De Havilland Vampire, Venom and Sea Vixen

POSTIIAR MILITARYAIRCRAFT' 5

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\AMPIRB,VBNOF{

ANDSEAVIXEI\I

PHILIP BIRTLES

De Havilland VamPire, Venom and Sea Vixen PHILIP BIRTLES Design of the Vampire began in 1941, its twin-boom layout chosen to minimise the

length of the iet tailpipe, and hence the

power losses from the primitive jet engines then under development. The type entered

squadron service in 1946, eventually equipping several Fighter Command first-line home defence squadrons. However, with the

introduction

of the FB5 the role of

the

Vampire changed from an interceptor fighter to a close-support ground attack fighterbomber, and this variant became the most common in RAF service, many squadrons being stationed in Germany with the 2nd Tactical Air Force. Produced as a successor to the Vampire,

the Venom was a completely new design

based around the superior Ghost engine, and received much praise for its excellent rate of climb and good manoeuvrability at high altitudes.

Both the VamPire and the Venom saw wide squadron service, and were adapted to night-fighter, trainer and naval versions'

Thiir reliable all-round performance and capabilities attracted numerous overseas buyers, and some aircraft still serve with

overseas air forces. The third de Havilland twin-boom was the

Sea Vixen: this was not only the Fleet Air Arm's first swept-wing two-seat all-weather fighter, but also Britain's first naval aircraft designed as an integrated weapons system, and the first to become fully operational armed with guided weaPons' Philip Birtles surveys the development of these twin-boom jet fighters, their squadron service, variants and overseas operators to produce a well-illustrated reference of three of the most significant British postwar military aircraft. Cover: Sea Vixen FAW2s of No 899 Naval Air

Squadron

in

SePtember 1967.

Peter R. March

f9.95

DE HAVILLAND

\AMPIRE,VENOM

ANDSEAVIXEN

Above: The Vonom FB4 had powered Gontrols and a revised fin and rudder shape.

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POSTWARMILITARY AIRCRAFT,5 DE HAVILLAND

\AMPIRE,VENOM

ANDSEAVIXEN

PHILIP BIRTLES

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LON DON

Contents I

Jet Engine

Development

5

2 Vampire Development and

Production

13

3 Thc Vampire Enters

4 Vampires for

Export

5 The Vampire Night 6 The Vampire

Service

Fighter

Trainer

7 Vampire Trainers

Overseas

24 32 41

44 52

8 The Venom Fighter-Bombers 61

Fighters l0 Venoms With Hooks 11 The DH-110 12 The Se a Vixen 9 Venom Night

72 77

9l 96

Appendices Previous page:

I

Underwing fuel tanks were carried outboard.

2 Vcnom Spccifications

108

3 Sca Vixen Specifications

109

4 Production

109

The FAW2 could carry four pods.of unguided rockets on underwing pylons, instead of Red Top missiles. Royal Navy First published tsBN 0

1

986

71 10 1566 X

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. @Philip Birtles l986 Published by lan Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Surrey; and printed by la n Allan Printing Ltd at their works at Coombelands in Runnymede, England

AII photographs are de Havilland/Hawker Siddeley/ Briiish Aerospace copyright unless otherwise

credited.

Vampire Spccifications

108

I Jet Engine Development \Lr account of de Havilland twin boom jet fighters a..uld be complete without at first dealing with :.:rlv de Havilland jet engine development.

The principle of the jet engine was well

:stablished before World War 2, and by 1939 Germany was undertaking its own research into :he practical applications of this new form of :-ircraft propulsion, which anticipated far greater ileeds than attainable with the highest perfor-

:rance piston engines. Britain, however, could not :rare the time, materials, facilities or manpower to

::rdertake any new research, relying on estab-r>hed production lines building Spitfires and Hurricane fighters and Merlin engines to attempt

:ie seemingly impossible task of defending

against

. determined enemy during the Battle of Britain. Only when the worst of this was barely over in :arlr 1941, was it possible for Maj Frank Halford, :he architect of de Havilland engines, to spare r.me effort for work on iet propulsion. The rre\\'ar de Havilland Engine Co had been geared -.:p to producing a range of light piston engines,

:nd production of the new turbine engines would

lequire a great deal of reorganisation, with new :ools. machines, materials and skills. The engine

company had been privately financed, but with the development of jet engines, government support would be required, as well as contracts for military

production.

