Tripartite Evaluation Squadron
The Tripartite Evaluation Squadron (TES) (also Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron ) was a test unit set up in 1965 by Great Britain, the United States and Germany to demonstrate the operational suitability and tactical usability of the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel under field conditions. As a result, a new operational concept for V / STOL combat aircraft should be drawn up. The TES was the first military unit to be equipped with V / STOL aircraft.
history
Almost four years passed between the establishment of the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron on November 15, 1964 and the first flight of the P.1127 , the test vehicle for the Kestrel, which took place on November 19, 1960, between the establishment of the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron approximately 800 P. 1127 flights and 340 Kestrel flights were performed.
assignment
The three-nation agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States related to the following tasks:
- Accelerated development of the BS.53 Pegasus 5 engine and the P.1127 airframe .
- The investigation of deployment concepts applicable to the P.1127
- Providing a number of aircraft for joint and national investigations
The following schedule was planned for this.
- Three-nation agreement on January 1, 1962
- Establishment of the three-nation relay on November 15, 1964
- Start of flight tests on May 10, 1965 (activation on April 1, 1965)
- End of flight tests on November 30, 1965
- Submission of the final report on February 15, 1966
Lineup
The TES was set up as a Jabo squadron of the Royal Air Force with David Scrimgegeour as the squadron leader, two deputies of the Air Force and the United States Air Force at the RAF base RAF West Raynham . The squadron consisted of ten pilots including the squadron captain. Nine Kestrel were used, one of which was destroyed on April 1, 1965 as a result of an accident caused by a pilot's mistake. The total workforce was 17 officers, 173 other ranks and four civil engineers.
The TES was subordinate to No. 38 Group of the RAF as part of the Mobile Tactical Force within the Transport Command .
| operator | Number of pilots |
|---|---|
| RAF | 4th |
| air force | 2 (Colonel Gerhard Barkhorn , Lieutenant V. Suhr) |
| US Army | 2 |
| US Navy | 1 |
| US Air Force | 1 |
Experimental program
At the beginning of the test program, a list of tasks was compiled which defined the scope and aspects under which the V / STOL assessment by the relay team should be carried out. The seven items on the list were continuously supplemented and adapted during testing.
- Task 1: Since no troop test results were available by then, the manufacturer's deployment procedures and techniques were initially used and evaluated, and standard procedures based on them were proposed.
- Task 2: Comparing the types of take-off and landing, including investigations into the effects of the exhaust gas jet on different ground surfaces.
- Task 3: Assessment of the capabilities of the aircraft in unconventional flight operations, including, above all, jet-borne slow flight.
- Task 4: Assessment of the operational usability of V / STOL aircraft, this included the feasibility of missions, various operational concepts, logistics and types of operational bases.
- Task 5: Investigation of instrument flight in all flight conditions, especially in jet-borne flight.
- Task 6: Assessment of night flight options
- Task 7: Aircraft evaluation according to performance, cockpit, flight quality and handling on the ground.
Results - Conclusions for practical use
During the six and a half month trial from May 10 to November 30, 1965, the eight aircraft completed 960 missions with 463 flight hours. If the training flights are included beforehand, this results in a total of 1200 flights with 585 flight hours.
- Pilot training
- Before the test, each pilot performed an average of eleven vertical take-offs and landings, three conventional take-offs and landings, and five accelerating and decelerating transitions (transition between horizontal and vertical flight).
- exercise 2
- The pilots were of the opinion that the short take-off shows the greatest flexibility and effectiveness due to the maximum range and payload with subsequent vertical landing ( STOVL ). Another advantage of the short start was that there was no surface damage and there was no need to worry about foreign bodies being sucked in. The Kestrel took off and landed on concrete, asphalt, SATS aluminum panels, polyester resin islands and grass. Sand and uncovered soil were not included.
- Task 4
- One of the main findings was that deploying V / STOL aircraft in satellite bases offers fundamental advantages. The vulnerability to enemy attacks is reduced, the reaction time is shortened and a greater degree of operational flexibility is achieved in general. The satellite bases were up to 20 miles from the main base.
- Task 5
- V / STOL instrument flights were rated as difficult because the Kestrel had no autostabilization and the navigation equipment was only rudimentary. However, the entire control system was very easy and direct to operate. Further development work, especially in the area of V / STOL instruments and for a head-up display, was seen as necessary .
equipment
The equipment with aircraft initially comprised nine Hawker Siddeley Kestrel including the ground equipment, three Hawker Hunter Mk.6 as so-called proficiency trainers (qualification trainer , performance assessment trainer ). There were also a De Havilland Beaver and two helicopters as support aircraft.
literature
- Paul R. Curry, John A. Johnston: Operational V / STOL Aircraft? - Tasks and results of the three-nation Kestrel squadron in Flug Revue, February 1967, pp. 23–34.
- The Tripartite Evaluation Squadron , in Flight Revue, December 1965.
- Henry Matthews: Hawker P. 1127 & Kestrel , in Airplane Monthly, November 2002, pp. 57-75.