Farnborough The Golden Years

Farnborough The Golden Years

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The Best of British 1948-1962 The greatest shows of all time as never seen before

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INTRODUCTION

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Farnborough: The Golden Years 1948-1962 F arnborough, the most famous airshow in the World, began life as we know it in post-war Britain in 1948. It was a pioneering time, with the jet engine poised to take over the world. Britain was at the forefront of the technology and Farnborough became the annual show-case for the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC), welcoming the roar of jets and sonic booms to its skies every September. It was a truly British affair and the public loved it. Fast-jets, bombers, trainers, transports, airliners, turboprops, helicopters, prototypes, test-beds, light aircraft… Farnborough had it all, and more. Over the next 14 years the aircraft manufacturers pushed the boundaries of technologies to the limit, fighting for survival in a business that was becoming ever more competitive and international. It was a fascinating era where success and failure were constant companions. So for every revolutionary triumph, such as the Vulcan, Viscount and Lightning, there were unmitigated failures, such as the Brabazon, Rotodyne and Princess. British eccentricity was often at the fore too, with some weird and wonderful aircraft taking the stage. And sadly, tragedy was never far away either… But the bounty could not last. The aviation industry in post war Britain was a turbulent one (reflecting the world itself ), and in the end it proved

unsustainable. The inevitable consolidation of the industry meant that illustrious names such as Gloster, Fairey, Supermarine, Avro and Bristol were to disappear forever, their legacy living on under the auspices of Hawker Siddeley, BAC and Westland. The Farnborough Airshow was the public face of aviation and when the industry changed, it changed too. Consequently the decision was taken in 1962 to make the Show biennial and, two years after that, to make it international. The ‘Best of British’ years were over, but what glorious years they were… Allan Burney AVIATION ARCHIVE SERIES This Golden Age of British Aviation is the fascinating subject for No 26 in the Aviation Archive series. At its heart lies unparalleled photographic coverage of historic Farnborough, featuring many exclusive air-to-airs and rare shots that have never been published before. We also look at every show from 1948 to 1962 through the eyes of John Blake and Mike Hooks, two men who are inextricably linked with the history of Farnborough, plus we pull-out a ‘star aircraft’ for each year. As ever, the words and photographs are complemented by ‘period’ cutaways from the talented pens of the ‘Flight’ and ‘Aeroplane’ artists of the era. Bibliography: 40 Years at Farnborough by John Blake and Mike Hooks

Aviation Archive Series

Farnborough: The Golden Years • Words: Mike Hooks and John Blake, courtesy Mike Hooks • 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 2016. 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: 9781910415597

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CONTENTS

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CONTENTS

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Farnborough: The Golden Years 6

1948: FARNBOROUGH DEBUT

12 1949: YEAR OF THE COMET 21 1950: BIG IS BEAUTIFUL 30 1951: NEW GENERATION 36 1952: TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY 44 1953: HAIL THE VICTOR 50 1954: BIG AND SMALL 56 1955: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL 61 1956: WET AND COLD 64 1957: FAST AND FURIOUS 70 1958: BIG FORMATIONS 76 1959: FIFTIES FAREWELL 81 1960: A NEW ERA 88 1961: IN TRANSITION 92 1962: LAST OF THE ANNUALS

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

1948: Farnborough debut T he world’s most famous airshow began life in 1948 when the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) moved its annual trade exhibition to Farnborough for the first time. Just as significantly, at the weekend the general public were allowed access to the Show for the first time. The Show was officially opened by the Minister of Supply Mr G. R. Strauss, and as well as the trade days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and a technicians’ day on Friday with no flying display, there were now two public days at the weekend. Nearly 200 exhibitors were accommodated under the 60,000 sq ft (5,574 sq m) of shelter provided by two of the Royal Aircraft Establishment’s hangars. Highlights of the Show included the fastest helicopter in the world, the first jet approved for civil use, the first two- and four-engined jet airliners and the first turboprop

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trainers, as well as the holder of the World Altitude Record. In keeping with SBAC tradition, there were formations of heavy and light aircraft in order to fit everybody in within the time available. One new feature in the flying display was the appearance of extra aircraft solely on public days, a novelty to be expanded in future. On this occasion it consisted of the third de Havilland DH 108 ‘Swallow’, flown by John Derry, fresh from his supersonic plunge from 40,000ft (12,192m) on 6 September in the first successful British assault on the sound barrier. Flying-boats were still a theme of the early post-war shows and the 1948 event was graced by a Short S45 Solent, flown by Captain Alcock of BOAC (who feathered two engines in his flypast). Far more impact, however, was made by a flying boat that never saw service. The thunderous and dramatic appearance of Geoffrey Tyson (himself the mildest of men)

in the Saunders Roe SRA/1, inverted and scandalously low, across the A235 was a sight still savoured by those who saw it. The SRA/1 was the world’s only single-seat, jet-powered, fighter flying boat, with two Metrovick (Metropolitan-Vickers) Beryl turbojets, developing, in the third and final airframe, 3,850lb static thrust and sending it along at 512mph (824km/h), rather faster than the current World Speed Record for marine aircraft. Despite it representing an obsolete conception, the SRA/1, unknown to most people watching it, had its place in the pioneering events at the Show, for it was fitted with the first MartinBaker ejection seat. Armstrong Whitworth showed both prototypes of its remarkable AW 52 flying wings. Nearly as big across as a Lancaster, powered by two Rolls-Royce Nenes or Derwents, the aircraft was developed from the earlier glider version

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SBAC 1948 and was seen as leading eventually towards a six-jet airliner. Interest in the tail-less aircraft as a practical design revived after the war, following the success, aerodynamicallyspeaking, of the Messerschmitt Me 163 and the discovery of several advanced projects from Horten and Henschel, among other German researchers. In the event only Northrop, in the US, persevered with this format culminating in the stealth bomber. Two airliner prototypes at the Show had cause to grumble at the success of the rival Viscount; the alternative Vickers aircraft, the jetpowered Nene-Viking (the first turbo-jet airliner in the world) was not seen to be as desirable as the Viscount and was dropped, and the Airspeed Ambassador, with two closely-cowled Bristol Centaurus piston engines, which only enjoyed a limited success. George Errington was Airspeed’s chief test pilot and secured his and the aircraft’s place in Farnborough history

in 1948 by conducting the whole Ambassador display on one engine, feathering the port airscrew before starting his take-off run and not releasing it until after the landing; a feat that has, not surprisingly, ever been repeated at subsequent displays. Among other novelties was the first real Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) demonstration by the Scottish Aviation Pioneer. This aircraft, which had appeared the previous year, now carried a 250hp DH Gipsy Queen 34 and array of full-span slats and Fowler flaps that enabled it to land into a 15kts (27.8km) wind in 20 yards (18.29m). Noisier and faster, two contenders for the 100km closed circuit speed record, de Havilland’s DH 108 and Vampire, were taking part in the Show. The latter

Below: Despite being the world’s first turbojet airliner, the Nene-powered Vickers Viking did not appeal to airlines, which at the time favoured turboprop power.

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actually held the FAI Class C1 record, John Cunningham having flown VF332 to 496.88mph (799.6km/h) at Lympne on 31 August 1947. Also flying was the much-modified third production Vampire, TG278, test-bed for the Ghost-engined version which became the Venom. This particular aircraft, with 8ft (2.4m) added to the span and a special hood, was taken to 59,446ft (18,119m) by Cunningham in a successful attack on the World Altitude Record on 23 March 1948. The third and last DH 108, with redesigned nose and cockpit area in a fuselage little resembling that of the Vampire from which it sprang, and with a Goblin 4 engine giving rather more thrust than earlier versions, raised the closed-circuit record to 605.23mph (974.02km/h) on 12 April. During the private days at the Show John Derry pushed the DH 108 through the sound barrier and went on to give a flawless aerobatic display on the public days, with a particularly meritorious

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS Left:1948 will be remembered as the year of the thunderous Saunders-Roe SRA/1, flown in inimitable style by Geoffrey Tyson. The aircraft was the first to be equipped with a Martin-Baker ejection seat, though it would have been of little use during this famous low inverted pass.

appearance on Sunday, when the weather was bad enough to stop the rest of the flying. The newest naval prototype, the Hawker P1040 was being shown by Sqn Ldr T. S. ‘Wimpey’ Wade, having made its first flight just over two weeks previously. This powerful, wellbalanced fighter from Sydney Camm and his team presented the settled Hawker philosophy for the single-seat fighting aircraft and took full advantage of the wing-root intakes and aft engine to get the pilot right up in the nose. On the flying front, a ‘heavy circus’ opened the Show, led by the Hastings and including the Lincoln, Valetta, Marathon, Dove and Bristol Freighter (flown by Bill Pegg). The military contingent contained the Sea Hornet, Spitfire trainer, Brigand (with four 500lb bombs), Sea Fury, Firefly trainer, Sturgeon ‘long nose’ TT2, Meteor 4, Athena 2, Balliol l and Meteor 7. The Below: Two aircraft doomed never to progress beyond prototype stage, the SRA/1 swoops over the Avro Tudor 8. Fitted with Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets, the Tudor 8 carried out its first flight at Woodford on 6 September 1948 and a few days later was demonstrated at Farnborough. Later, it was used for high-altitude experimental tests at Boscombe Down and RAE Farnborough before being broken up in 1951.

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SBAC 1948 Boulton Paul Balliol l and Avro Athena l were designed to Spec. T 7/45 for a turboprop trainer (the Balliol l was the world’s first single-engined turboprop to fly). Upon the cancellation of this requirement they reverted to the piston power of the Merlin, the Balliol achieving the major order for the Royal Air Force. The helicopter was just beginning to make its mark in aviation having, like the jet, received a brief baptism at the end of the war. Flying at Farnborough were the Bristol Type 17 Mk 2, with Alvis Leonides engine, and the remarkable Fairey Gyrodyne. The latter, flown by Basil Arkell, had achieved a new World Class record for helicopters (and the first British helicopter record) on 28 June, reaching 124.3mph. This very complex but ingenious helicopter combined a conventional rotor with an airscrew, the latter providing most of the thrust in forward flight, enabling a low disc loading to be attained and holding much promise for helicopter development. Fifteen years of research, design and construction by Fairey did not compensate for the fact that this did not turn out to be the mainstream in the future of the rotary wing.

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Above: The Farnborough exhibition halls have always been a source of ambitious concepts, many of which never progressed beyond model form. The Portsmouth Aerocar at least managed to get to prototype stage in 1948, but disappeared quickly without trace. Below: The remarkable Armstrong Whitworth AW52 flying wing created a sensation when it landed at Farnborough, but 1948 was to be the only year it appeared.

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

Above left: The Gloster Meteor T7 powered by Rolls-Royce Derwent engines made its debut at the 1948 show having flown for the first time on 19 March that year. Left: The first sonic boom over the Farnborough skies was made by John Derry in the diminutive DH 108 Swallow. Below: Farnborough’s famous hill made it ideal for spectators to watch the show, especially when they were higher than some of the aircraft flying past!

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SBAC 1948

FARNBOROUGH

FOCUS

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Viscount majesty One of the undisputed stars of the first SBAC show at Farnborough, was George Edwards’ splendid Vickers Viscount, poised at the beginning of its remarkable success story. Few watching the display would have predicted that it would still be in demand 40 years later, except perhaps its designer. Developed in tandem with the revolutionary Rolls-Royce Dart engine, the Viscount became Britain’s best-selling airliner with 445 built. The first prototype took to the air on 16 July 1948 as the Type 630, piloted by Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers, Vickers’ chief test pilot. Powered by early Dart engines, initial results of G-AHRF proved disappointing and at this stage the future of the aircraft was in doubt. The design was considered too small and slow at 275mph (443km/h), making the passenger operating costs too high for regular service. However, the prospect of the vastly improved Dart 505 with 50 per cent more power, gave Vickers the opportunity to offer a stretched version, the Viscount 700, with capacity for 40-53 passengers. In the meantime, G-AHRF received the first certificate or airworthiness for a turboprop airliner in July 1950, and passengers were immediately impressed by its smoothness, pressurised cockpit and large windows. Packed with cutting edge technology of the time, the Viscount was operated by both large and small airlines throughout the world.

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

1949: The year of the Comet A irliners were the main talking point at Farnborough in 1949, with the trail-blazing Comet leading the way, closely followed by four new turboprops. And then there was the Brabazon… The most exciting and significant first at Farnborough in 1949 was the appearance of the futuristic de Havilland Comet, the first production jet airliner in the world. Compared to previous designs that had been converted propliners, the Comet was a sleek purpose-built jet airliner with engines buried in the elegant swept wing. It looked fast and it was, its polished metal finish only adding to the effect. Designed by a team headed by R. E. Bishop, the Comet was given its first flight by John Cunningham on 27 July. Immediately following its triumphant appearance at Farnborough, the Comet prototype set about a series of high‑speed

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proving flights to check fuel consumption under airline conditions, beginning with a run to Castel Benito and back at 448mph (720.98km/h) in October. The Comet really was a trail-blazer and all those that witnessed its first appearance realised that the future of commercial airline travel had changed forever. Apart from the Comet, the only four propeller turbine airliners in existence were also on display: Hermes 5, Viscount, Apollo and Marathon 2. Therefore, it was hardly surprising that there was the presence of representatives from at least 15 major airlines. The Armstrong Whitworth Apollo was, like the Viscount, designed to Brabazon Il proposals but with four axial flow compressor Mambas designed by near-relation Armstrong Siddeley, a more advanced engine than the centrifugal compressor Dart in the Viscount.

It was the Dart however, that flourished, the Mamba that died. And that was the end of the Apollo and other Mamba-powered designs, including the Marathon 2. The fourth turboprop airliner, the Theseuspowered Hermes 5, virtually a direct conversion from the Hercules-driven Hermes 4, suffered a similar fate to the Apollo, for the specification to which it was designed, for a Constellation replacement, resulted in a win for the rival Bristol Britannia. A large part of the failure was undoubtedly due to the numerous faults that plagued the Theseus. It was a brave sight in the Farnborough skies, nevertheless; with a top speed of 350mph

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SBAC 1949 (563km/h) and gross weight of 85,000lb (38,555kg), it was the heaviest and fastest turbine airliner in the world. The biggest airliner ever built in Britain was to steal many of the headlines as it cast its considerable shadow over Farnborough. Shortly after being appointed chief test pilot to the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton, and two days before the opening of the Farnborough Display, A. J. ‘Bill’ Pegg lifted the giant Brabazon off the specially-built runway for the first time. At an all-up weight of 129.5 tons and 230ft (70m) wingspan it was the largest and heaviest aeroplane ever flown in Britain. The occasion is sufficiently commemorated by Bill Pegg’s comment to his co-pilot, Walter Gibb: ‘Well, my side’s airborne; what about yours?’ On the occasion of the Display no landings or takeoffs were attempted, the aircraft flying in from, and returning to, Filton. For pure flying exuberance, the star of the show was the magnificent presentation of the new English Electric Canberra

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Above and below: Fresh from its maiden flight in July, the gleaming de Havilland Comet offered the Farnborough crowd a glimpse of the future. Note the large single wheels of the undercarriage that would later be replaced by a multiple unit.

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

by Roland ‘Bea’ Beamont. Designed as a Mosquito replacement capable of carrying an 8,000lb (3,629kg) bomb at 540mph (869km/h) for 1,600 miles (2,575km) at 50,000ft (15,240m), the Canberra was designed by a team led by the gifted but restless E. W. Petter, who had left Westlands and moved to English Electric specifically to create this high altitude bomber. By great good fortune, Rolls-Royce was working on an advanced axial flow turbine, the AJ65, for precisely the same purpose. The engine, later to be named Avon, became one of the most successful British turbines ever built. Petter had designed a most elegant wing for his bomber giving optimum performance at all speeds and altitudes. Nothing could have better underlined its superior qualities than ‘Bea’s’ display, featuring very tight, high-G turns within the limits of the airfield. Among the other military offerings on display were no less than four Meteors, one with re-heat to its Derwents and one with Avons; both aircraft were presented by RollsRoyce. The spectacular climbs on re-heat by the Derwent-Meteor gave the public its first sight and sound of this thrust multiplier and they were suitably impressed. The AvonMeteor, with a deal more power than it well knew what to do with, was even more Below: The life of the Theseus-powered Handley Page Hermes 5 was relatively short-lived when it lost out to the Bristol Britannia. Nevertheless, it still presented an imposing sight and sound at the 1949 show.