Jet propulsion would be most efficient

and

effective at speeds in excess of 500mph, and in early 1.941 the aircraft designers could foresee the possibility of building aircraft to achieve this speed. A group of senior de Havilland personnel, including Sir Geoffrey de Havilland and Frank Halford, visited RAF Cranwell to see Sir Frank

Whittle's pioneer work on the jet engine, and witnessed an early flight by the experimental

Gloster E.28139. The take-off run was very long and the flight duration very short, but it was a significant start, which demonstrated the possibility of a completely new era in flight. In the early weeks of 1941, de Havilland was given the go-ahead to produce the new engine, and became the first British company to develop a jet Below: The Halford H.1 iet engine when developed led to the de Havilland Goblin, which was produced in large

numbers for the Vampire,

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engine for production, having been beaten in time by only Germany. No earlier attempts could have been made without risking defeat in the air by the

Above:

Luftwaffe. The engine layout chosen rvas the centrifugal type, which was easier to develop with less risk. but was less efficient, and had less development potential than the later axial type. The Halford I{.1 engine, code-named'Supercharger', and later named Goblin, pioneered practical jet development, and was therefore not the most efficient and refinecl design. Much experience had to be gained with materials and improvement in design. To achieve the best performance from these early power plants, a great deal of air had to be fed to ihe compressor, and the maximum thrust rvas achieved by having as short a jet pipe as possible to avoid loss of performance. The unusual twin boonl conliguration of the Vampire provided the means to achieve this, while keeping drag and rveight to a

Above right: The first Gloster Meteor to fly was DG2O6/G f rom Cranwell on 5 March 1943, powered by two Halford H.1 engines.

minimum. Furthermore, the centrifugal engine t'eatured a larger diameter than the axial florv jet. particularly iit low and high fuel consumption

of the aircraft kept the endurance altitudes short. Any rvay of keeping drag and weight to a minimum therefore gave the aircraft a better performance, justifying the installation of a jet cngine. Also. without the instant power capability 6

During running on the test bed the Halford H.1 engine suffered some fire damage.

Bight: The Halford H.1 engines litted in the Meteor nacelles with space to spare and were easily accessible.

of a piston engine driving a propeller, the early jet porvered aircraft had a painfully slow acceleration, particularly on take-off. and so they required long iunrvays. A fair proportion of the fuel carried was uscd during taxying.

Design of the Goblin engine commenced and the first drarvings rvere issued to the shop floor on 8 August 1941. The projcct required a whole new approach to thermal, dynamic, mechanical and rninuiacturing considerations. the cornpressor and some of the other large components causing special problems.

On 13 April 19,12. only 248 days from the issue of the first drarvings. the prototype turbine engine was run on the Hatfield test-bed for the first time, rvith security ensured by posting armed guards

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Gloster Meteor DG2O7/G was the prototype F2 powerd by a pair of H.1b Goblin engines, and was dloc€ted to de Havilland Engines foi trials.

-::

Towards the end

of July de Havilland was

investigating potential production arrangements, and on 10 September the company was asked to submit a complete detailed manufacturing plan, which it accomplished by 18 September. Eight

A Halford H,1 engine was fitted to the American Lockheed XP-8O prototype iet fighters, To ease rccess, the rear fuselage could be removed.

days later a 25-hour flight approval run was completed. bringing total test bed running to

The_production Goblin engine had a similar layout to 6e H.1 engine with a c€ntrifugal compressor and split .ntakes to suit the Vampire installation.

nearly 20 hours on two engines, with others nearly completed. The basic design of the Goblin remained largely unchanged during development, but a characler-

-:' rund the installation. Two days later a half-hour ::J;ptaDC€ test run was made at half speed, and :,.; follorving stripping down of the engine proved : i(r be fully satisfactory. The engin-e was ::-::sembl€d to begin its main programme of ::"..lopment running, its characteristic but unfam_ .,: *hine being heard from the other side of the

.,::eld. When

questions were asked, the noise was

.:::ibuted to a new electrical plant.

