to the variant proving well-suited to the air-ground series of air strikes against military targets in
control surfaces through an artificial feel role. However, more than half the 2,294 Super North Vietnam. This was the start of Operation
Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing
campaign in which F-100s would figure
The need for speed prominently. Over the years of operation in
The F-100 was the worlds first level-supersonic military aircraft, preceding the Soviet Unions Vietnam, the F-100 fleet was worked hard and
MiG-19 into the air by several months. Test pilot Pete Everest took the world air speed record as a result suffered significant losses 198 in
on 29 October 1953, pushing 52-5754 to 755mph at very low altitude over the Salton Sea combat and 44 to other operational causes.
in California. This record lasted until 20 August 1955 when Horace Hanes took a F-100C to Eventually time caught up with the Super
822.1mph, guaranteeing the Super Sabres reputation as a hotship of the 1950s. Sabre, but its place in aviation history as a
speed merchant is assured.

AA33_p54-57.indd 55 10/08/2017 16:08

 56 UNITED STATES
KEY
1 Radar antenna.
2 Radar and radio equipment.
3 Cooling air bleed-off from main duct.
4 Cooling air outlet.
5 Main engine air duct.
6 Outer gun port.
7 Gun barrel support.
8 M-39 20mm cannon (two each side).
9 Ammunition tanks and gun feeds.
10 Retracting automatic gun-sight cowl.
11 External canopy-operating buttons.
12 Oxygen cylinder. Access through same panel
to power controls.
13 Cockpit pressurization control valve.
14 Suppressed aerials.
15 Air outlet.
16 Access to power controls.
17 Fuel fillers; 360, 221 and 310 US gallons.
18 Refuelling earth point.
19 Fuel tank.
20 J57 turbojet giving 10,000lb thrust dry.
21 Compressor air bleed.
22 Fuselage break point.
23 Fuselage break access panels.
AA33_p54-57.indd 56
24 Afterburner fuel spray nozzles.
25 Afterburner variable exhaust nozzle.
26 Afterburner variable nozzle operating jacks.
27 Rear engine support.
28 Braking parachute stowage.
29 Braking parachute cable pick-up point.
30 Fuel vent.
31 Rudder actuator access.
31 Aileron actuator.
33 Aileron control runs.
34 Inset aileron.
35 All-moving tail. (Heavy-gauge skin between
spars, light structure nose and trailing edge
sections; fin similar.)
36 Air brake.
37 Nosewheel steering motor.
38 Mainwheels, fitted with anti-skid brakes,
retract into fuselage.
39 Undercarriage doors (normally closed with
gear down).
40 Supersonic under-wing tanks (275 US gallons).
41 Navigation and identification lights.
42 Leading-edge slats (in five sections each side;
carried on straight outriggers, with secondary
struts to determine angle when extended).
43 Thick skin over multi spars on inner half
wing. Probably changing to stringers and
increased number of ribs outboard.
44 Piano hinge nose section attachment.
45 Retracting bumper.
46 Pressure head boom (full length not shown).
47 Control and pipe runs through spine.
48 Pads and access panels with engine support rig
when tail is removed.
09/08/2017 10:23
 NORTH AMERICAN SUPER SABRE 57

Left: A night photograph of F-100A 53-1529

demonstrating the pure power of its Pratt
& Whitney J57 engine in full effect. Note the
original short fin of the Super Sabre.

NA F-100D Super Sabre

Max speed: 864mph (1,390km/h) at
35,000ft (10,668m)
Engine: Pratt & Whitney J57-P-21
Power: 10,200lb thrust dry,
16,000lb with
afterburning
Length: 47ft 1in (14.35m)
without pitot boom
Wingspan: 38ft 9in (11.81m)
Height: 16ft 2in (4.94m)
Service ceiling: 39,600ft (12,000m)
Armament: 4 x M39 cannon in the
forward fuselage plus
a variety of air-air or
air-ground weaponry
(including nuclear) on
a single under-fuselage
and six under-wing
stations
Max T/O weight: 38,048lb (17,258kg)
Ferry range: 1,995 miles (3,211km).
An in-flight refuelling
probe could be fitted

AA33_p54-57.indd 57 09/08/2017 10:23

AA33_p59-60.indd 2-3 59 60 09/08/2017 09:37
AA33_p59-60.indd 2-3 59 60 09/08/2017 09:37
 60 UNITED KINGDOM

Fairey Delta 2
T
he Fairey Delta 2 has the distinction early in 1956 WG777 joined the programme. BAC Type 221 to participate in the Concorde
of being the first aircraft to exceed During this period, the Delta 2 made repeated programme. WG 777 soldiered on until July
1,000mph, flying faster than the supersonic test runs over southern Britain, 1966 when it was transferred to the RAF
earths rotation. Sleek and beautifully and many claims for damages against the Museum at Cosford.
proportioned, it proved as fast as it looked supersonic bangs were received.
Right: The Fairey Delta slicing through the air
and regained the World Air Speed Record off Both Fairey Delta 2s were eventually handed
over the English countryside. To celebrate
the US, an honour it held for a year. over to Aero Flight at RAE Bedford for use on breaking the World Air Speed Record, WG774
When Fairey was given the task of producing various research programmes, until WG774 was painted in a not entirely flattering bright
an aircraft into the research of supersonic departed for BAC Filton for conversion into the pink colour scheme and given go faster stripes!
flight, it designed a delta planform with a sleek
fuselage to house an afterburning Avon axial
flow turbojet. A blueprint of the layout was filed The need for speed
in July 1950 and two aircraft were ordered,
Peter Twiss realised that the Delta 2 was capable of speeds above 1,000mph and proposed
WG774 and WG777. Construction began at the
an attempt on the air speed record. In order to reduce the risk of another competitor beating
end of 1952 and the machine that emerged
them to it, preparations were carried out in great secrecy. The course was laid out along the
was truly innovative. The Delta 2 had a very
coast south of Chichester, close to the aircrafts base at Boscombe Down, near Salisbury. The
long tapering nose, which would normally
height for the runs was fixed at 38,000ft, not only because this was the optimum level for
have obscured forward vision during landing,
performance, but also because it was likely to ensure a good condensation trail essential for
take-off and movement on the ground. But
ground tracking by telescopic cameras. All was ready by 8 March 1956 and Twiss flew eight
to compensate, the nose section and cockpit
runs over the next few days. On the final sortie on 10 March, he achieved speeds of 1,117mph
drooped 10. The wing had 60 leading
and 1,147mph on the two required runs, giving a mean of 1,132mph thus breaking the World
edge sweep and was very thin, at only 4%
Air Speed Record and becoming the first aircraft to exceed 1,000mph in level flight. Not
thickness-chord ratio, making it one of the
everyone rejoiced at this British triumph, however. Greenhouse owners across the south were
thinnest known at that time. It housed the
agitated as the sonic boom broke glass windows.
main undercarriage and fuel tanks. The Delta
was also the first British aircraft to fly using all- Below: Peter Twiss was the first man to fly faster than the sun. When heading West during his
powered controls. The flight control system was World Record Breaking Flight, the aircraft flew faster than the apparent motion of the sun, thus
making the sun appear to move backwards in the sky.
hydraulically operated, having dual systems
throughout and no mechanical backup.
The first completed machine was taken to
Boscombe Down and on 6 October 1954 test
pilot Peter Twiss took her up for the first time
in a flight that lasted 25min. Further trials were
going well when on 17 November WG774
suffered engine failure while heading away
from the airfield at 30,000ft. Twiss elected to
stay with the aircraft and incredibly managed
to glide to a dead-stick landing at high speed
back at Boscombe Down. Only the nose gear
had deployed, and the aircraft sustained
damage that sidelined it for eight months.
Testing did not resume until August 1955 and

