Hawker P.1072

Hawker's story on page 1072

The Hawker Seahawk's advanced single-seat, single-engine, jet naval fighter program spawned several offshoots, including the swept-back "P. 1052" (detailed elsewhere on this site) and the straight-wing, rocket Boosted "P. 1072" (emphasis of this article).

Both are data acquisition aircraft designed for very specific research purposes - the latter's rear has been redesigned to house a rocket motor to provide a lot of power for ultra-high-speed flight. Only one prototype of this design was completed and tested, as British authorities chose to focus on afterburner turbojets rather than rocket-assisted performance types.

This hybrid approach was welcomed by several of the leading aircraft powers of the day, including the US aircraft powers, who sought to extract any and all power from the airframe to gain an advantage over potential enemies - in this Case of the mighty Soviet Union. Extensive experiments with jet/rocket-boosted propellers and rocket-boosted jets have been carried out to achieve the same results - although few have been successful enough to warrant mass production in any way.

After World War II ended in September 1945, work on the P. 1072 project began in the aftermath of 1946, with Armstrong Siddeley in charge of liquid-fueled rocket motor components. The P. 1040, which later became the Hawke Seahawk, was used as the basis for the fuselage and general aircraft layout.

The original P.1040 project prototype, designated "VP401", was shelved and resumed for future work - including an overhaul of the Seahawk's internal structure to accommodate the rocket booster, while retaining the single turbojet unit. Only the turbojets have to be sucked in (intakes), this is handled by the triangular air intakes at the root of the wing, and the exhaust goes through the rear of the root of the wing.

The rocket motor could then be buried in the rear of the fuselage and ejected through a tube under the tail at the end of the plane.

To compensate for the required rocket fuel, the fuel reserves of the turbojets were sacrificed, likewise to compensate for the high-speed forces involved, the aircraft was substantially reinforced, although the straight-wing elements of the main aircraft were retained. The single-seat cockpit remains above the nose, and the retractable tricycle landing gear is still used for ground operations.

The aircraft was designated "P. 1072".

The turbojet is a Rolls-Royce Nene 103 series centrifugal turbofan with a thrust of 5,180 lbs. This engine will be used for launch and initial climb to altitude, after which the rocket can be activated as needed to provide additional altitude gain or speed increase. Armstrong-Siddeley missiles are ASSn. 1 "Snarler," a liquid fuel development that weighed 2,000 pounds, but only had enough fuel to burn for about 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

Under normal "cruise" conditions, the turbojet will handle most of the flight.

The P. 1072 made its first flight on November 20, 1950, and flew 6 times in total. The plan was thwarted by a small explosion of the rocket motor during flight, but by then ideas had shifted to a more advanced form of turbojet that incorporated afterburning (reheating) technology to get the most out of the engine.

The P. 1072 was tested at 553 mph, cruising around 447 mph, and had a range of up to 350 miles. Service is capped at 44,500 feet with a climb rate of 5,000 feet per minute.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes