Il de Havilland DH.100 Vampire era un caccia monomotore britannico: fu il secondo jet da combattimento britannico ad entrare in servizio (preceduto dal Gloster Meteor), ma, pur volando nella versione di serie nel 1944, non fece in tempo a entrare in linea prima della fine della guerra.
Facilmente riconoscibile per la configurazione a doppio trave di coda, ebbe straordinaria diffusione nel dopoguerra e fu il primo aereo a reazione a essere impiegato dall'Aeronautica Militare, che acquistò i primi esemplari (FB 51) direttamente nel Regno Unito mentre, in seguito, una seconda serie (FB 52A) fu prodotta su licenza dalla Macchi e dalla FIAT.
Storia del progetto
Il progetto del Vampire nacque nel 1941, in risposta ad una specifica emessa dall'Air Ministry per la costruzione di un velivolo a reazione e del relativo turbogetto. In poco più di due anni, sul finire del settembre 1943, venne portato in volo il prototipo, denominato de Havilland D.H. 100: malgrado la sua configurazione inusuale ed il nuovo turbogetto a compressore centrifugo, fin dalle prime prove l'aereo si mostrò essere una macchina estremamente valida e nella primavera del 1944 la Royal Air Force avanzò il primo ordine per 120 velivoli della prima versione da caccia (monoposto) identificati con la sigla F 1.
All'epoca le linee di produzione delle officine della de Havilland erano impegnate nella costruzione dei Mosquito, per cui le linee di montaggio del Vampire vennero realizzate presso la English Electric, che alla fine arrivò a produrne oltre 1 000 esemplari.
Il primo esemplare di serie si levò in volo alla fine di aprile del 1945 ed i reparti operativi vennero dotati del nuovo aviogetto nella primavera dell'anno successivo.
Il 3 dicembre 1945 un Sea Vampire effettuò il primo appontaggio di un jet della storia atterrando sul ponte della portaerei britannica HMS Ocean.
Nel frattempo, ebbe inizio il lungo e fruttuoso lavoro di sviluppo della macchina: già nell'autunno dello stesso anno (1946) si svolsero le prime prove con la versione F 3 (che sarebbe divenuta la seconda prodotta in serie), dando così inizio ad una nutrita schiera di versioni che furono prodotte (direttamente dalla casa madre o tramite la concessione della licenza) per almeno un decennio.
Le numerose versioni prodotte trovarono impiego in diversi ruoli (intercettore puro, cacciabombardiere, caccia notturno ed addestratore) e conobbero un considerevole successo commerciale sia in patria sia all'estero, a testimonianza della validità e della versatilità del progetto originario.
Dalla cellula del Vampire, inoltre, furono sviluppati il Sea Vampire (il primo aviogetto imbarcato impiegato dalla Fleet Air Arm) e da parte della francese Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-est (SNCASE), il Mistral. Un ulteriore sviluppo progettuale sfociò nel suo diretto successore: il de Havilland DH.112 Venom.
Tecnica
Struttura
Monoplano ad ala media, il Vampire era dotato di fusoliera corta lignea assemblata in due semi-gusci principali che terminava con lo scarico del motore: questo era posto subito dietro la cabina di pilotaggio con le prese d'aria ricavate nello spessore dell'ala, direttamente a contatto con la radice alare. La parte lignea terminava in corrispondenza del bordo di entrata alare posto in prossimità della radice. L'ala era del tipo tradizionale a semi-guscio, in quanto era costituita da centine, da correnti e da un longherone in lega D.T.D. 390; essa era rivestita da pannelli in Alclad ed era basata sui profili E.C.1240.
Dalla sezione mediana delle due semiali partivano le travi di coda a sezione ellittica e presentavano la tipica struttura a semiguscio in D.T.D 390. Le travi di coda terminavano con i piani verticali collegati fra loro da un piano orizzontale, dotato di equilibratore nel bordo d'uscita. Lo scarico del turbogetto era diretto in modo da indirizzare il flusso d'aria al di sotto del piano orizzontale di coda. Tale scelta fu dettata per evitare che perdite per attrito, generate nel tubo di scarico a valle del motore, potessero comportare una cospicua riduzione di spinta. Inoltre veniva evitata ogni interferenza fra il getto e le superfici di controllo, facilitando altresì le operazioni di manutenzione dell'aeroplano, per il quale la sostituzione del motore era estremamente agevole.
La vetratura della cabina di pilotaggio presentava due montanti nella parte anteriore; nelle versioni biposto i due componenti dell'equipaggio erano disposti affiancati.
Il carrello era del tipo triciclo anteriore, con la ruota anteriore disposta all'estrema prua; le gambe posteriori agganciate alle semiali in corrispondenza delle travi di coda, si ritraevano verso l'esterno nello spessore alare.
Motore
Il prototipo del Vampire era equipaggiato con il turbogetto a compressore centrifugo frutto di un progetto di Frank Halford, costruito dalla stessa de Havilland e designato inizialmente come Halford H.1. Battezzato successivamente come Goblin (una figura leggendaria ricorrente nel folklore di alcuni paesi) e in diverse successive versioni, equipaggerà gran parte dei Vampire costruiti.
Furono realizzati alcuni prototipi dotati del de Havilland Ghost (Fantasma) che, in sostanza, manteneva su scala più grande le stesse caratteristiche del Goblin e alcuni dotati del Rolls-Royce Nene (anch'esso di tipo a compressore centrifugo).
Il motore Nene (che prende il nome da un fiume che nasce nel Northamptonshire) nella versione francese Hispano-Suiza Nene equipaggiò gli esemplari di Vampire costruiti su licenza dalla SNCASE (ribattezzati Mistral).
Impianti
L'impianto pneumatico era pressurizzato da un compressore azionato dal motore, che caricava una bombola a 450 psi (libbre per pollice quadrato, circa 31 atmosfere). Una pompa a depressione, mossa anch'essa dal Goblin, manteneva in funzione gli strumenti giroscopici. La principale utenza del sistema erano i freni del carrello principale, il comando dei quali era collocato sulla barra, per quanto riguarda l'assenso ed il blocco per il parcheggio. L'impianto elettrico faceva capo ad un generatore da 24 VDC, che alimentava due batterie da 12V collegate in serie. L'impianto idraulico era alimentato da una pompa installata sul Goblin, la quale pressurizzava un accumulatore. Il sistema azionava l'estrazione/retrazione carrello, gli ipersostentatori e gli aerofreni. Una pompa a mano di emergenza, posta alla sinistra del sedile, consentiva al pilota di azionare (lentamente) tutte le utenze, in assenza di pressione nell'impianto principale. L'impianto ossigeno faceva capo a due bombole, caricate dall'esterno attraverso una valvola posizionata dietro lo sportello munizioni destro. L'abitacolo era pressurizzato spillando una quota parte di aria dal propulsore. Il sistema era avviato intorno ai 15.000 piedi (4.572 m). Il tettuccio veniva sigillato, dopo la chiusura, grazie al gonfiamento di una guarnizione pneumatica che andava in battuta. Il Vampire fu uno dei pochi aerei a reazione senza il seggiolino eiettabile. Solamente nelle ultime serie prodotte per l'esportazione e nelle versioni biposto fu installato un seggiolino eiettabile Martin Baker Mk 3.
Armamento
In tutte le versioni l'armamento era costituito da 4 cannoni Hispano Mk V disposti all'estrema prua, nella parte inferiore della fusoliera.
In diverse versioni, in particolare nella FB 5, la struttura alare fu irrobustita e furono introdotti due piloni subalari disposti all'esterno delle travi di coda, utilizzati per il trasporto di carichi offensivi per un peso complessivo massimo di 2 000 lb (pari a 907 kg). Tali piloni alari potevano essere utilizzati in alternativa per alloggiare serbatoi supplementari di carburante.
