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BAC TSR-2
The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled supersonic strike and reconnaissance aircraft designed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). It was under development throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Royal Air Force (RAF); the TSR-2 designation came from "Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance, Mach 2".
The TSR-2 arose from the issuing of General Operational Requirement 339 (GOR.339) in November 1956, which sought a successor to the English Electric Canberra that would perform both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons delivery, be able to penetrate well-defended frontline areas at low altitudes and very high speeds, and attack high-value targets in rear areas. Another intended combat role was to provide high-altitude, high-speed stand-off, side-looking radar and photographic imagery and signals intelligence, aerial reconnaissance. On 1 January 1959, the project received its official go-ahead; early work was undertaken by Vickers-Armstrong in cooperation with English Electric, before Britain's aircraft industry underwent consolidation to create BAC. However, as some contributing manufacturers were employed directly by the Ministry rather than through BAC, this led to communication difficulties and cost overruns. On 27 September 1964, test pilot Roland Beamont performed the type's maiden flight.
Only one example flew and test flights and weight increases during design indicated that the aircraft would be unable to meet its original stringent design specifications. The design specifications were reduced as the result. The decision to cancel the TSR-2 programme came about out of ever-rising costs and inter-service rivalry over Britain's future defence needs. It was decided to order an adapted version of the General Dynamics F-111 instead, but that decision was also later rescinded as costs and development times of that aircraft increased as well. Operationally, the roles intended for the TSR-2 were taken up by other aircraft, such as the Blackburn Buccaneer and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, both of which had been considered and rejected early in the TSR-2 procurement process. Eventually, the smaller swing-wing Panavia Tornado was developed by a European consortium and introduced during the 1980s to fulfil broadly similar requirements to the TSR-2.
The introduction of the first jet engines in the late-World War II period led to calls for new jet-powered versions of existing aircraft. Among these was the design of a replacement for the de Havilland Mosquito, at that time among the world's leading medium bombers. The Mosquito had been designed with reduced weight to improve its speed. This led to the removal of all defensive armament, improving performance to the point where it was unnecessary. This approach was extremely successful, and a jet-powered version would be even more difficult to intercept.
This led to Air Ministry specification E.3/45. The winning design, the English Electric Canberra, also dispensed with defensive armament, producing a design with the speed and altitude that allowed it to fly past most defences. The design's large wings gave it the lift needed to operate at very high altitudes, placing it above the range where jet fighters could intercept it. The Canberra could fly over its enemy with relative impunity, making it suited to aerial reconnaissance missions. The design was so successful that it was licensed for production in the United States, one of very few such cases. The Martin RB-57D and RB-57F American-built reconnaissance subtypes further extended the wings up to a 37.5 m (123 ft) span for extremely high altitude capabilities.
It was realised that the Canberra's advantages would be eroded by improvements in enemy interceptor aircraft. As early as 22 February 1952, Air Vice Marshal Geoffrey Tuttle wrote that "Frankly, I do not believe that we will get much operational value out of the Canberra from 1955 onwards... the aircraft is already out of date and I doubt its chances of survival in daylight against the present MiG-15 opposition." As the Canberra's performance appeared to be at its limit, this led to a March 1952 draft requirement for a new light bomber to replace it, but this never went anywhere.
A second round of development began after a January 1953 memo noted that the "thin wing" version of the Gloster Javelin could be modified to be a light bomber. The Javelin had an advanced navigation system that would be useful in this role. This led to operational requirement OR.328, but this was rejected as the range was too small when it was flown at low altitude. English Electric then began work on a Royal Navy requirement for a low-altitude strike aircraft, which was won by Blackburn with the Buccaneer. With minor changes, English Electric submitted their Navy entry to the RAF for the same role as OR.328. This was reviewed in October 1955, along with the winning Blackburn design, and rejected. Matthew Slattery stated that further redesign was needed to make them useful by the time they might enter service around 1960, concluding "it seems quite wrong to introduce in 1960 a subsonic aircraft that stands no hope of being supersonic."
Meanwhile, the Canberra was still proving useful in spite of new Soviet interceptors, but the widespread introduction of the first of the Soviet Union's surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in the late 1950s was a major threat. SAMs had speed and altitude performance much greater than any contemporary aircraft. The Canberra, and other high-altitude aircraft like the British V bombers or US Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, were extremely vulnerable to these weapons. The first aircraft to fall victim to the Soviet S-75 Dvina (NATO name "SA-2 Guideline") SAM was a Taiwanese RB-57 shot down in 1959.
