Armstrong Whitworth AW.168 (M.148T)

History

As the aircraft carrier was established as the new battleship of the high seas in the battles of World War II (1939-1945), the rise of the turbojet as a new propulsion system for In the latter period, the Royal Navy attempted to introduce a brand new two-seater carrier-based attack jet. Many of the usual British aerospace groups have tried to take an interest in the service in their various designs - including Armstrong Whitworth and their AW.

168 proposal.

The proposal was developed to meet the requirements of the "M.148T", which sought a nuclear-capable counterpart to the Soviet Navy's growing fleet of new cruisers, the Sverdlov class. As such, the Royal Navy's new attacker will be deployed in a low-level anti-ship attack role.

The design layout of the aircraft is largely conventional, with the cockpit located behind a short nose cone assembly, the wings mounted centered on the sides of the fuselage, and a vertical tail mounted on a separate horizontal plane. A unique aspect of its configuration is the seat-a-side seating for reserved two people, improving communication between the two and evenly distributing the workload of tasks.

The main aircraft is located near the center of the boat, albeit slightly forward, and has a sweep along the leading and trailing edges with curved wingtips. Each main aircraft is fitted with a turbojet engine suspended below the truss - sucking in air ahead of the leading edge and expelling air under each wing ahead of the trailing edge.

Air brakes are located on the rear side of the fuselage, and power, wheeled and retractable landing gear complete the mass of the aircraft.

The structure is estimated to include a barrel length of 59.8 feet and a wingspan of 47.5 feet (23 feet when folded) (when unfolded), which makes the aircraft much longer than it is wide - when space on a fleet carrier is at When in danger, this is remarkable. With a fully loaded weapon, the weight of the aircraft can tip the scales by nearly 40,000 pounds.

In addition to these details, the aircraft has common features of carrier aircraft, such as folding wings (hinged on the outside of each engine nacelle), reinforced landing gear, and articulating hooks under the tail. Additionally, the nose cone assembly is designed to fold over the starboard side of the forward fuselage.

Power should come from 2 x de Havilland hp. 43 "Gyron Junior" turbojets with 7,000 lbs of thrust. It is estimated that this will provide AW. 168, with a top speed of 675 mph. Fuel will be distributed through the inner wings and fuselage storage to the desired operating rangeabout 590 miles.

In-flight refueling capabilities are also planned, as well as additional external fuel tanks.

Primary ammunition would be stored in an internal bomb bay located centrally on the ventral line of the fuselage - this mass propelling the turbojets located outside the underwing nacelles and streamlined fuselage. These include nuclear missiles ("Green Cheese" and "Red Angel") and conventionally dropped bombs.

It is also possible to envisage air-to-surface missiles, mounted at fixed points below the main-wing aircraft.

The aircraft had no air-dropped and air-launched bomb bay guns, but was designed to be able to mount a "weapon pack" in its belly - increasing its strafing capability against ground targets. The weapon pack includes 4 x 30mm ADEN automatic cannons.

Impressive quality of AW anyway. 168 was never implemented because the design was not selected for further work. Armstrong Whitworth engineers even created a full-scale mockup and various mockups while also wind tunnel testing their design, but in the end it was all in vain.

Specification

BASIC

Years of Service

1954

Origins

UK

Status

Cancel

Development ended.

Crew

2

Production

0

Manufacturer

Armstrong Whitworth - UK

Operators

UK (removed)

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Special Mission: Anti-ship

Equipped to find, track, and attack enemy surface elements through visual acquisition, radar support, and ship-based weapons.

nautical/navy

Water mobility capability for a variety of land-based or ship-based maritime missions, supported by Allied Naval Surface Forces.

Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), reconnaissance

Monitor ground targets/target areas to assess surrounding threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

X-Plane (development, prototype, tech demo)

Aircraft designed for prototyping, technology demonstration, or research/data collection.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

59.7 feet

(18.20m)

Width/span

47.6 feet

(14.50m)

Cured weight

19,202 lbs

(8,710 kg)

MTOW

40,003 lbs

(18,145 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?20,801

(+9,435 kg)

Performance

Installed:

2 x de Havilland Gyron Junior turbojets, 7,000 lb thrust each.

Maximum speed

674 km/h

(1,085 km/h | 586 knots)

Maximum

39,370 feet

(12,000 m | 7 km)

Area

932 km

(1,500 km | 2,778 nautical miles)

rate of climb

5,000 ft/min

(1,524 m/min)

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

Armor

Proposed: Support for "Green Cheese" nuclear missiles, as well as conventional bomb and air-to-surface missiles primarily for anti-ship roles. There is also a "weapon pack" installed in the bomb bay in place of other ordnance, containing 4 x 30mm ADEN automatic cannons.