VTOL AIRCRAFT

The story of
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 CONTENTS 3

VTOL aircraft
The story of vertical ight

4 INTRODUCTION UNITED KINGDOM

AVIATION ARCHIVE SERIES
CANADA 34 FAIREY FD1 VTOL Aircraft is No 30 in the Aviation
Archive collection. As ever, the series
6 AVRO AVROCAR 36 FLYING BEDSTEAD features unparalleled photographic
coverage, including many exclusive and
8 CANADAIR CL-84 DYNAVERT 38 SHORT SC1
rare shots. The words and photographs
41 FAIREY ROTODYNE are complemented by period cutaways
FRANCE from the talented pens of the Flight and
46 HAWKER P1127/KESTREL Aeroplane artists of the era, together with
14 SNECMA COLOPTRE exclusive aircraft profiles.
48 HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER
16 DASSAULT MIRAGE IIIV
54 BAE SEA HARRIER
GERMANY 56 BAE/MCDONNELL DOUGLAS 73 HILLER X-18
HARRIER II 74 LOCKHEED XV-4
18 BACHEM BA 349 NATTER
HUMMINGBIRD
19 EWR SD VJ-101C UNITED STATES
77 RYAN XV-5 VERTIFAN
21 DORNIER DO 31 61 LOCKHEED XFV-1
78 LTV XC-142A
24 VFW VAK-191B 64 CONVAIR XFY-1 POGO
81 BELL X-22
68 BELL ATV
SOVIET UNION 83 BELL XV-15
69 BELL XV-3
26 YAKOVLEV YAK-36 FREEHAND 84 ROCKWELL XFV-12A
70 RYAN X-13 VERTIJET
28 YAKOVLEV YAK-38 FORGER 86 BELL BOEING V-22 OSPREY
72 BELL X-14
32 YAKOVLEV YAK-41/141 92 LOCKHEED MARTIN
FREESTYLE 72 DOAK VZ-4 F-35B JSF

Aviation Archive Series

VTOL aircraft: The story of vertical flight
Author: Denis J. Calvert Editor: Allan Burney Design: Key Studio
Publisher and Managing Director: Adrian Cox Executive Chairman: Richard Cox Commercial Director: Ann Saundry Group Editor: Nigel Price
Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0)20 7429 4000 Printing: Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.
All rights reserved. The entire content of Aviation Archive is Key Publishing 2017. Reproduction in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Publisher. We are unable to guarantee the
bona fides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in
response to any advertisements within this publication. Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs PE19 1XQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1780 755131. Fax: +44 (0) 1780 757261. Website: www.keypublishing.com ISBN: 9781910415870

AA30_pp 3.indd 3 30/01/2017 12:45

 4 INTRODUCTION

VTOL aircraft
The story of vertical flight
T
he concept of being able to take to have served totally successfully with any of The most recent V/STOL fighter jet to
off vertically and then switch to the worlds air forces. Manufacturers in several enter service is the Lockheed Martin F-35B
winged forward flight has long been countries have tried to emulate this success, LightningII, also known as the Joint Strike
the holy grail of aircraft design, but the but most have failed. It would be simplistic to Fighter (JSF) or, in the UK, the Joint Combat
technological challenges, laws of physics and say that Hawker got it right while the rest got Aircraft (JCA). This programme has seen
economics have proved stubborn obstacles it wrong. Rather, other exotic V/STOL fighter significant technical challenges, groundings,
to overcome. Needless to say, there have prototypes were designed and flown, but their redesign, delays, public relations disasters
been many ingenious attempts to solve complexity, their heavy maintenance demands (such as its non-appearance at Farnborough
the problems and one can only admire the or their tricky flying characteristics failed to 2014) and cost overruns. The F-35 programme
tenacity and imagination of the designers. In appeal to the intended customers. comprises three basically similar aircraft the
the early years, lack of technology hindered The second V/STOL fighter design to enter conventional take-off F-35A, the STOVL (Short
their efforts, and it was only after advances service was the Soviet Unions Yak-38. This Take-Off and Vertical Landing) F-35B and the
driven by World War 2 that Vertical Take-Off three-engined fighter did fly operationally conventional, carrier-based F-35C. The F-35B,
and Landing (or VTOL as it became known) with the Soviet Navy aboard Kiev class aircraft the variant designed to the needs of the US
truly became a reality. The emerging post- carriers in the late 1970s, but it had been Marine Corps but also being purchased by the
war years were a golden era for innovation completely retired by 1991. Few service pilots RAF and Royal Navy, is technically the most
and experimentation, and solutions to the really mastered the Yak-38, and its handling challenging. As to whether the F-35B will
vertical conundrum took many paths and characteristics required a great deal of skill on prove truly successful in service, only time will
forms. Some were inspired, some were their part. Its successor, the radar-equipped and tell. What is certain is that it is the first truly
flawed, while others were just gloriously supersonic Yak-41, never made it to production, supersonic VTOL design to make it to front-line
eccentric. There were still more failures with government funding being removed in use, and that it is fiendishly expensive.
than successes, but out of the emerging jet late 1991. As a result, V/STOL activity in the
technology came one revolutionary idea Soviet Union and Russia came to a complete Vertical lift
that began to show more promise than the halt, although the first prototype Yak-41 did The big design question affecting all V/STOL
restvectored thrust. make an appearance at the 1992 Farnborough fighters is single engine or separate lift
Fifty and more years after its first flight, International air show in an unsuccessful and thrust engines? Each alternative has its
the Hawker Harrier remains the only Vertical/ attempt to drum up Western interest in a attractions. Proponents of the single-engined
Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter possible collaborative V/STOL venture. approach point to the inherent simplicity
of just one powerplant, which of necessity
involves some system to deflect downwards
VTOL, V/STOL or STOVL. Whats the difference? the jet exhaust to permit vertical take-off
To qualify for inclusion in this issue of Aviation Archive, an aircraft should be capable of taking and/or recovery and hovering flight. This also
off and landing vertically, but not be a pure rotorcraft (helicopter). Those that qualify can fairly has serendipitous side-effects. If an aircraft is
be labelled VTOL designs. Some of the aircraft included within these pages have no option, sufficiently well-endowed with thrust to permit
because of their geometry, but to take off vertically, with the American tail-sitters (Lockheed vertical take-off, it has by definition at least a
XFV-1, Convair XFY-1) of the early 1950s and the ramp-launched Bachem Natter of World War 2 better than 1:1 thrust:weight ratio, which will
being good examples. For them, the only way was indeed up. guarantee a sparkling performance throughout
Many other designs, though, were relatively conventional and featured normal the flight regime. And if, as in the Harrier, the
undercarriages aircraft like the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. These were fully capable of VTOL jet exhaust can be deflected in wing-borne
operation, but could carry a much greater fuel and weapons load given the luxury of a flight, it can give its pilot huge advantages in
short take-off run, to gain the added advantage of aerodynamic lift. When fuel had been air combat, including the possibility of turning
burned off and weapons expended, they could return to base and land vertically. Or, indeed, square corners. Against this, the engine is
conventionally. These are described as V/STOL (or VSTOL) types, a label Hawker Siddeley (and likely to be large and complex (because of the
later BAe) always applied to the Harrier. concessions necessary to deflect the thrust).
A final variation is STOVL Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing. This is the label that Single-engined V/STOL designs also have
Lockheed Martin applies to its F-35B; the aircraft routinely takes off using a short run (even the advantage of simplicity. Do your air force
though it could take off vertically with a lesser load), and recovers to land vertically. engineers really want a single-seat fighter with
more engines than a B-52?

AA30_pp 4-5.indd 4 28/01/2017 08:58


Britains industry developed both single-
engined (the P1127/Kestrel/Harrier family) and
multi-engined (the Short SC1 with separate lift
and thrust engines) designs. Other countries
tried far more complex concepts to give V/STOL
performance. Frances Dassault produced and
flew the Mirage IIIV with no less than nine
engines eight Rolls-Royce RB162s for lift and
a single Pratt & Whitney turbofan for forward
flight. The IIIV proved capable of vertical
take-off and landing as well as Mach 2 flight,
although significantly it never demonstrated all
these in the same sortie. However capacious,
its fuselage was filled with engines and it
would likely have proved a logistical nightmare,
particularly when involved in operations from
an austere base (one of the claimed great
advantages of V/STOL fighters). The loss of
the second prototype IIIV in 1966 effectively
AA30_pp 4-5.indd 5
brought an end to the programme and to
any possibility of Mach 2 V/STOL, at least for
another 40 years.
The relative simplicity of the Harriers
design approach allowed it to prosper, even
as other V/STOL designs came and went. The
American Rockwell XFV-12A with its unique
thrust augmented wing concept spectacularly
failed to achieve vertical take-off, this despite
a 30,000lb turbofan whose thrust was directed
through louvres in the wing. Big, expensive
cock-ups are not confined to British shores.
The world of VTOL
This issue of Aviation Archive reviews 35 main
types from the six countries that have made
serious attempts to produce aircraft capable
of vertical take-off. Some were intended as
pure prototypes or demonstrators, some were
INTRODUCTION 5
intended to go into full-scale production but
remained as pure prototypes or demonstrators,
while just a few made it through to front-line
service. Not all were small, single-seat fighters.
There have been ambitious projects to produce
a transport aircraft capable of taking off and
landing vertically. After all, if youve got a
squadron of V/STOL fighters operating just a
few miles from the forward edge of the battle,
flying from a clearing in the forest or from a
beachhead, youll surely need a VTOL transport
to keep them supplied.
What is certain is that the designers involved
were prepared to think outside the box and
were encouraged to bring back of a fag packet
sketches to reality. In so doing, they pushed the
boundaries and brought to reality some of the
wackiest aircraft ever to take to the skies. Or
not, as the case may be. Denis J. Calvert
31/01/2017 12:03
 6 CANADA

Avro Avrocar
A
vros Avrocar was one of the great
might have beens of post-war
aviation. Had it lived up to its initial
promise, it could well have been the flying
saucer streaking across the night sky,
constructed not by an alien civilisation but
by Canadian engineers in Ontario.
The Avrocar was designed in the 1950s as a
research aircraft in the quest to build a flying
jeep. It was powered by three J69 turbojets
driving a central fan to provide initial lift for
take-off, following which the crafts aerofoil
shape would generate normal aerodynamic
lift for forward flight. In 1952, the Canadian
government provided initial funding but
dropped the project when it became too
expensive. Avro offered the project to the US
government and the US Army and US Air Force
took it over in 1958. Each service had different
requirements: the Army wanted to use it as
a subsonic, all-terrain troop transport and
reconnaissance craft, but the Air Force wanted
a VTOL aircraft that could hover below enemy
radar then zoom up to supersonic speed.
Research data originally indicated that a
circular wing might satisfy both requirements,
and Avro built two small test vehicles to prove
the concept.
This strange vehicle (serial 58-7055) was
rolled out at Malton, Ontario in May 1959
and made its first free hovering flight on
12 November of that year. Its test pilots all
agreed that the Avrocar was unstable, under-
powered and difficult to fly, one comparing
the experience to balancing on a beach ball.
Many efforts at improving stability and thrust
followed over the coming months, but the
Avrocar never got more than a few feet off the
ground and remained stubbornly in ground
effect. In the end, its American backers realised
that the project was a technical dead end, and
funding ran out in March 1961.

Avro VZ-9AV Avrocar

Crew: Two
Engines: 3 x Continental J69-T9
turbojets of 927lb
thrust each
Wingspan: 18ft (5.5m)
Height: 4ft 10in (1.25m)
Weight: 4,620lb (2,095kg) empty

AA30_pp 6-7.indd 6 28/01/2017 09:00

 AVRO AVROCAR 7

Above: The Avrocar used exhaust from turbojet

engines to drive a circular turborotor, which
produced thrust. By directing this thrust
downward, the turborotor would create a
cushion of air upon which the aircraft would float
at low altitude. When the thrust was directed
toward the rear, the aircraft would accelerate
and gain altitude.

Right: How the US Army envisaged the Avrocar

would operate in service.

Left: The US Army and US Air Force provided

funding to the Avrocar flying saucer in the hope
that the technology might pave the way for an
eventual supersonic disk-shaped VTOL fighter.

Above: If the Avrocar flew more than three feet above the ground during flight trials, it displayed
uncontrollable pitch and roll motions, which the Avro engineers called hubcapping. The Avrocar could
only reach a maximum speed of 35mph, and all attempts to end the hubcapping failed. The project was
cancelled in December 1961.

AA30_pp 6-7.indd 7 28/01/2017 09:01

 8 CANADA
Canadair CL-84 Dynavert
T
he CL-84s experimental tilt-wing
design was an attempt to produce an
aircraft that would combine vertical
take-off-and-landing with a fixed-wing
capability. Canadair broke new ground
with this aircraft and although two crashed
through mechanical failure, with no loss of
life, the design was considered a success.
No production contracts were procured and
eventually work on this promising V/STOL
machine was halted.
The CL-84 Canadair never seemed to call
it the Dynavert dates from 1963, when the
company decided to go ahead to prototype
stage with this tilt-wing design for a small
AA30_pp 8-13.indd 8
utility aircraft capable of V/STOL operation.
It featured a box-like fuselage, a pair of 14ft
propellers driven by Lycoming T53 turboshafts
(the same engine used in the Bell UH-1 Huey)
mounted on a high wing that swivelled
through 100 degrees, and a tail rotor to trim
the aircraft during transitions. The incidence
of the tailplane was also coupled to that of the
wing, such that it moved as the wing was tilted
towards the vertical for take-off and landing. A
first hovering flight was made on 7 May 1965,
leading to a first transition on 17 January 1966.
Flight testing went well. Canadair flew some
simulated Search and Rescue (SAR) missions
in 1966, and the US Army evaluated the type
Above: The Canadair CL-84 was the worlds first
proven tilt-rotor aircraft, but its potential was
never fulfilled. The pair of 14ft (4.3m) four-
bladed propellers were driven by two 1,500hp
Lycoming T53 shaft-turbines. The engines were
interconnected by cross shafts, so that in the
event of the failure of one engine, it would
automatically disconnect and both propellers
would be driven by the remaining powerplant.
in January 1967 for various utility roles. Flight
testing underlined a fact that all manufacturers
of similar designs would understand; the CL-84
could carry twice the payload in STOL mode
(with a 200ft run) when compared with pure
VTOL operation.
31/01/2017 12:02
 CANADAIR CL-84 DYNAVERT 9

Canadair CL-84-1 Dynavert

Crew: Two
Length: 47ft 4in (14.4m)
Wingspan: 34ft 4in (10.5m)
Height: 14ft 3in (4.3m)
Weight empty: 8,700lb (3,950kg)
Max. T/O weight: 14,500lb (6,580kg)
Max speed: 320mph (515km/h)
Powerplant: 2 x Lycoming T53
turboshafts (1,500hp)
VTOL method: Tilt wing with rear rotor
for pitch control

This page: With Canadair chief pilot Bill

Longhurst at the controls, the CL-84 prototype,
CF-VTO-X, first flew in the hover on 7 May
1965. These images show the tilt-rotor
in hover (left), transitional (below) and
conventional (bottom) flight modes. After 305
relatively uneventful flights, on 12 September
1967 CF-VTO-X was at 3,000ft (910m) when a
bearing in the propeller control system failed.
Both pilot and observer successfully ejected
but the prototype was lost.

The first prototype was lost on 12September

1967 and although two further and improved
aircraft were built as the CL-84-1, the
programme started to lose momentum. The
programme suffered another setback on
8August 1973 when the first CL-84-1 was lost
when a catastrophic failure occurred in the
left propeller gearbox in a maximum power
climb. The US Navy and US Marine pilots aboard
ejected safely. It was rumoured that the pilots
had attempted to set an unauthorised climb
record to 10,000ft (3,000m).
Although Canadair had foreseen various
roles for the aircraft troop transport, SAR,
armed helicopter escort, casualty evacuation,
forward air control no customers ultimately
came forward and the programme was quietly
terminated in 1974.

AA30_pp 8-13.indd 9 28/01/2017 09:04

 10 CANADA

If only

AA30_pp 8-13.indd 10 28/01/2017 09:04

 CANADAIR CL-84 DYNAVERT 11

General Dynamics was the parent company

of Canadair at the time of the CL-84
project, and it christened the new aircraft,
the Dynavert. These publicity images
demonstrated the multi-mission roles for
which the CL-84 was envisaged, including
transport, ASW, AEW and gunship.

