00:20This British jet fighter just missed World War II, and entered service after the end of the war.
00:26It was a unique design, very different from the other early jet fighters, with its single engine, twin boomtail, and
00:33partly wooden construction.
00:34And one of its very ends became the first British aircraft to break the sun barrier.
00:39This was the The Heavyland Vampire fighter jet.
00:42So let's see the history of this aircraft today.
00:52Before and during the Second World War, the aviation technology went through a great evolution.
00:57As in the span of a decade, the old biplanes were replaced with faster and more advanced monoplanes,
01:02which then swapped their piston engines and propellers for the newest jet engines in the search for more speed.
01:09The British jet engine and jet powered aircraft development in the late 1930s and early 1940s lagged somewhat behind the
01:16Germans,
01:16as they only made their first jet powered flight in May 1941 with the E-28-39 type.
01:23While in Germany the Heinkel He-178 already flew in 1939, powered by a turbo jet engine.
01:31Though the work on the famous Gloucester Meteor started back in 1940,
01:35even before the first usable British jet engines were finalized,
01:39there were also other designs in development, which planned to utilize this new propulsion type.
01:45In early 1941 Sir Henry Tizard suggested to the Heavyland to start developing a fighter aircraft built around this new
01:52technology.
01:53And though this was unprecedented before, also worked on the engine for the new design.
01:58While most contemporary designs used two jet engines because of the low thrust of these early power plants,
02:03the Heavyland's DH-99 design, which was presented in June 1941, used a radical approach,
02:10featuring only one engine mounted in the middle of the fuselage and a twin boom tail.
02:16The aircraft was planned to use an all-metal construction and feature the air intakes for the engines at the
02:21wing routes.
02:23Though in the Ministry of Aircraft Production the estimated performance figures were seen as somewhat optimistic,
02:29showing the new aircraft should be able to reach around 455 miles an hour speed,
02:34with the use of a single jet engine producing around 2700 pounds of thrust,
02:39but the project was still authorized to proceed just a month after the presentation of the plans.
02:46The development of the new aircraft started as an experimental design,
02:50meanwhile the planned engine was also in development under the guidance of Major Frank Halford,
02:55who was given access to Frank Whittle's design to try to build a more advanced and simplified model.
03:01The end result was the engine initially known as Halford H-1,
03:05and later as the The Heavyland Goblin.
03:07This design in the following years powered several fighter planes.
03:14But let's not get ahead of ourselves, and go back to 1941.
03:18When during the development of the new fighter, the Ministry suggested to the Heavyland to modify the design,
03:24and utilize their expertise in the use of plywood construction,
03:27which they perfected on the mosquito type.
03:31The design now using wooden construction in the front,
03:34but all metal wings and tail was renamed to DH-100 in late 1941.
03:42A new specification, E-641, was introduced for the project,
03:46and in the next April the Ministry authorized the building of two prototypes.
03:51Initially the work on the new fighter was fairly slow,
03:54as the mosquito production forced it into the background.
03:57But during this year the Goblin engines were refined,
03:59several test rounds were conducted on the testbed,
04:02and later two of the engines were installed in a Glosser Meteor as well for flight testing.
04:08Though during 1942 the so-called Spider-Crab design,
04:12which was the early code name for the new fighter,
04:14went through the mock-up phase and wind tunnel testing,
04:17and the engine was also finalized,
04:19its maiden flight had to be delayed.
04:21As the only available engine was sent to the US to be used on the Lockheed XP-80 fighter.
04:26After the first jet engine supplied to Lockheed was destroyed because of a design fault on the aircraft.
04:33The work on the heavy land prototype progressed well,
04:36and after the next half of the engine became available,
04:39the maiden flight finally happened in September 1943,
04:43and the aircraft managed to reach a speed of 400 miles an hour during the 30-minute flight.
04:48Apart from noticing some instability, the test flight went smoothly.
04:52The second and third prototypes were built with modified tail surfaces to fix this instability.
04:58From these the third one flew first in January 1944,
05:02while the second model took to the skies in March.
05:05This variant was modified to be tested as a carrier-based fighter,
05:08becoming the prototype for the later Sea Vampire models.
05:12The Royal Navy conducted interesting experiments on the usage of jet fighters on carriers,
05:17including landings on rubber decks with the wheels up.
