Supermarine (Vickers) Type 559

History

The 1955 Operational Requirements (OR) "F. 155" called for a high-speed, high-altitude interceptor leading to many proposed designs from the usual British defence companies - Armstrong-Whitworth (AW), Fairey, Hawker, Vickers, etc.

For Vickers, their contribution became the "Type 559", a large two-seat combination engine speedometer designed around a canard configuration. Like the rest of the F.155 proposal, the Type 559 came to nothing as British thinking turned to the missile age following a review of the Defence White Paper in May 1957.

Nuclear-capable Soviet bombers posed the greatest threat to the freedom and stability of the West, and as a result, the United Kingdom, the United States and France responded with interception programs. There is a great need for a Mach 2.0 or higher aircraft to be built around powerful jets and to be able to use rockets to increase the output thrust.

Combining this high performance will be an all-in-one weapons package that includes advanced missiles (heat-seeking and beam riding) and an Airborne Interceptor (A.I.) radar, the latter located in the nose cone.

Flying a complex aircraft requires two crew members, with ejection seats, multiple engines, and cockpit pressurization becoming requirements for maximum survivability.

The resulting design is unique in that it uses a canard-centric arrangement - a small aircraft attached to the front end of the fuselage. These will be combined with a set of more traditional main planes further back in the design. The trailing edge of the main aircraft is straight, the leading edge is folded back, and has vertical stabilizers at its tip. The fuselage was designed to be low to accommodate two turbojets placed side by side (as in the later British electrically illuminated jet fighter, later adopted by the RAF). The rocket booster will span the engine's exhaust port, focusing the thrust around the centerline and mass of the aircraft.

Intake from the turbojet would go through the ventral air intake with ducts to the stern engine. The entire aircraft, while walking on the ground, will be supported by a fully retractable undercarriage with a single-wheeled front leg and two-wheeled main legs with wheels lined up on these legs.

All of this will fall back into the plane's fuselage -- the entire fuselage is aluminum, with key heat-generating components wrapped in titanium.

The cockpit is usually located forward of the fuselage, although the interceptor radar is mounted behind the nose cone. The cockpit will be framed as usual, placing the two crew members - the pilot and the navigator/gunner - side by side.

The aircraft has a barrel length of 68.2 feet, a wingspan of 42 feet, and a height of 15.2 feet. Empty weight reaches 41,500 pounds, while maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) peaks at nearly 30,000 pounds. All in all, the Type 559 is one of the larger submissions that meets the requirements of F.155.

At the heart of the Type 559 propulsion scheme is a combined engine with two afterburner turbojets and a pair of rocket motors for thrust. This should satisfy the high cruising, linear and climb speeds for which the interceptor was designed. 2x de Havilland "Gyron" PS.

The 26/1 turbojets will each put out 20,000 pounds of thrust, while two de Havilland "Ghost Boy" boosters will provide instant thrust and an additional 5,000 pounds of power each. All told, this will help propel the interceptor to a speed of Mach 2.5 and a service ceiling close to 60,000 feet, with a rate of climb estimated at 51,000 feet per minute.

Regarding armament, like the other F. 155 contenders, the Type 559 was designed to carry a pair of air-to-air missiles that would become "Red Hebe" beam weapons or "Blue Jay" "Mk.". 4 heat seekers. Since the wingtips of the main aircraft are accommodated by vertical stabilizer fins, this means the missile will rest on short wing-like protrusions on the fuselage.

Supports were added near the midship in the rear of the fuselage to complete the look of the aircraft (this physical feature was also used in British electric lighting fighters).

F. 155/F ends. 155T requirements After the 1957 defense review, hopes for the Type 559 also ended.

Specification

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Performance

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