- Yes
- No
Hello and welcome to my suggestion for the British P.1154, the forgotten supersonic brother of the Harrier! I feel this is a possible addition to thicken out the High tier British Tree that could really use some extra vehicles. Credits to @AVROVULCANXH558 for giving me info, @TerikG2014 for making the old forums suggestion, and all the other members of the Anglo-Maltese Suggestion server who helped me with info and sources.
Disclaimer: whilst this may seem a far stretch I would like to add that this aircraft had its Engine produced and used, Several airframes at various stages of completion and a full sized mock-up produced, all of which make this a viable candidate for the game and more feasible than several aircraft already in game, and it unfortunately was canned due to the political and interservice bickering that killed many British cold war projects
History
Spoiler
So, back in the 50s Britain was eager to find a successor to the Hunter capable of flying at speeds up to Mach 2. Unfortunately Hawker Siddeley’s (HSA) original program, the P.1121, was cancelled due to a lack of political support and their lack of belief in the usefulness of manned aircraft in the future. Recognising the immediate need for a follow up project HSA began looking into creating a viable combat capable VTOL jet aircraft.
Bristol Aero Engines and HSA had already been working on making a suitable VTOL engine; utilizing several elements from the Olympus and Orpheus engines to create a directable fan jet engine. This lead to the creation of the Kestrel (P.1127) which was envisioned as a subsonic ground attacker that was later developed into the early Harriers.
However due to a mix of requirements for a future VTOL aircraft HSA Began development of a supersonic derivative of the P.1127 in April 1961. This would result in the initial development of the P.1150, a supersonic nuclear strike aircraft, the design was to feature a Plenum Chamber Burning (PCB) design and was at least 50% larger that the P.1127 and was apparently capable of flying up to Mach 1.3.
in August 1961 NATO released NBMR-3 for an aircraft capable of up to Mach 1.5 at low altitude and capable of clearing a 15m obstacle after a 150m Take-off run. however due to changes in requirements the P.1150 was considered inadequate and was redesigned into the P1150/3 which was renamed as the P.1154. In January 1962 HSA submitted the P.1154 design to NBMR-3 where it competed against 10 other aircraft, most notably the Mirage IIIV (which had support of several high ranking RAF personnel) and in May 1962 the P.1154 emerged as the victor of NBMR-3.
However, after the all the French designs lost France withdrew from the funding of NBMR-3 and as NATO had no central funding the extra monetary strain on other nations led to many others pulling out as well and unfortunately in 1965 NBMR-3 was cancelled and so was the P.1154 project.
But, before the cancellation both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy had laid down requirements for what they felt was suitable for their respective services, the RAF wanted a single seat aircraft capable of operating from makeshift airfields in fields and on highways whereas the RN wanted a two seater interceptor with provisions for catapult operations and foldable wings.
This lead to two major designs, the P.1154 JS (joint service) and the P1154 RN (royal navy), the two aircraft both were in design and construction before the cancellation, however the JS is the one with more info due to it also being the main design considered for NBMR-3.
Photos
Spoiler
Body of the Prototype in construction Feb 1965
Details of the mock-up, showing the Exhaust layout
Incomplete wings of the airframes, up to 3 aircraft we in construction by the looks
Incomplete nose and cockpit
BS.100/8 engine, was fully built and tested
Three view drawings of aircraft, shows the 2 x AA missile capability, 2 AS-30s and 3 fuel tanks
Harrier Airframe modified with Plenum Chamber Burning exhausts, a key development showing the capabilities of the BS.100/8
Potential Camouflage options
Diagram of aircraft
Potential in game armament
Differences from RN version
Spoiler
The JS and RN versions have several differences I will list here:
- RN has Tricycle landing gear whilst JS has Bicycle landing gear
- JS could only carry 2 AA missiles (afaik) whereas RN could carry 4
- JS had crew of 1 whilst RN had crew of 2
- RN had folding wings
- RN had 2 extra cheek hardpoints for AA Missiles
Specs/ Armament
Spoiler
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 56 ft 4 in (17.17 m)
- Wingspan: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
- Max takeoff weight: 30,970 lb (14,048 kg)
- Wing area: 269 sq ft ( 24.99 sq m)
- Wing sweep: 41.2 deg
- Internal fuel capacity: 1300 gallons
- Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Siddeley BS.100/8 Plenum-chamber burning vectored thrust turbofan engine, 33,000 lbf (150 kN) with afterburner
Performance
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Maximum speed: Mach 1.3 at sea level/ M2.0 at altitude
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Service ceiling: 49,000 ft (15,000 m)
Armament
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Hardpoints: 4 + 1 Centreline mounting , with provisions to carry combinations of:
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Fuel tanks:
- 2 x 345 Gal. External Tanks (Inner pylons only)
- 3 x 94 Gal. Fuel Tank (Centreline and inner pylons)
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Cannons:
- Twin 30mm ADENs (Mounted centreline like Harrier)
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AA Missiles: (2x confirmed on outer pylons only):
- Firestreak
- Red Top
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AG Missiles
- 2x AS-30 (Outer pylons only)
- Martel ARM
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Bombs/ Rockets:
- 2 inch SNEB Rockets
- 2 x 1000 lb bombs (inner pylons only)
- 1 x WE.177 Nuclear bomb (Required modifications to be mounted centreline)
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Possible armament (any extra info is greatly appreciated as I have no concrete sources)
- AIM-9 Sidewinder (Source is magazine diagram showing one with AIM-9Gs)
- AGM-12 Bullpup (is mentioned on Secret project forums but with no supporting evidence)
- Extra/ wider variety of bombs (some people say up to 5 1000 lb/ 540 lb bombs were possible)
Place in game
Spoiler
In game this would be a mix between the harrier GR.1 and Lightning F.6, and would provide a good multirole fighter for around 9.7 (something only the jaguar fills right now). It would also add something unique to the British tree and a homage to all of Britain’s 50s and 60s projects that were so close to being finished yet never saw service.
its role would be similar to the Hunters F.6, with decent ground ordinance and good Air to Air capability, except this would be less manoeuvrable and way faster being able to hit Mach 1.3 on the deck and up to Mach 2 at altitude.
Sources
Spoiler
Hawker Siddeley P.1154 | Secret Projects Forum
The P.1154 story
British Secret Projects 1 - Tony Buttler (page 227-230)
Typhoon to Typhoon, RAF Air support and weapons since 1945 - Chris Gibson (page 40-52)
Hawker P.1154 the limit Pusher - Great Britain - War Thunder - Official Forum
https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2000.pdf