Proposed derivatives Fairey Delta 2

fairey produced number of proposals have involved further development of delta 2. first of these experimental aircraft, designated er.103/b, have paired wings of fd2 revised fuselage, had greater span , length. er.103/b have been powered either de havilland gyron or rolls-royce rb.122 , have accommodated underwing fuel tanks extended endurance. combat fighter model, er.103/c, proposed, upon wings have been scaled 50 per cent, no radical aerodynamic alterations made. combat equipment have been provisioned, including ferranti-built airborne interception radar 1495 , de havilland firestreak air-to-air missiles. fairey claimed er.103/c capable of attaining mach 2.26 @ altitude of 55,000 feet.

marcel dassault, founder of dassault aviation

according fairey s projections, er.103/b have been ready fly within eighteen months of having received order, while er.103/c reach same readiness within 30 months. in particular, fairey pursued operational requirement f.155, called two-seat fighter equipped radar , missiles suitable performance achieve altitude of 60,000 feet , mach 2 within 6 minutes of taking off; while company thought firm thought design able capable of meeting specified requirements, believed complete weapon system not developed until 1962. thus, fairey proposed simpler interim aircraft, if selected, available 1960 or potentially earlier.

in addition gyron engine of earlier proposals, proposed fighter equipped pair of de havilland spectre rocket engines mounted in fairings on rear fuselage. high-test peroxide (htp) fuel rocket engines stored in tanks held in underwing fairings , within wing s leading edge, separate turbojet engine s fuel storage. featured two-man crew, pilot , radar operator/navigation, seated in side-by-side configuration. fuselage area ruled while large rectangular variable air intakes adopted. specified, fighter tentatively armed wingtip-mounted de havilland red top air-to-air missiles. further design revisions saw single gyron engine being replaced pair of rb.122 engines instead , adoption of red dean missile, alongside refinements such intake improvements , increased internal fuel capacity. fairey stated aircraft suited interceptor duties @ various altitudes, strike , aerial reconnaissance missions mooted.

on 1 april 1957, fairey informed officials within ministry of supply proposals favourite meet operational requirement f.155. however, on 4 april 1957, duncan sandys, minister of defence, announced effective termination of fighter aircraft development raf, instantly removing f.155 requirement.

a final attempt made progress delta 2 derivative production came during late 1950s new german air force of west germany. running against competing american bid lockheed f-104g starfighter, fairey joined forces rolls-royce , dassault in collaborative effort produce delta wing aircraft capable of reaching mach 2 meet german demand fighter aircraft. proposal have seen dassault produce wings, fairey manufacture fuselage, , rolls-royce provide engine, intended rolls-royce spey engine reheat; belgium played role in programme. however, american lobby proved strong, in part due subsequently uncovered lockheed bribery scandals had influenced german decision makers, , f-104g selected instead. end fd2 fighter concept; concept never saw use production aircraft; wood summarised state of affairs harvest left france gather .