In its finalized guise, the P.1081 recorded its first-flight on June 19th, 1950. It carried a most modern form with excellent streamlining of the fuselage and mid-mounted, swept-back wing surfaces. The nose held a shallow nosecone and the cockpit was seated aft. The pilot sat under a lightly-framed two-piece canopy offering relatively good views around the aircraft. Ground-running was a retractable tricycle undercarriage arrangement.
With the RAAF commitment in the Korean War (1950-1953), the P-51 fleet was beginning to see its best days behind it and were immediately outclassed with the sudden arrival of Soviet MiG-15 jet-powered fighters. This threat pushed all Western players to upgrade existing fighter fleets and the North American F-86 "Sabre" soon took the lead for most. As the P.1081 still remained in a development phase, hope that it could achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) any time soon dwindled with each passing month of the war - leading the Hawker project to be abandoned on November 14th, 1950. Plans for an operational-quality P.1081, with its 4 x 20mm autocannons and Tay engine in place, were therefore scratched.
The RAAF eventually settled on procurement of the available Gloster "Meteor" jet-powered fighter (F.8 model) for the interim and, later, CAC was able to secure a deal to produce the F-86 Sabre under its own label, these flying with Rolls-Royce "Avon" turbojet engines and locally designated CAC "Sabre". Introduction followed in 1954.
The P.1081 prototype continued to fly in a research-minded way for a time longer when it fell under the ownership of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). It abruptly ended its flying days on April 3rd, 1951 when it crashed, killing its test pilot, and being written off in full. All was not lost, however, for such designs (and their painful sacrifices) were hugely instrumental for future fighter types: the P.1081 directly influenced the Hawker P.1067 program, producing the Hawker "Hunter", a classic Cold War-era performer detailed elsewhere on this site.
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