During running on 5 May, the engine went quiet came to a sudden stop. The intake had been --,-ied flat by the compressor, cutting off the air .-flll ?nq stalling the engine. A complete strip :Jr -aled little damage and, following iepair and ::-.1ssembly, it ran at full speed for the firsi time on I -'une. achieving its designed thrust within two

-. ii

-

--

rlhs of its first run.

istic of gas turbine engines is that any minor improvements in efficiency have a relatively large eff'ect on thrust. The major concentrations of

effort in refining the design were on the combustion chambers (a new problem to the team of designers) and the engine compressor. New

of investigating vibration had to be evolved, one problem being to adhere strain techniques

gauges

to the compressor

blades

at very

high

speeds.

However, all the problems were overcome, and

within two years of the start of design work the Goblin engine was ready to fly. The aircraft

company had been busy with Mosquito developments and the Hornet long range fighter, delaying progress on the Vampire airframe designed to take the new jet engine. The Gloster aircraft company had meanwhile followed the experimental E.28139 with the twin jet Meteor single-seat day fighter, and its first prototype was ready to fly. Although

10

later aircraft were to be powered by a pair of

Rolls-Royce Derwent jet engines, Goblin engines

were installed and powered the maiden flight of

the Meteor on 5 March 1943 flown by Michael

Daunt, Gloster's chief test pilot. Six months later the Vampire was ready with its single_Goblin-engine, and it made its maiden flight from Hatfield on 20 September, in the hands of Geoffrey de I{avilland Jnr, son of the company's founder. The engines worked well and, alt'hough there was no hazard of a whirling propeller, the -be suction of the jet intakes were found to enough to pull a man in, if he was unfortunate to 5e

standing nearby.

With the Goblin norv flying, de Havilland was instructed to send an example of the engine to the Lockheed Co in California, for installalion in its XP-80A single-seat jet fighter. Unfortunately, the Left: Two Avro Lancastrians were used as flying test beds for the Ghost engines prior to their insiallation in the Comet airliner. Flying at the low€r altitudes, the Lancastrians could cruise with their two Merlin

enginesshutdown.

C. E. Brown

lnset:

High altitude testing of the Ghost engine was undertaken in specially-modified Vampire TG27g fitted with a pressurised cabin and extended wing

tips.

Below: The Ghost engine for the Venom was similar in configuration to the Goblin, but had largel combustion chambers and developod moro thruat.

F

11

XP-80A's intake structure was not strong enough' ancl during ground runs it was sucked in. badly damaging the engine. A replacement engine was shipped out rapidly, allowing the XP-80A to fly for the hrst in January 1944. Both the Vampire and XP-80A easily exceeded 500mph in the spring of 1944, powered by the all-British Goblin jet engine. The^Air Minisiry type approval tests were passcd on 2 February 1945. the Goblin thus becoming the first jet engine to achieve this feat. ancl a new factory was starting deliveries of the production units. The prototype engines had a static thrust of 2,'7001b, and by the end of the war, with a thrust of 3,1001b, the Goblin was the most powerful jet engine in production in Britain. Later versions of the Goblin developed 3,5001b of thrust. Despite a relatively low effort, compared with Germany, de Havilland had built a lighter engine with a lower fuel consumption per pound of thrust' Also the standard of reliability was much higher, the typical BMW 003 axial flow engine needing an overhaul every 25 flying hours.

