In late 1948, the Air Ministry sought designs for specification F2377/49 which would eventually lead to the iconic English Electric Lightning. One unforeseen and utterly forgotten out come of this was the competing design submitted by the British Pneumatic Co., Ltd.
While British Pneumatic had no experience designing modern aircraft, they were still a respectable firm known for quality products made to a high standard.
Intrigued by the possibilities of the design, the Air Ministry asked British Pneumatic to expand it for specification F2986/49, a requirement for a fast all-weather, long range, high-altitude interceptor. Thus the British Pneumatic Frightening was born.
The prototype was powered by the British Pneumatic Gnu engine and was wicked fast, so much so that the test pilot on the initial flight was heard to exclaim "That's truly frightening!" upon getting his feet back on the ground. Whether he was referring to the speed or the unusual flight characteristics may never be known but the name stuck.
The Frightening's turn of speed was indeed impressive. It was no wonder the new prototype jet would be fast as British Pneumatic's core competency was anything needing air.
The Frightening was well equipped for its mission, carrying a Welsh Waterworks H2O multi-frequency radar capable of spotting both the enemy and bad weather "from a long way off" (actual range top-secret). The fighter was intended to have armament of two 90 mm Aden cannon & 4 Snidewider missiles or 2 missiles & two unguided rocket pods with an optional belly 20 mm gun pack. However, this would all be wishful thinking as events would prove.
The long-range, all-weather fighter carried a crew of two, pilot/weaponeer & co-pilot/naviguesser/radar operator. Why one man just had to fly and shoot and the other one did everything else but polish the canopy is best explained by the RAF's archaic seniority rules.
A series of test flights were undertaken and results were initially promising. Unfortunately, while the new aircraft was fast, it wasn't powerful enough to lift a full war load and could barely get off the ground with a full crew if either of them had eaten a proper Full English breakfast beforehand.
British Pneumatic's solution was to re-double flight testing in a hopeless effort to skew the data enough to get the Air Ministry to order the prototype into full production. This was, of course, a fool's errand bound to fail and would lead to near disaster.
Early in the evening of July 14th, the Frightening was almost lost in a near-miss with Air Commodore Lord Badmitten's Gypsy Month. Bright orange panels were hastily applied to make the prototype more visible. Now British Pneumatic's failure could be seen at a distance.
The Air Ministry could not find words strong enough to voice its displeasure and the test program was cancelled. The Frightening was sent to RAF Remedial Mechanic's School and Ground Crew Disciplinary Facility No. 583 at Muddyheath. The remains were disposed of by being used for target practice by the Royal Horse Guard's Atomic Artillery.
Nothing remains of this sleek aircraft today save the fading memories of those who ate too much to fly her and this limited-run Moonfix model.
Brian da Basher
