humor

The F-86D Sabre Dog was equipped with an afterburning engine in the form of a General Electric J47-GE-17 turbojet

An intelligence warning in 1948 prompted the US Air Force (USAF) to hurriedly develop an all-weather interceptor. Starting with the basic airframe of its F-86A, North America incorporated two unprecedented concepts into the F-86D. First, a highly sophisticated electronic system replaced the second crewmember carried by other interceptors of the time. Second, the F-86D became the first production single-seat fighter in which air-to-air missiles replaced the classic gun armament.

With its air intake reshaped to make room for the enclosed radar, the F-86D — nicknamed “Sabre Dog” — presented a distinctive profile. The interception radar (from Hughes) and associated fire control computed the target’s position, guided the aircraft on an intercept course to within 500 yards of the target, lowered the retractable tray of 24 rockets, and fired the rockets automatically. The effect of these weapons would have been devastating to an enemy bomber because each 2.75-inch Mighty Mouse folding fin aerial rocket (FFAR) contained the power of a 75mm artillery shell.

The Sabre Dog was also equipped with an afterburning engine (in the form of a General Electric J47-GE-17 turbojet provided with an electronically- controlled fuel scheduling system which was designed to relieve the pilot of the tedious task of having to watch the engine behavior constantly).

David Ross, former F-86D Sabre Dog fighter pilot in the US Air Force, recalls on Quora.

“In the late fifties, while flying an F-86D, on cross-countries I would land at an intermediate base for fuel. As soon as the fuel truck left, I would preflight the plane, start the engine, and leave. As for letting the engine ‘warm-up’ there is no need for that.

“To illustrate this our alert hangars had doors front and back and on the floor was an iron ring to tie the aux-power cable to. This design was to enable a faster scramble time.

“One day I told my crew chief to tie the start cable to this ring and get the loose stuff cleared out of the hanger, because if we got a scramble I was going straight to afterburner on start.

“We did get a scramble and I started the engine and went to full throttle and afterburner right in the hangar.

“I was airborne just about the time I got to the runway, everything worked as it was designed to do. There was one problem though, the crew chief said I blew stuff out the back of the hangar, with the afterburner, that people didn’t even know was in the hangar.”

Ross concludes;

“We never tried that kind of scramble again.”

Photo by: U.S. Air Force

There were still a lot of hostilities at the time, so the pilots did what is called a falling leaf landing at Herat airport

‘First flight in Afghanistan, 2002. It was a UN plane, 16 seats, and two huge Danish pilots,’ says Sven Dirks former EW console in the Bréguet Atlantic, on Quora. ‘As a former soldier and part-time operator of an EW console in the Bréguet Atlantic as well as numerous (and I mean numerous) hours of being lugged to and from in the back of military aircraft, I was used to rather rough and uncomfortable flying.

‘My buddy next to me had had the same kind of experience. We sat in the back row, watching the other passengers. Two of them Europeans. For both of whom it was their second flight in their whole life, the first having been the one from Frankfurt to Kabul. They sat in front of us, as we were all going to the same place.

‘The others were UN personnel and locals of all descriptions.

‘We flew at about 18.000 ft from Kabul towards Herat.

‘There were still a lot of hostilities at the time, so the pilots did what is called a falling leaf landing at Herat airport. A falling leaf landing is basically done by taking a very tight turn and then literally spiraling downwards. Fast.

‘The two big Danes turned once, grinned, and then did their thing. The first stall warning came on, but they just ignored it, more or less falling out of the sky in a controlled manner.

‘Well, the two guys in front of us needed their little bags, as did some of the others, while my friend and I had great fun.

Dirks concludes;

‘Once we leveled out, we were right next to a huge, elongated pit, where the remains of Russian airplanes had been shoveled into.’

‘When passing the pit the pilot announced: “Well, Gentlemen, these are the ones that didn’t make it.”’

Photo: United Nations (Trans Capital Air) De Havilland Canada DHC-7-102 Dash 7 (UA-320 via Wikipedia)

In late January 1965, VMCJ 1 marked a single EF 10B Skyknight with some interesting graffiti that raised eyebrows both in the USSR and at home.

