The Hawker Hurricane was, quite simply, the numerically most significant aircraft type flown on operations by the Indian Air Force (IAF) during the Second World War. Eight of the nine IAF squadrons which saw action during WW2 flew it for extended periods on operations. By mid-1942, when the Indian Air Force first got their hands on the Hurricane (or their feet on its rudder pedals), it was certainly not representative of the most modern aircraft that the Allied air arms were operating, even for the Burma Front. But it was still a massively important weapon system for the Empire and its allies. And the period when the IAF operated it was an important marker in the development of the Indian Air Force. Almost all Hurricanes operated by the IAF were second-hand or third-hand machines which had been previously used in England, Malta, or by the Desert Air Force, the tactical force that supported the North African campaign. The approach of equipping IAF units with aircraft types that were being discarded by regular RAF units was, by design or chance, to remain a standard until late 1945. It was entirely in line with long-standing Indian Army policy, of equipping Indian sepoys with older models of muskets, and later of rifles, which British units were discarding. Indian fighter-reconnaissance and fighter-bomber units were equipped, and took on the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, with Hawker Hurricanes, at the same time that RAF units with the same tasks were receiving the far more prestigious Supermarine Spitfires. Undoubtedly there were some rational arguments for this policy. Prioritising the most modern equipment for the units most likely to confront the most modern adversaries, realistic assessment of the abilities of colonial units to make best use of the equipment, and constraints on training: these arguments all have some validity. But IAF crews, fresh from operating Westland Lysanders during the First Burma campaign, were quite pleased to be promoted to Hurricanes. By contemporary accounts they put enormous effort into keeping the aircraft in as good condition as possible in the circumstances. And their mastery of the machine prepared them for the Spitfires and Tempests they would soon be operating. The Hurricane, for all its production and operational history, never quite measured up to the Spitfire in mythology; but in difficult environments such as North Africa and the China-Burma-India theatre, it proved to be more robust and able to withstand extreme heat, dust and cold, than most other aircraft of its class. Its older materials and construction methods meant that it was easy and quick to produce, and simple to repair in the field. The wide-set main undercarriage legs made it easy to land and stable to taxi even on rough fields. It was flown in Yugoslavia, South Africa and the Sudan even before the Battle of Britain, demonstrating its ability to perform in extremely varied environments. Burma and India were in fact the last theatre in which Hurricanes were used in significant numbers as first-line fighters. The Hurricane served in virtually all Indian Air Force combat roles with distinction – fighter, bomber, ground-attack, reconnaissance, and army co-operation among them. Something like twenty of the two dozen-odd DFCs received by IAF personnel, including to such icons as later Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh, went to Hurricane pilots. Because of its robustness and simplicity it was also used for numerous other applications – combined operations, despatch delivery, meteorological reconnaissance, radar calibration. It was also used in India for roles for which it was never intended – including anti-malarial and crop-protection spraying. It served with the IAF for only about four years. By 1946, immediately after the War’s end, there were so many surplus late-mark Spitfires available in theatre that Hurricane units were able to convert to the Spitfire, or in some cases to the Tempest quite soon after the end of the War. But its status, as the most widely-flown IAF combat aircraft of the Second World War, goes well beyond the years it served. It should be remembered as an IAF classic.
K S Nair is the author of two books and over 70 articles on the Indian Air Force and other developing country air arms.
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One moody day in October the ‘Queen of the Skies’ landed for the final time. We spoke to 747 pilot Lyndsay McGregor about the aircraft and her feelings on saying goodbye to this majestic machine.
Which three words best describe the 747? Iconic, majestic, recognisable.
Best and worst things about the aircraft? Best: It’s versatility. Freight, people, military, civil, telescopes, laser beams and space shuttles all in and out of a normal size airport.
Credit: Lyndsay McGregor
Worst: Fuel efficiency and environmental impact. In its day it was amazing but today’s big twins show the 747 is past its prime.
Unlike the 380, the 747 has huge cargo capacity which can make for some really interesting ‘passengers’. As well as the standard dog and cat, it’s been know to transport F1 race cars, horses, exotic animals and tons of bees!
Rich Cooper/COAP
How would you rate it in the following categories:
Ease of flying
7/10. The 747 in comparison to the newer fly-by-wire jets is conventional and requires more ‘piloting’. Controlling the speed with the thrust levers, manual trimming and a large control wheel is not much different to flying a 707 back in the 1950s.
Credit: Lyndsay McGregor
Passenger comfort
6/10. Despite its low cabin altitude, the 747’s air conditioning system don’t compare favourably to modern systems. After long flights the dry atmosphere can make you feel dehydrated. Most 747’s cabins are beginning to show their age and the design of the overhead lockers tend to close the cabin in. But, the 747 is still the private airliner of choice for the rich and famous with plenty of room for your banqueting table, comms suite and lazy boy chairs!
Ease of landing 9/10. The large wing means the 747 is forgiving when it comes to landing. Once in ground effect, get it just right and it will reward you with the smoothest of landings. In strong crosswinds you need to bring your ‘A’ game as even after touching down you have to ‘fly the wing’ as you decelerate to avoid scraping a low-hanging outer engine.
Reliability. 10/10 Joe Sutter, the 747’s designer wanted the Jumbo to be the safest jet in the sky. He engineered systems that were both highly reliable and had plenty of back-up. This redundancy means that failure after failure can occur without compromising the integrity of the flight.
