I do like your turboprop
Sunderland concept
Continuing on with the postwar Supermarine theme ...
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Private Venture - The Supermarine AttackerSupermarine designed its Type 392 'Jet
Spiteful' to meet the experimental specification E.10/44. One prototype of this Rolls-Royce RB.41
Nene-powered attack type was ordered on 30 August 1944. Such was the urgency of wartime production and development at Supermarine that little design work had been completed on the Type 392 when the Air Ministry cancelled it in September 1945. Immediately, the Supermarine Design Department under Joe Smith began working up a replacement design.
The Drawing Office under Eric Lovell-Cooper was assigned the task of draughting the final design for this jet-powered Private Venture. One feature conditional to senior Vickers-Armstrong management approval was a switch to an 'in-house' engine - the Metrovick F.2/4
Beryl axial-flow turbojet. [1] The fuselage of this new Type 398 was similar to that of the cancelled Type 392 but stretched to balance the
Beryl engine and new nosegear undercarriage. The wings and tailplane were entirely new.
The slightly-swept wings were clearly based upon recently-captured German research. Overall, the wing was similar to that of the German Me 262 but with a slightly greater leading edge sweep back of 22°. [2] The horizontal tailplane had an even great sweep angle (20°) although the vertical tail's sweep was more modest. All tail surfaces had typically Supermarine shapes with gracefully curved tips. This, then, was the form of the production Type 398N
Attacker ordered for the Royal Navy as the Supermarine
Attacker F.Mk.1 (there being no actual Type 398 prototype).
Top Supermarine
Attacker F.Mk.1 on shipboard trials with the Royal Navy. Note the smaller original tail surfaces.
The Supermarine
Attacker F.1 handled well in the air but had some stability challenges when landing on. [3] Directional issues were addressed through the design of an altogether larger tailplane. These surfaces were designed as bolt-on replacements for the F.1's tail. Once applied, the aircraft became Supermarine
Attacker FB.Mk.1A fighter-bombers (the RN having reassessed appropriate roles). A similar fin and rudder were applied to the up-powered
Attacker FB.2 variant. In the latter, the rudder was identical but a slight further increase in fin area was acheived by straightening out the fin's trailing edge.
Bottom Supermarine
Attacker FB.Mk.2 in service with 800 NAS in August 1952. Note this variants straight fin trailing edge and raised fuselage 'spine' tapering from the rear of the sliding hood. Less obvious is the straight edges of the enlarged horizontal tail surfaces.
The
Attacker FB.2 was eclipsed in regular service by the de Havilland
Sea Venom mainly because the latter had a heavier fixed-gun armament. [4] However, the
Attacker served on with Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) squadrons until finally being retired in 1959.
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[1] At 4,000 lbf, the
Beryl produced less thrust than the RB.41
Nene but it also had less frontal area.
[2] The sweep angle of the German Messerschmitt fighter had been 18.5°.
[3] The F.1's vertical tailplane was already bigger than that designed for the original Type 382. However, the Type 398N's longer forward fuselage demanded surfaces which were larger still.
[4] All
Attackers were armed with a pair of 20 mm Hispano V cannons - initially judged to be adequate for a ground attack aircraft. As a fighter, Supermarine had hoped to arm its Type 398 with a pair of the 30 mm ADEN guns. However, that revolver cannon was destined not to reach operation use until 1954.