The Douglas F3D Skyknight was an early but effective attempt at combining new technologies together in a lethal package capable of shipboard operation. Whereas most fighters relied on speed and maneuverability, the portly, straight-winged F3D relied on three radars, four 20mm cannons, and – most importantly – darkness. Having first flown in March 1948, the Skyknight’s first taste of war came in September 1952, when Marine Night Fighter Squadron 513 [VMF(N)-513] deployed to Korea.

After the war, 35 Skyknights were converted into F3D-2Q electronic warfare (EW) aircraft.

As told by Joe Copalman in his book F3D/EF-10 Skyknight Units of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, although crews flying ‘Shark Fin’ missions [as Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance Program (PARPRO) missions to collect intelligence on radar systems in China, North Korea, and the Soviet far east] remained in international airspace and relied on standoff receivers to collect intelligence, communist air arms from the nations being spied on routinely sent MiGs up to intercept and investigate the surveillance flights. In most cases, these intercepts involved MiGs harmlessly flying wings on an F3D-2Q before turning back. Recalling one such peaceful intercept, Skyknight pilot Chuck Houseman said;

‘The first time we were intercepted, they reported that we were taking pictures of them, as we were carrying 35 mm hand-held cameras. Normally, it would be on the pilot’s side where the interceptors were, and the ECMO would lean across and snap some pictures of them. And the Russians would report, “They’re taking pictures of us. What should we do?” One of the Russian controllers had a sense of humor and said “Smile”. Who would have thought the Russians had any sense of humor at all?’

As amicable as intercepts with Soviet MiG pilots could be, pilots from other communist nations in the region were decidedly humorless. In his book Top Secret, ECMO J T ‘Jerry’ O’Brien wrote;

‘One didn’t wave at the Chinese or North Koreans. We went to some lengths to avoid contact with the Koreans and the Chinese. On flights from Taiwan, we were usually covered by a flight of Chinese Nationalist F-86s.’

On Jun. 16, 1959, the North Korean People’s Air Force (NKPAF) MiG-17s attacked a US Navy P4M-1Q Mercator flying an electronic reconnaissance mission 50 miles off the east coast of Korea. While its crew managed to recover safely in Japan, despite the aircraft being heavily damaged (it was later declared a write-off) and the tail gunner being wounded, the attack – which occurred while US Marine Corps Skyknight crews were flying similar missions – drove home the serious turns these flights could take. Although the Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron (VMCJ) aircrews managed to avoid such unpleasantness, one particular PARPRO mission drew a fire of another sort from an unexpected source – the US National Security Agency (NSA).

In late January 1965, VMCJ-1 marked a single EF-10B with some interesting graffiti that raised eyebrows both in the USSR and at home. Chuck Houseman, who flew the marked-up aircraft on a ‘Shark Fin’ toward Vladivostok, recalled;

‘This was not authorized, but we thought we’d jazz up the situation a little bit, so we somehow or another were able to come up with the Russian language that said ‘JOIN THE U.S. MARINE CORPS’ and painted it on the side of the fuel tanks on the F-10s [the F3D-2Q had been redesignated the EF-10B in September 1962]. There was a conversation, and we learned later on when the interceptors came up – they got a little closer than usual and were reading it off to the ground controller. They reported it, and there was no response, so they reported it again, and there was still no response, so they dropped it.

‘The painting on the fuel tanks caused some big turmoil in the background in Washington, D.C., with the NSA wondering what the hell was going on. By the time the information rolled down to us, the second flight was up there with those same markings, and they didn’t want to turn him around when he was already on his way out, but they passed the word down, “Paint that damned thing over and get rid of it”.’

Judicious flying helped prevent MiG encounters, with pilots denying intercepts by beginning their turns back toward Japan before the relatively short-legged MiGs could close the distance on them. As EF-10B pilot then Capt Art Bloomer recalled from his 1961–62 tour with VMCJ-1;

‘I flew a lot of the “Shark Fin” missions out of Misawa, where we headed straight out towards Vladivostok, getting to within 20 miles of it. I never did get intercepted, as I was always turned before then, and we’d have MiGs on our tail. They followed us for 50–60 miles out to sea when we were headed back to Misawa, then they would break off and go somewhere else.’