Credit: Lyndsay McGregor
Pilot comfort 10/10 The flight deck is smaller than it’s big twin sisters, it’s noisy as we fly so quickly, and well designed with a few nice touches such as cup holders, foot warmers and an ensuite! I was going to give it 7/10 with 1 point lost for no tray table, another for non electrical seat adjustment and another for temperature control on a hot day, but you can look down on every other jet at the airport and so that alone gets full marks!
Aesthetics
Rich Cooper/COAP
10/10. Recognisable from any direction, the 747 pulls off the trick of being huge and beautiful. In plan form those 37.5 degrees of sweep give it a retro look.
Cockpit displays
7/10. The round dial ‘Classics’ were a marvel; some had mechanical vertical tape engine instruments. The -400 has CRT displays with double the display area of the 767 but they are a few generations behind the technology in the 787s and 350s.
Bill Withers used to fit 747 toilets for Boeing
Agility
Rich Cooper/COAP
7/10 I wouldn’t say the 747 is particularly agile, I would compare her to a cruise liner rather than a speed boat. That said, when flying her, she is very responsive especially in roll – and turns with such elegance.
Climb rate
10/10. With four Rb211 engines punching out 56,000lbs of thrust per engine its climb rate can be awesome.
Top speed
Rich Cooper/COAP
9/10 Due to its swept wing, the 747 can comfortably achieve cruising speeds in the region of Mach .85. It’s great racing other jets home across the Atlantic and winning!
Tell me something I don’t know about the 747:
Bill Withers used to fit 747 toilets for Boeing or; Nobody thought that the 747 would be a success or; A 747 was fitted with a super high-powered laser as the YAL-1 to shoot down nuclear missiles in flight.
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What is the biggest myth about the 747?
Rich Cooper/COAP
That you have to be big and manly to fly such a large aircraft
How did you feel about its final BA flight, what was it like?
Her final flight felt like the end of an era and I was disappointed due to the weather on the day, she didn’t get the send-off she deserved. Whilst sad, it’s a reminder of how aviation is a progressive industry with newer technology and more efficient jets. I felt very proud to have been a part of her legacy and doubt that few airliners will hold the title of ‘Queen of the Skies’.
What was your first flight at the controls like?
Rich Cooper/COAP @coaphoto on Twitter @richcooperuk on Insta
It was such a rush and I couldn’t decide if I was excited, nervous or a mixture of the two! I had never flown a Boeing before let alone the 747 and I will never forget the rumble of the four RB211 engines spool up as we took off on our way to Cape Town. It felt like all the hard work, commitment and sacrifices made through my career had built up to that one moment
Which aircraft will you return to after maternity leave, and how do you feel about the prospect?
Rich Cooper/COAP
I am excited and looking forward to returning to work. Whilst I am kept (very) busy during the day, it will be good to have some sort of structure and normality back to my routine. My hope is to return to the A350 or 787 as I enjoy the lifestyle and operational complexities of long haul operations. Whatever type I fly I know it will come as a shock to the system when I have to engage my brain again and start learning!
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Do you have personal preference for Boeings or Airbuses, if so why?
Rich Cooper/COAP
I started my career on the Airbus and spent the first 7 years on the A320 family, so its the jet I feel the most comfortable and at home with. That said, I have enjoyed the Boeing as it feels like a ‘real aircraft’ to fly and I find the manuals and Quick Reference Handbook easier to navigate. When people ask, it’s much cooler to say you fly the Boeing 747, but the Airbus does have a tray table, which makes it a tough call. All things considered, Boeing wins the day
3 reasons why a 747 is better than an A380
Looks. The 747 looks majestic in the sky. When you see her turn it’s with such poise and elegance and the A380, well, you don’t quite get the same vibe.
Convenience. The 747 is nicknamed the ‘ensuite fleet’ as the flightdeck has its own toilet and bunks. You can access all of the home comforts without leaving the fight deck.
Cargo. Unlike the 380, the 747 has huge cargo capacity which can make for some really interesting ‘passengers’. As well as the standard dog and cat, it’s been know to transport F1 race cars, horses, exotic animals and tons of bees!
How would you summarise the BA career of the 747 and its historical importance?
BA really spans the full life of the 747, from joint launch customer of the -100 (as BOAC), to Combis, to launching the -400 in 1989, to losing one to mortar fire in the invasion of Kuwait, to being the largest operator of the 747 for most of its operational life. There were even 747-8Fs in BA colours operated by GSS. For years the 747 was the workhorse of the airline, giving BA its famous ‘billion dollar route’.
Farewell to the ‘Queen of the Skies’ Rich Cooper/COAP @coaphoto on Twitter @richcooperuk on Insta
In the first of our celebrations of the most significant aircraft of the Indian Air Force we’ll look at the MiG-21. Fast, agile and extremely manoeuvrable, this Soviet ‘pocket rocket’ has served for almost 80% of India’s history as an independent nation.
“I once flew a DACT mission against two MiG-29s, I didn’t engage them in a turning fight. I kept my fight vertical and got two kills.” -–– Group Captain MJA Vinod (full interview here)
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was first inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1963. That was fifty-seven years ago, and the induction was of six aircraft. In the nearly six decades since then, the IAF has flown something approaching nine hundred examples of the type. And three-quarters of that number were built in India. On that basis alone, it is one of the most important Indian warplanes. The acquisition was transformational for the IAF, and in some ways beyond the IAF, for India. For a sense of where the transformation began, for the first ten years after Independence, India had genuine financial incentives to source imports from the UK. Hence the acquisitions of Tempests, Vampires, Hunters and Gnats. By the late 1950s India was seeing value in diversifying its sources of weaponry. Hence that initial batch of six Soviet MiG-21s. The MiG-21 was the first major non-Western weapon system India ever acquired. It was a huge change, going far beyond the language of the manuals. The Soviets had completely different design philosophies and combat doctrines, so completely different maintenance and operational practices.