Above: Following the loss of CF-VTO-X, Canadair

redesigned its replacement incorporating over
150 engineering changes including the addition
of dual controls, upgraded avionics, an airframe
stretch of 5ft 3in (1.60m) and more powerful
engines (boosted by 100hp). Designated CL-84-1,
CX8401 flew on 19 February 1970 with Bill
Longhurst again at the controls.

Right and Below: In the cockpit fore and aft

stick was always pitch, side-to-side was always
roll and the rudder pedals were always yaw,
irrespective of the wing position through its full
range. The power of both engines was controlled
by a single power lever in all flight regimes.
To provide crisp thrust control during hover,
movement of the power lever caused a direct
adjustment of blade angle, analogous to the
collective pitch control of a helicopter.

AA30_pp 8-13.indd 11 28/01/2017 09:04

 12 CANADA

Above: The potency of the CL-84-1 as a gunship

was demonstrated when it was fitted with a
General Electric SUU-11A/A pod with a rotating
six-barrel Gatling 7.62mm gun.

Left: Pre-flight checks included the rear stabilising

tail rotor positioned behind the fins.

All at sea
During the Vietnam War, the US Navy expressed interest in the tilt-rotor concept, so the CL-84-1
was dispatched for trials on the USS Guam and later the USS Guadalcanal. The CL-84-1 performed
flawlessly, demonstrating its versatility for ship-board operation. However, with the Vietnam War
drawing to its conclusion, the US Navy lost interest in the project and with no other takers the
project was cancelled.

AA30_pp 8-13.indd 12 31/01/2017 12:09

 CANADAIR CL-84 DYNAVERT 13

AA30_pp 8-13.indd 13 31/01/2017 12:09

 14 FRANCE

AA30_pp 14-15.indd 14 28/01/2017 09:06

 SNECMA COLOPTRE 15

SNECMA Coloptre
T
he Coloptre was developed and
built collaboratively by Nord Aviation
(airframe) and SNECMA (engine) in
the mid-1950s. Its radical design had, at its
core, a single jet engine (SNECMA ATAR 101E
of 8,200lb). The fuselage featured large air
intakes on either side of the cockpit, where
the pilot sat on a swivelling ejector seat.
Around the fuselage was an annular wing of
14ft span.
The Coloptre was an example of the
purest form of VTOL aircraft one that sat
on its undercarriage (in this case, four legs
with castoring wheels) in a vertical position,
pointing skyward. Since the take-off had, by
definition, to be vertical, this would only be
possible if the installed jet thrust comfortably
exceeded the gross weight of the aircraft. Post-
war developments in jet engine technology
French jet engine technology, that is made
possible the Coloptre, which was built for
research but with the long-term aim of building
a fighter of similar layout.
Testing of the sole prototype Coloptre
commenced at Melun Villaroche in December
1958, with SNECMA test pilot Auguste Morel
in the cockpit. After a number of tests with
the aircraft suspended from a gantry, Morel
succeeded in taking off, and made eight
successful vertical ascents and landings. No
transitions were attempted and a maximum
height of 2,600ft (800m) was achieved. That
these flights were achieved safely is very
much to the credit of the pilot, as cockpit
instrumentation was very basic and the aircraft
difficult to control. On the ninth flight, on
25 July 1959, Morel lost control during his
vertical landing. The aircraft oscillated wildly
and Morel ejected, horizontally, at just 500ft.
His parachute opened only partially, his impact
with the ground caused injuries serious enough
to end his test flying career, and the Coloptre
was destroyed in a fireball. This crash also
signalled the end of one of the strangest
programmes in aviation history.

Above: Proof that the Coloptre did achieve

vertical flight, with observers in a helicopter
keeping a respectful distance. One cant help but
think that theirs was a safer mode of achieving
the same objective.

Left: Coloptre is the French word for beetle, an

appropriate name for this unusual craft.

Right: The Coloptre being raised into position

in prepration for another test flight.

SNECMA Coloptre
Crew: One
Length: 26ft 4in (8.02m)
Wingspan: 14ft 10in (4.51m)
including fins
Diameter: 10ft 6in (3.20m)
Max. T/O weight: 6,614lb (3,000kg)
Powerplant: 1 Atar EV (101E)
axial turbojet

AA30_pp 14-15.indd 15 31/01/2017 11:58

 16 FRANCE

Dassault Mirage IIIV

T
he NATO competition NBMR-3 to
select a single-seat V/STOL strike
aircraft was reaching its final stages
in the early1960s, with just two contenders
remaining with a realistic chance of winning
the contract Dassaults Mirage IIIV (V for
vertical) and Hawkers P1154.
The Mirage IIIV was essentially a scaled-up
Balzac V (see boxed item), retaining the classic
delta wing and the Balzacs nine-engined
layout, but fitting new powerplants in the
shape of a SNECMA-modified Pratt & Whitney
TF104 for propulsion and eight RB162 lift jets,
paired in the centre fuselage. The Mirage IIIV
also differed in that it had a taller vertical tail
fin and the wing was larger, thinner and had a
cranked leading edge. Unlike previous Mirage
designs, twin landing gear wheels were used on
all three legs.
With much of the groundwork already
carried out on the Balzac, Ren Bigand made
the first hovering flight at Melun Villaroche on
10 February 1965. Within a few weeks, he had
progressed to free hovers and was opening
up the envelope, but the programme was
then paused while the propulsion engine was
changed to a more powerful TF106 (19,800lb)
and various problems with the lift engines and
the ejection seat were ironed out.
The prototype was then moved to Istres
with its longer runway, where Jean-Marie
Saget made the first conventional take-off on
24July 1965. By December the aircraft had
achieved supersonic flight, but it wasnt until
24 March 1966 that the first transition from
hover to forward flight was made. Worryingly

Dassault Balzac V
To prove the Mirage IIIV concept, Dassault converted the first Mirage III prototype, replacing
the Atar engine by a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus of much lower thrust and reconfiguring the
centre fuselage to fit no fewer than eight RB108 lift engines. The converted aircraft was built
from a Mirage, it looked like a Mirage, it was built to pave the way for the Mirage IIIV but
Dassault named it Balzac V 001.
The first (and only) prototype started its flight testing at Melun Villaroche with a tethered
hover on 12 October 1962, piloted by Dassaults Ren Bigand who had already flown the SC1
at RAE Bedford earlier that year to gain VTOL experience. Free flights followed, leading to the
first transition on the 19th flight on 29 March 1963. The aircraft showed itself to be stable and
controllable, although problems of extreme heat and reingestion when in the hover and near
the ground bugbears of all jet VTOL types revealed themselves.
A high-profile presentation to the French government was made on 8 April 1963, after which
the Balzac was handed over to the CEV (French test centre) for further evaluation. The Balzac
appeared at the 1963 le Bourget Salon where it wowed the crowds, but crashed while in the
hover on 10 January 1964. Pilot Jacques Pinier was too low to eject, and was killed. Although
badly damaged, the aircraft was rebuilt and flew again just a year later. Its luck ran out on
8September 1965, when it crashed again on its 179th flight while being flown by Maj Philip
Neale, a USAF test pilot. Neale was killed and the aircraft was a write-off. By this time, though,
the Mirage IIIV had started its flight trials.

AA30_pp 16-17.indd 16 28/01/2017 09:07

 DASSAULT MIRAGE IIIV 17

for Dassault, the IIIV proved less stable and in all probability take neither. NATO unity only
controllable than the Balzac during transitions. works up to a point! The Mirage IIIV had shown Dassault Mirage IIIV
A second prototype, fitted with a Pratt & its capabilities during the programmes short
Crew: One
Whitney TF306 turbofan, flew in summer 1966 life, but the aircraft was hugely complex and
Length: 59ft 1in (18.0m)
and joined the test programme at Istres in the unaffordably expensive. Fuel consumption was
Wingspan: 28ft 7in (8.7m)
September. That month it reached Mach 2.04, extremely high, especially during hovering
Height: 18ft 2 in (5.5m)
becoming the first V/STOL type to achieve twice flight and consequently range was very poor. Weight empty: 22,500lb (10,200kg)
the speed of sound. Arme de lAir engineers also baulked at the Max. T/O weight: 29,080lb (13,190kg)
The aircrafts flying career was cut short logistical problems of supporting a squadron Max speed: 1,350mph (2,170km/h)
when, on its 24th flight on 28 November 1966, it of nine-engined aircraft in the field, while the Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney
crashed at Istres. This set-back effectively killed French defence minister noted that the unit TF106 (19,800lb),
the programme, although all had not been well cost of a Mirage IIIV would be six times that of a 8 x Rolls-Royce RB162
long before that date. It had become evident conventional Mirage IIIE. (4,400lb)
that NATO was never going to select a single Much of the research data gained in the VTOL method: Eight lift engines
V/STOL strike aircraft to equip all its air forces; Balzac Vs 179 flights, the Mirage IIIV 01s 40
the French would surely buy the MirageIIIV, the flights and the Mirage IIIV 02s 24 flights was Below: The Mirage IIIV was equipped with a
RAF the Hawker P1154 and the others would used in other Dassault programmes. staggering eight lift engines.

AA30_pp 16-17.indd 17 28/01/2017 09:07

 18 GERMANY
EWR Sd VJ-101C
G
ermanys aircraft industry was
definitely on the up in the early-
and mid-1960s, with several
futuristic designs on the drawing board
and, critically, finding the money to
finance them to prototype stage.
The EWR VJ-101C was conceived as
the forerunner of a proposed Mach 2
interceptor and possible VTOL successor
to the Luftwaffes then-new F-104G
Starfighter. To achieve a vertical take-off,
it had six engines, all Rolls-Royce RB145s
rated at 2,750lb. Wingtip nacelles each
contained two RB145s and could be
swivelled to the vertical for take-off and
landing and then progressively moved to
AA30_pp 19-20.indd 2-3
the horizontal for transition and forward
flight. Two further RB145s in the centre
fuselage were employed solely for lift.
Two prototypes were built by EWR
(a joint venture between Heinkel,
Messerschmitt and Blkow) and were
preceded by a complex hover rig which
was used to prove the proposed control
system and to build confidence. Prototype
X1 made its first free hover at Manching on
9 April 1963, flown by the American test
pilot George Bright. Testing continued and
a full transition was achieved on 8 October
the same year. Demonstrations were made
at the 1964 Hannover show in April/May
1964, where the aircraft undoubtedly
19
EWR SD VJ-101C 20
EWR Sd VJ-101C
Crew: One
Length: 51ft 6in (15.7m)
Wingspan: 21ft 8in (6.61m)
Height: 13ft 6in (4.1m)
Max. T/O weight: 13,420lb (6,100kg)
Max speed: Mach 1.04
Powerplant: 6 x Rolls-Royce
RB145 turbojets of
2,750lb thrust each
VTOL method: Swivelled jets and
lift engines
Below: Vertical take-off was achieved by six
RB145 engines, two mounted vertically in the
fuselage and four in the swivelling nacelles.
Above: The first VTOL aircraft to fly
supersonic, the sleek VJ-101C was to be
the basis for a Starfighter replacement.
VJ stood for Versuchsjger, German for
Experimental Fighter.
proved to be the star attraction. It achieved
Mach 1.04 in level flight on 29 July, thus
becoming the first supersonic VTOL
aircraft. Sadly the glory was short lived as
it crashed on 14 September 1964. There and a greater fuel load. Testing continued
was a hiatus in the test programme until with short rolling take-offs, while X2 later
second prototype X2 took to the air, which achieved Mach 1.2. The VJ-101C must rate
it did with hovering flights in October as a highly successful programme, which
1964 and a vertical take-off on 12 October demonstrated the viability of the overall
the following year. This was a heavier concept. Despite that, the proposed Mach 2
aircraft with afterburners on the RB145s VJ-101D was never built.
20 31/01/2017 11:57
 19 GERMANY
EWR Sd VJ-101C
G
ermanys aircraft industry was
definitely on the up in the early-
and mid-1960s, with several
futuristic designs on the drawing board
and, critically, finding the money to
finance them to prototype stage.
The EWR VJ-101C was conceived as
the forerunner of a proposed Mach 2
interceptor and possible VTOL successor
to the Luftwaffes then-new F-104G
Starfighter. To achieve a vertical take-off,
it had six engines, all Rolls-Royce RB145s
rated at 2,750lb. Wingtip nacelles each
contained two RB145s and could be
swivelled to the vertical for take-off and
landing and then progressively moved to
AA30_pp 19-20.indd 2-3
the horizontal for transition and forward
flight. Two further RB145s in the centre
fuselage were employed solely for lift.
Two prototypes were built by EWR
(a joint venture between Heinkel,
Messerschmitt and Blkow) and were
preceded by a complex hover rig which
was used to prove the proposed control
system and to build confidence. Prototype
X1 made its first free hover at Manching on
9 April 1963, flown by the American test
pilot George Bright. Testing continued and
a full transition was achieved on 8 October
the same year. Demonstrations were made
at the 1964 Hannover show in April/May
1964, where the aircraft undoubtedly
19
EWR SD VJ-101C 19
EWR Sd VJ-101C
Crew: One
Length: 51ft 6in (15.7m)
Wingspan: 21ft 8in (6.61m)
Height: 13ft 6in (4.1m)
Max. T/O weight: 13,420lb (6,100kg)
Max speed: Mach 1.04
Powerplant: 6 x Rolls-Royce
RB145 turbojets of
2,750lb thrust each
VTOL method: Swivelled jets and
lift engines
Below: Vertical take-off was achieved by six
RB145 engines, two mounted vertically in the
fuselage and four in the swivelling nacelles.
Above: The first VTOL aircraft to fly
supersonic, the sleek VJ-101C was to be
the basis for a Starfighter replacement.
VJ stood for Versuchsjger, German for
Experimental Fighter.
proved to be the star attraction. It achieved
Mach 1.04 in level flight on 29 July, thus
becoming the first supersonic VTOL
aircraft. Sadly the glory was short lived as
it crashed on 14 September 1964. There and a greater fuel load. Testing continued
was a hiatus in the test programme until with short rolling take-offs, while X2 later
second prototype X2 took to the air, which achieved Mach 1.2. The VJ-101C must rate
it did with hovering flights in October as a highly successful programme, which
1964 and a vertical take-off on 12 October demonstrated the viability of the overall
the following year. This was a heavier concept. Despite that, the proposed Mach 2
aircraft with afterburners on the RB145s VJ-101D was never built.
20 31/01/2017 11:57
 20 GERMANY
Bachem Ba 349 Natter
T
he Bachem Ba 349 Natter (adder) was
a last-ditch attempt by Germanys
aircraft industry to provide a simple,
easy-to-construct rocket-powered fighter
that could scythe its way through the allied
bomber streams that were, by 1944, flying
over the Fatherland with relative impunity
by day and by night.
The Natter was intended to be expendable;
by that stage of the war, the Luftwaffe was
prepared to think of its pilots the same way.
Constructed primarily of wood, the Natter
had wings of just 13ft span, a liquid-fuelled
Walter rocket engine in the fuselage and four
externally-mounted solid-fuel boosters, and
was launched from a vertically-mounted 60ft
AA30_pp 18.indd 18
tower. Armament was intended to be a battery vertically under 14,000lb of thrust. Something
of air-to-air rockets in the nose. went wrong just seconds later; the aircraft
Early examples of the Natter were tested as pitched onto its back, the canopy was seen
gliders and in unmanned vertical launches. to detach and the aircraft nose-dived into the
Such was the urgency attached to the ground. Sieber had no chance, and was killed.
programme that a first manned launch was Within 10 weeks, the war would be over, and
attempted at the test site on 1 March 1945. no Natter was ever employed operationally.
A volunteer 22-year-old Luftwaffe pilot, one
Bachem Ba 349 Natter
Lothar Sieber (some reports have him as
Siebert), climbed the ladder into the cockpit,
and settled himself while the hood was closed Crew: One
before igniting the rockets and accelerating Length: 19ft 8in (6m)
Wingspan: 13ft 1in (4m)
Below: Desperate times called for desperate
measures. The Bachem Natter was designed as Height: 7ft 5in (2.25m)
a vertical take-off rocket-powered interceptor Weight empty: 1,940lb (880kg)
armed with a nose full of rockets. Max. T/O weight: 4,921lb (2,232kg)
Max speed: 621mph (1,000km/h)
Powerplant: 1 x Walter HWK
109-509C-1 bi-fuel rocket
motor of 2,500lb thrust
and 4 x Schmidding
SG34 solid fuel booster
rockets
VTOL method: Vertical take off
31/01/2017 11:57
 DORNIER Do 31 21

Dornier Do 31 Dornier Do 31
Crew:
Length:
Two
68ft 6in (20.9m)