Impiego operativo
La RAF impiegò nei propri reparti il Vampire contemporaneamente al Gloster Meteor: al Vampire spettarono prevalentemente ruoli di cacciabombardiere; per altro le versioni del Vampire realizzate per l'impiego come caccia notturno furono utilizzate anche nel ruolo di intercettore diurno.
Nel periodo di massimo impiego, il Vampire fu impiegato contemporaneamente in 19 diversi reparti schierati in Europa, in Medio ed Estremo Oriente. I Vampire FB 5 furono impiegati in missioni di attacco durante l'insurrezione della Malaysia alla fine degli anni quaranta.
Dalla metà degli anni cinquanta il Vampire fu relegato dalla RAF al ruolo di addestratore avanzato, rimanendo in servizio fino al 1966.
Il Vampire fu acquistato da numerose forze aeree dei cinque continenti e per molte di esse (tra queste anche l'Aeronautica Militare) rappresentò il primo velivolo a reazione.
L'impiego in combattimento oltre al già citato conflitto malese avvenne durante la guerra d'Algeria nei reparti dell'Armée de l'air, durante la crisi di Suez tra le forze egiziane e durante la seconda guerra indo-pakistana nelle file indiane. Proprio durante questo conflitto, nel 1965 ebbe luogo l'ultimo scontro che impegnò il Vampire, quando quattro velivoli furono intercettati ed abbattuti da due F-86 Sabre pakistani.
Il DH.100 Vampire in Italia
Nei primi anni del dopoguerra, l'Aeronautica Militare cercava faticosamente, pur tra i limiti imposti dal trattato di pace, di risollevarsi dalla dura prova del conflitto riorganizzando i reparti e il materiale a disposizione. Grande era quindi il desiderio dei vertici dell'A.M. di avviare un programma di ammodernamento che, dismessi i velivoli ad elica residuati bellici che costituivano la sua prima linea, potesse portare l'arma aeronautica nell'era della propulsione a reazione.
D'altro canto l'industria aeronautica nazionale si trovava in quel periodo in una fase di pesante arretratezza tecnologica, sia nel campo delle cellule che in quello motoristico, tale da non poter offrire all'aeronautica militare soluzioni nazionali moderne, pur esistendo studi e progetti in tal senso come, solo per citarne alcuni, quello della Fiat con il G.80 e quello della SAI Ambrosini con il Sagittario.
Fu giocoforza quindi rivolgersi all'estero. La soluzione fu trovata nell'industria britannica, che in quel periodo spingeva per nuove esportazioni, e offriva cessione di know-how e licenze di produzione, di cui avrebbe beneficiato l'industria nazionale. La scelta cadde sul de Havilland DH.100 Vampire. Elemento decisivo per il consenso politico all'accordo fu quello di utilizzare per i pagamenti una parte degli 80 milioni di sterline, di cui l'Italia era creditrice, che erano stati congelati nelle banche inglesi allo scoppio della guerra.
Il 4 novembre 1948 il pilota collaudatore della de Havilland John Derry effettuò un volo con un Vampire FB. Mk. 5 da Hatfield a Roma, oltre 900 miglia (1 400 km), in due ore e cinquantanove minuti. Nel settembre 1949 fu effettuato un nuovo volo dimostrativo che ebbe però conseguenze singolari, concludendosi con l'acquisizione di due esemplari di Vampire in “anteprima”. Cinque Vampire del 73th Squadron della Royal Air Force decollarono da Nicosia diretti all'aeroporto della Malpensa per partecipare alla manifestazione aeronautica denominata “Giornata della Madonnina” con chiari intenti propagandistici, in vista dell'accordo. Dopo lo scalo a Ciampino, la formazione ripartì il 23 settembre 1949 alla volta dell'aeroporto della Malpensa. Giunti sul cielo della Lombardia, i piloti inglesi fecero la sfortunata esperienza della nebbia, che per effetto del riscaldamento del terreno e di fasce di umidità presenti a bassa quota, nascondeva completamente il suolo. Non riuscendo ad individuare l'aeroporto della Malpensa, costretti a vagare alla sua ricerca, terminato il carburante, furono obbligati ad un atterraggio di fortuna nei pressi dell'aeroporto di Ghedi. Due aeroplani furono dichiarati non riparabili, due considerati in cattivo stato mentre il quinto, meno danneggiato, fu riparato, ma venne definitivamente rottamato dopo essere finito fuori pista al successivo decollo. A questo punto il personale del 1º Reparto Tecnico Aeromobili (RTA), al comando del capitano Fernando Peroni, forte dell'esperienza acquisita nel “riportare in vita” durante la guerra ogni specie di velivolo incidentato, riuscì a “tirare fuori” dai Vampire abbandonati come rottami dagli inglesi, due esemplari volanti pienamente efficienti che si aggiunsero a quelli in via di ordinazione. Il contratto di acquisto venne finalmente firmato il 24 ottobre 1949. Per l'occasione venne creato un consorzio di ditte aeronautiche, SICMAR (Società Italiana Commissionaria Materiale Aeronautico - Roma) costituito da Fiat Aviazione, Alfa Romeo e Aeronautica Macchi. Il contratto prevedeva la fornitura di cinque velivoli FB. Mk.51, cinquantuno FB.52 e quattordici biposto DH.113 (dieci NF.54 e quattro NF.10) prodotti direttamente nel Regno Unito. A questi si aggiungevano centoventi FB.52 da produrre su licenza dalla Fiat e dalla Macchi. Il numero delle macchine da costruire su licenza venne poi incrementato a centocinquanta. L'ordine comprendeva inoltre sei turbogetti Goblin e parti di ricambio, da costruire sempre su licenza.
I primi cinque FB.51 presi dalle linee di produzione de Havilland, matricole da VZ252 a VZ256 assunsero le matricole militari da MM 6000 a 6004 (codici da S3-151 a S3-155) e giunsero in Italia con un volo da Hatfield ad Amendola, sede del neo costituito Nucleo Addestramento Volo a Reazione (NAVAR) l'11 marzo 1950 pilotati da equipaggi italiani. I primi velivoli destinati ai reparti operativi, 79ª Squadriglia e 81ª Squadriglia aeroplani del 6º Gruppo caccia del 4º Stormo caccia, arrivarono a Napoli-Capodichino nell'agosto 1951.
La grande professionalità di piloti e specialisti dell'Aeronautica Militare permisero già a settembre dello stesso anno, la partecipazione di sedici Vampire del 4º Stormo all'Esercitazione NATO “Cirrus 6” a Wiesbaden, in Germania, mentre quattro velivoli del 6º gruppo costituirono il nucleo della rinata Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale, quella del Cavallino Rampante al comando del capitano Ceoletta. La pattuglia si esibì per la prima volta il 2 giugno 1952 durante l'Avio Raduno Internazionale di Roma Urbe.
I Reparti utilizzatori del piccolo caccia furono il 7º Gruppo Scuola Caccia, il 2º Stormo sull'aeroporto di Orio al Serio, il 4º Stormo dislocato sulla base di Napoli-Capodichino, il 6º Stormo (che aveva assorbito il 6º Gruppo, il 1º settembre 1952), i Centri Addestramento al Volo della 1ª, 2ª e 3ª Zona Aerea, il Reparto Sperimentale di Volo con base a Ciampino e il Reparto Volo Stato Maggiore.
Tra il luglio 1950 e il dicembre 1951 fu completata la fornitura dei cinquantuno FB.52 di costruzione inglese più dieci set di parti di ricambio per l'assemblaggio in FIAT.
Questi velivoli assunsero le matricole da MM 6006 a MM 6019 (codici S3-156 a 166) e da MM 6024 a MM 6059 (codici S3-171 a 210).
