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STRANGE MILITARY AIRPLANES - FAIREY DELTA 2 - FIRST AIRCRAFT TO EXCEED 1000 MPH
Fairey Delta 2 (FD2) The FD2 was the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph in level flight. In the late 1940s Britain was trailing far behind in supersonic aircraft design. To try to rectify matters the Ministry of Supply issued a specification for a supersonic research aircraft to investigate flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. The FD2 was a single-seat, delta-winged aircraft powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon engine with an afterburner. To improve the pilot's forward view during landing, taxiing and take-off, the cockpit and nose section could be hinged downwards by ten degrees, a feature later used on the Concorde. There were two FD2 aircraft built. The first FD2 #WG774 was flown on it's on its maiden flight by Lt Cdr Peter Twiss on 6 Oct 1954. On the 10 Mar 1956 Twiss set a new World Absolute Speed Record of 1820kph (1132mph) between Ford and Chichester in Sussex, UK. This beat the old record by more than 300mph which was quite an achievement considering the old record had only been set the previous year by an American F100 Super Sabre. 
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