In what would have been a case study in the private sector, the IAF made a conscious decision to acquire the technology – but to not adopt the procedures and tactics. The IAF planned from the start to use MiG-21s the way Western air forces use their interceptors; in independent squadrons, mobile between bases operating other types as well. This was different from Soviet / Warsaw Pact practice, of operating in regiments, about two or three times the size of a squadron, and generally operating one regiment of a single type from a base. Simplifying somewhat, this was also substantially the way the Luftwaffe had operated in WW2 – their deployable unit was the Gruppe, not the Staffel.
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The IAF used the MiG-21, and other Soviet hardware later, in ways their designers had never intended. The Soviets, planning for massive continent-wide land battles, built and deployed the MiG-21, as they did most of their military kit, in vast numbers, intending to stockpile them at different locations throughout Central Europe. They were essentially disposable assets, to be abandoned after a short cycle of intense operations. Operating life in war would have been measured in days, or at most weeks. India needed different ancillary equipment, maintenance schedules, and much else.
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When she procured the MiG-21, initially largely as a response to Pakistan’s acquisition of F-104 Starfighters, they were considered high-value assets, to be husbanded and carefully used primarily against those Starfighters. This use imposed different maintenance needs, quite different from the Soviet. The IAF developed maintenance processes, schedules for replacing parts, spares inventory requirements, geared in ways the Soviets had never planned for. In the acid test, the MiG-21 met Indian expectations in combat. In Indian hands it outfought some Western types, including USAF F-15s during one of the first exercises with them. The unique ways the IAF operated the MiG-21 were a product of unique times and circumstances.
Many of them have now changed, and the IAF is able, and recognised for its ability, to mix and match technologies from different sources. This makes for less than optimal fleet management and inventory constraints, certainly – but it does say something about Indian ingenuity and jugaad. Some difficulties notwithstanding, particularly during the disruption of spares supplies in the 1990s, a new generation of Indian aviators still fly the MiG-21. They include some of the first few Indian women combat pilots. At a time when more modern types are in the news, we might remember that India has used MiG-21s on a scale that even their designers didn’t think of.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR K S Nair has written two books, most recently The Forgotten Few, and about 70 articles on the Indian Air Force and military issues in developing countries. His next book, to be published by HarperCollins in 2021, will cover the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, during which the MiG-21 came into its own.
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Flying twice as fast as an AR15 round and capable of pulling G forces that leave pilots with the same painful lack of mobility as if they weighed an actual ton, a fighter aircraft asks a lot of its pilot.
Fighting and surviving in such a hostile environment requires lightning-fast assimilation and response to a mass of information. Not only this, but today most fighters are multi-roleand are tasked with destroying both air and surface targets. This is possible thanks to the wonder of the modern cockpit.We asked former Topgun instructor and F-14 Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Dave ‘Bio’ Baranek to give us the lowdown. Let’s slam the canopy shut and take a flight through 65 years of cockpit design.
“Sixty-five years seems like a long time, but the F-106 Delta Dart with which I start could be a threat today if still operational. And its near-contemporary, the F-4 Phantom, is still in service with five countries.
I was a Topgun instructor and an F-14 RIO, but for this article I’ll move into the front seat and look at instrumentation and controls. This is not an exhaustive survey, but a look at representative types that I selected. I’ll address the earliest version of each type because later developments had more to do with technical advancements than the state of aircraft design. Imagine a Spitfire Mk 24 with a podded radar, helmet mounted cueing system, and ASRAAM – with the controls and displays to support it all – and you get the idea.
“ICS check.” “Loud and clear.” “Okay, let’s get going.”
F-106A Delta Dart (first flight: 1956). I chose the F-106 to start because it is a memorable aircraft design of the 1950s. As a latter century series aircraft, I will argue it was part of the beginning of modern fighters. The Delta Dart was called a development of the F-102, but is significantly improved. In fact, the F-102 cockpit looks like something out of a hobbyist’s basement, while the -106 looks like a fairly modern fighter/interceptor, at least before the dawn of glass cockpits. The tape instruments add a modern touch, and the fact that it’s single-engine allows the panel to be less cluttered than dual engine types. I’ve read that the procedure to select weapons was “cumbersome” and would be difficult to accomplish under combat conditions. Such realisations were sweeping the aviation industry and led to modern HOTAS cockpits.
As a teenager I met a pilot who flew F-106s in the Florida Air National Guard, based in my hometown, and he arranged for me to fly their simulator during one of my visits to watch them fly. I was pretty excited, and to my surprise discovered that I was able to avoid crashing – with a lot of coaching from the simulator control console. The moving map display in front of the control stick was cool, it seemed futuristic in the 1970s.
F-4B front cockpit
F-4B and F-4C Phantom II (first flights: 1961, 1963, respectively). I selected early Phantoms to help form a baseline, and the pilot instrument panel is similar to the F-106 in level of complexity. With a back-seater to handle the radar, the F-4 didn’t need a two-headed stick like the F-106. One element that doesn’t show up in the cockpit photos is the relatively poor outside visibility of both of these early aircraft; it just wasn’t a priority. But at least the F-4 pilot had a head up display (HUD), while the F-106 pilot had a large radar scope in front of his face. The Phantom HUD was likely deemed essential to its strike-fighter role.
