Gloster Javlin vs Vautour SO 4050 1:48

[hyair]

Gomidefilho and Sergio - thanks for your reply's !

Yair

[hyair]

The Hunter entered service with the RAF in 1955. The early models had troubles with limited range and ingestion of gas into the sapphire engine that shut it down at height. These problems were rectified in F-6 model that had Avon engine instead and external fuel tanks.
Then the Hunter become the most successful post war British jet and more then 2000 were produced along with many that were returned back for refurbish. It was very popular in the middle east in particular.
The Javlin was first flew in 1952 or slightly after the Hunter but the development was long and required many tests for optimizing the aerodynamic shape . Because of the thick delta wings it suffered from high drag and buffet at high speed. Vortex generators were added to the wings in order to minimize these problems. The wide fuselage carried two sapphire engines that were added afterburner in later versions. When the pilots compared it with the Hunter they claimed that in terms of handling both were very similar at hight despite the Javlin bigger size and dimensions . The Javlin main use was of an interceptor with 4 AA firestreak missiles and 4 Aden 30mm canons. The Hunter had also 4 Aden 30mm canons but was adapted for ground attack missions with bombs and rockets.
The two models are IAFM Hunter with Jordanian airforce colors and the Javlin with the RAF colors - both in 1:48 scale.

Yair

[hyair]

The Hunter and Javlin were serving at the sane period in the RAF.
Attached are some images of the two side by side !

Yair

[hyair]

The Scorpion had the Same mission as the Vautour and Javlin - that of intercepting intruding bombers .The weapon was 52 unguided rockets at each wing tip. The crew was always two and the fire system fired them automaticaly when close to the target. However the method proved not effective and later wesions carried missiles with tactical atomic head !!!
the model here is WHM which was upgraded with two seats and full cockpits
and a more detailed undercarriage in my standard 1:48 scale.

Yair

[hyair]

The Vautour was called in the IAF the French Phantom - there were many reazons
for that but for a starter images of the two side by side both in 1:48 scale.

Yair

[hyair]

During the first day of the six day war it was decided to attack the Iraqi H3 base which was the closet air base to Israel.
For the task two formations of 4 Vautours and 4 Mirages were prepared,the Mirages serving as a cap for the slower Vautours.
Since the main Jordanian force of 21 Hunters were destroyed on the ground a couple of hours earlier there was no problem to fly along the remains of the historical H3 oil pipe line over the Jordanian desert toward H3 air field. When the Vautours were close to H3 one of the pilots saw an Iraqi Hunter in front making a turn. The Vautour gunsight was in air to ground mode instead of air to air mode and he was closing fast on the Hunter so he released a small burst of the Vautour's 4 30mm canons. The Iraqi Hunter pilot got panicked and did an inverted loop straight into the ground and burst into flames.
The Vautour pilot didn't observe that the hunter had a damage from his firing but it was a confirmed kill since other pilots were witnessed.
Later on the sortie the Mirages downed another Mig 21 and one more Hunter beside a number of fighters that they strafed on the runway.
So, that was the one and only Vautour kill during the glorious 15 years of serving with the IAF.
Attached here images of the IAF Vautour beside Jordanian Hunter both in 1:48 scale. The Hunter is Wilhelmshavener in origin , but the original Swiss air force scheme paint was changed to Jordanian for the IAF betaon model release in the early 60's.

Yair

[hyair]

Attached are images of the two side by side. both in 1:48 scale.

Yair

[hyair]

While both were not considered very sucessful fighters one emerge as a clear winner among the two.
Let's start - both started test flights at the same year 1952 ! .
While the Javlin suffered from many devlopment isseus the Vautour was relativly free of isseus !
The Javlin big delta wings and the chourd thickness ratio of 10% created drag and buffet during test flight. One Javlin crashed
during early tests and wing shape was changed. The Vautour break easily the sound barrier in a shallow dive in 1952 and was the first two seater to do it in the world !!! The Javlin could only do it in a steep 70 degrees dive and did it only in 1954 !!!
The Javlin and Vautour entered service in 1956 almost together.
The only type that can be compared with the Javlin was the All weather two seatter Vautour N. Now - while the Javlin Mk.9 had to use afterburners for getting some decent performance it was limited to use them only for certain hights and duration.
The Vautour was almost free of these issues and had better performance without afterburners. A close look at the Vautour will reveal the reason why - the Vautour is much more sleamer and sleeker with very thin wings and therefore has a much lower drag !
All in all the Vautour mach limit was 1.2 in a dive while the Javlin was red line at 1.05 only ! the climb rate of the Vautour was 12K feet per second - double that of the Javlin.
The range of the Vautour was twice that of the Javlin. Both had 4x30 mm guns and the Javlin carried Firestrike nissiles while the Vautour Matra 511 missiles .
The Vautour participated in war activity and was credited with a hunter shootdown while the Javlin never fired in anger.
The Vautour was phased out from service in 1973 while the Javlin in 1968.
The Vautour is the better fighter clearly !!!

Yair

[hyair]

The Vautour served with the IAF between 1958-1972.
Egypt and Syria operated the IL 28 at the same period.
The IL 28 was a very successful design of a tactical bomber
and was adapted to reconnaissance and naval bomber.
From the late fifties the Arab IL 28 used to penetrate Israel for
night reconnaissance missions.
The ONLY fighter at the time that could give an answer was
the two seater all weather Vautour N of the IAF.
The Vautour was much faster ( 100 miles higher speed ).
Also , the Vautour N had a radar that guided the 4 30mm guns when
the target reached kill range and opened fire automatically.
In one of the Vautour interceptions against the IL 28 the Vautour
was close to a kill position but since the chase crossed the Syrian border
the Vautour crew received an order to disengage and therefore the
first kill of the IL 28 was by Mirages in 1967 during the six day war-
but that's a different story.

Yair

[hyair]

The IL 28 and Vautour are from the same era in aviation. The Vautour is from Yoav Hozmi and the Egyptian IL 28 is based on WHM model released in 1961 in the IAF magazine.

Yair