Con l'avvio della produzione su licenza, la Macchi assemblò ventisette velivoli nello stabilimento in provincia di Varese (volo del primo velivolo il 18 dicembre 1951), mentre la Fiat ne produsse novantatré (da MM6023 a MM6142) nello stabilimento di Torino (volo del primo velivolo 22 dicembre 1951). Un'ulteriore lotto di trenta velivoli venne suddiviso tra Macchi (diciassette) e Fiat (tredici) assumendo le matricole da MM 6155 a MM 6184. I quattordici Vampire NF.54 iniziarono ad essere forniti, provenienti dallo stabilimento De Havilland di Hartfield prima e di Chester poi, a partire dal 4 giugno 1951 mentre gli ultimi esemplari vennero consegnati il 25 marzo 1953. I tredici velivoli (il Vampire MM 6017 rimase incidentato il 28 ottobre 1951) furono presi in carico dal 3º gruppo scuola caccia che assunse la denominazione di Scuola Caccia Ogni Tempo (S.C.O.T.).
Nel corso del loro pur breve servizio operativo, i Vampire italiani presero parte a numerose esercitazioni NATO compresi vari exchange visit con Squadron della Royal Air Force. Per la prima volta dalla fine della seconda guerra mondiale, l'Aeronautica Militare si trovava ad utilizzare un velivolo da combattimento con un equipaggio di due uomini, pilota e navigatore-operatore radar, quest'ultimo seduto in posizione lievemente arretrata.
I Vampire NF.54 furono ritirati progressivamente dal servizio tra il maggio del 1956 e l'ottobre del 1959, sostituiti dall'F-86 K.
Un quantitativo di Vampire fu anche esportato. Per superare l'embargo posto dalla Gran Bretagna, l'Egitto si rivolse all'Italia che ricondizionò a cura della Macchi 58 FB.52 ex-AMI che furono venduti alla Royal Egyptian Air Force via Siria. Di questi, quarantatré furono forniti nel corso del marzo 1956 dopo un volo di trasferimento Brindisi-Atene-Cairo, gli altri quindici disassemblati e trasportati via nave. Per sostituire quelli consegnati all'Egitto, la Macchi costruì ulteriori quarantacinque velivoli.
Lo Stato Maggiore dell'Aeronautica era intenzionato a fare del Vampire il capostipite di una serie di aerei britannici in servizio nell'A.M.. Pertanto nel 1953 acquistò per valutazione due de Havilland DH.112 Venom da usare come materiale campione per una futura produzione in serie. Con l'avvio del programma di aiuti militari MDAP e la concessione delle licenze di produzione dei velivoli statunitensi ai paesi membri della NATO, lo Stato Maggiore dell'Aeronautica orientò le politiche di approvvigionamento verso i velivoli statunitensi. I Vampire furono progressivamente sostituti, nel corso degli anni 60, dai Republic F-84 Thunderjet e North American F-86 Sabre.
I Vampire conservati in Italia
Un esemplare di DH.100 Vampire FB.52 è conservato presso il Museo nazionale della scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci. Fa parte della serie di velivoli costruiti dalla Macchi.
Un esemplare è esposto presso il Parco e Museo del Volo di Volandia. Il Vampire, esposto con le insegne di un FB.52A del 154º Gruppo del 6º Stormo di Ghedi (BS) è in realtà l’FB.6 n° 668 costruito in Svizzera nel 1952 dalla EFW (Eidgenössiche Flugzeugwerk, fabbrica aeronautica federale). Ha prestato servizio con l’aeronautica svizzera con la matricola J-1159. Venduto all’asta nel 1991, è stato acquistato dall’Association Varoise Avions de Collection che lo ha mantenuto in condizioni di volo come F-AZHJ nei colori dell’aviazione di marina francese. Acquistato dalla Fondazione Museo dell’Aeronautica, ha concluso la carriera atterrando a Malpensa l’8 aprile 2010.
Un esemplare di DH.113 NF.54 (MM 6152) con le insegne della Scuola Caccia Ogni Tempo di Amendola è esposto presso il Museo storico dell'Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle sul lago di Bracciano.
Versioni
- DH 100 : tre prototipi.
- F 1 : versione da caccia (monoposto) prodotto per la RAF in 244 esemplari.
- Mk.II : tre prototipi (di cui due convertiti dalla precedente serie), dotati di motore turbogetto Rolls-Royce Nene.
- F 3 : caccia, monoposto; dopo la conversione di due prototipi dalla serie Mk.I, furono prodotti 202 esemplari, di cui 20 acquistati dalla Norvegia per la Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret.
- Mk.IV : versione prevista con l'impiego dei Rolls-Royce Nene; nessun seguito produttivo.
- FB 5 : cacciabombardiere, monoposto. Dotato di motore Goblin 2; prodotto in 1 118 esemplari, di cui 88 esportati.
- FB 25 : variante della versione FB 5; 25 velivoli esportati in Nuova Zelanda, per la Royal New Zealand Air Force.
- FB 6 : cacciabombardiere, monoposto. Montava il motore Goblin 3; prodotto in 278 esemplari di cui 100 costruiti in Svizzera ed impiegati dalla Fliegertruppe svizzera.
- FB 51 : prototipo per la versione da esportare in Francia.
- FB 52 : cacciabombardiere; versione per l'esportazione del FB 6, costruita in 101 esemplari.
- FB 52A : cacciabombardiere; 80 esemplari costruiti in Italia, su licenza.
- FB 53 : cacciabombardiere; costruito su licenza in Francia con il nome di Sud-Est Mistral.
- Mk.VIII: si trattò di un singolo esemplare della versione Mk.I rimotorizzato con un turbogetto de Havilland Ghost.
- FB 9 : cacciabombardiere monoposto; sostanzialmente era la versione tropicalizzata (mediante aggiunta di impianto di condizionamento dell'aria) del FB 5. Ne vennero costruiti 326 esemplari.
- Mk.X (DH 113): prototipo biposto dotato di motore Goblin; due esemplari.
- NF 10 : caccia notturno, biposto; prodotto per la RAF in 66 esemplari.
- NF 54 : versione per l'Aeronautica Militare del caccia notturno NF 10; 29 esemplari costruiti.
- Mk.XI (DH 115) Vampire Trainer : addestratore biposto; un singolo esemplare prodotto su iniziativa privata della casa costruttrice.
- T 11 : addestratore biposto; dotato di motore Goblin 35, venne prodotto in 731 esemplari.
- T 55 : versione per l'esportazione dell'addestratore DH 115; vennero costruiti 216 velivoli ed altri 6 vennero convertiti dalla versione T 11.
- F 30 : caccia monoposto; dotato di motore Rolls-Royce Nene. Prodotto direttamente in Australia, in 80 esemplari per la Royal Australian Air Force.
- FB 31 : cacciabombardiere; anche in questo caso il motore era un Rolls-Royce Nene. Costruito in Australia, in 29 esemplari.
- F 32 : un singolo F 30 dotato di impianto di condizionamento dell'aria.
- T 33 : addestratore biposto; dotato di motore Goblin. Ancora una volta costruito in Australia, venne realizzato in 36 esemplari.
- T 34 : addestratore biposto per la Royal Australian Navy; cinque velivoli, costruiti in Australia.
- T 34A : esemplari della versione T 34 dotati di seggiolini eiettabili.
- T 35 : nuova versione di addestratore biposto; costruito in 68 esemplari, in Australia.
- T 35A : conversione dei velivoli della versione T 33 alla configurazione T 35.
- FB 50 : cacciabombardiere; versione esportata in Svezia (dove la designazione è divenuta J 28B); 310 velivoli costruiti su licenza dalla Saab, di cui 12 convertiti in addestratori nella configurazione T 55.