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dramatic, gliding down from 6,000ft (1,828m) to run across the field with both HP cocks turned off, trailing plumes of unburnt fuel and pulling up into an upward roll. With that confidence born of working for Rolls-Royce, the pilot waited until he was on the way down again before relighting the engines. And then, with what cartoonist Chris Wren described as the Meteorific display of the Mk 8, Farnborough aficionados were introduced to one of the outstanding display pilots of all time, Jan Zurakowski. Over a period of several years his carefully-timed and spectacular sequences on various Meteors became high points of Farnborough Shows. The sleek Supermarine 510, flown by Mike Lithgow, was certainly the fastest aircraft in the Show with speeds around 670mph (1,078km/h) this representing M 0.88 at Lithgow’s operating height of 100ft (30.5m). At that height, though not at that speed, he also produced some very tight radius turns. The 510 was intended as a Meteor replacement and was based on an Attacker fuselage. The first British all-swept wing aircraft, it achieved M 0.93 and was only limited by considerable trim changes at that number. Together with a second aircraft, intended to ‘get ahead’ of the Hawker P1040 (which became the Sea Hawk), it finished up as a prototype for the Swift. New Royal Air Force equipment figured prominently in the 1949 Display. Apart from Bomber Command’s Canberra, Coastal Command would receive the massive Avro

Shackleton, whose second prototype appeared at the Show. Few watching this Lancaster derivative would have predicted that it would still be in front-line service 40 years later. Among naval offerings were the prototype Attacker F1 in the hands of Les Colquhoun, the Supermarine Seagull and the Westland Wyvern TF2. On the rotary front, the little Cierva Skeeter, the huge Cierva Air Horse and the Bristol Type 171 had all been seen statically in 1948. The first two flew in 1949 and did so again in 1950 but the 171 had its rotor disintegrate dramatically at the start of its second flight, three days before the Show, fortunately without injuring anybody. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin 24, with three 47ft (14.3m) rotors, the Air Horse had flown at 14,000lb (6,350kg) the highest all-up weight yet achieved by a helicopter on 7 December 1948 and was now displayed by Alan Marsh, its extraordinary shape and great lazily turning blades creating a most vivid impression. Tragically, the following year, a rotor hub failed and Marsh and his crew were killed. Westland embraced the helicopter when its various military and civil fixed-wing projects ran out of steam and rather than commence from scratch in this new field took on a licence from Sikorsky to build its S-51. As far as light aircraft were concerned, the representation was poor and there did not seem to be any particular indication in all this that Britain might recover its pre-war position in this field.

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SBAC 1949

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Above: The Avro Athena 2, VW892, was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin. Designed to replace the RAF’s North American Harvards, it was only bought in small numbers, the competing Boulton Paul Balliol being preferred. Left: Another 1949 debutant was the English Electric Canberra, displayed dynamically by Roland ‘Bea’ Beamont. Below: The Armstrong Whitworth Apollo showing its ability to land with one engine closed down, a brave decision bearing in mind that the aircraft was unstable and underpowered. Not surprisingly the Vickers Viscount emerged victorious in this market.

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

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SBAC 1949

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Left: The incredible but ungainly Cierva Air Horse was the largest helicopter of its time, powered by a single Rolls-Royce Merlin. Development was abandoned after the crash of this, the first of two prototypes to fly, in June 1950. Below left: In the shadow of its big brother Air Horse, the diminutive Cierva Skeeter made a spirited appearance at Farnborough in 1949. Right: Any viewpoint was gained to watch the novelty of rotary flight at Farnborough in 1949. Below: The wartime ancestry of the new Avro Shackleton was clearly evident, but this did not stop the aircraft from a long and successful career. Bottom left: Offering a tantalising glimpse of the future, the Avro 707 delta was a proof of concept aircraft for the yet to fly Vulcan. Bottom right: Flying boats were still a feature in 1949, but already their influence was waning. This did not stop the crowds from admiring the majestic sight of the Short Solent 3 making a low pass along the flightline.

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

FARNBOROUGH

FOCUS

Westland Wyvern TF2 The Westland Wyvern was a single-seat carrier-based multi-role strike fighter. Petter (of Canberra fame) had originally designed it for a fully-forward pilot with the engine behind him and a long shaft drive, rather like the Westland F7/30 before the war. Originally powered by the Rolls-Royce Eagle piston engine, the TF2 variant sported the Armstrong Siddeley Python turboprop. The latter variant first flew on 22 March 1949 and made its Farnborough debut later in the year. The Wyvern, which was not only the company’s first naval design to see service since the Walrus of 1921, but its last fixed-wing design, finally entered service in 1953. The definitive Mk 4, of which 94 had been built when production ceased three years later, equipped four first-line and two training squadrons and saw brief glory in the 1956 Suez campaign. Above and right: There is no denying that the Westland Wyvern was an impressive bit of kit, but it straddled the age between the big piston fighters and pure jet aircraft and was thus destined for a short career.

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SBAC 1950

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1950: Big is beautiful T he turn of the decade promised a bright new future for Britain, but in aviation terms Farnborough in 1950 was a year of consolidation rather than innovation. The star turn was the Bristol Brabazon, a gentle giant adored by the public, but flawed from its very beginning. The background pattern for the 1950 event remained very much as in previous years, the formula was working nicely and the overall size in terms of exhibitors and exhibits had not greatly altered. Commencing on Tuesday with Technicians’ (or Preview) Day, there were then three Trade Days with the weekend devoted to the public. Admission prices were 3s (adult) and 1s 6d (children), 15p and 7.5p in today’s money. The weather chose to be capricious. Technical Day was one of brilliant sunshine, but a low cloud base prevailed for much of the week which meant that there were more high speed passes and tight turns evident rather than vertical aerobatics. The crowd line was now established parallel to the southem edge

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of runway 07/25 and the exhibition area was transferred to the area south east of that. The exhibition was now housed in a purpose-built marquee, which was to become the largest of its kind in the world. This year the Brabazon was present on the ground as well as in the sky, though railed off from curious eyes (heaven knows why). ‘The central stateroom’, said ‘The Aeroplane’ is more reminiscent of a ship than of an aeroplane. Frankly, so was most of the rest of it. When the specification was issued, only Bristol, among companies with big aeroplane experience, really had the capacity to tackle it and drew heavily on the work already done on a 300mph (482km/h), 100-ton bomber project with engines buried in the wings. Sadly the Brabazon and its stable mate the Brabazon 2, the latter designed to cruise at 330mph (531km/h) on eight coupled Bristol Proteus propeller turbines, with 100 passengers and a crew of 12, were well ahead of the structural and economic parameters of the

day. Lord Brabazon of Tara commented later that the Brabazon l specification was the only one where their traffic forecasts had gone astray, for they had reckoned a 50-passenger layout would be ample on the North Atlantic routes and that customers would want to travel in unprecedented luxury. Of course, the development of high-flying and fast jet airliners rendered the Brabazon ‘concept’ redundant even before it had got air under its tyres. On the ‘standard’ airliner front, the Ambassador was represented by the second prototype, pressurised and fully sound-proofed and sporting early Centaurus 630 engines. It provided a noteworthy challenge to the Viscount in terms of quietness and a smooth ride. The aircraft appeared in BEA markings anticipating its first appearance on scheduled service as the Elizabethan class a year later. It was Airspeed stylists who created the ‘wrapround’ nose end to the livery cheat lines, establishing a clever visual effect and a firm precedent in terms of future colour schemes .

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The Armstrong Whitworth Apollo appeared again, much of the time with two airscrews feathered, which enabled the cognoscenti to observe that it now had four-bladed airscrews on number two and three engines. Plagued by constant engine problems and with the company heavily occupied with other work, the Apollo never regained the ground lost to the Viscount, nor did it attract a single order. Below and bottom: Compared to the Comet, the shape of the Brabazon already looked outdated, but that should not detract from its achievement as the world’s first true wide-body airliner. The crowds admired it in true ‘Best of British’ spirit, but deep down even the most optimistic knew that it was doomed to failure.

The civil Viscount present was the prototype Series 700, flown by ‘Jock’ Bryce. First flown only nine days previously, it could carry 11 more passengers and cruise almost 50mph (80.5km/h) faster than the Type 630 which had inaugurated world turboprop services between London and Paris on 29 July and which was sitting in the Static Park. Roped off from close inspection was the prototype Comet, now resplendent in BOAC colours, resting most of its weight on the huge single main wheels that later gave way to more practical and better-looking multi-wheel units. Following the startling appearance of the prototype Canberra B1 the previous year, Roland Beamont flew the fourth prototype

in 1950 as well as the first prototype B2. This was the definitive bomber version, now a three-seater, with a glazed nose position for the bomb-aimer and wingtip drop tanks. The Canberra, in various guises, was to be one of the hardy annuals over the next nine years. As well as the test-bed Avon and Sapphire Meteors presented by the respective engine companies, a production Gloster Meteor F8 was being demonstrated experimentally (and aerobatically, including an outside loop), with a pair of 1,000lb (453.6kg) bombs beneath the wings. The second prototype Meteor NF1 was also flown at the 1950 Show by J. O. Lancaster and, starting in the following year, the type was to eventually equip 21 squadrons. It wasn’t all fast-jet action. Both Handley Page, with the HPR2, and Percival, with the P56, were contending for the new basic trainer order, to team up with the Vampire T11 in replacing the Prentice/Harvard combination. The new trainer would, in fact, be the P56 Provost, continuing the tradition of side-by-side seating. On the Navy front, Blackburn’s YB1 and Fairey’s 17 were fighting a similar battle for an anti-submarine aircraft. The Fairey, which won the draw and became the Gannet, took full advantage during the Show of its ability to perform in a most sprightly manner on one half of the Double Mamba and one of its contra-rotating airscrews. These weren’t the only Mambas on show. Two single versions powered the Short SB3, a curious aircraft derived from the Sturgeon. The jet exhausts pointed downwards and, the single-shaft engine producing exhaust thrust varying with demand, gave a startling demonstration of assymetric vectored thrust if one engine was throttled back. The deep proboscis housed a radar operator squatting above his equipment. Test-beds were still much in evidence, the Avon Meteor, the bet-hedging Tay-Viscount (in case the Dart turned sour) and a Lincoln sprouting two Bristol Theseus propeller turbines, the latter an engine that did not achieve its potential and contributed to the downfall of the Hermes 5. Top right: A famous Farnborough image as the sleek Airspeed Ambassador flies over Cody’s tree. Right: Developed from the Tudor, the Avro 706 Ashton flew nearly a year after the Comet. It was an experimental programme and was never intended for commercial use. This was an age when low-level flypasts were the norm. Far right: Resplendent in BOAC markings, the Comet succeeded in making every other airliner on show in 1950 look outdated.

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Fighter debutants

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The late 1940 and early 1950s was an exciting time in the development of jet fighters and in the UK Hawkers had been re-defining its P1052 swept-wing fighter leading to a new prototype with swept tail surfaces and a redesigned, single tailpipe replacing the forked layout of the earlier aircraft. Designated the P1081, it was flown at the 1950 Display by ‘Wimpy’ Wade, Hawkers chief test pilot. Still powered by the 5,000lb (2,268kg) static thrust Rolls-Royce Nene, the new aircraft turned in a speed of M 0.89 at 36,000ft (10,973m) and 604kts (1,119km/h) at sea level and climbed usefully to 35,000ft (10,668m) in just over nine minutes. Sadly, on 3 April 1951 the P1081 crashed, killing ‘Wimpy’ Wade. Vickers Supermarine, like Hawkers, was drawn into production of a new fighter designed round the Nene, and from the straight-winged Attacker, chief designer Joe Smith evolved the sweptwing Type 510. This had first appeared at the 1949 Show but was subsequently considerably modified at Boscombe Down. The second much-modified prototype (now designated Type 535) appeared at Farnborough in 1950 equipped with afterburner, and a name – Swift. Meanwhile, another debutant was the more conventional Hawker Sea Hawk F1, resplendent in Royal Navy colours. It demonstrated its wing-folding capability, though thankfully its pilot avoided embarrassment by ensuring they were locked in the down position before take-off.

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Right: Hawker P1081, VX279. Below: Supermarine 535, VV119. Bottom right: Hawker Sea Hawk F1, VP413. Left: High-ranking officers and dignitaries from overseas were a regular sight at Farnborough, eager to see the latest creations and innovations of the British aviation industry.

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Above: Fitted with two Rolls-Royce Avons, Meteor F4 RA491 streaks across the sky with more power than it knows what to do with! The Blackburn Universal Freighter and Armstrong Apollo provide the period backdrop. Left: The experimental Vickers Viscount 663 was used as a test-bed for the Rolls-Royce Tay turbojet and was presented in RAF markings as VX217. It saw out its days as a test bed for electronic flight control systems. Bottom left: The Fairey GR17 looked ‘wrong’ on so many levels, but it was to evolve into the highly successful Gannet. Below: The bizarre Short SB3 was derived from the Sturgeon as an anti-submarine aircraft, with radar operators housed in the bulbous nose. The aircraft proved extremely difficult to trim when flying on one engine, so much so that a second prototype was cancelled and the project abandoned.

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1951: New generation O nly 10 years had passed since the first British jet aircraft had flown, yet in 1951 over half of the 36 flying and 13 static aircraft at Farnborough were gas-turbine powered. The first turboprops in service were all British and the Comet was blazing its pioneering trail and receiving orders to match. The future looked bright… This was a defining year for Farnborough. No less than 19 aircraft were making their first appearance in public and for the first time, the Royal Air Force was taking part as an ‘exhibitor’, with an aerobatic team from No 54 Squadron, its four Vampires providing the finale on the Sunday. They were originally billed to appear much earlier in the programme, but one suspects that the urge to produce a memorable closing number proved irresistible. New aircraft and engines crowded the Farnborough scene. The flying, in spite of the weather, was superb and the future looked bright for the Industry, even if the present in post-war Britain in general was a bit austere. At Farnborough in this year, totals of guests and

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members of the public continued to rise, with 28,000 at the preview on Tuesday (Press and Technicians’ Day) and the three succeeding Trade Days, including 2,472 invited overseas guests from 79 countries. A final official count of 180,000 bodies through, round or over the turnstiles at the weekend included, allegedly, some 140-150,000 on the Sunday. The imbalance on the Public Days was probably because Saturday was a day of persistent rain and low cloud. Sunday, a day of admirable weather, saw the ticket control apparatus severely strained by the rush, and a lot of people got in free in the process of easing the jam at the gates and car parks. The flying opened with a ‘heavy circus’, largely composed of the now familiar test-beds deploying the still multiplying new engines intended to maintain Britain’s turbine lead. Bill Pegg of Bristol flew the Proteus-Lincoln and Mike Randrup another, fitted with a nose-mounted Napier Nomad driving coaxial airscrews, whose start-up procedure closely resembled a badly-managed firework display.

Above: An evocative image taken by the legendary Charles Brown of the Hawker P1067 (Hunter), which made its Farnborough debut in 1951 in the skilful hands of Neville Duke.

There was also the Avro Ashton, the MambaMarathon (except on Tuesday), Shackleton, Hermes V and Viscount. The presence of the Airspeed-converted prototype Vampire T11 trainer tied in with the recent announcement of a production order for the Provost, its stable mate in the new training programme. Another prototype, appearing for its second Show, was the Type 535, understudying for the production Type Swift. Dave Morgan had suffered a forced landing following an engine failure in the latter, which consequently couldn’t appear at this year’s Farnborough. In parallel with the Swift, Supermarine had the Type 508, a twin-engined design under way to a naval requirement, based round the RollsRoyce AJ65 axial-flow turbine, later named the Avon. It was a large, clean, purposeful looking beast, with unswept wings and a vee-tail

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dictated by strength/weight considerations and by the engine exhaust layout. Flown at the 1951 Show by Mike Lithgow, it possessed full potential for a production fighter, but nothing, as it happened, came of that, although it reappeared in later years with swept wings and an order from the Royal Navy as the Scimitar. The fighters, as usual, stole the show; their impact emphasised by the fact that by this, the fourth year at Farnborough and the fourth year of public attendance, the names of test pilots were beginning to be familiar and linked to their displays in the popular mind. Neville Duke, one of the two stars of the Display, flew the indecently fast and exceedingly handsome P1067. He had taken it off on its first flight not from Hawkers’ new aerodrome at Dunsfold, but from Boscombe Down, only five weeks previously. It was the first prototype of the Hunter and the machine with which he was two years later almost to the day, briefly to hold the world speed record. He also flew the P1052, now flourishing an arrester hook as a broad hint to the Royal Navy. A notable feature of his

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display was the half-Cuban, which he was using as a turn-round manoeuvre, with remarkable economy of space. As a basic piece of ‘belt and braces’, against the possibility that the V-bomber concept was too advanced, a more sober, straight-wing alternative had been built by Short Brothers, without taking any leaps into untried theory. The design emerged as the SA4 Sperrin and two prototypes were ordered and completed even although it was realised that the design would be obsolete very shortly. After a first flight on 10 August, the Sperrin was flown at Farnborough by Tom Brooke-Smith (‘Brookie’ to everyone in the industry). Although it was denied service status by the success of the Valiant, it later led a useful research life. A small, bright blue triangle was also flying at Farnborough that year. Intended for research into the low-speed end of the delta’s flight envelope, the Avro 707B was displayed with tremendous dash by Roly Falk, a cheerful giant of a man, and was accompanied by another small delta, the Boulton Paul P111. Designed

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to explore the trans-sonic characteristics of the delta wing, the latter displayed a fierce pugnacity and possessed distinctly hairyheeled landing characteristics. Finally, in this annus mirabilis, there was ‘Zura’. Jan Zurakowski flew the private venture ground attack Gloster Meteor, fully loaded with no less than 24 90lb (40.8kg) rockets and 100 gallon (454.6 litre) wingtip tanks. On this unpromisingly burdened mount, he proceeded to demonstrate his ‘cartwheel’. For this shattering and improbable manoeuvre, he pointed the Meteor vertically upwards and as the speed fell off to the stall, simultaneously opened one throttle while fully retarding the other, spinning the aircraft round its vertical axis (which was parallel to the ground) and holding the rotation through several cycles in the descent. He was unable to demonstrate it at all on Saturday because of the weather, but on Sunday, lacking adequate clearance below cloud he commenced the manoeuvre on top and emerged, tumbling wildly through the clouds into the astonished view of the public.

