Royal Air Force Aircraft

Ac notesPlanned Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft and strategic bomber that was being developed by Avro Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (in 1957). Wikipedia

Ac notesBritish carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s - Wikipedia

Ac notesTotal production of the F-86 exceeded that of any fixed-wing fighter at a staggering 9,502.

Ac notesThe Hornet was conceived from the word go as a dual-role aircraft, hence the designation F/A-18, which means Fighter-Attack. It was meant to supplement the role of the F-14 Tomcat, providing shorter range Air defense and to totally replace the A-7 Corsair and A-6 Intruder.

Ac notes"... all the various marques of Hunter were a delight to fly and much admired by their pilots. Many still fly today in the hands of private owners. Total production was 1,985, 79 types flew with 17 air forces."

Ac notesAs the Allies' first operational jet fighter, the Meteor underwent rapid development, especially of its engines. The underpowered 1943 prototype was transformed by a sequence of more powerful engines into an outstanding multi-role aircraft.

Ac notesFairey Delta 2 or FD2 is a British supersonic research aircraft that was produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for a specialised aircraft for conducting investigations into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. Wikipedia

Ac notesOne of the Allied fighters which helped turn the tide over Europe.

Ac notesFrom the 1980’s the Panavia Tornado was a staple of the UK, German and Italian airforces and along with the F-111 and B-1B dominated the low-level high speed interdiction bombing role for decades. There were also air defense variants. At the time it boasted the most sophisticated bomber / navigator station in service, the seat being dominated by 3 large cathode ray tubes. The flight plans were loaded via cassette tape and the Terrain Following Radar (TFR) enabled it to fly super-sonic at night and at altitudes down to 50 feet, a performance metric which is hard to match even in the 2020’s.

Ac notesFrom the 1980’s the Panavia Tornado was a staple of the UK, German and Italian airforces and along with the F-111 and B-1B dominated the low-level high speed interdiction bombing role for decades. There were also air defense variants. At the time it boasted the most sophisticated bomber / navigator station in service, the seat being dominated by 3 large cathode ray tubes. The flight plans were loaded via cassette tape and the Terrain Following Radar (TFR) enabled it to fly super-sonic at night and at altitudes down to 50 feet, a performance metric which is hard to match even in the 2020’s.

Ac notesThe Valiant dropped the atomic bomb over Maralinga, South Australia in 1956.

Ac notesI spoke to an Australian former Vampire pilot some years back. He told me that the Vampire had several throttle settings which were not used because of vibration. Naturally enough, in accordance with 'Murphy's Law', when flying the circuit the throttle settings you wanted to use corresponded exactly with those vibration zones!

Ac notesFirst flown in 1952, the 'crescent' wing was a tremendous technical achievement. However, Soviet missile advances soon rendered the Victor's mission obsolete and despite being upgraded to B2 standard in 1959 with its much more powerful engines, the Victor had to be consigned to the low-level role.

Ac notesTo see the mighty Vulcan in action check out the James Bond movie Thunderball. What an utterly fantastic looking aircraft - a flying sculpture!