Fairey Delta 2
Max speed: Mach 1.73, 1,132mph
Length: 51ft 7in (15.79m)
Wingspan: 26ft 10in (8.2m)
Powerplants: 1 x Rolls-Royce Avon of
9,500lb thrust (14,500lb
with afterburner)
Loaded weight: 13,400lb (6,078kg)

AA33_p58.indd 58 09/08/2017 09:37

 LOCKHEED F-104 STARFIGHTER 61

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

I
t looked like a speed machine and it was. Left: Wearing a high-altitude partial pressure
Dubbed the missile with a man in it, the suit, Capt Iven C. Kincheloe Jr poses beside an
early F-104. Sadly he was killed flying the type.
Lockheed Starfighter became the first
aircraft to simultaneously hold the world was an understatement; it had a maximum
speed and altitude records. thickness of 4.2in (10.7cm) and its leading
The design criteria for the F-104 Starfighter edge was so sharp that protective strips had
resulted from a simple expedient adopted to be fitted to avoid injury to ground crew. The
by Lockheeds engineers in the early 1950s; wings clearly offered no room for stowage,
they went out and met front-line US Air Force so the fuselage had to contain the retracted
pilots and asked them what they wanted in a undercarriage and all the fuel tanks. In March
next-generation fighter. The results were hardly 1953 the US Air Force signed a contract for two
surprising. What was needed, the engineers prototypes as the XF-104. Lockheed soon after
were told, was an aircraft that flew faster and christened the new aircraft Starfighter.
higher than the enemy and was capable of Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier made the
pulling tighter turns in combat. first flight of the XF-104 on 4 March 1954, when
Clarence Kelly Johnsons Special Project team 53-37786 lifted off from Edwards AFB. Even with
at the Lockheed Skunk Works refined a number an underpowered engine, the aircraft showed
of possible designs to find the best compromise great promise, the first prototype achieving
between these conflicting requirements. The The final design featured a long, thin body Mach 1.79 on 25 March 1955. It was not long
decision was taken early on to go for a Mach 2.2 which housed indeed, was built around a before the Starfighter was breaking twice the
top speed, this representing the limit imposed single turbojet, a thin, unswept wing of short speed of sound
both by the alloy materials to be used in its (21ft 9in or 6.63m) span with 10 degrees of The US Air Forces Air Defense Command
structure and the airflow that current turbojets anhedral (ie downward inclination towards the (ADC) received its first F-104A in January 1958.
could accept on entry to the compressor. tip) and a T-tail. To say that the wing was thin Service introduction was far from easy, and a
period of grounding was enforced after engine
Left: Lockheeds chief engineering test pilot, Herman R. Fish Salmon, in a classic pose with a pre- problems with the General Electric J79. The
production YF-104A. When this was first presented to the press, its advanced engine intake design F-104s ADC reign was short and by 1960 it had
(featuring a central fixed shock cone to control the supply of air to the engine) was still considered been phased out of front-line service in favour
secret. As a result, the intakes were disguised with pointed hemispherical fairings. The first variants
of newer types with an all-weather capability,
of the Starfighter featured a downward-firing ejection seat, this being considered the safest way
for the pilot to clear the T-tail when leaving his aircraft at high speed. Only later was the upward- better radar and heavier armament.
firing Lockheed C-2 seat fitted. When flying the second prototype, 53-37787, Fish Salmon used the The F-104C was an improved version for
downward-firing ejection seat and lived to fly another day, unlike the aircraft. Tactical Air Command (TAC). Powered by an
uprated J79-GE-7A, the C model was intended
Below: All F-104G Starfighters were powered by General Electrics J79 jet engine. It was a pure turbojet
for the fighter-bomber role and was the
with single spool and 17-stage compressor. The J79-GE-11 version that powered the F-104G gave
10,000lb static thrust dry and 15,600lb with afterburner. If the Starfighter pilot had one real complaint first Starfighter to be equipped for in-flight
about the J79 it would be that it left a smoky exhaust trail, which made the aircraft easy to spot against refuelling. Weapon load could include a nuclear
a clear sky, a huge disadvantage in air combat. store on the centreline station, a 20mm Vulcan

AA33_p63-65.indd 63 09/08/2017 09:38

 Lockheed F-104G Starghter
Max Speed: Mach 2.0+
Engine: General Electric J79-GE-11
turbojet with afterburner
Power: 10,000lb thrust dry,
15,600lb with afterburner
Length: 54ft 8in (16.66m)
Wingspan: 21ft 9in (6.63m)
Height: 13ft 6in (4.11m)
Max altitude: 90,000ft (27,432m), but service
ceiling 58,000ft (17,678m)
Armament: General Electric M61 six-barrelled
20mm rotary cannon plus a
variety of air-air or air-ground
weaponry (including nuclear)
on under-wing and under-
fuselage stations
Max T/O weight: 29,027lb (13,166kg)
Ferry range: 1,630miles (2,623km)

AA33_p61-62.indd 2-3 61 62 09/08/2017 09:38

 Lockheed F-104G Starghter
Max Speed: Mach 2.0+
Engine: General Electric J79-GE-11
turbojet with afterburner
Power: 10,000lb thrust dry,
15,600lb with afterburner
Length: 54ft 8in (16.66m)
Wingspan: 21ft 9in (6.63m)
Height: 13ft 6in (4.11m)
Max altitude: 90,000ft (27,432m), but service
ceiling 58,000ft (17,678m)
Armament: General Electric M61 six-barrelled
20mm rotary cannon plus a
variety of air-air or air-ground
weaponry (including nuclear)
on under-wing and under-
fuselage stations
Max T/O weight: 29,027lb (13,166kg)
Ferry range: 1,630miles (2,623km)

AA33_p61-62.indd 2-3 61 62 09/08/2017 09:38

 64 UNITED STATES

rotary cannon and two wingtip-mounted AIM-9

Sidewinder missiles.
In total, Lockheed built 77 F-104Cs, bringing
total Starfighter deliveries to the US Air Force
to just 277. This might well have been the end
of the Starfighter story, had it not been for West
Germanys pressing need for a new aircraft to
equip its re-emergent Luftwaffe. Lockheed had
anticipated this and by 1956 was redesigning
the F-104 as a heavier aircraft with true multi-
mission capability. Thus was born the F-104G,
the G standing for Germany. Lockheed put
its all into aggressively promoting this Super
Starfighter (as it was initially called) and in
March 1959 West Germany confirmed its
selection of the F-104G. This announcement

Left: One of the design hallmarks of the F-104 was

its short-span wing, just 21ft 9in (6.63m), with
a maximum thickness of 4.2in (10.7cm). Blown
flaps increased the airflow over the wing to keep
the aircraft controllable at low speeds despite
the lack of wing area. Wingtips could mount fuel
tanks or launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinders.

Below: Lockheed Starfighter F-104A of the 83rd

FIS, US Air Force, circa 1958.

