Gloster Javelin

Gloster Javelin F(AW) Mk.9
Javelin FAW.7
Description
Role	All-weather interceptor
Crew	Two, pilot and radar operator
First Flight	26 November 1951 (Mk.1)
Entered Service	29 February 1956
Manufacturer	Gloster
Dimensions
Length	56 ft 9 in	17.15 m
Wingspan	52 ft	15.85 m
Height	16 ft	4.88 m
Wing area	927 ft²	86 m²
Weights
Empty	24,000 lb	10,886 kg
Loaded	31,580 lb	14,325 kg
Maximum takeoff	43,165 lb	19,580 kg
Powerplant
Engines	2x Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 7 turbojets
Thrust	24,600 lbf	109.42 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	710 mph	1,140 km/h
Range	954 miles	1,530 km
Service ceiling	52,800 ft	15,865 m
Rate of climb	5,400 ft/min	1,647 m/min
Wing loading	34 lb/ft²	166 kg/m²
Thrust/Weight	0.78:1
Avionics
Avionics	Westinghouse AN/APQ-43 radar
Armament
Guns	2 x 30 mm Aden cannons
Missiles	Up to four Fairey Firestreak AAMs

The Gloster Javelin was an interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s. It was a large tailed delta aircraft designed for night and adverse weather operations.

History

The Javelin began with a 1947 Air Ministry requirement for a high-performance night fighter that led to orders for prototypes of two of the competing designs, the Gloster GA.5 and the de Havilland DH.110. When it appeared that the Gloster design would be ready sooner and would be simpler and cheaper to build, the de Havilland submission was rejected, (although the company was to continue development as a private venture that eventually resulted in the de Havilland Sea Vixen). The aircraft had a highly distinctive appearance, its broad delta wings surmounted by a huge fin topped by a T-tail.

The GA.5 first flew on 26 November 1951 (as it happened, exactly two months after the prototype DH.110 took to the air), and protracted fight testing took place until 1956, when the first 14 production machines were delivered, designated F(AW) Mk.1. Continued development and improvements were on-going, leading to small production runs of different models of the aircraft throughout the year.

By the end of 1956, the Javelin was up to a FAW.7 variant, which was the first to actually meet the specifications of the original Air Ministry requirement, and which was to become the definitive version of the aircraft (most of which were later updated to the FAW.9 standard). Indeed, the Javelin was evolving so quickly that deliveries of the FAW.8 began before FAW.7 production had ended. As a result, the final 80 FAW.7 aircraft went straight from the factory into storage, eventually flying after being remanufactured as FAW.9s. A total of 427 were produced in all variants, plus seven prototypes.

The closest that the RAF's Javelins ever came to combat was a deployment with 60 Squadron to Kai Tak during the Malayan Emergency. In 1964, an Indonesian Air Force C-130 Hercules crashed while trying to evade interception by a Javelin.

The last of the type was withdrawn from service in 1968, although one aircraft remained flying at Boscombe Downs through 1976. Ten examples are preserved in museums, none of them airworthy.

Variants

Most of the many variants of the Javelin were continual updates of the basic design. A total of 435 airframes was built, several of them converted to different marks (sometimes repeatedly).

• FAW.1: Initial version with Armstrong-Siddley Sapphire Sa.6 engines with 8,000 lbf (35.6 kN thrust each), British AI.17 radar, four 30mm ADEN cannon in wings. 40 produced, and the seven prototypes were later fitted to this standard.
• FAW.2: Replaced AI.17 with U.S.-made Westinghouse AN/APQ-43 radar. 30 produced.
• T.3: Dual-control trainer version with no radar, bulged canopy for improved instructor visibility. All-moving tailplane, lengthened fuselage to compensate for altered center of gravity, adding additional internal fuel. Retained four cannon. 22 produced.
• FAW.4: Similar to FAW.2, but with vortex generators on wings for improved stall characteristics. 50 produced.
• FAW.5: Based on FAW.4, with revised wing structure incorporating additional fuel tanks, provision for missile pylons (never actually fitted). 64 produced.
• FAW.6: Combined FAW.2's American radar with the revised wing of the FAW.5. 33 produced.
• FAW.7: Introduced new Sa.7 engines with 11,000 lbf (48.9 kN) thrust each, powered rudder, extended rear fuselage. Armed with two 30mm ADEN plus four Firestreak air-to-air missiles. 142 produced.
• FAW.8: Upgraded Sa.7R engines with reheat, raising thrust to 12,300 lbf (54.7 kN) thrust above 20,000 ft (6,100 m); at lower altitudes, the inefficient afterburner actually reduced thrust while increasing fuel consumption. New 'drooped' wing leading edge and auto-stabilizer for better handling.
• FAW.9: 76 FAW.7s refitted with the revised wing of the Mk.8.
• FAW.9R: 40 Mk.9s refitted with in-flight refueling probes.

Several variants were proposed, but not produced, including recce versions, a fighter bomber version with underwing panniers for bombs, and a supersonic variant with area-ruled fuselage, thinner wings, and a new tail.

External links

• Javelins in Service (http://www.btinternet.com/~javelin/p06_picture_galleries/in_service/javelins_in_service.htm)

Related content
Similar Aircraft	F4D Skyray - Yakovlev Yak-25
Designation Series	Gloster Ga.1 - Gloster Ga.2 - Gloster Ga.5
Related Lists	List of aircraft of the RAF - List of fighter aircraft

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