HAD it not been for the need to rapidly expand Britain's air defences in the early 1950s as a natural result of worsening East-West relations, and the added impetus provided by the outbreak of the Korean War, it is doubtful whether either the de Havilland Vampire or Venom night fighters would ever have seen service with the RAF. In 1950 the standard RAF night fighter was the Mosquito NF36 equipped with AI (Airborne Interception) Mk10 radar—a combination which had not changed since the latter part of World War II. The RAF's first jet night fighter, the Meteor NF11, was not expected to enter service until the following year (and even this aircraft retained the same, faithful old AI Mk10 radar). Against this background it was deemed expedient to order a small number of Vampire night fighters which providentially became available at the time. The DH 113 Vampire night fighter had been privately developed by de Havilland from the Mark 6 single-seat fighter, from which it differed principally in having an enlarged fuselage nacelle in order to accommodate the AI Mk10 radar, extra navigational equipment, and a two-seat cockpit.
Название: Aircraft Illustrated
Номер: 02
Год/Месяц: 1971/Февраль
Автор: Коллектив авторов
Издательство: Ian Allan Ltd.
Страниц: 88
Качество: Хорошее
Язык: Английский
Формат: PDF в RAR
Размер: 22,4 Мб
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