Bristol Beaufighter, part sixteen. Very late & post-war Beaufighters.

 

When World War 2 came to an end in Europe on 8th May 1945, there were fifteen Royal Air Force's (RAF) squadrons equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter. All of those units except for four were UK-based. In the Far East Theatre of Operations, two squadrons, Nos. 42 & 85 operated their Beaufighters and No. 45 Squadron was based at Kuala Lumpur and remained in action until the Japanese surrender in August 1945.
Not listening to the Japanese Emperor, many Japanese soldiers kept on fighting beyond 15th August 1945, when the surrender date for Japan was set, so No. 27 Squadron was allocated as an Air Jungle Search & Rescue unit during that month, undertaking the search & rescue role while offering also support to forward army units engaged with the remnants of the Japanese army. 
No. 27 Squadron was based at Akyab, Burma and, although they were informed during August that they were going to be disbanded, the order was soon rescinded when civil uprisings in Indonesia took place and the squadron was rebased to Mingaladon (Burma) with detachments to Batavia, Bayan Lepas, Kemajoram and Penang. This unit also performed some leaflet-dropping sorties to advise the Japanese troops to surrender, continuing on this type of sorties in some remote regions, like the Shan States as late as January 1946. 
The detachment in Batavia performed some ground-strikes against Indonesian rebels, with the first one taking place on 20th November 1945. The detachment was active in the area until February 1946, when it returned to Mingaladon to be disbanded together with the rest of the squadron.
A new RAF Beaufighter squadron was set up in the UK during the post-war years. This unit was No. 42 Squadron at RAF Thorney Island. This was formed by renumbering No. 254 Squadron and lasted just one year with the Beaufighter TF.X as it was disbanded on 15th October 1947.
During this time period, there were two Beaufighter units stationed in the Far East; No. 84 Squadron at Seletar (Singapore) and No. 45 at Negombo (Ceylon). Both of those units were soon sent to fight communist guerrillas in Malaya under Operation Firedog.

Just after the war, the situation in Malaya was complicated. It was a region formed by nine separate states, each run by its own Sultan, with a lot of help from the British government. The main political party in the whole country was the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), which was lead by the Chinese communist Chin Ping, who sparked an armed insurrection from the end of the war. 
In 1948 the MCP killed some European rubber plantation owners and therefore, in June a state of emergency was enforced in the region. Both British and Commonwealth forces were involved in what would be an anti-communist operation that would last for twelve-years and named 'Operation Firedog'.
The first sortie made by a Beaufighter in this context was performed by No. 84 Squadron, which had a detachment in Kuala Lumpur on the 19th August 1948. This unit maintained a  crew rotation system between their main base at Ceylon and the Kuala Lumpur detachment and, in June 1949 the whole squadron was based at Kuala Lumpur, with detachments at Butterworth (Penang) and Tengah. In October 1949 the unit began to transition to the new Bristol Brigand, but kept operating the Beaufighter side-by-side, until it was moved back to Tengah in December 1949 and finally replaced all of their Beaufighters with Brigands in February 1950. 
No. 84 Squadron was initially equipped with the Beaufighter TF.X from November 1946 and and was moved to Changi (Singapore) in October 1947 before being rebased back to Tengah in February 1948. A detachment was sent to Kuala Lumpur where they joined No. 45 Squadron in Operation Firedog from July of that same year. Here they did not employ the Beaufighter very much as by October 1948 most of the squadron's crews were in the UK training and collecting for the new Bristol Brigand. At that time the squadron was rebased to Habbaniya (Iraq), where it was retrained and fully re-equipped with the Brigand. The squadron did not return to Malaya until April 1950 where they resumed Operation Firedog, this time with the Brigands.

By 1949 the frontline career of the Beaufighter was clearly declining, although the type remained in RAF's inventory in the Far East until 1956. 
The last operational version of the Beaufighter was the target-towing TT. Mk. X, which were airframes converted from existing Mk. Xs, with the prototype for the series being NT813. This variant was stripped from armament and was equipped with a wind-driven winch mounted in the rear fuselage, with its associated windmill projecting from the starboard fuselage side. A total of fifty-nine additional machines were converted and were employed by gunnery co-operation units and many Advanced Flying Schools in the UK and abroad.
In the Middle and Far East the TT. Mk. X was also employed in Flights in Cyprus, Gibraltar and Malta as well as Seletar. It was here where the Seletar Base Flight made the last operational sortie with a Beaufighter, when on 12th May 1960 TT. Mk. X registration number RD761 took off from Seletar for a farewell salute. On landing the aircraft was grounded, struck off charge and scrapped four days later, marking an end to the Beaufighter's career with the RAF.

