Hawker P.1081
| Hawker P.1081 | |
|---|---|
 Hawker P.1081 |
|
| Type: | Experimental airplane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 19, 1950 |
| Commissioning: |
Crash on April 3, 1951 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Hawker P.1081 , also known as the "Australian Fighter", was a British jet aircraft that was developed around 1950. It was an experimental aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force .
construction and development
In 1949, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) began looking for replacements for their locally manufactured Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) Mustangs and De Havilland Australia (DHA) Vampires . A number of designs were considered, including the Grumman F9F Panther and an unconventional, twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft study, the CAC CA-23 from the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.
Hawker Aircraft submitted a proposal for a swept wing wing with a swept tail unit and a Rolls-Royce-Tay engine. Work began on modifying the second prototype of the Hawker P.1052 (UK serial number VX279). The existing Rolls-Royce-Nene engine was used for the prototype. The rear fuselage of the P.1052 was completely replaced with a version with a continuous jet pipe and swept tail unit. The first flight of the P.1081 took place on June 19, 1950. CAC planned to build any design approved by the Australian government under the serial number CA-24. However, in November 1950 it was decided that Hawker would withdraw its offer for the Australian contract. During 1951, the RAAF only served the tried and tested Gloster Meteor F.8 as an emergency solution replacement for the Mustangs during the Korean War . Encounters with the MiG-15 made it clear that these were already out of date . Thereafter, a CAC proposal for a more powerful Rolls-Royce Avon-equipped version of the North American F-86 Saber was accepted. This led to the CAC SABER.
Hawker handed the P.1081 prototype, which had remained in the UK, to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). The arrow-shaped design of the wings and tail unit increased the Mach number of the P.1081 to that of the P.1052 in the range from 0.9 to 0.95 and continued to provide valuable information for the design of the axially operated Hawker Hunter . The only P.1081 and its pilot, Squadron Leader TS “Wimpy” Wade, were lost on April 3, 1951.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 11.38 m (37 ft 4 in) |
| span | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| height | 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in) |
| Wing area | 23.97 m² (258 ft²) |
| Wing extension | 3.8 |
| Empty mass | 5,080 kg (11,200 lb ) |
| Takeoff mass | 6,570 kg (14,480 lb) |
| Top speed | 1,119 km / h (604 kn) |
| Service ceiling | 13,900 m (45,600 ft) |
| Engines | 1 × Rolls-Royce Nene RN2 with 22.2 kN (5,000 lbf) |
See also
literature
- Donald Hannah: Hawker (= FlyPast Reference Library. ). Key Publishing, Stamford 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).
- Francis K. Mason: Hawker Aircraft since 1920. 3rd, revised edition. Putnam, London 1991, ISBN 0-85177-839-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ RAAF Museum, 2009, A94 CAC Saber (December 14, 2012).
- ^ RAAF Museum, 2009, A94 CAC Saber
- ↑ Jacques Trempe Collection
- ↑ Mason 1991, p. 373.