page_title: Supermarine Attacker
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Supermarine Attacker / Design
caption_attribution_description: Flight deck view of the British Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (R05) in 1952/53. Next to the island Supermarine Attacker FB.2 fighters of No. 800 and No. 803 squadrons are visible, which were the first operational jet fighters of the Royal Navy. Farther aft are Fairey Firefly FR.4s of No. 812 and No. 814 Sqn., while Blackburn Firebrand TF.4 of No. 827 Sqn. are parked on the edge of the flight deck aft.
context_page_description: The Supermarine Attacker is a British single-seat naval jet fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Supermarine for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The type has the distinction of being the first jet fighter to enter operational service with the FAA.
  Performing its maiden flight on 27 July 1946, the flight testing phase of development was protracted due to several issues, including handling difficulties. The first Attackers were introduced to FAA service during August 1951. Common to the majority of other first-generation jet fighters, the Attacker had a relatively short service life before being replaced; this was due to increasingly advanced aircraft harnessing the jet engine being rapidly developed during the 1950s and 1960s. Despite its retirement by the FAA during 1954, only three years following its introduction, the Attacker would be adopted by the newly-formed Pakistan Air Force, who would continue to operate the type possibly as late as 1964.
context_section_description: The Supermarine Attacker was a navalised jet-propelled fighter aircraft, the first jet-powered aircraft to be introduced into FAA service. While originally designed to a wartime requirement for the RAF, it was not introduced until the early 1950s, and was ultimately developed for use aboard aircraft carriers. For a jet aircraft, the Attacker's design was unusual, with a tail-dragger undercarriage with twin tailwheels, as well as an unswept wing. The flight controls were relatively conventional, based on those of the Spiteful. The forward position of the cockpit was well-received, and provided an exceptionally good view for the pilot.
  The Attacker had a relatively strong structure, making extensive use of heavy-gauge materials, principally aluminium alloy, which were used with stressed-skin construction and supported by 24 closely spaced stringers and formers. The nose had an unusual lobster-claw structure, comprising thick laminated aluminium-alloy sheet at the top and bottom, with no stiffening members; it gave armour protection to the pilot and carried pressurisation loads. The tip of the nose was detachable to accommodate a gun camera or ballast; between this and the cockpit was an avionics bay. Aft of the cockpit was the semi-monocoque fuel tank, followed by the engine bay.
  In terms of its aerodynamics, the Attacker was well streamlined, described by Flight as being "perhaps more perfect than any other fighter". The fuselage was continuously curved with no straight lines. It was shaped to have some of the wing's laminar flow characteristics and its lines were interrupted only by the faired cockpit canopy and the engine air intakes on either side of the cockpit. The intakes diverted the front fuselage boundary layer to prevent it entering the engine;  tests with the diverters faired-over gave reduced engine performance including thrust.
  The design of the wing was largely unchanged from the Spiteful, save for being slightly enlarged to match the bigger Attacker. It used split flaps along the trailing edge, as well as slotted ailerons and electrically-operated trim tabs. With a single main spar and one auxiliary spar, the wing was bolted directly onto stub spar booms as there was no centre-section. The exterior skins were flush-riveted and manufactured with considerable care in an attempt to achieve the laminar flow predicted from wind tunnel tests. Flight attributed the laminar-flow wing to enabling the Attacker to exceed the maximum speed of the Spiteful by more than 100 mph. However, other reports claim that the Attacker's wing was aerodynamically inferior to the original elliptical wing of the Spitfire, possessing unfavourable characteristics such as a lower critical Mach number.
  The Attacker was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Nene Mk. 101 turbojet engine; at the time, the Nene was the most powerful jet engine in the world, with a thrust of 5,000 lb. The engine was supported by a heavy box-section rear spar frame, which was braced fore and aft to the main spar. As the jet-pipe was relatively long, a manually-operated variable exhaust outlet was used during engine starting to prevent jet-pipe resonances and excessive turbine temperatures. The exterior skin surrounding the intake had several louvres to regulate pressures during starting; they automatically closed to seal the engine bay after starting. The engine bay incorporated a pilot-operated fire extinguisher system. Although an automatic fuel transfer system was not originally incorporated, experience with the initial prototypes led to its incorporation.
  In terms of armament, the Attacker F.1 had four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk. V cannon; at the time, this was viewed as the standard armament for a frontline RAF fighter. These cannon were fired using electronically-operated Maxifiux-Star units. The inboard cannon had a maximum capacity of 167 rounds of ammunition each, while the outboard cannon had up to 145 rounds each. External stores included two 1,000 lb bombs or four 300 lb rockets.
caption: Flight deck of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle; multiple Attacker FB.2 fighters are in the foreground; in the background are Fairey Firefly FR.4s, circa 1953
exif: {}