Hawker P.1103

P.1103
Role	Interceptor
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Hawker Aircraft
Status	Design only
Number built	None

The Hawker P.1103 was a design by Hawker Aircraft to meet the British Operational Requirement F.155; it was not developed into an aircraft.

Background

Operational Requirement F.155 was a Operational Requirement issued by the British Ministry of Supply in 1955 for an interceptor aircraft to defend the United Kingdom from high flying supersonic bombers.

F.155 specified exacting demands:

• The capability of making an intercept within 20 minutes of target contact (250 miles from the UK) with a target speed of Mach 1+
• Ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
• Armament: a mixture of infra-red guided missiles and radar guided missiles
• Crew: A crew of two was specified because of the anticipated workload: pilot plus weapons systems operator (WSO)/navigator

The Ministry of Supply made clear in the requirement that the plane and missiles should be treated as a "weapon system" i.e., a cohesive whole. The armament specifications were covered by a separate Operational Requirement, OR.1131, which listed two missile systems: the infra-red guided de Havilland "Blue Vesta" and the radar-guided Vickers "Red Hebe".

Hawker P1103

The submission by Hawker Siddeley a design by the legendary designer Sir Sydney Camm was effectively a supersonic development of his successful Hawker Hunter design, using a single engine - a 25,000 lb development of the de Havilland Gyron breathing through an under-chin air intake. Two detachable rocket boosters, to give a 3.7 minute boost, were carried in midwing nacelles.

1957 Defence White Paper

Although a nuclear threat from high-flying Soviet supersonic nuclear-armed bombers was identified in 1955, F.155 calling for supersonic interceptors (in service by 1962) was superseded by the 1957 Defence White Paper. The paper was a major review of military spending and one of its elements was the cancellation of nearly all manned fighter projects as a radical change had occurred in strategic threats with the expectation that intercontinental ballistic missiles and low-level strike would replace high flying bombers.

See also

• Hawker P.1121

Notes and references

Notes

Bibliography

• Buttler, Tony. British Secret Projects: Jet Fighters Since 1950. Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2000, ISBN 1-85780-095-8.