Sources:
1st Scale Aircraft Modelling - Modellers Datafile 6 - Bristol Beaufighter
2nd  Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 153 - Bristol 'Beaufighter' in Action
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufighter

De Havilland Vampire. Part Twenty. British users, part eight.

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft company. It was the second jet fighter to enter service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was used by many squadrons through the 1950s until its usage went gradually down until it was replaced by more modern types, namely the de Havilland Venom or, in some cases, the Hawker Hunter.

Some of those squadrons were the following ones:

• No. 3 Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-Operation Unit: This unit employed some outdated Vampire FB.9s at RAF Exeter. 
• No.5 Flying Training School: This formation unit employed the T.11 (together with some T.5 - the advanced trainer variant of the FB.5) from June 1954 until March 1962 when they were replaced by the Vickers Varsity. The initial aim of the unit was to convert trainee pilots to jet aircraft.
• No. 19 Squadron: This squadron, officially equipped with the Gloster Meteor, employed some T.11 during the late 1950s.
• No. 43 Squadron: The China-British Squadron employed some T.11 trainers when stationed at RAF Fife, Scotland. For some time they were shared with No.151 Squadron.
• No. 62 Squadron: Apparently this unit had in service some T.11 trainers before it was reformed as a pure missile unit. 
• No.151 Squadron: This unit used the T.11 at Scotland, shared with the No.43 Squadron for a brief period of time.
• No.219 Squadron: When this unit transitioned to the de Havilland Venom NF.2 (The night fighter variant of the Venom), they employed some T.11s as trainers during the year 1958.
• Royal Air Force Flying College: The RAF Flying College at Cranwell employed some outdated FB.9 as advanced trainers during the late 1950s.
• Central Flying School: The Central Flying School employed some T.11 trainers during the 1960s and into the early 1970s.

Some Royal Navy units employed the type as well, like the Flag Officer Flying Training or various station flights like RNAS Lossiemouth or RNAS Brawdy, among others, which employed the Sea Vampire T.22 (the naval trainer variant of the regular T.11) well into the 1960s.

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

2nd Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._5_Flying_Training_School_RAF

4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flying_School

Miles M.14 Magister. Part five. British users

 

The Miles M.14 Magister is a British two-seat basic trainer which was developed during the 1930s to the specification T.40/36.

After the success of the M.2 Hawk elementary trainer, Miles decided to produce a variant of the M.2 to satisfy the Air Ministry's specification T.40/36. 

The type submitted was very similar to the M.2. The main difference between the M.2 and the M.14 being the cockpit, which was enlarged in the M.14 and had various new features to meet military training requirements. The prototype flew for the first time on 20th March 1937 at the hands of Frederick G. Miles, and, during the following month, it received the nickname of Magister. During early flights the aircraft showed a tendency to spin. This was, however, fixed with many alterations, among them, elevating the tailplane by 6 in (15 cm), the fitting of anti-spin strakes and the adoption of a taller rudder. These changes worked so well that the Magister became the first aircraft to receive permission from the Air Ministry to perform aerobatics. 

The Magister is mainly made out of wood, the fuselage consisting of a spruce structure covered in plywood. Both wings and tail section were made out of similar materials. It is equipped with split flaps, and was the first Royal Air Force's (RAF) trainer to be equipped with them. It has also a fixed undercarriage covered in aerodynamical spats and equipped with Bendix drum brakes, in order to reduce landing distance. It is powered by a single De Havilland Gipsy Major I engine which yields 130 hp of power. 

After having won the contest of the Air Ministry, it was ordered into mass production, which began in October 1937 and continued until 1941, with 1.023 machines being manufactured by Miles. 

Initial production orders were supplied to flying clubs through the Straight Corporation, as well as many overseas private customers. At the outbreak of World War 2 more than 700 Magisters were in service with the RAF Elementary Flying Training Schools, among them the Central Flying School. 

During June 1940 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations around 15 Magisters were fitted with small bomb racks to be used as very light bombers. However, they were never used in this role. 