T
Wingspan: 59ft 3in (18.1m)
en engines and the worlds only jet- that War Pac forces could, if they wished, roll
Height: 28ft 8in (8.7m)
powered V/STOL transport, the Dornier across central Europe and be at the Channel
Weight empty: 30,560lb (13,860kg)
Do 31 was a sight and sound to behold. ports by teatime on Friday! The Do 31 promised
Max. T/O weight: 60,500lb (27,440kg)
Alongside NATOs NBMR-3 contest for a the ability to transport a four-ton payload
Max speed: 450mph (725km/h)
V/STOL strike fighter, which was won jointly right into the front line, wherever the troops or
Powerplant: 2 x Rolls-Royce Pegasus
by Dassault with its Mirage IIIV and Hawker fighters were operating. 5/2 vectored thrust
Siddeley with its P1154, was a parallel The Do 31 design was nothing if not engines of 15,500lb and
requirement for a transport aircraft capable of ambitious. Two Bristol Siddeley Pegasus 5/2 8 x RB162 lift jets
V/STOL operation to supply the dispersed or vectored thrust engines, derated to 15,500lb, of 4,400lb each
austere operating bases envisaged. This was provided the main thrust, while eight RB162 VTOL method: Lift engines, vectored
NBMR-4. Many European aircraft companies dedicated lift engines were mounted in thrust main propulsion
put forward their designs, including Hawker wingtip pods. Dornier approached the test engines
Siddeley with the HS681 and Dornier with its programme with typical German thoroughness.
Do 31. The HS681 was cancelled by the decision Various ground rigs were employed to test the (conventional) flight on 14 July 1967. The
of an incoming British government in 1965, but autostabilisation system, while a Big Hover first vertical take-offs and landing were made
the German government held its nerve and took Rig generally representative of the Do 31 but on 22 November, while full transitions were
two prototypes (E1 and E3; E2 was a static test with only six lift engines was used to give completed in December.
airframe) of the Do 31 all the way to flight test. pilots familiarity with the aircrafts hovering The Do 31s pilots made it all look easy,
The German Luftwaffe was rightly concerned characteristics. Prototype E1 was intended for demonstrating transitions at the le Bourget
that its main air bases with their NATO standard conventional flying only and thus lacked the Salon in 1969 and at the Hannover ILA the
8,000ft runways, many of them close to the wingtip pods and lift engines. It made its first following year. The aircraft wasnt pretty, and
frontier with War Pac countries, might quickly flight at Oberpfaffenhofen on 10 February it was fiendishly noisy in the hover, but it all
be overrun should war break out. This was the 1967. Meanwhile, E3 with the full 10-engine worked. If there was a flaw in Dorniers plans, it
mid-1960s, when the consensus of opinion was fit followed along behind, making its first was that the equipment required to achieve
V/STOL flight increased the aircrafts complexity
Above left: The Dornier Do 31 was an experimental VTOL jet transport designed to meet a NATO and cost and reduced its payload. The Do 31s
specification. It was a technological success (in that it worked), but the large drag and weight of the lift final flight was by E3 at Hannover in May 1970,
engine pods reduced the useful payload and range compared to conventional transport aircraft.
by which time the ambitious programme
Below: The impressive sight of a large jet transport aircraft in the hover. It was planned to replace had been abandoned. Subsequently, both
the outer nacelles and their engines with RB153 turbofans when they became available, but the prototypes found well-deserved homes in
programme was cancelled before this could be achieved. German museums.

AA30_pp 23.indd 23 31/01/2017 11:55

AA30_pp 21-22.indd 2-3 21 22 31/01/2017 12:44
AA30_pp 21-22.indd 2-3 21 22 31/01/2017 12:44
 24 GERMANY
VFW VAK 191B
T
he VFW VAK 191B suffered a rather
lengthy development. It was conceived
in the early 1960s as a German
contender to meet a NATO requirement for
a Fiat G91 replacement, and at a heady time
when there was talk of the Luftwaffe going
for an all-VTOL front-line fighter force.
The VAK 191B was produced by Vereinigte
Flugtechnische Werke (VFW) a German
company formed by Focke-Wulf and Weser-
AA30_pp 24-25.indd 24
Flugzeugbau. VAK was the abbreviation
for Vertikalstartendes Aufklrungs und
Kampfflugzeug (V/STOL Reconnaissance and
Strike Aircraft).
In some respects, the VAK 191B was similar in
concept to Hawkers Harrier, although powered
by three (rather than just one) engines. Two
Rolls-Royce RB162 (5,600lb) lift engines were
mounted forward and aft in the fuselage, with
a vectored thrust Rolls-Royce/MAN Turbo RB193
Above: Although bearing a passing resemblance
to the Harrier, the VAK-191B had a more
complicated layout featuring three different lift
engines. Between 1970-1975, three VAK 191Bs
were tested making 91 flights.
(10,150lb) at the aircrafts C of G. The RB163,
whose only application was the VAK 191B, was
similar in concept to the Pegasus, with rotating
forward cold and rear hot nozzles, but it was
smaller and of lower thrust. The thrust line of
28/01/2017 09:45
 VFW VAK 191B 25

VFW VAK 191B

Crew: One
Length: 53ft 7in (16.4m)
Wingspan: 20ft 3in (6.16m)
Height: 14ft 1in (4.3m)
Weight empty: 12,236lb (5,562kg)
the RB162s was inclined 12.5 degrees rearwards programme just six weeks later, this decision Max. T/O weight: 19,800lb (9,000kg)
from the vertical, such that they provided an coming as a bitter blow to the development Max speed: 684mph (1,108km/h)
element of propulsion as well as lift. team, which felt that the aircraft was beginning Powerplant: 1 x Rolls-Royce/Man
Three prototypes were built, the first making to show its capabilities. Some further research RB193-12 lift/cruise
its maiden hovering flight at Bremen on flying was done with the three prototypes, turbofan of 10,150lb,
10 September 1971, piloted by VFWs Ludwig including a US/German V/STOL programme and and 2 x Rolls-Royce
Obermeier. Within a year, all three were flying some development flying in connection with RB162-81 lift turbojets
of 5,587lb each
and the first full transition was carried out on MRCA (as the Tornado was then referred to). But
VTOL method: Vectored thrust and
26 October 1972. Despite this achievement, the its chances of going into production were, as
dedicated lift engines
West German government cancelled the whole the Germans say, kaput.

AA30_pp 24-25.indd 25 31/01/2017 11:53

 26 SOVIET UNION
Yakovlev Yak-36 Freehand
T
he Soviet Union produced three VTOL
fighter designs, starting with the
Yakovlev Yak-36, which made its first,
tentative hover on 9 January 1963.
This Yak-36 (NATO codename Freehand)
was powered by two Tumansky R27 turbojets
mounted in the lower fuselage, each
exhausting through a single vectoring nozzle
positioned at the aircrafts C of G. Control at
low airspeeds was by puffer jets at the aircrafts
extremities, and a bicycle undercarriage
arrangement with outrigger wheels was
adopted all very much la Harrier.
The original Yak-36 was only intended
as a technology demonstrator, but the two
AA30_pp 26-27.indd 26
prototypes proved passably easy to handle the experience gained to produce a new VTOL
and made quite a few spectacular flight fighter design, this time for the Soviet Navy that
demonstrations, both to Party faithfuls (who was showing great interest for its forthcoming
had no option but to applaud) and to the Type 1123 aircraft carriers. Despite being
crowds at the July 1967 Domodedovo air show. designated Yak-36M, it was a completely new
While the second prototype at the show carried design sharing little or no commonality with
under-wing rocket pods, the Yak-36 was never the earlier type. As such, it is best considered
designed as a warplane. Yakovlev though, used along with the Yak-38.
Right: Four Yak-36s were built. The first was used for static testing, while the second (pictured) was
used for for take-off and landing tests, including free hovering. The third incorporated technological
improvements, but crashed during testing. A similar fate was suffered by the fourth aircraft, by which
time the programme had achieved its objectives.
Below: The first untethered vertical flight was made on 23 June 1963, followed by the first full transition
to horizontal flight on 16 September 1963. Piotr Butowski Collection
28/01/2017 09:46
 AA30_pp 26-27.indd 27 28/01/2017 09:46
 28 SOVIET UNION

Yakovlev Yak-38 Forger

T
he Soviet Naval Aviations only
operational VTOL strike fighter was
the Yak-38 Forger, that equipped four
carriers in the 1980s.
After reviewing the design of Hawkers
single-engined P1127, the Yakovlev project
team decided that the Yak-36M would better
add a pair of vertically-mounted lift engines
(RD36) in the forward fuselage and a revised
and uprated R27 turbojet with a vectoring
nozzle each side further aft. Designed as a
light attack aircraft for use from a ships deck,
the Yak-36M had provision for under-wing
weapon pylons and a conformal gun pod
under the centre fuselage. Breaking with
company tradition, the undercarriage featured
a conventional tricycle arrangement.
include weapons delivery and first operations
from the carrier Moskva. These shipboard
tests lasted for more than a year (November
1972 to December 1973), and proved the type
could safely operate from an aircraft carrier
or, indeed, from any vessel offering a 20m
x 20m landing pad. On 22 November 1972,
project pilot Mikhail Deksbakh flew a full
simulated operational mission from the ship,

Yakovlev Yak-38 Forger

First hover was achieved on 22 September with a vertical take-off, transitions to and from
1970, and the first conventional flight 10 weeks conventional flight and a vertical landing.
Crew: One later on 2 December. Early tests revealed This date is long remembered in Russia as the
Length: 53ft 8in (16.4m) several glitches with the aircrafts flight control birthday of (Soviet) fixed-wing naval aviation.
Wingspan: 23ft (7.0m) system when manoeuvring in the hover, with Having completed rigorous testing, the
Height: 13ft 11in (4.2m) pilot Valentin Mookhin suffering a few hard aircraft was cleared for service in 1976. Yes,
Weight empty: 15,500lb (7,030kg) landings. Second and third prototypes joined the aircrafts top speed was only marginally
Max. T/O weight: 24,900lb (11,300kg) the programme, and testing was extended to supersonic, range was down on the design
Max speed: 750mph (1,210km/h)
Powerplant: 2 x RD36 lift engines
(RD36, 6,600lb), 1 x R27
turbojet (14,900lb) with
vectoring nozzles
VTOL method: Dedicated lift engines
plus vectored thrust
main engine

AA30_pp 28-31.indd 28 31/01/2017 11:52

 YAKOVLEV YAK-38 29

requirement and
there would have to
be some restrictions on
the flight envelope, but the
Navy needed to get operational
experience with VTOL operations
and this aircraft was the only way
forward. Accordingly, series production was
authorised under the designation Yak-38.
The Yak-38 was initially cleared only for VTOL
operation, and the first squadron embarked
on the carrier Kiev in 1976 to work up. VTOL
operations in the high ambient temperatures
encountered in the Black Sea restricted the
aircraft, when taking off vertically, to carrying
limited fuel and little or no armament. Despite
this, it was not until late in 1979 that clearance
was given for short rolling take-offs. As with
the Harrier, the ability to use a few hundred
feet of deck run to gain some aerodynamic
lift improved the Yak-38s usefulness as a
warplane considerably. When the Kiev entered

Above: Early schematic showing the lift devices
of the Yak-38. Combined with the main vectored
thrust engine in the rear, two smaller, and less
powerful, engines were housed in the front
portion of the fuselage and used purely for take-
off and landing.
Left: A Yakovlev Yak-38 Forger landing aboard
Novorossiysk in 1984. The Yak-38 possessed an
automatic ejection seat. If one of the take-off
engines failed, once the aircraft rolled past 60
degrees the pilot was automatically ejected from
the aircraft.
Below: Photographed by US Navy reconnaissance
aircraft, a pair of Yakovlev Yak-38s are captured
in 1983. Although the Forger bore a passing
resemblance to the Harrier, that was as far as it
went. The Yak-38 could not match the durability
and capability of its Western counterpart.
the Mediterranean in July 1976, it had Yak-38s
lined up on the deck and put on a show of
capability for the NATO patrol aircraft RAF
Nimrods, US Navy P-3 Orions that were
overflying the ship to get the first good
intelligence photos.
The Yak-38 served, albeit in relatively small
numbers, on board Soviet carriers with the
Northern, Pacific and Black Sea Fleets for 15
years. Despite the availability of a two-seat
variant (Yak-38U), conversion to type proved
difficult and pilots never got enough flight
hours really to master it. Thus, the Yak-38
had a bad reputation as being difficult to
handle. With the Soviet Navys interest in VTOL
operations lessening, the Yak-38 fleet was
retired in summer 1991.

AA30_pp 28-31.indd 29 28/01/2017 09:48

 30 SOVIET UNION

AA30_pp 28-31.indd 30 28/01/2017 09:49

 YAKOVLEV YAK-38 31

Above left: An underside view of the Forger

revealing its vectored thrust nozzles at the rear.

Left: Forger operations in the Mediterranean

came under close scrutiny from the West, eager
to discover the true capabilities of the Soviet
VTOL aircraft.

Above: The Yak-38 was developed specifically for

the four Kiev-class aircraft carriers, Kiev, Minsk,
Novorossiysk and Admiral Gorshkov.

Right: Operations of the carrier Minsk in the

Mediterranean in the early 1980s allowed the
West to get a close-up view of the Soviet Naval
Aviations only operational VTOL strike fighter.

Below: The two-seat training version differed

from the basic aircraft in having an enlarged
fuselage to accommodate a two-seat cockpit.
The Yak-38U entered service on 15 November
1978 with a total of 38 being produced.

AA30_pp 28-31.indd 31 28/01/2017 09:49

 32 SOVIET UNION

Yakovlev Yak-41 Freestyle

W
hile the Yak-38 was only marginally
supersonic, Yakovlevs designers
had turned their attention to a
vastly improved VTOL fighter from late 1973.
The new type would be capable of Mach 1.5
and, unlike the Yak-38, be fitted with a radar.
Designated Yak-41 (although often referred to
as Yak-141), the aircraft stayed with the two
plus one powerplant arrangement, the main
engine being a new R79 turbofan fitted with a
single, vectoring nozzle. This dictated the need
for a split rear fuselage, with the tailplane (twin
vertical fins and stabilators) being mounted on
tail booms. A fly-by-wire flight control system
was fitted along with full FADEC control of
all three engines, and the propulsion engine
featured afterburning that could be employed
in both vertical and horizontal flight. Rarely has
one aircraft introduced so many firsts.
up and with the main engine vectoring nozzle
partially deflected. Sea trials aboard the carrier
Admiral Gorshkov got under way in September/
October 1991. These were marred by the
5 October crash of the second prototype which
became unstable in the hover for landing, pilot
Yakimov ejecting as the aircraft impacted the
flight deck, collapsing the undercarriage and
starting a raging fire.

Yakovlev Yak-41 Freestyle

The first Yak-41 destined to fly, 75 White, was Below: Chief Yakovlev test pilot Sinitsyn set 12
taken by road to the test centre at Zhukovsky new world records in the Yak-41. However, as the
Yak-41 designation was classified, the records
Crew: One in May 1986, from where it made its maiden,
were submitted under the fictitious name of
Length: 60ft 2in (18.36m) conventional flight on 9 March 1987. The test Yak-141. As a result, the previously unknown
Wingspan: 33ft 1in (10.10m) programme expanded to full transitions, and to aircraft was known in the west as the Yak-141,
Height: 16ft 5in (5m) short, rolling take-offs with lift engines powered Freestyle. Piotr Butowski Collection
Weight empty: 25,683lb (11,650kg)
Max. T/O weight: 42,989lb (19,500kg)
Max speed: M 1.4+ (1,118mph)
Powerplant: 2 x RKBM lift engines
(RD41, 9,6300lb),
1 x Soyuz R-79V-300
turbofan (24,300lb) with
vectoring nozzle
VTOL method: Dedicated lift engines
plus vectored thrust
main engine

AA30_pp 32-33.indd 32 31/01/2017 12:30

 YAKOVLEV YAK41/141 33

Left: An artists rather optimistic impression of the Yakovlev Yak-41 operating on board a Tbilisi class
aircraft carrier.

Below: The Yak-41 in the hover, balancing on the thrust of its vectored main engine and two dedicated
lift engines.

By this time, it was all over bar the shouting.

The Soviet Navy had decided to terminate
funding for the Yak-41, a decision that led the
post-dtente Yakovlev to seek international
partners to continue the programme. It was
with this aim that the remaining prototype
was flown at the SBACs Farnborough show in
September 1992. But there were no takers, and
the programme died a slow death over the next
couple of years.

