Supermarine Attacker

F1 Fighter, FB1 & FB2 Fighter Bombers


Attacker FB2


The Attacker was derived from the Supermarine Spiteful, an intended replacement for the Spitfire. It kept the Spiteful's wing (and four 20 mm cannon) but had a new tail and fuselage which housed a jet engine. The first navalised prototype flew on 17th June 1947. The first production aircraft (an F1) flew in April 1950 and became the first jet aircraft to enter FAA front line service in August 1951. Bomb facilities were added to the F1 design to make the FB1 which was followed by the FB2 which replaced the FB1s Mk 101 Nene turbojet with a Mk 102.

The Attacker was soon out of date and was replaced with the Sea Hawk in front line service as soon as it became available in 1954. It continued to serve in the RNVR until 1956.

A total of 43 F1, 16 FB1 and 84 FB2 were built for the Royal Navy (36 de-navalised Attackers were also supplied to the Pakistan Air Force)

(Attacker FB2)
Dimensions: Span 11.25 m (36ft 11in) ; Length 11.43 m (37ft 6in) ; Height 3.02 m (9ft 11in) ; Wing Area 21.03 sq.m (226.4 sq.ft)
Weights: Empty 4495 kg (9,910 lb) ; Maximum Take-off 7870 kg (17,350 lb)
Powerplant: one Rolls Royce Nene Mk 102 turbojet - 1950 kg (5,100 lb) thrust.
Performance: Maximum speed at sea level 590 mph (950 kph, 513 kt) ; Service ceiling 45,000 ft (13715 m)
Armament: 4 20 mm cannon ; 8 pylons for 2 1000lb bombs and up to 8 60lb rockets