The Magister was also used as an experiment carried out in 1941 to include an auxiliary towed rear wing, which could carry either additional ammo or fuel. This was done to increase the range of British medium bombers at the time. The experiment was, however, a failure.

After the war, many were sold to private owners, and were known as the Hawk Trainer III. In these private hands the Magister enjoyed a reputation of being a fast racer. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Magister

2. Scale Aircraft Modelling - October 1997 - Miles Military Trainers

3. Putnam & Co. - Miles aircraft since 1925 

Fairey Gannet, part five

 

The Fairey Gannet AEW.3 is a variant of the regular Fairey Gannet adapted for use in the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) role on boards Royal Navy's aircraft carriers. 

In the late 1950s the Royal Navy operated the piston-engined Douglas A-1 Skyraider from its aircraft carriers in the AEW role. However, as that design dated back to the World War 2, although it was in active with the Royal Navy since 1951, it was considered obsolete. Therefore, the Royal Navy issued a directive, called "AEW.154", looking for a replacement for the Skyraider. The contestants were the Blackburn B-54/B-88 and the Fairey Type Q/17, which was the one who won. 

The AEW.3 prototype flew for the first time in August 1958 with carrier trials taking place on board HMS Centaur (R06) in November and the first production aircraft being delivered in December. In August 1959, the 700 Naval Air Squadron was formed as the trial squadron of the AEW.3. This unit tested thoroughly the new Gannet, until January 1960, when the unit was renamed as 'A' flight of 849 Naval Air Squadron and was embarked into the HMS Ark Royal (R09). A total of 44 AEW.3 were ordered by the Royal Navy to replace the Skyraider. 

The Royal Navy developed its AEW tactics with the Skyraider, and then evolved them with the increased capabilities of the Gannet.

It served as the Royal Navy's main AEW aircraft until December 1978 when 849 Squadron, the main operator of the type, was disbanded after the decommissioning of HMS Ark Royal (R09), leaving the Royal Navy without embedded airborne early warning.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Gannet_AEW.3

2.  https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/gannet/history.php

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 23 - Fairey Gannet

4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Gannet-AEW-Mk-3-t1756

Fairey Gannet, part four

 

The prototype of the Fairey Gannet flew for the first time on 19th September 1949 and made the first carrier landing by a turboprop aircraft on HMS Illustrious (87) later, on 19th June 1950, at the hands of Lt. Cdr. G. Callingham. After having changed the operational requirements with the addition of a radar and a third crew member to operate it, the type began to be produced in 1953, with initial deliveries being called Gannet AS.1 and delivered to RNAS Ford (West Sussex) in April 1954. Shortly after a trainer variant, called T.2 was developed and flew for the first time in August 1954. The Fleet Air Arm's first operational Gannet squadron, 826 Naval Air Squadron, was embarked on board HMS Eagle (R05). 

The initial production order called for 100 Gannet AS.1. Eventually, a total of 348 Gannets were manufactured, of which 44 were re-designated as AEW.3, of the airborne early warning type. Production ranged from 1953 until the late 1950s and was shared between Fairey's factories at Hayes in Middlesex, Heaton Chapel in Stockport and Manchester Ringway airport. 

By mid-1960s the AS.1 and AS.4 (an improved version) had been replaced by the Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 helicopter. However, some Gannets were kept in active service as Electronic Counter-Measures aircraft as the ECM.6 and some other AS.4 were converted to Carrier On Board Delivery role, the aerial supply of mail and light cargo to the fleet.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Gannet

2. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/gannet/history.php

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 23 - Fairey Gannet

4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Gannet-t94590 (translated)

Fairey Gannet, part three

 

In the Fairey Gannet, the pilot was seated forward, having this way a good view over the nose for carrier operations, and sat over the Double Mamba engine, behind the gearbox and propellers. The aerial observer sat under a separate canopy, directly behind the pilot. After prototype tests, a third crew member, with the role of second observer, was included, in his own separate cockpit, placed over the wing trailing edge. This change altered the airflow over the horizontal stabilizer, which required small finlets on either side to be included. The Gannet was also fitted with a large internal weapons bay, capable of holding up to 2.000 lbs. (907 kg) of either bombs, torpedoes, depth charges and/or rockets, and a retractable radome under the rear fuselage, where the Ekco ASV Mk.19 radar's antennae was placed.