AA30_pp 32-33.indd 33 31/01/2017 12:30

 34 UNITED KINGDOM

Fairey FD1
T
he Fairey Delta 1 (FD1) has a slightly
tenuous claim for inclusion in this
Aviation Archive of vertical take-
off aircraft. While originally conceived
as a ramp-launched fighter capable of
employment aboard British warships, Fairey Delta 1
in the event it was completed as a more
conventional research aircraft with a small Type: Research Prototype
delta-wing and tricycle undercarriage. Crew: One
When all of the captured German data was Length: 26ft 3in (8m)
evaluated after World War 2, one of the aircraft Wingspan: 19ft 6in (5.8m)
that captured the imagination of the British Air Powerplants: 1 x Rolls-Royce Derwent
Ministry was the Bachem Natter vertical take-off 8 of 3,600lb thrust
interceptor. This appealed to Fairey, which was Loaded weight: 8,000lb
working on a proposed VTO fighter for possible Max speed: 345mph
ship-board use.
Three prototypes were ordered in 1947 but and the employment of braking parachutes
only one was completed. The first and only but, unlike the later and totally different FD2,
prototype VX350 was built to specification it never made a great mark in aviation history.
E.10/47 (Experimental specification 10 of 1947), When it lost its undercarriage in an emergency
the design originally envisaging rocket boosters landing at Boscombe Down on 6 February 1956,
to supplement the Rolls-Royce Derwent few tears were shed and it was quietly put to
turbojet installed. These were never fitted, and one side, its flying career at an end.
the FD1 proved somewhat underpowered on
its single jet engine. Constructed by Fairey Right: Inspired by the concept of the Bachem
at its Heaton Chapel works at Stockport, the Natter, the flying career of the Fairey Delta 1 was
prototype did its taxiing trials at Ringway (now quickly consigned to history.
Manchester airport) before being taken by road
Below: The stubby Fairey Delta 1 was not an easy
to Boscombe Down, where it made its first flight (or indeed safe) aircraft to fly. In the event, its
on 12 March 1951. The aircraft provided some proposed ramp-launched vertical capability
useful data on the handling of delta wings was never explored (perhaps thankfully).

AA30_pp 34-35.indd 34 28/01/2017 09:51

 FAIREY FD1 35

AA30_pp 34-35.indd 35 28/01/2017 09:52

 36 UNITED KINGDOM
Flying Bedstead
T
he pioneering Rolls-Royce Thrust
Measuring Rig (TMR), has the
distinction of being the first jet-lift
vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft
to fly anywhere in the world
The Flying Bedstead, to give the Rolls-Royce
Thrust Measuring Rig its more poular title, was
a very early attempt to produce an aircraft if,
indeed, it was an aircraft capable of vertical
take-off and landing. Constructed with a
tubular framework, its fuselage housed two
vertically-mounted Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets
and its undercarriage comprised four long legs
with castoring wheels. Attitude control was by
puffer jets at the extremities of long booms,
these employing high pressure compressed
air. This system of control had been designed
by Dennis Higton of the RAE Aero Flight at
Farnborough, and the Flying Bedstead was
intended to prove its practicability.
The rig made initial flights in a gantry at
Rolls-Royces Hucknall plant starting in August
1953 and its first free flight on 3 August the
following year. Two prototypes were built,
XJ314 and XK426. Although the aircraft was
AA30_pp 36-37.indd 36
Above: Despite its Heath Robinson appearance,
the aptly-named Flying Bedsteads place in
aviation history is assured.
Right: The Flying Bedstead was a tricky aircraft
to fly. It possessed only marginal excess power
and this was further compounded by the slow
response time of the engines to throttle changes.
Accordingly, its pilots had to demonstrate a
considerable degree of anticipation in the
use of engine power to prevent overshooting
the desired altitude and to ensure a gentle
touchdown when landing.
underpowered and required great skill on
the part of the pilot, the Bedstead proved the
concept of an aircraft employing jet-borne
lift and the use of puffer jets to control it.
The first prototype flew successfully from
Hucknall, Farnborough and Bedford until it
suffered a non-fatal crash on 16 September
1957 following a failure in the autostabilisation
system. XK426 was less fortunate. On
28 November 1957, when making his first flight
on the type at Hucknall, Wg Cdr Henry Larsen
was killed when the aircraft struck the gantry
during tethered flight and rolled over.
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 40 UNITED KINGDOM

Short SC1
T
he history-making Short SC1 could
take off and land vertically and
hover mid-air. For a
fixed-wing jet aircraft in
1958, this was nothing short
of remarkable.
Following on from the Flying Bedstead,
the next stage in Britains quest for practical
VTOL flight involved the construction by Short
in Belfast of two prototypes of the SC1.
The design featured a delta wing and five
engines Rolls-Royce RB108s offering 2,000lb
thrust apiece and having the unprecedented piloted the Flying Bedstead, a skill he likened The SC1 flew across the Channel in May
(for the time) thrust: weight ratio of 8:1. Four to learning to riding a bicycle. By October 1958 1961, with XG900 making the journey from
were mounted vertically in the centre fuselage he was hovering the SC1 and XG905 made its Bedford to le Bourget in five stages over five
around the aircrafts C of G, while a fifth debut hovering at the Farnborough show in days. Judged overall, the programme was
provided power for forward flight. September 1959, though Brooke-Smith had extremely successful, marred only by the fatal
Two prototypes, XG900 and XG905, were to curtail his display when the intakes became crash of XG905 on 2 October 1963, when its
built and Shorts Chief Test Pilot Tom Brooke- clogged by newly-mown grass stirred up by his autostabilisation system failed. The question of
Smith made the first conventional flight (with take-off. It would be April 1960 before the first whether the future of VTOL lay with aircraft with
only the thrust engine installed) on 2 April full transition to and from conventional flight discrete lift and thrust engines was, however,
1957. As a first step, Brooke-Smith had earlier was made. still open for discussion.

Top: The first Short SC1 prototype, XG900.

Short SC1
Right: With its highly-polished metal finish gleaming in the sunshine, Short SC1 XG905 is prepared
Crew: One (usually Tom for another test flight. The robust undercarriage was specially designed and was able to withstand a
Brooke-Smith) descent rate of 18ft (5.5m) per second.
Length: 29ft 10in (9.1m)
Wingspan: 23ft 6in (7.2m) Below: Not only did the Short SC1 resemble a blowfly on steroids, it also flew like one Shorts Tom
Brooke-Smith was the first pilot to make a jet powered vertical take off in a fixed wing aircraft, then
Height: 9ft 10in (3.0m)
translate into aerodynamic flight and return to the hover for the vertical landing.
Weight empty: 6,000lb (2,720kg)
Max. T/O weight: 8,050lb (3,650kg)
Max speed: 250mph (400km/h)
Powerplant: 5 x RB108 turbojets
(2,000lb)

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Fairey Rotodyne
T
he Fairey (later Westland, once they had
taken over Fairey Aviations activities)
Rotodyne was one of the British
aircraft industrys great white hopes. An
altogether larger aircraft than the Gyrodyne
(see overleaf), the Rotodyne adopted the
same broad compound helicopter concept.
The prototype, built at the factory at Hayes
and then moved to White Waltham for final
assembly in early 1957, was a 33,000lb
aircraft powered by two Napier Eland
turboprops and with a four-bladed, 90ft
rotor. It only had partial seating in the cabin,
but there was space for 40 passengers in a
2+2 seating arrangement, while the rear
of the fuselage sported clamshell doors to
permit the straight in loading of freight.
With the Gyrodyne having done much of
the proving work, the prototype Rotodyne
progressed rapidly. First flight was on
6November 1957, although this was in pure
helicopter mode; it was not until 10 April 1958
that the first transition was made. As confidence
built up, the flight envelope was extended. In
January 1959, the Rotodyne set a world speed
record over a 100km closed course at 191mph
(307km/h) a speed way above that achieved
by any helicopter. The prototype, carrying the
AA30_pp 43-45.indd 43
military serial XE521 and later RAF roundels on
the basis that the Ministry of Aviation paid for
it, had a ready customer in British European
Airways (BEA), which foresaw the Rotodyne as
the transport of the future, offering city-centre-
to-city-centre flights. The RAF also made noises
that suggested it was interested in the type for
operation into unprepared strips.
Things were going well for the Rotodyne.
A Heathrow-Brussels flight on 16 June 1959
impressed the Belgian national carrier SABENA,
and some of their executives continued with
the aircraft to land in central Paris at the Issy-
les-Molineux heliport near the Eiffel Tower.
It then continued to the le Bourget Salon,
where it flew daily and wowed the crowds.
Kaman, a major helicopter manufacturer in
the United States, had by that time concluded
an agreement with Fairey to become agents
for the Rotodyne in North America with the
possibility of license production. Airlines
including Okanagan Helicopters of Canada,
New York Airways and Japan Airlines had
placed orders for the aircraft and a larger
production variant, the Rotodyne Type Z, was
planned. Yes, the Rotodyne was noisy, but
only particularly so during the time the tip
jets were lit for take-off and landing. It
FAIREY ROTODYNE 41
cannot have been that bad, as the prototype
operated into the Battersea Heliport in March
1961 with no adverse comments.
Then, suddenly, the project was cancelled.
On 26 February 1962, the government
withdrew its support, although its statement
in the Commons left the company the option
to continue the project on its own if it wished.
BEA, it announced, had concluded with
reluctance that it was not prepared to take the
risk of being the lead customer for the type.
As has happened too often with other
advanced projects in the UK, the Rotodyne
suffered from being too far ahead of the field,
and its government backers started to worry
that they were taking too much risk. It would
not be for a further 27 years that an aircraft of
similar capability would be built, tested and
this time brought into service. That aircraft
would be the V-22 Osprey, but it would come
from Fort Worth,
Texas rather than
from West London.
Below: Fairey had high hopes
for its Rotodyne, but although
it was promising in concept and
successful in trials, it never got
beyond a single flying prototype.
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 44 UNITED KINGDOM

Above: The interior of the Rotodyne was

designed to accommodate 40 passengers. Fairey
estimated that the Rotodyne could operate at
half the seat mile cost of helicopters and was
more cost effective than airliners of the day up to
a 150-mile radius.

Right: Construction of the fuselage and wings

underway at Faireys Hayes factory.

Fairey Jet Gyrodyne

Faireys Jet Gyrodyne was never intended as a production aircraft. Rather, it was built for
research, to test the practicality of the tip-jet system to power the rotor of a compound
helicopter for take-off and landing. Its single Alvis Leonides radial piston engine powered both
propellers while a further drive powered two compressors under the rotor head which fed air
at high pressure to the rotor tips. At the tips, the exiting compressed air was augmented by
kerosene, which was vaporised and ignited to spin the rotor.
This simple scheme, in which the rotor was not directly powered by the engine as in a Above: The Rotodynes tip-jet drive and unloaded
conventional helicopter, gave the required lift for take-off. Once a decent height had been rotor made its performance far better when
reached, the pilot translated to forward flight. When the transition was complete, the aircraft compared to pure helicopters and other forms
had its lift provided both by its stubby wings and by the now auto-rotating rotor. of convertiplanes. However, the noise that it
generated in the hover was a cause of great
First flight was in January 1954, but it was not until 1 March 1955 that a transition was
concern considering it was designed as a city-to-
achieved. Nevertheless, the Jet Gyrodyne gave an impressive display at the 1955 Farnborough city transport.
show and eventually some 190 transitions were made, all without undue drama. By this stage,
it had served its purpose and paved the way for an altogether larger aircraft which was very Right: A tantalising glimpse of what might have
much intended for production; the Fairey Rotodyne. been. Had fate been kinder to Fairey and the
Rotodyne, the aircraft could have been plying the
airways between city centres around the world.

Below: Rotodyne performed to expectations and

set a world speed record in the convertiplane
category, at 190.9mph (307.2km/h) on 5 January
1959, over a 60 mile (100km) closed circuit.
Despite garnering significant interest from
around the world, funding for the Rotodyne was
terminated in early 1962.

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 FAIREY ROTODYNE 45

Left: In bare metal finish the Rotodyne is

readied for an early flying demonstration at
White Waltham.

Fairey Rotodyne
Crew: Two
Length: 58ft 8in (17.9m)
Wingspan: 46ft 6in (14.2m)
Rotor diameter: 90ft (27.4m)
Height: 22ft 2ft (6.8m)
Weight empty: 22,000lb (9,980kg)
Max. T/O weight: 33,000lb (14,970kg)
Max speed: 190mph (305km/h)
Powerplant: 2 x Napier Eland
turboprops (2,800hp)
VTOL method: Main rotor tip jets using
combustion (Fairey
pressure jets)

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 46 UNITED KINGDOM

Hawker P1127/Kestrel
W
here it all began. The Hawker suitable niche in the fighter market. He became by road to the companys Dunsfold airfield on
P1127 and Kestrel FGA1 were the interested in the possibilities of a vertical take- 15 July 1960. Because Bristol could only offer
experimental and development off aircraft following the development by 11,300lb of thrust from this BE53, the P1127
aircraft that led to the worlds most Bristol Aero-Engines of the BE53 jet engine initially had all unnecessary items such as pitot
successful VTOL jet fighter, the Harrier offering four-poster jet lift from four rotating head and airbrake removed to save weight. The
Hawker Aircraft of Kingston-upon-Thames nozzles. By 1957, Camm was refining designs first stage was tethered flying over a metal grid
was, in the 1950s, enjoying great sales for a suitable airframe that would, of to minimise the effects of reingestion from the
success with its Hunter fighter, which was the necessity, be built around the engine as the downward-pointing exhaust nozzles. Chief Test
spearhead of RAFs Fighter Command and had first requirement was that it should be at the Pilot Bill Bedford made the first hovering flight
achieved notable export successes. That said, centre of gravity of the aircraft. Going against on 21 October 1960. More followed, these to
chief designer Sir Sydney Camm was on the the trend of current fighter developments, allow Bedford to get the feel of the aircraft in
lookout for a follow-on project that might find a his design P1127 in the company scheme the flight regime which was least understood
would not be the fastest, nor would it carry ie hovering jet-borne flight, where roll, pitch
Hawker Kestrel FGA1 the greatest payload. But it would have the and yaw control were provided by puffer jets
ability to operate from short strips and to make at the extremities of the airframe.
Crew: One
vertical take-offs and landings. The flight test programme expanded,
Length: 42ft 6in (12.95m)
With only polite interest from the RAF, with a second prototype XP836 joining the
Wingspan: 23ft 11in (6.99m)
Hawker took the plunge to develop the P1127 programme in July 1961. It made the first
Height: 10ft 9in (3.28m)
using its own resources. Early examples of the full transition on 12 September 1961 and
Weight empty: 9,800lb (4,445kg)
BE53 (later to become the Pegasus) engine succeeded in reaching Mach 1 (albeit in a dive)
Max. T/O weight: 17,000lb (7,700kg)
started bench running in August 1959, and the on 12 December, only to be lost two days later
Max speed: 710mph (1,142km/h)
first P1127 XP831 was completed and taken in a non-fatal crash with Bedford flying when a
Powerplant: 1 x Bristol Siddeley
Pegasus 5 vectored-
thrust turbofan of
15,000lb
VTOL method: Vectored thrust
main engine