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Above: The very neat Bristol 171 Sycamore helicopter nicely frames the Brabazon, which was making its farewell appearance at the show. Left: The big vee-tailed Supermarine 508, VX133, made a noisy debut in 1950 and although it did not attract any orders, it formed the basis for the swept-wing Scimitar that saw service with the Royal Navy. Below left: The small and angular Boulton Paul P111 was designed to explore the aerodynamics of the delta wing at high speeds. As one would expect, this slippery beast used up a lot of runway on landing! Bottom left: Old and new combined for the opening item of the day which featured Lincoln B4 SX972, the test bed for the Bristol Proteus turboprop, carried in its outer nacelles. Below: The conventional Short Sperrin was designed as an insurance policy should the more radical V-bombers fail to enter service quickly. This was not the case and the Sperrin was destined for a short life as an engine test bed. Right: The highlight of the flying in 1951 was Jan Zurakowski’s incredible aerobatic routine in the ground attack Meteor.

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First of the V-bombers Above: Looking like a futuristic image from Dan Dare, the gleaming prototype Valiant WB210 was ordered in 1949 and first flew from the grass airfield at Wisley in 1951, making its Farnborough debut shortly thereafter.

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The Vickers Valiant was an aircraft that was probably more exciting to the Air Staff than the new fighters. Thanks to the advent of the powerful turbine, advances in high speed aerodynamics and the concentrated fury of a single nuclear weapon, the wartime concept of strategic attacks by a mass of heavily armed, piston-engined bombers at comparatively low-level, had vanished for ever. In their place was the prospect of a small, economic force of nuclear-armed, swept-wing jets, riding high above any foreseeable opposition at near sonic speeds. Now on view for the first time was the first of these new bombers, so gracefully proportioned that it was a shock to find how big it was, when near it on the ground. It was powered by four of the ubiquitous Rolls-Royce Avons but in common with the ‘belt and braces’ philosophy of those days, a second prototype would carry four Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphires to guard against any failure of the former engine. In the event, there were no failures. The new bomber flew for the first time from Wisley, then still a grass airfield, on 18 May, in the hands of ‘Mutt’ Summers and ‘Jock’ Bryce in plenty of time for the latter to display it at Farnborough. It was later destroyed in January 1952, catching fire in the air from a wet start relight, but was swiftly replaced by the almost-completed second aircraft which was by then fitted with the thoroughly successful Avon.

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1952: Triumph and tragedy

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his was a year of contrasting emotions. Record breaking crowds and deltas were the order of the day, but sadly the event will forever be remembered for the worst airshow crash in British history, which killed two pilots and 29 spectators. The 1952 Show was remarkable for a number of reasons. Total attendance came to the staggering figure of 338,000 plus, over 300,000 of these coming in on the two public days. Farnborough’s popularity had reached a peak, with almost half as many spectators again as in the previous year. Exhibition space was increased to 68,000 sq ft (6,317.4 sq m), and there were 38,000 invited guests on the Trade Days, including 4,126 from overseas, representing 94 countries. The Show now lasted a full week, Monday 1 September to Sunday 7 September and there was a Public Premium

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Day on Friday, when for a slightly larger fee to reduce attendance, the public could have more elbow room and almost console themselves for not having been able to scrounge a Trade Day ticket. Sonic bangs were permitted, much to the chagrin of local greenhouse owners! The word of the week was ‘Reheat’, the thunderous roar that accompanied its sudden and unfamiliar application being sometimes taken for a sonic bang by the timorous or uninitiated. On the obverse side, the weather was reportedly the worst on record, spoiling the Public Premium Day and producing pouring rain from a wretchedly low cloud base until early afternoon on the Sunday. The star of the 1952 Show, both aerodynamically and on grounds of sheer pilotage, was without doubt the Avro 698 Vulcan prototype. As yet un-named, it had first

taken to the air at Woodford on 30 August, only three days before its first public appearance at Farnborough (it did not fly on Monday). When Wg Cdr Roly Falk brought the huge white delta round for its first thunderous pass, flanked by the bright blue and orange triangles of the 707A and B, and proceeded to give a masterly display at very low altitude, it was difficult to realise that his total flight time on the aircraft was about two hours – or that he was flying it solo. The prototype 698 was powered by four Avons, as the Bristol Olympus, the chosen production engine, was not yet available and despite its dramatic appearance was of fairly conventional construction. It did, however, introduce a major novelty in its approach and landing. The delta wing gave the capability of landing at low speed and a high angle of attack and the chosen technique of descent

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SBAC 1952 long time before any of the magnificent six saw squadron service. The greatest civil triumph of the Display, undoubtedly, was the first appearance of the Bristol 175, christened by some anonymous genius at Filton, the Britannia. When the big, handsome, laid-back Britannia cruised by on the murmur of the admirable Proteus, it was immediately dubbed the ‘Whispering Giant’. Following the precedent set some years previously by the Ambassador, it appeared in full airline colours, although some years from actual service. On the lighter civil side, proceedings were enlivened by Ranald Porteous in the aerobatic Auster Aiglet Trainer, who inserted a flickish rolling movement into the top of a loop. Frequently referred to as a Porteous loop, Ranald himself called it the ‘avalanche’, because that was what it felt like when it hit you. He also drew attention to the virtues of his mount by landing on one wheel. Great Britain has been noticeably slow in following up the promise of the helicopter, but the 1952 Show did produce some activity in the shape of two production aircraft and two prototypes. The little two-seater Skeeter Left: The undisputed star of the 1952 Show was the Avro 698, the aircraft that was to become better known as the Vulcan. Having made its maiden flight only three days earlier, it dominated the Farnborough skies in the hands of the inimitable ‘Roly’ Falk. Below: The majestic and appropriately named Britannia was the airliner highlight of the show, the prototype G-ALBO being displayed in a smart BOAC livery, as captured during a Farnborough photo-call.

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had been designed by Cierva as far back as 1946 and when the company was taken over by Saunders-Roe in 1951, the latter continued development and was now marketing it as the Skeeter 3B. The other production helicopter, the Westland Dragonfly had been in naval service since 1949. A British version of the Sikorsky S-51, it featured a more powerful engine (Alvis Leonides) and in the version shown, an HR3, new metal rotor blades. Bristol had two new helicopters on display; the Type 171, later named the Sycamore, and the twin-rotor, twin-engined Type 173. The latter was flown by ‘Sox’ Hosegood, who proved convincingly that the 173 manoeuvred on the ground by using engine differentials like a fixed-wing twin and walked it about on its hind legs like a Lippizaner before lifting off; apparently a perfectly normal procedure. The 173 was a good example of an enduring British habit of producing promising prototypes from first class ideas by first class designers (in this case Raoul Hainer) and failing to follow them up. Subsequent success by Boeing-Vertol in this field proves the point. What should have been quite clear, but equally was apparently not, was the folly of even contemplating the construction of the SaundersRoe Princess, also making its first appearance at Farnborough. This 100-ton 10-engined behemoth first took to the air on 20 August, flown by Geoffrey Tyson. Designed for 102 passengers, it was a classic example of ‘nostalgia rules!’ and an exceedingly expensive way of seeing out the flying boat. Nevertheless, there it was, sailing majestically down the runway and cruising about among the tents, as dignified and useful as a Victorian battleship and arousing very much the same emotions.

with throttle closed and stick checked to give a constant angle of attack resulted in an eyecatching arrival without the normal flare. There were 35 aircraft in the Flying Display and a further 20 on static display only. The flying programme contained a very high proportion of prototype or experimental types, but no fewer than 27 of them would in time achieve production status and civil or military service. Several were old friends, if only from the previous year; there were no less than four different Canberras flying, the Short Sperrin was back in an all-grey colour scheme (actually it was the second prototype) and the second prototype Valiant flew, showing its new intake shapes. All six of the ‘super priority’ types were flying and on view together for the first time: Valiant, Hunter, Swift, Javelin, Canberra and Gannet. For all the fuss about this programme, it was to be a

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KEY 1 Dielectric nose 2 Scanner 3 Gyro gunsight 4 Pilot’s ejection seat 5 Twin sliding hoods 6 Radar operator’s ejection seat 7 Tailplane feel simulator 8 Feel simulator pressure heads 9 Top airbrake 10 Rudder Servodyne 11 Tailplane power control unit 12 Movable tailplane 13 Aileron Servodyne 14 30mm Aden guns 15 Ammunition bays 16 Mainwheel unit 17 IPN fuel tank 18 Cabin primary cooler 19 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet 20 Accessories gearbox 21 Air intake duct 22 Pilot’s instrument panel 23 Oxygen bottles 24 Nosewheel unit

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KEY 1 Dielectric nose 2 Scanner 3 Gyro gunsight 4 Pilot’s ejection seat 5 Twin sliding hoods 6 Radar operator’s ejection seat 7 Tailplane feel simulator 8 Feel simulator pressure heads 9 Top airbrake 10 Rudder Servodyne 11 Tailplane power control unit 12 Movable tailplane 13 Aileron Servodyne 14 30mm Aden guns 15 Ammunition bays 16 Mainwheel unit 17 IPN fuel tank 18 Cabin primary cooler 19 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet 20 Accessories gearbox 21 Air intake duct 22 Pilot’s instrument panel 23 Oxygen bottles 24 Nosewheel unit

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FARNBOROUGH

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Jubilant Javelin Another impressive delta was the Gloster Javelin, the RAF’s first true all-weather fighter designed to cope with the new breed of high-altitude, high-subsonic speed bombers that would soon be in service. Despite a troubled gestation period, the Javelin, in competition with the DH 110, had already been selected as the next all-weather fighter for the Royal Air Force by the time it flew at Farnborough. The last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name, it was introduced into service in 1956 and received several upgrades during its lifetime to its engines, radar and weapons, including support for the de Havilland Firestreak air-to-air missile. Above, below and right: Deltas were in vogue in 1952, with the Gloster Javelin all-weather fighter making its debut and coming in for much attention.

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The era of the flying boat had come to an end, but what a way to sign off. The Princess flying boat delighted the crowds with its stately presence, but in essence it was an expensive folly.

Tragedy strikes Sadly the abiding memory of the 1952 Show was one of tragedy. The planned demonstration of the de Havilland DH 110 on Saturday was nearly cancelled when the aircraft at Farnborough, an all-black night fighter prototype, became unserviceable. It had been taken supersonic over the show on the opening day. Test pilot John Derry and flight test observer Anthony Richards left Farnborough to collect its replacement, WG236, and flew it from Hatfield to Farnborough with just enough time to start their slot. Following a low-level supersonic flypast and during a left bank at about 450kts (830km/h) toward the air show’s 120,000 spectators, the pilot started a climb. The outer starboard wing and, immediately afterward, the outer port wing broke off the aircraft, followed by both engines and the cockpit. One engine broke into two sections and ploughed into Observation Hill, tragically killing 29 spectators and injuring 60 more. Both aircrew also perished. Following the accident the air display programme

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continued once the debris was cleared from the runway, with Neville Duke exhibiting the prototype Hawker Hunter and taking it supersonic over the show later that day. The accident report of 8 April 1953 stated that the aircrew were not to blame and that the manoeuvring had caused an airframe instability because of a faulty D-nose leading edge arrangement (which had successfully been used

Above and below: De Havilland DH 110 prototype WG236 broke up in the air over Farnbrough, resulting in the worst crash in British air show history, claiming the lives of its aircrew and 29 spectators.

in the lighter subsonic de Havilland Vampire). The redesigned DH 110 resumed flights in June 1953 and was eventually developed into the de Havilland Sea Vixen naval fighter.

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Above: Under the skin of the revolutionary (literally) Bristol Type 173 tandem rotor helicopter. The Farnborough public in 1952 were treated to an impressive display of what the new technology was capable of.

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Above: Under the skin of the revolutionary (literally) Bristol Type 173 tandem rotor helicopter. The Farnborough public in 1952 were treated to an impressive display of what the new technology was capable of.

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1953: Hail the Victor

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nother classic, 1953 went with a ‘bang’ as sonic booms echoed around the Farnborough skies. Providing its own distinctive roar, the Victor made its public debut and astounded all with its futuristic shape. In contrast to previous years, the weather for the 1953 event was irreproachable and provided the fitting backdrop for one of the most dramatic finales to a show ever seen; the glittering cohort of the deltas, two huge white Vulcans flanked by the blue, orange, red and silver of the four little Avro 707 research and training aircraft. Passing in vic on Monday, in diamond on the other days, they were a sight to behold, prompting the specialist press to draw attention to the swing from immediate postwar experiments to production aircraft. This was also the great year of ‘sonic booms’, with everybody in the caravans telling everybody else how they were caused without anybody apparently really knowing, and pilots experiencing considerable difficulty, either at height or in a dive, in pointing their bangs at the airfeld. Bill Bedford, Mike Lithgow and Dave Morgan, respectively flying the Hunter 2, Swift 3 and Swift 4, had only limited success and added to the mystery by producing double, rather than single, booms.

Left: The last of the V-bombers to fly, the futuristic Handley Page Victor was arguably the most advanced of them all. It certainly looked the part with its sweeping crescent wing and angular T-tail. Below: Having thrilled the crowds with its antics in 1952, the Bristol 173 was back again, pirouetting in the Farnborough sunshine.

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Two research aircraft caught the eye. The Boulton Paul P111, now equipped with airbrakes and called the P111A, still flung itself impetuously at the runway after its display and required the additional comfort of a braking parachute, the latter in itself quite a Farnborough novelty, the only other deployment being from the Sapphire-Vulcan when it had to abandon its display. The little Boulton Paul delta gave an exciting performance; compact, extrovert and quick in reaction it was a highly suitable mount for the company’s chief test pilot, ‘Ben’ Gunn. Even more intriguing than the P111A was the new Short SB5. This had been built to Specification ER.100 as a research vehicle into the low speed characteristics of very sharply swept wings, with specific reference to the English Electric P1. Three different sets of P1 wings were built for the SB5, giving sweep back angles of 50, 60 and 69 degrees. At Farnborough it carried the 60 degree sweep wings and still had the high mounted, variableincidence tailplane, which was moved down

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onto the fuselage at the end of the year. It was demonstrated by Tom Brooke-Smith, who probably had, through Short’s involvements in research, more exciting aeroplanes to play with than any other test pilot. This was the first time that all three of the V-bombers were seen together at Farnborough. With the Valiant well on its way to production status, Vickers was showing the Mk2 designed for the specialist low-level pathfinder role with NATO forces. The most obvious difference was the relocation of the main undercarriage into streamlined fairings, the result of the necessary ‘beefing-up’ of the structure for the new task. Clothed in black, the sombre Valiant, flown by ‘Jock’ Bryce, remained a prototype; the Canberra was found to be more suitable and moreover was readily available for the job. With the Vulcan, the public was already familiar, but the Handley Page Victor, latest of the three new bombers intended to re-equip the Royal Air Force and designed to the same highaltitude, high sub-sonic speed requirement, was new. The design, like many that issued from

Cricklewood, was inspired and very advanced. Heart of the design was the advanced ‘crescent’ wing, which solved the various problems of low-speed stability and critical Mach numbers with an aerofoil of decreasing sweep to the tips and the latest high-lift devices. It made a most impressive appearance at the Display. Very few people knew at the time that ‘Hazel’ Hazelden had performed the whole demonstration on the first day on three engines, plagued by a minor fuel flow problem. On the smaller side, the Hunter and Swift were now in production and most attention focussed on Neville Duke’s record-breaker. This was the original prototype, modified to take a Rolls-Royce Avon RA7R with reheat which gave 9,000lb (4,082kg) of thrust when lit. In Hunter genealogy this made it the one-and-only Mk3. Modifications included a more pointed nose and remodelled windscreen and the airbrakes were in the intermediate flank position on the fuselage. Painted scarlet to aid camera interpretation, the aircraft gained the World’s absolute speed record over a 1.89 mile (3km)

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Above: A pre-show photo-shoot became one of the traditions of Farnborough and provided some glorious images of the era, including this view of the modified Boulton Paul P111 ‘Yellow Peril’, now sporting a nose pitot tube. Below: Looking mean and moody in black, the Vickers Valiant 2, WJ954, was designed for the low-level pathfinder role with NATO forces, a task that was eventually handed to the Canberra instead.