F3D/EF-10 Skyknight Units of the Korean and Vietnam Wars is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force

One of the unwritten requirements to become an SR-71 Blackbird crew member/maintainer was to have an outrageous sense of humor.

The SR-71 Blackbird is still considered the world’s fastest aircraft, and still holds several speed and altitude records; record speed over a 15-mile course (2,193 MPH), maximum sustained height (85,069 feet), speed record from New York to London (one hour, 55 minutes), and London to Los Angeles (three hours, 47 minutes).

An SR-71 crew consists of a pilot and a reconnaissance systems officer (RSO).

One of the unwritten requirements to become an SR-71 crew member/maintainer was to have an outrageous sense of humor. This was displayed numerous times by flags, flunking inspections, silhouettes of U-2s on your driveway, etc.

Here’s another funny story by Danny C. Williams DS that appears on the SR71.com website.

“Drag Chute Deployed”

‘When the SR-71 lands, the Drag Chute is deployed to slow the aircraft down to taxi speeds. Then, a pickup truck races down the runway and picks up the Drag Chute, returning it to maintenance operations for repacking.

‘Once upon a time at a remote operating location, a few devious Crew Chiefs of the Blackbird banded together to frag a pilot. It seems this particular pilot (name withheld) was of mind and attitude of being quite superior to all lower-grade maintenance personnel, and he had this particular air about him that definitely was out of step with how other pilot’s treated Crew Chiefs.

‘The camaraderie between pilots (Habu’s) of the SR-71 and ground maintenance personnel was always first rate. The rapport was always without question one of a friendly relationship.

‘During the preflight and preparation for this pilot’s flight, the drag chute was loaded into the chute bay. A few nights earlier several Crew Chiefs had contacted the Women’s (WAF) barracks and requested some unmentionable items for a priority project concerning the Blackbird. Gleefully, the ladies knew that something was up and a quantity of items was secured for the project.

‘The Drag Chute was loaded into the SR-71 along with white pieces of clothing packed around the encased Drag Chute. Upon landing and subsequent pilot deployment of the chute (which is Orange), the chute deployed as normal, and also a quantity of White Items flew all over the runway. The Transient Alert person in the chase truck inquired to the pilot of the Blackbird if he wanted him to also pick up all the white items. His response was silence.

‘At debriefing the pilot inquired as to what the white items were deployed on the runway. “Ladies Underwear, Sir” was the response. Had it not been for some fast talking by the Maintenance Superintendent, some disciplinary action would have been taken against those involved. However, the message was clear: the pilot’s attitude adjusted and the Drag Chute compartment was never again packed with anything other than the Chute.

‘First-hand knowledge of this episode is denied by the author. The picture was not from the incident.’

Check out Habubrats‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

I have a semi-confirmed report from a woman who lives in the Philippines that one of the SR-71 #974 ejection seats is at the Mayor’s house!

On Apr. 21, 1989, SR-71 #61-7974, better known as Ichiban, departed Kadena Air Base (AB) on a mission.

I have written about the tragic crash of SR-71 #974 before. I have been looking for more information… I ran across the following YouTube video.

At the controls of SR-71 #974 were Pilot Lt. Col. Dan House, and RSO Blair Bozek. As #974 accelerated through three times the speed of sound, the left compressor bearing froze, causing the immediate disintegration of the port engine, and the resultant explosion from the catastrophic failure, sending shrapnel through critical hydraulic lines.

Lt. Col. House managed to slow #974, and even descend below 10 thousand feet. Both crews ejected safely over the ocean and were quickly rescued by local fishermen in the waters below.

It just happened to be that a Russian ship was patrolling the area at the exact time of the ejection of the two men. They were in their flight suits and in the ocean when, fortunately, native fishermen pulled up to the airmen and pulled them into their boat.