Sea Vampire
La Fleet Air Arm, la componente aerea della Royal Navy fu interessata al Vampire fin dall'inizio del progetto. Il secondo prototipo del Vampire dotato di ipersostentatori maggiorati e freni aerodinamici aveva volato all'inizio di maggio 1945 per avviare un programma di studi ed esperienze in merito alle capacità di operare su portaerei. Proseguendo tale attività, il secondo prototipo fu modificato dotandolo di un gancio d'arresto, un tettuccio a goccia e un motore Goblin II. Il 3 dicembre 1945, il prototipo così "navalizzato" pilotato dal lieutenant commander Eric Brown effettuò il primo appontaggio e decollo da una portaerei, per la precisione la HMS Ocean, alla fonda di fronte all'isola di Wight. Nonostante il successo ottenuto con il programma di sperimentazione, la Fleet Air Arm giunse alla conclusione che il Sea Vampire non era adatto al servizio come aereo navale, ma si sarebbe rivelato utile come addestratore e macchina di valutazione per preparare i futuri piloti al passaggio dall'elica al jet. Pertanto, nei primi mesi del 1947 fu emesso un ordine per un primo lotto di Sea Vampire F.20, pari a 30 velivoli, di cui solo 18 furono consegnati, ottenuti modificando cellule di Vampire F.3 o F.5. Le modifiche riguardavano gli ipersostentatori di superficie più ampia, l'adozione di aerofreni, del gancio di arresto, di un carrello d'atterraggio rinforzato e allungato e l'adozione delle estremità alari tronche utilizzate sul modello FB.5. Le consegne iniziarono nell'ottobre 1948. I Sea Vampire F.20 furono ritirati dal servizio a partire dal 1956, per essere definitivamente rottamati nel 1960. La necessità per la Royal Navy d'incrementare l'autonomia dei primi aviogetti, la spinse a collaudare una soluzione insolita, consistente nel rimuovere completamente il carrello dal velivolo imbarcato, risparmiando peso, ma mantenendo il gancio di arresto. Il velivolo avrebbe dovuto appontare direttamente sul ventre della fusoliera, confidando nel fatto che la portaerei sarebbe stata dotata di un ponte flessibile per contribuire all'arresto del velivolo in uno spazio ridotto.
Dopo un primo tentativo non riuscito effettuato presso il Naval Aircraft Department a Farnborough il 29 dicembre 1947, i vertici della Royal Navy, per nulla scoraggiati, procedettero alla conversione di tre esemplari dell'F.20 denominati Sea Vampire F.21 rinforzando la parte inferiore della fusoliera ed applicando altre modifiche minori. Le prove di appontaggio sul "ventre" continuarono nel corso del 1948 e del 1949 utilizzando una apposita struttura in gomma appositamente realizzata ed installata sulla portaerei HMS Warrior. Nonostante il successo di tali valutazioni, nel corso del 1950 questa tecnica fu definitivamente abbandonata.
La Royal Navy acquisì inoltre 73 addestratori biposto T.11 che, con modifiche minori, assunsero la denominazione di Sea Vampire T.22 e furono consegnati tra il 1952 e il 1955. Questi esemplari che non avevano capacità di operare su portaerei restarono in servizio fino ai primi anni sessanta e nel corso della loro carriera furono aggiornati con l'installazione di seggiolini eiettabili e di tettuccio completamente a goccia.
- Vampire LZ551/G : secondo prototipo del Vampire dotato di gancio d'arresto e utilizzato per le prove di appontaggio al Royal Aircraft Establishment di Farnborough
- Sea Vampire F 20 : corrispondente navalizzato del FB 5; 18 velivoli, prodotti negli stabilimenti della English Electric.
- Sea Vampire F 21 : tre esemplari (per conversione da altre versioni) utilizzati per collaudi e prove.
- Sea Vampire T 22 : addestratore biposto, prodotto in 73 esemplari.
Sud-Est Mistral
La Francia acquistò la licenza per la produzione del Vampire in versione cacciabombardiere e del motore Rolls-Royce Nene. Dopo l'assemblaggio di 67 Vampire FB Mk 5 con componenti forniti dall'industria britannica e ulteriori 120 velivoli costruiti integralmente in Francia, la SNCASE iniziò lo sviluppo di una versione più potente. Identificato come Vampire FB 53 nel Regno Unito e come SE 530 in Francia dalla Sud-Est, sviluppato su iniziativa dell'Armée de l'air, il Mistral (Maestrale) come fu battezzato lo SE 530, utilizzava come cellula base quella di un FB MK 5 mentre l'impianto propulsivo era costituito da un Rolls-Royce Nene (costruito su licenza in Francia dalla Hispano-Suiza) da 22,2 kN di spinta (2 268 kgf).
Le modifiche introdotte interessarono le prese d'aria alla radice alare che furono maggiorate per soddisfare la maggior portata d'aria richiesta dal Nene, dotato di un compressore centrifugo con palette su entrambi i lati del compressore, adottando la geometria del condotto di adduzione utilizzata dal prototipo dell'Hawker P.1040 SeaHawk. Fu incrementata la capacità del serbatoio del combustibile, introdotta la cabina pressurizzata e un seggiolino eiettabile SNCASO. Dopo una prima preserie di quattro velivoli, il cui primo volo avvenne il 1º aprile 1951, furono costruiti 97 esemplari di serie SE-532 con motore Hispano-Suiza Nene 102B a partire da dicembre 1951.
A questa prima serie seguirono 150 esemplari di SE-535, spinti dalla versione 104 del Nene, l'ultimo dei quali fu consegnato il 25 marzo del 1954. Il modello SE-535, oltre alla dotazione normale di quattro cannoni automatici Hispano Mk V calibro 20 mm, poteva trasportare otto razzi non guidati T-10 o HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket), oppure due bombe da 450 Kg. Il Mistral entrò in servizio nell'Armée de l'air nel 1952 e fu ritirato nel 1961.
Esemplari prodotti:
- SE-530: 4 prototipi, il cui primo volo avvenne il 1º aprile 1951;
- SE-532: 94 esemplari, dotati di motore Hispano-Suiza Nene 102B;
- SE-535: 150 esemplari, motorizzati con la versione 104 del Nene e dotati di seggiolino eiettabile.
Utilizzatori
- Austria - Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte
- Australia - Royal Australian Air Force - Royal Australian Navy (Fleet Air Arm-RAN)
- Birmania - Tatmadaw Lei
- Canada - Royal Canadian Air Force
- Cile - Chilean Air Force
- Rep. del Congo - Armée de l'Air du Congo
- Rep. Dominicana - Fuerza Aérea Dominicana
- 25 esemplari della versione F 1 e 17 della FB 50 (ex Svenska Flygvapnet);
- Egitto - Royal Egyptian Air Force - Egitto - Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Misriyya
- Finlandia - Suomen ilmavoimat
- Francia - Armée de l'air
- India - Bhartiya Vāyu Senā
- Iraq - Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-'Iraqiyya
- Irlanda - Aer Chór na hÉireann
- Italia - Aeronautica Militare
- Giappone - Kōkū Jieitai
- Libano - Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-Lubnaniyya
- Messico - Fuerza Aérea Mexicana - ritirati dal servizio operativo nel 1970
- Nuova Zelanda - Royal New Zealand Air Force
- Norvegia - Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret
- Portogallo - Força Aérea Portuguesa
- Regno Unito - Royal Air Force - Fleet Air Arm
- Sudafrica - Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag
- Svezia - Svenska Flygvapnet - F 1 (J 28A): 70 esemplari; FB 50 (J 28B): 310; T 55 (J 28C): 57
- Svizzera - Forze aeree svizzere
- Venezuela - Fuerza Aérea Venezolana.
Cultura di massa
Il pilota di un de Havilland Vampire della Royal Air Force è il protagonista di un romanzo breve di Frederick Forsyth, intitolato The Shepherd e edito nel 1975, pubblicato poi in Italia da Mondadori nel 1976 con il titolo Il pilota. L’autore stesso è stato uno dei più giovani piloti della Royal Air Force, all’età di soli 19 anni.
ENGLISH
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet engine.