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 LOCKHEED F-104 STARFIGHTER 65

Above: Lockheed F-104C cockpit. The instrument layout was well designed and presented, with critical
indications grouped together for quick identification of a problem. This arrangement became known
as peek and panic by the Lockheed engineers.
The need for speed
The F-104 Starfighter became the first
Above right: Owing to its performance, the Starfighter was chosen to train test pilots destined to fly the
aircraft to simultaneously hold the
X-15. The major modifications to the Starfighters consisted in the addition of a 6,000lb thrust rocket
engine at the base of the vertical tail, reaction control thrusters in the nose and in each wing tip, a world speed and altitude records. Flying
larger vertical tail and increased wingspan. The Starfighters with these modifications were renamed YF-104A 55-2957, Maj Howard C. Johnson
NF-104s. They entered service in 1963 and their pilots could zoom to more than 100,000ft in a full broke the world altitude record on 7 May
pressure suit, experience zero g, and use reaction control to handle the aircraft. 1958 by flying to 91,243ft (27,811m) at
Edwards AFB. Just nine days later Capt
was followed by similar decisions by Canada, a scandal and many unflattering epithets were Walter W. Irwin set a world speed record
then Japan, followed by a string of other NATO adopted, widow-maker (or its equivalent in the of 1,404.19mph over a course 15 miles
nations, though a murkier dimension to these local language) being the most common and (24km) long flying YF-104A 55-2969. On
sales successes would later emerge. The F-104G the politest! 14December 1959, Capt Joe B. Jordan
was already on its way to becoming the free Nevertheless, the Starfighters service career flying F-104C 56-0885 set a new world
worlds standard fighter; a total of 1,127 of spanned over 45 years. Yes, it was demanding to altitude record of 103,389ft (31,513m). He
this multi-role variant was produced for NATO fly with a wingspan of just 21ft 9in (6.63m) it also set a 98,000ft (30,000m) time-to-climb
countries alone, delivered from 1960 to 1973. had the engine-out glide ratio of the proverbial record of 904.92 seconds.
The F-104G went on to have a long service flying brick and nobody ever accused it
career. Given the types high initial accident of being manoeuvrable. But the Starfighter
rate in many countries and notably in Germany, went fast, climbed like a homesick angel and
the decision to purchase such a hot type to introduced pilots of many nations to the joys
be flown by often young and inexperienced of Mach 2 flight. Pilots loved the Starfighters
pilots was put into question and searchingly out-and-out performance and the type enjoyed
examined by newspapers worldwide. The a mystique unmatched by any other Century
whole subject came to be seen as something of Series fighter.

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 66 UNITED STATES

Convair B-58 Hustler

T
he designers at Convair did not take 11 November 1956 and flew supersonically a mission-specific gear. The three-man crew of
a subtle approach when tasked with month later. Distinct features of the Hustler, as pilot, navigator and defensive systems operator
coming up with the worlds first it was named, included a then-sophisticated sat one behind the other, each in their own
Mach 2 capable operational jet bomber. inertial guidance navigation and bombing ejection capsule.
It all started out gracefully enough with system and wasp-waist fuselage. Extensive use It was a demanding and dangerous machine
a sleek fuselage married to a pure delta of heat-resistant honeycomb sandwich skin to fly. Take-off and landing speeds were very
wing, then it turned all brutish when four panels was integrated into the construction of high and the tall, skinny landing gear was
General Electric J79 engines were strapped the wings and fuselage for the necessary high delicate and nose gear failures were common.
underneath. Aesthetically it should not have altitude, high-speed flight. The thin fuselage The other big killer was losing an engine at
worked, but somehow it did. The result was provided some engineering challenges early supersonic speed. The resulting departure from
a thunderous record-breaking machine that on as it prevented internal carriage of bombs controlled flight could be so violent that even
had a propensity for sonic booms. and the required amount of fuel to feed the ejection was impossible.
In 1953, the US Air Force awarded Convair four afterburning J79 turbojets, thus restricting The US Air Force contracted for 86 Hustlers
a contract to build a bomber designed to fly operational ranges. As a result, a large external which were operational in the Strategic Air
at high altitudes and at supersonic speeds droppable, two-component pod was added Command (SAC). Despite its very impressive
to avoid Soviet fighters. Just three years on a under the fuselage and contained extra performance numbers, the B-58 was a troubled
prototype B-58 made its first flight on fuel and a nuclear weapon along with other aircraft which contributed to its rather short
service life. Additionally, its very raison dtre,
the high-altitude bomber concept, had become
The need for speed a thing of the past and the Hustler was not
particularly well suited to low-level operations.
The Hustlers performance was breath-taking. Lightly loaded it had a thrust-to-weight ratio of
After just 10 years it was withdrawn from
almost one to one and a climb rate of 46,000ft/min. Top speed was Mach 2+ and service ceiling
service in 1970.
was greater than 60,000ft. Numerous records were set by B-58s, some of which still stand. The
longest supersonic flight on record was set by a B-58 flying Tokyo to London (just over 8,000 Below: The B-58 Hustler, the worlds first Mach2
miles) in 8hrs 35min. bomber, was tested at Edwards AFB, CA in the
late 1950s and early 1960s.

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 CONVAIR B-58 HUSTLER 67

Left: Maj Fitzhugh Fitz Fulton sits in a cockpit

of a test Hustler. On 8 September 1962, he
piloted a B-58, carrying an 11,023lb payload to
an altitude of 85,360ft, a record for this category
that still stands.

Convair B-58 Hustler

Max speed: Mach 2
(1,319mph/2,122km/h)
Engine: 4 x General Electric
J79-GE-5A turbojets
Power: 10,400lb dry thrust,
15,600lb in afterburner,
from each engine
Length: 96ft 10in (15.45m)
Wingspan: 56ft 9in (17.3m)
Height: 29ft 11in (8.9m)
Service ceiling: 63,400ft (19,300m)
Max T/O weight: 176,890lb (80,240kg)
Payload: 1 x B53 or 4 x B43 or B61
nuclear bombs

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 68 UNITED KINGDOM

English Electric Lightning

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 ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING 69

A
lthough not an official world record
breaker, there is one British aircraft
that will forever be remembered
for its raw power and speed. The English
Electric Lightning occupies a unique place
in aviation history. It was the first British
production supersonic fighter, and indeed
the only British production supersonic
fighter. When it first entered service in the
summer of 1960, it provided Royal Air Force
fighter pilots with the greatest increase in
performance ever offered. Transitioning
from the subsonic Hawker Hunter, they were
suddenly able to sample the joys of flying at
speeds approaching Mach 2.
The English Electric Lightning was quite
a long time in coming into RAF service. Two
prototypes of the English Electric P1 were
ordered to government specification F23/49 on
1 April 1950, the first of them (WG760) making Following on from the F1A was the F2, deliveries of the final at least in RAF terms
its first flight at Boscombe Down on 4 August featuring a fully variable afterburner fitted to Lightning variant. The F6 finally addressed
1954. It immediately demonstrated its potential its Avon 210 engines, along with an improved the problem of restricted fuel tankage by the
by going supersonic in level flight on its third cockpit layout and instrument panel. The F2 fitment of a large 600-gallon ventral tank,
test flight. The first Lightning mark to enter equipped the two RAF Germany interceptor while a cambered wing with reduced sweep
operational service was the F1, examples of squadrons, Nos 19 and 92, at Gtersloh until on the outer panels gave improved low-speed
which were delivered to No 74 Squadron at 1977, maintaining the 24-hour Battle Flight handling and manoeuvrability at little cost to
RAF Coltishall from late June 1960. Its internal air defence alert and being very much in the performance at higher speeds. This ultimate
fuel load was pitifully small and although the vanguard of NATOs front line. Lightning variant also fitted an arrestor hook
following F1A had no increase in tankage, it The F3 represented a more significant step for emergency use (at airfields where a RHAG
did introduce a detachable flight refuelling forward, this mark introducing an improved cable was installed) and provision for two
probe under the port wing, which for the first AIRPASS radar and a pair of Red Top missiles, 260-gallon jettisonable overwing fuel tanks.
time made possible longer-range deployments. these together allowing for the first time head- No 5 Squadron was the initial RAF user,
Finally, the RAF had a world-class supersonic on (rather than tailchase) missile engagements. receiving the F6 from December 1965.
fighter to be proud of. This mark had uprated Avon 300 series engines, Despite its incredible performance, the
While the Lightnings total production run while an external difference was to be seen Lightning never found the export market it
of just 339 is comparatively small, there was in the square-topped fin of increased area. In deserved. That said, a developed multi-
no shortage of variants or mark numbers. fact, the F3 was to be an interim mark pending role Lightning designated F53

