Prototype British fighter aircraft
The
Hawker P.1081
, also known as the
"Australian Fighter"
was a prototype
British
jet aircraft from the mid-twentieth century. The single example built was destroyed in a crash in 1951.
Design and development
[
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]
In 1949, the
Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) began assessing replacements for two fighters built in Australia: the
Mustangs
built by
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
(CAC) and
Vampires
of
De Havilland Australia
(DHA).
[1]
A series of designs were considered, including the
Grumman F9F Panther
and the
CAC CA-23
? an unconventional, twin-jet
all-weather
design by CAC.
Hawker Aircraft also submitted a proposal, for a swept-wing, swept-tail fighter based on the
Hawker P.1052
, but using a
Rolls-Royce Tay
engine. Work began to modify the second prototype of the P.1052 (
VX279
) along these lines, although the
Rolls-Royce Nene
engine already fitted was initially retained.
[
citation needed
]
To allow an afterburner, the bifurcated tail-pipes of the P.1052 was replaced by a single tail-exit pipe.
[2]
VX279
, which was now the prototype P.1081, took to the air on 19 June 1950. CAC, evidently planning to build any design accepted by the Australian government, assigned the serial number
CA-24
to the P.1081.
By mid-1950, however, the RAAF urgently required a replacement for its Mustangs, some of which were in action in
Korea
and faced the possibility of clashes with
MiG-15s
. The P.1081 could not realistically become operational for at least a few years, so a ready-made fighter was required. While the
North American F-86 Sabre
was operational with the US Air Force in Korea, the USAF had complete priority and the F-86 could not be delivered to the RAAF for at least a few years. (After the war, CAC in Australia built a more powerful,
Rolls-Royce Avon
-engined variant of the F-86, known as the
CAC Sabre
.
[3]
) To replace its Mustangs in Korea, the Australian government ordered the F.8 variant of the
Gloster Meteor
, which was already in service with the RAF.
In November 1950, evidently anticipating that orders for the P.1081 would not eventuate, Hawker decided to cease development. The prototype, which had remained in the UK, was handed over by Hawker to the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
(RAE). Its swept tail increased the
Mach number
above that of the P.1052 into the Mach 0.9-0.95 region, providing valuable data that contributed to the design of the
axially-powered
Hawker Hunter
.
On 3 April 1951, the P.1081 prototype was lost with its pilot,
Squadron Leader T. S. "Wimpy" Wade
.
[4]
Operators
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]
-
United Kingdom
Specifications
[
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]
Data from
Hawker Aircraft since 1920
[5]
General characteristics
- Crew:
1
- Length:
37 ft 4 in (11.38 m)
- Wingspan:
31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
- Height:
10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
- Wing area:
258 sq ft (24.0 m
2
)
- Empty weight:
11,200 lb (5,080 kg)
- Gross weight:
14,480 lb (6,568 kg)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Rolls-Royce RN.2 Nene
centrifugal-flow turbojet
engine, 5,000 lbf (22 kN) thrust
Performance
- Maximum speed:
695.9 mph (1,119.9 km/h, 604.7 kn)
- Service ceiling:
45,600 ft (13,900 m)
See also
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Related development
References
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]
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Hannah, Donald.
Hawker FlyPast Reference Library
. Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK: Key Publishing Ltd., 1982.
ISBN
0-946219-01-X
.
- James, Derek N.
Hawker, an Aircraft Album No. 5
. New York: Arco Publishing Company, 1973.
ISBN
0-668-02699-5
. (First published in the UK by Ian Allan in 1972)
- Mason, Francis K.
Hawker Aircraft since 1920.
London: Putnam, 1991.
ISBN
0-85177-839-9