AA30_pp 46-47.indd 46 31/01/2017 11:48


front exhaust nozzle detached on approach to
Yeovilton. Bedford suffered a further crash, this
time in XP831, at the Paris Air Show on 16 June
1963 when a piece of grit in the nozzle control
system caused the aircraft to depart the hover
and make a very heavy landing which collapsed
the undercarriage. Fortunately, both pilot and
aircraft survived to fly another day, but sounds
of great mirth were heard coming from the
Dassault chalet.
Six P1127s were built in total XP831 and
XP836 plus four Development Batch aircraft
Below: The first Hawker P1127 XP831 in the
hover during an early test flight. These allowed
Chief Test Pilot Bill Bedford to get the feel of
the aircraft in the flight regime which was least
understood ie hovering jet-borne flight, where
roll, pitch and yaw control were provided by
puffer jets at the extremities of the airframe.
Inset: British, German and US pilots of the
Tripartite Evaluation Squadron (TES) at RAF West
Raynham, Norfolk in front of their Kestrel FGA1s.
Below right: Four Kestrels of the nine aircraft
Tripartite Evaluation Squadron in line echelon.
Although flying the Kestrel presented a whole
new set of challenges, its pilots loved it.
AA30_pp 46-47.indd 47
(XP972, XP976, XP980 and XP984). Later
versions of the Pegasus offered the increased
thrust that the aircraft so desperately needed.
The Pegasus 5 with a new fan gave 15,500lb
and this allowed XP984 to fit two under-wing
weapons pylons.
By this stage, interest in the possibilities
of a true V/STOL fighter had hardened and a
tri-national (British, German and US) agreement
of January 1963 led to a developed P1127
as the Kestrel FGA1. Nine Kestrels (XS688-
696) were produced, these equipping a
Tripartite Evaluation Squadron (TES) at RAF
West Raynham, Norfolk. This was a genuinely
international outfit. It was commanded by a
Brit but had pilots from all three nations, and
commenced operations on 1 April 1965 in a
blaze of publicity. It suffered something of an
embarrassment the same day when XS696,
flown by an American pilot and on what was
only the aircrafts tenth flight, swung on take-
off and was written off. Nevertheless, over its
nine-month existence and 600 hours of Kestrel
flying, the TES proved the practicability of
V/STOL operations from all types of airfields and
dispersed sites with minimal logistic support.
Better, the pilots loved flying the aircraft.
HAWKER P1127/KESTREL 47
The P1127 and the Kestrel were never
intended for service use. Rather, they were to
pave the way for a far more ambitious V/STOL
fighter, which Hawker was working on to serve
both the RAF and the Royal Navy. This was
the P1154, which would achieve supersonic
performance (Mach 1.3 low down and Mach 2
at altitude) with a new and far more powerful
engine developed from the Pegasus. The BS100
would employ Plenum Chamber Burning
(PCB) to burn fuel in the front nozzles and
to give a thrust rating of 36,000lb for a short
period. In the event, a lack of commonality of
the proposed RAF and Royal Navy versions of
the aircraft, cost considerations, inter-service
bickering and the attractions of McDonnells
F-4 Phantom, led to the cancellation of P1154
on 2 February 1965. As a sop, the British
government agreed that the P1127 could be
further developed to provide an aircraft for
service with the RAF in four years time. This
decision was met with little enthusiasm at
Hawker Aircraft, where design staff had set
their hearts on the challenge of supersonic
V/STOL, but work started on the new variant as
the P1127 (RAF). This was the aircraft that
would become the Harrier.
28/01/2017 09:56
 48 UNITED KINGDOM
Hawker Siddeley Harrier
A
s one popular RAF joke would
have it... Question: What is the
difference between a Harrier pilot
and God? Answer: God doesnt think hes a
Harrier pilot.
Following on from the Kestrel, at the heart of
the new P1127 (RAF) was a further developed
and more powerful Pegasus, the Mk101 rated
at 16,250lb. This required redesigned engine
intakes, with six (later eight) hinged blow in
doors just behind the lip. Another obvious
change was the extension of the wing tips
outboard of the outrigger fairings, while
further aerodynamic changes were made to the
wing, and a two-axis (later three-axis) Marconi
autostabilisation system was incorporated. As
befits a warplane, five weapon pylons were
fitted, although there was no internal gun;
when required, two podded 30mm Aden guns
could be mounted under the fuselage.
Six Development Batch aircraft (XV276-281)
were built, the first flying in the summer of
1966. All were completed within 12 months,
by which time the name Harrier, originally
proposed for the P1154, had been officially
adopted. While similar in overall concept to
both P1127 and Kestrel, the Harrier was in most
AA30_pp 48-53.indd 48
respects a new aeroplane and shared little
engineering commonality with its predecessors.
It was a true warplane and, to reflect this,
the RAF designated the initial production
variant GR1 (Ground Attack/Reconnaissance).
The fit included a Ferranti FE 541 nav/attack
system, a Smiths Head-Up Display (HUD) and
a moving map display, while to justify the R
for reconnaissance there was a F95 camera
mounted in the nose and the possibility of
fitting a dedicated reconnaissance pod on the
centreline station.
An initial batch of 60 Harrier GR1s (XV738-
762 and XV776-810) was ordered in 1966. Pilot
conversion was undertaken by the Harrier
Conversion Team at RAF Wittering, which was
to become The Home of the Harrier. Initially
only the most experienced pilots were taken
on as there was as yet no two-seat variant. No 1
Squadron (motto in omnibus princeps First with RAF Germany (RAFG) were Nos 3, 4 and
in all things) was announced as the initial
front-line unit and was declared operational on
1 September 1970. In so doing it became the
first squadron anywhere in the world to operate
a V/STOL fighter.
It is fair to say that every major advance in
Harrier capability over the years was made
Above: With the name Harrier newly inscribed
on its nose, one of the development GR1s is
put through its paces. Flying the Harrier was
a challenge and only the best RAF pilots were
selected for the task.
possible by thrust improvements in developed
versions of the Pegasus turbofan. The advent
of the Mk103 offering 21,500lb gave rise to the
GR3, considered the definitive first-generation
Harrier. The extra thrust allowed the fitting of
a Ferranti LRMTS laser ranger in an elongated
snoopy nose and a PWR radar warning system
at the tail. The GR3 represented a huge leap in
capability, particularly in a single-pass laydown
attack. The RAF ordered 40 new-build Harrier
GR3s, and remanufactured 62 earlier GR1s to
the same standard.
Four front-line Harrier squadrons were
formed by early 1972. Based at Wildenrath
20 Squadrons, while Wittering housed No 1
Squadron and the training unit now designated
233 OCU. By this stage the RAF had received
several two-seat (but fully combat capable)
Harrier T2s.
RAFG squadrons, in particular, exploited
the Harriers basing flexibility to the full. The
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 HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER 49

US Marine Corps
The second user of the Harrier was the US Marine Corps (USMC), which wanted a close air
support aircraft capable of flying from unimproved sites, beachheads or ships. Following
enthusiastic reports from the American pilots on the TES, two USMC officers walked into the
Hawker Siddeley chalet at Farnboroughs 1968 show and announced that they wanted to fly
the Harrier. They were granted a few initial assessment flights at Dunsfold, followed by a full
evaluation early in 1969. The result was the adoption of the Harrier by the USMC, the signing
of a licence agreement for McDonnell Douglas to manufacture the aircraft in the States and a
longer-term agreement to collaborate on further Harrier development. In the event, the USMC
received 110 single-seat (AV-8A in the US designation system) and two-seat (TAV-8A) Harriers,
all UK-manufactured.
The American support for the Harrier programme was highly beneficial. It increased the
production run, gave the type extra credibility and led to the clearance of a whole range of US
weaponry including the AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM. From the start, the USMC intended to clear
its AV-8A for operation from ships and trials were carried out in 1971 from USS Guadalcanal
and USS Coronado. USMC trials at the Patuxent River test centre included investigation of
VIFFing (thrust Vectoring In Forward Flight), where the Harriers engine nozzles were rotated in
wingborne flight. This allowed the Harrier pilot to make sudden changes in attitude or position
in combat and to turn square corners. It didnt make the Harrier into a dogfighter, but it did
give its pilot another way of getting out of trouble.

accepted overwhelming numerical superiority

of Soviet forces in western Europe posed NATO
planners huge headaches. The NATO standard
8,000ft runways were hugely vulnerable; one
well-aimed bomb could result in two, totally-
unusable 4,000ft runways. Only the RAFs
Harrier force, among all NATO air forces, could
continue to fly from a shortened runway or
from the airfield taxiway, or go off-base to
operate semi-autonomously from a flying site in
the field. This dispersal capability was regularly
practised by the RAFG squadrons, which
demonstrated that they could generate a huge
number of sorties for a period of days, with
quick turnarounds and only a short flight time
to the line of battle. All that was needed was a
metalled strip of 350m for take-off a straight
section of road would suffice and a metal
Mexe pad for landing.
Perhaps surprisingly, the RAF failed to adopt
the Harrier in great numbers, and its front-line
force never exceeded 60 aircraft. RAF orders
for the first-generation Harrier totalled 138,
compared with 200 for the totally conventional
Jaguar. Thus, however significant an aircraft the
Harrier was in the RAFs illustrious near 100-year
history, it remained only a niche type.

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 50 UNITED KINGDOM

Above: A trio of Harrier GR3s from 1417 Flight, which was

deployed to Belize from April 1980 to July 1993. The Harrier
had a long association with the nation having first been
deployed there in 1975 to counter the threat of invasion posed
from neighbouring Guatemala. At the time, Belize was part of the
British Commonwealth.

Right: Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3, XZ993 of No 4 Squadron RAF.

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 HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER 51

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 52 UNITED KINGDOM

Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3

Crew: One
Length: 45ft 8in (13.9m)
Wingspan: 25ft 3in (7.7m)
Height: 11ft 7in (3.5m)
Weight empty: 12,650lb (5,740kg)
Max. T/O weight: 26,000lb (11,800kg)
Max speed: 730mph (1,175km/h)
and marginally
supersonic in a dive
Powerplant: Rolls-Royce Pegasus
Mk103 (21,500lb)
vectored thrust turbofan
VTOL method: Vectored thrust via
rotating exhaust nozzles

Right: The Harriers unique ability to operate with

minimal ground facilities and very short runways
allowed it to be used at locations unavailable to
other fixed-wing aircraft.

Below: A two-seat Harrier being used to explore

ski-jump operations in preparation for the
introduction of the Royal Navys Sea Harrier.
Designated T2/T4, 25 two-seat trainers were
built for the RAF. To accommodate the extended
cockpit, the aircraft featured a stretched body
and taller tail fin.

Right: A Sidewinder-equipped Harrier GR3 patrolling the skies above Port Stanley in the Falkland
Islands. The RAFs Harriers had their baptism of fire during the Falklands War of 1982, fighting
alongside the Royal Navys Sea Harrier. Although the GR3 was a dedicated ground attack aircraft, it
was hastily fitted with air-to-air missiles to give it a dogfighting capability. Three Harrier GR3s were
lost during the fighting, one shot down by a shoulder-fired missile in Port Howard, another hit by anti-
aircraft fire over Goose Green and the last hit by ground fire near Port Stanley.

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 HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER 53

Spanish Navy
The third user of the first-generation Harrier was the Spanish Navy, which ordered an initial
batch of six AV-8As in 1973. These were intended for operation from the Navys aircraft carriers
(initially Dedalo, but from 1989 the new Principe de Asturias) and for their primary air defence
role were fitted with AIM-9 Sidewinders. The Spanish Navy had a very good safety record with
the AV-8A, and was clearly so impressed that it flew these Harriers for 20 years and ended up
replacing them by the developed Harrier II.

AA30_pp 48-53.indd 53 28/01/2017 09:57

 54 UNITED KINGDOM
BAe Sea Harrier
T
he second member of the Harrier
family developed, the Sea Harrier
FRS1 first entered service with the
Royal Navy in April 1980 and became
informally known as the Shar.
With both the USMC and the Spanish Navy,
the Harrier had proved well adapted to
operation aboard aircraft carriers and other
flat tops.
The Royal Navy, still smarting from the
decision that saw its last conventional aircraft
carrier HMS Ark Royal retired in 1978, was
looking for a fighter to operate from the three
through-deck cruisers of the Invincible class
that had been ordered from 1973. The two
major requirements were for a radar for the
aircrafts primary air defence role and the need
to replace the magnesium in the airframe
with materials more suited to operation in the
AA30_pp 54-55.indd 54
salty conditions aboard ship. Hawker Siddeley
proposed the Sea Harrier, a variant based on
the RAFs GR3 but with a Ferranti Blue Fox radar
with air-to-air interception and air-to-surface
search and strike modes, a raised cockpit with
bubble canopy and a new avionics fit. An order
was placed in May 1975 for an initial batch of 24
Sea Harrier FRS1, the new designation reflecting
fighter, reconnaissance and strike roles,
where strike indicated a nuclear capability.
The first production aircraft XZ450 took to
the air on 20August 1978 and the first front-
line squadron, 800 NAS, recommissioned at
Yeovilton on 23 April 1980. period. Since it was judged a non-standard
The Falklands War and Operation Corporate
was surely the high point of the Sea Harriers
service career; Margaret Thatcher would
never have risked despatching the UKs task
force to the South Atlantic if the Sea Harrier
Left: The Sidewinder-equipped Sea Harrier
proved itself a formidable fighting weapon
during the Falklands War.
Right: With its pointed nose and bubble canopy,
the BAe Sea Harrier looked more fighter-like
than its RAF counterpart.
Inset right: Royal Navy Sea Harrier FRS1, XZ457,
circa Falklands War. Artwork Zaur Eylanbekov
Below right: The ultimate Sea Harrier in the shape
of four Royal Navy FA2s.
had not been available to defend it. The Sea
Harriers embarked in HMS Invincible and
HMSHermes soon found themselves in air
combat with Argentine aircraft. On 1 May 1982,
they achieved three Sidewinder kills against
a Mirage, a Dagger and a Canberra. In so
doing they created an aura of invincibility that
henceforth made the Argentine pilots much
less willing intentionally to engage the Sea
Harrier in air-to-air combat, thus establishing
a true air superiority for the Royal Navy. The
combination of the Sea Harrier, its pilots, the
ski jump (on both carriers) and the AIM-9L
Sidewinder proved a success that few even
including the aircrafts greatest proponents
could have imagined.
The Navys experience with the FRS1 led it
to specify an ultimate Sea Harrier one that
would incorporate a look-down shoot-down
pulse Doppler radar plus a heavier load of
air-to-air weaponry that would include the
AIM-120 AMRAAM. Enter the Sea Harrier
FRS2, later redesignated F/A-2 (to sound more
American) and finally FA2 (so as not to sound
too American). The FA2 was produced both
new-build and by conversion of earlier FRS1s,
with the variant going on completely to replace
the FRS1 by end-1995. This was surely the most
capable air defence variant of all the Harriers.
Another distinction was that FA2 ZH813, when
it left the Dunsfold line in December 1989,
was the last all-British (ie British-designed and
British-built) fighter of any kind.
However capable, the Sea Harrier FA2 was
destined to serve for only a relatively short
type in the newly-formed RAF/Royal Navy Joint
Force Harrier (JFH) and because re-engining it
with an uprated Pegasus was considered risky
from an engineering standpoint, the FA2 was
retired from service in 2006.
31/01/2017 11:44
 BAE SEA HARRIER 55

BAe Sea Harrier FA2

Crew: One
Length: 46ft 6in (14.2m)
Wingspan: 25ft 3in (7.6m)
Height: 12ft 2in (3.71m)
Weight empty: 14,052lb (6,374kg)
Max. T/O weight: 26,200lb (11,900kg)
Max speed: 735mph (1,182km/h)
Powerplant: 1 x Rolls-Royce Pegasus
vectored-thrust
turbofan of 21,500lb
VTOL method: Vectored thrust
main engine

AA30_pp 54-55.indd 55 31/01/2017 14:41

 56 UNITED KINGDOM / UNITED STATES
BAe/McDonnell Douglas
Harrier II
W
ith the first-generation Harrier
well established in front-line
service with both the RAF and the
USMC in the mid-1970s, consideration was
already being given to a more capable
V/STOL successor.
Initial American thinking was for an all-new
aircraft based around an uprated Pegasus
AA30_pp 56-58.indd 56
with twice the payload of the AV-8A. Not
surprisingly, this was dubbed the AV-16. British
plans were more modest, centring on the
re-winging of the GR3 fleet with a new, metal
big wing giving more lift. In the event, the
two nations came together and agreed on a
compromise design from McDonnell Douglas.
This involved the construction of a new, big
wing with supercritical aerofoil section and
entirely constructed of composite materials. It
also offered more under-wing weapons stations
six rather than four on the GR3 and more
fuel, the equivalent of an extra 30 minutes on
station. This was the Harrier II, which would be
known as the AV-8B by the USMC and as the
Harrier GR5 by the RAF.
28/01/2017 09:59