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course off the South Coast on 7 September (the second trade day), achieving an average speed of 722.6mph (1,171km/h). As it turned out, Duke’s record only lasted 19 days. This year the DH 110 appeared in naval markings, foreshadowing its eventual career as the Sea Vixen. There had been great hopes that the Comet 2 would be present at Farnborough, but the company could not spare the aircraft. However, two Viscounts were present, one in Air France colours the second, G-AMAV, taking time off from preparations for the impending London-Christchurch, New Zealand air race. One of the other civil highlights was provided by the admirable Bristol Freighter/Wayfarer, as represented by the Mk 32, a production aircraft for Silver City, whose Ferryfield-Le Touquet car service was the best-loved and best-known aspect of the type’s service world-wide. Meanwhile, the Princess was back, for the last time, looking, as ‘The Aeroplane’ put it, ‘more like a ship dragging its anchor than an aeroplane flying at 150kts or so’.

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Above: The purposeful Gloster Javelin FAW1, WT827, provided a lot of noise but not particularly endeavour. It was still yet to enter service after a troubled gestation period. The second prototype (WD808) crashed on 11 June 1953, killing test pilot Peter Lawrence. Left: The historic never to be repeated Avro delta formation was one of the breath-taking highlights of a classic year. Vulcans VX770 and VX777 dwarf the research Avro 707As, 707B and 707C as they fly near Hayling Island during the Farnborough photo-shoot. Right: Neville Duke’s red Hunter 3 (the modified prototype WB188) streaks across the skies, fresh from its record-breaking exploits. Far right: Sailing off into the sunset, the 1953 Show at Farnborough was the last time that the Princess flying boat made an appearance.

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Do not adjust your set New on the scene for 1953 was the prototype Short Seamew ASW aircraft, a tribute to Bill Stout’s axiom of ‘Simplicate and add more lightness’. Powered by a single Mamba, it was a very basic aeroplane indeed. Construction of the first prototype was rushed through following the order in April 1953 and completed in 15 months. Despite a crash on 23 August, when it sustained considerable damage, it was present at Farnborough, but the backlash of the accelerated completion of the design began to show up in major re-design requirements, especially of controls. It never reached service and only 24 production aircraft had flown before the project was cancelled. It has been described as a ‘camel amongst race-horses’.

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1954: Big and small T he 15th SBAC Show was a little bigger, a little better than its predecessors, but in terms of pure excitement it will not go down as a classic, despite the best efforts of the diminutive Fairey FD1. For the second time running, Thursday was a civil day with no military aircraft flying (though that rule seemed to stretch a little here and there). Monday was still referred to as ‘preview’ or ‘rehearsal’ day, with Tuesday as opening day, although again the distinction was becoming a little vague. The main exhibition hall had expanded to 110,000 sq ft (10,219 sq m) and this year was sited in the general area occupied by the exhibition halls in later years.

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Sadly much talk revolved around the Comet 1 tragedies earlier in the year, the causes of which remained a mystery at the time of the 1954 show. Nevertheless, de Havilland displayed its latest variants, the Comet 2 and Comet 3, resplendent in airline markings of BOAC and BEA respectively. The Comet 2 had a slightly larger wing, higher fuel capacity and more powerful Rolls-Royce Avon engines, which all improved the aircraft’s range and performance making it more suitable for transatlantic operations. The Comet 3, which flew for the first time on 19 July 1954, was a Comet 2 lengthened by 15ft 5in (4.70m) and powered by Avon M502 engines. The variant was to include wing pinion tanks, offering greater

range. In the event only one Comet 3 was flown, G-ANLO, with the marque destined to remain a development series for the Comet 4. Elsewhere, the Viscount appeared only on the civil day: a Series 720 for 53 passengers, with Dart 506s, which was about to be delivered to Trans-Australia Airlines as the first of its order. Viscounts had been very much in the news the preceding year, when Captain Baillie of British European Airways set a London-Melbourne record of 35hrs 46min 47.6sec. This occurred between 8 and 10 October, in the course of the London-Christchurch air race, organised as part of the latter city’s centenary celebrations. Of true research aircraft, this year there were only the Fairey FD1 and the Short Sherpa. The

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Short SB4 Sherpa bore the same relation to a proposed large bomber as did the Avro 707 and Handley Page HP88, but the Short proposal was a very advanced tail-less design incorporating rotating wing-tips for lateral and vertical control. Geoffrey Hill, collaborating with Shorts on the project, had much practical experience in both fields from his pre-war series of Pterodactyl aircraft, built by Westland. The wing-tip controls were exceedingly sensitive to wing twist at high speed, and to eliminate this Hill and Short’s chief designer, David KeithLucas, evolved the ingenious ‘aero-isoclinic’ wing, a structural concept that kept the angle of attack of a swept wing constant whatever the torsional load and eliminated buffet. Ingenious

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as it was, it remained experimental and the Short bomber was never built. There was little new among the helicopters and light aircraft, but in the trainer category was the smart maroon and white Boulton Paul Balliol 2 demonstrator, its civil C of A only a fortnight old. The Balliol had been around since 1948 and it was now in RAF service, replacing the Harvard at 7 FTS. Balliol production for the RAF was cut back when official policy changed again, this time in favour of a jet-powered advanced trainer, which would be the Vampire T11. Another trainer, making its first appearance in the hands of Dickie Wheldon, was the Hunting Percival Jet Provost, a company private venture in anticipation of a what they correctly

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Above: The Comet 2 appeared at Farnborough despite the grounding of the earlier aircraft following two unexplained accidents (the result of metal fatigue).

saw coming as an official requirement. As in previous years on the Piston Provost, the pilot included a long, multi- turn spin in his sequence. One event, not directly concerned with Farnborough, needs recording. On 3 August, Capt R. T. Shepherd had lifted three and a half tons of Thrust Measuring Rig off a runway under the power of two Rolls-Royce Nenes with their jet pipes combined into one vertical efflux. The Flying Bedstead had arrived and so had vertical take-off and landing.

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS Left: More graceful than ever, the extended fuselage Comet 3 prototype flies over London during a pre-show photo sortie. Below left: Small but perfectly formed, the Folland Midge was a diminutive, swept-wing British subsonic light fighter originally developed as a concept demonstrator for the successful Folland Gnat. The Midge (which was demonstrated at the 1954 Show) and Gnat were the creation of W.E.W. ‘Teddy’ Petter, who had grown suspicious of the trend towards bigger and more expensive combat aircraft, and he felt that a small, simple fighter would offer the advantages of low purchase and operational costs. Bottom: The Short Sherpa made its one and only Farnborough appearance in 1954. This proof-ofconcept aircraft featured a revolutionary wing design, but neither was seen again. Right: The Canberra B(I)8 was another Farnborough debutant in 1954 having first flown just over a month earlier. This third-generation Canberra derived from the B6 as an interdictor, was fitted with a new forward fuselage with teardrop canopy on the port side, and navigator station forward of the pilot. It had provision for a ventral pack with 4 x 20mm Hispano cannon, one external hardpoint under each wing for up to 1,000lb (454kg) of bombs or unguided rockets and LABS (Low-Altitude Bombing System) for delivery of nuclear bombs. Bottom right: On the trainer front, the Hunting Jet Provost made its first Farnborough appearance. This aircraft would, of course, go on to provide the backbone of RAF fast-jet training for many years to come.

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Fairey Delta The Fairey Delta 1 was the smallest aircraft at the Show and one of the most unusual ever shown. Fairey became interested in designing a diminutive, vertically launched fighter, largely for shipboard work and persisted in its development undeterred by the history of a similar German attempt 10 years previously, the Bachem Natter. Eventually the FD1 was completed as a normal research aircraft on a conventional undercarriage. Powered by a Derwent engine, it possessed a very small airframe with disproportionately large controls and sported a vestigial horizontal tailplane, which was to have been removed when the aircraft was proven, but never was. Structural restrictions with the tail limited the speed severely, far below the 628mph (1,011km/h) calculated top speed at height. In the event, however, the FD1 did provide the company with a good deal of information for the design of the FD2. Not surprisingly, it shared with the P111 the distinction of having the fastest landing speed at the Show and, like the P111, streamed a braking parachute.

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1955: Rock ‘n’ Roll B ack to form, the 1955 Show arguably marked the zenith of British post-war aviation, introducing the aircraft that was to become the mighty Lightning (if ever an aircraft was to live up to its name, that was it) and signing off with a strong RAF presence. Just to add to the spice, the Vulcan was rolled! The skies over Farnborough in 1955 were quieter than in recent years, but that was only because no supersonic bangs were allowed at this, or any future Show – at least not intentionally. That brief flirtation with showmanship was over. However, one pilot found another way to thrill the crowds. In a light-hearted mood, and to the profound surprise of the assembled heads of A. V. Roe, ‘Roly’ Falk rolled the second prototype Vulcan. The manoeuvre put considerable strain both on a number of the rivets on board and the pilot’s relations with management. The name ‘Roly’, incidentally though causing confusion at the time, had nothing to do with this manoeuvre. The gallant Wing Commander had been christened Roland, that was all. He was flying XA890, the silver-grey second production aircraft and after a dashing climbing turn on take-off, returned at 1,000ft (305m) to pull up into a climbing roll. He took the Avon powered prototype over the vertical and got a deal of stick for it. Nevertheless, to this day it remains one of the most legendary moments of Farnborough. The number of exhibiting companies rose to 307, topping 300 for the first time. Reflecting this, the main exhibition hall had grown to 112,000 sq ft (10,407 sq m).

The standard trick for cramming more aircraft into a display of limited duration was used again and the Show opened with two circuses. Leading the first was the production prototype Ambassador, loaned the year before to Napier for flight trials with the 3,000ehp NE11 Eland. However, the move to turboprop power came too late in the aircraft’s career to arouse interest. Other aircraft in the heavy circus included the Ashton, now carrying the new RollsRoyce Conway under its stomach, the Gannet T2 trainer, displaying remarkable climbing powers, and the Short Sperrin, fitted with the de Havilland Gyron in one nacelle giving very nearly twice as much thrust available on one side as on the other. In the second, less-heavy circus was Dickie Wheldon with the Provost T53, which was the version for the Iraqi Air Force. Armed with two machine guns and underwing stores, it had some claim to be one of the very first trainercum-light-attack types that would in later years form such a considerable part of the Farnborough Display. Another circus was composed of civil aircraft including the Twin pioneer and Handley Page Herald (both newcomers), Viscount and Britannia. The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, referred to by one of the lesser Press rather obviously as the Double Scotch, but to be known affectionately by the squadrons that flew it as the Twin Pin, was a logical development from the Pioneer. lt first flew, in 16-seat civil guise, on 25 June 1955 and was ordered by the Royal Air Force, but it would undoubtedly have benefited from a more powerful engine.

However, there were two rather louder and faster prototypes that were to steal the headlines. The 1955 Show saw the initial presentation of the truly supersonic English Electric P1, the forerunner of the Lightning, which provided the first of a whole series of stunning performances by Roland ‘Bea’ Beamont, chief test pilot of the company. Another newcomer was the ‘droop snoot’ Fairey FD2 research aircraft, a supersonic delta design that was later to recapture the World Absolute Speed Record for Britain. Like its tiny stablemate the FD1, it landed very fast and required the services of a cluster of braking parachutes. Other military interest was provided by the Orpheus-powered Gnat, elegantly attired in pale blue and which put up one of the best solo displays of the week in the hands of Ted Tennant. The Jet Provost now carried its definitive short undercarriage and hydraulic systems and once more all three V-bombers appeared. The Valiant was sporting the huge under wing fuel tanks fitted for the LondonChristchurch air race, the Victor was painted a dashing sky blue. The Royal Air Force was at Farnborough this year in some strength, outnumbering display aircraft by some margin. Their proceedings opened with a display of formation aerobatics, which included formation changes during manoeuvres, from the wellknown four aircraft of No 54 Squadron, who had exchanged the Vampires of their previous Farnborough display for Hunters. The second item was a flypast by 64 Hunters of all fighter marks, in ‘box fours of four’ from eight of the 15 squadrons then equipped with the type. After them came six ‘squadron pairs’ of Valiants from six squadrons in a less dashing and more widely-spaced procession. This demonstration of the new striking power of the Royal Air Force was a stirring sight and the Service content of the Shows was to remain high for many years to come. Right: Farnborough legend ‘Roly’ Falk provided a memorable display, in more ways than one, in Vulcan XA890. Left: The English Electric P1 WG763 being put through its paces by Roland Beamont in preparation for its stunning debut at the Show.

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The ‘Best of British’. A suitably evocative and rare colour image across the aircraft park at Farnborough in 1958, featuring (from front clockwise): Three Hawker Hunters (F6 WW593; two-seater XJ615; F4 WV385); Folland Gnat 1, G-39-2; Fairey FD2, WG774; Gloster Javelin FAW1, XA563; Fairey Gannet T2, XA522; Avro Vulcan B1, XA890; Avro Shackleton MR3, WR970; Avro Ashton 2, WB491; Short Sperrin VX158; Airspeed Ambassador G-ALFR; de Havilland Comet 3 G-ANLO; Handley Page Herald G-AODE; and Handley Page Victor B1, WB775.

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The ‘Best of British’. A suitably evocative and rare colour image across the aircraft park at Farnborough in 1958, featuring (from front clockwise): Three Hawker Hunters (F6 WW593; two-seater XJ615; F4 WV385); Folland Gnat 1, G-39-2; Fairey FD2, WG774; Gloster Javelin FAW1, XA563; Fairey Gannet T2, XA522; Avro Vulcan B1, XA890; Avro Shackleton MR3, WR970; Avro Ashton 2, WB491; Short Sperrin VX158; Airspeed Ambassador G-ALFR; de Havilland Comet 3 G-ANLO; Handley Page Herald G-AODE; and Handley Page Victor B1, WB775.

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Sperrin test bed The Sperrin first prototype, which had displayed with one de Havilland Gyron in 1955, now turned up (for the last time) carrying two, one in each of the lower berths of the over- and under nacelles. The big de Havilland Gyron was claimed to be the most powerful aero engine in the world and was planned to provide the power for the Hawker P1121 project. This was sacrificed to the unmitigated folly of the ‘no more manned fighters’ ministerial decision and the Gyron programme was wound up in 1957. The Sperrin languished at its Hatfield base until being finally scrapped.

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Sperrin test bed The Sperrin first prototype, which had displayed with one de Havilland Gyron in 1955, now turned up (for the last time) carrying two, one in each of the lower berths of the over- and under nacelles. The big de Havilland Gyron was claimed to be the most powerful aero engine in the world and was planned to provide the power for the Hawker P1121 project. This was sacrificed to the unmitigated folly of the ‘no more manned fighters’ ministerial decision and the Gyron programme was wound up in 1957. The Sperrin languished at its Hatfield base until being finally scrapped.

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Canadian interloper Honour for one of the most sensational, skilful and polished displays yet seen at Farnborough went to the irrepressible Jan Zurakowski. He was flying one of three Avro Canada CF-1004B Canucks sent over for British evaluation. He rolled it vertically, pushed it round a half-outside loop from the inverted and in a final supreme demonstration of skill, brought it down in a long falling leaf, a manoeuvre consisting of a series of left-and-right incipient spins.

‘Double Scotch’, the Twin Pioneer, was a hardy STOL specialist aimed to reach the parts that other aircraft couldn’t reach.

