Photograph:
The prototype Hawker P.1081 VX279 at the Farnborough Airshow in 1950 (AJ Jackson)
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Description:
Single-seat fighter
Power Plant:
One 5,000 lbst Rolls Royce Nene RN.2 turbojet
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
- Length: 11.38 m (37 ft 4 in)
- Height: 4.04 m (13 ft 3 in)
- Max speed: 1,119 km/h (695 mph)
- Service ceiling: 13,900 ft (45,600 ft)
- Fuel capacity: 1,818 litres (400 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 5,080 kg (11,200 lb)
- Loaded weight: 6,570 kg (14,480 lb)
- Specifications of proposed production aircraft: one 6,250 lbst Rolls Royce Tay Rta.1 turbojet
- Wingspan: 6.55 m (21 ft 6 in)
- Length: 11.38 m (37 ft 4 in)
Armament:
Nil
History:
In 1950 the Australian Government expressed interest in obtaining a new variant of the Hawker P.1052 single-seat fighter then under test at the Hawker facility at Kingston in Surrey. Australia had issued a specification for a new swept-wing fighter. The new aircraft was to be a variant of the P.1052, which itself was a development of the P.1040 from 1948, was to be powered by the Rolls Royce Ray Rta.1 turbojet with afterburning, and was known in British circles as the Australian Fighter. The Tay was a development of the Rolls Royce Nene with 25 per cent more power and an increase in the use of magnesium alloys in its construction.
The prototype P.1081 (VX279) was a conversion of the second prototype P.1052 and had a re-designed fuselage and tail. This prototype was conveyed by road to Boscombe Down in Wiltshire and flew for the first time on 19 June 1950 with a 5,000 lbst Rolls Royce Nene 2 as the Tay engine was not yet ready. Mach 0.89 was achieved in level flight at 10,973 m (36,000 ft) and a speed of 1,111 km/h (691 mph) was achieved. The prototype was destroyed in a crash on 3 April 1951, the pilot Sqdn Ldr Wade ejecting but not surviving. The exact cause of the accident was never discovered.
The Australian Government wanted the P.1081 to replace the Gloster Meteor F.8 in service in Korea and to this end the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) stores serial A86- was allotted to the series. However, in November 1950, due to slow development of the Tay engine, any thought of an order was cancelled. Hawker Aircraft Ltd on 14 November 1950 was notified that interest in the P.1081 had disappeared, the prototype being handed over to the Royal Aeronautical Establishment for further handling trials. Subsequently the North American F-86 Sabre with the Rolls Royce Avon was ordered for the RAAF and Hawker went on to develop the Hunter.