airplane Archives - Page 20 of 53 - Destination's Journey

Hawker Henley Target Tug

Hawker Henley Mk.II K7554 after conversion as the first TT Mark III prototype

Hawker Henley Target Tug

Designed to meet the 1934 Air Ministry Specification P.4/34 for a light bomber, the Hawker Henley first flew on 10 March 1937. By the time the Henley and the competing Fairey P.4/43 flew, the Air Ministry had dropped its requirement for a light bomber. This decision appears to have been based on the potential for propeller overspeed when dive bombing. Although this could be alleviated with constant speed propellers, they were not then available in the required quantities. When they did become available in 1940, they were need for Hurricane fighters.

Based on the Hurricane, the Henley was capable of carrying 550lb of bombs within the fuselage and had provision for another 200lb of bombs to be carried on underwing racks. An order for 350 Henleys was placed before the decission to cancel the project was made. This was reduced to 200 Henley target tugs, which was fulfilled by Gloster as Hawker was committed to Hurricane production.

The Henley was disappointing as a target tug. Capable of 300 mph, it was forced to fly at 220 mph for its new role. The addition of the high drag target drogue placed great strain on the engine, with high revs and slow speed resulting in insufficient cooling. This resulted in an unacceptable rate of engine failures.

Henleys were accordingly passed onto anti-aircraft co-operation units, where the drogue was even larger. This resulted in even poorer performance. As a result in mid-1942, the Henley was withdrawn, in favour of modified Boulton Paul Defiants, and purpose-built Miles Martinet aircraft.

The Hawker Henley was also used as an engine testbed, the original prototype (K5115) being fitted with a Rolls-Royce Vulture, 24-cylinder engine in 1939. This engine proved troublesome however, and another example (L3302) was also similarly converted during the following year.

Additionally in 1940, a Hawker Henley (L3414) was fitted with a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine and was used for much of the engine trials work carried out for its further use in the Fairey Firefly.

Hawker Henley Prototypes

Hawker Henley Mk.I K5115 First Prototype

Hawker Henley Mk.I K5115 First Prototype

Hawker Henley TT Mk.III

Hawker Henley Evaluation and Test-Beds

Hawker Henley with Rolls-Royce Griffon engine

Hawker Henley with Rolls-Royce Vulture engine — Hawker Henley with Rolls-Royce Griffon engine

Crashed Hawker Henley Target Tugs

Hawker Henley TT Mk.III L3245 crashed on beach

SNCASO SO.9050 Trident II

Developed from the SNCASO SO.9000 Trident, the SO.9050 Trident II was the prototype for a French mix-powered point defense interceptor. Powered by two turbojet engines and a rocket engine, two prototypes were ordered along with a batch of six pre-production aircraft.

The Trident II differed from its predecessor by having a 29.3 kN (6,600 lbf) SEPR 631 rocket replace the SEPR 431. Additionally, the undercarriage was lengthened to permit an air to air missile to be located under the fuselage.

The second prototype crashed on 7 January 1956 when the fuel pump failed and the engine flamed out. A third prototype that was being developed by SNCASO into a surface to air missile was purchased by the Air Force to replaced the destroyed aircraft. The first prototype exploded on 21 May 1957 when the volatile rocket fuel components mixed, killing the pilot. The third prototype continued flying until it made a belly landing on 19 September 1957.

Of the three pre-production aircraft ordered, only the first three were completed before the program was terminated in favour of the Dassault Mirage III.

SNCASE SE.212 Durandal

The first of two prototypes of the SNCASE (Sud-Est) SE.212 Durandal first flew on 20 April 1956. Powered by a jet and a rocket engine, the Durandal was intended to be a point defense interceptor. Despite its promising performance, only 45 test flights were made before the project was cancelled. Criticism of the design included the aircraft’s ability to only carry one missile (something that the Mirage I, which was developed into the Mirage III was also only capable of) and influence from the UK 1957 White Paper, that suggested future defense should concentrate on anti-aircraft missiles.