The de Havilland Sea Vixen (DH.110) was a carrier-borne, all-weather jet fighter used by the Royal Navy during the Cold War. Bristling with armament and equipped with a powerful radar, it was a combat aircraft to be reckoned with. When it was introduced into service in the late 1950s, it was a great step forward as it constituted the backbone of the Royal Navy's carrier force in the 1960s, together with the Blackburn Buccaneer.
Designed in 1947 in response to Naval Specifications No 40/46, the first prototype of the Sea Vixen, the DH.110 WG236, first took to the air on September 26, 1951, from Hatfield airbase. It was flown by test pilot John Cunningham. After several flight tests, it would crash the following year at Farnborough. However, the project would continue with a series of prototypes, like the WG240. Sea trials on carrier began on April 5, 1956, when the prototype XF828 landed on the deck of HMS Ark Royal. Finally, this naval aircraft would enter service with the Royal Navy in October 1959 in the FAW.Mk 1 version.
Below, three FAW.Mk 2 variants of Squadron No 899 from HMS Eagle carrier.
Technical Description
The de Havilland Sea Vixen was a two-seat, twin-engine monoplane. It had an all-metal fuselage, with a twin-boom tail layout. The tail horizontal stabilizer was set up between the twin boom fins. It featured broad swept wing, mounted in middle of fuselage. The wing leading edge angle was set at 40 degrees. The wing outer panels could be folded up for storage convenience.
The FAW.Mk 2 variant was powered by two Rolls Royce Avon RA.28 Mk-208 turbojet engine, which could put out 11,237 pounds of thrust. It was fitted with A.I.18 air interception radar mounted in the nose of aircraft. It had a single refueling probe, which projected forward from the wing leading edge. The aircraft had a hydraulically-operated arrestor hook for carrier operations.
Specifications (FAW.Mk 2)
Type: carrier-borne fighter
Length: 16.94 m (55 feet, 7 inches)
Wing Span: 15.24 m (50 feet)
Wing Area: 60.19 m2 (648 square feet)
Height: 3.28 m (10 feet, 9 inches)
Power Plant: two Rolls Royce Avon RA.28 Mk-208 turbojet engines.
Maximum Speed: 1,030 km/h (640 mph)
Range: 2,260 km (1,404 miles)
Service Ceiling: 14,630 m (48,000 feet)
Armament: four Firestreaks air-to-air infrared homing missiles; twenty eight 51-mm rockets in underfuselage microcell pack; plus two 454-kg bombs.
Crew: two
Below, the prototype WG240 in flight in 1953.
One Sea Vixen DH.110, FAW.Mk 1, No 488, flying over the Atlantic in 1964.
Below, a Sea Vixen on the deck HMS Hermes in June 1968.
The aircraft arranged on deck of HMS Eagle, with their wings folded up, in July 1967.
