From: griffith@acuson.com (Paul Griffiths)
Subject: Re: Tornado F3 replacement
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 17:37:45 GMT


From griffith@acuson.com (Paul Griffiths)

MR KR COMAN <bakc@giraffe.ru.ac.za> writes:

>	Just to add my own coupla cents worth....   Without boring the hell 
>out of everyone, I believe that it is not too far over the top to state that
>UK a/c policy since 1945 has been a total shambles with little but sectional
>interests and inter-departmental dithering evident.   Consider.....

>3.
>A/c design work did however continue with new designs in the early 1960's.  
>The most significant of which was the TSR-2; by all accounts a superb a/c 
>with huge development potential.   This was cancelled in 1965 on account of 
>budget problems and a lack of support from the MOD.   In effect the air 
>defense of the UK between 1963 and 1969 rested on a relative handful of 
>Lightning fighters -- present only as stated above, by default.   
>Ironically, in 1969 the decision was made to buy US Phantoms to augment the
>fighter arm (also express recognition that the "guided missile policy" was
>total bunk).  Buying Phantoms meant that the country's foreign exchange 
>reserves fell -- pathetic because the TSR-2 lost out 'cos the programme was 
>deemed "unaffordable" four years earlier!   By the same token, the Lightning
>was a bloody good basic design that cried out for development; that never 
>happened so lucrative export markets thru the 1960's/70's went either to
>US or Soviet suppliers.

Arrrgh! Don't get me started on the the TR2! ;-)
Seriously, this plane was BRILLIANT!  I saw what I think is the only
one in existance at the DUXFORD air museum.  This plane was/is clearly
ahead of it's time.  My father, a crabbie at the time (RAF), could not
believe it when he heard the latest orders for the TR2, were to destroy
the moulds, plans, tools, anything associated with the TR2. He said the
mood at the base was a state of shock. (he was then transferred to the
a strange squadron that claimed to have a plane that could take off
vertically) An interesting angle on this story was that Harold Wilson had
just come back from a trip in Russia, and that the order to destroy the
TR2, came shortly after, along with a series of other decisions that would
blow the average mind. The story of the TR2, is the same as that of the
Canadian Avro Arrow... a beautiful plane that was thrown aside... 


>	The UK has just been very lucky that it never had to face a real 
>threat during all of this time.   Talk about muddling thu, inefficiency and 
>waste!   The saga of a Tornado replacement looks set not to buck the trend.
>Cheers,
>Keith Coman
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>"If we pay dogfood salespeople more than we   :  Dept of Management
> do teachers, we should not be surprised if   :  Rhodes University
> our dogs eat like kids, and our kids end     :  Grahamstown, 6140
> up reading like dogs."                       :  Rep of South Africa
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing but agreement with all you wrote.

-Paul Griffiths
-Acuson Computed Sonography







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