A first prototype actually a converted
AV-8A took to the air on 9 November 1978 at
McDonnell Douglas plant in St Louis, Missouri.
While the Harrier II was to be a collaborative
project between the US and the UK, McDonnell
Douglas inevitably took the lead, since the
AV-8B was essentially its design and the USMCs
likely production run far exceeded that planned
AA30_pp 56-58.indd 57
for the RAF. Common equipment included a
new Hughes Angle Rate Bombing Set (ARBS) in
the nose and a Smiths Industries HUD, although
differences included the ejection seat (Stencel
in the USMC aircraft rather than Martin-Baker in
the RAF GR5) and cannon armament (GAU/12A
Equalizer in the AV-8B rather than a new
proposed 25m Aden in the RAF version).
HARRIER II 57
Above: Invented by the British, refined by the US.
Balancing on its vectored thrust, an AV-8B
Harrier hovers over the flight deck of the
amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA-5).
Left: Harriers doing what only the Harrier can do.
A US Marine Corps AV-8B lands on the flight deck
of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge.
The USMC got the AV-8B into service
four years ahead of the RAF, with VMA-331
Bumblebees declaring operational on
30January 1985. Eight USMC squadrons
eventually transitioned to the AV-8B, the
type replacing not just the first-generation
Harriers but also the A-4M Skyhawk. The RAFs
No 1 Squadron became its first front-line
user, declaring operational on the GR5 on
2November 1989. Two more squadrons Nos3
and 4 were to follow. With the ending of the
Cold War, RAFG squadrons concentrated less on
dispersed site operations from the early 1990s,
and switched to main base operation and the
longer-range Battlefield Air Interdiction role.
The types ability to undertake operation
from short strips made it the RAFs weapon
of choice to deploy to Kandahar, Afghanistan
in 2004 during the early stages of Operation
Herrick. Kandahar airfield had been badly
damaged by enemy action and only short
lengths of runway were available until the
Royal Engineers restored it to full health by
1 December 2006. The RAF Harrier Detachment
(HarDet) served with distinction in Afghanistan
for almost five years, flying in the Close Air
Support, air interdiction and reconnaissance
28/01/2017 09:59
 AA30_pp 59-60.indd 2-3 59 60 28/01/2017 10:01
 AA30_pp 59-60.indd 2-3 59 60 28/01/2017 10:01
 60 UNITED KINGDOM / UNITED STATES
Above: The RAFs top of the range Harrier GR9
conducting a combat patrol over Afghanistan in
late 2008.
roles in support of ISAF. For the RAF, this was
the Harriers finest hour.
The Harrier II saw several variants and
upgrades. With the RAF, the GR7 introduced a
night attack capability with provision for the
use of Night Vision Goggles (NVG); on the
St Louis line, USMC aircraft from 163853 were
fitted to a broadly similar standard as the AV-8B
Night Attack variant. While USMC Harriers had
fitted the uprated Pegasus Mk 107 offering
23,800lb of thrust from early in the AV-8B
production run, RAF GR5 and GR7 were built
with the earlier (and less powerful) Mk 105. The
final production variant and surely the most
capable was the AV-8B+ that fitted a
Raytheon AN/APG-65 radar in a new pointed
radome to give a useful fleet defence capability.
Around 100 AV-8B+ were acquired for the
USMC by new-build production and by
AA30_pp 56-58.indd 58
re-manufacture. USMC AV-8Bs saw action in
the first Gulf War, in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Harrier GR7
2003 and today continue the fight against ISIL.
Crew: One
Export success followed, the AV-8B today flying
Length: 46ft 48in (14.12m)
with the Italian Navy and the Spanish Navy,
Wingspan: 30ft 4in (9.25m)
both of which routinely operate their Harriers
Height: 11ft 8in (3.56m)
from aircraft carriers.
Weight empty: 12,500lb (5,700kg)
With an Out of Service Date (OSD) stretched Max. T/O weight: 31,000lb (14,061kg)
to 2025, the USMC AV-8B fleet still has a lot Max speed: 662mph (1,065km/h)
of life left in it. On the other hand, the UK Powerplant: Rolls-Royce Pegasus
Joint Force Harrier fleet, which had been the Mk105 (21,750lb)
subject of regular upgrades and improvements, vectored thrust turbofan
became victim of the governments Strategic VTOL method: Vectored thrust via
Defence and Security Review (SDSR) of rotating exhaust nozzles
October 2010, which announced its complete
retirement. This led to the final RAF Harrier Top right: BAe Harrier GR5, ZD329, No 3
flying taking place in December 2010 and the Squadron, RAF, circa 1990.
subsequent sale of all 72 Harrier airframes,
Centre right: BAe Harrier GR7, ZG502, No 3
engines and spares to the USMC for the bargain
Squadron RAF, circa 2005.
price of 110 million. For the RAF, this marked
the end of 40 years of Harrier operations and Bottom right: BAe Harrier GR9, ZD328, No 41
the loss of a huge swathe of combat capability. Squadron RAF, circa 2006.
31/01/2017 11:43
 LOCKHEED XFV-1 61

Lockheed XFV-1
I
f you want to provide a point defence servicing platforms and a very long crew entry Flight testing progressed to the point where
fighter, what could be more logical than ladder. On the ground, the aircraft sat on four transitions from conventional flight to the
to have a VTOL aircraft that sits on the castoring wheels positioned at the extremities vertical for landing were practised but only at
ground or aboard ship pointing skywards of the cruciform fins, while the pilots seat an altitude of several thousand feet. The XFV-1
and ready to launch at a moments notice? swivelled such that he would not be totally on proved difficult to handle; vertical descent
It was back in 1947 that the US Navy his back for take-off. involved the very careful use of power, and
initiated Project Hummingbird to investigate Lockheed elected to start flight trials in the the aircraft was prone to topple. The promised
the possibilities of protecting the fleet with conventional mode, for which a temporary uprated T40 engine that might have made
a new breed of fighters. Following the end undercarriage was constructed. It was during possible full transitions was never delivered
of World War 2, the Navys complement of a fast run on 23 December 1953 that Fish and the aircraft was destined never to make
aircraft carriers had reduced and was likely to accidentally lifted off and flew a mile before either a vertical take-off or a vertical landing.
go on reducing. The solution just might be to making an uneventful landing. The first official The prototype completed 32 flights before the
design an aircraft capable of VTOL operation flight was not made until 16 June 1954. programme was cancelled on 16 June 1955.
from a small pad on board a warship of any
size, to protect the fleet against air threats.
The US Air Force also evinced interest in the
study, realising that its fixed air bases with long
concrete runways were clearly vulnerable.
The Navy invited proposals from US industry
and in 1951 selected Lockheed and Convair to
produce prototype designs for a turboprop-
powered VTOL fighter. Both were intended
as research aircraft, albeit ones which could
be developed into a fighter for service with
the US Navy. The aircraft would have to be
small and light, given the limited power of
the current US turboprop engines and the
absolute need to give the aircraft a better than
1:1 power:weight ratio. The powerplant chosen
was the Allison T40, which coupled together
two T38 turboprops side-by-side to drive a
common gearbox. Two three-bladed contra-
rotating propellers were fitted, the arrangement
promising a 1.2:1 power:weight ratio with a
fully-loaded aircraft. Fuel was carried both
in the fuselage and in wing tanks, while the
forward part of the tanks was intended for
either four 20mm cannon or 48 folding-fin
rockets, although no armament was ever fitted.
The first prototype 138657 was taken by road
to Edwards AFB in October 1953 for initial flight
tests. Project pilot was Herman Fish Salmon,
whose name was sometimes unofficially
applied to the aircraft as the XFV-1 Salmon. The
aircraft required an unusual array of ground
equipment including a transporter/erector
to position the aircraft vertically for take-off,

Right: Going through the motions of strapping-

in to the XFV-1. Although it never took off
vertically, the XFV-1 was able to make a few
transitions in flight from the conventional to the
vertical flight mode and back, and was briefly
held in hover at altitude.

AA30_pp 63.indd 63 28/01/2017 10:02

 62 UNITED STATES

Lockheed XFV-1
Crew: One
Length: 37ft 6in (11.4m)
Wingspan
(minus tip tanks): 27ft 5in (8.4m)
Weight empty: 11,600lb (5,260kg)
Max. T/O weight: 16,200lb (7,350kg)
Max speed: 580mph (930km/h)
Powerplant: Allison T40 (5,100hp)
VTOL method: Pure vertical take off
under power of
Allison T40 turboprop
driving contra-rotating
propellers

Left: The XFV-1 was powered by a 5,100hp

Allison T40-A-6 turboprop engine driving
three-bladed contra-rotating propellers.

Right: The Lockheed XFV-1 certainly looked the

part of a VTOL fighter, but in the end it was never
fitted with a powerful enough engine to allow it
to take-off vertically.

Right and below: Initial flight testing was carried out

conventionally with the aircraft fitted with a makeshift
non-retractable undercarriage.

AA30_pp 61-62.indd 2-3 61 62 31/01/2017 13:31

 61 UNITED STATES

Lockheed XFV-1
Crew: One
Length: 37ft 6in (11.4m)
Wingspan
(minus tip tanks): 27ft 5in (8.4m)
Weight empty: 11,600lb (5,260kg)
Max. T/O weight: 16,200lb (7,350kg)
Max speed: 580mph (930km/h)
Powerplant: Allison T40 (5,100hp)
VTOL method: Pure vertical take off
under power of
Allison T40 turboprop
driving contra-rotating
propellers

Left: The XFV-1 was powered by a 5,100hp

Allison T40-A-6 turboprop engine driving
three-bladed contra-rotating propellers.

Right: The Lockheed XFV-1 certainly looked the

part of a VTOL fighter, but in the end it was never
fitted with a powerful enough engine to allow it
to take-off vertically.

Right and below: Initial flight testing was carried out

conventionally with the aircraft fitted with a makeshift
non-retractable undercarriage.

AA30_pp 61-62.indd 2-3 61 62 31/01/2017 13:31

 64 UNITED STATES
Convair XFY-1 Pogo
D
esigned and built to the same US
Navy requirement as Lockheeds
XFV-1 and similarly powered by
Allisons T40 turboprop, the Convair XFY-1
would go on to prove the more successful of
the two types.
Nicknamed the Pogo, the XFY-1 shared the
same overall tail-sitting concept as the XFV-1
with its contra-rotating propellers, albeit with
considerably larger cruciform fins with a span
of over 25ft.
Because this layout made impracticable the
fitting of even a temporary fixed undercarriage,
Convair elected to go straight to vertical
flying at the start of its test programme. They
were aided in this by the fact that the Navy
had given the company the only T40 with
a sufficient power rating for vertical flight.
Second prototype 138649 the first example
was only used for engine testing was shipped
to NAS Moffett Field, where project pilot James
Skeets Coleman made his first, tethered,
vertical flight inside the vast Airship Hangar 1
on 29 April 1954. The indoor flights achieved
very little, as the Pogos 5,850hp engine created
a huge amount of turbulent, recirculating air,
Left: First flight testing was carried out in the
controlled environment of an old airship hangar
at NAS Moffett Field, though in the event this
caused more problems than it solved.
AA30_pp 64-67.indd 64
Right: Poised ready for another test flight, the
Convair XFY-1 looked like it was drawn straight
from the pages of a Boys Own Annual.
which proved dangerously destabilising in the
hover. The aircraft was thus moved outdoors,
where it made its first free hovering flight on
1August of the same year. Many vertical hops
were made over the following weeks, leading
to the first full transition vertical take-off,
into conventional flight, back into the vertical
for a vertical landing on 2 November. Skeets
mastered the aircraft completely; his final
touchdown, with the aircraft literally hanging
from its propellers, was reliably both accurate
and smooth. Whether it would prove so simple
to a squadron pilot of average ability trying to
land his aircraft back on the deck of a pitching
destroyer in a high wind is a question that
remains unanswered, as no XFY-1 or XFV-1
would ever enter US Navy service.
While showing some promise, testing of the
XFY-1 was ended by the US Navys termination
of the programme on 1 August 1955. By this
time, it had decided that the defence of the fleet
could better be handled by a new generation of
conventional jet fighters, capable of speeds far
in advance of those achievable by either of the
strange, tail-sitting VTOL designs it had backed
so enthusiastically just a few years previously.
28/01/2017 10:02
 CONVAIR XFY-1 POGO 65

AA30_pp 64-67.indd 65 28/01/2017 10:02

 66 UNITED STATES

Left and below left: Because of the large cruciform

tails of the XFY-1 it could not be fitted with a
standard undercarriage, so it was transported on
a specially designed trolley that could also swivel
it into the vertical.

Right: Take-off sequence of the Pogo. It quickly

became apparent that such a VTOL design would
not be suitable for ship-borne operations and
could only be flown by the most experienced
pilots. Landing was more difficult than take-off,
as the pilot had to look back over his shoulder to
gauge height above the ground.

Far right: Due to the Pogos lightweight design,

and the lack of spoilers and air brakes, the
aircraft lacked the ability to slow down and stop
efficiently after moving at high speeds.

Below: The stubby proportions of the XFY-1

looked far more satisfying when the aircraft was
sitting on its tail.

AA30_pp 64-67.indd 66 28/01/2017 10:03

 CONVAIR XFY-1 POGO 67

Convair XFY-1 Pogo

Crew: One
Length: 32ft 3in (9.8m)
Wingspan: 27ft 8in (8.4m)
Weight empty: 11,139lb (5,060kg)
Max. T/O weight: 16,250lb (7,370kg)
Max speed: 474mph (763km/h)
Powerplant: 1 x Allison T40-A-6
(5,850hp)

Above: Convair engineering test pilot and

US Marine reservist, Lt Col James F. Skeets
Coleman, in front of the Convair XFY-1 after
another successful test flight.

AA30_pp 64-67.indd 67 31/01/2017 11:40

 68 UNITED STATES

Bell ATV
S
imple but effective, the Bell Type 65
Air Test Vehicle (ATV) was the very first
American fixed-wing aircraft designed
for VTOL flight or, at least, the first one to
sit horizontally on an undercarriage.
The ATV was a light aircraft constructed at
minimum cost. It featured the fuselage from the
Schweizer 1-23 glider, the wings of a Cessna170
and the skid undercarriage from a Bell 47
helicopter. Power was from a pair of Fairchild
J44 turbojets (as used on drones, missiles and
for JATO), one under each wing and capable
of being swung through 90 degrees from
vertical to horizontal. A Turbomeca Palouste
turbocompressor powered small thrusters
at the tail and wingtips to provide a reaction
control system during hover.
The ATV made its first free hover on
16 November 1954. This was followed by
conventional flying (with a temporary
undercarriage) from December, but later
attempts to make a transition (at altitude) were
Above and below: The composite nature of the Bell Type 65
unsuccessful because the installed engine
might look a bit basic, but the aircraft provided
thrust was insufficient. valuable experience at a time when fixed-
The programme was ended in 1955 to allow wing VTOL flight was in its
development of the Bell X-14. infancy.

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 BELL XV-3 69

Bell XV-3
B
ell Aircraft Corporation has experience USAF and US Army announced in 1950 a Stansbury survived with serious injuries, but
of developing and producing competition to design and build a tilt-rotor the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
helicopters going back to 1943 and demonstrator, Bell confidently put forward Several changes were made to the
produced the Bell 47, the very first rotorcraft its single-engined (yes, single-engined a second prototype before it resumed the test
certificated by the Civil Aeronautics Board 450hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior), programme, including the fitting of two-bladed,
for civilian use (Helicopter Type Certificate twin-rotor Model 200 design. semi-rigid rotors. Flight testing then proceeded
#1 granted 8 March 1946). Thus, when the Bells proposal was accepted and two more cautiously, but flights were made with the
prototypes were built, 54-147 and 54-148. rotors at different angles and a full conversion
The Pratt & Whitney engine, mounted in the (vertical take-off to horizontal flight) was
Bell XV-3 fuselage, drove two three-bladed rotors at achieved on 17 December 1958.
Crew: One the wing tips through a necessarily complex The aircraft was turned over to the military in
Length: 30ft 4in (9.2m) transmission and gearing system, with the May 1959 for the joint Air Force/Army evaluation
Wingspan: 31ft 4in (9.5m) rotors capable of being rotated from 0 degrees at Edwards AFB. This showed, after two months
Weight empty: 4,205lb (1,907kg) to 90 degrees by electric motors. and 38 flights, that the tilt-rotor concept was
Max. T/O weight: 4,890lb (2,218kg) The first prototype flew on 11 August 1955, practicable, but that there were many problems
Max speed: 184mph (296km/h) but right from the start it exhibited serious (aerodynamic, structural, control, rotor design)
Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney problems of stability and airframe vibration. that would need to be resolved before such an
R-985-AN-1 radial On 25 October 1956, it crashed; pilot Dick aircraft might be considered for service use.
engine of 450hp
VTOL method: Tilted propellers Below: Although the Bell XV-3 was limited in performance, it accomplished 110 transitions from vertical
to horizontal flight between December 1958 and July 1962.