Left: Airshow audiences of the 1960s (not to mention the 70s and 80s) thrilled to the sight of a Lightning taking off in full afterburner,
cleaning up its undercarriage with the nose still held down, then accelerating before pulling up at 3-4g into a near-vertical climb,
eventually disappearing from sight. The Lightning could reach 36,000ft in less than three minutes from brakes off.

Top right: The Lightning had its limitations. Like so many British fighters before it, it was short on internal fuel, and a
40-minute sortie in a Lightning F1 was considered good. Armament was light, with early marks featuring just two
cannon and two air-to-air missiles. But any such reservations were soon dispelled by the sheer level of performance
offered by the two afterburning Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets mounted one above the other in the fuselage.

Below: Lightning F1, XM165, of No 74 (Tiger) Squadron, RAF.

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 70 UNITED KINGDOM

formed part of the largest single export deal Left: A Lightning F1 famously captured just prior
ever signed, in 1963, with Saudi Arabia. Based to crashing while on final approach with the pilot
ejecting safely. The place was Hatfield in 1962
on the F6, the F53 was developed to carry a
and the pilot was George Aird, a civilian test pilot
variety of external stores including 1,000lb with Hawker Siddeley Dynamics. The Lightning
bombs and Matra/SNEB rocket launchers. became uncontrollable after an engine bay fire
Thirty four F53s were delivered to Saudi Arabia had weakened a tailplane actuator, and the pilot
from 1967 and served most successfully, and was forced to eject from low level. Unfortunately
popularly with their pilots, until replaced by he landed on some greenhouses, breaking both
legs in the process. This incredible photograph
more modern (but not necessarily higher-
was taken by Jim Meads who happened to live
performance) types in 1986. The only other next door to test pilot Bob Sowray, who was due
export customer was Kuwait, which bought to be flying the aircraft that day. To capture the
a batch of 12 F53s but found them over- event, Meads had positioned himself near the
demanding to operate and to maintain. airfield threshold, close to where a tractor was
cutting the grass.
In the UK, Lightning operations continued
at a number of RAF stations (notably Leuchars, Below: Early Lightning F1s of No 74 Squadron
Wattisham and Binbrook) through the 1970s, hold immaculate formation. Before the days of
with Nos 5 and 11 Squadrons continuing to fly the Red Arrows, RAF Fighter Command would
the type from Binbrook until final retirement each year designate a fighter squadron as its
official aerobatic team for the season. The Tigers
and replacement by the Tornado F3 in 1988.
of No 74 Squadron (Lightning F1) provided the
While the Tornado F3 had two crew, vastly team for 1962.
greater fuel tankage (and hence endurance),
a more capable radar and a truly worthwhile
array of air-to-air armament, its out-and-out
performance came nowhere near that of the
Lightning, whose passing was sorely missed
on the squadrons.
The Lightning never fired its guns nor
launched its missiles in anger during its time
in service with the RAF. That said, the type
surely had a huge deterrent effect during the
Cold War, holding QRA from bases on the East
Coast and Battle Flight in RAF Germany.

EE Lightning F1A
Maximum speed: Limited to Mach 1.7
Engine: 2 x Rolls-Royce Avon 210
turbojets
Power: Each of 11,090lb
(5,030kg) max dry thrust
and 14,140lb (6,413kg)
in afterburner
Wingspan: 34ft 10in (10.62m)
Length: 55ft 3in (16.84m)
Height: 19ft 7in (5.97m)
Max T/O weight: 39,000lb (17,690kg)
Service ceiling: 60,000ft (18,290m) but
stories insist that
altitudes of over
80,000ft were reached in
zoom climb
Armament: 2 x 30mm Aden
cannon, each with
130 rounds, in upper
forward fuselage plus
2x DH Firestreak
infra-red guided missiles
on pylons on lower
forward fuselage

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 ?????? 71

The need for speed

The mighty Lightning was propelled by two
Rolls-Royce Avon RA24 turbojets, mounted
one above the other in the fuselage with the
lower engine forward of the upper. Between
the Avon 210 in the Lightning F1 to the Avon
302C in the Lightning F53, dry thrust was
increased from 11,090lb to 12,030lb, and thrust
in afterburner (or reheat as it was then known)
from 14,140lb to 15,740lb. RAF pilots loved
flying the Lightning, despite its shortcomings
range, endurance, armament and its
demanding flying characteristics. Things
happened fast in the cockpit of a Lightning,
and this required the pilot to think quickly
and to react accordingly. The Lightning was, in
every respect, a fighter pilots aeroplane.

The Lightning was retired from the RAF in 1988, much to the chagrin of its pilots.

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 72 UNITED STATES

McDonnell F-4 Phantom

A
triumph of brute force over
aerodynamics, the legendary
McDonnell Douglas F-4 PhantomII
eclipsed its contemporaries in terms of
performance. Beginning in 1959, it set 15
world records, including an absolute speed
record and an absolute altitude record. Not
to mention it being one of the most versatile
fighters ever built.
Preliminary work on what was to become
the Phantom II began in 1953 as a single-seat,
long-range, attack aircraft. Designed for the
US Navy, the result was the McDonnell F4H-1,
the first Mach 2 carrier-based aircraft capable
of carrying missiles (Sparrows). Designed as a
one- or two-seat aircraft, its primary mission
was as an all-weather fleet air defence aircraft,
although it retained its original initial attack
capability. The F4H-1 made its maiden flight
on 27 May 1958 and the US Navy selected the
two-seat version for production. Proving highly
adaptable, it was quickly adopted by the US
Marine Corps and the US Air Force, and by the
mid-1960s had become a major part of their air
wings. Both US military flight demonstration
teams, the Navys Blue Angels and the US Air
Force Thunderbirds, flew the Phantom from
1969 to 1973.
Despite imposing dimensions and
amaximum take-off weightof over 60,000lb
(27,000kg), the F-4 had a top speed of
Mach 2.23 and an initial climb rate of over
41,000ft/min (210m/s). The F-4s nine external

McDonnell F-4B Phantom

Max speed: 1,485mph (2,390km/h)
Powerplant: 2 x General Electric
J79-GE-8 turbojets
Wingspan: 38ft 5in (11.71 m)
Length: 58ft 3in (17.77m)
Height: 16ft 5in (5m)
Max.T/O weight: 54,600lb (24,766kg)
Ceiling: 62,000ft (18,900m)
Range: 2,300 miles (3,701km)
Armament: No fixed armament;
4 x AIM-7 Sparrow radar-
guided air-to-air missiles
carried semi-recessed
under fuselage; four
under-wing pylons
plus one centreline
station capable of
carrying a wide variety
of air-to-air and/or
air-to-ground weaponry
(including nuclear) or
external fuel tanks

