Supermarine 525 The Supermarine Type 525 was a British - built prototype naval jet fighter aircraft of the 1950s . Design and development . The Type 525 was a late development of the Type 508 of which three examples had been ordered from Supermarine in November 1947 to Air Ministry specification N . 9 / 47 . The Type 508s were to be development aircraft for a carrier - borne interceptor , reconnaissance and low - level nuclear strike aircraft to be built later by Supermarine to specification N . 113D and which became the Type 544 which entered service as the Scimitar . The first Type 508 , serial " VX129 " , was a straight - winged jet aircraft fitted with a V - tail ( " butterfly " ) tail intended for use with rubber deck landing techniques , the choice of wide , flattish fuselage and V - tail being designed to provide adequate stability and clearance when landing without a normal undercarriage . It first flew on 31 August 1951 . The second Type 508 " VX136 " was fairly similar to the first aircraft but was redesignated as the Type 529 and first flew on 29 August 1952 . The third Type 508 " VX138 " , built like the others at Supermarine ' s Hursley Park experimental department , was modified on the production line to closer to Scimitar standards and was redesignated the Type 525 . This aircraft was delivered by road to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment ( A & AEE ) at Boscombe Down , Wiltshire , on 25 April 1954 . It made its first flight on 27 April 1954 at the hands of Supermarine ' s test pilot M J Lithgow . The Type 525 was powered by two Rolls - Royce Avon turbojets and fitted with a taller tricycle undercarriage positioned further out on the wings than on the Type 508 . It had a conventional tail and rudder surfaces and swept wings . It made its first public appearance at the September 1954 Farnborough Airshow . Operational history . The aircraft made further test flights during late 1954 from its base at Chilbolton airfield , Hampshire . In early 1955 it was taken by road to the Hursley Park factory for the installation of a flap blowing system . This was designed to reduce the safe landing approach speed , an obvious advantage for safe operation from aircraft carriers . It also lowered the speed at which catapult launches would be carried out . The flap blowing system ( " super - circulation " ) on the Type 525 used a device to project a thin jet of high pressure air , bled from an engine compressor , through a narrow slot along the wing trailing edge just ahead of the flap hinges . The Coanda " effect then bent the jet of air over the flaps . The improved lift resulted in an 18 mph reduction in approach speed - most useful for carrier - based aircraft . After returning to Chilbolton by road , the aircraft was flown to the A & AEE on 5 July 1955 for further trials . The aircraft was tested for low speed handling on 5 July . Whilst at , and unable to recover from a flat spin 20 minutes after take - off , the aircraft spun in from two miles south - southeast of Boscombe Down . It was destroyed by fire and the pilot Lieutenant Commander T . A . Rickell , who had ejected just before the crash , died of injuries sustained . The first Type 544 Scimitar prototype embodied experience from the Type 525 and first flew on 19 January 1956 .