F-14A Tomcat (first flight: 1970)
As a former Tomcat RIO I did not spend much time in the front seat, only a few sessions in simulators, and to keep the playing field level I am basing these comments on cockpit photos. I like the arrangement of critical flight instruments in an upper tier, with engine instruments and a situation display below them. The stick and throttle have numerous switches and buttons supporting HOTAS. The forward control panel looks relatively simple compared to the contemporary F-15A (which I am not evaluating), which can be at least partly attributed to the Tomcat having a rear cockpit for armament control switches and other controls. (F-15A first flight: 1972) The F-14A pilot’s primary tactical display was a repeat of the RIO’s TID, so crew coordination was important. The F-14A HUD was helpful in some situations but most pilots decided it wasn’t that good: when it displayed all info it was cluttered and not what a pilot really wanted, and in the declutter mode it didn’t display very much. This was finally fixed in the F-14D, which got an improved HUD. The large canopy provided excellent visibility, which was one of many lessons from Vietnam air combat incorporated into the F-14.
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F-16A Fighting Falcon (1974)
A relatively uncluttered cockpit for a multi-role fighter, can be attributed to factors such as single-engine, limited air-to-air radar in the A-model, and emphasis on the HUD, as well as good design, of course. The monochrome tactical display is low and centred, with primary flight instruments immediately above. Cockpit visibility was outstanding due to the lack of a canopy windscreen bow and high-mounted seat. The side-mounted control stick pioneered in the F-16 has become familiar on other modern fighters and some commercial aircraft.
Su-27 ‘Flanker B’ (1977)
Approximately similar to the F-14 and Tornado in terms of visual complexity, with a major difference: no video screen in the centre. Some images show a video screen to the right side of the control panel. Lack of a tactical overview display seems to me a reduction in situational awareness, even if the pilot is using a helmet-mounted display (the early Flanker pilot had a rudimentary helmet cueing system rather than a display). Equipped with the now-standard HUD and HOTAS. The high seating position and bubble canopy provide excellent visibility. The cockpit looks less cluttered than the MiG-29, which also had first flight in 1977, probably because the bigger size provides more real estate for displays and controls.
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Tornado F3 (ADV; first flight: 1979). This is another pilot cockpit that benefits from being able to shift some controls and switches to the back seat. The F3 instrument panel is uncluttered, and features two medium-size video screens (I’ve seen smaller), one directly in front of the pilot. HOTAS – check … HUD – check, with extra points for wide angle … and of course there’s the wingsweep controller. The more I look at it, the more I like the neat and well-organised layout. One reason is the gauges are one of three sizes; in many American fighter cockpits each instrument seems to have a unique size. Tornado is probably one of the best cockpits before “glass” took over and gave us MFDs. Tornado also has a generous canopy, although it doesn’t have the 360-degree view of other fighters.
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Reader, from this point forward, please assume a HUD and HOTAS. They are now as standard as the wheel-shaped landing gear handle on the left side, as common as black and yellow stripes in a fighter cockpit. In addition, the remaining aircraft have multi-function displays instead of analogue instruments.
Rafale (first flight of Rafale C: 1991). Hard to believe it has been around 30 years since its first flight! The cockpit still looks modern and uncluttered. This is possibly due to the control stick being on the right side instead of central. The throttle has display image controls, ensuring a strong finish in the battle for who has the most HOTAS buttons. The wide-angle HUD, bigger than on previous aircraft, has to be a welcome development for almost any mission. The central screen is a ‘Head Level Display’ in Dassault terminology: larger than the side screens, which improves the pilot’s view of the image from a targeting pod. A large display was something F-14 RIOs enjoyed when viewing LANTIRN on our Tactical Information Display (TID or Programmable TID) compared to other fighter displays of the mid-1990s. The Rafale’s HLD is also focused at a greater distance than the screen’s actual distance from the pilot, which allows the pilot’s eye to remain focused at near infinity whether looking through the HUD or at the HLD, instead of changing focus between infinity and 1 metre. This may not sound significant, but it’s something I learned when I studied HUDs as a college student; a fine point that is very important.
Typhoon (first flight: 1994). To my eye, the Typhoon cockpit doesn’t look as sleek as the Rafale’s, because Typhoon has more controls and the MFDs look more familiar. Typhoon is more spacious, although I must admit Rafale appears adequate. Like the Rafale, the Typhoon also has a wide-angle HUD. These two aircraft are frequently compared, with this Hush-Kit article an excellent example but they have different purposes and strengths. The Typhoon’s multiple MFDs and pilot-tailorable displays look like a great way to display huge volumes of information very effectively. Like Rafale, Typhoon has a voice input system. I know these things are tested extensively before being fielded, so I’ll hope it works well, but based on current voice controls I am suspicious. Typhoon also has the benefit of a mature helmet display/cueing system, something only just entering the Rafale community (for at least one export customer).
An F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot assigned to the “Rampagers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83 waves from the cockpit at Naval Air Station Oceana after a regularly scheduled deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations. c. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Thomas Mahmod)
F/A-18E Super Hornet (first flight: 1995). For the purposes of this overview, the Super Hornet cockpit appears similar to the Typhoon – modern and well-organized – with some notable exceptions. First, the Super Hornet doesn’t have a wide-angle HUD. I like the glare shields protruding from the top of the SH panel.
BF-02; Flight 126; LtCol Frederick Schenk; LtCol Scheck performing a STO and VL from the USS Wasp.
