This is the fascinating history of how the radical delta-wing became
the design of choice for early British and American high-performance
jets, and of the role legendary aircraft like the Fairey Delta series
played in its development.
At the dawn of the supersonic jet age, aircraft designers were forced to
devise radical new planforms that suited the new power of the jet
engine. One of the most successful was the delta wing.
Although Gloster produced the delta wing Javelin, and Boulton Paul--its
P.111 research aircraft--Fairey and Avro were the champions of the delta
in Britain. Meanwhile in America, with the exception of Douglas's Navy
jet fighter programs, Convair largely had the delta wing to itself.
These development lines, one on each side of the Atlantic, had
essentially the same objective -- to produce high--speed fighter
aircraft. In Britain, the Fairey Delta 2 went on to break the World Air
Speed Record in spectacular fashion, but it failed to win a production
order. In contrast Convair received major orders for two jet fighter
types and one jet bomber. At the same time, the British Avro company
built the 707 family of research aircraft, which led to the famous
Vulcan, to show how the delta wing could be adopted for a highly
successful subsonic bomber.
This book examines the development of the delta wing in Britain and
America, and the way in which experimental aircraft like the Fairey
Deltas proved their potential and versatility. In Britain it covers the
Fairey Delta 1 and Fairey Delta 2, the proposed Fairey Delta Rocket
Fighter and huge Delta 3 long range interceptor, and the Avro 707. On
the American side, it examines the Convair XF-92 and XF-92A, the
development of the Delta Dagger/Delta Dart family, and the Convair Sea
Dart -- the world's only supersonic seaplane.
