This book takes a carefully considered look at the history of many
lesser known but nevertheless advanced British flying wing, delta and
tailless aircraft that stretch across much of the last century. The
emphasis is on classified projects considered for research or military
purposes, but also includes those aircraft that were built, flown and
entered service.
The first commercially successful British flying wing biplane was
designed by John Dunne and undertook limited military duties during the
First World War. Soon, the early flying wing designs gave way to sleeker
boomerangs that looked impressive, but often suffered with aerodynamic
shortcomings. These were followed by the arrival of advanced wartime
German jet powered delta projects initiated by Dr Alexander Lippisch.
They were massively influential, with most post-war scientists and
engineers immediately recognized the potential for a new generation of
high performance warplanes.
By the late 1940s, the UK required advanced jet powered bombers capable
of carrying atomic bombs over long distances. This created many unusual,
often German influenced designs that finally resulted in the V-Bombers.
They were followed by short lived concepts for even larger aircraft that
were not only capable of delivering nuclear weapons, but powered by
nuclear propulsion. At the same time, interest in variable geometry
wings gathered momentum, leading to the supersonic Swallow with its
impressive science-fiction appearance. Sadly this Barnes Wallace concept
was too far ahead of its time to overcome a number of technical issues,
but the influence on American combat aircraft was considerable. The
British also pushed ahead with ideas for vertical take-off fighters and
the delta wing was often the first choice for many proposals.
By the 1960s, Britain was attempting to gain a foothold in the space
race. Plans were drawn up for rocket launching sites within the UK and
the development of exotic delta winged space fighters. The ideas were
impressive, although the technology was well beyond the UK's ability to
fund and develop. These were glorious times for British aircraft
designers who often pushed their ideas to the boundaries of what was
possible, with design studies that remain influential today.