The wings folded in two places with a distinctive "Z"-shape on each side. The first fold was upwards, at about a third of the wing span where the inboard anhedral (down-sweep) changed to the outboard dihedral (up-sweep) of the wing (often described as an inverted gull wing). The second wing fold was downward, about two-thirds of the wing span. The length of the nosewheel shock absorber caused the Gannet to have a peculiar nose-high altitude, characteristic which was common in every carrier aircraft.

When serving with the Fleet's Air Arm (FAA) most of them were painted in the standard camouflage scheme of a Sky (duck-egg blue) underside and fuselage sides, with upper surfaces in Extra Dark Sea Grey. Fuselage demarcation line ran from the nose behind the propeller spinner in a straight line, to then curve and join the fin line. Code numbers were generally painted on the side of the fuselage, ahead of the wing and round and serial markings were behind the wing. The T.2 and T.5 dual-control trainer variants were left in silver overall with a yellow or orange "trainer" band on the rear fuselage and wings.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Gannet

2. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/gannet/history.php

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 23 - Fairey Gannet

Fairey Gannet, part two

 

The Fairey Gannet was a carrier-borne anti-submarine/strike aircraft that was designed and developed by Fairey Aviation after World War 2.

The Gannet was build as a response to the GR.17/45 Admiralty requirement made in 1945, for which both Fairey (Fairey Type Q, AKA Fairey 17) and Blackburn (Blackburn B-54/B-88) presented their prototypes. 

Initially, the Rolls-Royce Tweed engine was considered, however, Fairey discarded it in favour of the Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba turboprop, the Double Mamba. These engines were mounted side-by-side and coupled through a common gearbox to coaxial contra-rotating propellers with each engine driving its own propeller. Power was transmitted by a torsion shaft engaged through a series of sun, planet, epicyclic and spur gears to give a suitable reduction ratio and correct propeller-shaft rotation. 

The ASMD.1 engine, capable of achieving up to 2.950 hp of power, was equipped in the Gannet AS.1 (first anti-submarine version) and the AS.4 (an improved anti-submarine variant) was powered with a ASMD.3 engine with 3.875 hp of power. The Double Mamba engine could be run with one engine off and its propeller feathered to conserve fuel and extend endurance when cruising. In a traditional twin-engined aircraft, this would create thrust asymmetry, however, this was avoided thanks to the centerline-mounted propellers. Mamba exhausts were placed on each side of the fuselage, at the root of the wing trailing edge. The gas turbine engine could run on kerosene, "wide-cut" turbine fuel or diesel fuel, allowing the Admiralty to discard the dangerous high-octane petroleum spirit required to operate piston-engined aircraft from aircraft carriers. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Gannet

2. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/gannet/history.php

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 23 - Fairey Gannet

Fairey Firefly, British users, part four

 

During the Korean War (1950-1953) both British and Australian Fireflies performed anti-shipping patrols and ground strikes from aircraft carriers positioned offshore. 

They also performed other mission roles like anti-submarine patrols and aerial reconnaissance as well as assisting battleships in providing effective naval gunfire support. Many Fireflies of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) were loaned during this period to the Royal Australian Navy as we've seen in our previous two posts. In spite of the many incidents with anti-aircraft fire, the Firefly proved to be relatively sturdy. In fact, it was routinely used for strike operations against targets such as bridges and railway lines to damage North Korean logistics and communications. Furthermore, as the war was going on, pilots developed new low-level dive bombing techniques to achieve greater accuracy. In fact, the Firefly was present until the very final part of the conflict, when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on 27th July 1953 and they kept on flying post-armistice patrols for many years afterwards. 

The Korean War, however wasn't the end of the operational history for the Firefly, as it was deployed again in the Far East amid the Malayan Emergency, where it was employed in ground attack operations against Malayan Communist Party insurgents. However, it was replaced shortly after the introduction of the Fairey Gannet which eventually fully replaced it.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Firefly

2. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 28 - Fairey Firefly

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Avro Anson, part Fourteen, British users part three

