Warplanes of the UK: Short SC-1

(RAF Photo)

The Short SC.1 was the first British fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft. It was developed by Short Brothers. It was powered by an arrangement of five Rolls-Royce RB.108 turbojets, four of which were used for vertical flight and one for conventional horizontal flight. The SC.1 had the distinction of being the first British fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and the first one to transition between vertical and horizontal flight modes; it was also the first VTOL-capable aircraft with a fly-by-wire control system.The SC.1 was designed and produced in response to a Ministry of Supply (MoS) requirement for a suitable aircraft for conducting flight studies into VTOL flight, as well as specifically into the transition between vertical and horizontal flight. Two prototypes were used for flight testing between 1957 and 1971. Research data from the SC.1 test programme contributed to the development of the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 and the subsequent Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational VTOL aircraft.

(RuthAS Photo)

Short SC.1.

(RAF Photo)

Short SC.1.

(RAF Photo)

Short SC.1.

(RAF Photo)

Short SC.1.

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