British specification F.6/42 Single seat high performancelight fighter in 1942

[blackkite]

British specification F.6/42 Single seat high performance light fighter in 1942.
Folland proposal Fo.117.

Image source.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/wi-glosters-unnamed-fighter.336944/page-3
http://raigap.livejournal.com/219959.html

Folland Fo.117 Single-Seat Lightweight Monoplane Fighter Aircraft Proposal
https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=1714

"The Fo.117 found a few supporters in the British Air Ministry ranks but not enough faith was seen in the small company to produce an all-new fighter in the schedule allotted and in the numbers that would be required. By March of 1943, the Fo.117 was given the death knell but, before the end of the year, it was resurrected as the "Fo.117A(Fo.117A - Revised design with all-new laminar-flow wings; Bristol Centaurus XII engine of 2,500 horsepower fitted..)" with new wings. The engine of choice became the Bristol Centaurus XII engine of 2,500 horsepower and English Electric was set to offer its production facilities following the six prototypes contracted for from Folland.

Despite this, nothing came of the commitment and the Fo.117 never saw the light of day. The competing Hawker design found better results as it became the "Fury / Sea Fury" in British service. Eight hundred sixty-four of these navy fighter-bombers were built from 1945 to 1955."

"Propulsion: 1 x Bristol Centaurus XII air cooling radial engine developing 2,500 horsepower and driving 2 x three-bladed propeller units in contra-rotating fashion at the nose.
Maximum Speed: 469 mph (755 kph; 408 knots)
Maximum Range: 513 miles (825 km)
Service Ceiling: 39,797 feet (12,130 meters; 7.54 miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 4,950 feet-per-minute (1,509 m/min)
Operating Crew (Typical): 1
Overall Length: 31.50 feet (9.6 meters)
Overall Width: 35.93 feet (10.95 meters)
Overall Height: 10.83 feet (3.30 meters)
Weight (Empty): 6,834 lb (3,100 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 9,755 lb (4,425 kg)
Armament :
4 x 20mm automatic cannons in wings (two per wing). "

 

[ceccherini]

Quite similar to F8F. What about armament and dimensions? However Centaurus is a radial, not an inline engine

 

[blackkite]

Indeed thanks. I corrected mistake.

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=90
F8F
Operating Crew (Typical): 1
Overall Length: 28.25 feet (8.61 meters)
Overall Width: 35.83 feet (10.92 meters)
Overall Height: 13.78 feet (4.20 meters)

Weight (Empty): 7,068 lb (3,206 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 12,948 lb (5,873 kg)
Propulsion: 1 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double-Wasp 18-cylinder radial piston engine developing 2,100 horsepower.

Maximum Speed: 421 mph (677 kph; 366 knots)
Maximum Range: 1,105 miles (1,778 km)
Service Ceiling: 38,698 feet (11,795 meters; 7.33 miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 4,570 feet-per-minute (1,393 m/min)
Armament
INITIAL:
4 x 12.7mm machine guns
STANDARD:
4 x 20mm cannons
OPTIONAL:
4 x 12.7cm rockets OR 1 x 1000lb bomb

four-bladed propeller with a diameter of 12 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) (Fo.117 propeller diameter is around 3.5m)

 

[blackkite]

Airspeed AS.56.
https://warmachinesdrawn.blogspot.jp/2016/04/airspeed-as56.html

"After the Air Ministry issued the specification F.6/42 to replace the Hawker Typhoon, which was an excellent fighter bomber but was considered too big for a single-seat fighter. Many companies showed interest, among them Boulton Paul, Hawker (which won the contest with the Hawker Tempest(Fury?)), Vickers, Supermarine, Westland and Airspeed.

It was going to be powered by a Napier Sabre IV, as it was a requirement of the Ministry's specification. The engine was going to be equipped with a fan-cooled annular radiator in order to reduce drag. It was going to have four 20mm cannons in the wings and, most probably, bomb capacity under the wings.
Anyway, the design on the work was abandoned, however the arrangement of the radiator was continued by the Napier in order to solve the Sabre's overheating problems and it was tested both in Hawker Typhoon and Hawker Tempest."

hawker-tempest-mk-v-nv768-version-ii-with-nappiers-annular-radiator-and-napier-sabre-vi-engine
https://www.1001modelkits.com/hawker-tempest-model-kit/22581-kora-korc7202-hawker-tempest-mk-v-nv768-version-ii-with-nappiers-annular-radiator-and-napier-sabre-vi-engine-designed-to-be-ass.html

Circular radiator drawing.
https://www.albentley-drawings.com/drawings/british-aircraft/hawker-tempest/hawker-tempest/

 

[hesham]

In Spec. F.6/42,the main tenders were;

Hawker P.1018,P.1019 & P.1020,Boulton Paul P.99 & P.100,Airspeed AS.56,Folland Fo.117,
Miles M.42,Supermarine,Vickers and Westland.