The fishermen were very excited about their unexpected guest SO… they just had to show the Mayor! With no time to alert Kadena that they were safe… they were whisked off to an impromptu party! After the party at the Mayor’s house, they were able to use their radios from a rice patty to confirm that they were safe.

The Russian ship was still prowling around. Search and rescue asked some of the fishermen “Do you know where the jet is?” “Sure,” they replied in perfect English, “We put three sticks in the sand here. We will show them to you the Blackbird’s wreckage is 2 miles out from the sticks.” The SR-71 was found in 120 feet of water.

Thanks to the US Navy’s assistance the wreckage was subsequently transported to the harbor and transferred to a waiting vessel.

I have a semi-confirmed report from a woman who lives in the Philippines that one of the ejection seats is at the Mayor’s house! What a story, what a party. Unfortunately, we lost a valuable SR-71, but both men are safe and that’s what really matters.

Check out Habubrats‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by Tony Landis / U.S. Air Photo and U.S. Navy

‘I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him to stand by…,’ Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr., former SR-71 pilot.

The SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft was the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft and the most advanced member of the Blackbird family developed by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s clandestine “Skunk Works” division. Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world’s highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour. The aircraft was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude.

During its operational lifetime, the SR-71 provided intelligence about the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the US raid on Libya in 1986, and the revelation of Iranian Silkworm missile batteries in 1987. The USAF ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990.

One of the most entertaining stories about flying the Blackbird comes from Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr., who shares about a particular mission he flew [according to SR-71 pilot Stormy Boudreaux, Tom Henichek was Burk’s RSO for that mission] over Lebanon back in 1982 in the book Skunk Works by Ben Rich.

‘In the fall of ’82, I flew from Mildenhall on a mission over Lebanon in response to the Marine barracks bombing. President Reagan ordered photo coverage of all the terrorist bases in the region. The French refused to allow us to overfly, so our mission profile was to refuel off the south coast of England, a Mach 3 cruise leg down the coast of Portugal and Spain, left turn through the Straits of Gibraltar, refuel in the Western Mediterranean, right turn into Lebanon and fly right down main street Beirut, exit along the southern Mediterranean with another refueling over Malta, supersonic back out the straits, and return to England.

‘Because Syria had a Soviet SA-5 missile system just west of Damascus that we would be penetrating (we were unsure of Syria’s intentions in this conflict), we programmed to fly above 80,000 feet and at Mach 3 plus to be on the safe side, knowing that this advanced missile had the range and speed to nail us.

‘As we entered Lebanon’s airspace my Recon Systems Officer in the rear cockpit informed me that our defensive systems display showed we were being tracked by that SA-5. About 15 seconds later we got a warning of active guidance signals from the SA-5 site. We couldn’t tell whether there was an actual launch or the missile was still on the rails, but they were actively tracking us. We didn’t waste any time wondering, but climbed and pushed that throttle, and said a couple of “Hail Kellys.”

‘We completed our pass over Beirut and turned toward Malta when I got a warning low-oil-pressure light on my right engine.  Even though the engine was running fine I slowed down and lowered our altitude and made a direct line for England. We decided to cross France without clearance instead of going the roundabout way.

‘We made it almost across when I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him to stand by. I asked my backseater, who said, “Don’t worry about it. I just gave it to him.” What he had given him was “the bird” with his middle finger: I lit the afterburners and left that Mirage standing still. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force and French Air Force Via FAST Museum Twitter Account

Thanks to Linda Sheffield Miller from Habubrats Facebook Page for helping with this article

The X-32 earned the nickname “Monica” after a certain White House intern who was famous for her… Uh… Oratory skills.

The Boeing X-32 was a multi-purpose jet fighter in the Joint Strike Fighter contest. It lost to the Lockheed Martin X-35 demonstrator, which was further developed into the F-35 Lightning II. Boeing assembled two concept demonstration aircraft, X-32A and X-32B, at its plant in Palmdale, Calif.

On Sep. 18, 2000, the X-32A made its first flight, and it made a total of 66 flights during four months of testing. The flights demonstrated the aircraft’s handling qualities for inflight refueling, weapons bay operations, and supersonic flight.

