PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Super Sonic Harrier - HS P.1154
View Single Post
Old 20th Dec 2012, 18:25
  #1 (permalink)  
CoffmanStarter
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Sussex UK
Age: 66
Posts: 6,995
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Super Sonic Harrier - HS P.1154

Guys ...

On the back of the recent splendid thread running on the Lightning v Harrier, along with input from the F4 community, it got me thinking about "What If" we had the Super Sonic Harrier ?

I understand the Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic V/STOL fighter aircraft. Developed alongside the subsonic and smaller Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel, the P.1154 was derived from the P.1150. The P.1150 proposal did not meet NATO Basic Military Requirement 3 and, consequently, the P.1154 was born. The P.1154 was to have been a Mach 2-capable platform which retained plenum chamber burning previously designed for the P.1150.

Meanwhile, HSA considered modifying the airframe for a joint specification for an aircraft by the RAF and Royal Navy. I understand that the RAF and Royal Navy during 1961 and 1965 harmonised specifications to preserve design commonality. However, the RAF's desired configuration was to take precedence over that of the Royal Navy's. A number of proposals were submitted – at one stage, a twin-Spey design was considered, then rejected.

Sadly, following the Labour government coming to power in 1965, the project was cancelled. The result being that the Royal Navy acquired the F-4, while the RAF continued with the development of the P.1127 (RAF), leading to the successful Harrier family.

So had we had the P.1154 SSH how would we have used it ?

It seems certain that it's role would have been different to that of the P.1127 Family of Jump Jets.

Maybe John F might be able to elucidate if he's on frequency ...


Best regards ...

Coff.

Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 21st Dec 2012 at 09:37.
CoffmanStarter is offline