F-35 Lightning II (first flight: 2006). The biggest attention-grabber in this cockpit is the single large screen, with touch controls so extensive we see relatively few switches and controls elsewhere in the cockpit. The originator of the big screen was Gene Adam and he was at Macs in St Louis. He was predicting big picture flat screens in aircraft way back when a TV was the size of a camping rucksack.
The biggest attention-grabber is the side-stick location – yet another is the lack of a HUD – replaced by the pilot’s helmet-mounted display (HMD). The F-35 is establishing a new standard for fighter cockpits, with a similar large single display planned for the Gripen NG and Super Hornet Block III upgrade. The designed integration of the large display and the HMD will give F-35 pilots a very high level of situational awareness on any mission. I will complete this review by relating a candid discussion I had with unnamed F-35 pilots, who knew my service background. I felt they would have unloaded if they had any complaints. Instead, they smiled and said the new jet was – “Incredible,” with a big smile. Or maybe it was, “Awesome.”
Before leaving, let me offer a thought, something any aviator can tell you. If you look at these images and think the cockpits look complex, it’s because you don’t have experience in that type. The first time I saw the rear cockpit of an F-14, with dozens of panels and controls, I was stunned. But after completing my training and then flying more frequently (I averaged 39 hours a month my first few months in a fleet squadron in 1981), I realised I was reaching for switches and adjusting controls almost subconsciously. Training will be the key for pilots to employ these cockpits, no matter the design features or flaws.”
Former Topgun instructor and F-14 Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Dave ‘Bio’ Baranek has a new book out: ‘Tomcat RIO’. It tells the story of his return to the F-14 community after his tour as a Topgun instructor, as well as his eventual command of an F-14 squadron. It includes some of his best stories and unexpected challenges. It is available now in hardcover and e-book versions, and includes more than 50 of his amazing photographs. Here is his website.
Article idea suggested by book pledge supporter Greg Cruz. The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes will feature the finest cuts from Hush-Kit along with exclusive new articles, explosive photography and gorgeous bespoke illustrations.Order The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes here.
170829-N-NQ487-234
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 29, 2017) Lt. Neil Armstrong waits in the cockpit of an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the “Knighthawks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VAW) 211 during flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Harry S. Truman has successfully completed flight deck certifications and is underway preparing for a tailored ship’s training availability and final evaluation problem. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kaysee Lohmann/Released)
Though rumours persist of a VVIP Petlyakov Pe-8, Stalin never used a Pe-8. The Soviet leader was terrified of flying and flew only twice – to Tehran and back. Both journeys were in a nicely fitted out Douglas C-47: not a Li-2 even but a proper US built Skytrain. The Pe-8 was the only Soviet heavy bomber of the war, and bombed Berlin.
You cannot be a world-class psychopathic narcissist unless you have your own aircraft. Now, while one man’s ‘strong leader’ is another’s dictator we can be certain that all the human entrants in this list are or were prize bell-ends.Stephen Caulfieldchooses 12 infamous aeroplanesthat have perfected despot delivery.
When the Italian government had Mussolini arrested in 1943, the Germans mounted a daring raid to rescue him. He was successfully extracted by Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, but this was not his aircraft of choice.
12. Fokker F28 Fellowship Kalayaan (Republic of the Philippines)
Autocrat or not, the leader of an archipelago nation has good reason to fly. Hence, the Philippine people find themselves supporting the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing. That unit operated a Fokker F28-3000 Fellowship for state executive purposes starting in the stupidly decadent days of the Marcos family. The Fellowship was replaced only last year with a brand-new Gulfstream G280. This new aircraft lends a much slicker, up-to-the-minute corporate look to the law-and-order strongman presiding over a nation where vast economic inequalities are entrenched in daily life.
Non-political technical point: F28s feature a split tail cone air brake like that on a Blackburn Buccaneer strike aircraft.
11. Hawker-Siddeley HS-121 Trident People’s Republic of China
Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou-en-lai shared a British-built Trident airliner. The Trident supplemented, and then replaced, an Ilyushin Il-18 Coot. Zhou-en-lai was the first Premier of China and served as Mao Zedong’s right hand. They were among the post-war world’s longest serving leaders, lasting from 1949 until the days of the Sex Pistols. Considering the poverty and turmoil of China in these years the idea of leaders looking down at the put-upon masses from a private jet strikes one now as something Communism would have eradicated. Or at least limited to really, really special occasions. Oh well, plus ca change. Though to be fair, the Trident was used as a domestic aircraft by the state owned airline CAAC who had a fleet of about 35. Having a British-made VVIP plane wasn’t entirely about looking down on the masses as China is a big country and the leadership needed to get around, but the optics were still far from perfect.
Once a common sight flying between the UK and western and southern Europe none remain in service anywhere. China’s VIP transport example bounced around for a time after retiring. Last word, the tired Trident was being dragged off from the shopping mall where it had been on display. It was increasingly found to just be in the way of people parking their BMWs. China’s all-business political elites now have access to Boeing 747s.
Non-political technical point: the Trident began life as a de Havilland design referred to as the DH.121
10. Airbus A319 (Bolivarian State of Venezuela)
Does oil and gas wealth ever bring a country happiness? Ignoring the Black Swan of Norway, consider Venezuela. In 2002 twelve protesters are gunned down by security forces loyal to President Hugo Chavez. Days later, he takes delivery of an Airbus. Apparently he’d seen one owned by an Emirati Sheik at some international conference. One phone call and US$65 million later he has a replacement for the ageing Boeing 737 he’d been putting up with. This and the massacre of his own citizens became twinned unforgivable moments for the majority of Venezuelans. Many of whom live in utter poverty despite the country’s huge fossil fuel reserves. The military then remove Senor Chavez from power. Two days later he’s back in office. He keeps the Airbus and some other privileges until his death from cancer in 2013. George Orwell weeps. So do a few others.
