Introduction: The Short Sperrin was a British post war four engined jet bomber named after the Sperrin mountain range in northern Ireland. The Short Sperrin is often forgotten in discussion about post war bombers due to it being a backup design of the popular V bomber designs, specifically the Vickers Valiant. With only two prototypes being built, and its first flight in 1951. No production orders were placed for the type.
Background: The Short Sperrin was designed to fulfill specification B.14/46, which specified a more conservative alternative to the B.35/46 specification, as it was foreseen that a construction delay occurring within the V bomber program would result in a capability gap in RAF bomber command, and thus a temporary less risky design was needed. B.14/46 reduced the B.35/46 specification from a cruising speed of 500kt, service ceiling of 55,000ft and a 10,000lb bomb load to be carried over 3,300 miles. Down to 435kt, and a service ceiling of 35,000-45,000ft. This was hoped to produce a simpler design, which could be introduced in the interim if such delays to the V bomber program occurred.
Design: The Sperrin used a conventional strait mid-wing design with the leading edge having a slight sweep, with its four engines mounted in stacked pairs within a single nacelle on each wing. The Sperrin was prototyped in two different engines, the Rolls-Royce Avon, and the De Havilland Gyron. The Gyron engine being mounted on the lower of the pair with enlarged intakes. A single Gyron engine could also be mounted on the port lower engine mount, all other engines being Avons. This gave the Sperrin four different engine combinations;
- 4x RR Avon RA.2 : 6,000lbf ea.
- 4x RR Avon RA.3 : 6,500lbf ea.
- 3x RR Avon RA.2 : 6,000lbf ea + 1x De-Havilland Gyron Gy.1 : 15,000lbf ea
- 2x RR Avon RA.2 : 6,000lbf ea + 2x De-Havilland Gyron Gy.2 : 20,000lbf ea
The Sperrin also mounted the H2S Mk.9 airborne radar, with the crew of five stationed in a pressurized drum. No defensive guns or countermeasures were mounted as speed and altitude was considered its main defense.
Operational history
In the late stages of the Sperrin’s design phase, the MOD realised that Vicker’s Valiant design was only six months behind that of the Sperrin, and thus the B.14/46 backup specification was no longer needed. Resulting in the Valiant being ordered instead of the Sperrin, however development continued with the first prototype (VX158) flying on the 10th August 1951, and the second (VX161) flying on the 12th August 1952. During this time period the MOD designated the Sperrin as research and development aircraft in due of its cancellation. This resulted in VX158 testing the DH Gyron Gy.1 & Gy.2 turbojets, in both asymmetric and symmetric configurations, with VX161 only operating Avons. Both aircraft were flying and operational, with only VX161 having a fully operational bomb bay. VX161 was deemed less useful compared to her sister, and in 1957 VX161 was scrapped. In 1956 the Gyron project was canceled and VX158 was scrapped in 1958.
Specifications:
- Length: 102ft 3in (31.17 m)
- Wingspan: 109ft 0in (33.22 m)
- Height: 28ft 6in (8.69 m)
- Wing Area: 1,896sq ft (176.1 m^2)
- Empty weight: 72,000lb (32,659 kg)
- Gross weight: 115,000lb (52,163 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 6,200 imp gallon (28,000 L)
- Powerplant (s):
- 4x RR Avon RA.2 : 6,000lbf ea.
- 4x RR Avon RA.3 : 6,500lbf ea.
- 3x RR Avon RA.2 : 6,000lbf ea + 1x De-Havilland Gyron Gy.1 : 15,000lbf ea
- 2x RR Avon RA.2 : 6,000lbf ea + 2x De-Havilland Gyron Gy.2 : 20,000lbf ea
Performance:
- Top speed: 564mph (907kph)
- Range: 3,860mi (6,210km)
- Ceiling: 45,000ft (14,000m)
Armament:
- 20,000lb maximum of unguided bombs - specified to be in combinations of 10,000lb, 5,000lb, and 1,000lb bombs
- Blue Boar television guided bomb (munitions mock-up only)
- Blue Danube nuclear bomb (munitions mock-up only)
- Yes - TT
- Yes - Event / BP
- Yes - Premium
- No
- 4x RR Avons RA.2
- 4x RR Avons RA.3
- 3x RR Avons RA.2 + 1x DH Gyron Gy.1
- 2x RR Avons RA.2 + 2x DH Gyron Gy.2
- I do not want the Sperrin in game
This is my first suggestion, so please correct me if I’ve made any mistakes!
Sources
- Short Sperrin - Wikipedia
- Short Sperrin - The Forgotten V Bomber
- RAF Nuclear Deterrent Forces : Their Origins, Roles and Development 1946-1969 - Humphrey Wynn
- Short S.A.4 Sperrin - bomber
- de Havilland Gyron – de Havilland Aircraft Museum