Work on the Vampire commenced during 1941 in the midst of the Second World War; it was initially intended as an experimental aircraft, albeit one that was suitable for combat, that harnessed the groundbreaking innovation of jet propulsion. Out of the company's design studies, it was quickly decided to settle on a single-engine, twin-boom aircraft, powered by the Halford H.1 turbojet engine (later produced as the "Goblin"). Aside from its propulsion system and twin-boom configuration, it was a relatively conventional aircraft. Despite being originally ordered as an experimental aircraft only, during May 1944, it was decided to mass-produce the aircraft as an interceptor for the Royal Air Force (RAF). During 1946, the first production Vampire entered operational service with the RAF, only months after the conflict had come to an end.
The Vampire quickly proved to be an effective aircraft and was adopted as a replacement for many wartime piston-engined fighter aircraft. During its early service, it was recognised for accomplishing several aviation firsts and various records, such as being the first jet aircraft to traverse the Atlantic Ocean. The Vampire remained in front-line service with the RAF up until 1953; after this date, it was progressively reassigned to various secondary roles, such as ground attack missions and pilot training operations, for which specialist variants of the type were produced. During 1966, the Vampire was officially retired by the RAF, having been withdrawn from its final role as an advanced trainer after having been replaced by the Folland Gnat. The Royal Navy had also adopted the type as the Sea Vampire, a navalised variant suitable for operations from its aircraft carriers. It was the service's first jet fighter.
The Vampire was exported to a wide variety of nations and was operated worldwide in numerous theatres and climates. Several countries deployed the type in combat during conflicts, including the Suez Crisis, the Malayan Emergency, and the Rhodesian Bush War. By the end of production, almost 3,300 Vampires had been manufactured, a quarter of these having been manufactured under licence in several other countries. In addition, de Havilland pursued the further development of the type; major derivatives produced include the DH.115, a dedicated dual-seat trainer, and the more advanced DH.112 Venom, a refined variant furnished with a swept wing (instead of the straight wing of the Vampire) and orientated towards conducting ground attack and night fighter operations.
Development
Origins
In January 1941, Sir Henry Tizard made an informal approach to the de Havilland Aircraft Company, suggesting that the company proceed to design a fighter aircraft that would harness the revolutionary new jet propulsion technology under development, along with an appropriate engine to go with it. While no official specification had then been issued, de Havilland decided to proceed with an exploration of the concept; the company quickly conceived of a single-engined aircraft that had air-intakes set into the wing roots to feed a centrally mounted engine, which made use of centrifugal design.
The aero-engine designer Major Frank Halford had been given access to Frank Whittle's pioneering work on gas turbines, which, for the projected jet-powered fighter, Halford decided to proceed with the design of a "straight through" centrifugal engine capable of generating 3,000 lb of thrust, which was considered to be high at the time. Halford's engine was developed, and emerged as the Halford H.1. By April 1941, design work on the engine had been completed, and a prototype H.1 engine performed its first test run one year later.
The low power output of the early jet engines had meant that only twin-engined aircraft designs were considered to be practical during the early stages of development; however, as more powerful jet engines were quickly developed, particularly Halford's H.1 (later known as the de Havilland Goblin), the practicalities of single-engined jet fighter were soon realised. de Havilland was approached to produce an airframe for the H.1 as insurance against Germany using jet bombers against Britain; this was considered more important than de Havilland's own suggestion of a high-speed jet bomber. Its first design, designated as the DH.99, was an all-metal, twin-boom, tricycle undercarriage aircraft armed with four cannon. The use of a twin boom enabled the jet pipe to be kept relatively short, which avoided the power loss that would have occurred if a long pipe was used, as would have been necessary in a conventional fuselage. It also put the rudder empennage clear of interference from the exhaust. Performance was estimated at 455 mph (732 km/h) at sea level and initial climb of 4,590 ft/min (1,400 m/min) on 2,700 lb thrust. The Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) expressed doubts regarding the estimations for the aircraft's performance and weight; however, the project received permission to proceed in July 1941.
The DH.99 design was soon modified to incorporate a combined wood-and-metal construction in light of recommendations from the MAP; the design was thus renumbered to DH.100 by November 1941. The aircraft was considered to be a largely experimental design due to its use of a single engine and some unorthodox features, unlike the Gloster Meteor which had been specified for production early on. In February 1942, the MAP suggested dropping the project for a bomber but de Havilland stated that the twin-boom was, despite Ministry doubts, only an engineering problem to be overcome. On 22 April 1942, the construction of two prototypes (serials LZ548 and LZ551) was authorised by the Ministry while Specification E.6/41 was produced and issued to cover the work. Accordingly, the company proceeded with the detailed design work phase of the DH.100 in early 1942.
Internally designated as the DH.100 and originally named the "Spider Crab", the aircraft was entirely a de Havilland project, being principally worked upon at the company's facility at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The construction of the aircraft exploited de Havilland's extensive experience in the use of moulded plywood for aircraft construction; many design features that were used upon the DH.100, such as the fuselage nacelle and tall triangular vertical surfaces, had been present on the company's preceding Mosquito, a widely produced fast bomber of the war.
The layout of the DH.100 used a single jet engine installed in an egg-shaped fuselage which was primarily composed of plywood for the forward section and aluminium throughout the aft section. It was furnished with conventional mid-mounted straight wings; air brakes were installed on the wings to slow the aircraft, better enabling it to manoeuvre into a firing position behind slower aircraft, a feature that had also been incorporated in the Meteor. Armament comprised four 20mm Hispano Mk V cannon located underneath the nose; from the onset of the design phase, even when the aircraft was officially intended to serve only as an experimental aircraft, the provision for the cannon armament had been included.
On 20 September 1943, the first DH.100 prototype, serial number LZ548/G, conducted its maiden flight from Hatfield Aerodrome; it was piloted by Geoffrey de Havilland Jr., the company's chief test pilot and son of the company's founder. This flight took place only six months after the Meteor had performed its own maiden flight; the first flight had been delayed due to the need to dispatch the only available engine suitable for flight to America to replace one destroyed in ground engine runs in Lockheed's prototype XP-80 jet fighter. A total of three prototypes, LZ548/G, LZ551/G, and MP838/G were produced in order to support the type's development.
Production and further development
On 13 May 1944, an initial production order for 120 Vampire Mk I aircraft was received; it was quickly increased to 300 aircraft soon thereafter. The production Vampire Mk I did not fly until April 1945. Due to the extensive wartime pressures upon de Havilland's production facilities for existing aircraft type, English Electric Aircraft undertook production of the Vampire at their Preston, Lancashire factories instead; the company would go on to produce the majority of the aircraft. Only about half a dozen production aircraft had been built by the end of the Second World War, although it did not result in the type becoming a victim of the extensive post-war cutbacks that were soon implemented, which had terminated the production of many existing aircraft along with development work upon several more.
De Havilland initiated a private venture night fighter, the DH.113 intended for export, fitting a two-seat cockpit closely based on that of the Mosquito night fighter, and a lengthened nose that accommodated an AI Mk X radar. An order to supply the Egyptian Air Force was received, but this was blocked by the British government as part of a general ban on supplying arms to Egypt. Instead, the RAF took over the order and put them into service as an interim measure between the retirement of the de Havilland Mosquito night fighter and the full introduction of the Meteor night fighter. Removal of the radar from the night fighter and fitting of dual controls resulted in a jet trainer model of the aircraft, the DH.115 Vampire which entered British service as the Vampire T.11. This trainer variant was built in large numbers, both for the RAF and for export.
An alternative powerplant to the de Havilland Goblin soon became available in the form of the Rolls-Royce Nene, which was likewise a turbojet engine capable of generating similar levels of thrust. The Vampire II designation was applied to three experimental Nene-powered Vampires, which were used to assess their performance. One of these was evaluated by the RAF before it was decided that the rival Goblin would be adopted for the RAF Vampires instead; another contributed to development work for the Vampires of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Although the un-installed Nene had a higher thrust than the Goblin, the level flight speed was no greater. To reduce the installed-engine intake losses caused by having to feed air to the rear face of the impeller, two additional intakes were added behind the cockpit; these had the negative side-effect of causing elevator reversal and buffeting tendencies, which in turn reduced the Vampire's Mach limitation. The Vampires of the RAAF were powered by the Nene engine; these were initially outfitted with dorsal intakes, but the intakes were subsequently repositioned underneath the fuselage instead. In 1949, Boulton Paul Aircraft (BPA) redesigned the wing-root intakes and internal ducting based on the installation of the Nene in the prototype Hawker Sea Hawk. The Mistral, the French name for their models of the Vampire, also used the Nene engine with BPA intakes.