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1956: Wet and cold A fter the exploits of the previous Show, 1956 was always going to be a more subdued affair, not helped by cold and wet weather. But there was still enough to attract a strong delegation from the Soviet Union. Allegedly the best time of the year on average, the first week in September turned out to be about the worst in 1956, with heavy rain for most of the Show and bitter cold temperatures. It went on nevertheless, and with the best test pilots in the world and probably the best air traffic controllers, the weather had little effect, except on attendance figures, which dropped sharply on the public days. There was a heavy Soviet presence at Farnborough with civil and military missions headed by the Minister for the Aircraft Industry and the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Force. There was one major change in the layout of the Exhibition. This year, four permanent terraces were built along the face of the famous hill that has been such a blessing to Farnborough by giving everyone a good view of the flying. Their purpose was to give a decent anchorage to the 140 entertainment complexes set up this year by exhibitors. Thus were born the nowfamiliar chalet rows. For the main exhibition hall, 13 miles of standard width blue and white canvas were required to cover the 113,000 sq ft (10,498 sq m) of its floor. It was now the largest single tented structure in the world. Supermarine provided the only really new military aeroplane at the Show. This was the N113, later to be named Scimitar, with the Supermarine Type number 544. Both first and second prototypes were there, the former with anhedral tailplane as on production aircraft,

Above: The only new military prototype at the show was Supermarine’s N113, later to become the Scimitar.

the latter with dihedral. It was the largest, heaviest, most powerful and noisiest fighter the Royal Navy had yet acquired and the first that could carry out a nuclear strike. It was also, sadly, the last aircraft to carry the Supermarine name, which had dated from 1913 but was about to vanish in the Vickers empire of which it was a part. The Javelin, having first flown two years previously, was now on the line, as the first delta and the first dedicated all weather fighter to enter Royal Air Force service. It reached 40,000ft (12,192m) in half the time of the Meteor it replaced and was designed to fight at 50,000ft (15,850m). The three Javelins flown at Farnborough marked further development of the basic type, including the trainer T3, flown by Geoff Worrall, with a revised canopy to allow the instructor’s ejector seat to be raised

so he could see over the pupil’s head (a very early application of this layout) and having sighting periscopes on either flank for weapon instruction on the 30mm Adens. Canberras there were, in profusion; five altogether. The 500th built, an export B(l)8, had been completed in August. Two were test-beds, one modified to carry the Napier Double Scorpion rocket motor in the bomb bay. Talking of such things as test-beds, 1956 saw the final appearance of the venerable Lincoln in the flying display, carrying a nose-mounted 4,500hp Rolls-Royce Tyne intended for the Vickers Vanguard. Upon the solitary power of this formidable proboscis, it went howling past with the four Merlins feathered. Meanwhile, the Valiant (WB215) was the second prototype, now fitted with de Havilland Super Sprite high-test peroxide motors intended to improve take-off performance, though nothing came of the scheme. On a more peaceful note, the prototype Britannia, good old G-ALBO, was back, this time wearing Proteus 705s in the inner nacelles, a Proteus 755 at number one and an Orion at number four, which must have made servicing a bit of a nightmare. The prototype long-fuselage Britannia 301 represented future production, which had been set back by a recurrence of icing problems encountered during tests in the inter-tropical front. Left: The definitive version of the Vickers Viscount, the 800 series, was making its Farnborough debut. With a fuselage extension of 3ft 10in, the aircraft took on a sleeker appearance, visually aided by the cheat-lines of British European Airways.

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1957: Fast and furious U nder the shadow of the infamous White Paper on Defence in 1957, a display of missiles at Farnborough pointing skywards proved menacingly symbolic. Ironically, the RAF presence of manned fighters and bombers was greater than ever before… 1957 was a pivotal year for the future of the British aviation industry, and not for the right reasons. The Minister of Defence Mr Duncan Sandys announced, through the White Paper on Defence that no more manned fighters were to be ordered after the Lightning. The asserted dominance of the missile in defence, Below: The big English Electric P1B came in for a lot of attention, not least because it looked like it might be the last manned British fighter.

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according to this document, had made fighters obsolete. The possible effect of this decision upon the future of one of the most successful and flourishing industries in Britain, with exports in 1956 running at over £100 million, may be imagined. The Lightning scraped into existence by the skin of its teeth. Both the Canberra and the Vulcan were threatened (there were to be no more strategic bombers after the V-bombers) and among many promising projects that went down was the Hawker P1121 supersonic strike aircraft (to be called the Hurricane), taking with it the powerful de Havilland Gyron engine. Even as late as 1970, the President of the SBAC, Mr J. H. S. Green was to refer to the White Paper as ‘the most calamitous document that was ever published’. So it was against this backdrop

that the atmosphere at Farnborough in 1957 was understandably subdued. However, there was still reason for optimism. There were some exciting debutants and during the Show the announcement of a large Indian order for the Hunter was made. Notable among the new aircraft, the Scimitar and Wessex were destined to see service with the Royal Navy, the latter in some strength. The English Electric P1B would become the Lightning, and the Gnat, in two-seater form, would serve the Royal Air Force as a trainer and become one of its best-known aircraft. The Wessex, flown by ‘Slim’ Sear, was of particular interest in being the first production helicopter in the world powered by a free gas turbine (a Napier Gazelle), on which it went ‘hissing quietly past... at something like 150mph’ to quote the Press. The first helicopter

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Left: Viewed with a mixture of admiration and hostility, a display of the latest ground-to-air missiles pointed menacingly at the aircraft displaying in the skies overhead.

for the Fleet Air Arm designed from the start for anti-submarine warfare, it would replace the faithful Whirlwind in three major versions, serving eventually with 18 squadrons. The design was based on the Sikorsky S-58.

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Much noisier, the English Electric P1 was back after a year’s gap. With great enthusiasm ‘Bea’ Beamont, Peter Hillwood and Desmond de Villiers flew both the Sapphire-powered P1A and Avon-powered P1B turning in some beautiful

flying and pulling 6g on the turns to stay in the arena. The P1A flew only on Monday, leaving the rest of the week to what was effectively the Lightning prototype. Runs were carefully planned for M 0.98, to avoid the now forbidden sonic boom, but it was difficult to be so precise in practice and many claimed to have heard, if not a bang, at least a premonitory cough. Participation by the RAF itself in 1957 was spectacular. In addition to the two pairs of Valiant B1 and Vulcan B1 representing Bomber Command, there were 27 Javelins from Nos 46, 23 and 14 Squadrons and 27 Hunters from Nos 43 and 34, the latter whistling past at 1,000ft and 400kts. Vapour trails from over 50 exercising Valiants and Canberras at high altitude trellised the sky and, on most days, made an impressive backdrop.

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The Central Flying School contributed its aerobatic team of four Provost T1s, the ‘Sparrows’, but the high point of the entire Display was provided by the glossy black Hunters of No 111. The Black Arrows achieved and maintained a standard of excellence that has caused those who came after to labour mightily. On this occasion, a ‘diamond nine’ was looped and rolled for the first time, the main team of five subsequently going through seven formation changes in six minutes. Smoke for the

final break came, not from exhaust injection, but from underwing tanks. Not to be outdone, the Royal Navy presented its own show-within-ashow. Five scarlet Sea Hawks of No 738 Training Squadron, led by a remarkable gentleman called ‘Spiv’ Leahy, and calling themselves the Red Devils, put up a classic display, assisted by a camouflaged solo aircraft. There was also a formation flypast by 12 Gannets, in the shape of a naval anchor. Among naval items in the main, or industrial programme, the de Havilland

The fastest aircraft on earth! A source of great British pride, the Fairey Delta 2 broke the World Air Speed Record in 1956 when it flew at 1,132mph (1,811km/h) or Mach 1.73, in the process becoming the first aircraft to exceed 1,000mph (1,600km/h) in level flight. At this speed, when flying westward the aircraft flew faster than the apparent motion of the sun, making the sun appear to move backwards in the sky. The record stood until 12 December 1957.

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Sea Vixen and Scimitar appeared, the former with some spectacular high and low speed runs and flexing its power-folding wings during the taxy. It also deployed a retractable ram air auxiliary turbine, cooked up by Plessey to supply emergency hydraulic power, which was different. The Scimitar carried four under-wing fuel tanks. On the civil side, de Havilland’s John Cunningham and Peter Bugge flew the Comet 3, first seen in 1955, with silenced Avon RA 29s and basically a prototype for the Mk4, while Bristol deployed the test-bed prototype Britannia again with the Proteus 705 (for the BOAC Mk102), the Proteus 755 (for the Mk 300/310) and an Orion for good measure. That was on trade days, touring in from its work place at Filton; on public days it was replaced by the stretched and developed Mk301. Another newcomer, the Aviation Traders (Engineering) Ltd Accountant marked that organisation’s first and last venture into independent aircraft design, intended to fill a perceived gap in the obviously popular turboprop market. It arrived at Farnborough on its two Rolls-Royce Dart 540s with only 15 hours flying since its first flight on 9 July. Apart from being offered as a ‘DC-3 replacement’ (everybody had one in the cupboard in those days) much was hoped for in the American executive market. But nothing came of it and its first appearance was also its last, causing author and cartoonist Chris Wren, a little unkindly, perhaps, to suggest that the second prototype should be called the Auditor and the third the Receiver.

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Saunders-Roe SR53 The Saunders-Roe SR53 was a prototype interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and rocket propulsion developed for the RAF in the early 1950s. It was 1957 before the first SR53 took to the air, just over a month after the infamous 1957 Defence White Paper had been published outlining the British government’s policy to largely abandon piloted aircraft in favour of concentrating on missile development. At the same time, jet engine development had progressed a long way in the six years since the SR53’s initial design. Combined with the fact that improvements in radar had meant that any incoming bomber threat could be detected much earlier, the need for an aircraft like the SR53 had disappeared, and the project was cancelled on 29 July 1960, with the third prototype (XD153) never built. The Saunders-Roe SR53 produced a moment of drama during the 1957 Show when shortly after take-off, a light came on in the cockpit to indicate a fire in the engine bay. Morally convinced that it was just a fault in the wiring, John Booth executed a calm but early return to earth.

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Above: One of three Bristol Britannias appearing at Farnborough in 1957 was the ‘stretched’ Series 300 prototype, G-ANCA, displaying its effortless grace during an air-to-air photo-shoot for the Show. Left: Although the big Vulcan was now a Farnborough ‘regular’, its looming presence never failed to impress the crowds, dominating the air park. Right: The 1957 Show marked the one and only appearance of the rather awkward looking Aviation Traders Accountant. Sales proved awkward too, and the aircraft quickly disappeared without trace. Here it becomes an unsuspecting target for the RAF V-bomber flypast as it waits on the ‘piano keys’.

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1958: Big formations

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n terms of pure business, the general emphasis of the event was now beginning to change. With the considerable cutbacks in military orders and the continuing success of British turbine airliners, attention was focused largely on the civil scene. This, however, was not reflected in the flying in 1958, with big military formations dominating the skies. For the 1958 SBAC Exhibition and Flying Display, the Services added considerably to the spectacle of new aircraft presented, contributing no less than 145 aircraft to a flying total of 202 (on the best days, when everything flew), likely to remain an all-time record for the course. There were the odd fall-outs, as aircraft suffered minor injury or irritation or in two cases, total obliteration. The Show itself differed little in detail from its predecessors; prices to the public remained unchanged. There were 362 stands taken in the big top, still the biggest in the world and now covering 126,000 sq ft (11,705 sq m) and traffic remained a problem. A series of incidents contrived to keep the content of the Display changing and the first of these occurred before the whole thing had even begun. ‘Hazel’ Hazelden, bringing the new Dart-engined Herald 2 into Farnborough, suffered a fire in the starboard engine not far

from the aerodrome and brought the aircraft down to a skilful and successful forced landing without injury to crew or passengers, passing coolly below a line of high tension cables on his final approach. On Monday, the new Blackburn NA39, operating out of Boscombe Down for security reasons (even the model on the stand was placed well out of reach), had to abandon its opening appearance, with an infuriated ‘Slim’ Sear wrestling with a radio button jammed on ‘transmit’, while the Lightning was grounded by a faulty starter switch. The programme commenced with the now-familiar Scorpion-Canberra taking off from Laffan’s Plain to centre its nearvertical departure on the chalets. Rotary aircraft appeared early with nine helicopters, pirouetting around the skies, including the Saunders-Roe P531, the prototype of the Navy Wasp and Army Scout, both of which (built by Westland) had distinguished careers. Also notable was the Westland Westminster, a most imposing monster, the only one of a series of ambitious Westland projects for very big helicopters to see the light of day. In fact this first (of two) Westminster let in quite a lot of the light of day through the uncovered, heavygauge steel tube structure of what was actually a ‘proof of concept’ test rig. The company sank nearly £1.5 million of its own money into the

Top: The Blackburn N39 prototype being shown at Farnborough was so secret (it was considered to give Britain a three year lead in its field) that it flew in each day from Boscombe Down and the second prototype, on the ground, was only available for inspection by security-cleared visitors. This aircraft was of course to become the Buccaneer. Left: As part of the incredible Hunter demonstration, No 111 Squadron looped 16 smoking Hunters, this after having just led an even bigger formation loop of 22 Hunters amassed from other RAF units, the undoubted highlight of the show.

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Westminster, but financial and production pressures in other directions killed it off. At the end of their slot, the Westland ‘team’ (Wessex, Westminster, Whirlwind and Widgeon) gathered themselves into a tidy line and bowed to the President, starting a precedent that has not entirely died out. This year the Royal Navy was represented by two formation teams, one of seven Sea Hawks from No 800 Squadron and one of four Scimitars from No 803 Squadron, in synchronised displays. The Sea Hawks, powerunfolding their wings as they taxied out, took off in formation, the largest such departure at the time. On the first day as they rolled out of the top of the opening loop one aircraft broke from the formation, trailing smoke from an engine fire, and headed for Blackbushe. At 5,000ft (1,424m) the pilot, Lt Roger Dimmock, banged out, breaking an ankle in the subsequent landing and being rescued by the duty Whirlwind. Though chronologically true, it would be ridiculous to say that No 111 Squadron, the Black Arrows, ‘followed’ anybody; they stole the Show. In three close vics of seven plus one, 22 Hunter F6s (nine from ‘Treble One’ and the rest from Nos 19, 56 and 92 Squadrons, the Hunter OCU and the Central Fighter Establishment), collected and led by Roger Topp, swung magnificently into a loop and followed immediately with a second. On the way down, three wing men a side broke left and right, the 16 left barrelled to port and shed the last seven visitors, leaving ‘Treble One’ to loop nine smoking. It was a sight never to be forgotten. The rest of the RAF display included all the V-bombers and a thunderous parade of 45 Hunters and 45 Javelins. Three white Vulcans also took part. Significant was XH533, a B2 with the new wing, which set off on Friday to attend a show in Toronto, returning to the Farnborough Display in 5 hours, 47 minutes, or 619mph (996.18km/h) over 3,600 miles (5,793.96 km). To follow all that with two Austers, a Chipmunk and a Beaver brought everyone down to earth with a bump. The Alpha, kitted out with Britten-Norman Micronair atomisers sprayed lavender water over the airfield. Most days the Show closed with the Blackburn NA39 (the aircraft that was to become the Buccaneer) and the Lightning (as the English Electric aircraft was now christened). There had been the odd boom, or rumour of boom, during the week and on Sunday, while Jimmy Dell was flying the Lightning, something broke some windows in the control tower. By and large, a vintage year.

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The Sea Hawks of No 800 Squadron rehearsing for their seven-aircraft formation aerobatics. During the show, one of these aircraft suffered an engine fire, forcing its pilot to eject safely.

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SBAC 1958

FARNBOROUGH

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Fairey Rotodyne The civil highlight in 1958 was the remarkable Fairey Rotodyne (the loudest machine known to man?), which demonstrated the possibilities of a VTOL airliner, rising vertically as a helicopter to 1,000ft (305m) and then translating to forward flight as an autogyro and accelerating in level flight to an impressive 185mph (297.7km/h). The complex compound lift and propulsion system, with airscrews and wing to take 50 per cent off the loading of the rotor and tip-thrust reducing the stresses further, gave promise of high speeds being attained. In January 1959, in the new FAI record class for convertiplanes (Class E2), a 100km (62 mile) closed circuit record of 190.9mph (307km/h) was successfully set. Although the Rotodyne was promising in concept and successful in trials, the programme was eventually cancelled. The termination has been attributed to the type failing to attract any commercial orders, due in part to concerns over the high levels of rotor tip jet noise generated inflight, not ideal for an aircraft designed to fly into city centres.

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SBAC 1958

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Above: V-bombers were out in force in 1958, including Handley Page Victor B1 XA930 that posed for press photographers in the now traditional photo-shoot. Left: The big Westland Westminster was making its debut and was displayed in skeleton form. Right: The magnificent sight of 45 Javelins filling the Farnborough skies. Below: The Saunders-Roe P531might look familiar as it was the forerunner of the Westland Scout and Wasp.