AA30_pp 68-69.indd 69 28/01/2017 10:03

AA30_pp 70-71.indd 70 28/01/2017 10:04
 RYAN X-13 VERTIJET 71

Ryan X-13 Vertijet

T
he Ryan X-13 Vertijet deserves its place
in any history of VTOL flight by virtue
of its futuristic concept and advanced
(for its time) features.
A small delta-winged aircraft with an
unfeasibly large tail, it was powered by a Rolls-
Royce Avon turbojet giving 10,000lb thrust. It
The X-13 was not intended to have an
undercarriage, although for initial flight tests
it was fitted with a simple fixed landing gear,
and it was in this form that Ryans Chief Test
Pilot Peter Girard made the first flight on
10 December 1955. But better was to come.
On 11 April 1957 at Edwards AFB, Girard
Perhaps its greatest moment came on 30 July
1957, when the second prototype made a
demonstration flight in front of the Pentagon
in Washington. The aircraft was, though, built
purely for research purposes and the concept
was not pursued.

Ryan X-13 Vertijet

featured puffer jet control in the hover using demonstrated a vertical take-off, successful
nozzles at the wing tips and was intended for transitions to and from normal flight and a
vertical take-off and landing using a trailer- vertical landing back on the launcher, the Crew: One
mounted launcher raised to the vertical. This aircraft hooking itself onto a wire to bring it Length: 23ft 4in (7.1m)
was painted bright yellow and had RYAN X13 safely to rest. Wingspan: 21ft 0in (6.4m)
writ large on it, presumably to assist the pilot The X-13 proved the viability of pure jet- Height: 15ft 1in (4.6m)
in distinguishing it from any other VTOL launch powered VTOL flight and the two prototypes Weight empty: 5,330lb (2,420kg)
platforms in the immediate vicinity. completed 136 flights without incident. Max. T/O weight: 7,310lb (3,320kg)
Max speed: 350mph (560km/h)
Left: Balancing on the thrust of its Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet, the Ryan X-13 demonstrates its hovering Powerplant: Rolls-Royce Avon RA28
abilities before safely hooking back on the landing wire. turbojet (10,000lb)
VTOL method: Direct jet lift, launched
Below: With its pilot already on board, the X-13 is gradually raised into the vertical in preparation for from trailer
another test flight. Flight tests were performed by Peter F. Pete Girard, and W. L. Lou Everett.

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 72 UNITED STATES
Bell X-14
U
tterly conventional (as VTOL designs
go), the Bell X-14 of 1957 was a
small aircraft with an open cockpit
and fixed undercarriage, employing many
components sourced off the shelf from
current American light aircraft types.
The Bell X-14 had two Armstrong Siddeley
Viper jet engines of 1,900lb thrust each,
Doak VZ-4
AA30_pp 72-73.indd 72
mounted in the nose with movable vanes in the
exhaust to deflect the thrust downwards. It was
thus capable of vertical take-off and landing on
pure jet lift, and demonstrated a full transition
on 24 May 1958.
While generally agreed as underpowered,
it flew successfully for over 20 years until its
career ended with a non-fatal crash on
29 May 1981. Hawker Siddeley pilots Bill
Bedford and Hugh Merewether flew the X-14
to gain experience before embarking on
flight testing Hawkers P1127, while another
well-known test pilot to sample it was Neil
Armstrong, who would go on to achieve
worldwide fame in an altogether different type
of VTOL craft.
D
eveloped under contract to the
US Army, the Doak VZ-4 was
built purely as an experimental
aircraft to test the tilt duct concept, but
could well have led eventually to a VTOL
battlefield runabout.
The VZ-4 achieved vertical flight by tilting
two wingtip-mounted ducted fans from
the horizontal to the vertical, these being
powered by a single, fuselage-mounted
Lycoming T53 turboshaft engine. The
concept worked: first hover was at Torrance,
California on 25 February 1958 and a
transition was completed 10 weeks later.
The aircraft proved generally successful,
although it had a few undesirable handling
characteristics, and testing continued
at Edwards AFB and later with NASA at
Langley. The US Army liked the idea, but in
the end decided to play safe and stick with
the helicopter.
28/01/2017 10:05
 HILLER X-18 73

Hiller X-18
H
iller Helicopters was another downwards the exhaust of a Westinghouse J34 there was a problem with the propeller pitch
US aircraft company with a long turbojet in the tail. Only one prototype was control. The aircraft entered a spin, but control
helicopter heritage, starting with built, 57-3078, its construction incorporating was regained at 6,000ft and a successful
the co-axial XH-44 Hiller-copter (dont you several off the shelf airframe components landing made. It never flew again, although a
wish youd thought up that name?) that including most notably the fuselage of a Chase period of static ground testing was undertaken
flew in July 1944. Studies were made from YC-122 Avitruc. to provide date for the upcoming XC-142
1947 of various possible VTOL/STOL aircraft When it first flew in 1959, it was the largest transport, before complete cancellation of the
configurations, leading to the award of a V/STOL aircraft yet to take to the air. A short project on 18 January 1964.
USAF contract in 1956 to design and build a hop at a maximum altitude of 15ft took place
tilt-wing prototype as a possible precursor on 20 November, followed by a proper first
to a large transport aircraft. flight just four days later in the hands of Hillers Hiller X-18
Despite appearances, the X-18 was three- George Bright and Bruce Jones. Basic handling Crew: Two
engined. Two Allison T40 turboprops mounted tests showed that the aircraft was stable in Length: 63ft 0in (19.2m)
under the wings drove 16ft contra-rotating conventional flight, and wing tilt angles were Wingspan: 47ft 11in (14.6m)
propellers, while pitch control at low speeds gradually increased as confidence was built. Weight empty: 26,786lb (12,150kg)
was achieved by directing upwards or During the 20th flight on 4 November 1960 Max. T/O weight: 33,000lb (14,969kg)
Max speed: 253mph (407km/h)
Below: The Hiller X-18 with wings partly tilted. When its wing was fully rotated into the vertical, the
aircraft was particularly susceptible to wind gusts as the huge area acted as a sail. Powerplant: 2 x Allison YT40-A-14
turboprops of
5,500hp each, and
1 x Westinghouse J34
turbojet of 3,400lb
VTOL method: Tilt-wing

AA30_pp 72-73.indd 73 28/01/2017 10:05

 74 UNITED STATES

Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird

L
ockheeds XV-4A Hummingbird be increased considerably over that provided programme by December 1963, and the two
represented a novel line of development by the engine alone. prototypes were handed over to the US Army
towards practical jet-borne VTOL flight. The XV-4A design was otherwise to continue testing. Tragedy struck on 10 June
It ultimately led nowhere, but its design conventional, although it was twin-engined 1964 when 62-4503 crashed during transition
scores high on innovation. (Pratt & Whitney JT12 turbojets) and two-seat.
The XV-4A Hummingbird employed a jet
ejector lift system to provide jet as opposed
The first prototype 62-4503 was rolled out from
Lockheeds Marietta, Georgia plant on 29 June
Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird
to wing lift for vertical and low speed flight. 1962, carrying US Army titling. Flight testing Crew: Two
The engine exhaust could be piped through was conducted at the same location, and the Length: 32ft 8in (10.0m)
vanes and ducting to mixing chambers at the Hummingbird started its test programme with excluding nose boom
centre of the fuselage. Here, the fast-moving conventional rolling take-offs and landings. First Wingspan: 26ft 0in (7.9m)
exhaust flow was mixed with cooler air at flight was 7 July 1962, to be followed by hovers Height: 11ft 10in (3.6m)
ambient temperature, thus energising it, the and finally a full transition on 13 November Weight empty: 5,180lb (2350 kg)
theory being that the total lifting force would 1963. Lockheed completed its initial test Max. T/O weight: 7,200lb (3,266 kg)
Max speed: 520mph (835km/h)
at 10,000ft
Powerplant: 2 x Pratt & Whitney JT12
turbojets (3,300lb)
VTOL method: Jet ejector lift system

AA30_pp 74-77.indd 74 31/01/2017 12:42

 LOCKHEED XV-4 75

to vertical flight. Its civilian test pilot Bill Ingram

did not eject and was killed. The second aircraft
62-4504 was later rebuilt as the considerably
different XV-4B.
Jet ejector lift had been proved to work, but
the amount of thrust augmentation obtained in
practice was considerably lower than predicted.
In the end, this concept of thrust augmentation
would lead nowhere. Or, rather, to the XFV-12.

Right: In the hover. Vertical take-off lift was

obtained by exhausting the engine flow
downward through multiple nozzles. However,
performance of the Hummingbird was far below
what was expected.

Below: The Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird began

life as a US Army project to demonstrate the
feasibility of using VTOL for a surveillance
aircraft carrying target-acquisition and sensor
equipment.

AA30_pp 74-77.indd 75 31/01/2017 12:42

 76 UNITED STATES

Lockheed XV-4B

Lockheed significantly modified the second prototype Hummingbird to XV-4B standard, the
aircraft also appearing in US Air Force colours. The two Pratt & Whitney JT12 engines were
replaced with six General Electric J85 turbojets, four of these units acting as lift jets. This aircraft
crashed on 14 March 1969, the pilot, Harlan J. Quamme, escaping by ejection seat.

AA30_pp 74-77.indd 76 28/01/2017 10:06

 RYAN XV-5 VERTIFAN 77

Ryan XV-5 Vertifan Ryan XV-5 (estimated)

Crew:
Length:
Two
44ft 6in (13.56m)

C
ommissioned by the US Army, Ryans
Vertifan was a jet-powered V/STOL
experimental aircraft of the 1960s.
A real VTOL oddity, Ryans XV-5 was
designed to achieve vertical flight by using
the exhaust gases from its two General Electric
J85 turbojets to drive three fans. The two large
fans of 62.5in diameter in the wings provided
the main lift, while a smaller 36in one in the
nose provided pitch control. Two aircraft were
built, 62-4505 and 62-4506, the latter being
first to take to the air with a conventional flight
from Edwards AFB on 25 May 1964. Hovering
Below: The two Ryan Vertifans built were both
involved in crashes, that of 62-4506 (pictured)
killing test pilot Bob Tittle. The aircraft was
rebuilt as the modified XV-5B with tests
continuing until 1971.
Wingspan: 29ft 10in (9.09m)
flights followed from June, leading to the first Height: 14ft 9in (4.5m)
transition in November of the same year. Weight empty: 7,541lb (3,421kg)
On 27 April 1965, 62-4505 crashed during Max. T/O weight: 13,600lb (6,169kg)
a demonstration at Edwards AFB, killing pilot Max speed: 547mph (880km/h)
Lou Everett when he was unable to pull out of Powerplant: 2 x General Electric
a 30-degree dive. 62-4506 was also destroyed X353-5 62.5in diameter
the following year when, on 5 October 1966, tip-drive lift fan, 1 x
its left wing fan ingested a rescue sling that General Electric X353-5
was extended beneath the aircraft (the US 36in diameter tip-drive
Army, which sponsored the XV-5 programme, lift fan
saw the aircraft as a potential rescue aircraft for VTOL method: Lift fans
use in Vietnam).
General opinion among the test pilots who phase. In addition, the large amount of space
flew the XV-5 was that the workload involved taken up by the lift fan system compromised
in controlling the aircrafts flight path using the design and added unacceptably to the
the control column, engine power, thrust aircrafts weight. As such, the XV-5s concept
vector angle and collective lift made for an represented another dead end from a design
over-heavy workload during the transition point of view.

AA30_pp 74-77.indd 77 31/01/2017 11:38

 AA30_pp 79-80.indd 2-3 79 80 28/01/2017 10:07
 AA30_pp 79-80.indd 2-3 79 80 28/01/2017 10:07
 80 UNITED STATES

LTV XC-142A LTV XC-142A

Crew: Three (2 pilots,
loadmaster)

D
esigned to investigate the
operational suitability of vertical/
short take-off and landing (V/STOL)
transports, the big LTV XC-142A never
proceeded beyond prototype stage.
By 1959, V/STOL technology in the United
States had advanced to the point where a
transport aircraft might be developed to
meet the operational requirements of the US
military. All three services felt they could make
good use of a medium-sized transport aircraft
in several roles search and rescue, battlefield
transport, Marine Corps assault, carrier on-
board delivery (COD) etc. Several companies
proposed designs, but Ling-Temco-Vought
(LTV) emerged the winner, this leading to a
genuine tri-service development programme
from late 1961.
The XC-142A was a tilt-wing design
featuring four GE T64 turboshaft engines
driving 15ft 7in propellers. Unlike the later
V-22 Osprey, the whole wing (complete with
engines) rotated up to 100 degrees for take-off
and landing. A square-section box fuselage
Length: 58ft 2in (17.8m)
offered a 30-foot cargo area and a rear-loading Wingspan: 67ft 7in (20.6m)
ramp. This was or certainly could have been Height: 26ft 1in (8.0m)
a viable transport aircraft. Weight empty: 25,500lb (11,570kg)
Five aircraft were ordered, the first 62-5921 Max. T/O weight: 43,700lb (19,820kg)
flying on 29 September 1964. With five Max speed: 410mph (660km/h)
available, initial flight testing in VTOL, STOL and Powerplant: 4 x GE T64 turboshaft
conventional modes was soon complete and (2,850hp)
a period of operational testing under Air Force VTOL method: Tilt wing, engines rotate
Flight Test Center (AFFTC) was embarked upon. with wing
During this phase, XC-142As operated from an
aircraft carrier (USS Bennington, 18 May 1966), Right: When tri-service testing of the XC-142A
dropped paratroops, flew hot and high trials ended, the remaining flying example was turned
in California and demonstrated recovery of over to NASA for research testing from May 1966
personnel from the sea in its Search and Rescue to May 1970.
role. There were a few mishaps along the way,
Below: Another case of what might have been
but only one of these was fatal. an XC-124A landing aboard the US Navy aircraft
The evaluations came to an end in February carrier USS Bennington (CVS-20) off San Diego,
1967; funding was drying up and several California, on 18 May 1966.
aircraft were, for whatever reason, out of
use. The XC-142A had proved that a V/STOL
transport had attractions for several roles, but
there were difficulties that remained to be
overcome. More importantly, there were other,
cheaper ways to provide the same capability.

Below: Testing underway on the General Electric T64 turboshaft engines of the XC-142 tri-service tilt-
wing experimental aircraft. During flight, problems with the aircrafts cross-linked driveshaft resulted
in excessive vibration and noise, resulting in a high pilot workload. One crash occurred as a result of a
failure of the driveshaft to the tail rotor, causing three fatalities.

AA30_pp 78.indd 78 28/01/2017 10:07

 BELL XV-15 81

Bell XV-15 Bell XV-15

Crew:
Length:
Two
42ft 1in (12.83m)

B
Wingspan: 57ft 2in (17.42m)
ells XV-15 is best seen as the first step Above: The second Bell XV-15 prototype, N703NA, Height: 12ft 8in (3.86m)
in a progression which ultimately led taking off at NASA Dryden during an early test Weight empty: 10,083lb (4,574kg)
to the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. flight. This tilt-rotor research aircraft had a long Max. T/O weight: 13,000lb (6,000kg)
career and was only retired in 2003.
The XV-15s tilt-rotor design was notable in Max speed: 345mph (557km/h)
that it mounted two Avco Lycoming turboshaft N702NA made its first flight on 3 May 1977 Powerplant: 2 x Avco Lycoming
engines in nacelles at the wingtips, each driving and achieved pretty much all its aims in LTC1K-4K turboshaft
a large rotor. The whole assembly, engine subsequent flight testing. The first prototype of 1,550shp
nacelle and rotor, rotated to the vertical for made an appearance at the 1981 le Bourget VTOL method: Tilt rotor
take-off and landing; an elegant solution that Salon, and in the following year flew from a US
simplified power transmission to the rotors. Two Navy assault ship off the coast of California. It continue flying in support of the V-22 Osprey
X-15s were built for a NASA programme and was eventually written off in a non-fatal crash programme and was only retired in 2003. It now
civil registered N702NA and N703NA. on 20 August 1992. N703NA was destined to resides at the Smithsonian in Washington.