The X-32B aircraft made its first flight on March 29, 2001. It made 78 test flights in four months, including a transcontinental ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The aircraft successfully transitioned to and from STOVL flight mode by using its direct-lift system to redirect thrust from the aircraft’s cruise nozzle to the lift nozzles. The X-32B also demonstrated its ability to hover and make vertical landings.

The X-32 earned the nickname “Monica” after a certain White House intern who was famous for her… Uh… Oratory skills, as Cameron Beck, a private pilot, explains on Quora.

‘There’s an old adage in the world of business: s*x sells. Never truer than in the fighter jet business.

‘In 1993, the Pentagon established a massive $200 Billion winner-take-all Joint Strike Fighter competition. Two candidates, Boeing’s X-32 and Lockheed Martin’s X-35 went nose-to-nose.

‘I looked at them. Without knowing anything about them, I knew, I knew the Lockheed would win. Hands down. End of discussion.

‘Why so certain? Well, look at them. The Lockheed is sleek and sexy in its graphite paint scheme, its come-hither canopy, and raked tails. It’s a fighter jock’s dream! The X-32 is anything but—forgive me, Boeing.’

Beck continues;

‘Strangely, the drooling jocks didn’t name the Lockheed plane and pilots love to name their craft. Examples: the unlovely Fairchild Republic A-10 is lovingly called Warthog, or simply Hawg. The Boeing B-52 is the BUFF: Big Ugly Fat F****r—oops! I meant “Fellah.”

‘(A pilot wouldn’t be caught dead uttering a warplane’s official name: A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-52 Stratofortress)

‘The jocks did name Boeing’s X-32 and it wasn’t a nice name like Hawg. The test pilots called her…Monica. I tell you, that name was her death knell.

‘Why Monica? A jock would happily tell you with a wink and snicker: she’s got a big mouth, she’s ugly, and… she s***s. Scratching your head? Remember Bill C*****n’s presidency? Yeah? Good. That Monica. Aha!

‘Now, if you’re still scratching at my stupid hinting, please Google up “Monica C*****n.” There’s your answer. And dear reader, I’m not being coy; we’re talking airplane s*******y here, not human. We’re not going there.’

Beck concludes;

‘Cool Cat won, of course. (pilots had begun calling her Panther).

‘She’s now the most expensive Pentagon program in history: $1 Trillion.

‘Sure, Monica would have been way cheaper—Boeing had emphasized cost control—but trust me, there would have been a pilot mutiny if Air Force brass had embraced the Vomiting Frog over Panther.’

However, although not selected for full-scale development of the JSF, Boeing viewed its involvement in the competition as a strategic investment. The program yielded many advances in stealth technology and design and manufacturing methods. These achievements have been applied to other Boeing programs, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, or UCAV.

In 2005, the Boeing X-32A was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. Its condition deteriorated due to being outside for several years following the end of the JSF competition, but it is now indoors and planned to be restored.

The X-32B was transferred to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum adjacent to NAS Patuxent River in St. Mary’s County, Maryland in 2005. It underwent restoration at the museum’s restoration facility in June 2009 and is now on display.

Photo by U.S. Air Force, Boeing and Balon Greyjoy via Wikipedia

Top Gun: Maverick trailer in Lego required months of painstaking work to be created.

The cool video in this post features a side-by-side comparison between Top Gun: Maverick’s original trailer and Top Gun: Maverick’s official trailer in LEGO.

According to Onbeatman, who posted Top Gun: Maverick – Official Trailer IN LEGO on his YouTube Channel, the video required “months of painstaking work… I recreated the TOP GUN: MAVERICK trailer in Lego, one frame at a time. This was created 100% independently out of my love for Top Gun, cinema, and LEGO.”

As we reported last July, Paramount Studios delayed “Top Gun: Maverick” to this year in a dramatic shift in film release dates amid the re-surging coronavirus pandemic.

Top Gun 2 which Paramount had already delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis from Jun. 24 to Dec. 23, 2020, is now scheduled for Jul. 2, 2021.

