Supermarine Attacker
First jet fighter to enter operational service with the Fleet Air Arm.
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The Supermarine Attacker was a British single-seat jet fighter built for the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm, and it became the first jet to enter frontline service with that branch. Supermarine created it by taking the wing from their most advanced piston-engine fighter, the Spiteful, and pairing it with a new fuselage built around the Rolls-Royce Nene engine. The first flight took place on 27 July 1946, but development dragged on because of several problems, including tricky handling. The Attacker finally reached the Fleet Air Arm in August 1951.
Like many early jet fighters, the Attacker had a short frontline career. The Royal Navy retired it after just three years, in 1954, as more advanced jet designs appeared during the 1950s and 1960s. However, the newly formed Pakistan Air Force took on the type and may have kept flying it until 1964.
Origins
The project began with a 1944 Air Ministry specification, E.10/44, which called for an experimental jet fighter with a laminar-flow wing and a single engine. Supermarine’s answer, the Type 392, used a fresh fuselage with split air intakes feeding the Nene turbojet, attached to the straight laminar-flow wings already developed for the Spiteful. Joe Smith put forward the design, and three prototypes—TS409, TS413, and TS416—were ordered. Before it was named Attacker, the aircraft was called the “Jet Spiteful,” with a naval version known as the “Jet Seafang.”
The specification, issued in February 1945, demanded a top speed of 550 mph at 30,000 feet. The Type 392 was meant as a stopgap jet for the Royal Air Force while the Gloster E.1/44, also using the Nene engine, was finished.
Because the wing was already designed, Supermarine expected quick work. An order for three prototypes came on 30 August 1944, with the second and third to be navalised. On 7 July 1945, a follow-on order for 24 pre-production aircraft—six for the RAF and 18 for the Fleet Air Arm—was placed.
But handling problems with the Spiteful prototype slowed the jet version, and the pre-production order was cancelled, though work on the three prototypes continued. In January 1945, Supermarine was told to stop work on its Seagull amphibian and give the Type 392 top priority. Because of the delay, the Fleet Air Arm ordered 18 de Havilland Vampire Mk. 20s to gain jet experience.
Lore & Background
The origins of the Attacker can be traced back to a wartime fighter jet project requested under Specification E.10/44 issued by the Air Ministry during 1944, which called for a jet fighter with a laminar flow wing and a single jet engine. Supermarine produced a submission involving a new fuselage with bifurcated intakes for the Rolls-Royce Nene engine, mated with the pre-existing laminar flow straight wings designed for the Supermarine Spiteful. The aircraft was initially referred to as the 'Jet Spiteful' and 'Jet Seafang' for a naval version.
Three prototypes were ordered, and the maiden flight of the type was performed on 27 July 1946 by test pilot Jeffrey Quill. Flight testing was protracted due to several issues, including handling difficulties. The first Attackers were introduced to FAA service in August 1951.
The Attacker had a tail-dragger undercarriage with twin tailwheels and an unswept wing. The forward cockpit position provided an exceptionally good view for the pilot. The design used stressed-skin construction with heavy-gauge aluminium alloy.
The wing was largely unchanged from the Spiteful, using split flaps and slotted ailerons. The aircraft was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Nene Mk. 101 turbojet engine. The RAF rejected the design, as neither the Attacker nor the Gloster E.1/44 offered any perceptible performance advantage over contemporary fighters such as the Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Vampire.
Reader's Guide
The Attacker had a relatively short service life before being replaced due to increasingly advanced aircraft harnessing the jet engine developed during the 1950s and 1960s. Despite its retirement from front line service by the FAA during 1954, only three years following its introduction, the Attacker was adopted by the newly formed Pakistan Air Force, who continued to operate the type possibly as late as 1964. The aircraft was notable for being the first jet fighter to enter operational service with the Fleet Air Arm, and its design reflected the transitional period between piston-engined and jet-powered naval aviation.
The use of a tail-dragger undercarriage, inherited from the Spiteful, made the Attacker considerably more difficult to land on an aircraft carrier. Claims of scorched or ploughed surfaces from jet exhaust were considered exaggerated by some sources. The chief designer at Vickers-Supermarine, Joseph Smith, claimed that testing had validated the performance of the tail-dragger undercarriage as acceptable.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Supermarine Attacker (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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