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1959: Fifties farewell W hat was new in 1959? There were new and exciting airliners, there was the first (and, one must admit, slightly hilarious) appearance of real VTOL, there was an even grander RAF appearance, embracing Transport Command for the first time, and there were the first semi official rumblings about SST, the supersonic transport. The main parameters of the Show followed the established format: the layout, the timetable, the charges and the traffic. The weather was magnificent, if anything too hot. The Comet 4B opened the programme proper. This was G-APMB, carrying the new scarlet and black BEA livery. It was the second aircraft of the Corporation’s order for seven and inaugurated revenue services the following April, to Tel Aviv. In the trail of the Comet, the RAF presented its own contribution. Representing Bomber Command there were three Victor B1s (the first Victor formation at Farnborough) from No 15 Squadron, three Vulcan B1s from No 230 OCU. Fighter Command provided three Javelin FAW2s and three FAW7s

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(with Firestreak). Then came another beautifully choreographed display by the black Hunters of ‘Treble One’. Transport Command was up next, headed by a Twin Pioneer, supported by the usual suspects of Whirlwind, Beverley, Hastings, Comet and Britannia, all wearing their military uniform. The Beaver and Twin Pioneer followed the solo display by the Bristol 192, the latter being the fourth of an order for 20 for the RAF. After stopping briefly to disembark a full load of 18 soldiers, the 192 made a neat and rapid hook-up to a Bloodhound missile, complete with its travelling carriage, subsequently depositing it equally neatly back on the ground (it fell over on Thursday). The ‘Twin Pin’, a civil demonstrator destined for Rio Tinto, carried two large endplates on its wing, containing some sort of MAD gear for locating minerals. The Vickers Vanguard was the launch customer, so to speak, for the powerful RollsRoyce Tyne Mk 506. The design emerged from

requirements by BEA and Trans-Canada for a Viscount follow-on, with greater speed, range and capacity. The ‘double-bubble’ fuselage evolved from BEA’s requirement for high freight utilisation. Although, later on, the lure of speed and the magic word ‘jet’ would force airlines to re-equip with turbojets, when the Vanguard was designed it was a more efficient vehicle for its purpose. Although economical and efficient, the jet age eventually overtook the Vanguard and only 43 were built. Another debutant was the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, two of which were on show. The first civil aircraft produced by the Hawker Siddeley Group, which included Armstrong Whitworth among its members, it was a bold advance in that market area. Designed as a fast, medium-range freighter of average capacity, it was pressurised and had been very carefully tailored to its task. The floor of the capacious fuselage was at truck-bed height and could be

Below: The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was the biggest aircraft to make its debut at the last Farnborough show in the Fifties. Eventually British European Airways bought three, having decided to run a specialised freight service instead of filling half a Vanguard, and the RAF ordered 56 as the Argosy C1 for Transport Command. The type served in a wide variety of tasks until 1974.

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loaded or unloaded from either end (dictating the twin-boom arrangement, which saved weight over a conventional ramp). Service aircraft occupied most of the rest of the 1959 Show, one of the highlights being a Javelin FAW8. With a full complement of Firestreak missiles, it demonstrated its agility with an eight point roll (it now had a poweroperated rudder, which may have helped) and confused purists of language by ‘lowering’ the undercarriage in the inverted position. The Vulcan B2, flown by Jimmy Harrison, was complete with in-flight refuelling probe, trials with this equipment with a Valiant tanker had just been completed. The finale was provided by FAA Scimitars of No 807 Squadron. Several special features were brought to this item: one was a demonstration of LABS bombing techniques, with one of the Scimitars equipped with a lurid red ‘atom bomb’ and producing a convincing ball of fire on the airfield; another was a high-speed target snatch by hook off the runway. Uniquely among Farnborough extravaganzas, as the two singleton Scimitars landed in one direction, folding their wings, they gave just sufficient room to let through another landing in the opposite direction.

The aircraft that perhaps attracted the most interest, was also one of the smallest… and loudest. The bug-like Short SC1 was the first British fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and was designed to study the problems associated with this form of flight. It had a ‘spectacular’ debut to say the least when its display was cut short by the ingestion of a complete carpet of cut grass into the vertical engine intakes. Nevertheless,

it provided an exciting glimpse of what future Farnborough audiences could enjoy. And regarding the future, it was interesting to note that Sir Aubrey Burke, the SBAC President, acknowledged that with British engines flying in more than 50 different foreign aircraft, there was considerable pressure to allow the latter to appear at Farnborough. The ‘Best of British’ years were coming to an end.

Top: Looking prisitne in the sunshine, Javelin FAW8, XJ125, was displayed with underslung Firestreak missiles. Centre right: The ‘Twin Pin’ was never the most aesthetic aircraft, but the 1959 display aircraft took things further and sprouted two wingtip endplates to house electronic gear. Right: The pioneering Short SC1 during testing prior to the 1959 show. The aircraft did not have a happy debut at Farnborough when it sucked up cut grass into the engine intakes, curtailing its hovering display.

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KEY 1 Nose cone: houses radar and is mounted on wheel-well box 2 set on floor 8 of engine intake 3. 2 Engine air intake (top section shown at 4 down to cockpit floor, up at 5 to roof of the overwing intake 6 to upper engine 7). 8 Floor of intake 3 runs straight through to lower engine 9. 10 Leading edge of wing centre-section divides airflow to engines (7 and 9). 11 Cut-away of top surface 5 to reveal bifurcation 10. 12 Jet pipe of upper engine. 13 Extended jet pipe of lower engine. 14 Reheat units. 15 Faired nose cone spacer providing throughway for radar electrics 16 into nose cone. 17 Oxygen cylinder. 18 End-frame of front fuselage (picks up to wing front fitting 19 of rear fuselage). 20 Rear fuselage with longeron 20, strongly ribbed betweendeck 21 and lower hoops 22, engine-bay stressed top cover 23, back-end continuous frame 24, stressed arch 25 over wing centre section with longeron plate and angle 26, underwing side-panel 27 with similar plate longeron and angle to wing, and underskin attachments 28. 29 Rear wing spar fitting 30 picks up off strengthening frame 29. 31 Engine main (trunnion) supports (see near 29 and longeron 20 near airbrakes). 32 Airbrake and double-acting hydraulic jack (electrohydraulic selection from cockpit). 33 Reheat and jet pipe intermediate supports (self-aligning trunnion block off frame into channel on pipe). (Repeat on lower pipe). 34 Reheat and jet pipes end support (trunnions on pipe held in clamp on frame). 35 Rollers 35 swing down on to fixed rail 36 to run jet pipe out. 37 Root of fin. Top jet pipe guide rail and ground handling link roller (because rail 36 has to be cut away in places).

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38 H-piece between jet pipes, hinged each side at 39 and made in two pieces joined at 40. (seals the back end but can be swung open for pipe removal). 41 Five-spar fin attachment to fuselage (one single, four double tongues) with stringers and ribs, all between front and rear shear walls 42. 43 Honeycomb rudder has brackets splined to operating mechanism. 44 Flutter damper. 45 Honeycomb fin tip. 46 Pivoting tailplane (torsion box with pivot spar 46), front and rear shear webs, formers, stringers and stressed skin, and honeycomb tip 47. 48 Bearing housing, built into fuselage frame, carries spindle of 46. 49 Triangular arm off spindle (rocked by jacks 50 to move tailplane through 51). 52 Parachute pack in fuselage container, with power-operated doors 53, which slide up to uncover container. 54 Parachute lines run out through skid 54 and loop around both sides of fuselage at 55 up to (quick-release) anchorage 56. MAINPLANE 57 Port and starboard torsion boxes between curved front and rear spars 57, picking up to fuselage on fittings 19 and 30, and with three intermediate spars and bracing 58, ribs, stringers and stressed skin. Wings join on centreline H-beam 59. 60 Undercarriage support beam with main hinge point at 61. 63 Undercarriage retraction jack picking up on main leg at 62. 64 Operating jack inside top radius rod projects a stub to engage 65, which is solid part of lower rod and thus locks rods against folding. 66 Wheel well and door 67. 68 Aileron with honeycomb tip 69. 70 Hinged flaps with double-acting hydraulic jacks 71 (electrohydraulic selection from cockpit). 70A  Ventral fuel tank.

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FLYING CONTROLS All are power-operated from the hydraulic system. Aileron 72 From stick via artificial-feel torsion unit 72A and trim actuator 72B controlled by switch on stick, console (72), with pressure gland similar to 73 through cockpit rear pressure bulkhead, along to non-linear gear at 74, out by curved rods (75) and linkage (76) to operate follow-up jacks (77). 78 Aileron autostabilizer actuator overriding into linkage. Tailplane 79 From stick thence via console and glands (similar to 72 and 73), bellcrank (79) underwing (80) to feel unit (81) and trim actuator (82), rod (83) to operate hydraulic motor unit (84). 84 Hydraulic motors drive screw jacks 50 to move tailplane. 85 Autostabilizer actuator overrides into rod (83) Rudder 86 From rudder bar with weighted LH pedal 86 (to counteract speed-changing inertia), thence via console and gland (73), bellcrank 79A alongside 79, underwing alongside 80, rod (87) (see starboard side end of upper engine to linear spring-feel lever 87A - not shown) to give artificial feel, thence to rudder-feel 88 unit and trim actuator (88A) plus autostabilizer 89. 88 Rudder-feel unit (hydraulic, from feel simulator) with outof-trim actuator from switches on the stick, then on via rods (90) to follow-up jack (91) to rudder stub (43). 89 Autostabilizer actuator overrides into rod (90). Note: 88, 89, 90 and 91 are actually on the starboard side (extension of rod 87 and spring-feel unit), but are illustrated here on the port side in order to show them. POWER INSTALLATIONS 92 Rolls-Royce Avon lower engine (intake at 9, main trunnion mounting at 31). 93  Upper engine (intake at 7, mounted at 31).

94 Port and starboard 15th-stage compressor tappings for air systems and auxiliaries’ drive (as well as engine intake antiicing 95) plus two 15th-stage tappings for reheat, fuel and hydraulic systems (repeat on lower engine). 96 Two hydraulic pumps on external wheelcase for hydraulic systems. 96A  Reservoirs pressurized via pipe 96B. 96C To aileron control units, undercarriages, port tailplane motor, rudder control unit, braking parachute door selector. 97 Engine air (15th-stage) tapping to drive reheat fuel pump (repeat on lower engine). 98 Compressor relief valve (out through fuselage) (repeat on lower engine). 99 Engine starting equipment comprising: fuel tank (99), pump units (100), HP switch and solenoid valve (101), fuel and purging air lines (102) down to engines’ intake casings. AIR SYSTEMS (a) To rear fuselage 103 Hot air off lower engine 15th-stage (94) joins with trunk (104) from upper engine to feed (aft) auxiliaries’ gearbox drive-turbine (105) (exhausting at 106), with branch 104A to reheat nozzle control rams. Ram air 106B from fin cools auxiliaries then overboard via hear exchanger (106A) in hydraulics supply from engine-driven pumps. 107 Tapping to reheat units muffs (to induce on ground cold air cooling flow through muffs). (b) Demisting, gun-purging and anti-icing systems 108 Hot-air trunk from engines goes forward with a branch (109). Trunk 108 with a branch to canopy seal 114 and ground supply connection, then runs to gun-purging valve (110) (operates to blow inflammable gases out of breech after firing via branch up to guns 135). Trunk 108 on to air intake anti-icing (111) with branch-offs for windscreen raindispersal (112), side panel and canopy hot-air sprays (113), canopy seal (114).

115 Canopy side-panel closed-circuit dried air from electric blower (115) through silica-gel dryers (116) and pipe (117) to panels, collected at 118 and back to pump. Pressure build-up from lower engine vented to atmosphere. 116A Eighth-stage air from lower engine to guided-weapon pack heating. (c) Cockpit air system 109 Hot-air branch-off 108 to heat exchanger 117 with a branchoff, via reducing valve, direct to 121. 117 Heat exchanger alongside with header tank to boiler (118) set in the junction of engine airstreams (and with cooling-air entry to it from them at 10). 118 Cooled air on to water boiler (118) gives up heat and on to two-spool pump (its spool working against other driven by air bleed 120 from trunk, which bleed then passes back into trunk at 126A). Air thus further cooled and on to water separator (121, with branch-off up to radio cooling (122) with ram-air connection 123. 121 From water separator on via 124 (with ground connection to heat exchanger 125). Thence into cockpit for three-outlet pressurizing at 127. Pipe 126 divides upstream of heat exchanger (125). One branch goes through (125) to anti-g and air-ventilated-suit connections 128A; the second branch goes direct to nose cone (pressurized radar) via air dryer 128. The cockpit air is directed through heat exchanger 125 as the cooling medium and then to cockpit. 129  Combined valve unit in conjunction with pressure controller in cockpit (cockpit relief). Built-in shroud passes some cockpit air out down to nose cone heat exchanger through 129A plus branch for ground cooling attachment 129B. 129C Pressurized cockpit (floor, canopy, bulkheads) with relief valve.

96B Air to reservoir from a 15th-stage engine tapping runs via exchanger (106A). REHEAT FUEL PUMPS (one to each unit) 130 Fuel pumps to each reheat unit (914) via piping 131 and 132. Air-driven via 97 (15th-stage engine and overboard). FIRE PROTECTION Fire zone I (each engine): A to B (intake to firewall). Fire zone II (each engine): B to C (firewall to exhaust section). Fire zone III (common to the two engine jet pipes): C, C to D. 132X Port extinguisher serves both Zones II (starboard extension serves both Zones I). 133  Typical Firewire sensing element (one element each engine (Zones I, plus II), plus one to each jet pipe in Zone II, equals four elements). 134  Inertia switch each side to set off both extinguishers at fourand-a-half g. Fire Zone ventilation: Zones I and II each engine - fore and aft intakes and outlets with engine hot-air induced flow out Zone II ventilates by tapping off air from auxiliaries (remainder going on through 106A). ARMAMENT 135 Line of (two) Aden cannon and two magazines. 136 Attachable underbelly pack, mounting cannon or rockets or twin missiles. 137  Artist’s HB pencil thought likely to be ineffective against Soviet Tupolevs, and generally replaced with Firestreak or Red Top missiles.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS Pressure oil from engine pumps (96) and reservoirs 96A plus ground hand pump to: (a) undercarriage flaps, autostabilizer actuators, feel units, canopy jack, missile pack and (b) aileron, tailplane, rudder

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KEY 1 Nose cone: houses radar and is mounted on wheel-well box 2 set on floor 8 of engine intake 3. 2 Engine air intake (top section shown at 4 down to cockpit floor, up at 5 to roof of the overwing intake 6 to upper engine 7). 8 Floor of intake 3 runs straight through to lower engine 9. 10 Leading edge of wing centre-section divides airflow to engines (7 and 9). 11 Cut-away of top surface 5 to reveal bifurcation 10. 12 Jet pipe of upper engine. 13 Extended jet pipe of lower engine. 14 Reheat units. 15 Faired nose cone spacer providing throughway for radar electrics 16 into nose cone. 17 Oxygen cylinder. 18 End-frame of front fuselage (picks up to wing front fitting 19 of rear fuselage). 20 Rear fuselage with longeron 20, strongly ribbed betweendeck 21 and lower hoops 22, engine-bay stressed top cover 23, back-end continuous frame 24, stressed arch 25 over wing centre section with longeron plate and angle 26, underwing side-panel 27 with similar plate longeron and angle to wing, and underskin attachments 28. 29 Rear wing spar fitting 30 picks up off strengthening frame 29. 31 Engine main (trunnion) supports (see near 29 and longeron 20 near airbrakes). 32 Airbrake and double-acting hydraulic jack (electrohydraulic selection from cockpit). 33 Reheat and jet pipe intermediate supports (self-aligning trunnion block off frame into channel on pipe). (Repeat on lower pipe). 34 Reheat and jet pipes end support (trunnions on pipe held in clamp on frame). 35 Rollers 35 swing down on to fixed rail 36 to run jet pipe out. 37 Root of fin. Top jet pipe guide rail and ground handling link roller (because rail 36 has to be cut away in places).

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38 H-piece between jet pipes, hinged each side at 39 and made in two pieces joined at 40. (seals the back end but can be swung open for pipe removal). 41 Five-spar fin attachment to fuselage (one single, four double tongues) with stringers and ribs, all between front and rear shear walls 42. 43 Honeycomb rudder has brackets splined to operating mechanism. 44 Flutter damper. 45 Honeycomb fin tip. 46 Pivoting tailplane (torsion box with pivot spar 46), front and rear shear webs, formers, stringers and stressed skin, and honeycomb tip 47. 48 Bearing housing, built into fuselage frame, carries spindle of 46. 49 Triangular arm off spindle (rocked by jacks 50 to move tailplane through 51). 52 Parachute pack in fuselage container, with power-operated doors 53, which slide up to uncover container. 54 Parachute lines run out through skid 54 and loop around both sides of fuselage at 55 up to (quick-release) anchorage 56. MAINPLANE 57 Port and starboard torsion boxes between curved front and rear spars 57, picking up to fuselage on fittings 19 and 30, and with three intermediate spars and bracing 58, ribs, stringers and stressed skin. Wings join on centreline H-beam 59. 60 Undercarriage support beam with main hinge point at 61. 63 Undercarriage retraction jack picking up on main leg at 62. 64 Operating jack inside top radius rod projects a stub to engage 65, which is solid part of lower rod and thus locks rods against folding. 66 Wheel well and door 67. 68 Aileron with honeycomb tip 69. 70 Hinged flaps with double-acting hydraulic jacks 71 (electrohydraulic selection from cockpit). 70A  Ventral fuel tank.

