Supermarine Swift – Not Quite a Spitfire Successor
Supermarine Swift was an early postwar jet interceptor aircraft that was operated by the Royal Air Force. The design was developed in the early 1950s and incorporated swept wings. The Swift had impressive performance, but, like many of these post-war jets, she had a short service life, quickly being outclassed by aircraft such as the Hawker Hunter.
Design and Development
At the conclusion of WWII, the British government was certain that there would not be another outbreak of war for at least another decade and would not need to procure new aircraft until at least 1957.
Any new government backed aircraft would be strictly for research purposes only and not machines of war. But this extremely short-sighted view cost the UK an entire generation of fighter and heavy bomber aircraft – as so eloquently put by aviation author Derek Wood.
The Swift was actually a product of these experimental aircraft and was born from a swept wing test vehicle. The prototype was known then as the Type 510 and, in 1948, became the first swept-wing design to take off and land from an aircraft carrier.
With the Cold War looming, the failings of the British government’s direction were put under the spotlight. The UK urgently needed new, high speed fighter aircraft with swept wings.
In 1950, the outbreak of the Korean War further pressed the issue and a flurry of orders were placed. Two of these became aircraft with particular importance – the Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift. 100 Swifts were ordered by the RAF. This was essentially a backup plane in case the Hawker Aircraft company were unable to provide the new Hunter. The first was the Type 541, which was an upgraded version of Type 510.
