Sharp, Dan Cold War Interceptor

The RAF's F.155T/O.R. Fighter Projects

The West was stunned when the USSR detonated its first atomic bomb in August 1949 and, a year later, the Korean War demonstrated Russia's incredible technological progress in the form of the MiG-15, a jet fighter capable of outperforming everything the British Royal Air Force had at its disposal at the time. After World War II, funding for the British fighter command had been dramatically cut. Now, new jet fighters had to be developed urgently to counter the threat posed by Soviet bombers. The largest British aircraft manufacturers began developing high-performance supersonic aircraft with brand-new guided missile systems that could prevent a Soviet attack before it could unleash a devastating nuclear firestorm on British soil. The result was some of the largest, heaviest, and most powerful fighter aircraft the world had ever seenand a heated debate arose as to whether these giants should be built at all, as the guided weapons used by the enemy became increasingly effective. This is the story of Britain's secret jet fighter designs during the Cold War, fully illustrated with a wealth of drawings, illustrations, and photographs.