Hawker P.1057

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1947 COLD WAR X-PLANE

• 1 Hawker P. 1057 History
• 2 Hawker P. 1057 Specification
  • 2.1 BASICS
  • 2.2 MANUFACTURER(S)
  • 2.3 OPERATORS
  • 2.4 ROLES
  • 2.5 DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS
  • 2.6 POWER & PERFORMANCE
  • 2.7 ARMAMENT
  • 2.8 HARDPOINTS
  • 2.9 VARIANTS

Hawker P. 1057 History

On the road to finding a dedicated, jet-powered night-fighter in the post-World War 2 world, British aero-engineers devised many traditional, as well as unique, fighter concepts. The turbojet was here to stay as the powerplant-of-choice and with the enhanced performance being offered there was a requirement for airframes to meet the challenges of high-speed, high-altitude flight. The Hawker Aircraft "P. 1057" existed during this period as a proposed twin-seat, twin-engine, jet-powered fighter project offered alongside the similar, though straight-winged, P. 1056 form (detailed elsewhere on this site).

In any event, neither project was selected by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for the dedicated night-fighter role.

The Night-Fighter

The night-fighter was born during the aerial fighting of World War 1 (1914-1918) but these basic machines were little more than daytime performers thrust into the night time hunting role against marauding Zeppelin airships, Gotha bombers and the like. They stood as the ultimate (and in some cases last) line of defense for Britain and their importance grew to new 'heights' with the arrival of World War 2 (1939-1945) as enemy bombers grew evermore capable. During the subsequent World War, the RAF utilized all manner of fighting forms to meet the threat of Nazi warplanes over the British mainland. In time, onboard Airborne Interception (A. I. ) radar had made it possible to intercept enemy warplanes in the dead of night, the British night-fighters engaging targets with machine gun and cannon fire.

The de Havilland DH. 98 "Mosquito" became the ultimate incarnation of the night-fighter in the World War 2 period for the RAF, this two-crew, twin-engined medium-weight mating the performance of a fighter with the firepower of a light bomber. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Americans developed the first purpose-built night-fighter, the Northrop P-61 "Black Widow" (detailed elsewhere on this site).

As the story rolled on, and the war itself drew to a close in 1945, the need remained for a new, all-modern, jet-powered design to overtake the aging prop-driven platforms in the night-fighter role. This led to a slew of designs for consideration of which many fell to aviation history as simple footnotes, doomed to the back of a company's filing cabinet: unfortunately the promising P. 1057 became just that.

Hawker P. 1057 Specification

BASICS

Service Year

1947

Origin

United Kingdom

Status

CANCELLED

Development Ended.

Crew

2

Production

0

MANUFACTURER(S)

Hawker Aircraft - UK

OPERATORS

United Kingdom (abandoned)

ROLES

Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter

General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)

Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS

Length

53. 5 ft

(16. 31 m)

Width/Span

48. 1 ft

(14. 65 m)

Empty Wgt

18,739 lb

(8,500 kg)

MTOW

24,030 lb

(10,900 kg)

Wgt Diff

+5,291 lb

(+2,400 kg)

POWER & PERFORMANCE

Installed:

2 x Rolls-Royce AJ. 65 ("Avon") turbojet engine with reheat capability developing 6,500lb of thrust each.

Max Speed

721 mph

(1,160 kph | 626 kts)

Ceiling

45,932 ft

(14,000 m | 9 mi)

Rate-of-Climb

10,000 ft/min

(3,048 m/min)

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030

ARMAMENT

PROPOSED:4 x 30mm ADEN autocannons under the nose.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

HARDPOINTS

Hardpoint Mountings: 0

VARIANTS

P. 1057 - Base Project Designation.