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FLYING CONTROLS All are power-operated from the hydraulic system. Aileron 72 From stick via artificial-feel torsion unit 72A and trim actuator 72B controlled by switch on stick, console (72), with pressure gland similar to 73 through cockpit rear pressure bulkhead, along to non-linear gear at 74, out by curved rods (75) and linkage (76) to operate follow-up jacks (77). 78 Aileron autostabilizer actuator overriding into linkage. Tailplane 79 From stick thence via console and glands (similar to 72 and 73), bellcrank (79) underwing (80) to feel unit (81) and trim actuator (82), rod (83) to operate hydraulic motor unit (84). 84 Hydraulic motors drive screw jacks 50 to move tailplane. 85 Autostabilizer actuator overrides into rod (83) Rudder 86 From rudder bar with weighted LH pedal 86 (to counteract speed-changing inertia), thence via console and gland (73), bellcrank 79A alongside 79, underwing alongside 80, rod (87) (see starboard side end of upper engine to linear spring-feel lever 87A - not shown) to give artificial feel, thence to rudder-feel 88 unit and trim actuator (88A) plus autostabilizer 89. 88 Rudder-feel unit (hydraulic, from feel simulator) with outof-trim actuator from switches on the stick, then on via rods (90) to follow-up jack (91) to rudder stub (43). 89 Autostabilizer actuator overrides into rod (90). Note: 88, 89, 90 and 91 are actually on the starboard side (extension of rod 87 and spring-feel unit), but are illustrated here on the port side in order to show them. POWER INSTALLATIONS 92 Rolls-Royce Avon lower engine (intake at 9, main trunnion mounting at 31). 93  Upper engine (intake at 7, mounted at 31).

94 Port and starboard 15th-stage compressor tappings for air systems and auxiliaries’ drive (as well as engine intake antiicing 95) plus two 15th-stage tappings for reheat, fuel and hydraulic systems (repeat on lower engine). 96 Two hydraulic pumps on external wheelcase for hydraulic systems. 96A  Reservoirs pressurized via pipe 96B. 96C To aileron control units, undercarriages, port tailplane motor, rudder control unit, braking parachute door selector. 97 Engine air (15th-stage) tapping to drive reheat fuel pump (repeat on lower engine). 98 Compressor relief valve (out through fuselage) (repeat on lower engine). 99 Engine starting equipment comprising: fuel tank (99), pump units (100), HP switch and solenoid valve (101), fuel and purging air lines (102) down to engines’ intake casings. AIR SYSTEMS (a) To rear fuselage 103 Hot air off lower engine 15th-stage (94) joins with trunk (104) from upper engine to feed (aft) auxiliaries’ gearbox drive-turbine (105) (exhausting at 106), with branch 104A to reheat nozzle control rams. Ram air 106B from fin cools auxiliaries then overboard via hear exchanger (106A) in hydraulics supply from engine-driven pumps. 107 Tapping to reheat units muffs (to induce on ground cold air cooling flow through muffs). (b) Demisting, gun-purging and anti-icing systems 108 Hot-air trunk from engines goes forward with a branch (109). Trunk 108 with a branch to canopy seal 114 and ground supply connection, then runs to gun-purging valve (110) (operates to blow inflammable gases out of breech after firing via branch up to guns 135). Trunk 108 on to air intake anti-icing (111) with branch-offs for windscreen raindispersal (112), side panel and canopy hot-air sprays (113), canopy seal (114).

115 Canopy side-panel closed-circuit dried air from electric blower (115) through silica-gel dryers (116) and pipe (117) to panels, collected at 118 and back to pump. Pressure build-up from lower engine vented to atmosphere. 116A Eighth-stage air from lower engine to guided-weapon pack heating. (c) Cockpit air system 109 Hot-air branch-off 108 to heat exchanger 117 with a branchoff, via reducing valve, direct to 121. 117 Heat exchanger alongside with header tank to boiler (118) set in the junction of engine airstreams (and with cooling-air entry to it from them at 10). 118 Cooled air on to water boiler (118) gives up heat and on to two-spool pump (its spool working against other driven by air bleed 120 from trunk, which bleed then passes back into trunk at 126A). Air thus further cooled and on to water separator (121, with branch-off up to radio cooling (122) with ram-air connection 123. 121 From water separator on via 124 (with ground connection to heat exchanger 125). Thence into cockpit for three-outlet pressurizing at 127. Pipe 126 divides upstream of heat exchanger (125). One branch goes through (125) to anti-g and air-ventilated-suit connections 128A; the second branch goes direct to nose cone (pressurized radar) via air dryer 128. The cockpit air is directed through heat exchanger 125 as the cooling medium and then to cockpit. 129  Combined valve unit in conjunction with pressure controller in cockpit (cockpit relief). Built-in shroud passes some cockpit air out down to nose cone heat exchanger through 129A plus branch for ground cooling attachment 129B. 129C Pressurized cockpit (floor, canopy, bulkheads) with relief valve.

96B Air to reservoir from a 15th-stage engine tapping runs via exchanger (106A). REHEAT FUEL PUMPS (one to each unit) 130 Fuel pumps to each reheat unit (914) via piping 131 and 132. Air-driven via 97 (15th-stage engine and overboard). FIRE PROTECTION Fire zone I (each engine): A to B (intake to firewall). Fire zone II (each engine): B to C (firewall to exhaust section). Fire zone III (common to the two engine jet pipes): C, C to D. 132X Port extinguisher serves both Zones II (starboard extension serves both Zones I). 133  Typical Firewire sensing element (one element each engine (Zones I, plus II), plus one to each jet pipe in Zone II, equals four elements). 134  Inertia switch each side to set off both extinguishers at fourand-a-half g. Fire Zone ventilation: Zones I and II each engine - fore and aft intakes and outlets with engine hot-air induced flow out Zone II ventilates by tapping off air from auxiliaries (remainder going on through 106A). ARMAMENT 135 Line of (two) Aden cannon and two magazines. 136 Attachable underbelly pack, mounting cannon or rockets or twin missiles. 137  Artist’s HB pencil thought likely to be ineffective against Soviet Tupolevs, and generally replaced with Firestreak or Red Top missiles.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS Pressure oil from engine pumps (96) and reservoirs 96A plus ground hand pump to: (a) undercarriage flaps, autostabilizer actuators, feel units, canopy jack, missile pack and (b) aileron, tailplane, rudder

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Lightning strike The English Electric Lightning was now in full production and the aircraft appearing at Farnborough were truly representative of service types, and included the T4 for the first time, rather unkindly described by one journalist as an ‘aerodynamic meat cleaver’. Flown by Beamont and therefore frequently seen in a series of tight, high-g turns, the T4 two-seat trainer was accompanied by an F1, XG333. Shortly after the Display, on 1 October, J. W. C. Squier had to eject from this aircraft at M 1.7 and 40,000ft (12,192m) in one of the first veryhigh-speed, very-high altitude departures. Neither the sophisticated aids employed to try to recover him nor the intensive air-sea rescue operation, produced the slightest result and in fact he came ashore on his own after 28 hours in his dinghy and rang in from a farm!

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SBAC 1960

1960: A new era T he dawning of a new decade heralded the consolidation of the British aviation industry and with it the demise of some of its most famous names. This was reflected in the SBAC Show in 1960, but otherwise it was business as usual – for the time being at least. In a thunderous welcome to the Sixties, the show was opened each day by a demonstration of the striking power of the RAF. Four V-bombers ‘scrambled’ from the western end of the airfield to a starter’s gun fired from the President’s Enclosure. Three units were involved: on Monday, Thursday and Sunday Valiants from No 148 Squadron; on Tuesday and Saturday, four Vulcans of No 617 Squadron; and on Wednesday and Friday, four Victors of XV Squadron.

The importance of the V-force had been underlined by a government announcement in February that it was abandoning the ballistic missile as a nuclear deterrent and would

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henceforth rely upon the bombers, armed with the American Douglas Skybolt missile. As Skybolt was almost immediately cancelled on grounds of expense and complication, it turned

Left: It might not have inspired the Farnborough crowds when it first appeared at the Show, but the Hawker Siddeley (née Avro) went on to forge itself a very successful career. Right: The view across the aircraft park at Farnborough in 1960 revealing little new in the form of shapes, apart from the Avro 748. Already the ‘Best of British’ years were in decline. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

Rear passenger door Rear presssure bulkhead Fin mounting to tailplane torsion box Tailplane torsion-box rib structure Tailplane root-rib fail-safe structure Fin and tailplane access panels Fin front spar

Wing 35. Wing front spar 36. Spar-to-frame mounting 37. Water methanol tank in wing fillet 38. Wing lower-surface stringer ties 39. Flap track cantilevered off rear spar 40. Reinforced ribs for powerplant and landing-gear attachment 41. Main landing gear, forward retracting 42. Forward wheel doors – closed when wheels are fully extended or retracted 43. Rear undercarriage doors 44. Inboard bulkhead rib of integral fuel tank 45. Wiring-rib fail-safe bracing 46. Tank baffle rib 47. Underwing access panel 48. Detachable leading-edge with pneumatic de-icing (outboard of powerplants) 48A. Hinged leading-edge gives access to air-conditioning system silencers 49. Pneumatic de-icing 50. Powerplant bearers cantilevered from wing structure 51. Fireproof nacelle bulkhead 52. Hinged cowlings 53. Outboard tank end rib Powerplant 54. Oil cooler 55. Oil cooler air outlet

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56. Accessory-drive gearbox 57. 6-kW generator 58. Synchronizing alternator 59. Hydraulic pump 60. 22 kW alternator 61. Cabin-air blower 62. Spill-valve outlet 63. Jet-pipe cooling-air inlet 64. Generator cooling-air inlet 65. Throttle control quadrant 65A. High-pressure fuel-cock control quadrant 66. Jet-pipe shroud 67. Fire-extinguisher bottle 68. Accessories-access panel 69. Cooling-air inlet, zone 1 and 2 70. Exhaust cooling-air inlet for ground running 71. Oil-cooler air-inlet 72. Engine-oil dipstick access 73. Grouped throttle and high-pressure cock controls in cockpit 73A. Ground-running pitch-control lever 74. Powerplant control cables carried in floor structure Ailerons 75. Aileron cables in floor structure 75A. Aileron trim wheel 76. Aileron quadrant 77. Tie rods running on port side 78. Quadrant mounted on rear spar (see starboard wing) 79. Tie rods 80. Cables 80A. Aileron trim-tab control Rudder 81. Rudder pedals with toe brakes

82. Coupling rod to starboard pedals thence to quadrant and cables out starboard side 83. Tension-regulator quadrant (in tailplane torsion box) 84. Trim-tab cable 85. Rudder trim wheel (in cockpit) 85A. Control-lock lever Elevators 86. Control-column torque-tube interconnection 86A. Elevator trim wheel 87. Push-pull rod to quadrant 88. Tie rods beneath floor on port side (by rear pressure bulkhead) 89. Tension-regulator quadrant assembly (in tailplane torsion box) 90. Push-pull rod to bell-crank lever Flaps 91. Flap control lever – four-position gate 92. Flap drive motor and gearbox in port wing fillet only 93. Chain drive between torque shafts 94. Flexible couplings 95. Dual torque shafts to rib 46 96. Single torque shaft outboard of rib 46 97. Dual torque shafts and Hookes couplings to starboard flaps (see wing root) 98. Flap-track fairing 99. Cable drum at flap tracks 100. Flap roller carriage 101. Tab-flap operating lever 102. Tab flaps run full length of main flap Air Conditioning and Pressurization 103. Inlet for ram cooling air in fuselage nose

104. Air duct 105. Cold-air unit 106. Primary cooler 107. Secondary cooler 108. Main cabin air duct 109. Duct to crew compartment 110. Crew-compartment roof outlets 111. Air conditioning to crew compartment 112. Temperature control valve 113. Choke valve 114. Metering duct 115. Silencer – one in each inboard leadingedge of wing 116. Non-return valve 117. Cabin-blower air inlet in nacelle 118. Spill valve 119. Cabin pressurization feed 120. Cabin-air duct. Air enters through cabin wall and discharges through amenity panels. 121. Duct to rear compartments 122. Air outlet to discharge valves 123. Safety valve in rear pressure bulkhead Radio 124. Glide-slope aerial in fuselage nose 125. VHF communications aerial 126. ADF loop aerial 127. ILS/VOR localizer aerial to tip of fin 128. Ice-detection lamp in nacelle side 129. Starboard navigation lamp 130. Anti-collision beacon at tip of fin 131. VHF radio crate and auto-pilot 132. Starboard AC/DC distribution box 133. Stand-by compass 134. Starboard console with intercomm. controls

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KEY Fuselage and Tailplane 1. Fabricated nose cone 2. Batteries 3. Front pressure bulkhead 4. Nose-wheel bay fail-safe bracing 5. Pressure floor 6. Crew-compartment floor 7. Window coaming 8. Crew-compartment bulkhead 9. Freight-door frame structure 10. Upward-opening freight and crew door 11. Freight compartment 12. Floor support structure 13. Diagonal floor bracing 14. Front-spar frame 15. Rear-spar frame 16. Centre-section rib fail-safe bracing 17. Fuselage side rib 18. Continuous fuselage stringers 19. Pressure-floor continuous wing stringers 20. Over-wing emergency-exit structure 21. Cabin window structure 22. Cloak compartment 23. Typical 40-seat layout 24. Galley 25. Rear baggage door (on starboard side) 26. Baggage compartment 27. Toilet

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KEY Fuselage and Tailplane 1. Fabricated nose cone 2. Batteries 3. Front pressure bulkhead 4. Nose-wheel bay fail-safe bracing 5. Pressure floor 6. Crew-compartment floor 7. Window coaming 8. Crew-compartment bulkhead 9. Freight-door frame structure 10. Upward-opening freight and crew door 11. Freight compartment 12. Floor support structure 13. Diagonal floor bracing 14. Front-spar frame 15. Rear-spar frame 16. Centre-section rib fail-safe bracing 17. Fuselage side rib 18. Continuous fuselage stringers 19. Pressure-floor continuous wing stringers 20. Over-wing emergency-exit structure 21. Cabin window structure 22. Cloak compartment 23. Typical 40-seat layout 24. Galley 25. Rear baggage door (on starboard side) 26. Baggage compartment 27. Toilet

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FARNBOROUGH: THE GOLDEN YEARS

out not to have been one of the government’s brighter ideas. There was also a British airground missile, Blue Steel, under development (it was on display at the Show along with a Vulcan) and it was issued to No 617 Squadron to be carried briefly by its Vulcans before it was decided that they had become too vulnerable and the whole thing was handed over to the Royal Navy and Polaris. In the same month as the Skybolt decision was made public, Mr Duncan Sandys, then filling the newly-created post of Minister of Aviation, announced that the government would fund the construction of a supersonic airliner and invited tenders. He also pledged official support for the VC10 and Trident programmes. It was a very successful Show, by and large, with orders announced at the end for £20 million and official trading figures up to the end of July of well over £87 million. Just over half that total (£44.5 million) were sales of engines. This year, foreign engines were admitted in British aircraft but definitely not in the flying programme. The only new airliner at the show was the promising Avro 748 feederliner, sporting two neatly-cowled Rolls-Royce Darts. This was one of the few so-called DC-3 replacements that actually looked like it might succeed, boasting a rugged build and impressive STOL performance. The public at Farnborough showed little interest in this straight-winged small turboprop, which compared to the Comet looked distinctly old fashioned. Nevertheless, the 748 was designed for a particular niche in

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the market and over 380 were eventually built, justifying Avro’s (and later, Hawker Siddeley’s) faith in the design. In terms of spectacle, the Victor B2, Conwaypowered, anti-radiation white painted was appearing in public for the first time and celebrated the occasion by making a low pass, with the emphasis on the word ‘low’. The similarly-painted Vulcan B2 was the first pre-

production aircraft. Two of the six Gnats then flying appeared at the Show, the second with full dual control and ejection seats.   There were two Lightnings, which did not fly on Tuesday because of the water on the runway, and two Hunters. The red and white two seater was largely occupied in finding out how many spins Bill Bedford could manage (15 was the most). The Jet Provost T4 was originally privately

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SBAC 1960 Left: The big Argosy was back and looked far more graceful in the air than it did on the ground. Below left: The Lightning was now a firm favourite with the Farnborough crowds with its display pilots eager to show off its thunderous potential.

funded and featured a more powerful Viper that added considerably to its performance and ensured an order from the Ministry of Defence. Most exciting of all, though, was the Short SC1 vertical take-off aircraft. It was flown by ‘Brookie’, whose bow tie was famous at Farnborough and who was making his final appearance as chief test pilot before hanging up his boots, as they say, and going out with a triumphant display that must have made up for the embarrassment of the ‘grass carpet’ the year before. The SC1 was now well into its test programme, with over 100 transitions to its credit and gave a performance whose novelty of sight and sound was not equalled until the arrival of the P1127. That particular ‘mystery ship’ was not on display, though the engine was and a sketch showing what the complete aircraft looked like had slipped past the censors onto the stand, before being hastily spirited away. There was also a rash of VTOL projects on the stands, of a complexity and credibility varying from a proposal for a vertical take-off Argosy to a Rolls-Royce fantasy involving 24 lift and six propulsion engines, to fly at M 2.26 with 72 passengers but no pilots! On the helicopter front, this was now dominated by Westland, having taken over all rotary wing activity under their name. Among

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Merging an industry This was the year in which the complex process of mergers and consolidation in the British aircraft industry finally came about. The process had been protracted and in the end turned out to be less of a political dragooning than many people feared it to be. Economic common sense would certainly have brought about much the same result eventually. There were now two major airframe groups and one helicopter company and two engine manufacturers. The Hawker Siddeley Group had been formed round Hawker Siddeley Aviation, which in 1935 had been born of a merger of Hawker Aircraft with Avro (including Avro Canada), Gloster, Armstrong Whitworth and Armstrong Siddeley Motors. Now, during the previous 12 months, it had also absorbed Folland Aircraft, Blackburn Aircraft and Blackburn Engines and the world-wide empire of de Havilland Air Engines and Propellers. British Aircraft Corporation might be said to have come into existence on 24 May 1960, when the board of directors was announced. For the time being, the three constituent partners, Bristol Aircraft, English Electric and Vickers-Armstrong Aircraft would continue to operate under their own names. Shortly after the reorganisation, the three were joined by Hunting Aircraft. Bristol Siddeley Engines was structured with 50 per cent holdings by Bristol Aeroplane Company and the Hawker Siddeley Group. Rolls-Royce remained Rolls-Royce. Westland having made its original decision to abandon fixed-wing aircraft for helicopters had been quietly acquiring the helicopter interests of everybody else and now combined under their name Bristol’s helicopter division, Saunders-Roe (who had already taken over Cierva) and Fairey Aviation.  the offerings the admirable little P531 evolved via a number of prototypes, into the Wasp and Scout, respectively for naval and military use. As a footnote, this was the last time Farnborough spectators would ever see the Black Arrows, who were shortly to disband prior to reassembling with the Lightning. Led still by the redoubtable Pete Latham they performed splendidly, with a sequence consisting largely

of a variety of loops, one of which was called Farmer Loop, which might have been a tribute to the bucolic appearance of the boss, if it had not been for its resemblance to a well known MiG fighter. Below: There are low passes… and then there are low passes. Many will remember the Victor’s flypast by B2 XH669 during the public days (if they could see it).