The Vampire III, was the first of several models that sought to address the demands for greater range from the type. Accordingly, underwing fuel tanks of both 100 and 200 gallon capacities; other modifications included the lowering of the tailplane and the reshaping of the vertical surfaces of the tail. The design changes to accommodate hardpoint-mounted drop tanks had the additional benefit of enabling the carriage of various stores and had effectively readied the type for performing ground-attack duties. The wing was considerably modified to improve low altitude performance, the span having been reduced by 2 ft, the adoption of square-cut wingtips, the thickening of the skin, greater structural strength, and undercarriage modifications to withstand the overall increased weight.
3,268 Vampires were built in 15 versions, including a twin-seat night fighter, a trainer and a carrier-based aircraft designated Sea Vampire. The Vampire was used by 31 air forces. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.S. were the only major Western powers not to use the aircraft.
Records and achievements
On 8 June 1946, the Vampire was introduced to the British public when Fighter Command's 247 Squadron was given the honour of leading the flypast over London at the Victory Day Celebrations. The Vampire was a versatile aircraft, setting many aviation firsts and records, being the first RAF fighter with a top speed in excess of 500 mph (800 km/h). On 3 December 1945, a Sea Vampire piloted by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown became the first pure-jet aircraft to land on and take off from an aircraft carrier.
Vampires and Sea Vampires were used in trials from 1947 to 1955 to develop recovery and deck-handling procedures and equipment for the operation of aircraft without an undercarriage from flexible rubber decks on aircraft carriers. Deletion of the undercarriage would reduce the aircraft weight, allow extra fuel to be carried, and ease deck handling. Despite demonstrating that the technique was feasible, with many landings being made with undercarriage retracted on flexible decks both at RAE Farnborough and on board the carrier HMS Warrior, the proposal was not taken further. Aviation author Geoffrey Cooper quotes author Marriott stating that the rubber deck system "..would have required extensive facilities both aboard ship and at naval air stations to support it. Any gains in aircraft performance were more than cancelled by the complexity and cost of implementation."
On 23 March 1948, John Cunningham, flying a modified Vampire Mk I, which had been furnished with extended wing tips, powered by the Ghost engine, achieved a new world altitude record, having attained a maximum altitude of 59,446 ft (18,119 m).
On 14 July 1948, six Vampire F.3s of No. 54 Squadron RAF became the first jet aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean when they arrived in Goose Bay, Labrador. They went via Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Keflavík in Iceland and Bluie West 1, Greenland. From Goose Bay airfield they went on to Montreal (c. 3,000 mi/4,830 km) to start the RAF's annual goodwill tour of Canada and the US, where they gave formation aerobatic displays. At the same time USAF Colonel David C. Schilling led a group of F-80 Shooting Stars flying to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base in Germany to relieve a unit based there. There were conflicting reports later regarding competition between the RAF and USAF to be the first to fly the Atlantic. One report said the USAF squadron delayed completion of its movement to allow the Vampires to be "the first jets across the Atlantic". Another said that the Vampire pilots celebrated "winning the race against the rival F-80s.”
Design
Overview
The de Havilland Vampire was a jet-powered twin-boom aircraft, typically employed in the fighter and fighter bomber roles. Aviation author Francis K Mason referred to it as being "the last unsophisticated single-engine front line aircraft to serve with Britain's Fighter Command"; the Vampire was a relatively straightforward aircraft, employing only manually operated flight controls, no radar, a simple airframe, and, aside from the propulsion system, made use of mostly conventional practices and technologies. The distinctive twin-boom tail configuration of the Vampire was one of the only non-traditional airframe features when compared to its contemporaries.
In comparison to later aircraft, the Vampire had a relatively disorganised cockpit that in some aspects lacked ergonomic measures; such as the fuel gauges being difficult for the pilot to observe without pulling the control column back. A few controls, such as the low-pressure fuel cock, were known for being difficult to move or were otherwise obstructed by other controls. The pilot was provided with a fairly favourable external view, in part aided by the relatively small size of the Vampire.
Engine
The Vampire was first powered by a single Halford H1 (later produced as the de Havilland Goblin) turbojet engine, initially capable of producing 2,100 lbf (9.3 kN) of thrust, designed by Frank B Halford and manufactured by de Havilland. This engine was a centrifugal-flow type, a configuration later superseded after 1949 by the slimmer axial-flow units. In 1947, Wing Commander Maurice Smith, assistant editor of Flight magazine, stated upon piloting his first jet-powered aircraft, a Vampire Mk III: "Piloting a jet aircraft has confirmed one opinion I had formed after flying as a passenger in the Lancastrian jet test beds, that few, if any, having flown in a jet-propelled transport, will wish to revert to the noise, vibration and attendant fatigue of an airscrew-propelled piston-engined aircraft".
Initially, the relatively high fuel consumption of the Goblin engine had provided early models of the Vampire with a limited range; this had been a common problem with all early jet aircraft. Later marks featured considerably increased internal fuel capacity as a result. The H.1 Goblin engine, conceived in 1941, remained unchanged in basic form for 13 years; according to aerospace publication Flight: "The Goblin...can fairly claim to be the world's most reliable turbojet". Over successive models, it gained increased turbine temperature and thrust. Later-built Vampire Mk Is were powered by the Goblin II; the F.3 onwards used the improved Goblin III; by the mid-1950s, the Goblin Mk. 35 export engine, capable of 3,500 lbf, had become available as well.
Certain marks of the Vampire were also operated as flying test-beds for the Rolls-Royce Nene engine, leading to the FB30 and 31 variants that were built in, and operated by, Australia. Due to the low positioning of the engine, a Vampire could not remain on idle for long as the heat from the jet exhaust would melt the tarmac behind the aircraft. If the engine did stall in flight, there was no onboard means to re-light the engine, meaning that a forced landing would be necessary.
Handling
According to Mason, the controls of the Vampire were considered to be relatively light and sensitive, employing an effective elevator arrangement that enabled generous acceleration from relatively little control inputs along with highly balanced ailerons that could achieve high rates of roll. In comparison to the elevator and ailerons, the rudder required more vigorous actuation in order to achieve meaningful effect. Pilots converting from piston-engined types would find themselves having to adapt to the slower acceleration of turbojet engines and the corresponding need to moderate rapid throttle movements to avoid instigating a compressor stall.
The Vampire had a relatively good power/weight ratio and was reputedly quite maneuverable within the 400-500MPH range. Heavy use of the rudder was required at slower speeds, during which pilots had to be cautious during shallow turns to avoid stalls; this would be typically embarrassing rather than dangerous due to the relative ease of recovery, which was principally achieved via positive elevator application. At speeds in excess Mach 0.71, increasing levels of buffeting were encountered.
The Vampire was compatible with a wide range of aerobatic manoeuvers, Mason comparing its capabilities in this respect to purpose-built sporting aircraft. It has been claimed that the type was the last British jet-powered fighter capable of accurately precipitating conditions such as hammer stalls, stall turns, and wingovers.
