Hawker Siddeley P.1127
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| P.1127 / Kestrel | |
|---|---|
 Hawker P.1127 |
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| Type | Experimental VSTOL aircraft |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Hawker Aviation Hawker Siddeley |
| Designed by | Sydney Camm |
| Maiden flight | 19 November 1960 (P.1127) 7 March 1964 (Kestrel) |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force USAF, DOD/NASA Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 5 P.1127s 9 Kestrels |
| Variants | Hawker Siddeley Harrier |
The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 were the development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first VTOL jet fighter-bomber.
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[edit] Background
In 1957, the Bristol Engine Company informed Sydney Camm of Hawker that they had a project to combine their Olympus and Orpheus jet engines to produce a directable fan jet (an idea that had been approached theoretically by the Frenchman M. Wilbaut). Hawker took the planned engine as a basis for a plane that could meet the current NATO specification for a Light Tactical Support Fighter. At the time there was no financial support for the development from the Treasury, but aid was found through the Mutual Weapon Development Project (MWDP) of NATO to keep the project running, in spite of the atmosphere post the 1957 Defence White Paper which was leading to cancellations of many other projects. By 1958, the British Air Staff showed some interest, but no further MWDP funds were available - much of the money was tied up for the Vickers Swallow swing-wing aircraft project. Some model work was done by NASA at Langley Field for the project. In April 1959 a formal request for the manufacture of prototypes was received and Hawker test pilots travelled to the US to gain VTOL experience on the Bell X-14.
[edit] Development
[edit] P.1127
The first prototype P.1127 was delivered in July 1960 for static engine testing and in October the Pegasus flight engine, designed by Sir Stanley Hooker, was made available. The first tethered flight took place the same month, and free flight hover in November led to publicity photos being made available.
NATO requirement NBMR-3 specified for a VTOL aircraft, but one that was expected to have the performance of an aircraft like the F-4 Phantom along with the VTOL capability. Hawker drafted the P.1150, a supersonic P.1127 and the P.1154 which would meet NBMR-3. The latter was a winner of the NATO competition and development continued until cancelled at the point of prototype construction in 1965.
Four more prototypes were ordered and the first conventional take off flight of the P.1127 took place in February 1961. Its first complete VTOL to forward flight took place in September 1961. Throughout this period improved Pegasus engines were being developed, with the Pegasus 3 being capable of 15,000 lb/f (67 kN) of thrust. In 1963 a vertical landing was demonstrated on HMS Ark Royal, but later that year the first prototype plane, XP831, crashed without loss of life at the Paris Air Show.
[edit] Kestrel FGA.1
Nine evaluation aircraft were ordered as the Kestrel FGA.1, which was an improved version of the P.1127, the first flying on March 7, 1964. The Kestrel had fully swept wings and a larger tail than the P.1127, and the fuselage was modified to take the larger 15,000 lbf (85 kN) Pegasus 6 engine.
Due to interest from the US and Germany the Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron (TES) was formed, staffed by military test pilots from Britain, the US and West Germany. After testing at RAF West Raynham, during which one aircraft was lost, the eight surviving evaluation aircraft were transferred to the USA for evaluation by the Army, Air Force and Navy (but not USMC) as the XV-6A Kestrel. After Tri-Service evaluation they were passed to the USAF for further evaluation at Edwards AFB.
[edit] P.1127(RAF)
At the time of the development of the P.1127, Hawker had started on a design for a supersonic version, the Hawker P.1154. After this was cancelled in 1965, the RAF began looking at a simple upgrade of the Kestrel as the P.1127(RAF).
In mid-1966, the P.1127(RAF) was ordered by the RAF as the Harrier GR.1, with the first preproduction aircraft flying the following year.
[edit] Variants
- P.1127
- Experimental V/STOL fighter, two prototypes and four development aircraft.
- Kestrel FGA1
- Aircraft for the tripartite evaluation squadron, six built also designated XV-6A.
- P.1127 (RAF)
- Development V/STOL ground attack and reconnaissance fighter, six built ordered into production as the Harrier GR1.
- XV-6A
- United States military designation for the Kestrel FGA1.
- VZ-12
- United States military designation for two P.1127 development aircraft, not delivered.
[edit] Survivors
- P.1127 XP831 on display at the The Science Museum, London, England.[1]
- P.1127 XP980 on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum,
- P.1127 XP984 on display at the Brooklands Museum, Surrey, England.
- Kestrel FGA1 XS695 held in storage by the RAF Museum, Cosford, England.
- P.1127(RAF) XV277 on display at the National Museum of Flight, Scotland.
- P.1127(RAF) XV278 on display at the Luftwaffenmuseum, Germany.
- XV-6A Kestrel 64-18262 on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, United States.
- XV-6A Kestrel 64-18263 on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Virginia, United States
- XV-6A Kestrel 64-18264 held in storage by the United States Army Aviation Museum, Alabama, United States
- XV-6A Kestrel 64-18266 on display at Air Power Park and Museum, Virginia, United States.
[edit] TV Appearance
Both a P.1127 and a Kestrel, masquerading as one aircraft, appear in the 1966 Flight Plan episode of the Roger Moore TV series The Saint. The plot involves a P.1127/Kestrel (called the Osprey in the episode) being stolen and flown behind the Iron Curtain by RAF pilot William Gaunt.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (Kestrel FGA.1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m)
- Wingspan: 22 ft 11 in (6.99 m)
- Height: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
- Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg)
- Loaded weight: 15,000 lb (6,800 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 17,000 lb (7,700 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Bristol Siddeley Pegasus 6 vectored-thrust turbofan, 15,000 lbf (67 kN)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 545 mph Mach 0.97 (1,010 km/h)
- Rate of climb: 20,000 ft/min (100×60)
- Thrust/weight: 1:1
[edit] See also
- Harrier Jump Jet, an overview of the Harrier family
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists List of VTOL aircraft
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Science Museum - Home - Hawker P 1127 VSTOL Experimental Aircraft, 1960.. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
[edit] Bibliography
- Cowan, Charles W. (ed.) Flypast 2. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-85383-191-2.
- Hannah, Donald. Hawker FlyPast Reference Library. Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK: Key Publishing Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-946219-01-X.
- James, Derek N. Hawker, an Aircraft Album No. 5. New York: Arco Publishing Company, 1973. ISBN 0-668-02699-5. (First publised in the UK by Ian Allan in 1972)
- Mason, Francis K. Hawker Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam, 1991. ISBN 0-85177-839-9
[edit] External links
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