In July and August 1948 the Goblin had the most severe tests ever conducted on an aero-

engine. It was run on the test bed over a period of seven weeks, giving the equivalent of 462 combat

of 65 minutes duration. Maximum power was used for each for 17: minutes to simulate take-off, and five minutes to represent combat. The engine still gave full power at the end sorties each

of the test, and when stripped looked in such good condition that from January to March 1949 the test was repeated: it attained 1,000 hours between Below:

Vampire Mk 1 VV454 was fitted with a re-heat to a Ghost iet engine in the autumn of 195O. Before flight trials it was tested in a spacial ground rig.

overhaul, including 100 hours at full power, tn representative operational conditions. The Ghost engine for the later Venom was of similar design to the Goblin, benefiting from the growing experience which gave it 5,0001b thrust. Test bed running of the Ghost engine commenced just before VJ Day, and four years later it was powering the next generation of jet fighters. The

Ghost was at that time the most powerful jet

engine available and had a lower installed drag and weight than any other turbine powerplant. Both the Goblin and Ghost engines were good examples of effective use of the design knowledge

available at the time. The adoption of the relatively safe centrifugal design gave a reliable engine for world-wide service at an early date, while the more advanced layout of the axial type could be studied with less urgency. By choosing a single-sided. rather than double-sided compressor, the combined efficiency of the aircraft and power

unit was greater. This was achieved by

close

collaboration between the engine and the aircraft divisions of de Havilland. Simplicity of design was maintained in the Ghost by pioneering the straight-through flow of combustion gases, without any major changes of direction before reaching the turbine blades. The straight-

forward cantilever mounting and simple two bearing main shaft were examples of practical thinking at an early stage.

The Ghost engine was then redesigned to become the world's first jet engine certificated for

civil flying when it was

selected

for the

de

Havilland Comet airliner. With some 80% of its components redesigned the 'civil' Ghost engine was awarded its type certificate on 28 June 1948,

the first jet ever to be approved in the normal category for civil transport operation.

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Vampire Development and Production .-';:.ril design of the de Havilland DH. 100 Vampire -:menced rn early I94Z to Air Ministry

>:;.-iticnrion E.614l. Although this specification -.,..'d for an experimental prototype, provision _".:> mode for fitting four of the new 20mm :---.r.lno cannons in the underside of the fuselage

-.:r'lle. Early in May

:

1942 permission was grantEd

:roceed with construction of the jet fighter, but -:.'. production line for quantities of aircraft would .:'.g [s be at somewlrere other than Hatfield. r;,-i1use of the existing saturation of the manufac_

:

-- rne facilities there.

September 7942 the mock-up was well -:ranced rvith a representative cockpii layout and :r-:lv of the detail assemblies installed. To check :.-r' jet efflux clearance, the twin booms and

.Br

:.r-nlane had been mounted in a relative position : the_engine test bed. Progress on the deiign was ..-.s. l6y,'eysr, because of the priority project .r -.rk on major Mosquito developments, bui w"hen ::-: iet fighter was given the pri,ority it deserved, ::ogress improved dramatically. This assured not -:iv the future of the Vampire, but also gave an

application for the Goblin engine, which otherwise would have been lacking. The official specification demanded a maximum speed of 490mph, together with a service ceiling of over 4u,000ft. To achieve this performance using a new form of power, whilst carrying four guns with 150 rounds each, required an efficient design. As a result the Vampire was the last of the unsophisticated combat aircraft to be flown by RAF Fighter

Command, combining Spitfire simplicity with jet performance.

Construction of three prototypes was undertaken in the experimental department at Hatfield, the smooth, streamlined fuselage nacelle being

constructed

in two

halves from

the

familiar

Mosquito-style plywood sandwich with balsa wood as a stabilising filling. Each half was equipped and joined along the centre line. The pilot was housed Below: The vampire

prototyps, fitted with tall fins and rudders, made its first flight from the grass airfield at Hatfield, piloted by Geoffrey do Havillind Jnr.

]k

13

-.1 '1

and XN685 were the initial conveniors

a!

Hatfield. The first aircraft rvas florrn a: a \l\ I br Chris Capper on 1 June 1962. follo*ed br \\655

on 17 August. Both aircraft sere allocaled ltr development, in particular Red Top irials al Hatfield and Boscombe Do*'n *'irh \o ll Joini Service Triais Unit (13 JSTU). uhere :her sere delivered in July and April 1961 respectireil- The JSTU trials were completed in Februan i-\rtrt' and both aircraft were delivered to Chester for iuil conversion to Mk 2 service standard beiore;oiniag 893 Squadron on HMS Hennes in 19c'S- \\6.sJ eventually made the last Sea Viren deck landine

*hile

serving with 899 Squadron onHMS Eagle, before returning to Yeovilton on 23 Jantary 1972 to decommission. The aircraft joined a number of oihers on the Sydenham scrap heap in February 1973.

