Germany's defeat in World War II (1939-1945) meant that its military-industrial capabilities declined to such an extent that many prominent defense industry personnel were forced to look elsewhere for viable jobs. Such was the fate of Willie Messerschmidt, whose company designed some of the most iconic aircraft of the time, the classic Bf 109 single-engine fighter and the Bf 110 twin-engine heavy fighter.
Me 262 "Schwalbe", the world's first combat jet fighter.
Messerschmitt eventually moved to Spain, where he offered his talents to Hispano Aviacion. There, he worked on a new delta-wing, single-seat, single-engine aircraft design with lightweight and supersonic capabilities.
Work began in 1951 and culminated in flight testing of an incomplete plywood glider model on a towline behind a Heinkel He 111-based CASA medium bomber/transport aircraft. 111). However, the Spanish government stopped funding the program in 1960.
When the intended Orpheus engine failed to meet its expected performance goals, Ferdinand Brandner (1903-1986) of Austria was brought in to help develop a new engine. This became the Brandner E-300, with 10,582 thrust and reheat, and first operated in July 1963.
The first prototype took off on March 7, 1964, powered by a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus Mk 703-S-10 turbojet, while the E-300 was in development. The Indian government has intervened to fund the engine campaign to allow the same engine to be used in the new HAL HF-24 Marut fighter developed for service with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Subsequent flight developments included the arrival of Egyptian pilots in India in 1964. The maiden flight of the second prototype was subsequently recorded on July 22, 1965.
Although work was ongoing, the program stalled in May 1969 when the Egyptian government terminated its participation in the program for political and financial reasons, costing the Egyptian Air Force a coveted domestic interceptor. The Indian Marut was powered by a twin-turbo Bristol Siddeley Orpheus Mk 703, while the last of the HA-300 developments, the third production-oriented prototype, with the E-300 engine, underwent taxi trials in November 1969.
That's roughly the extent of further work on the line, but no formal flight tests have followed.
With the loss of the HA-300, the Egyptian Air Force opted to buy the proven Soviet fighter. Only three prototypes were realized for the HA-300 program.
- Fighter
- Intercept
- X-Plane / Development
40.68 ft (12.4 m)
5.85m
10.33 ft (3.15 m)
2,100 kg
12,004 lb (5,445 kg)
1,305 mph (2,100 km/h; 1,134 knots)
59,055 ft (18,000 m; 11.18 mi)
870 miles (1,400 km; 756 nautical miles)
666 ft/min (203 m/min)
2 x 30mm Hispano internal cannons
Up to four underwing air-to-air missiles (AAM) (two per underwing hardpoint).
HA-300 (Helwan Aircraft 300) - Designation of the base series; three prototypes were completed before the project was completed.