It was on 6th March 1936 when the Anson entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) being the No.48 Squadron the first unit to be equipped with the type. When the type entered service it represented a new level of capability for the service as it could perform not just general reconnaissance roles, as intended but it was also an excellent general-purpose aircraft. When the World War II was waged, there were 824 Ansons in service with the RAF in a total of 26 squadrons. Ten of them assigned to the Coastal Command and the remaining 16 assigned to the Bomber Command.
By 1939 all the squadrons assigned to the Bomber Command that were equipped with the Anson served as operational trainers to prepare bomber crew members for frontline service. Twelve of the squadrons were in the No.6 (Operational Training) Group. Newly trained crews, having previously received individual flying and technical training courses, were first trained as bomber crews in Ansons before they could advance further to the various frontline aircraft types, which, in many occasions, were also in the same squadrons with the Ansons. After training in the frontline aircraft type, crews advanced to the frontline bomber squadrons with those aircraft types (Fairey Battle, Handley Page Hampden, Bristol Blenheim, Vickers Wellington and/or the Armstrong Whitworth Weatley). At the earliest part of the war, the Anson was already being replaced by the American-built Lockheed Hudson in the Coastal Command, one squadron being fully equipped with Hudsons and other one being just partially equipped with both Ansons and Hudsons.
Limited numbers of Ansons continued to serve in operational roles such as coastal patrol and air/sea rescue. Early in the war an Anson scored a probable hit on a German U-boat, though it's unconfirmed. In June 1940 a flight of three Ansons was engaged by nine German Bf.109. Amazingly, before the fight ended, without any Anson lost, they managed to shot down two German machines and damage a third one.
The aircraft's real role, however, was to train pilots for flying multi-engined bombers, such as the Avro Lancaster, the Handley Page Halifax or the Short Stirling. The Anson was also employed to train other crew members of a bomber's crew, like navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers and air gunners.
During the World War II the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) operated the Anson as their standard taxi aircraft, using the type to ferry pilots to and from aircraft collection points. Remarkably, there was no fatal mechanical failure of an Anson serving with the ATA and was typically very well considered.
After the War, the type was manufactured at Avro's factory in Woodford, Greater Manchester until March 1952 as the type, albeit was still being used by the RAF in the training, light transport and station communications aircraft roles until 28th June 1968. However, those postwar manufactured models were mostly C.19 and T.Mk.20/21 which were light cargo and trainer variants.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson
2. https://www.valka.cz/Avro-Anson-t54872 (translated when needed)
3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

Avro Anson, part fourteen, British users, part three

It was on 6th March 1936 when the Avro Anson entered operational service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), being the No.48 Squadron the first unit to be equipped with the type. When it was introduced, it meant a new level of capacity for the service as it could not only perform general reconnaissance missions, but it was also an effective general-purpose aircraft. When the World War II began, a total of 824 Anons were serving with the RAF in 26 squadrons. Ten of these squadrons were assigned to Coastal Command and the remaining 16 were assigned to the Bomber Command.
By 1939 all those squadrons assigned to the Bomber Command that were equipped with the Anson, were converted into operational training squadrons with the aim of preparing crews for frontline service. Twelve of those squadrons were part of the No.6 (Operational Training) Group. Newly formed crews that had previously completed individual flying and technical training courses, were trained as bomber crews in Ansons before they could advance to frontline aircraft types, which, in many cases, were also present in the same squadrons with the Anson. After training in the frontline aircraft types, crews advanced to the frontline aircraft squadrons with those aircraft types (such as the Vickers Wellington, Fairey Battle, Bristol Blenheim, Armstrong-Whitworth Weatley or Handley Page Halifax). However, in the early stages of the war, the American-built Lockheed Hudson was already starting to replace the Anson in the Coastal Command with one squadron being fully equipped with Hudsons and another one with both Hudsons and Ansons.
Some few Ansons continued to serve in operational roles for the RAF such as coastal patrols and air/sea rescue. Early in the war an Anson scored a hit on a German U-Boat, however this is unconfirmed. In June 1940 a flight of three Ansons was attacked by nine Luftwaffe's Bf.109 and, amazingly, before the fight ended, no Anson was lost. They even managed to destroy two Bf.109s and damage a third one.
Anson's real role, however, was to train pilots for multi-engined bombers such as the Avro Lancaster, Handley Page Halifax or the Short Stirling. The Anson was also used to train another members of a bomber's crew such as the navigator, wireless operators, bomb aimers and air gunners.
During this period, 1939 to 1945, the Anson was also used by the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) which used the type as its standard taxi aircraft, using it to carry groups of ferry pilots to and from aircraft collection points. Remarkably, there wasn't any fatal mechanical failure of an Anson in ATA service and the type was, generally, very well considered.