- Boulton Paul Putnam
- Bristish Secret Projects : Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950
- Miles Putnam

 

[DWG]

"After the Air Ministry issued the specification F.6/42 to replace the Hawker Typhoon, which was an excellent fighter bomber but was considered too big for a single-seat fighter. Many companies showed interest, among them Boulton Paul, Hawker (which won the contest with the Hawker Tempest(Fury?)), Vickers, Supermarine, Westland and Airspeed.

This seems to be confused between Typhoon and Tempest and Fury, and misses the other winner of F.6/42. Tempest started as the Typhoon II, but diverged enough to be considered a new type and was developed as F.10/41. Then Camm proposed a Tempest Light Fighter just before F.6/42 came along (presumably he was aware it was being prepared) and tweaked it to match. It won the competition and was developed under F.2/43, merging in the requirements of N.7/43 along the way to become the Fury/Sea Fury.

Rather than being a Typhoon replacement, F.6/42 came along in August 42 as a general desire for a lighter fighter, so might equally be seen as a Spitfire replacement. Hawkers bids were apparently the P.1018, 1019 and 1020 (all roughly the same aircraft, the Tempest Light Fighter, but with Sabre, Griffon or Centaurus), and was chosen to proceed, but did that under F.2/43. The other winner was Folland with the Fo.117, provoking a bitter row between Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, who wanted development to proceed at high priority, and Freeman and Linnell, who felt Folland did not have the infrastructure or technical maturity for a major project. The Fo.117 was dropped in March 43, but then revived as the Fo.117A in September, with 6 prototypes to be built as F.19/43, but later was cancelled again.

 

[DWG]

That warmachinesdrawn link is also misleading WRT engine specified, BSP says F.6/42 specified Sabre, Griffon or Centaurus, not just Sabre.

 

[blackkite]

From Japanese Wikipedia, (Perhaps specification F.6/42 and specification E.6/42 may be confused.)
"The Hawker Typhoon was a failed work as the high speed fighter that was originally requested. The cause was a flaw in the design, and upset of the Napier　Saber engine.
The Hawker Typhoon was active as a fighter bomber from the good mobility at low altitude, Hawker aircraft, which is not satisfied with this, redesigned the main wing and fuselage of the Typhoon to develop the Hawker Tempest, and succeeded in improving speed performance and high-altitude performance.
However, The Tempest is a complex aircraft, weight had become heavier than the assumption of Hawker. So, since around 1942, Hawker had decided to modify the Tempest even lighter and smaller.
At exactly the same time, the specification F.6/42 was presented from the United Kingdom Air Force, and a new fighter was requested. Hawker improved the Tempest fighter, and proposed a new fighter, which was smaller and lighter, and proceeded to develop. The scheduled engine was Bristol Centaurus 18-cylinder twin-row radial engine, 2,480 hp (1,850 kW) (take-off)
Hawker to the Tempest, using a steel pipe frame to the fuselage structure, only a part of the monocoque structure, from this new fighter, for weight reduction, Hawker decided to adopt the monocoque structure to the entire fuselage.
Then, in 1943, specification F.2/43 for United Kingdom Navy fighter was issued. Hawker was also to respond to this request by changing some of the aircraft which designed by specification F.6/42, the design was finished in 1944.
The aircraft for the Air Force was first flown in September 1944 and was named Fury. In February 1945, the Sea Fury for the Navy made the first flight. On May 8, the Germany surrendered and the battle for Europe ended, so fury for the Air Force was cancelled, and SeaFury for the Navy had been reduced to a large number of orders.
The Sea Fury production was continued after the war. The Sea Fury was reliable because it was equipped with a Bristol Centaurus engine of simple air-cooled structure compared to the Napier Saber engine, it was a high performance aircraft with good motility."

Fury tested some engines such as
(1) Centaurus Ⅻ.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Centaurus
(2) Griffon85.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Griffon
(3) SabreⅦ.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Sabre

 

[DWG]

Originally the Fury was to use the Centaurus as there was a desire at the Air Ministry for an air-cooled engine. But in late 44 they decided to trial Sabre in a Fury prototype, and then in April 45 that all Furies should have Sabres, while all Sea Furies had Centaurus.