The first production Sea Vixen Mk 2, XP919, made its maiden flight from Chester on 8 March 1963. and in addition to the new build aircraft, the majority of surviving Mk 1s were converted to \lk 2 standard at Chester and Sydenham. XP919 \\'ent to Bedford for deck landing trials, flew with the full load of four Red Tops and was used for CA

release at Boscombe in late 1963. It flew.on performance trials at Hatfield tn 1964 and Boscombe from March 1965, including auto throttle development, and it made the first firing of the tull load of 144 unguided rockets on 6 August 19fl. It went to Bedford again in July 1965 for use on LABS/Bullpup assessment and returned to Boscombe on 23 March 1966. With its trials flying

Top:

A Bullpup-.armed FAW2 of 899 Squadron on tha steam crtapuh aboard HMS Eagle. FAA Museum For training purposes small practice bombs were carried by 766 Squadron Sea Vixen FAW2s on the undeming pylons. Here XN687 is being prepared for a practice bombing sortie. Philip Birlles

-a:s oicture: No 8!)9 Squadron operated the FAllll2 from HllS Eagle.

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completed XP919 served with 766 Squadron from 1968 until transfer to 890 Squadron in 1971, both at Yeovilton. It was retired to Abingdon on 2 August 1971 for service at Halton as ground instruction airframe 8163M, but was acquired for preservation on 23 June 1.975 by Leisure Sport at Chertsey. which disposed of the aircraft to the Norwich Air Museum on 25 August 19t31. Sea Vixen Mk 2 XP920 was used for armament service trials, including Lepus flares, in 1963. It was delivered to Boscombe on 24 January 1964 for bombing trials, operating from HMS l1err7les from February to April. Catapult trials were undertaken

Bedford in September 1964, the aircraft returning to Hatfield before going to Boscombe again on 15 October 1965 where it was used for frangible hatch development in f969, being recognisable by a bulged observet's entry hatch allowing ejection straight through' The aircraft

of the few conversions to a U3 drone at Llanbedr in

197-5.

Service deliveries commenced with XP921 to the

Aircraft Handling Unit at Brawdy on 13 August 1963, 899 Squadron being the first to equip with the FAW2s, replacing its Mk 1s. XJ580 returned to

Chester

to

become the first production

Mk

2

conversion of a total of 67 by June 1968. No 899 Squadron continued to be the Yeoviltonbased headquarters squadron. introducing the new version of the Sea Vixen into service. In December

of

1964 the Squadron embarked

on HMS

Eagle

and participated in the Rhodesian blockade until

to Yeovilton in August 1966. To

at

returning

served with 892 Squadron, but was eventually one

headquarters squadron, initially using four Sea

106

continue the training task, 766 Squadron received its first Mk 2, XS582, on 7 July 1965, while 893 Squadron began re-equipment on 4 November 1965. No 890 Squadron disbanded in 1966, but recommissioned in September 1967 as the new

Above left: ln later service the FAW2S were frtted with a frangible hatch over the observer's cockPit for eiestion straight through. This is XJ526 of 893 Squadron at Yeovihon

in 1969. Philip Birtles

Left: No 899 Squadron was the last FAA unit to oP€rate the Sea Vixen on board a carrier, retuming to Yeovilton on 23 January 1 972 for disbandment- XN684 ' a FAW2, carried unofficial'artwo rk' wh en p repa ri n g f or take' off from HMS Eagle during final disembarkationFAA Museum

Above: FAVll2 XN653 was retained by RAE Bedf ord

and carried the RAF fin

flash. t"

5

;

until 1976

1 rs

Vixen Mk ls, but later converlins :t' \li ls :> :n-\ became available. No E92 Squa.ir.': :.-:.;-::.d with the Mk 2s during 1963. ioining H\lS Hr-":i-i in time to participate in the Ade n cn>i>. -\ :::..i::.t was made to Yeovilton in Februarr '\:h\. \'\:-: :na

Squadron formed the FAA iisita'f j:i. i3:ll consisting of five aircraft kno\\r 3: 'S::i.':'> Circus'.