Preparing the Vampire for take-off required pilots to perform only six vital actions: setting the trim to neutral, opening the high and low-pressure fuel cocks, activating the booster pump, setting the flaps, and retracting the air brakes. If laden with external fuel tanks or bombs, pilots would have to retract the undercarriage quite quickly upon leaving the ground, else increasing airflow as the aircraft picked up speed would prevent the undercarriage doors from closing. Landing procedure was similarly free of complexity: disengaging the wheel brakes, lowering the undercarriage, setting the flaps to fully down, and activating the air brakes. Typically, power-on landings were conducted due to the slow response of the engine to throttle changes, and wheel brakes had to be applied carefully to avoid locking the wheels because there was no anti-lock braking system on the fighters. Training variants had the Dunlop Maxaret anti-skid system fitted.
Operational history
United Kingdom
Royal Air Force
In 1946, the first Vampire Mk I fighters entered RAF service in the interceptor role. Soon thereafter, considerable numbers of Mk I aircraft began equipping RAF squadrons of the Second Tactical Air Force stationed in Germany, often to replace wartime fighters such as the Hawker Typhoon, Hawker Tempest, and North American Mustang. On 3 July 1948, the Vampire became the first jet aircraft to equip peacetime units of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, gradually replacing the de Havilland Mosquito in this capacity.
On 23 June 1948, the first production Vampire Fighter-Bomber Mk 5 (otherwise commonly designated as the FB.5), which had been modified from a Vampire F.3, carried out its maiden flight. The FB.5 retained the Goblin III engine of the F.3, but featured armour protection around engine systems, wings clipped back by 1 ft (30 cm), and longer-stroke main landing gear to handle greater takeoff weights and provide clearance for stores/weapons load. An external tank or 500 lb (227 kg) bomb could be carried under each wing, and eight "3-inch" rocket projectiles ("RPs") could be stacked in pairs on four attachments inboard of the booms. Although the adoption of an ejection seat was being considered at one stage, it was ultimately not fitted.
At its peak, a total of 19 RAF squadrons flew the Vampire FB.5 in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. By far, the theatre in which the largest number of Vampires were stationed was Germany; this extensive deployment by the RAF has been viewed as one measure of the emerging Cold War climate between West and East Europe, as well as being a reaction to events such as the Korean War and the Berlin Blockade. Vampires were also operated by a number of active and reserve squadrons stationed in the UK.
A number of RAF Vampires were used in active combat within the Far East during the Malayan Emergency, fought in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Specifically, the Vampire FB.5 typically undertook attack missions using a combination of rockets and bombs against insurgent targets often located in remote jungle areas throughout in Malaysia. The Vampire FB.5 became the most numerous single-seat variant of the type, 473 aircraft having been produced.
Experience of Vampire operation in tropical climates led to the development of new models featuring refrigeration equipment for pilot comfort and increasingly powerful models of the Goblin engine, to counter the degradation of performance in hot conditions. The RAF decided to adopt a new model of the Vampire featuring the Goblin 3 engine. Accordingly, in January 1952, the first Vampire FB.9 was introduced to service and were first used by the Far East Air Force, soon replacing its older FB.5 aircraft. The FB.9 was deployed to various parts of the Middle East and Africa. In use against Mau Mau insurgents in Kenya, from 1954, it was gradually replaced by the de Havilland Venom, a swept wing development of the Vampire.
The Vampire NF.10 served from 1951 to 1954 with three squadrons (23, 25 and 151) but was often flown in daytime as well as night time. After its replacement by the De Havilland Venom, these aircraft underwent conversion to the NF(T).10 standard, after which they were operated by the Central Navigation and Control School at RAF Shawbury. Other aircraft were sold on to the Indian Air Force for further use.
By 1953, the Vampire FB.5 was being increasingly considered to be obsolete, having not kept up with the advancements made on the Meteor 8. The RAF eventually relegated the single-seat Vampire to advanced training roles in the mid-1950s, and the type had been generally phased out of RAF service by the end of the decade.
The final variants of the Vampire was the T (trainer) aircraft. Being first flown from the old Airspeed Ltd factory at Christchurch, Hampshire on 15 November 1950, production deliveries of the Vampire trainer began in January 1952. Over 600 examples of the T.11 were produced at Hatfield and Chester and by Fairey Aviation at Manchester Airport. By 1965, the Vampire trainer had been mostly withdrawn, its replacement in the advanced training role being the Folland Gnat; only a small number of Vampire T.11s remained in service, typically for the training of foreign students until these too were retired in 1967.
A small number of aircraft that were used in secondary roles carried on in these capacities until the withdrawal of the last operational aircraft from service with No. 3 Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit at Exeter at the end of 1971. A single aircraft continued to be flown and remained in official service with the RAF as part of the "Vintage Pair" display team (along with a Gloster Meteor); however, this aircraft was lost as a result of a crash in 1986.
Royal Navy
The Admiralty had immediately taken great interest in the Vampire following a series of carrier-landing trials which had been conducted on the aircraft carrier HMS Ocean using the modified third prototype of the Vampire in December 1945. At one point, the service had been allegedly considering the adoption of the type as the standard naval fighter to equip the Fleet Air Arm with; however, according to Mason, there had been a prevailing attitude that carrier operations lacked the flexibility to enable combat operations to be conducted with jet aircraft while at sea due to factors such as jet blast and the limited range of the early jets. In 1947, the Royal Navy decided to place an order for a navalised variant of the Vampire FB.5, which had been separately ordered by Air Ministry; the navalised model was quickly given the name Sea Vampire.
The Sea Vampire had several key differences from their land-based counterparts. It could be easily distinguished by the presence of a V-shaped arrester hook that retracted to a high-mounted position above the jet pipe. The Sea Vampire was fitted with enlarged air brakes and landing flaps for superior low-speed control during landing approaches, along with construction to higher load factors to account for the greater stresses involved in carrier landings.
On 15 October 1948, the first Sea Vampire performed its maiden flight. A pair of prototypes were followed by 18 production aircraft which were used to gain experience in carrier jet operations before the arrival of the two-seat Sea Vampire T.22 trainers. The Sea Vampire was initially delivered to 700 Naval Air Squadron and 702 Naval Air Squadron, soon replacing their piston-engine powered de Havilland Sea Hornets.
Australia
During 1946, government approval was given for the purchase of an initial 50 Vampire fighter aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The first three machines of this batch were British-built aircraft, an F1, F2 and FB.5, and were given serial numbers A78-1 to A78-3. The second aircraft, the F2 (A78-2), was significant in that it was powered by the more powerful Rolls-Royce Nene jet engine, rather than the standard Goblin unit.
All of the 80 F.30 fighters and FB.31 fighter-bomber Vampires that were subsequently built by de Havilland Australia were powered by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) versions of the Nene engine manufactured under licence at their facility in Melbourne. The Nene required a greater intake cross-section than the Goblin, and the initial solution was to mount auxiliary intakes on top of the fuselage behind the canopy. Unfortunately these intakes led to elevator blanking on formation of shock waves, and three aircraft and pilots were lost in unrecoverable dives. All of the Nene-engined aircraft were later modified to move the auxiliary intakes beneath the fuselage, thus entirely avoiding the problem.
In June 1949, the first Vampire F.30 fighter (A79-1) made its first flight; it was followed by 56 more F.30 variants before the final 23 aircraft were completed as FB.31s, being fitted with strengthened and clipped wings along with underwing hardpoints. A single F.30 was also converted to the F.32 standard, which was mostly identical to the Vampire FB.9 save for the addition of climate control conditioning. In 1954, all single seat Vampires were retired by the RAAF, but remained in service in Citizen Air Force squadrons until the early 1960s.
The Vampire T.33 was a two-seat training version, powered by the Goblin turbojet and built in Australia. T.34 and T.35 were used by the RAAF and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). (In RAAF service they were known as Mk33 through to Mk35W.) Many were manufactured or assembled at de Havilland Australia's facilities in Sydney. The Mk35W was a Mk35 fitted with spare Mk33 wings following overstress or achievement of fatigue life. Vampire trainer production in Australia amounted to 110 aircraft, and the initial order was filled by 35 T.33s for the RAAF; deliveries being made in 1952 with five T.34s for the RAN delivered in 1954. The trainers remained in service in the RAAF until 1970, and in the RAN until 1971, when they were replaced by the Macchi MB-326.
