Now, a break in the Spitfires. I think I should adjust the color schemes on a couple of Seafires...
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When Squadron Leader G.L.G. Richmond was preparing to test fly the first prototype of the Nuffield-Napier-Heston J5 high speed aircraft, he knew he would have a hot bird in his hands. If all went well, he would soon take the World’s Landplane and Absolute Speed Record from Fritz Wendel and the Messerschmitt Me 209, also known as Me 109R. But it was not to be... There was a war in Europe and Speed Records had ceased to be a priority by the time he got "The Racer" in the air on 12 June 1940.
Wikipedia photo:
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ed/Napier-Heston_racer.jpg/300px-Napier-Heston_racer.jpg)
The first flight revealed some "issues" but nothing that a little more engineering couldn't fix: the engine was overheating and elevator control was not quite right. Subsequent flights showed improvement, and the second prototype - G-AFOL - turned out even better. The power of the Napier Sabre engine made the little aircraft go fast and climb quickly, and adjustments to the control system had made the plane quite nimble and well behaved. Could this beast be turned into a fighter?
After even more engineering, the first Heston Dragon Mk 1 took to the air, with four 12.7mm machine guns, larger fuel tanks, and a cockpit canopy from a Spitfire. There was not enough space for fuel tanks in súch a compact aircraft to make it a long distance performer but it was a supreme point defence fighter, only rivaled years later by the Grumman Bearcat.
Improvements incorporated into the Heston Dragon Mk 3 included enlarged tail surfaces and ailerons, a bubble canopy, and a more powerful version of the mighty Sabre engine. This one was protecting the Stockholm area against long distance bomber raids in mid 1940s.
![](http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/288/9/7/heston_dragon_mk_3_by_perttime-d5hbch7.png)
... For what really happened to the Napier-Heston Racer, see
Wikipedia or a 1943 article on it at
Flight Global archives.