The departure of the Sea \iiren fr.'n.i .:ric-' commenced with the disbandment oi ::i Sq'.:'rd-

:r- -:r::\ into service of the Phantom FGI ih. irr-;.\ir:ls April. No 893 Squadron disbanded trn ih- r3:i:;l oIHMS Hermes to Portsmouth in Jull tg-r i. -r i .ri its aircraft going to RNAY Sydenham fot ::c:,ge pending any decision on the future siz3 lrf lh3 FAA. They were scrapped *'ith man\ of ii:e ron in October 1968 in preparation fLrr

surviving Sea Vixens between 1971 and i9--:

.

With the disbandment of 766 Squairt':: -.i Yeovilton on 10 December 1970. the training ir.lt

and some of its aircraft passed to 890 Squadrt'n' In turn the 890 Squadron aircraft were passed ltr lhe

Airwork-operated Fleet Requirement: Unii at Yeovilton. No 890 Squadron itself frnajir disbanded on 6 August 1971 as the last iand-ba:ed

(FRU)

FAA

Sea Vixen

unit. three of its aircraft harins

been delivered to Cranwell for ground instructiLrn

three days previously. No 899 Squadron remained on HMS Eagle until returning to Yeovilton on 13 January \972 for disbandment. Five of its

to Llanbedr for drone conversion, while others went to Farnborough for :torr9€ and drone PreParation. aircraft were delivered

Thi

mainly

Farnborough-based programme consisted

of

removing unwanted equipment and

preparing the aircraft for flying to Flight Refuelling LtcL at Tarrant Rushton where conversion to U3 drones took place. Funding for this programme *as ahvays short, the work on the programme

petering out with a mere handful of conversions iompleied. some still being around at Hurn in 198-1. mainly up for disposal' The Sea Vixens continued in service with the FRU at Yeovilton until they too were withdrawn in January 1974, one or trvo aircraft remaining as flyable hacks at Beclford and Sydenham for the remainder of the \ ear.

Amongst the aircraft preserved is Mk 2 conversion XJ565 al the Mosquito Aircraft \luseum. As a Mk 1 it served with 766, 892 and S9,1 Squadrcns, before conversion to Mk 2

standard between July 1965 and February 196'7. It joined 899 Squadron on 13 Febuary 1967 and was

rerired to the AHU at Brawdy on 2 December i968. One year later it was delivered to the RAE Bedford for non-flying catapult and arrester trials, completing 117 arrests between 20 February 1970 and i0 August 1973. It languished at Bedford until struck off charge on 29 July L976 before being acquired by the Mosquito Aircraft N{useum which coliected it on 31 October. This aircraft is being re\tored to the markings of 899 Squadron. The Sea Vixen therefore closes the era of de Havilland jet fighters. Although it failed to achieve an RAF order, in favour of the Gloster Javelin, the smaller number built remained in service longer' The Sea Vixen was an effective ground-attack aircraft. while also being capable of a rapid climb to "10.000ft where it could out-turn many interceptors. r07

Appendices 1

Vampire Specifications

Mark Prototypes F Mk 1 F Mk 1* F Mk II & IV F Mk 3 F Mk 5 FB Mk 6 FB Mk 9 NF Mk 10 T Mk 11 F Mk 20 FB Mk 30 FB Mk 50 & 52 FB Mk 51 & 53

