Aviation Archive 12 - Cold War Jets.pdf

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AVIATION ARCHIVE
Cold War Jets
The race
for aerial
supremacy
SPECIAL
www.aeroplanemonthly.com
With cutaways and
rarely seen images
£7.95
enquiries@anticsonline.co.uk
01453 825381
£19.99
Stroud Gloucester
Bristol Plymouth
Coventry Cardiff
Sheffield
AIRCRAFT MODELS
heavily laden
Century Wings die-cast model 1/72 USAF A7E Corsair II (778962)
and A-6E Intruder (778979) epitomise load carrying, carrier borne
US attack aircraft that were able to operate world wide. Several
versions are available at prices from £49.99 to £69.99. Corsairs
were in service with the USAF from 1967 to 1991, Intruders from
1963 until 1997.
MASSIVE RANGE OF
fly by radio
more like a wasp
£29.99
Model Power 1/87 die-cast model of the potent USAF
Predator MQ-1 pilotless drone that can be operated half a
world away from the safety of a comfy bunker. Changes
the rules, maybe not for the better! (5567)
Aviation 72’s striking 1/72 die-cast model of the Scottish
Aviation Bulldog basic trainer that enabled a large number
of RAF rookies to achieve their ‘wings’! The prottype first
flew in 1969. (AV72-25001)
M for Mother
rapide to the rescue
£32.95
£109.50
model shops and online stores
Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72 ‘ Dambuster’ Lancaster
details ED-925, the aircraft hit by AA fire in the attack
on the Mohne dam. Superbly finished and of die-cast
construction, this is one of the best models available
today. It is in stock. (AA32620)
Oxford Die-cast’s 1/72 cheerful model of the AA’s Dragon
Rapide is a great piece of die-cast. The aircraft was of
course used for traffic spotting and acquired in 1957 but
performed resue work in the guise of an air ambulance
(72DR004)
INTRODUCTION
3
I
N THIS EDITION of the Aeroplane Collectors’
Archive, we take a look at some of the most iconic
fighter aircraft from the Cold War era. Of course, the
era that is now known as the Cold War stretched over
a period of decades during which great advances
were made in the design and manufacture of military
aircraft. When the Cold War began, the world had
barely entered the jet age. By the time that it ended,
our skies were occupied by complex, digitally-
controlled masterpieces of computerized technology
that can hardly be compared to the simple fighting
machines of the 1950s.
In Britain, the dark days of the Cold War saw the
Royal Air Force still adjusting to peacetime
conditions, after the long, grim years of World War
Two. Only seven years had passed since the critical
summer of 1940, when Spitfires and Hurricanes had
battled the Luftwaffe in the skies over Southern
England. In terms of equipment and capability, little
had changed in those seven years. The RAF’s fighters
had soldiered on, sometimes modified, sometimes
redesigned quite considerably, but little different to
those that had fought in the Battle of Britain. But by
1947 the jet age had dawned and the Gloster Meteor
was now coming into service, and the days of the
piston-engine, propeller-driven fighter were coming
to and end.
The growing threat of conflict with the Soviet
Union drove the development of new warplanes, so
that new designs were often on the drawing board
before their predecessors had barely begun to fly. The
unsophisticated Meteor fighter was swiftly replaced
by the swept-wing Hunter, and this too soon gave
way to the big and brutal Javelin night fighter. Next
came the phenomenal Lightning interceptor, before
it too was replaced, by the Phantom. Finally, in the
twilight years of the Soviet empire, the multi-
national Tornado came into service. Generations of
aircraft design came and went, all within the years of
the Cold War.
Across the Atlantic, the pace of development was
just as frenzied. The ominous Iron Curtain signaled a
growing possibility of nuclear conflict with the USSR.
The Korean War demonstrated only too clearly that
the West was faced with some very serious
adversaries and the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated
just how rapidly the world could descend into a
devastating Third World War. The long, ugly Vietnam
War began, and still the Cold War demanded that
America stood ready and prepared to defend both its
self and its Nato partners. Vast, almost unimaginable
sums of money were poured into the creation of more
and more machinery. The unsophisticated early jets
made way for the swift and nimble F-86 Sabre, and
the glittering family of Century Series fighters
emerged. The mighty F-4 Phantom appeared and
then a new generation of supremely capable
warplanes followed – the F-16, F-15 and the F-14
Aeroplane Collectors’ Archive
Tomcat. Meanwhile on the other side of the East-West
divide, a similar struggle was taking place, with even
scarcer resources assigned to a seemingly never-
ending quest to match or surpass the West’s
achievements. Although little was known about the
Soviet’s activities at the time, with hindsight we now
know that their efforts and achievements were no
less impressive, as exemplified by the ubiquitous
MiG-21 and the truly outstanding MiG-29.
Although the race towards aerial supremacy has
now slowed almost to a standstill, development of
new aerospace technology continues even though
the Cold War is – thankfully – long gone. But even
though it is difficult to regard the Cold War years as
anything more than a truly dark era in our history, it
is undeniably true that the very real risk of war led to
some remarkable and swift technological progress,
and the creation of warplanes that will forever have a
deserved place in our history.
It is naturally impossible to examine every fighter
aircraft type that emerged through the Cold War
years within the space of just one publication, but in
this edition of the Aeroplane Collectors’ Archive we
can celebrate some of the most fascinating,
significant and unforgettable aircraft that came into
being during the 1947-1991 era. These aircraft were,
by any standards, true icons of aviation technology.
Tim McLelland
Editor
Cold War Jets
Editor
Tim McLelland
Production Manager
Rebecca Gibbs
•
Scanning assistant
Michael Hutchings
•
Design
Paul Sanderson
Published by Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • Telephone 01959 541444 • Fax 01959 541400 • www.kelsey.co.uk
Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd., Willenhall, West Midlands.
© 2013 all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with prior permission in writing from the publisher.
The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher. ISBN 978-1-909786-04-2
Cold War Jets
6
Britain’s first swept-wing jet fighter joins the Royal Air Force
HAWKER HUNTER
6
16 NORTH AMERICAN F 100 SUPER SABRE
The USAF’s first jet fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight
26 MCDONNELL F 101 VOODOO
The US Air Force’s multi-role fighter-bomber that became an interceptor
36 ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING
Interceptor supreme, the RAF’s very last all-British, single-seat fighter
44 DASSAULT MIRAGE
France’s world-beating delta-winged supersonic success story
54 VOUGHT F 8 CRUSADER
The last of the United States Navy’s true dogfighters
16
26
64 GLOSTER JAVELIN
Big and brutal, the RAF’s monstrous and much-maligned all-weather interceptor
70 GRUMMAN F 14 TOMCAT
The New York slugger that became the US Navy’s Top Gun classic
76 DE HAVILLAND SEA VIXEN
The Royal Navy’s swept-wing, all-weather fighting fox
86 MIKOYAN GUREVICH MIG 21
Small and agile, the USSR’s ubiquitous lean and mean fighting machine
36
92 MIKOYAN GUREVICH MIG 29
Russia’s mighty multi-role, super fighter supreme
Contents
44
76
86
54
64
70
92

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