After the war, the Anson was kept on service with the RAF, albeit more advanced variants, like the T. Mk.21/22 or the C.19 in the training, light transport and station communication roles. In fact, the type was manufactured by Avro at Woodford, in Greater Manchester, until March 1952 and they served in the communications role with the RAF until 28th June 1968.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

2. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

3. https://www.valka.cz/Avro-Anson-t54872 (translated)

McDonnell Douglas F-4K Phantom F.G.1, Fleet Air Arm users

The F-4K Phantom F.G.1 was a custom made Phantom II ordered by the British government back in the early 1960s. These were powered by the Rolls-Royce Spey engine and were equipped with British-made avionics. Under the British designation were named Phantom F.G.1.
The first ones served with the Fleet Air Arm as a replacement for the De Havilland Sea Vixen and served with the next squadrons:

• 892 Naval Air Squadron: The squadron was reformed in March 1969 and became the first real operational Phantom squadron of the Royal Navy, as the other ones were still training squadrons. They gained fame by winning the Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race in May 1969. They operated from HMS Ark Royal (R09) but, shortly after the creation, they were assigned to Fighter Ready Alert Duties operating from RAF Leuchars and RNAS Yeovilton. Through the 1970s they took part in many NATO exercises in spite of its complicated maintenance. Considering that HMS Ark Royal was due to pay off, there wasn't future for the 892 NAS so it was disbanded in December 1978 with its Phantoms transferred to the No.111 Squadron RAF, at RAF Leuchars.
• 700 Naval Air Squadron: This squadron replaced their Westland Wessex HAS 3 helicopters by the Phantom F.G.1 in 1968. Due to the nature of intensive flying trials units of the squadron, they didn't remain long in service as they were replaced by the Westland Sea King HAS.1 helicopter. 
• 767 Naval Air Squadron: This second line squadron was reformed on 14th January 1969 at RNAS Yeovilton receiving their Phantoms F.G.1 and reactivating the whole squadron that had been deactivated since 1957. They were expected to operate from the new CVA-01 carrier that was never built, however, as in 1972 it was clear that it was never going to be completed, the squadron was disbanded and never operated from a carrier.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_in_UK_service#F-4K_Phantom_FG.1

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Armstrong Whitworth A.W.59

Armstrong Whitworth saw two problems. Firstly it believed that an equipped aircraft able of reaching supersonic speeds needs to be solved without the aid of rockets.  Secondly was the means of varying wing sweep with every mechanical engineering difficulties involved in rotating a surface with heavy loads which must remain rigid all the time despite the restricted depth of any pivot placed within the wing.
In order to solve the first problem, a minimal frontal area was needed and, in order to solve it the engine should be some fuselage mounted Sapphires placed in tandem and fed by a common air intake even if additional area was needed to house the swept-back mechanism and the undercarriage, if fitted. The frontal intake was prefered to a side one as it behaved better at supersonic speeds.

It was designed in the 1950s and would've been armed by 2x 30mm Aden cannons plus some more air-to-air missiles, more probably firestreak missiles placed at the tip of the wings and even at a hardpoint under these. Overall it was a project to research the feasibility of the swept-wings.

Sources:
1. Midland Publishing - British Secret Projects - Jet Fighters since 1950

B.A.C. (English Electric) Lightning F. Mk.1/Mk.2 - British users

We finish with the domestic users for this British bird of the 60s.

The English Electric Lightning flew for the first time on December 1959. And it entered into production and frontline duty on 1960.

It achieved an excellent performance, and was very easy to fly, however, during the first months of service the serviceability was very poor because of the lack of spare parts and the inadequability of the ground equipment to serve correctly these airplanes. The first squadron to fly them, was the No.74 Squadron. at Coltishall, on 1960.

An improved version, the Mk.1A featured better avionics and could support an air-to-air refuelling probe.

The F. Mk.2 was an improved version that flew first on 1961 and entered service with the 19th squadron on 1962 and with the 92nd one in 1963. Conversion that was made possible thanks to the 226th OCU (Operational Conversion Unit).

Due to the better performance of the McDonnel-Douglas F-4 Phantom II, which were better both in range and speed, and the development of the co-joint project, Panavia Tornado, they were replaced, mostly by this last one, with it's interceptor variant, the F.3.

They served in most of the operational theaters, from the United Kingdom to Singapore passing through Cyprus and Germany.

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