Powerplant

SPan

One 2,7001b thrust Goblin 1 One 3.1001b thrust Goblin 1 One 4,4001b thrust Ghost 2/2 One 4,5001b thrust Nene 1 One 3,1001b thrust Goblin 2 One 3.1001b thrust Goblin 2 One 3.3501b thrust Goblin 3 One 3,3501b thrust Goblin 3 One 3,3501b thrust Goblin 3 One 3.5001b thrust Goblin 35 One 3.1001b thrust Goblin 2 One 5,0001b thrust Nene 2-VH One 3.3501b thrust Goblin 3 One 5.0001b thrust Nene 1028

40ft 40ft 48ft 40ft

40ft 38ft 38ft 38ft 38ft 38ft

38ft 38ft 38ft

3itft

Length 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in

Height

Wing area

9ft

266sqft

8ft 10in 8ft 10in

266sq

ft

10in

266sq

ft

1Oin 1Oin

266sqft

10in

8ft 1Oin

262sqfr 262sqft

34ft7in

6ft7rn

261sq

34ft 6.5in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in 30ft 9in

6ft2in

262sqft

Sft 1Oin 8ft 10in Sft 1Oin 8ft 10in

262sqft 262sqft

Sft Sft Sft Sft

262sqft

ft

262sqft 262sqft

* Mk 1TG278 for high altitude Ghost engine development.

Mark FMK 1

FMK3 FBMK5 FBMK6 FBMK9 NFMK

TMK

wt 6,3721b 7 ,1341b 7,2531b 7,2831b 7,283tb 6,9841b 7,3801b 7,6231b 7,6001b 7,6561b Empty

10

11

FMK20 FB MK 30 FB MK 53

All-up

wt

10,4801b 11,9701b 12,3601b

r2390lb \2,3901b

13,1001b 11,1501b 12,6601b 11,0001b 12,6281b

Max speed

Initial climb

540mph 531mph 535mph 548mph 548mph 538mph 538mph 526mph 570mph 568mph

4,300ft/min 4,350ft/min 4,050ft/min 4.800ft/min 4,800ft/min 4,500ft/min 4,500ft/min 4.300ft/min 4.500ft/min 4.500ft/min

Ceiling

Range 730 miles

43,500f1 40,000f1

1,145 miles 1.170 miles 1,220 miles

1,220 miles 1.220 miles 40,000f1 43,500f1 49,000f1

840 miles

1.140 miles

44,000ft

2 Venom Specifications Mark

FBMKl&4

Powerplant One 4.8501b thrust Ghost 103

Span

Length 31ft 10in

Height

Wing area

41ft Sin

6ft21n

279.75sqft

One 4.8501b thrust Ghost 103

42ft l1.in

33ft 1in

7ft7in

279.7 5sq

One 4.9501b thrust Ghost One 5.3001b thrust Ghost One 5,3001b thrust Ghost One 4.8401b thrust Ghost

42ft llin 42ft 1.lin 42ft ll.tn 42ft 1.lin

36ft 7in 36ft 7in

6ft 6in Sft 6.25in Sft 8.25in

279.75sqfr 279.75sqft 279.75sqft 279.75sqft

NFMK2& FAWMK20

NFMK3& FAW MK 21 FAW MK 22 FAW MK 53 Aquilon 108

104 105

104 48

36fr7tn

ft

Mark FB Mk 1 &

All-up

4

NFMK 2 & FAW MK 20 NFMK 3 & FAW Mk 21 FAW Mk 22 FAW Mk 53

wt

Max

speed

Initial

clitnb Ceiling

Range

15.4001b 610mph

9.000ft/min

630mph 1-i.8001b 587mph

E.762ftlmin 49,200tt 1,000 miles -i.90Oft/min 40,000ft 705 miles E.762ftlmin 49,200ft 1,000 miles

1-5.E001b 575mph

3 Sea Vixen Specifications

Mark DH.110

Pox

SeaVixenFAWNIk I Sea Vixen FAW NIk 2

Mark DH.110 Sea Sea

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Vixen FAW Mk 1 Vixen FAW Mk I

Span Length Height 50ft 52ftlVzin 10ft9in

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Wing area 648sqft 648sqft

50ft 53ft7in 1lft6in 50ft 53ft 7in 1lft 6in 648sq ft t )lax speed Initial climb Ceiling Endurance

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