(^60) UNITED KINGDOM
Fairey Delta 2
Max speed: Mach 1.73, 1,132mph
Length: 51ft 7in (15.79m)
Wingspan: 26ft 10in (8.2m)
Powerplants: 1 x Rolls-Royce Avon of
9,500lb thrust (14,500lb
with afterburner)
Loaded weight: 13,400lb (6,078kg)
T
he Fairey Delta 2 has the distinction
of being the rst aircraft to exceed
1,000mph, ying faster than the
earth’s rotation. Sleek and beautifully
proportioned, it proved as fast as it looked
and regained the World Air Speed Record o
the US, an honour it held for a year.
When Fairey was given the task of producing
an aircraft into the research of supersonic
ight, it designed a delta planform with a sleek
fuselage to house an afterburning Avon axial
ow turbojet. A blueprint of the layout was led
in July 1950 and two aircraft were ordered,
WG774 and WG777. Construction began at the
end of 1952 and the machine that emerged
was truly innovative. The Delta 2 had a very
long tapering nose, which would normally
have obscured forward vision during landing,
take-o and movement on the ground. But
to compensate, the nose section and cockpit
drooped 10°. The wing had 60° leading
edge sweep and was very thin, at only 4%
thickness-chord ratio, making it one of the
thinnest known at that time. It housed the
main undercarriage and fuel tanks. The Delta
was also the rst British aircraft to y using all-
powered controls. The ight control system was
hydraulically operated, having dual systems
throughout and no mechanical backup.
The rst completed machine was taken to
Boscombe Down and on 6 October 1954 test
pilot Peter Twiss took her up for the rst time
in a ight that lasted 25min. Further trials were
going well when on 17 November WG774
su ered engine failure while heading away
from the air eld at 30,000ft. Twiss elected to
stay with the aircraft and incredibly managed
to glide to a dead-stick landing at high speed
back at Boscombe Down. Only the nose gear
had deployed, and the aircraft sustained
damage that sidelined it for eight months.
Testing did not resume until August 1955 andFairey Delta 2
early in 1956 WG777 joined the programme.
During this period, the Delta 2 made repeated
supersonic test runs over southern Britain,
and many claims for damages against the
supersonic bangs were received.
Both Fairey Delta 2s were eventually handed
over to Aero Flight at RAE Bedford for use on
various research programmes, until WG774
departed for BAC Filton for conversion into theThe need for speed
Peter Twiss realised that the Delta 2 was capable of speeds above 1,000mph and proposed
an attempt on the air speed record. In order to reduce the risk of another competitor beating
them to it, preparations were carried out in great secrecy. The course was laid out along the
coast south of Chichester, close to the aircraft’s base at Boscombe Down, near Salisbury. The
height for the runs was xed at 38,000ft, not only because this was the optimum level for
performance, but also because it was likely to ensure a good condensation trail – essential for
ground tracking by telescopic cameras. All was ready by 8 March 1956 and Twiss ew eight
runs over the next few days. On the nal sortie on 10 March, he achieved speeds of 1,117mph
and 1,147mph on the two required runs, giving a mean of 1,132mph thus breaking the World
Air Speed Record and becoming the rst aircraft to exceed 1,000mph in level ight. Not
everyone rejoiced at this British triumph, however. Greenhouse owners across the south were
agitated as the sonic boom broke glass windows.
Below: Peter Twiss was the rst man to y ‘faster than the sun’. When heading West during his
World Record Breaking Flight, the aircraft ew faster than the apparent motion of the sun, thus
making the sun appear to move backwards in the sky.Right: The Fairey Delta slicing through the air
over the English countryside. To celebrate
breaking the World Air Speed Record, WG774
was painted in a not entirely attering bright
pink colour scheme and given ‘go faster stripes’!BAC Type 221 to participate in the Concorde
programme. WG 777 soldiered on until July
1966 when it was transferred to the RAF
Museum at Cosford.AA33_p58.indd 58 09/08/2017 09:37