Saunders-Roe P.187

Saunders-Roe p. 187 History

Before the 1957 Defence White Paper reviewed many of the UK's manned aircraft projects doomed, the UK aviation industry had a number of designs to meet the new interception requirement known as the "F.155T". Among the many designs submitted was a large and powerful high-performance jet and rocket (combined propulsion system) aircraft by Saunders-Roe (SARO) called "P.

187". This project, like many others of the period, only entered the "paper airplane" phase during the historical Cold War period (1947-1991).

Shortly after World War II (1939-1945), the world entered a new global conflict, the "Cold War", in which the philosophical, political and military forces of the East and the West confronted each other. For the West, led by major powers such as the United States, Britain and a rebuilding France, the biggest threat that soon emerged was the high-speed nuclear bombers of the Soviet Air Force.

In response, substantial investments were made in interceptor types, especially turbojets, to counter the threat, which led to requirements such as the "F. 155T" for the United Kingdom.

By this time (early to mid-1950s), Saunders-Roe had done a great deal of research and physical work on turbojet and rocket-assisted aircraft types. The "SR. 53" - described elsewhere on this page - is particularly important because it did not receive the necessary support from the British authorities as a single-seat, single-engine, high-performance interceptor (in prototype form), largely due to enemy Advances in land-based missile technology - rendering the once untouchable interceptor moot.

Nonetheless, two airworthy prototypes of the aircraft were completed by SARO, and the data collected during the program heavily influenced the design of what would become the P.187 aircraft program.

SR support. The 53 is known for allowing SARO engineers to airlift work product in the shortest time possible on the way to Initial Operating Capability (IOC). Beyond their general form, this is only superficially similar to SR. 53, P. 187 will be completely unique.

It will carry two pilots and a navigator, the nose section is equipped with radar, the component is designed to "slide" to provide better cockpit visibility during landing, takeoff and general ground movements, while optimizing flight to maintain aerodynamics Efficiency (similar to the function used in the later Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde supersonic aircraft).

The side profile of the aircraft has a deep, stout fuselage due in part to the low engine position in the fuselage and against the air intakes below the cockpit floor line (each part is forked/split ) and exhaust through openings located under (and in front of) the rear. The tail has a vertical fin with the horizontal at the very top of the structure. Air brakes will be mounted on either side of the rear of the fuselage.

Walking on the ground will be handled by a heavy-duty wheeled tricycle assembly with two-wheeled front legs and two-wheeled (in-line) main legs, all retracted into the body.

The main plane is a trim delta, swept back along its leading edge, the trailing edge will be straight. The truncated nature of the wingtips allows the installation of wingtip missiles.

The control surfaces will line up on the trailing edge of the main aircraft elements, and the entire unit will be mounted in the middle of the sides of the fuselage, each with a pronounced dihedral (angle down).

The cockpit was raised to allow the crew to sit side by side, although heavier glass was found in the pilot's position. Due to the speed and altitude involved, an ejection system and pressurization are required.

To power this oversized interceptor, a full suite of turbojet engines will come into play, supplemented by rocket propulsion: 2 x de Havilland hp. 52 "Gyrons" with increased pressure ratio, afterburner turbojets with 35,000 lbs of thrust and no less than 4 de Havilland "Ghost 5" rocket boosters with 10,000 lbs of thrust. The turbojets sit under the plane as usual, and the ghost boosters are mounted side by side above them (under the tail).

Overall, coupled with the streamlined shape of the fuselage, the plane should be able to hit speeds close to Mach 2.5 (at altitude) or a fairly impressive 1,855 mph.

In order to meet actual air-to-air "intercept" requirements, the P.187 would use two of the then advanced Air-to-Air Missiles (AAM), the Blue Jay Mk. 4 and the Red Dean.

The aircraft will carry a total of four AAM missiles, two of each type (these are intended to cover both radar-guided and infrared types), one hardpoint on each wingtip (for Red Dean missiles), and one under each wing. There is a hardpoint (Bluebird missile).

At compile time, the P. 187 has an estimated empty weight of 55,000 pounds and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of nearly 97,000 pounds. Overall length reaches 83.5 feet, with a wingspan of 51.6 feet and a height of 21.7 feet.

Other estimates put the plane at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet, with an interception range of up to 260 miles.

For the requirements of the F.155T, this aero was not only very powerful for its time, but also quite large and heavy, an impressive design if it came to fruition. As promising as it is, it doesn't go beyond its line art.

Additional engineering work, including wind tunnel testing, were planned, but all of them failedmainly due to the 1957 Defense Review, which envisioned a future battlefield dominated by air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles.

Specification

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