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hardpointshad a capability of up to
18,650lb (8,480kg) of weapons, including
air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, and
unguided, guided, and thermonuclear
weapons. Like other interceptors of its day,
the F-4 was designed without an internal
cannon, a weakness that was later rectified.
Because of its size, it was not the most
agile of fighters, but the huge thrust
generated by its mighty General Electric
J79 engines allowed the pilot to engage
or disengage from the fight at will. The
engines produced noticeable amounts of
black smoke, a severe disadvantage in that
the enemy could spot the aircraft. This was
finally solved on the F-4S version.
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McDONNELL F-4 PHANTOM 73
The Phantom was used extensively during
the Vietnam War. It served as the principal
air superiority fighter for the US and became
important in the ground-attack and aerial
reconnaissance roles late in the war. The
Phantom has the distinction of being the last
US fighter flown by pilots who attained ace
status in the 20th century.
Production of the Phantom peaked at a
rate of more than 70 aircraft a month and the
5,000th Phantom was delivered on 24 May
1978, in ceremonies that also marked the
20th anniversary of the aircrafts first flight.
McDonnell Douglas delivered the last St Louis-
built Phantom II in October 1979.
The Phantom was also extensively operated
by the armed forces of 11 other Western
nations, including the RAF. Israeli Phantoms saw
combat in severalArabIsraeli conflicts, while
Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms in theIran
Iraq War. Remarkably, Phantoms remain in front
line service today.
Left: In 1961 this US Navy YF4H-1 Phantom II
set a world absolute speed record of
1,606.342mph. Piloting the record flight was
Lt Col Robert B. Robinson.
Right: The Phantoms greatest asset was the raw
power of its two General Electric J79 engines.
The need for speed
To show off their new fighter, the US Navy led a series of record-breaking flights early in
Phantom development The F-4 established 16 speed, altitude and time-to-climb records. In
1959, its prototype set the world altitude record at 98,556ft (30,000m) and in
1961, an F-4 set the world speed record at 1,604mph (258 km/h) on
a 15-mile circuit.
Below: McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II,
BuAerNo 153019 of VF-111 Sundowners,
US Navy.
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 74 UNITED STATES

North American X-15

H
alf aircraft, half spaceship, the rocket engine powered by anhydrous ammonia X-15 had to land on a dry lakebed. The Rogers
North American X-15 rocket- and liquid oxygen. It provided a maximum Dry Lake adjacent to Edwards and Dryden was
powered research vehicle bridged thrust of 57,000lb and a minimum thrust of the intended landing location for all flights,
the gap between manned flight within the 28,000lb. Because of the large fuel consumption but there were numerous emergency lakebeds
atmosphere and manned flight into space. of its rocket engine, the X-15 was air launched selected in advance if needed.
After completing its initial test flights in from a B-52 at about 45,000ft and speeds The X-15 required conventional aerodynamic
1959, the X-15 became the first winged upward of 500mph. Depending on the mission, control surfaces to operate within the
aircraft to attain velocities of Mach 4, 5, and the rocket engine provided thrust for the first atmosphere and special thruster reaction
6, albeit for only a few minutes. 80 to 120 seconds of flight. The remainder control rockets located in the nose and wings
Development of the X-15 began in 1954, in of the normal 8- to 12min flight was without of the aircraft to enable the pilot to maintain
a joint research programme sponsored by the power and ended in a 200mph glide landing. control when flying on the fringes of space.
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Because the nose landing wheel lacked steering During the 10 year programme, 13 flights by
(NACA, the forerunner of NASA), the US Air and the main landing gear employed skids, the eight pilots met the US Air Force spaceflight
Force, the US Navy, and private industry. North
American was selected as prime contractor
on the project and three rocket-powered
X-15s were built. Because of its high-speed
capability, the outer skin consisted of a nickel-
chrome alloy called Inconel X, employed in
a heat sink structure to withstand the results
of aerodynamic heating when the aircraft
was flying within the atmosphere. The first
X-15 arrived at the NASA High-Speed Flight
Station in the early months of 1959, and Scott
Crossfield, who had helped with the design
of the aircraft, soon began the contractor
demonstration flights.
The aircraft was powered by a Thiokol
(Reaction Motors Division) XLR-99 throttleable

Right: Test pilot Neil Armstrong prepares for a

flight in the X-15 in 1961. Even in his wildest
dreams he could not have imagined that just
eight years later he would be travelling even
faster on his way to walking on the moon.

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 NORTH AMERICAN X-15 75

Above: The North American X-15 slung under

its specially modified NB-52 mothership.
Information gained from the flights contributed
to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and
Apollo piloted spaceflight programmes as well as
the later Space Shuttle.

Right: The moment of release as seen from the

B-52. The X-15 was little more than a manned
missile, and the confines of its claustrophobic
cockpit are all too apparent.
criterion by exceeding the altitude of 50 miles
(80km), thus qualifying these pilots as being
astronauts. The service pilots qualified for
astronaut wings immediately, while the civilian
pilots were eventually awarded NASA astronaut
wingsin 2005, 35 years after the last X-15 flight.
The X-15 had its share of emergency landings
and accidents, but only two were serious. On
9 November 1962, Jack McKay experienced
an engine failure and landed at Mud Lake, NV.
The landing gear collapsed, flipping him and
the aircraft on its back. Although he recovered
from his injuries sufficiently to fly again, he
North American X-15
Max speed: 4,520mph (7,274km/h)
Engine: Reaction Motors
eventually had to retire because of them. On XLR99-RM-2 liquid
15 November 1967, test pilot Michael Adams propellant rocket
entered a hypersonic spin from which he was Power: 70,400lb
able to recover, but could not bring the X-15 Length: 50ft 9in (15.45m)
out of an inverted dive because of a technical Wingspan: 22ft 4in (6.8m)
problem with the adaptive flight control system. Height: 13ft 6in (4.12m)
The aircraft broke-up at 60,000ft killing the pilot. Service ceiling: 354,330ft (108km)
The remarkable X-15 spearheaded research Max T/O weight: 34,000lb (15,420kg)
in a variety of areas: hypersonic aerodynamics,
winged re-entry from space, life-support
Below: With rocket engaged the X-15 streaks
systems for spacecraft, aerodynamic heating across the sky, climbing to the edge of space.
and heat transfer research, and earth sciences Short but intense, each adrenaline-filled mission
experiments. lasted around 12 min.

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 76 UNITED STATES

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 NORTH AMERICAN X-15 77

The only man to have travelled at Mach 6.7 in a winged aircraft, US Air Force pilot
William J. Pete Knight is photographed alongside X-15A-2 56-6671. Because of the
potential dangers to the pilot should the X-15s pressurised cockpit lose its atmosphere
while the aircraft operated in a near-space environment, X-15 pilots wore specially
developed full-pressure protection spacesuits while flying the experimental aircraft.

