Vickers Type 559
The Vickers Type 559 represented a supersonic interceptor concept developed by the British aerospace firm Vickers-Armstrongs as their entry for the 1955 Operational Requirement F.155 competition.
Although it was not shortlisted, the leading proposals came from Armstrong Whitworth and Fairey. Ultimately, the F.155 project was discontinued following the publication of the 1957 Defence White Paper.
Design and development
The Type 559 featured an unconventional canard configuration with a large chin air intake, vertically divided, designed to feed two stacked de Havilland Gyron afterburning turbojet engines, each delivering 20,000 pounds-force (89 kN) of thrust, arranged in a manner reminiscent of the English Electric Lightning. Positioned at wing level on either side of the fuselage were two de Havilland Spectre Junior rocket motors. The aircraft carried a pair of either Red Hebe radar-guided or Blue Jay heat-seeking missiles mounted along the upper fuselage between the canard foreplanes and the main wings, which featured endplates incorporating twin vertical rudders.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]
Specifications
Notes
References
- Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3.
- Butler, Tony. "Futile Rivals: F.155T - The Quest for 'An Ultimate in Interceptors'". Air Enthusiast, No. 61, January/February 1996. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing. Template:ISSN. pp. 65–73.
- Buttler, Tony. British Secret Projects: Jet Fighters Since 1950. Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2000, ISBN 1-85780-095-8.
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