de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen

De Havilland DH. 110 Sea Fox Stories

British engineers provided several notable aircraft designs during the Cold War decades. Such contributions became de Havilland DH. The 110 "Sea Vixen", a two-arm, two-seat, twin-turbojet design, dedicated to the Royal Navy from 1959 to 1972.

Production is limited to 145 aircraft, and these are in service on British aircraft carriers - weather interceptors with nuclear free-fall bomb capability. The Sea Vixen was adopted to replace the outgoing stables of de Havilland's "Sea Venoms", which had a roughly similar two-arm, two-seater configuration.

The Sea Fox came out as a thoroughbred, capable of taking on any fighter design pound by pound, and was the first all-weather two-seater of British blood to enter service. The first flight of the prototype took place on September 26, 1951, although the plan suffered a major public setback when a plane crashed at the 1952 Farnborough Air Show.

In fact, some 29 spectators lost their lives, for a total of 31. The plane disintegrated in mid-air due to a failure of the leading edge. The resulting investigation forced Sea Vixen to conduct a further review before proposing changes to the existing Sea Vixen design.

The de Havilland engineers opted to continue using the dual-arm layout compared to the aging stability of the Sea Venoms. However, the differences between the two designs are extreme. Between the two vertical stabilizers was erected a high-mounted tail. The twin-engine layout was also used to get more power from the combined layout paired with the turbojets. Swept wings became standard on all jets in the 1950s, and the Sea Vixen followed this trend.

The cockpit comes in the form of a single-seat fighter - which is designed for the pilot - although the radar operator is also buried in the nose, low and aft of the pilot's position. For the internal volume required for this location, the pilot's position has been offset from the centerline of the fuselage to the port side of the fuselage, giving the Sea Vixen a very pronounced top profile. Because the aircraft is designed as a carrier-based fighter, the wing attachments can be electrically folded to allow better storage of larger aircraft on British aircraft carriers where space is limited. The radar system (GEC AI-18 Air Interceptor) is housed in a rotatable nose cone assembly for easy access and maintenance.

The landing gear is fully retractable and powered, including two wheeled main legs and a single-wheeled front leg. Dimensions include a length of 55.6 feet, a wingspan of 51 feet and a height of 10.8 feet.

The aircraft is powered by 2 Rolls-Royce Avon Mk. 208 series turbojet engines, each delivering 11,000 pounds of thrust.

This gives the airframe a top speed of 690 miles per hour (Mach 0.90) at sea level, a range of 790 miles, a service ceiling of nearly 48,000 feet, and a rate of climb of 9,000 feet per minute.

As an armed fighter, the Sea Fox has been authorized to use up to 4 Fire Emblem air-to-air missiles. It was then expanded over time to include the "Red Top" series. In addition, the aircraft can stow 4 Matra rocket pods for a total of 72 rockets (18 per pod).

Like other aircraft during the Cold War, the Sea Fox was given a free fall provision to transport a single Redbeard nuke if the Cold War became "hot." Interestingly, the Sea Vixen was the first British aircraft without internal guns for close combat. Instead, the mount should survive on rocket/rocket-only weapons, which limits some of its tactical value.

A total of six hardpoints have been proven to carry a wide variety of weapon options available.

Following the 1952 crash, the Sea Vixen was not operational until July 1959, as engineers worked to improve the design. Since then, the aircraft spearheaded the British carrier fleet for a decade before a replacement was found. The original aircraft was designated FAW.

The Mk 1 model served with five squadrons and the 766B training squadron from 1958 to 1966. An improved form appeared in 1963, the FAW. The Mk 2 is a new or retrofitted version of the Mk 1. The Mk 2 mounts have been upgraded to Firestreak AAM along with an extended tail boom section to provide more internal fuel and therefore an improved service area.

The Sea Vixen was only in service with the Royal Navy's Fleet Aviation (FAA) and was never exported.

Despite having a lengthy career during a turbulent period in history, the "Sea Fox" was not directly involved in formal war operations during his service with the FAA. It patrolled Iraq during its attempted takeover of Kuwait in 1961 and supported it during the unrest in Tanganyika in early 1964. Later that year, out of anger at rebels in the Persian Gulf, the Sea Fox was deployed. Aside from a few years of patrol and support service, the Sea Fox's time as a fighter was limited compared to contemporaries of the era.

Nonetheless, she has become an essential part of British naval operations wherever she is needed - including show-of-force initiatives.

Some sea vixens were preserved as museum collections in the years following their retirement, while a limited number were converted into drones under the name "D. Mk 3". The modified target tug became "TT. Mk 2".

As new stock of American-origin McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II replaced the Sea Vixens, increasing costs and aging technology finally prevailed.

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