AA30_pp 83.indd 83 31/01/2017 11:38

 82 UNITED STATES
Bell X-22A
B
ells X-22A, which had the
company designation D-2127,
featured an unconventional
design with four ducted fans powered
by four cross-coupled General Electric
YT-58 turboshaft engines.
Bell Aerospace received a contract
in November 1962 to construct two
prototypes for evaluation; these were
assigned Navy BuNos 151520 and 151521.
Roll-out of the first aircraft was on 25 May
1965, but several months of ground
testing were to follow before the first flight
took place at Niagara Falls International
Airport on 17 March 1966. This was a
successful but low-key affair, with test
pilots Stanley Kakol and Paul Miller making
several vertical take-offs and landings,
while staying at all times below 30ft. A
first STOL flight was achieved on 30 June
(ducts at 30 degrees) and a zero degree
(ie conventional) flight on 22 July. It was
on its 15th flight on 8 August 1966 that
the aircraft suffered a double hydraulic
failure resulting in a very hard emergency
AA30_pp 81-82.indd 2-3
BELL X-22A 82
landing. The crew escaped unhurt, but the
aircraft was beyond economic repair. Bell X-22A
Second prototype 151521 made its
Crew: Two
initial flight on 26 January 1967, later to
Length: 39ft 7in (12.07m)
make the types public debut with a flying
Wingspan: 39ft 3in (11.96m)
demonstration in front of Bell employees
Weight empty: 10,478lb (4,753kg)
and invited guests at Niagara Falls on
Max. T/O weight: 17,644lb (8,003kg)
9 May. Within less than 11 months, the
Max speed: 254mph (409km/h)
aircraft had logged its 100th flight, and by
Powerplant: 4 x General Electric
end-1967 all corners of the flight envelope
YT58-GE-8D
had been explored. There followed an
turboshaft engines
initial military evaluation in January of 1,267hp
1968, during which all three services VTOL method: Tilted shrouded
flew the aircraft. It is said that the pilots propellers
and engineers involved liked what they
saw and reported back favourably. The
Above right: The Bell X-22 had a relatively
formal acceptance of the aircraft by the
successful test-flight career and was
Navy of 151521 on 19 May 1969 signalled considered to be the best aircraft of its type
the completion of military evaluation, at the time.
although the aircraft continued to fly
on contractor testing for several years. Right: Bells early vision of the evaluative Bell
X-22 project.
Today, 151521 is an exhibit at the Niagara
Aerospace Museum, where it is proudly Below: Yet another take in the quest
proclaimed as the last major aircraft to be to conquer VTOL flight, Bells X-22 was
developed in Western New York. equipped with four tilting ducted fans.
81 82 28/01/2017 10:08
 81 UNITED STATES
Bell X-22A
B
ells X-22A, which had the
company designation D-2127,
featured an unconventional
design with four ducted fans powered
by four cross-coupled General Electric
YT-58 turboshaft engines.
Bell Aerospace received a contract
in November 1962 to construct two
prototypes for evaluation; these were
assigned Navy BuNos 151520 and 151521.
Roll-out of the first aircraft was on 25 May
1965, but several months of ground
testing were to follow before the first flight
took place at Niagara Falls International
Airport on 17 March 1966. This was a
successful but low-key affair, with test
pilots Stanley Kakol and Paul Miller making
several vertical take-offs and landings,
while staying at all times below 30ft. A
first STOL flight was achieved on 30 June
(ducts at 30 degrees) and a zero degree
(ie conventional) flight on 22 July. It was
on its 15th flight on 8 August 1966 that
the aircraft suffered a double hydraulic
failure resulting in a very hard emergency
AA30_pp 81-82.indd 2-3
BELL X-22A 83
landing. The crew escaped unhurt, but the
aircraft was beyond economic repair. Bell X-22A
Second prototype 151521 made its
Crew: Two
initial flight on 26 January 1967, later to
Length: 39ft 7in (12.07m)
make the types public debut with a flying
Wingspan: 39ft 3in (11.96m)
demonstration in front of Bell employees
Weight empty: 10,478lb (4,753kg)
and invited guests at Niagara Falls on
Max. T/O weight: 17,644lb (8,003kg)
9 May. Within less than 11 months, the
Max speed: 254mph (409km/h)
aircraft had logged its 100th flight, and by
Powerplant: 4 x General Electric
end-1967 all corners of the flight envelope
YT58-GE-8D
had been explored. There followed an
turboshaft engines
initial military evaluation in January of 1,267hp
1968, during which all three services VTOL method: Tilted shrouded
flew the aircraft. It is said that the pilots propellers
and engineers involved liked what they
saw and reported back favourably. The
Above right: The Bell X-22 had a relatively
formal acceptance of the aircraft by the
successful test-flight career and was
Navy of 151521 on 19 May 1969 signalled considered to be the best aircraft of its type
the completion of military evaluation, at the time.
although the aircraft continued to fly
on contractor testing for several years. Right: Bells early vision of the evaluative Bell
X-22 project.
Today, 151521 is an exhibit at the Niagara
Aerospace Museum, where it is proudly Below: Yet another take in the quest
proclaimed as the last major aircraft to be to conquer VTOL flight, Bells X-22 was
developed in Western New York. equipped with four tilting ducted fans.
81 82 28/01/2017 10:08
 84 UNITED STATES

AA30_pp 84-85.indd 84 28/01/2017 10:09

 ROCKWELL XFV-12A 85

Rockwell XFV-12A
T
he Rockwell XFV-12A was an
ambitious and futuristic-looking
design of the mid-1970s, intended to
provide the US Navy with a Mach 2 fighter
for its new Sea Control Ships.
The concept of the XFV-12 was simple
enough; for vertical take-off, the exhaust
thrust of its Pratt & Whitney F401 engine
(30,000 lb) was diverted to exhaust through
sets of augmentor flaps in the wings and
canards. Here, the airflows mixed to cause a
low-pressure area, which would draw in large
volumes of the surrounding air from above,
thus creating lift. This cunning plan should have
produced a lifting force much greater than that
of the engine alone. But it was not to be; the
complex ducting involved and the interaction
between the airflows in fact resulted in much
lower lifting force, and the XFV-12A prototype
never managed even a hover.
Built at Rockwells Columbus, Ohio, factory
and officially rolled out on 26 August 1977, the
first prototype undertook its (intended) flight
trials at Langley, Virginia from early 1978. One
statement by the manufacturer early in the
trials was to prove unusually perceptive. This
was the fact that the XFV-12A would be able
to take off with 5,000lb greater payload if it
could be allowed a 300ft take-off roll for STOL
rather than VTOL operation. This is a truth that
many manufacturers of V/STOL types have
found and used to their advantage. Funding
for the project, which was never over-generous,
was turned off completely in 1981, while
the second prototype was unceremoniously
disposed of.

Left: The futuristic looking (for the 1970s) XFV-12A did not live up to expectations and did not prove to
be a threat to the AV-8 Harrier, the aircraft it was designed to replace.

Below: This artists impression was the closest that the XFV-12 came to being on a carrier.

AA30_pp 84-85.indd 85 28/01/2017 10:09

 86 UNITED STATES
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
I
t may have been a long time coming, but
the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is now well
established in service with the US Air
Force and the US Marine Corps, with over
300 aircraft built to date.
From a technical viewpoint, the brief was
never going to be easy; design a tilt-rotor
transport with the vertical performance of
a helicopter and the speed and range of a
fixed-wing aircraft. The use of two powerful
turboshaft engines (Rolls-Royce AE1107C of
6,150hp) driving three-bladed rotors of 38ft
diameter allows the Osprey to take off and
hover like a helicopter, then transition to wing-
AA30_pp 86-91.indd 86
borne flight and cruise at 305mph (490km/h).
To achieve the performance demanded has
required constant attention to keeping weight
to a minimum, and 43% of the airframe is
constructed of composite materials.
The V-22 is a 50:50 joint venture between Bell
and Boeing, and was the companies submission
to meet requirements of the Department
of Defenses tri-service JVX programme of
December 1981. Roll-out of the first aircraft
took place in May 1988, the first flight following
on 19 March 1989. The Osprey became a very
political aircraft and frequent attempts were
made to cancel the programme in the light of
increasing cost, the early loss of two prototypes
in crashes and the US Armys decision to
withdraw its funding. Fortunately, the Osprey
had friends as well as enemies in high places,
and the programme continued and achieved
some significant milestones. Sea trials aboard
USS Wasp in 1990 were followed by a longer
period aboard USS Saipan in early 1999. Initial
production aircraft came off the line in May
1999, only for the type to be grounded early the
following year after two further crashes. Despite
setbacks, the US Air Force (which designates its
Osprey the CV-22), the US Marine Corps (MV-22)
and the manufacturers persisted, and reliability,
28/01/2017 10:10

serviceability and safety began to improve
considerably. Their faith was rewarded by the
approval of full-rate production of the type in
September 2005.
The MV-22 achieved Initial Operational
Capability (IOC) with the USMC in June 2007
and has now completely replaced the CH46
Sea Knight, previously the Marines standard
transport/assault helicopter. MV22s were
deployed to Iraq in 2007, and to Afghanistan
from 2009, where the type proved well suited
to delivering Marines into landing zones,
Left: Early concept illustrations of the V-22.
Below: V-22 Osprey. Unlike any aircraft in the
world. So says Boeing and you can see why in
images like this. Here a V-22 Osprey is refuelled
before a night mission in central Iraq during
February 2008.
AA30_pp 86-91.indd 87
BELL BOEING V-22 OSPREY 87
often under enemy fire. US Air Force CV-22s
fly with Special Operations squadrons in the
US and the UK (352nd Special Operations
Wing at Mildenhall), its speed and range not
to mention the ability to undertake air-to-air
refuelling giving it far greater capability than
the helicopters it replaced. The Third American
user will be the US Navy, which has recently
contracted with Bell Boeing to provide 44
aircraft, to be designated CMV-22B, for the
Carrier On-board Delivery (COD) role, with first
deliveries in FY 2020.
The V-22 Osprey has already achieved export
success with Japan, several other nations have
expressed interest (Israel, India, South Korea)
and, while nobody should read too much
significance into the landing of a USMC MV-22
on HMS Illustrious in 2007, a future order from
the UK is not beyond the realms of possibility.
31/01/2017 11:37
 88 UNITED STATES

AA30_pp 86-91.indd 88 28/01/2017 10:10

 BELL BOEING V-22 OSPREY 89

Above: Combining the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a
turboprop, the Osprey has established a unique niche for itself in military operations. Pictured is CV-22 from the 8th Special
Operations Squadron over Floridas Emerald Coast.

Left: The promise of tilt-rotor technology is recognised today by the Osprey, a flexible multi-mission aircraft that combines
helicopter and fixed-wing technology, particularly useful for ship-borne operations.

Below: A US Air Force CV-22 Osprey flies over the New Mexico and Colorado wilderness during a search and rescue mission for a
crashed light aircraft.

AA30_pp 86-91.indd 89 28/01/2017 10:10

 90 UNITED STATES

Above: In nature the Osprey is normally

a solitary bird, but not so for its tilt-rotor
namesake. Although the programme has
been beset by controversy and occasional
groundings, the V-22 remains the worlds only
production tilt-rotor aircraft.

Above right: Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey of the US

Air Force. Artwork Zaur Eylanbekov

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey

Crew: Two or three
Length: (overall, stowed)
63ft (19.2m)
Rotor width: 84ft 7in (25.8m)
Height: (nacelles vertical)
22ft 1in (11.6m)
Weight empty: 33,100lb (15,000kg)
Max. T/O weight: (vertical take-off )
52,600lb (23,860kg)
Max speed: (cruise) 307mph
(490km/h)
Powerplant: 2 x Rolls-Royce AE1107C
turboshafts (6,150hp)
VTOL method: Tilting engine nacelles
and rotors

Left: A US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey operating

with local soldiers in Iraq. The Marines began
crew training for the Osprey in 2000 and fielded
it in 2007; it supplemented and then replaced the
services CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters.

Right: The unmistakable profile of a US Air Force

CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor on the flightline.

AA30_pp 86-91.indd 90 31/01/2017 11:36

 BELL BOEING V-22 OSPREY 91

AA30_pp 86-91.indd 91 28/01/2017 10:11

 92 UNITED STATES

Lockheed Martin F-35B JSF

AA30_pp 92-97.indd 92 28/01/2017 10:11

 I
nclusion of the Lockheed Martin F-35B
Lightning II brings the story right up to
date. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
programme, which includes the conventional
take-off F-35A and the F-35C carrier variant
as well as the STOVL F-35B, is by far the
most ambitious and the most costly fighter
programme ever embarked upon.
The Joint Strike Fighter is a true fifth
generation aircraft multi-role, low observable
(stealthy), supersonic (Mach 1.6) and with a
sensor suite that outclasses everything else in
the air today. If everything works out as planned,
total production of the F-35 will exceed by far
the total run of all the other aircraft reviewed in
this issue of Aviation Archive. The F-35 (B and C
variants) will replace the F/A-18 and the AV-8B
Harrier II as the sole strike fighter in the US
Marine Corps front-line. The F-35B is also slated
to provide the ultimate punch (and, indeed, to
be the only fixed-wing aircraft) on the Royal
Navys two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft
carriers from the end of the decade.
Lockheed Martin is prime contractor on the
F-35, but there is a strong international
element with all nine of the partner nations
producing components for all aircraft, not just
for those destined for their country. The UK is
a Level 1 partner in the programme and will
build 15% of each of the 3,000+ F-35s planned.
Companies directly benefiting from this
arrangement include BAE Systems (aft fuselage
and tail), Rolls-Royce (LiftSystem fan and
swivelling jet pipe) and Martin-Baker (US16E
ejection seat).
All versions of the F-35 use the same basic
Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan, with the
-600 variant (41,000lb) used in the F-35B. For
hovering, the engine drives a fan in the forward
fuselage via a shaft extension and clutch, with
balancing thrust created by swivelling the jet
pipe to direct engine thrust downwards. While

Top: The F-35B Lightning II design applies stealth technology manufacturing techniques. To minimise
its radar signature, the airframe has identical sweep angles for the leading and trailing edges of the
wings and tail, and incorporates sloping sides for the fuselage and the canopy.

Left: The legacy of the Harrier lives on in the Lockheed Martin F-35B JSF, thought by many to be the last
manned fighter.

AA30_pp 92-97.indd 93 28/01/2017 10:11

 94 UNITED STATES
balanced on this thrust and with low or zero
forward airspeed, the aircraft is controlled by
under-wing roll posts the modern equivalent
of the Harriers puffer jets and by FADEC
(computer) control of the jet pipe nozzle.
BAE Systems test pilot Graham Tomlinson,
appropriately enough an ex-RAF Harrier pilot,
made the first flight of the F-35B from Lockheed
Martins Fort Worth factory on 11 June 2008.
On 18 March 2010, he made the first vertical
landing at the naval test centre at Patuxent
River, MD. Three months later, the F-35B went
supersonic and in October 2011 demonstrated
vertical landings onto the deck of the US Navy
assault ship USS Wasp, this time piloted by
Marine Corps test pilot Lt Col Fred Schenk.
The F-35B American pilots will surely never
refer to it as the Lightning II reached initial
operational capability (IOC) with the US Marine
Corps in July 2015, when 10 jets of VMFA-
121 Green Knights at MCAS Yuma, AZ were
declared ready for world-wide deployment.
AA30_pp 92-97.indd 94
Even so, there is a lot of work to be done before
the aircraft replaces the AV-8B Harrier as the
workhorse of the Marine Corps fleet.
The UK has stated its intention to order 138
F-35s, which will initially equip units of the
RAF/Royal Navy Joint Force, with No 617
Dambusters and 809 Squadrons at RAF
Marham announced as the first recipients.
While the first part of the UK buy will be F-35B
to embark in the Queen Elizabeth carriers, it is
possible that the conventional take-off F-35A
might also be procured for land-based RAF use,
as a follow-on to the Tornado.
Opposite page: The F-35B showing off its carrier
credentials on USS America, a sight that will be
welcomed by the Royal Navy when it embarks the
type on its new Queen Elizabeth carriers.
Below: The F-35B demonstrating its ski-jump
capability for the first time on 19 June 2015. The
sleek lines of the aircraft are compromised when
in vertical mode.
31/01/2017 11:36
 LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35B JSF 95

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 96 UNITED STATES

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 LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35B JSF 97

Lockheed Martin F-35B

Crew: One
Length: 51ft (15.4m)
Wingspan: 35ft (10.7m)
Height: 15ft 0in (4.6m)
Weight empty: 23,500lb (10,660kg)
Max. T/O weight: (vertical take-off )
52,600lb (23,860kg)
Max speed: M 1.5 (approx.
1,200mph)
Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney F135
turbofan, 1 x Rolls-Royce
lift-fan
VTOL method: Lifting fan and vectored
exhaust nozzle

Left and Below: Lightning II has been designed

from the outset to carry out a wide range of
mission types, able to use its very low observable
characteristics to penetrate integrated air
defence systems and strike a number of types of
targets. In a permissive environment, it is able to
carry weapons on external pylons, as well as in
the internal weapon bays.

Bottom left: The Lockheed Martin F-35B prototype.

Lockheed Martin via Foxbat Files Image Library

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