Try
here,
here and
here (for Hunter, Javelin, Lightning and Phantom.)
Don't get diverted into UFOs by the tale of
Captain William Schaffner
I'd suggest getting in touch with Chris Gibson, details as below.
You might also want to get hold of the accident report on the mid air collision between Aztec G-BAJX of Lease Air and Binbrook Lightning XP659
on 7th Jan 1976.
Secret Projects:
Battle Flight: RAF Air Defence Projects and Weapons Since 1945 by Chris Gibson
Battle Flight has gone to the printer and as promised, a chapter summary.
Battle Flight – RAF Air Defence Projects and Weapons
Chapter 1: X-Rays and the Evolution of the Threat
How the threat from the UK changed from 1000-bomber raids by Bulls to Badgers and Bears with free-fall nuclear bombs and stand-off weapons before moving to the ballistic missile. Post-Polaris the air-breathing threat changed to a dedicated maritime strike force of Backfire and Badger to attack NATO lines of communication.
Chapter 2: Lethal Confetti – Air Defence Artillery
The postwar development of British AA guns with the quest for more height, accuracy and rate of fire. Dr Beeching’s (yes, him) report on anti-aircraft guns and new rocket weapons such as Typhoon and High-Flyer. Also looks at Wallis’ Green Lizard and how the ever-more complex fire-control systems made the SAM a more effective alternative.
Chapter 3: Caelum Tuemur - We Watch over the Skies
Postwar early warning radars and plans from the Type 14 to the Type 93 and how they fitted into the air defence plans such as ROTOR, AHEAD and Linesman. Radar projects such as Red Cabbage, Blue Joker, Wealth, STAR, BMEWS and over-the-horizon techniques.
Chapter 4: We’re not Defending the Bloody French! - SAMs
Surface-to-air missiles - Bloodhound in its Mk.2, Command-guidance and nuclear guises, the origins of Blue Envoy and the hearing aid computer, Land Dart and why it didn’t prosper. The Stage II and III projects. A look at the post-Bloodhound projects such as FMS, SAM-72, SAM-3 and Guardian.
Chapter 5: Catch a Falling Star – ABMs
The fruitless search for a dual-purpose weapon. The basic systems based on Stages 1½, 1¾ and II. The bespoke ABMs such as Project 29 (the real one, not the one based on Bloodhound) and 36. Comparisons with US experience with ABMs. Helmet and Gerry Bull. ATBMs – Wolverine and how pushing the envelope killed British SAM projects.
Chapter6: Achieving a K-Kill -Weapons against Aircraft
Development of interceptor armament including the Aden, recoilless guns and air-to-air rockets. Nuclear weapons against aircraft, how the Air Staff calibrated their model and why such weapons fell from favour. Tossing Red Beards at Bears and the Air Staff’s efforts to acquire Genie. What would replace Red Top and the quest for more firepower leading to the flying battleship.
Chapter 7: Force Multipliers - Top-ups and Tip-offs
Elint types from the Washington to the Air Seeker via the Comet, Nimrod and VC10. Development of in-flight refuelling from the origin of the role with Cobham’s prewar work, the wartime proposals for the Pacific theatre, the postwar adoption by the RAF with Valiants then Victors and VC10s. Brief history of the V1000. The rise of the multi-role aircraft including the Super-tanker and BAe Woodford’s MRSA proposals based on Airbuses, FIMA and the LARC. The 50 year saga of the RAF’s search for an AEW type, Fishpond, Netcentric warfare in 1944, C-97AEW, Andover AEW and ASR.387, ASR.400, E-2K, HS.748AEW and the Nimrod debacle, plus Woodford’s MRSA and LARC again.
Chapter 8: The 1950s Terminal Event - Sandys, F.155 and Under-the-Counter Fighters
Why Britain had a fighter gap in the early 50s, the British Volksjäger, mixed thinking on powerplants. Proactive air defence – Warton’s intruders; the P.2 and P.12. The 1954 Air Defence Working party, the RAE’s Schräge Musik fighters, and the origins of Sandys’ thinking. Albion’s Foxbat, the F.155 juggernaut and how its end came with a beeping sphere and the Sandys Terminal Event. How the under-the-radar P.17 led to the under-the-counter P.22 fighter from Warton and thus prompted the rise of the mud-mover.
Chapter 9: Two Decades of Certainty - 1957 Onwards
The Admiralty lead the field in fighters while the mud-movers muscle-in on air defence with the rise of the multi-role fighter such as Warton’s PL.1. The threat changes from east to north prompting a change in air defence strategy. How Sandys did us a favour by clearing the decks. The Phantom CAP fits the GIUK Gap. The 1964 Air Defence Working Party report lays the foundation for the air defence systems we have today. The Jones fighter and how the Italians helped it evolve into the Tornado ADV we know today.
Chapter 10: Tornado ADV - A Merely Symbolic Force or Flying Battleship?
The alternatives to, and evolution of, the Tornado ADV and the threat from America. Why the RAF bought the Tornado ADV rather than the Tomcat or Eagle. The Phantom options and the development of, and alternatives to, Skyflash. Knife and fork prototypes from France and the Tornado for the Force de Frappe – how the French could have saved the entire MRCA project and the ACF could have kept the Bears at bay. Stretching the Tornado ADV.
Appendix – Operational requirements and Staff Targets