De Havilland Sea Vixen


FAW1 All-Weather Fighter


Sea Vixen FAW1


The Sea Vixen FAW1 was a development of De Havilland's all-weather and night fighter prototype, the D.H.110. The FAW1 first flew on 20 March 1957 and entered service in July 1959 as the FAAs main fleet defence fighter. An unusual feature of the Sea Vixen is its cockpit canopy which is positioned on the port side of the aircraft. The observer sat behind and to the right of the pilot, nestled in the fuselage, with only a small window to look out of.

A total of 114 FAW1 were built.

Dimensions: Span 15.54 m (51ft) ; Length 16.94 m (55ft 7in) ; Height 3.28 m (10ft 9 in) ; Wing Area 60.19 sq.m (648 sq.ft)
Weights: Empty 12679 kg (27,952 lb) ; Maximum Take-off 16783 kg (37,000 lb)
Powerplant: two Rolls Royce Avon RA28 Mk 208 turbojets - 5094 kg (11,230 lb) thrust each.
Performance: Maximum speed at sea level 690 mph (1110 kph, 600 kt) ; Service ceiling 48,000 ft (14630 m)
Avionics: GEC AI.18 radar (range ~20 miles)
Armament: 28 2-inch rockets in 2 retractable packs in the nose ; 4 underwing hardpoints for 4 Firestreak AAMs, or 2000lbs of bombs


FAW2 All-Weather Fighter


The Sea Vixen FAW2 was similar to the FAW1, the main differences being Red Top missiles instead of the Firestreaks and forward extensions of the tailbooms to carry extra fuel. The prototype FAW2 first flew on 1 June 1962 and entered service in 1963. When the aircraft left front-line service in 1972 a few were converted to D3 target drones.

67 Sea Vixen FAW1s were converted to FAW2 standard as well as 29 new builds.

Dimensions: Span 15.54 m (51ft) ; Length 16.94 m (55ft 7in) ; Height 3.28 m (10ft 9 in) ; Wing Area 60.19 sq.m (648 sq.ft)
Weights: Empty 12679 kg (27,952 lb) ; Maximum Take-off 16783 kg (37,000 lb)
Powerplant: two Rolls Royce Avon RA28 Mk 208 turbojets - 5094 kg (11,230 lb) thrust each.
Performance: Maximum speed at sea level 690 mph (1110 kph, 600 kt) ; Service ceiling 48,000 ft (14630 m)
Avionics: GEC AI.18 radar (range ~20 miles)
Armament: 28 2-inch rockets in 2 retractable packs in the nose ; 4 underwing hardpoints for 4 Red Top AAMs, or 2000lbs of bombs