Non-political technical point: the A319/A320 program was a pioneer of commercial fly-by-wire and side stick control systems.
9. Airbus A340 (State of Libya)
Moammar Gadaffi typifies the classical career path of dozens of post-1945 liberationist revolutionaries who morphed into police-state despots. While seemingly an eccentric individual he ruled the masses with the an unimaginative mix of bribery and deep brutality. He relied on a privileged clique of family and close confidants to maintain power for forty-one years. None of this nonsense ever ends well. To wit, his last official plane has been rotting at an airport in southern France for years now. Another thriftless monument to dictatorship in a world littered with them. His choice of such a full on machine capable of transoceanic journeys seems a little off, too. This guy was welcome in fewer and fewer places worth visiting until his death at the hands of angry rivals in 2011. Grey leather sofas, a luxury suite with shower and a flat-screen TV should have made this jetliner a quick sell but post-coup legalities have complicated its disposal.
Non-political technical point: the A340 was the world’s longest airliner until the Boeing 747-8 appeared.
8. Ilyushin Il-62 Classic Chammae-1 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
It’s unclear what level of interior customization Chairman Kim Jong-Un’s official aircraft has been given. A safe bet is something superior to what you experienced on your last flight. Kim Jong-Un’s father used this handsome plane, one of only three designs ever configured with four engines mounted in twin nacelles under a T-tail. It seems everything in North Korea is subsumed into a military- and prison-industrial complex of the harshest kind. So, planning for a new airplane for the dictator of North Korea is probably the least excessive thing on the go there at the moment. North Korea is a hefty importer of cognac, luxury cars and pianos. This suggests an epic hypocrisy by the elites behind an old school Stalinist facade. Until a Prague Spring arrives in Pyongyang we won’t know the truth around this aircraft, it’s VIP passengers or the country employing it. What an unfortunate use for a wonderful plane. Bigger and faster than a Vickers VC-10 the Il-62 continues to impress.
Non-political technical point: the Il-62’s first Aeroflot passenger run was in 1967 with a non-stop trip from Moscow to Montreal.
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7. Boeing 707 Socialist Republic of Romania
A dictator’s aircraft you could actually go online and buy this year! You’d have had to outbid a private aerial refuelling contractor to get it. In storage for years, this 707 was bought by Omega Air and converted to approximate a Boeing KC-135 aerial refuelling tanker. The opportunity for this was, ahem, dictated by the underperformance of USAF programmes intended to replace their fast-ageing KC-135s. Where to start with the ironies? A long-time Marxist leader travelling about in a symbol of western privilege and consumerism from the heyday of mid-century air travel? Now it’s a privately-owned gas truck for the Pentagon in its so-called ‘Forever Wars’. As Ceausescu’s nepotistic regime became unpopular he imposed a ferocious austerity with a cruel rationing of daily essentials for the masses. His cult of personality falters and collapses. His own country is left an economic cripple and international pariah. Even Moscow starts to find Ceausescu repellent and before long a coup sweeps him from power and into the next world with a bullet. Unlike the Shah of Iran, Ceausescu, and his equally detested wife, were not able to flee in their luxury, long range airliner with a custom interior said to be equal to America’s Air Force One. Non-political technical point: the tube protruding forward from the top of the 707’s vertical tail is an HF radio antenna.
6. Boeing 747 Imperial State of Iran
From 1953 until 1978 Iran was perhaps America’s single most important client state. Washington took its management of the oil-rich, strategically-placed nation with extreme seriousness. Braced by US patronage and unchecked police brutality, Shah Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran for a quarter century.
Oil and gas export revenue let Iran spend lavishly on infrastructure and imported food and weapons from the west. In such a reality a wide-bodied, twin-aisle, two-deck passenger jet would have seemed like a natural platform for conversion into a super-luxury air yacht for the Shah.
By 1978, he had done so much harm he managed to trigger an unstoppable Muslim fundamentalist counter attack. The collapse of US-Iranian relations sent shock waves through the Middle East. Indeed the world felt them and continues to watch the Persian Gulf with a weary geopolitical eye. How bad had it all gone by 1978? Well, the man who modelled his governance on the great Persian emperors had to flee for his life in that personal Jumbo Jet. The one with gold toilet fittings.
Non-political technical point: maximum takeoff weight for -200 and -300 series 747s is equal to about 378 Jaguar E-type FHC sports cars.
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5. Ilyushin Il-96-300PU Russian Federation Oil and gas revenue mixing with nationalist oligarchy results in some interesting privileges for the ones in charge. Post-Communist Russia is no exception. Rappers, Saudi Princes, upper echelon athletes, tech billionaires, hedge fund managers and even Donald Trump may have something to envy in Vladimir Putin’s executive airplane. With its sheer size, long range and very shiny interiors this aircraft embodies concentrated political and economic power in the age of a fractious global economy gone hog wild. Where a western lottery winner or mid-level celebrity gets an Embraer EMB-500 Phenom Vlad gets a flying five-star-plus hotel and command post. Naturally enough, the top dog in a nuclear-armed country physically larger than all others should have a hot, thoroughly modern aircraft at his disposal. This is absolutely what that looks like. Mr. Putin was elected, yes, but Russia’s recent backsliding on democracy and the fact he embodies the deeply historical Russian preference for ultra-strong leaders earns this ex-KGB officer and his ride a place on our list.