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 80 UNITED STATES

Above: Landings were carried out at a leisurely (for an X-15) 200mph! Because the lower vertical tail
The need for speed extended below the landing skids when they were deployed, part of it was jettisoned just before
landing and recovered by a parachute.
The X-15 flew faster and higher than any
Below: Recovery crews work on an X-15 after one of its 199 missions. All the flights took place within
other aircraft and set unofficial world
what was called the High Range surrounding but mostly to the east of Edwards AFB and NASAs Flight
speed and altitude records. Flying the Research Center (later called the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center).
X-15A-2, which was fitted with external
tanks that provided roughly 60sec of
additional engine burn, US Air Force pilot
Pete Knight reached a speed of Mach 6.7
(4,520mph/7,274km/h) on 3 October 1967.
Prior to that, NASA pilot Joseph Walker
flew the X-15 to an altitude of 354,200ft
(108,000m) on 22 August 1963.

Above: Maj Robert M. Bob White is helped out

of the cockpit of an X-15 at Edwards AFB, CA.
He became the first pilot to exceed Mach 4, 5 and
6 in the X-15 in 1961. On 17 July 1962, he also
became the first to fly it in space.

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 NORTH AMERICAN XB-70 VALKYRIE 81

North American The need for speed

XB-70 Valkyrie
The Valkyrie first burst through the
sound barrier on 12 October 1964,
reaching a speed of Mach 1.1. The
aircraft subsequently set a number
of world records, which included
sustained supersonic flight for 40

L
ike nothing before it and nothing since, they remained in the horizontal position. Once continuous minutes on 24 October
the B-70 Valkyrie was a technological the aircraft was supersonic, the wing panels 1964 and sustained supersonic flight
masterpiece. Designed to be the would be hinged downward reducing drag for 60 minutes on 4 March 1965. On
ultimate high-altitude, high-speed manned and providing more vertical surface to improve the Valkyries tenth flight, the aircraft
strategic bomber, it was to be immune from directional stability at high Mach numbers. sustained 74 minutes of supersonic
enemy fighters by a planned cruise speed of Attached to the delta was a long, thin forward flight, including 50 minutes beyond
Mach 3 and operating altitude of 70,000ft. fuselage. Behind the cockpit were two large Mach 2. The second Valkyrie was
Events, however, would cause it to play a far canards, which acted as control surfaces. aerodynamically better and it attained
different role in the history of aviation. Mach 3 for the first time on 3 January
The Valkyrie was designed to be a high- 1966. On 19 May of that year it flew at
altitude Mach3 bomber powered by six Mach 3 for 33 minutes and at Mach 2.5
engines, but was under development at a time for a total of 62 minutes.
when the future of the manned bomber was
uncertain. During the late 1950s and early
1960s, many believed that manned aircraft were
obsolete, and the future belonged to missiles.
As a result, the Kennedy Administration ended
plans to deploy the B-70. Two experimental
XB-70A prototypes were under construction at
North American Aviation when the programme
was cancelled. At the same time there was
growing interest in an American supersonic
transport (SST). The XB-70 Valkyrie seemed to
be a perfect testbed for SST research. It was
the same size as the projected SST designs,
and used similar structural materials, such as
brazed stainless steel honeycomb and titanium.
Thus, the XB-70As role changed from a
manned bomber prototype to one of the most
remarkable research aircraft ever flown.
To achieve Mach 3 performance, the B-70 was
designed to ride its own shock wave, much as a
surfer rides an ocean wave. The resulting shape
used a delta wing on a slab-sided fuselage that
contained the six jet engines that powered the
aircraft. The outer wing panels were hinged.
During take-off, landing, and subsonic flight,

Left: The XB-70A, capable of flying three times

the speed of sound, was the worlds largest
experimental aircraft in the 1960s. Two XB-70A
aircraft were built, serial numbers 62-0001 and
62-0207.

Right: The Valkyrie was powered by a bank of six

General Electric YJ93-GE-3 afterburning turbojets.
While travelling at Mach 2.58 on 7 May 1965, the
aircrafts horizontal intake splitter was torn away
and pieces landed in the engines, which were all
destroyed beyond repair. Incredibly, the Valkyrie
managed to land in one piece.

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 84 UNITED STATES

Right: The XB-70A (62-0001) in a level cruise

flight mode at a relative high altitude judging
from the darkness of the sky. The wingtips were
folded down in supersonic flight to increase
aerodynamic efficiency and stability.

The XB-70A number 1 (62-0001) made its

first flight from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force
Base, CA, on 21 September 1964. Although
intended to cruise at Mach 3, the first XB-70 was
found to have poor directional stability above
Mach 2.5, and only made a single flight above
Mach 3. Subsequently, the second XB-70A
(62-0207) was built with an added 5 degrees
of dihedral on the wings. This aircraft made
its first flight on 17 July 1965. The changes
resulted in much better handling, and the
second XB-70 achieved Mach 3 for the first time
on 3 January 1966. At the same time, a joint
agreement was signed between NASA and the
Air Force to use the second XB-70A prototype
for high-speed research flights in support of
the SST programme. Tragically these plans

Below: The XB-70 cockpit, which shows the

complexity of this mid-1960s research aircraft.
Visible at centre are the six throttles for the
XB-70s jet engines. The XB-70 had a movable
windshield and ramp that were raised during
supersonic flight to reduce drag. When the pilot
was ready to land, he lowered the assembly to
give both him and his co-pilot a clearer view of
the runway.

AA33_p83-85.indd 84 09/08/2017 09:54

 NORTH AMERICAN XB-70 VALKYRIE 85

went awry on 8 June 1966, when the second

XB-70 crashed following a mid-air collision
with NASAs F-104N during a photo-shoot. Joe
Walker, the F-104N pilot, died in the accident, as
did the Valkyries co-pilot Maj Carl Cross. North
American test pilot Al White managed to eject
in his escape capsule.
The first Valkyrie was eventually handed over
to NASA to continue high-speed testing, but
time was running out for the programme and
the final XB-70 research flight occurred on
4 February 1969.

NA XB-70A Valkyrie
Max speed: Mach 3.1
(2,056mph/3,309km/h)
Engine: 6 x General Electric
YJ93-GE-3 turbojets
Power: Each 19,900 dry thrust,
28,800 in afterburner
Wingspan: 105ft 0in (32m)
Length: 189ft 0in (57.6m)
Height: 30ft 0in (9.1m)
Max T/O weight: 542,000lb (246,000kg) Tragedy strikes
Ceiling: 77,350ft (23,600m)
On 8 June 1966, Valkyrie AV/2 met up with four fighters (an F-4, an F-5, T-38 and NASA F-104N
Range: 4,288 miles (6,900km)
Starfighter) for a photo-shoot. As the formation was separating, disaster struck. The F-104N
Starfighter flown by Joe Walker, began to move in close to the XB-70s right wingtip, too close
Below: The roll-out of the second aerodynamically for safety. The Valkyries angled-down wingtips generated strong vortices, and these caught
modified XB-70, providing a good indication of
the F-104N and flipped it over onto the Valkyries back. The upside-down Starfighter smashed
the immense size of the aircraft.
across the Valkyries tail surfaces, tearing most of them away and damaging the left wing. Joe
Walker was killed instantly upon impact and his F-104N fell to the floor of the Mojave Desert
in a ball of flames. For 16 seconds the Valkyrie continued in straight and level flight, but then
went into two slow rolls and broke into an unrecoverable flat spin. Pilot Al White managed to
eject, but his co-pilot Maj Carl Cross was killed when the aircraft hit the ground in an upright
and level configuration.

