Hawker P.1072
| Hawker P.1072 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Experimental airplane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
November 20, 1950 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 (conversion of a P.1040) |
The Hawker P.1072 was a British experimental aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft as a test aircraft for the Armstrong Siddeley Snarler rocket engine .
construction and development
After the Second World War , Hawker worked on a new fighter aircraft under the internal designation P.1040, which later became the Hawker Sea Hawk . Armstrong Siddeley had begun in 1946 to develop a liquid-fuel rocket motor for the Ministry of Supply , which would serve as an additional source of thrust for jet-powered fighter jets. To study the feasibility of rocket-propelled fighter aircraft, the original Sea Hawk prototype, VP401, was used as a test aircraft. The Sea Hawk therefore became the P.1072, which had the Armstrong Siddeley Snarler rocket motor installed in addition to its Rolls-Royce Nene jet engines . The prototype P.1040 / Hawker Sea Hawk had a split engine outlet on the side flanks of the stern, so that space in the tail remained free for the installation of the rocket engine. The Snarler rocket motor was powered by a pump instead of pressurizing the fuel tanks. The installation of the rocket motor required considerable reinforcement of the fuselage as well as the complete overhaul of the pneumatic and fuel systems. The fuel capacity for the jet engine was reduced from 395 gal (1796 L) to 175 gal (796 L) and two tanks for rocket fuel were installed. The cylindrical liquid oxygen tank in the forward fuselage had a capacity of 75 gallons (341 L) and the water-methanol tank in the aft fuselage had a capacity of 120 gallons (545 L). External differences were limited to a slight bulge in the rear fuselage under the rudder and a fairing on the lower midline of the fuselage. These covered the piping between the tanks and the rocket motor in the stern. The Rolls-Royce Nene was used for the transfer flights and for take-off and climb. The Snarler rocket motor was first used in flight on November 20, 1950. Six flights were made with the rocket motor before a small explosion slightly damaged the aircraft. Soon after, the British government decided that turbojets with afterburner were better suited to the desired requirements than rocket engines.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 11.46 m (38 ft) |
| span | 11.13 m (37 ft) |
| height | 2.67 m (9 ft) |
| Wing area | 24.6 m² (265 ft²) |
| Empty mass | 5,000 kg (11,023 lb) |
| Takeoff mass | 6,577 kg (14,500 lb) |
| drive | 1 × Rolls-Royce Nene 103 Turbojet, 23.1 kN (5,180 lbf) 1 × rocket engine Armstrong Siddeley ASSn.1 Knurrer, 8.9 kN (2,000 lbf) |
| Top speed | 890 km / h (553 mph) |
| Cruising speed | 720 km / h (447 mph) |
| Range | 560 km (approx. 350 mi) |
| Service ceiling | 13,564 m (approx. 44,500 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 25 m / s (5,000 ft / min) |
| Wing loading | 258 kg / m² (53 lb / ft²) |
| Thrust / mass ratio | 0.51 (jet) |
| Rocket burn time | 2.45 min |
See also
literature
- Hannah, Donald. Hawker FlyPast Reference Library . Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK: Key Publishing Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-946219-01-X .
- Derek N. James: Hawker (= An Aircraft Album. No. 5). Arco Publishing Company, New York NY 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 (reprinted as ISBN 1-55750-351-6 .)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ British Aircraft Directory