Non-political technical point: the long dorsal fairing on the 300PU model is not found on the commercial versions of the Il-96 and suggests an allocation of communications and protective electronic warfare systems deemed appropriate to Mr. Putin.
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head! So goes the nursery rhyme in 1984, George Orwell’s chilling novel of totalitarian life. Official news clips from Belarus this summer show us that novel will probably never be irrelevant. In them, we see President Victor Lukashenko flying back to Minsk in a Mil Mi-8, AKS-74U at his knee. Clad in a tactical vest we see the unsmiling leader of a nation in turmoil barking orders into a phone. He surveys a highway jammed with protestors he has earlier that day referred to as vermin. On the ground to oversee forceful countermeasures to a sustained democracy movement, Lukashenko stops to hail a squad of black-clad riot police. Having rigged his country’s last election to appear to have given him an 80% majority the autocratic and corrupt Lukashenko must now cope with a massive populist backlash. Delivering Eastern Europe’s equivalent of Tony Montana that day in August was an absolute classic of Soviet era helicopter development, a Mil Mi-8. The one-time workhorse of the Warsaw Pact is a wonderful platform and in the case of Belarus case probably highly effective in all the wrong jobs.
Non-political technical point: the ‘Hip’ series made its first flight in 1961 and is still in production making it the most-produced helicopter in history.
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3. Dassault Aviation Falcon 900 Syrian Arab Republic
The brutal news from Syria’s civil war, amplified at every turn by foreign intervention, makes the presence of any luxury jet a bit of a mind-bender. And what a toy for the man residing over such a heartbreaking mess, Bashar al-Assad. At the factory gate in France a Falcon 900 is worth over US$40 million. Adding a luxury master suite with full bathroom and then communications and security gear for someone with a serious penchant for control and this aircraft comes to symbolise high privilege wrapped in a cloak of evil. Fast moving and capable of unrefuelled trips of many thousands of kilometres the Falcon is perfect for the diplomatic pouch and other high-level errands. Fleeing from disaster should also be easy in a Falcon. As long as you had a place to go and could trust the crew and your security detail, that is. Soon enough, neither may be a reasonable expectation for Mr. Assad.
Non-political technical point: the 900 series Falcons feed air to the centre engine via an S-duct like the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar did.
2. Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor Immelman I Third Reich
Hitler didn’t like flying. As an aspiring European land emperor he would have been fine with luxurious working trips on a well-protected private train. Before his ascension to power, Hitler overcame his fear to tap the time-saving economics of flying to rallies and appointments. Nazi propaganda made strong use of imagery of Hitler rushing about the country in planes or coming down from the clouds to Nuremberg. His rich sponsors supported his air travel at first. Then official aircraft were available after 1933. The Junkers Ju-52/3m, sensible and rugged with its corrugated metal skin and three engines, was just right for the hectic early days. Later, the speed and altitude performance of a four-engined aircraft was recommended by his personal pilot, an SS officer named Hans Bauer. Remembered for an early period of success in the Battle of the Atlantic, the elegant Condor was a natural choice of transport for Hitler. Bauer was an important part of a retinue that catered to the führer. He carried the registration numbers two-six-zero-zero over to the Condor in deference to Hitler’s superstitiousness, for example. He also saw to the aircraft’s meticulous inspections including Hitler’s comfy chair which had an armoured back plate half an inch thick. Extreme secrecy and a flight of single-engine fighters usually saw to the Condor’s protection.
Non-political technical point: in 1938 a Condor prototype was the first aeroplane to fly from Berlin to New York City non-stop and did so fitted with two-bladed propellers. It was fitted with a fuselage full of temporary fuel tanks so wasn’t a standard flight. With passengers and baggage a more normal range would be Berlin to Athens, which was still quite good for the era.
Of all the murderous idiots upending the world in the last century Mussolini is perhaps the one who most embodies the inextricable relationship between Fascism and aviation. As a young journalist he was thrilled by the speed and dynamism of this new, new thing. The conquest of the air meant a radical new world. In power after 1922 Mussolini invested heavily in Italy’s civil and military aviation.
Il Duce, thanks to Allied wartime propaganda, is remembered as a nasty clown with a case of Hitler envy. He was a qualified pilot in his younger days, however. Later, Mussolini’s personal enthusiasm for aviation informed his choice of executive aircraft. For flights from Rome to Italy’s regions or countries neighbouring his own the Pipistrello was perfect. A militarised version of an airliner of moderate performance it was given a special white paint job, too. Mussolini’s Pipistrello was camouflage painted as the war ground on and notably it managed to survive Italy’s defeat.
In service until the 1950s, the Pipistrello had an easier fate than its most privileged passenger. When he was deposed and waiting for his execution by Communist partisans Mussolini must have looked back on his Pipistrello and so many life moments in the air with fondness, even gratitude. The hour he spent at the controls of Hitler’s Kondor perhaps cheered Il Duce a little before he was shot then hung up and mutilated in public. Hitler had invited his ally to tour their diabolical handiwork in Russia and Ukraine. On the way back, Mussolini asked to fly the big Condor. Intra-dictator etiquette being what it was nobody could refuse. Accounts of the flight record an increase in cabin tension as Mussolini adjusted his seat straps and took the controls. Hans Bauer remained in the cockpit as co-pilot. Mussolini flew steadily westward asking Bauer to work the throttles as the Itailan dictator gently completed a half dozen wide banking turns because he could. How many perished in the greatest war in human history during that single hour of airborne indulgence?
Non-political technical point: the Pipistrello entered service before the S.M. 79 Sparviero the much more powerful bomber/torpedo bomber it closely resembles.
