Deleted member 1487
Blame ThandeHoly triple necros Batman!
Blame ThandeHoly triple necros Batman!
Yes, quite correct the Miles M52 would have been the first supersonic aircraft, but as you say it was canceled and Miles aviation was instructed to hand over all of their research to Bell. The X1 was virtually a rocket powered copy of the M52. Even down to the fully moving tailplane which was also used on the Sabre. With the Nene engine the M52 would have been able to take off and land under its own power as well as achieve supersonic flight.
Not true Whittles first designs were for axial jet engines he only went on to the centrifugal design for practical reasons the axial jet needed more advanced metallurgy as the Germans found. WWII German engines were scrap after 20 to 30 hours running the equivalent Welland, Derwent, and Goblin engines were good for 10 times longer running between overhauls.
Whilst Jumo, BMW and Heinkel were working on their axial designs Metrovick were working on the axial F2 which though it was never selected for a service aircraft was reliable and powerful on tests and was a basis for the development of the Armstrong Siddely Saphire.
In Hungary on August 1940 Gyorgy Jendrassik ran a bench test of his prototype Cs-1 turboprop with axial compressor. In the USA Westinghouse started design work on an axial engine the 19A in July 1941.
In 1944 well before anyone outside of Germany had seen a German axial engine. Rolls Royce started the design work on the engine that became the superb and very widely used Avon series and the basis of all modern Rolls Royce engines.
Only if the plans also weren’t sold to the USA, because both the USSR and the USA needed the British to get jet aircraft in the air, later both used German designs. The Korean war would been different if only one side would have well developed jet aircraft.
Maybe the impact would have been larger if the British didn’t give the engine technology to the USA, because than the western world would have bought British fighters and more British commercial airlines. The 720 would have been on time to hold the comet sales low. After all they first had to get the military jet engine working to use the jet engine for commercial purposes.
I think it would have been even better with swept wings, but is that a good reason to cancel? Fund a version with swept wings, for heaven sake.
The M52 used a turbofan engine with afterburner. Britain was well ahead. I don't think we should have shared with the USA either. They gave us nothing in return on this deal.
fortunately Bell Aircraft Corporation had included an elevator trim device that could alter the angle of attack of the entire tailplane.
.In Britain, at least, relied upon a diving modified Spitfire. Squadron Leader Martindale nearly died in a Mark IX Spit that accidentally touched Mach 0.92 on 27 April 1944.
Regarding Korean war: The SABRE with axial flow German engine defeated the MIG-15 powered by an old fashioned centrifugal British engine ...
The significant other factors involved in that outcome render the engine type irrelevant.