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 86 UNITED STATES

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

O
ver 50 years ago a menacing black critical deadlines. But this new aircraft was in
shape tore the skies asunder a different category from anything that had Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
travelling at over three times the come before. Everything had to be invented,
Max speed: Mach 3.3 (2,200+mph)
speed of sound. It was a machine so far everything, Johnson recalled. The speed of the at 80,000ft (24,000m)
ahead of its time, that even its own pilots new aircraft was to exceed 2,000mph. Other Powerplant: 2 x Pratt & Whitney J58-1
thought it looked more like a spaceship than aircraft of the era could, in theory, approximate afterburning turbojets
an aircraft. It represented such a quantum that speed but only in short, afterburner-driven Power: 34,000lb each
leap in performance that no known aircraft bursts. This new machine needed to maintain Wingspan: 55ft 7in (16.94m)
since has come close to challenging its a record-setting speed for hours at a time. At Length: 107ft 5in (32.74m)
dominance. Quite simply, the Lockheed such velocity, friction with the atmosphere Height: 18ft 6in (5.64m)
SR-71 Blackbird is the worlds ultimate generates temperatures that would melt the Max T/O weight: 172,000lb (78,000kg)
speedster, and remains so some two decades conventional airframe. Thus, titanium alloy Ceiling: 85,000ft (25,900m)
after its retirement. was the only option for the airframe. Titanium, Range: 2,900 miles (5,400km)
During the height of the Cold War, Lockheed however, proved to be a particularly sensitive Payload: 3,500lb (1,600kg)
was tasked with building an innovative aircraft material from which to build an aircraft. The
to improve intelligence-gathering, one that brittle alloy shattered if mishandled. Also, as
would fly faster than any aircraft before, at a large amount of titanium was required, the Two Pratt & Whitney J58 axial-flow turbojets
greater altitude, and with a minimal radar CIA created fake companies around the world with afterburners, each producing 32,500lb of
cross section. President Eisenhower deeply to buy metal from the USSR, which was the thrust, powered the Blackbirds. Less than 20
valued the strategic benefits of the high-flying biggest supplier. The aircraft was also painted per cent of the total thrust used to fly at
but vulnerable U-2s airborne reconnaissance black to dissipate heat across the entire Mach 3 was produced by the engine itself,
during these tense Cold War times. And now airframe (black paint both emits and absorbs however. During high-speed cruise conditions
the call came from Washington to build the heat), earning the aircraft its name, Blackbird. the balance of total thrust was produced by
impossible an aircraft that cant be shot down To reduce the likelihood that the aircraft would the unique design of the engine inlet and a
and do it fast. be perceived and shot down, surfaces were moveable conical spike at the front of each
Kelly Johnson, one of the pre-eminent aircraft designed to avoid reflecting radar signals, the engine nacelle. Under these conditions, air
designers of the 20th century, and his Skunk engines moved to a subtler mid-wing position, entering the inlets bypassed the engines, going
Works team had a track record of delivering and a radar-absorbing element was added to directly to the afterburners and ejector nozzles,
impossible technologies on strategically the paint. thus acting as ramjets.
The original Blackbird was designated the
A-12 and made its first flight on 30 April 1962.
The need for speed The single-seat A-12 soon evolved into the
larger SR-71, which added a second seat for a
The records set are many. The Blackbird was and remains the worlds fastest and highest-flying
Reconnaissance Systems Officer and carried
manned aircraft capable of sustained supersonic speed.
more fuel than the A-12. The SR-71s first flight
On 28 July 1976, SR-71 serial number 61-7962, piloted by then Capt Robert Helt, broke the
was on 22 December 1964.
world record: an absolute altitude record of 85,069ft (25,929m). Several aircraft have exceeded
A total of 32 SR-71s were built and the
this altitude in zoom climbs, but not in sustained flight. That same day SR-71 serial number
first was delivered to the4,200th (later, 9th)
61-7958 set anabsolute speed recordof 2,193.2mph (3,529.6km/h), approximately Mach 3.3.
However, SR-71 pilot Brian Shul states in his book The Untouchables that he flew in excess of
Mach 3.5 on 15 April 1986 over Libya to evade a missile. The SR-71 also holds the Speed Over a Right: Looking as futuristic today as it did then,
Recognised Course record for flying from New York to London (3,461.53 miles/5,570.79km), at it is difficult to believe that the SR-71 was a child
of the sixties. The slender, aerodynamic fuselage
1,806.964mph (2,908.027km/h), and an elapsed time of 1hr 54min 56.4sec, set on 1 September
contains most of the SR-71s fuel, together with
1974 while flown by James V. Sullivan and Noel F. Widdifield. This equates to an average its sensor payload. The Blackbird name was
velocity of about Mach 2.72, including deceleration for in-flight refuelling. For comparison, the never officially bestowed on the SR-71. In any
best commercialConcorde flight time was 2hrs 52min. case, most crew members refer to it as the Habu,
or Sled.

AA33_p86-91.indd 86 09/08/2017 09:55

AA33_p86-91.indd 87 09/08/2017 09:55
 88 UNITED STATES
Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB,
CA, in January 1966. It was soon deployed
around the world under a cloak of secrecy.
Piloting the Blackbird was an unforgiving
endeavour, demanding total concentration.
But pilots were giddy with their complex,
adrenaline-fuelled responsibilities. At 85,000ft
and Mach 3, it was almost a religious experience
said US Air Force Col Jim Wadkins. Nothing had
prepared me to fly that fast My God, even
now, I get goose bumps remembering. Another
Blackbird pilot, Rick McCrary, recalls the first
time he laid eyes on one. They were all in small
hangars, all closed. We unlocked the back doors,
turned on the lights, and I thought Oh lord,
theres a spaceship.
On a typical SR-71 mission the aircraft took
off with only a partial fuel load to reduce stress
on the brakes and tyres during take-off and
to ensure increased safety margins should
an engine fail. As a result, they were typically
refuelled immediately after take-off. The SR-71
AA33_p86-91.indd 88
also requiredin-flight refuelling to replenish
fuel during long duration missions. Supersonic
flights generally lasted no more than 90min
before the pilot had to find a tanker.
From the beginning of the Blackbirds
reconnaissance missions over enemy territory
(North Vietnam, Laos, etc) in 1968, the SR-71s
averaged approximately one sortie a week,
but by 1972 they were flying nearly one sortie
every day. Two SR-71s were lost during these
missions, one in 1970 and the second aircraft
in 1972, both due to mechanical malfunctions.
Over the course of its reconnaissance missions
during the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese
fired approximately 800 SAMs at SR-71s, none
of which managed to score a hit. When anti-
aircraft weapons were fired, a warning light
glowed red on the control panel. But that would
typically be the last the pilot would see of the
attempted attack. Certain taskings became
the bread and butter of the SR-71 force. From
Mildenhall, the aircraft kept a regular watch
over Soviet Navy Northern Fleet activities,
above all those of nuclear submarines out
of Murmansk, and likewise over military
movements throughout the other Warsaw Pact
states; from Kadena, missions maintained an
eye on potentially hostile forces in the Pacific
area, especially the Korean peninsula.
In the end, the Blackbird was shot down
by politicians not missiles. The Blackbird was
initially retired in 1990, even before the fall of
the Soviet Union. Eventually, however, three of
the jets were reactivated by the US Air Force
for a brief period between 1995 and 1998.
Meanwhile, NASA flew research missions with
the aircraft until 1999.
Only a select few know the true extent of
the role the Blackbirds intelligence played in
the Cold War, but its legacy as a game-changer
will be admired for generations.
Though the SR-71 has not left the ground
since before the turn of the century, it is still
the fastest aircraft on the planet.
09/08/2017 10:22
 LOCKHEED SR-71 BLACKBIRD 89

Above left: Flying at 80,000ft (24,000m) meant

that crews had to wear specialised pressurised
suits, which also acted as a protective cocoon in
the event of their being forced to bang out.