In a statement, Paramount distribution executives Chris Aronson and Mark Viane reaffirmed the studio’s commitment “to the theatrical experience and our exhibition partners, and want to stress that we are confident that, when the time comes, audiences everywhere will once again enjoy the singular joy of seeing Paramount films on the big screen.”

The making of “Top Gun: Maverick” cost over $150 million, so Paramount is counting on massive ticket sales to turn a profit.

The internet was set ablaze on Dec. 16, 2019, when the latest trailer of Top Gun: Maverick debuted (the first one was released on Jul. 18, 2019).

The two-minute trailer boasts blockbuster scenes with Maverick taking to the skies in an F/A-18 Super Hornet, an F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft, and an ‘Area 51’-type jet.

Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.

There were plenty of shiny USAF fighters but I knew exactly what he meant. They didn’t count because they were test articles and hadn’t been dirtied up or bloodied.

Chuck Yeager… fighter pilot: “The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down.”

Yeager… test pilot: “You don’t concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.”

I had a chance to get a glimpse of Yeager the man: Early in my career, just after my first deployment, I was asked to take one of our brand new F-14Ds to Edwards Air Force Base for their annual air show. I was eager to go. I couldn’t wait to see Edwards and show off the Navy’s newest and baddest machine.

Unfortunately, our “brand new” Super Tomcat had just returned from six months at sea and was horribly splotched with anti-corrosion treatments and 6 months of grease that was embedded in the porous paint. It was leaking hydraulic fluid and fuel and if you looked closely enough, you could find a little rust. It was a machine of war, not for decoration, and it looked it.

Well, when we got to the air show flight line, we were relegated to the very last spot, well away from all the high-gloss USAF test aircraft and their air show birds. We were at least two hundred yards away from the air show proper and the crowds. As we were committed to staying by our machine to answer questions, it looked like it was going to be kind of a quiet day for us.

Chuck Yeager used to open the Edwards show with a sonic boom. That day, he was in an F-16 and kicked off the show with a very nice pass. A few minutes later, General Yeager was in a golf cart being driven down the flight line waving to the crowd. We were a long way away, too far away to see or be seen, but just as they were going out of sight, I thought I saw Yeager look in our direction, elbow the driver, and point at us.

The friggin’ golf cart suddenly turns towards our filthy machine. He cut through the crowd and continued looking our way. I had a distinct “oh crap” moment and wished so badly I could have washed the jet before we came. We were the only Navy jet there, and while more capable than anything on the field, we hardly looked it. He drove by shiny jet after shiny jet, each one with USAF aircrew standing out in front, ignoring each one, driving straight for us. He pulled up in front, got out with a HUGE smile, and asked me how I like my new hotrod. He asked a few questions about our deployment and how it performed over Iraq and asked about me and my RIO, and where we were from, all while looking around the Super Tom. He marveled at the size of our hook, (they all do), was fascinated by our long-wave IR search and track system, and generally ignored our fighter’s poor material condition. Toward the end of our brief visit, I wanted to apologize for my machine’s appearance, and was about to say something when he looked me straight in the eye and said,

“Thanks for bringing a real fighter to the show, Jungle. You’re the only one here.”

There were plenty of shiny USAF fighters, but I knew exactly what he meant. They didn’t count because they were test articles and hadn’t been dirtied up or bloodied. At first, I thought our encounter was because he was being some kind of gracious host, wanting us to feel welcome. But I quickly realized as I watched him drive away that even after all the fame and success he enjoyed as a test pilot, he was really just a fighter pilot who missed being in the fight.

God Speed, Chuck.

Photo by Robert Jones, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy

It was based on the CF-105’s future potential, more than its then-current design, that it was considered a contender for the OR.329/F155T interceptor requirement.

Investment in the RAF fell away dramatically in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. The enemy had been comprehensively defeated, and it was believed that the incredible destructive power of the atom bomb—possessed only by the Americans—would ensure a lasting peace. However, the realization that the Soviet Union had successfully tested its own atomic weapon in 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 shattered this comforting illusion. In particular, the appearance of the MiG-15 on the battlefield prompted a dramatic response from the British government.

