- Background
- 1957 Defence White Paper
- Specifications
- See also
- References
- Further reading
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}{{Original research|date=November 2010}}| name=P.1103 | image=File:Hawker P.1103 model.JPG | caption=Model of P.1103 on display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Interceptor | national origin=United Kingdom | manufacturer=Hawker Aircraft | designer= | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Design only | primary user= | number built=None | developed from= | variants with their own articles=
}} |
The Hawker P.1103 was a design by Hawker Aircraft to meet the British Operational Requirement F.155; it did not progress further than the drawing board. BackgroundOperational Requirement F.155 was an Operational Requirement issued by the British Ministry of Supply in 1955 for an interceptor aircraft to defend the United Kingdom from high flying supersonic bombers. F.155 specified exacting demands: - The capability of making an intercept within 20 minutes of target contact (250 miles from the UK) with a target speed of Mach 1+
- Ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
- Armament: a mixture of infra-red guided missiles and radar guided missiles
- Crew: A crew of two was specified because of the anticipated workload: pilot plus weapons systems operator (WSO)/navigator
The Ministry of Supply made clear in the requirement that the plane and missiles should be treated as a "weapon system" i.e., a cohesive whole. The armament specifications were covered by a separate Operational Requirement, OR.1131, which listed two missile systems: the infra-red guided de Havilland "Blue Vesta" and the radar-guided Vickers "Red Hebe". The submission by Hawker Siddeley a design by the legendary designer Sir Sydney Camm was effectively a supersonic development of his successful Hawker Hunter design, using a single engine - a 25,000 lb development of the de Havilland Gyron breathing through an under-chin air intake.[1] Two detachable rocket boosters, to give a 3.7 minute boost, were carried in mid-wing nacelles. 1957 Defence White PaperAlthough a nuclear threat from high-flying Soviet supersonic nuclear-armed bombers was identified in 1955, F.155 calling for supersonic interceptors (in service by 1962) was superseded by the 1957 Defence White Paper. The paper was a major review of military spending and one of its elements was the cancellation of nearly all manned fighter projects as a radical change had occurred in strategic threats with the expectation that intercontinental ballistic missiles and low-level strike would replace high flying bombers. Specifications{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Futile Rivals[2], British secret projects : jet fighters since 1950[3]
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=2
|length ft=63
|span ft=39
|height ft=15
|height in=6
|wing area sqft=500
|aspect ratio=
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|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=41850
|max takeoff weight note=with Red Hebe missiles
|fuel capacity={{convert|1100|impgal|USgal l|abbr=on}} internal
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=de Havilland Gyron
|eng1 lbf=20000
|eng1 lbf-ab=25000
|eng2 number=2
|eng2 name=rocket
|eng2 type=detachable self contained boosters
|eng2 lbf=2000
|max speed mach=2.0
|never exceed speed mph=864
|never exceed speed note=at low altitudes (Mach 2.3 at high altitude)
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|ceiling ft=68000
|ceiling note=+
|g limits=
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|climb rate ftmin=61000
|climb rate note=at sea level
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|missiles= 2× Red Top or 2× Red Hebe air-to-air missiles or 2x Blue Jay missiles mounted on the wingtips
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See alsoRelated developmentAircraft of comparable role, configuration and era- Convair F-106 Delta Dart
- Dassault Mirage III
- English Electric Lightning
- Lockheed F-104A
- MiG-21
- Saab 35 Draken
- Sukhoi Su-9
References{{Commons category|Hawker P.1103}}1. ^Mason 1991, p. 80.
2. ^Buttler Air Enthusiast 1996, pp. 69–70, 73.
3. ^{{cite book|last1=Buttler|first1=Tony|title=British secret projects : jet fighters since 1950|date=2000|publisher=Midland Pub.|location=Earl Shilton [England]|isbn=9781857800951|pages=85–86}}
Further reading- {{cite book|last=Buttler |first=Tony |title=British Secret Projects: Jet Fighters Since 1950 |publisher=Midland Publishing |place=Leicester, UK |year=2000 |isbn=1-85780-095-8}}
- {{cite journal|last=Buttler |first=Tony |date=January–February 1996 |title=Futile Rivals: F.155T—The Quest for 'An Ultimate in Interceptors' |journal=Air Enthusiast |issue=61 |pages=65–73 |issn=0143-5450}}
- {{cite book|last1=Martell-Mead |first1=Paul |last2=Hygate| first2=Barrie |title=Hawker P.1103 & P.1121: Camm's Last Fighter Projects |publisher=Blue Envoy Press |series=Project Tech Profiles |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-9561951-5-9}}
- {{cite book|last=Mason |first=Francis K. |title=Hawker Aircraft Since 1920 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |year=1991 |place=London |isbn=0-85177-839-9}}
{{Hawker Aircraft aircraft}} 2 : Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United Kingdom|Hawker aircraft |