Canada
In 1946, a single Vampire F.1 began operating on an evaluation basis in Canada at the Winter Experimental Establishment in Edmonton. The Vampire F.3 was selected as one of two types of operational fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was first flown in Canada on 17 January 1948 where it went into service as a Central Flying School training aircraft at RCAF Station Trenton. Operating a total of 86 aircraft, the Vampire F.3 became the first jet fighter to enter RCAF service in any significant numbers.
The Vampire had the function of introducing Canadian fighter pilots not only to jet propulsion, but also to other amenities such as cockpit pressurisation and the tricycle landing gear arrangement. It proved to be a popular aircraft, being easy to fly and often considered a "hot rod." In Canadian service, the Vampire served in both operational and air reserve units (400, 401, 402, 411, 438 and 442 squadrons). During the late 1950s, the type was retired and was replaced in RCAF service by the Canadair Sabre.
Egypt
The Egyptian Air Force received its first of a planned 66 Vampire FB52s in December 1950, eventually receiving 50 from de Havilland production. An order for 12 Vampire NF.10 night fighters was cancelled owing to an arms embargo and the aircraft were acquired by the RAF. A factory was built at Helwan to build the Vampire under licence, but political disputes between Egypt and the United Kingdom over the presence of British troops in Egypt led to the project being delayed, before being abandoned following the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Instead, Egypt turned to Italy, and purchased 58 ex-Italian Air Force FB52As, using Syria as an intermediary, with deliveries from 1955 to 1956.
By 1954, Egypt was operating a fleet of 49 Vampires, which had been acquired from both Italy and Britain, in the fighter-bomber role. In 1955, a further 12 Vampire trainers were ordered, deliveries of which started in July that year. On 1 September 1955, in a response to an Israeli commando raid on an Egyptian-held fort at Khan Yunis, four Egyptian Vampires crossed into Israeli airspace, but were intercepted by Israeli Meteor jets, with two Vampires being shot down. By 1956, Egyptian Vampires were in the process of being replaced in the front-line fighter role by the much more capable Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and MiG-17 swept-wing fighters, and several Vampires were given to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. During the Suez Crisis, the Egyptians mainly used their Vampires for ground-attack missions against the advancing Israeli forces, particularly at the Mitla Pass, and are recorded as having lost a total of four Vampires in combat with Israeli jet aircraft. Several more were destroyed on the ground by Anglo-French air raids.
Finland
The Finnish Air Force received six FB.52 Vampires in 1953. The model was nicknamed "Vamppi" in Finnish service. An additional nine twin-seat T.55s were purchased in 1955. The aircraft were assigned to 2nd Wing at Pori, but were transferred to 1st Wing at Tikkakoski at the end of the 1950s. The last Finnish Vampire was decommissioned in 1965.
France
As part of a larger effort to build up the post-war French Air Force, a number of Goblin-powered Vampire FB.5s were delivered to France from 1949 onwards. This variant of the Vampire was subsequently manufactured under licence by Sud-Est at Marignane, the first 67 aircraft were assembled from British-produced components and were standard aircraft for the most part; these were followed by a further 183 Vampires, which incorporated a greater proportion of French-produced elements. The French developed the FB.53 model, a Nene-powered variant, which was named in French service as the Mistral after the wind of the same name. A total of 250 Mistrals were built, equipped with Hispano-Suiza built engines, French ejector seats and enlarged wing root ducts. On 2 April 1951, the first Mistral made its maiden flight.
India
No. 7 Squadron, Indian Air Force (IAF) received Vampires in January 1949. No. 17 Squadron IAF also operated the type. No. 37 Squadron IAF flew a number of Vampire NF54 night reconnaissance missions over Goa during the 1961 Annexation of Goa from Portuguese rule, sometimes coming under anti-aircraft fire.
On 1 September 1965, during the Indo-Pakistani War, No. 45 Squadron IAF responded to a request for strikes against a counter-attack by the Pakistani Army (Operation Grand Slam), and twelve Vampire Mk 52 fighter-bombers were successful in slowing the Pakistani advance. However, the Vampires encountered two Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-86 Sabres, armed with air-to-air missiles; in the ensuing dogfight, the outdated Vampires were outclassed. One was shot down by ground fire and another three were shot down by Sabres. The Vampires were withdrawn from front line service after these losses.
Italy
The Vampire was procured by Italy to equip the Italian Air Force. The type was licensed-manufactured by Macchi at Varese and Fiat at Turin, the agreement included 5 Vampire FB.5, 51 Vampire FB.52, 4 Vampire NF.10 and 10 Vampire NF.54 to be built in the United Kingdom; 150 Vampire FB.52 to be built in Italy under license.
Norway
The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) purchased a total of 20 Vampires F.3s, 36 FB.52s and six T.55 trainers. The Vampire was in Norwegian use as a fighter from 1948 to 1957, equipping a three-squadron Vampire wing stationed at Gardermoen. In 1957, the type was withdrawn when the RNAF decided to re-equip with the Republic F-84G Thunderjet. In 1955, the Vampire trainers were replaced by the Lockheed T-33, these aircraft were returned to the United Kingdom and saw later use by the Royal Air Force.
Rhodesia
The Rhodesian Air Force acquired 16 Vampire FB.9 fighters and a further 16 Vampire T.11 trainers in the early 1950s, its first jet aircraft, equipping two squadrons. These were regularly deployed to Aden between 1957 and 1961, supporting British counter-insurgency operations. 21 more two-seaters and 13 single-seaters were supplied by South Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rhodesia operated Vampires until the end of the bush war in 1979. In 1977, six were pressed into service for Operation Dingo. They were eventually replaced by the BAE Hawk 60 in the early 1980s. After 30 years service, they were the last Vampires used on operations anywhere.
Sweden
In 1946, the Swedish Air Force purchased its first batch of 70 FB 1 Vampires, having been looking for a jet-powered fighter to replace the outdated SAAB 21 and J 22 aircraft of its fighter force. In Swedish service, the Vampire received the designation J 28A, it was assigned to the Bråvalla Air Force Wing (F 13). The type soon provided such good service that the Vampire was soon selected to serve as the backbone of the fighter force. In 1949, a total of 310 of the more modern FB.50s, designated J 28B, which were based on the Vampire FB.5, were procured. The last of these was delivered in 1952, after which all piston-engined fighters were decommissioned. In addition, a total of 57 two-seater DH 115 Vampires, designated J 28C, were also used for training purposes.
In 1956, the Swedish Vampires were retired from the fighter role, to be replaced in service with the J 29 (SAAB Tunnan) and J 34 (Hawker Hunter). In 1968, the final Vampire trainer was retired.
Switzerland
In 1946, the Swiss Air Force purchased an initial four Vampire F.1s, one of which crashed on 2 August 1946 while the other three remained in service until 1961. In 1949, the Swiss government signed a contract to locally manufacture the Vampire FB.6 in Switzerland using British-built Goblin engines; accordingly, a batch of 85 Vampire FB.6s were produced. In 1952, the first production Vampire NF.10 was delivered to Switzerland for evaluation purposes.
In 1949, the first batch of 75 Vampire Mk.6 (J-1005 to J-1079) was purchased. Most of these were phased out of service in 1968/1969, the last aircraft being withdrawn in 1973. A second batch of 100 Mk.6 aircraft (J-1101 to J-1200) were built under licence by a consortium of Swiss aviation companies, including Eidgenössische Flugzeugwerke Emmen, Pilatus Aircraft and Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein. Aircraft from this batch were in use from 1951 to 1974, and were retained in storage until 1988. A further three DH-100 Mk.6 (J-1080 to J-1082) were subsequently built from remaining spare parts. A force of 39 DH-115 Mk 55 Vampire two-seat trainers (U-1201 to U-1239) were also in service from 1953 to 1990.
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