However, as told by Dan Sharp in his book Cold War Interceptor, the biggest danger in this new ‘cold war’ remained the bomber. The nuclear missile was still a work in progress—both in the West and the Soviet Union—but the Soviets were known to be developing a new fleet of supersonic bombers presumed to be capable of breaching Britain’s defenses with ease. An effective high-performance interceptor was needed; something so fast and powerful that it could catch any incoming bomber and destroy it well away from the British Isles. The result was Operational Requirement (OR.) 329/F.155T and some of the most outlandish aircraft designs ever committed to paper.

Britain’s top aircraft manufacturers, including Hawker, English Electric, Fairey, Vickers Supermarine, de Havilland, Saunders-Roe, and Armstrong Whitworth, set to work on designing powerful supersonic aircraft with all-new guided missile systems capable of intercepting a Soviet assault and shooting down high-flying enemy aircraft before they could unleash a devastating nuclear firestorm on British soil.

The Hawker Siddeley Group (HSG) owned two of the seven companies competing directly for F.155T—Hawker and Armstrong Whitworth—but A V Roe Canada, a third HSG firm, was also working on an aircraft that it was thought might just meet the specification: the Avro CF-105.

When Avro Canada was sent copies of OR.329 and F.155T, on ad Aug. 17, 1955, the firm was heavily invested in the CF-105 and responded simply by presenting the Ministry of Supply with its latest brochure for the type — which would not be given the name ‘Arrow’ until 1957, long after the British dismissed any idea of buying it. As it stood, the anticipated performance of the CF-105 was a long way short of meeting British requirements at this point.

According to the brochure, the Canadian fighter would take seven minutes to climb to 60,000ft, by which time it would be traveling at only Mach 1.6. The worst performing British design in this scenario, de Havilland’s DH.117, would take six minutes to reach 60,000ft and Mach 2. This was down to the CF-105’s lack of rocket power.

In addition, and for the same reason, the CF-105’s top speed at that altitude was Mach 1.77, and its overall maximum speed was Mach 1.94 at 50,000ft. The slowest British design was English Electric’s P.8, which would achieve Mach 2 at 46,000ft without reheat. Furthermore, at 60,000ft the CF-105 would take 6.4 minutes to accelerate from Mach 1.3 to Mach 1.7.

By comparison, Fairey’s Large design was expected to take less than one minute to go from Mach 1.3 to Mach 2 at the same altitude. Vickers’ Type 559 was expected to go from Mach 1.55 to Mach 2 in an incredible 4.5 seconds at 60,000ft. Even the worst performer, de Havilland again, would only take 1.3 minutes for a Mach 1.3 to Mach 2 dash at 60,000ft. All the British designs had a ceiling of at least 65,000ft, whereas the CF-105 topped out at 55,200ft, by which point its performance was severely tailing off.

And there was more. The CF-105’s tandem seating arrangement was frowned upon and its much-vaunted internal payload bay was designed to carry American missiles — the AIM-4 Falcon and the AIM-7 Sparrow — and was ill-suited to the de Havilland Blue Jay. The Vickers Red Hebe air-to-air missile, which came increasingly to be regarded as essential to the F.155T aircraft, would not fit in it at all. The intended radar unit was the American Hughes MX.1179, which would undoubtedly result in contractual and supply difficulties, even assuming it was not decided to simply have it built with a British system installed instead.

Nevertheless, the CF-105 was seen to be already approaching production readiness — offering the significant benefit of early availability. It was light too, at 55,000lb fully loaded, which meant there was likely to be significant potential for further development. Avro Canada was part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, making it technically a British company, with huge resources to draw upon should significant modifications to the design prove necessary.

It was therefore based on the CF-105’s future potential, more than its then-current design, that it was considered a contender for the OR.329/F155T interceptor requirement. If it failed to meet this, its performance was still potent enough to outmatch the RAF’s intended interim interceptor, the F.153D Thin Wing Javelin.

Cold War Interceptor is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

Photo by Royal Canadian Air Force and Combat Ace