05:22The overall impression of the type was very positive,
05:25but the pilots felt it was underpowered with the first iteration of the Goblin engine,
05:29which provided only 2500 pounds of thrust.
05:33As a result, the Vampire needed longer take-off rounds than the pistol-engined fighters,
05:37and similarly to other early jets, it didn't have very good acceleration or rate of climb.
05:44A few months after the test flights, in May 1944,
05:47a production order was issued for 120 units of the type,
05:51which was increased to 300 units a year later.
05:54The Deheviland facilities at the time were working already at almost full capacity,
05:58producing existing types, like the Mosquito,
06:01so majority of the new fighters' production was undertaken by English Electric.
06:06Setting up the production lines, however, took time,
06:08so only a few of these fighters were finished before the end of World War II.
06:13The first production, Vampire F1, made its maiden flight in April 1945,
06:18and the first 16 aircraft were used to refine the design of the plane and the power plants.
06:24The type entered service on summer of 1946, and was used for a long time,
06:29receiving many different upgrades and going through numerous variations,
06:32so let's take a look at those now.
06:42The F1 was the original design of the type.
06:45Three prototypes and 228 production units were built.
06:49The first 40 units featured the original Goblin 1 engine,
06:52while the following planes were built with the more powerful Goblin 2 variants,
06:57producing 3,100 pounds of thrust,
07:00and allowing the fighter to reach 528 miles an hour top speed.
07:04From the 51st aircraft, the pressurized cockpit was introduced on the type.
07:09And from the 87th unit, a new type of sliding canopy appeared,
07:12allowing better visibility for the pilots.
07:16The next F2 variants used the more powerful Rolls-Royce Neen engines,
07:20producing 4,450 pounds of thrust.
07:24Three units were modified for these engines,
07:26and they are easily recognizable from the so-called elephant ears on the top of the aircraft,
07:31to provide additional airflow to the engine.
07:33In the end, the RAF decided not to use this type,
07:36but later they were used by other countries, like Australia and France.
07:42The following F3 models used the new Goblin 2 engines,
07:46providing 3,100 pounds of thrust,
07:48and were further developed to increase the range of the fighter,
07:51which originally was just around 700 miles.
07:54The introduction of additional fuel tanks in the wings,
07:57and the ability to carry drop tanks,
07:59increased the range to around 1,200 miles.
08:02But on the test flights, directional instability was experienced,
08:06leading to redesigned and larger tail surfaces,
08:08and more rounded vertical stabilizers.
08:12The addition of hard points for drop tanks,
08:14eventually led to the capability to carry other suspended ordnance on the aircraft as well,
08:19leading to the development of the FB-5 fighter-bomber variants.
08:23These models featured stronger wings,
08:25which given the type was intended for low-level attack missions,
08:29were also shorter with square wingtips.
08:32A total of 1,123 units were built from this variant.
08:38The upgraded FB-6 variants were similar to the FB-5,
08:42but featured the newer Goblin 3 engines.
08:46The F8 variant was an experimental version to increase the performance of the Vampire,
08:51featuring entirely new wings and a new Ghost engine,
08:54now producing 4,850 pounds of thrust.
08:58The improvements were successful,
09:00but given the excessive modifications,
09:02this variant entered production under a different name,
09:05as the The Heavyland Venom.
09:11Finally, the last production variant was the FB-9,
09:14which was a tropicalized version of the fighter-bomber models,
09:18featuring cockpit cooling and engine modifications to counter the performance drop at hot climates.
09:26A night fighter variant of the type under the designation NF-10 was developed,
09:31and 81 units were built for the RAF.
09:34Later export variants of the model, sold to other countries were designated NF-54.
09:41Several trainer variants were also used, which were designated from T-10 to T-55.
09:48Upon the development of the longer-range FB-5 variants,
09:52the possibility to deploy the type as a carrier-based fighter was also explored.
09:56The Admiralty ordered 18 aircraft for testing,
09:59and the first F-20 Sea Vampire flew in October 1948.
10:04And this type became the first jet aircraft to land and operate from carriers.
10:08Though they entered service with the Royal Navy,
10:11only a small number of these models were built,
10:12as they were viewed as a temporary type because of their short-range and relatively weak engines.
10:20Several export variants of the Vampire also existed.
10:23Like the F-30, F-31 and F-32 for the Australian Air Force.