Orders were:
April 44, Admiralty wants 100 Sea Furies/Month
April 44 Order for 200 Furies, 200 Sea Furies (at this point still technically the F.2/43 and N.7/43)
Jul 44 Contract for first production batch of 50 Sea Fury F.X, with Centaurus XI
Jan 45 Boulton Paul production contract cancelled.
Feb 45 Fury order cut to 150
Sep 45 Fury order cut to 120
Dec 45 Fury re-roled to ground attack
Jan 46 Sea Fury order now 100
Feb 46 Fury order cut to 60, Hawker warned production would be cut entirely if not suitable for ground attack
Aug 46 Fury cancelled (however Hawker built a Sabre VII Fury, VP207, as late as 1947 under a prototype contract)
During 1946 the initial production batch of 50 Sea Fury F.Xs with Centaurus were delivered.
Oct 46 Contract for second production batch of Sea Fury FB.11, with Centaurus 18
1947 50 Sea Fury FB.11s with Centaurus IX delivered under 1944 contract
Dec 47 Contract for third production batch of 147 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus 18
Jul 48 Contract for fourth production batch of 136 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus 18
Sep 49 Contract for fifth production batch of 93 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus
Aug 50 Contract for sixth production batch of 37 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus 18
Aug 50 Contract for seventh production batch of 78 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus 18
Apr 51 Contract for eighth production batch of 10 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus 18
Nov 51 Contract for ninth production batch of 30 Sea Fury FB.11 with Centaurus 18
Details from Hawker Aircraft Since 1920. Note that orders and contracts are not precisely the same thing, so numbers are slightly out.

 

[blackkite]

I see. Thanks a lot.
Fury with Griffon engine had a unique shape and Fury with Sabre engine is very beautiful. Someone have three side view drawing of these aircraft?

Fury was designed based on Specification E.6/42?
Some relation existed between specification E.6/42 and specification F.6/42?

E.6/42 Experimental lightweight Tempest - written for Tempest Light Fighter - refined & re-issued as F.2/43 (q.v.) Hawker Fury - see F.2/43
F.6/42 Single-seat fighter dated in September 1942.(Airspeed AS.56, Boulton Paul P.98, Folland Fo.117, Hawker P.1018/1019/1020,Supermarine,Vickers, Westland)

Tony-an said in his great book that,
(1)Specification F.6/42 competitor Hawker P.1018, P.1019 and P.1020 were essentially the same aircraft. But P.1018 had a Sabre43 engine, P.1019 had a Griffon61 engine and P.1020 had a Centaurs Ⅳ engine.
(2)The P.1018 Sabre version would have a radiator in a duct in the rear fuselage and a much slimmer fuselage than the Typhoon.
(3)The shorter Centaurs variant would allow the pilot be placed well forward with the fuel stored behind him close to the CofG.
(4)P.1018 span : 11.3m, P.1019 span : 11m, P.1020 span : 11m, Fury span : 11.7m

 

[hesham]

Very nice Info DWG.

 

[Arjen]

Fury with Griffon engine had a unique shape and Fury with Sabre engine is very beautiful. Someone have three side view drawing of these aircraft?

From 'WW2 Aircraft Fact Files - RAF Fighters Part 2' by William Green and Gordon Swanborough, Macdonald and Jane's 1979.

 

[blackkite]

Good drawing!! Thanks a lot.
I think that Sea Fury had a hook.

 

[DWG]

Fury was designed based on Specification E.6/42?
Some relation existed between specification E.6/42 and specification F.6/42?

E.6/42 Experimental lightweight Tempest - written for Tempest Light Fighter - refined & re-issued as F.2/43 (q.v.) Hawker Fury - see F.2/43
F.6/42 Single-seat fighter dated in September 1942.(Airspeed AS.56, Boulton Paul P.98, Folland Fo.117, Hawker P.1018/1019/1020,Supermarine,Vickers, Westland)

Specifications were sequential within the year, so there shouldn't be two numbered 6/42. As F.6/42 is well known, the E.6/42 looks like a misunderstanding, especially as F.6/42 wasn't written for the Tempest Light Fighter, but for a generic lightweight fighter, to which the Tempest Light Fighter was then tailored, and only one of several submissions. Plus the E. prefix was used for genuinely experimental stuff, not developmental work.

 

[blackkite]

Thanks a lot. I unserstand that "42" menas 1942. "F" means fighter. What is the meaning of "6"?
I think that Fury/Sea Fury and P.1018/1019/1020 are almost same.

 

[DWG]

6th specification issued since the start of the 1942 financial year (so in the year running 6th April 42 to 5th April 43).

 

[blackkite]

I see. Thanks a lot.