The engine would be buried in the aft-section of the fuselage, aspirated by rectangular intakes located along the sides of the fuselage and exhausting through a singular circular port under the tail. The nose section would house the radar fit (this to become a Ferranti A.I.23 series unit) with the cockpit positioned just aft. Views were to be obscured some by the framing of the canopy as well as the elevated fuselage spine aft of the position. The wing mainplanes would become large-area surfaces of delta form which negated use of horizontal tailplanes and provide wingtip hardpoints for the carrying of one AAM per wing member. A single vertical fin would be set over the tail section. Ground-running was to be accomplished via a retractable tricycle arrangement with a lengthened nose leg giving the aircraft a pronounced "nose-up" attitude when on the ground.
At this point it was seen that the missile-of-choice would become the "Blue Jay" Mk.4 series AAM.
Power stemmed from a single de Havilland "Gyron" afterburning turbojet engine of unknown thrust output and this would be paired with 2 x de Havilland "Spectre" rocket boosters for short bursts of performance power. Engineers estimated a maximum speed around Mach 2.5 at operational altitudes reaching between 60,000 and 90,000 feet with all systems engaged. As such, cockpit pressurization and an ejection seat was a must as well as titanium construction for the temperatures produced at such high-speeds/high-altitudes.
This early F.155 project entry was ultimately passed on by British authorities leading Fairey to draw up plans for a much larger interceptor-fighter along the same lines (again to expedite final delivery). This form incorporated a twin, side-by-side engine arrangement again augmented by rocket-boosting performance - a combination of 2 x Rolls-Royce RB.122 (enlarged versions of the earlier RB.106 series units) or DH Gyron afterburning turbojets with 2 x Spectre rockets. Like the earlier E.R.103, and the Delta 2 research plane before it, this enlarged F.155T proposal would have used the droop-nose function for close-to-ground actions. Missile-carrying was now moved to underwing hardpoints from the wingtips as this offered better, stronger support for heavier missiles.
Like the E.R.103, the newer F.155T offering was also rejected by authorities before the end and all work on manned fighters was halted after the 1957 defense review (the "Defence White Paper" of April 1957) due to the perceived onset of the "Missile Age". The review irreparably damaged British aero-industry with many major brand names more or less forced to merge capabilities.
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