(Dishonourable mention: Erich Honecker’s An-26)
The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes contains the best of Hush-Kit with a wealth of brand new unpublished material, bespoke artwork and much more in a high quality coffee table book. Preorder your copy today here.
Here are some brilliant machines we’ve been thinking about for a while and not known what to do with.
XC-120 Packplane
The Fairchild XC-120 Packplane was an experimental transport aircraft developed from the company’s C-119 Flying Boxcar. It was unique (for a fixed wing design) in the unconventional use of removable cargo pods that were attached below the fuselage, in place of a fixed internal cargo compartment.
Its greatest cultural legacy was as the inspiration for Thunderbird 2, a fictional aeroplane from a British children’s TV show.
Budd RB Conestoga
The Conestoga was the tragic answer to the eternal-man-in-the-bar question “Why don’t they build planes from the stuff they built black boxes from?” Well they did. Worried about a limited supply of aluminium, bus manufacturer Budd came forward with a wealth of largely irrelevant experience. The Conestoga was a tough as hell wartime transport built largely from steel. Its strength proved an asset, as the type was very prone to crashing. It was said that you wait half an hour for one Conestoga crash and then three crash at once.
Cunliffe-Owen Concordia
Built at Southampton Airport, where our regular contributor (and Maule pilot) Dorian Crook learned to fly, the Concordia was a feederliner designed by the brother of Paddy Garrow-Fisher (holder of the London-Calcutta car speed record). The Cunliffe-Owen factory later went on to be the home of the Ford Transit. It’s rumoured that a dusty prototype Concordia was scrawled with the legend “I wish my wife was as dirty as this unlucky feederliner”.
Helio Courier -Super STOL utility machine, psy-ops propaganda-monger and Air America workhorse. A cloak & dagger-man’s Beaver, if you will. The Courier did a bunch of deeply spooky stuff during the misery-fest of America’s South East asian wars. See its more COIN sibling here.
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Jurca MJ54 Silas
What could be more lovely than touring remote regions in a small car-carrying aeroplane? Once at your destination you may drive around and explore surrounding area before sleeping in the cosy fuselage of your aeroplane. The type could have been adapted as an air ambulance, parachutist carrier or transport for a physically disabled pilot but despite winning French invention of the year, it was not to be.
Hurel-Dubois HD.34
Note the importance of a double-barrelled name in the manufacturer, be it English or French.
The HD34 is a perfect example of the French going it alone*, in this case to an absurd degree considering the aircraft’s very limited role of aerial mapping. Whereas less proud nations might have procured a clapped-out airliner and drill holes in the floor (the more conscientious might even attach a camera), the French followed the HD series 31 and 32, with 34. It shared the high aspect ratio wing concept of the earlier types, as favoured by designer Maurice Hurel and was powered by two Wright Cyclone radial engines. Its sole operator was the French National Geographic Institute (Institut Geographique National).
The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes will feature some superb profile illustrations. The first we commissioned was the BAe 1214-3, an unrealised Harrier replacement I’ve been in love with since I learnt about it in Bill Gunston’s ‘Warplanes of the Future’ in the 1980s. Now we’re offering you the chance to name* the 1214-3.
Here’s a couple of teasers from our forthcoming book:
The Pegasus engine with its steerable thrust blesses the Harrier with the ability to take-off and land vertically — and even fly backwards. Unfortunately you can’t put conventional afterburners on a Pegasus engine; there are several reasons for this – the hot and cold air is separated, the inlets do not slow the airflow sufficiently for serious supersonic flight, and the jet-pipes would be too short- and it would also set fire to everything (it was tried from the 1960s and proved problematic). This is a shame as a Harrier is desperate for thrust on take-off and could do with the ability to perform a decent high-speed dash. Though conventional afterburners are out of the question, you could however use plenum chamber burning (PCB). This technology was developed for the Mach 2 Hawker Siddeley P.1154 (think the lovechild of a Harrier and a F-4, with the wingspan of a Messerschmitt Bf 109) – which never entered service. PCB chucks additional fuel into a turbofan’s cold bypass air only and ignites it (a conventional afterburner puts the burning fuel into the combined cold and hot gas flows). This is great, but how do you incorporate this into swivelling nozzles without destroying the rear fuselage with heat and vibration? BAe thought it found the answer – get ride of the rear fuselage altogether, and mount the tail onto two booms. Worried that this already eccentric idea might seem too conventional, BAe decided to add an ‘X-wing’ configuration with swept forward wings (which were in vogue in the early 1980s). This did produce the coolest fighter concept of the 1980s, even in the -3 variant shown which had conventional tails.
The P.1214 would have been extremely agile (and short-ranged), probably comparable to the Yak-41. The P.1214 lost its swept forward wings when further studies revealed them to be of no great value. It now became the P.1216, which was intended to satisfy the USMC and RN’s desire for a supersonic jump-jet (a need eventually met by the F-35B). A full-sized wooden P.1216 was built to distract Thatcher from stealing children’s milk, predictably (as it was British) the whole project was scrapped. This was arguably a good thing as British military hardware testing and development was at its lowest ebb in the 1980s (see the Nimrod AEW.3, SA80 battle rifle, Foxhunter radar, Harrier GR5 compared to the US AV-8B, etc for details).
Prize for winning entry: your chosen name will be used in the book as the name of the P1214-3.
How to enter: we will only accept submissions in the comments section below this article at hushkit.net.
(*The name is unofficial and this competition is not affiliated with BAE Systems)