Above: Blackbird crews were used to travelling

like a bullet only faster! To more fully
understand the concept of Mach 3, imagine the
speed of a bullet coming from a high-powered
hunting rifle. It is travelling at 3,100ft per second
as it leaves the muzzle. The Blackbird would
cruise easily at 3,200ft per second, with plenty of
power to spare.

Above right: The incredible Lockheed SR-71

Blackbird, still the subject of awe and
admiration. No-one who ever saw a Blackbird
flying will forget the awesome sight and sound
of this spectacular aircraft, now lost from the
skies forever

Right: The pilots cockpit was an analogue affair

with a preponderance of round dials. Behind him
in the SR-71A sat the reconnaissance systems
operator (RSO). Individual rocket-propelled
ejection seats were fitted.

AA33_p86-91.indd 89 09/08/2017 10:20

 90 UNITED STATES

AA33_p86-91.indd 90 09/08/2017 09:55

 LOCKHEED SR-71 BLACKBIRD 91

Above: Around 85 per cent of the SR-71s structure

was made of high-grade titanium, chosen for its
ability to withstand extreme temperatures and its
light weight compared to steel. Just to get a J58
engine up to starting RPM (revs per minute) required
over 600hp. Initially this was provided by a start
cart made up of two Buick racing car engines,
connected to the J58s starter drive via a gearbox.

Left: Blackbird, Habu, Sled. No matter what the

Lockheed SR-71 was called, it was a true world
beater. Few aviators ever got the chance to fly the SR-
71. In over 20 years of service, just 314 US Air Force
pilots took it to Mach 2+.

AA33_p86-91.indd 91 09/08/2017 09:55

 92 FRANCE/UNITED KINGDOM

Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde

AA33_p92-97.indd 92 10/08/2017 08:50

 AEROSPATIALE/BAC CONCORDE 93

B
efore Concorde, in order to travel
at Mach 2 you had to wear a g-suit,
breathe through an oxygen mask
and sit on a seat that could eject you out of
the aircraft in fractions of a second. All that
changed when the first (and only) supersonic
airliner took to the skies. Now the cities
of London and New York were separated
by a mere three hours flying time whilst
sipping on a glass of champagne. Even now
that seems like the stuff of dreams, but
that was the futuristic reality of Concorde.
To make this possible every aspect of the
aircraft was designed for aerodynamic
efficiency, and yet the outcome became
something truly elegant, an icon of beauty.
Sadly, the world is a bigger place now that its
skies no longer echo to the roar of Concorde.
An engineering masterpiece, Concorde had
a maximum speed of over twice thespeed
of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354mph at cruise
altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers.
This unrivalled aircraft was the result of a
collaborative venture between the aviation
industries of Britain and France and dated
back to design work for a supersonic transport
(SST) carried out by Sud Aviation and Bristol.
The forecast high costs of any SST programme
and the similarities in the designs led to a 1962
government agreement between France and
Britain which resulted in the British Aircraft
Corporation (into which Bristol had been
merged) and Sud Aviation (which became a
part of Aerospatiale in 1970) joining to design
and develop such an aircraft.
Talks with airlines in the 1960s resulted in a
relatively long range aircraft design capable
of flying transatlantic sectors. Famously,
the design of the airframe was refined to

Left: The purity of shape and unrivalled

performance of Concorde makes it the most
iconic airliner to have ever taken to the skies.

Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde
Max speed: Mach 2.4
(1,354mph/2,179km/h)
Capacity: 92-120 passengers
Engine: 4 x Rolls-Royce/Snecma
Olympus 592 turbojets
Power: Each 32,000lb dry thrust,
38,050lb in afterburner
Wingspan: 84ft 0in (25.6m)
Length: 202ft 4in (61.66m)
Height: 40ft 0in (12.2m)
Ceiling: 60,000ft (18,300m)
Range: 4,488 miles (7,222km)

AA33_p92-97.indd 93 10/08/2017 08:53

 94 FRANCE/UNITED KINGDOM

feature a highly complex delta wing combining

cambering and ogival leading edges with pairs
of afterburning engines mounted in pods
underneath. The slender fuselage featured a
high fineness ratio to keep supersonic drag to a
minimum, while the fuel system was designed
to trim the aircraft longitudinally by transferring
fuel between tanks to combat the change in the
centre of pressure as the aircraft accelerated.
The aircraft used reheat (afterburners) at take-

Left: Concorde could fly up to 60,000ft, a height

of over 11 miles. From there, at the edge of space
in the layers between the stratosphere, it was
possible to see the curvature of the Earth.

Below: Due to jet engines being highly inefficient

at low speeds, Concorde burned two tonnes of
fuel (almost 2% of the maximum fuel load) just
taxiing out to the runway before take-off.

Overleaf: Concorde has been retired for nearly

15 years and yet it remains the pinnacle of civil
aviation development for one reason speed.

AA33_p92-97.indd 94 10/08/2017 08:51


off and to pass through the upper transonic
regime and to supersonic speeds, between
Mach 0.95 and Mach 1.7. Another feature was
the variable geometry nose which was lowered
while taxying, on take-off and landing to
improve the flightcrews visibility. Owing toair
compression in front of Concorde as it travelled
at supersonic speed, the fuselage heated up
andexpandedby almost 1ft (30cm). Most of
its surface also had to be covered with ahighly
reflective whitepaint to avoid overheating the
aluminium structure due to heating effects
from supersonic flight at Mach 2. A lengthy
development programme following the
Concordes first flight on 2 March 1969 meant
that it did not enter airline service until January
1976. Twenty aircraft were built, including six
prototypes and development aircraft.
Air France andBritish Airways were the
only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde.
The aircraft was primarily used by wealthy
passengers who could afford to pay a high
AA33_p92-97.indd 95
AEROSPATIALE/BAC CONCORDE 95
The need for speed
The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was from New York JFK to London Heathrow on
7February 1996 by British Airways Concorde G-BOAD in 2hrs 53min, from take-off to
touchdown aided by a 175mph (282km/h) tailwind. On 13 February 1985, a Concorde charter
flight flew from London Heathrow toSydney in a time of 17hrs 4min, including refuelling
stops. Concorde also set other records, including the official FAI Westbound Around the World
and Eastbound Around the World air speed records.
price in exchange for Concordes speed and passengers and crew were killed. The general
luxury service. Among other destinations, downturn in the commercial aviation industry
Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights after the 11 September attacks in 2001 and
from Londons Heathrow Airport and Paris the end of maintenance support for Concorde
Charles de Gaulle Airport to John F. Kennedy by Airbus (the successor company of both
International Airportin New York, Washington Arospatiale and BAC) also contributed. In her
Dulles International Airport and Grantley 27 years of passenger service, over 2.5 million
Adams International Airport in Barbados; it flew people flew on Concorde.
these routes in less than half the time of other With the skies now devoid of the worlds
conventional airliners. most beautiful airliner, the domain of flying at
The type was retired in 2003, three years after Mach 2 has once again returned to the elite few
the crash of Air France Flight 4590, in which all wearing military flying suits.
09/08/2017 09:56
 96 FRANCE/UNITED KINGDOM

AA33_p92-97.indd 96 10/08/2017 08:52

 AEROSPATIALE/BAC CONCORDE 97

AA33_p92-97.indd 97 09/08/2017 09:57

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