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FARNBOROUGH

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SBAC 1960

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Photo-call Special Left: An aircraft that never failed to impress, whether on the ground or in its natural element. With its now familiar kinked wing, the Vulcan B2 appeared in white anti-radiation finish reflecting its then nuclear role. Above: Small and agile, the Folland Gnat T1 would go on to train a generation of RAF pilots and, of course, would famously become the mount of the ‘Red Arrows’. Below: Red and white company demonstrator, Hawker Hunter T66A G-APUX, was put through a dizzying display of aerobatics by Bill Bedford, including 15 spins. Bottom: Take two. A pair of the large Blackburn NA39s displayed at Farnborough in 1960, now adorned with the aircraft’s more familiar name, Buccaneer.

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1961: In transition I n many ways, the 1961 SBAC Show marked a low point for the British aircraft industry. The civil market at that time was far from buoyant and the military picture, still suffering from the appalling decisions of the Defence White Paper, had not yet sorted itself out from the effects of a more recent White Paper on the aircraft industry. Numbers of aircraft at Farnborough were the lowest ever, but the second biggest-ever Service invasion took place with no less than 139 aircraft. Nevertheless, the Show continued to grow. Nearly 400 exhibitors took part (remember that this was still an all-British event) and occupied a 130,400 sq ft (12,114 sq m) of exhibition hall space, the largest to date. If there were few new aircraft in the round, the stands gave a promise of an exciting crop in 1962. Official interest in the supersonic transport had taken another step forward and, indeed,

the evidence that at least low-speed research was under way was present with the strangelooking Handley Page HP115. Government concern in the civil field was planned to include a risk-sharing scheme of initial support for certain programmes. Mentioned at the time were the Argosy Series 200, Trident, VC10 and Super VC10 and BAC One-Eleven. There were 40 British engines on the stands, including the big Rolls-Royce Conway, first of the new high by-pass, low consumption powerplants, already flown in a test-bed and on offer commercially for the first time. Orders announced during the week included five VC10s for the RAF, bringing the total on the books to 57, a launch order for the DH 125 (which at this stage of its career was called the Jet Dragon) and new batches of Wessex for the RAF and RN. Handley Page now had orders for 15 Heralds.

The ‘no more fighters’ threat was receding; now seen to be nonsensical, especially in the light of US and Soviet advances. Flying this year was notable for the number of formation and aerobatic teams that took part, quite apart from anything else. The RAF aerobatic display team was now the Blue Diamonds, 14 Hunter T6 and two T7 of No 92 Squadron. No 74 Squadron produced its unforgettable ‘burner take-off’, nine flametipped Lightnings pitching effortlessly up to the vertical at lift-off, the last few almost invisible in the heat-haze, conveyed the power unleashed by those roaring Avons in the most dramatic way possible. The Fleet Air Arm was represented by masses of Scimitars and Sea Hawks, supported by four Gannets. For the first time, the Army Air Corps was represented. Apart from demonstration drills with Thunderbird and Blue Water missiles from

Inside the exhibition halls, a mock-up of the unique Rolls-Royce V/STOL Pegasus engine came in for much attention. The following year, the Farnborough audiences would be able to witness it in all its thrust-vectoring glory.

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SBAC 1961 the Royal Artillery in the guided weapons park, eight Skeeters gave a wonderful synchronised formation display. Attention was being focussed on the possibilities of supersonic civil transports. Handley Page had proposed long-range and medium range SSTs, the HP109 and 110 and selected cruising speeds of M 1.8, but official preference then went on to M 2.2. Bristol was selected to go ahead with studies and took over the modified FD2 and turned it into the Bristol 221 for high-speed research (their design eventually became our half of Concorde). Meanwhile, Handley Page’s contribution was limited to the low-speed end and the resulting HP115 made its debut at Farnborough in 1961. Over the next four years the aircraft was to accumulate a great deal of useful data for the Concorde programme. Meanwhile, de Havilland displayed the Comet 4C, final variant of the Mk4, which combined the longer fuselage of the 4B with the Comet 4 wing and fuel tanks, giving better load carrying over shorter distances. Five were ordered by the RAF for Transport Command.

Lighter and slower, the overlay of the Beagle label on both Miles Aircraft at Shoreham and Auster aircraft at Rearsby caused the final Auster productions to become first BeagleAusters in 1961 and then Beagles in 1962 and acquire canine labels. Priority in 1961 was being given to a new light twin, originated by Peter Masefield at Bristol and brought with him as a project to Shoreham when he arrived as managing director of Beagle. This was the 206 Terrier, which appeared in prototype form and aroused intense interest. A five-seater, with 260hp engines it cruised at 228mph (367km/h) and proved, like all subsequent Beagle designs, delightful to fly. Westland flew virtually its complete range of helicopters. The Belvedere was a production aircraft and the Scout one of the pre-production batch. The Whirlwind was the company demonstrator, converted from Leonides to Gnome turbine power. The production naval Wessex HAS1 carried full autostabilization gear and equipment for its anti-submarine role and distinguished itself by

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towing up the runway a flat-bed truck on which were a pick-up truck and a Scout helicopter, with a trailer carrying a Saladin armoured personnel carrier, the whole lot weighing 50 tons (50.8 tonnes). On the grounds presumably, that it was neither flying nor static, the Scout did not appear in contemporary lists of participating aircraft. The set piece at the end of the day involved a noisy and spectacular attack on the control tower by aircraft of No 38 Group and others. Hunter FGA9s provided fire and movement, under cover of which four Beverleys landed some 200 troops with three Land Rovers and two Ferret scout cars. Twin Pioneers, Whirlwinds and Belvederes all joined in the assault. All very exciting, especially for those in the control tower! Question of the week: Was it time for the Show to go biennial? Many members thought it was. The SBAC President, the Hon H. G. Nelson, made it clear that there would be a Show in 1962. After that, questionnaires had been sent out to member companies and the SBAC would wait and see.

Top left: Airliners were thin on the ground at Farnborough in 1961, but the 200 series of the Handley Page Herald made its first appearance in the colours of Maritime Central Airways. Centre left: On the lighter side, the sleek Beagle Terrier G-ARRN attracted a great deal of praise. It certainly looked the part when it came alongside the cameraship. Above: Another even lighter debutant was the Beagle AOP11, XP254, light observation aircraft. Developed from the Auster AOP9, in the event only one was ever built. Left: Troops rappel from Westland Belvedere HC1, XG459, during the assault finale to the air show.

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SBAC 1961

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Handley Page HP115 Prize for the strangest aircraft at Farnborough in 1961 undoubtedly went to the Handley Page HP115. This delta wing research aircraft was built to test the low-speed handling characteristics to be expected from a supersonic airliner of slender delta configuration. It formed part of the British supersonic aircraft research programme carried out in the 1960s and sponsored by the Ministry of Supply, that eventually produced Concorde. Built at Radlett Aerodrome, the single aircraft, XP841, flew for the first time on 17 August 1961 at RAE Bedford, before making its Farnborough debut just a few weeks later. The HP115 was a very capable aircraft; pilots were able to demonstrate rapid changes of bank, while still safely retaining control at speeds as low as 69mph (111km/h).

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1962: Last of the annuals A ny number of reasons might be given for proposing the importance of the 1962 SBAC Show. For one thing, it was finally made public that there would be no Show in 1963. Agreement had been reached among Members on the subject and the next one would be in 1964. With the Paris Salon occurring in uneven years, the SBAC Display would alternate neatly with it. In contrast to 1961, six new aircraft appeared this year. The three transports, DH 125, DH 121 Trident and Vickers VC10, all paid obvious tribute in their rear-mounted engines to the current design philosophy of a clean wing. The astounding Hawker P1127 went on to become the Harrier. The other two newcomers were the diminutive Bensen-derived Wallis autogyro and the remarkable Bristol 188. On a more sinister note, the Avro Vulcan B2 of No 617 Squadron in the static park was seen to be carrying the British Blue Steel stand-off bomb, with which the squadron was carrying out development trials. Otherwise service participation was down from the previous year’s exuberance, but included no less than seven formation teams,

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and a brace of Sea Vixens of No 899 Squadron demonstrating in-flight refuelling. For the Royal Navy, Cdr A. J. ‘Spiv’ Leahy was back, leading a piratical team of four Buccaneers, the pilots wearing black bonedomes decorated with large skulls and cross bones. There were five Scimitars pushing their luck with what the Press, with an eye on the rules and the Navy’s reputation, delicately called ‘audible near-sonic almostbangs’ and repeating the famous ‘twinkle’ roll with a quartet in formation. The RAF was represented by the Hunters of the Blue Diamonds, by No 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron’s Lightnings, and by the Central Flying School four-ship Jet Provost team. On the final Sunday both fighter teams combined to produce a diamond 25. There was no Comet, for the first time in 13 years, but this was more than compensated for by the first appearance of the ‘next-generation’ of jet airliners. The Vickers VC10, one of the best-looking airliners ever built, with handling characteristics to match, was powered by four Conways and was tailored only to one airline’s requirements, in this case BOAC, for its African and Australian

routes. This involved catering for a large payload (35,000lb/15,876kg) over a range of some 4,000 miles (6,437km) and involving take-offs at some very high, hot and short airfields en route. Here the advantages of the clean wing/rear engine combination showed up, offering improved airfield performance and economy and lower approach speeds. BOAC signed a contract for 35, with 20 more on option, in 1958, thus bringing the order book to break-even point in one fell swoop. However, with the announcement of the Super VC10 in 1961, they cut the original order to 12 and ordered 30 Supers. The prototype VC10 flew for the first time on 29 June 1962 and the second was in the factory when the first aircraft majestically appeared at Farnborough in BOAC livery. Eleven had been ordered for the Royal Air Force and more were to follow. Following the rationalisation of the industry, the VC10 was the last aircraft to appear under its parents’ original name. Below: After the relative dearth of civil airliners the previous year, 1962’s event was graced by the sweeping elegance of the VC10, truly a sight to behold.

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SBAC 1962 This being a period when aircraft constructors were merging with bewildering rapidity, one has to be careful with the nomenclature of the other airliner debutant, the Trident. It was designed as the Airco 121 by a consortium of Fairey and Hunting, calling itself the Aircraft Manufacturing company, which just happened to be the name under which de Havilland had originally commenced trading. Design responsibility fell on de Havilland when Airco was disbanded and the 121 became the DH 121. After the formation of the Hawker Siddeley Group it became the HS 121 and as such it displayed at the 1962 Farnborough. The Trident was designed to a close specification from BEA for a short-haul jet capable of working from short runways. Normally a 75 seater, the aircraft was exactly what BEA wanted, with the right characteristics for short sectors and later proved fully compatible with the Autoland fully automatic landing system. Powered by Rolls-Royce Speys, the third production aircraft had flown for the first time only two weeks before the Show and it was joined at the display when airborne by the first and second off the line. A very well-designed aircraft, its prospects were to be considerably hampered by loyal compliance with parameters that were of interest solely to BEA, thus inhibiting orders from other airlines with quite different operating requirements.

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P1127 debut Of all the aircraft making their debuts in 1962, the P1127 was the most significant. P1127 development began in 1957, taking advantage of the Bristol Engine Company’s choice to invest in the creation of the Pegasus vectored-thrust engine. Testing began in July 1960 and by the end of the year the aircraft had achieved both vertical take-off and horizontal flight. Further aircraft, which were to become the Kestrel, were ordered to equip a proposed tripartite squadron made up of military pilots from Britain, the US, and West Germany to evaluate the concept. The Kestrel, of course, was developed into the famed Harrier.

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SBAC 1962 Its smaller stable mate, the HS 125 (which had shed the rather cumbersome name of Jet Dragon between last Farnborough’s model and reality), was a 6-8 seat, 365kts (676.5km/h) twinViper business jet with a range of 1,650 miles (2,656km). The first prototype being shown had only 20 hours’ flying behind it, but during the Show the Minister of Aviation announced that it would be ordered for the RAF. It was to become a clear leader in an increasingly important area and, like the Viscount, achieve major and competitive export sales in North America. But there were two other aircraft that stole the show, one for its science fiction looks and the other for its hovering ability. The Bristol T188 was built almost entirely out of steel and looked rather as if it had been oval-turned from the solid. The first and as it happened the last, turbojet built by Bristol Aircraft before all turned into BAC, it had but a

brief and unglamorous career. It was designed to provide data on kinetic heating effects on aircraft structures in prolonged flight at twice the speed of sound for the benefit of the Concorde programme. With this in mind, it was built of stainless steel and raised all sorts of problems in application of this material, notably in fastening or welding it, for the flight conditions it would meet. Virtually the whole fuselage was full of fuel, with a complex refrigerated compartment in front for the pilot. It was an awe-inspiring concept and under the circumstances it was perhaps not surprising that the chief test pilot, Godfrey Auty, was voted the man most likely to eject in 1963. After all that, the Gyron Juniors proved so thirsty in this airframe that it never did manage to fly fast enough and long enough to get hot enough. Two were built and flown. The most exciting aircraft has been left to the last. This was, of course, the VTOL Hawker P1127;

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two of them, in fact, with the first prototype, flown by Hugh Merewether, being joined, until Thursday, by the third prototype, which then left to return to its test duties at Dunsfold while XP831 displayed solo. As a footnote to the 1962 Show, agreement had been reached between Britain and France over the decision to press on with the supersonic airliner, which would be basically an amalgamation of the (very similar) ideas contained in the Bristol 198 project and the Sud Aviation Super Caravelle. Signed in London shortly after the Show on 29 November, the agreement provided for equal cost-sharing by both partners, the final bill being then estimated at between £75-85 million, a sum that was to rise a little later to £280 million. It was expected that the prototype would fly in 1967 and production aircraft be in service in 1971. Concorde had been born…

Left: Lightning F1s of No 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron rehearsing for their appearance at Farnborough. Right: The Bristol T188 amazed the Farnborough crowds with its futuristic shape, but ultimately it was not as fast as it looked. Below right: In the exhibition halls a familiar shape began to make its presence felt. Not long after the show, the go-ahead for Concorde was approved by France and the UK. Below: The first pre-production Gnat T1 was accompanied by the eighth, in an unfamiliar bright yellow paint scheme evolved by Folland, who tried to convince the Air Marshals that this tough, epoxy-resin finish gave better protection than the Service silver and dayglo red.

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Trident over Farnborough. Though not quite as majestic as the VC 10, the Trident was another swept-wing T-tailed airliner that made its debut in 1962, resplendent in the colours of BEA. 1962 was to be the last annual Show at Farnborough, the next event being held in 1964. For the 1966 Show, the gates were opened to international exhibitors. The ‘Best of British’ years were truly over.

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FARNBOROUGH

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SBAC 1962

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