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BAC TSR-2
The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled supersonic strike and reconnaissance aircraft designed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). It was under development throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Royal Air Force (RAF); the TSR-2 designation came from "Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance, Mach 2".
The TSR-2 arose from the issuing of General Operational Requirement 339 (GOR.339) in November 1956, which sought a successor to the English Electric Canberra that would perform both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons delivery, be able to penetrate well-defended frontline areas at low altitudes and very high speeds, and attack high-value targets in rear areas. Another intended combat role was to provide high-altitude, high-speed stand-off, side-looking radar and photographic imagery and signals intelligence, aerial reconnaissance. On 1 January 1959, the project received its official go-ahead; early work was undertaken by Vickers-Armstrong in cooperation with English Electric, before Britain's aircraft industry underwent consolidation to create BAC. However, as some contributing manufacturers were employed directly by the Ministry rather than through BAC, this led to communication difficulties and cost overruns. On 27 September 1964, test pilot Roland Beamont performed the type's maiden flight.
Only one example flew and test flights and weight increases during design indicated that the aircraft would be unable to meet its original stringent design specifications. The design specifications were reduced as the result. The decision to cancel the TSR-2 programme came about out of ever-rising costs and inter-service rivalry over Britain's future defence needs. It was decided to order an adapted version of the General Dynamics F-111 instead, but that decision was also later rescinded as costs and development times of that aircraft increased as well. Operationally, the roles intended for the TSR-2 were taken up by other aircraft, such as the Blackburn Buccaneer and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, both of which had been considered and rejected early in the TSR-2 procurement process. Eventually, the smaller swing-wing Panavia Tornado was developed by a European consortium and introduced during the 1980s to fulfil broadly similar requirements to the TSR-2.
The introduction of the first jet engines in the late-World War II period led to calls for new jet-powered versions of existing aircraft. Among these was the design of a replacement for the de Havilland Mosquito, at that time among the world's leading medium bombers. The Mosquito had been designed with reduced weight to improve its speed. This led to the removal of all defensive armament, improving performance to the point where it was unnecessary. This approach was extremely successful, and a jet-powered version would be even more difficult to intercept.
This led to Air Ministry specification E.3/45. The winning design, the English Electric Canberra, also dispensed with defensive armament, producing a design with the speed and altitude that allowed it to fly past most defences. The design's large wings gave it the lift needed to operate at very high altitudes, placing it above the range where jet fighters could intercept it. The Canberra could fly over its enemy with relative impunity, making it suited to aerial reconnaissance missions. The design was so successful that it was licensed for production in the United States, one of very few such cases. The Martin RB-57D and RB-57F American-built reconnaissance subtypes further extended the wings up to a 37.5 m (123 ft) span for extremely high altitude capabilities.
It was realised that the Canberra's advantages would be eroded by improvements in enemy interceptor aircraft. As early as 22 February 1952, Air Vice Marshal Geoffrey Tuttle wrote that "Frankly, I do not believe that we will get much operational value out of the Canberra from 1955 onwards... the aircraft is already out of date and I doubt its chances of survival in daylight against the present MiG-15 opposition." As the Canberra's performance appeared to be at its limit, this led to a March 1952 draft requirement for a new light bomber to replace it, but this never went anywhere.
A second round of development began after a January 1953 memo noted that the "thin wing" version of the Gloster Javelin could be modified to be a light bomber. The Javelin had an advanced navigation system that would be useful in this role. This led to operational requirement OR.328, but this was rejected as the range was too small when it was flown at low altitude. English Electric then began work on a Royal Navy requirement for a low-altitude strike aircraft, which was won by Blackburn with the Buccaneer. With minor changes, English Electric submitted their Navy entry to the RAF for the same role as OR.328. This was reviewed in October 1955, along with the winning Blackburn design, and rejected. Matthew Slattery stated that further redesign was needed to make them useful by the time they might enter service around 1960, concluding "it seems quite wrong to introduce in 1960 a subsonic aircraft that stands no hope of being supersonic."
Meanwhile, the Canberra was still proving useful in spite of new Soviet interceptors, but the widespread introduction of the first of the Soviet Union's surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in the late 1950s was a major threat. SAMs had speed and altitude performance much greater than any contemporary aircraft. The Canberra, and other high-altitude aircraft like the British V bombers or US Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, were extremely vulnerable to these weapons. The first aircraft to fall victim to the Soviet S-75 Dvina (NATO name "SA-2 Guideline") SAM was a Taiwanese RB-57 shot down in 1959.
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