Hawker P.1052

High-Speed, Swept-Wing Research Aircraft

United Kingdom | 1948

"Experiments by the British in swept-wing aircraft forms during the Cold War period resulted in designs such as the Hawker P.1052."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 02/08/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

In September of 1947, some years after the close of World War 2 (1939-1945) when piston-powered fighters ruled the air war, British aero-industry flew, for the first time, what would become the Hawker "Sea Hawk" naval fighter. This single-seat, single-engine platform would see a total of 542 units produced before the end and this product would fly into the early 1980s with foreign navies. The same successful design would go on to form the basis for another Hawker product, the "P.1052" - a design for the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) used as a dedicated testbed for high-speed, swept-back wing research during the early Cold War period.

As far back as 1945, engineers at Hawker were drawing up plans for an experimental high-speed, swept-back test form but it was not until early-1946, with World War 2 all but over now, that the program gained steam through a contract awarded by the British Air Ministry to cover two prototypes satisfying Specification E.38/46. The contract was granted in May of 1947 and in-depth work ensued to bring the aircraft about - it was a direct offshoot of the P.1040 design work which went on to become the aforementioned Sea Hawk.

The finalized test form utilized metal construction and a rounded, streamlined fuselage design. Over the nose was fitted the single-seat cockpit under a large-area, lightly-framed two-piece canopy. The wings were mid-mounted along the fuselage sides and given 35-degree sweepback. At the wing roots were located triangular air intakes to aspirate the single engine installation buried within the fuselage and exhaustion was through wing root pipes. The tail unit incorporated a single, rounded vertical fin with horizontal planes mounted midway up the structure. A wholly-retractable tricycle undercarriage was used for ground-running.

Power was from a single Rolls-Royce R.N.2 "Nene" turbojet engine developing 5,000lb of thrust.

The initial prototype was designated "VX272" and made ready in 1948, completing its first-flight on November 19th of that year. The second contracted prototype, "VX279", followed into the air on April 13th, 1949. A third static airframe was eventually added to the stable to handle other controlled tests on the ground.

VX279 was reworked with a single jet exhaust arrangement (as opposed to the dual jet pipe form), a revised tail section (now with swept surfaces), and a "variable-incidence" tailplane to better handle higher speed flying envelopes. Changes to this prototype were substantial enough to send this entry down its own developmental path as the "P.1081" detailed elsewhere on this site.

Meanwhile, VX272 continued to fly in a research-minded way - eventually incorporating qualities such as a reinforced fuselage and wing mainplane members, the proven undercarriage taken from the production Sea Hawk fighter, subtle aerodynamic refinements to satisfy emerging high-speed issues, and the original tail section of the early-form VX279 prototype complete with arrestor hook for carrier deck landings. In this guise, VX272 successfully completed take-offs and landings from the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle in May of 1952. The variable-incidence tailplane component was finally integrated to this prototype that June to complete the aircraft's new look - which flew into September of 1953 before given up in favor of work on the "P.1067" - this particular entry set to become the classic Hawker Hunter production fighter (detailed elsewhere on this site).

As completed, the P.1052 had an overall length of 39.6 feet, a wingspan measuring 31.5 feet, and a height of 10.5 feet. Empty weight reached 9,450lb to a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 13,500lb. Performance specs included a maximum speed of 682.5 miles-per-hour, a service ceiling of 45,500 feet, and a rate-of-climb of 3,864 feet-per-minute.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Hawker P.1052 High-Speed, Swept-Wing Research Aircraft.

1 x Rolls-Royce R.N.2 "Nene" turbojet engine developing 5,000lb of thrust.
Propulsion

684 mph
1,100 kph | 594 kts
Max Speed

45,932 ft
14,000 m | 9 miles
Service Ceiling

342 miles
550 km | 297 nm
Operational Range

3,900 ft/min
1,189 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Hawker P.1052 High-Speed, Swept-Wing Research Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

39.6 ft
12.07 m
O/A Length

31.5 ft
(9.60 m)
O/A Width

10.5 ft
(3.20 m)
O/A Height

9,480 lb
(4,300 kg)
Empty Weight

13,481 lb
(6,115 kg)
MTOW

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Hawker P.1052 family line.

P.1052 - Base Project Designation

VX272 - First prototype of 1948.

VX279 - Second prototype of 1949.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Hawker P.1052. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 2 Units
Contractor(s): Hawker Aircraft Ltd - UK

[ United Kingdom (retired) ]

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
The Hawker P.1052 High-Speed, Swept-Wing Research Aircraft appears in the following collections:

HOME

AVIATION INDEX

AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks of the World U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols Breakdown U.S. 5-Star Generals List WWII Weapons by Country World War Next

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)