Супермарин Свифт: Британский реактивный истребитель

British single seat jet propelled fighter aircraft

The Supermarine Swift is a British single seat jet fighter aircraft that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was developed and manufactured by Supermarine during the 1940s and 1950s. The Swift featured many of the new jet age innovations, such as a swept wing. On 26 September 1953, a Swift F.4 piloted by Commander Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record, reaching a speed of 737.7 mph (1,187 km/h). After a protracted development period, the Swift entered service as an interceptor aircraft with the RAF in 1954. However, due to a spate of accidents incurred by the type, the Swift was grounded for a time, and had a relatively brief service life. The problems with the Swift led to a public scandal surrounding the development and performance of the aircraft, harming the reputations of the British government, the RAF, and the British aircraft industry. Ultimately, the less problematic Hawker Hunter assumed much of the role intended for the Swift and only half as many Swifts were manufactured as had once been intended. A later photo reconnaissance variant of the Swift had resolved some of the teething problems, but that proved to be too late for it to regain favour. An advanced derivative of the Swift that was to be capable of transonic speeds, the Supermarine 545, was also under development during the early 1950s. However, it was cancelled in 1955, principally due to the poor performance of the Swift.

During 1945, the Second World War came to a close and a new post war Labour government, headed by Clement Attlee, came to power in Britain. The incoming Attlee government's initial stance on defence was that no major conflict would occur for at least a decade, and thus there would be no need to develop or to procure any new aircraft until 1957. In accordance with that policy, aside from a small number of exceptions such as what would become the Hawker Sea Hawk for the Royal Navy, the majority of Specifications issued by the Air Ministry for fighter sized aircraft during the late 1940s were restricted to research purposes. Aviation author Derek Wood refers to this policy as being: "a fatal error of judgement which was to cost Britain a complete generation of fighters and heavy bomber aircraft". During 1948, the Type 510 had conducted its maiden flight, a year after the first navalised prototype Attacker had flown. That flight made it the first British aircraft to fly with both swept wings and a swept tailplane. In trials for the Fleet Air Arm, the Type 510 was also the first swept wing aircraft to take off from and land on an aircraft carrier. During the late 1940s, in the face of the emerging Cold War, the RAF came to recognise that it would urgently require the development and procurement of fighters equipped with features such as swept wings. That need was felt to be so pressing that it was willing to accept interim fighter aircraft while more capable fighters were being developed. In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Britain's heavy involvement in that conflict led to a flurry of orders being placed. In particular, the RAF felt that a pair of proposed fighter aircraft from Hawker Aircraft and Supermarine were of great importance and, in the same year, ordered the proposed fighters "off the drawing board". In early 1946, the Type 541 order was increased to 150 aircraft, while the Air Ministry had hopes that it would be able to enter service in advance of the rival Hunter. However, the development of both the Swift and the Hunter were protracted, having encountered several considerable technical challenges. According to Wood, that was in part due to a failure to procure interim aircraft equipped with swept wings, or to proceed with development of the Miles M.52. and the second during the following year.

Production of the Swift had been declared to be a "super priority" item under a policy created by Sir Winston Churchill, who had regained the position of Britain's prime minister in 1951, as a means of increasing projects considered to be of vital military importance. According to Wood, volume manufacturing commenced in advance of the implementation of modifications based on the results of flight experiences with the prototypes: "too much had been asked for in too little time and production aircraft were rolling off the production line before a major redesign could be accomplished". The second variant was the Swift F Mk 2, of which 16 were built. It was practically the same as the F 1, except for being fitted with two extra ADENs and the leading edge of the wing being altered from straight to a compound sweep configuration. By that time, the shortcomings of the Swift were not yet apparent, which perhaps had allowed Supermarine to gain the RAF's favour for its proposal, designated as the Type 545, over the rival Hawker P.1083. The Type 545 had been drawn up to conform with the requirements given by Specification F.105D. It was to have been capable of attaining Mach 1.3. powered by an Avon engine, promising superior performance to that of the P.1083. The Type 545 bore a resemblance to the Swift, although it was a complete redesign, having an area ruled fuselage and wing changes. In 1955, work on the project was cancelled, in part due to the considerable difficulties experienced with the Swift.

In February 1954, the Swift F 1 entered service with the RAF, No. 56 Squadron becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the type. With its introduction, the Swift became the RAF's first swept wing aircraft. The Swift F 2 entered service that same month. Wood refers to the type's introduction as having been "panicked", and that the adoption soon proved to be an "abysmal failure". By autumn 1954, the problems with the Swift had become public knowledge, and reports of the pending cancellation of the Swift appeared in the national press. In Parliament, Under Secretary of State for Air Sir George Ward said of the aircraft: "Aerodynamic difficulties have been encountered, and it is not possible to say with certainty if they can be overcome in the version under development". On 2 March 1955, Minister of Supply Selwyn Lloyd acknowledged that development of the Swift had cost £20 million prior to the scrapping of the fighter variants. According to Wood, the Swift had become a national scandal by early 1955, which not only tarnished the aircraft, but also the RAF and the British aircraft industry, with the public and the government generally becoming more averse to other aircraft projects. Its last variant had resolved many of the problems that had plagued earlier Swifts but the programme was not continued. The Hunter, performing satisfactorily in the same roles, removed any requirement to persist with the Swift.

VV106 (Supermarine Type 517) is stored by the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, England. WK198 (the F.4 prototype, fuselage only) this former World Air Speed record holder is on display at Brooklands Museum, Surrey; it was first preserved at the North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland, England, on 2 April 2008 it was relocated to the RAF Millom Museum, Cumbria, but with that museum's closure in September 2010, WK198 was transferred to Brooklands on 3 February 2011. WK275 (F.4) Having spent four years being restored to exhibition standard by Jet Art Aviation, this aircraft is now on loan to the Vulcan To The Sky Trust. It represents the definitive fighter variant with slab tail. WK277 (FR.5) on display at the Newark Air Museum, Newark, England. WK281 (FR.5) on display at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Tangmere, England. G SWIF (F.7, the former XF114) is stored by Solent Sky, Southampton, England.