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Supermarine (Vickers) Type 565

1962 COLD WAR X-PLANE

History

When British Power's Canberra Jet light bombers entered service in 1951, British authorities already suspected that the system would be up and running by the mid-1950s. The design was based on 1940s technology and thinking, and Soviet advances in missiles and interceptors quickly led the West to rewrite its approach to all aspects of air combat several times.

Nonetheless, the enduring bomber had an extensive career with the Royal Air Force (RAF), lasting until 2006 (when they were deployed in reconnaissance positions), and with global players such as Australia, India and Peru Served under the flag.

With this in mind, during the search for a successor in the mid and second half of the 1950s, some of the biggest names in British aviation put their talents to use by submitting various proposals. Supermarine Aviation Works, which had been able to sell its single-seat twin-engine carrier-based fighter Scimitar (launched in 1957) to the Royal Navy, sought to meet new requirements with the same design through an extensive modification process to produce a A viable tactical light bomber.

The result was a proposal based on the "Type 565" to meet "Operational Requirement 339" ("OR. 339").

Design work began in February 1957, involving a major overhaul of the existing Scimitar body. The nose has been modified to better accommodate the new radar adaptation, in this case the unit should be the ARI. The 5390 "Blue Parrot" is based on artificial intelligence.

23 "Airpass II" work (recommended for "OR F. 155" interceptor requirements) and for low-altitude work. Thanks to the single-seat Scimitar design, the fuselage was widened to accommodate a second crew member in the new side-by-side cockpit arrangement - communication and workload sharing between the two crew members will be key. With the new aircraft no longer required to operate from the deck of a British aircraft carrier, the capture device, wing-folding feature and other naval-focused features were removed from the redesign for simplicity.

Additionally, the former fighter design lost its internal 4 x 30mm Ayton cannons to improve internal fuel loading (thus helping to increase combat range).

Each wing main aircraft is now redesigned to carry four underwing hardpoints instead of the original two, and each member receives compliant fuel tank support to further increase operational range . An aerial refueling probe was also added to the starboard side of the nose.

Proposed weapons include 6 x 1,000-pound conventional bombs, all externally placed, or a nuclear warhead-throw bomb in its place, under the port wing, offset by a 200-gallon fuel-throw tank under the starboard wing.

Engineers chose 2 x Rolls-Royce RA for performance reasons. 24 "Avon" axial-flow turbojet engines provide the required power. The units will be drawn in through crescent-shaped side-mounted air intakes and ejected through traditional rings on either side of the rear wing. Rocket Assisted Takeoff (RATO) should be optional, with a de Havilland "Phantom" rocket booster providing an additional 8,000 pounds of thrust.

Expect a top speed of 715 mph and a range of up to 1,095 miles. Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) reaches just under 50,000 pounds with a full nuclear and fuel load - built for heavy fighter jets.

Additionally, the aircraft has a barrel length of 37.1 feet and a wingspan of 61.5 feet. The fuselage is fairly well streamlined from nose to tail, with a pronounced swept surface on all leading and trailing edges of the wings, including the tail. The rear wing retains the Scimitar's single-fin configuration, with a horizontal downward slope.

The telescopic tricycle chassis should also be reused.

In any case, the design was not selected and developed further, and remains a "paper plane" in British aviation history. It was reviewed along with several other submissions in May 1957, but was deemed not the correct solution, mainly because of promised performance, weapons capabilities, and perceived development/acquisition costs compared to other entries.

Also, the 1957 Defense White Paper review doomed many manned aircraft programs -- which at least didn't help.