10:28The F-B-50, known as G-28B for the Swedish.
10:33The F-B-51 exported to France.
10:37The F-B-52A variant used by the Italians.
10:41And many more.
10:43An experimental version named DH-108 was also built,
10:47featuring sweat wings and a tailless design.
10:50This variant was developed to a 1945 requirement,
10:54and three units were built to test the wing handling at high subsonic speeds.
10:59Powered by the Goblin 4 engine producing 3,800 pounds of thrust,
11:03the plane reached more than 600 miles an hour speeds even at the early test flights.
11:08The unexploded region of breaking the sand barrier resulted in many accidents with the type.
11:13But the VW-120 model, built with a more pointed nose and a different canopy,
11:18became the first British aircraft to exceed the speed of sand in September 1948.
11:32The Vampire was 30 feet 9 inches long, with a wingspan of 38 feet.
11:38It had an empty weight of 7,283 pounds,
11:42and a maximum take-off weight of 12,390 pounds.
11:49The fighter was powered by a single DH-113 jet engine,
11:53which allowed it to reach a top speed of 548 miles an hour.
11:58The plane had a range of 1,220 miles,
12:02and a service ceiling of 42,800 feet.
12:08Its main armament consisted of four 20 mm hispano cannons,
12:12mounted in the nose,
12:14and it could carry either eight rockets or two 500 pound bombs under its wings.
12:28The first production models of the Vampire entered service with the RAF in 1946,
12:34and the type slowly replaced many of the WWII piston engine fighters still in service.
12:39The Vampire set many records after its introduction,
12:42being the first jet aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier,
12:45setting an altitude record of 59,400 feet in 1948,
12:51and in the same year it was the first jet-powered aircraft type to complete a transatlantic flight.
12:57They flew their first combat missions during the Malayan emergency in the late 1940s,
13:02where the FB-5 fighter boomer variant saw the most action.
13:06They were also deployed to the Middle East during the Suez Crisis in 1956 by the RAF.
13:11The experience after operating the type in hot climates,
13:14led to the development of the tropicalized FB-9 version,
13:18which entered service in 1952.
13:22After the mid-1950s, the Vampire started to show its age,
13:26and was gradually replaced by the newer Venom type.
13:28But the two-seat trainer variants stayed in service with the RAF for another decade,
13:33and they were only retired in 1967.
13:36The type was also a great export success,
13:39with many countries ordering Vampires into service.
13:42Just to name the most prominent users of the type.
13:45Australia initially ordered 50 units in 1946,
13:49then further 80 units were built by the Havilland Australia,
13:52all of them the Royal Soyuz Neen engine-powered variants.
13:56The Royal Canadian Air Force operated 86 Vampires,
14:00mainly F-3 variants until 1956.
14:03Egypt originally ordered 66 FB-52 export variants,
14:07from which they received 50 units,
14:09before further deliveries were cancelled over political problems.
14:14France also ordered from the Vampire FB-5 models,
14:17and later manufactured the NIN-powered FB-53 model under license,
14:22building around 250 units,
14:25which entered service with the French Air Force under the Mistralium.
14:29India also used the type from 1948,
14:32and they participated in several combat missions during the Indo-Pakistani war in 1965.
14:38Italy was also interested in the type,
14:41and in late 1949 purchased the rights to manufacture the Vampire under license.
14:46A total of 220 units were built from different variants.
14:50Norway purchased 59 Vampires, and kept them in service until 1957.
14:57Sweden initially purchased 70 Vampires in 1946,
15:00and after the type proved itself to be a very good aircraft,
15:03further 310 units were ordered.
15:06These served in the Swedish Air Force under the designations J-28A and J-28B,
15:13alongside with 57 J-28C trainer variants.
15:18Switzerland also purchased the Vampire,
15:20and eventually manufactured the FB-6 model under license,
15:24and they kept them in service until the late 1960s,
15:27but some were even used up to the 1990s for training purposes.
15:33The The Heavyland Vampire, though it started its life as a radical new design,
15:37turned out to be a great success amongst the early jet fighters,
15:40set several requests during its lifetime,
15:42and served in more than 30 countries,
15:44and its production reached around 5000 units in total during its lifetime.
15:51Hope you guys enjoyed this video.
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15:54and in the comments let me know,
15:56if there's any interesting events or vehicles you'd like to see.
