NATO Basic Military Requirement 1
The NATO Basic Military Requirement 1 (NBMR-1) was a NATO document which specified the requirements for a future, light fighter aircraft in the 1950s.
Various aircraft companies then submitted their proposals in the Light-weight Tactical Strike Fighter competition. The aircraft should be able to carry normal as well as nuclear weapons, take off from unpaved, leveled gravel runways, and the maintenance work on the aircraft should not be too laborious.
The target of the successor programs NBMR-3a and NBMR-3b were a supersonic fighter and a subsonic fighter-bomber, respectively.
Specifications
In 1953, the commanders in chief of the NATO forces realized that a small number of expensive, complex, and powerful combat aircraft on a small number of air bases would be very vulnerable in a nuclear war. Therefore the aviation industry of the NATO member countries was called upon to submit prototypes for the Light Weight Strike Fighter (LWSF); the drafts should be able to remedy the above-mentioned circumstance in a satisfactory way: light, small, with avionics and armament that satisfy basic requirements. The LWSF aircraft should also be able to take off from scattered airfields and require only minimal maintenance.
The technical requirements were as follows:
- After 1100 meters of take-off taxi, the aircraft should be able to fly over a 15 meter high obstacle
- Use of grass slopes and roads
- must be able to reach a speed of Mach 0.95
- 280 kilometers range with 10 minutes of flight time in the target area
- Armor for pilot and fuel tanks
- an on-board armament of four 12.7 mm machine guns, or two machine guns in caliber 20 or 30 mm
- an empty weight of a maximum of 2200 kilograms and a maximum weight of 4700 kilograms
A major challenge was the development of an engine that provided the required performance and was easy to maintain. The solution was soon found: the Orpheus turbojet from Bristol Siddeley . Its development was funded by the USA.
Prototypes
Many manufacturers have submitted plans; among others from French, Italian and American. A commission headed by Theodore von Kármán then examined eight projects, including:
- Italy:
- France:
- UNITED STATES:
- Northrop N-156, a precursor to the F-5
Although the Folland Gnat was an impetus for this project, this machine did not take part in the competition.
The winners of the competition were the Taon, the G.91 and the Mystère XXVI. Prototypes of these designs were then ordered, which made their maiden flights in 1956 and 1957.
In September 1957, the machines arrived at the Brétigny-sur-Orge airfield, where the official test program took place. In January 1958, the Fiat G.91 was declared the winner.
consequences
At a meeting of NATO defense ministers in April 1958, it was decided that the G.91 would be the NATO forces’s first joint light fighter aircraft, with the Taon, which would follow in 1961. The US eventually offered financial aid to manufacture French, German, and Italian aircraft. The planned aircraft in service with the Turkish Air Force would then be paid for in full by the USA.
With strong economic interests at stake, NATO's decision was controversial. After the G.91 prototype crashed due to aeroelastic vibrations on February 20, 1957, the French government decided to construct the local Dassault Etendard VI , which was further developed into the Dassault Étendard IV after building two prototypes . The British, in turn, ignored NATO's decision and focused on making their Hawker Hunter . In contrast, the Italian government ordered the G.91 for its air force before the results of the competition were known.
In the end, the German Air Force ordered the largest number of G.91 aircraft. Instead of ordering fifty G.91R and twenty G.91T (two-seater) from Italy as well as 232 G.91R from local license production, 294 aircraft were finally ordered from Dornier, Messerschmitt and Heinkel. In the German armed forces, the G.91 often replaced the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak .
According to the plans, the G.91 was to be replaced in the 1960s by the winner of the aforementioned NBMR-3 competition - but this in turn did not result in a uniform fighter aircraft for the NATO countries.
The last G.91s were decommissioned in 1982 (Germany) and 1995 (Italy). The last Dassault-Breguet Super Etendard , which represent a further development of the Etendard IV, flew with the French Navy until 2016.
swell
literature
- Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: Combat Aircraft 1945–1960 . Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK, Sampson Low Guides. 1980, ISBN 0-562-00136-0 .