The Fairey Delta II – דֶלתָא

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The Fairey Delta II – דֶלתָא – in Israeli service.

 

The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 (internal designation Type V within Fairey) was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for a specialised aircraft for conducting investigations into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. Key features of the type include the adoption of a delta wing and a droop-nose. On 6 October 1954, the Delta 2 conducted its maiden flight, flown by Fairey test pilot Peter Twiss.

 

The Fairey Delta 2 holds the distinction of being the first jet aircraft to exceed 1000 mph in level flight, flying faster than the sun moves across the sky. On 10 March 1956, it set a new world speed record of 1,132 mph during a test flight. The Delta 2 held the absolute World Air Speed Record for over a year. It continued to be used for test flights, and was allocated to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in 1958.

 

To satisfy a requirement for a testbed aircraft for the in-development "ogee delta" wing design, one of the Delta 2 aircraft was extensively rebuilt to become the BAC 221. On 1 May 1964, the modified aircraft performed its first flight. As a result of flight testing conducted by the 221, the ogee delta wing was subsequently adopted for the Concorde supersonic transport airliner. The FD2 was also used as the basis for Fairey's submissions to the Ministry for advanced all weather interceptor designs, culminating in the proposed Fairey Delta III to meet the F.155 specification.

 

In 1959, Fairey and Dassault entered into an agreement to co-produce the Delta II as a fighter aircraft. Combining Dassault's knowledge of combat aircraft and Fairey's knowledge of high speed aerodynamics, they proposed the Delta II to NATO as part of it's competition to find a common fighter-bomber aircraft. Fighting off the US competitor, the F-104 proved difficult but when some smart detective work by the French detective Monsieur Clouseau showed that Lockheed was not above paying massive bribes to Government officials of NATO countries to secure the contract, the scandal that erupted ensured that the Fairey Delta II found it's place in the armouries of the world.

 

Equipped with a redesigned nose to carry a large radar scanner and carrying four British IR guided missiles (initially Firestreaks but later Red Tops), and underwing hard points for the carriage of external fuel tanks and/or bombs, the Fairey/Dassault Delta fighter bomber proved a large success, equipping the air forces of Holland, Belgium, Norway, West German and Italy, as well as other nations, including Australia, South Africa and Israel.

 

As already related, the British became the main supplier of Israeli defence equipment after the 1956 Suez Crisis saw the end of the Nasser regime in Cairo. While the Israelis were wary of their new found liberation from direct threat from the Arab nations which surrounded their tiny country, they decided that the cornerstone of their freedom was their Air Force. It was therefore an easy decision to decide to adopt the Fairey/Dassault Delta II Fighter-Bomber in 1962. It's high speed and superb aerodynamic performance ensured that the Israelis were the superiors of their neighbours. When the Arabs followed suit and purchased their own Dassault Delta aircraft, the Israelis introduced their distinctive yellow triangle markings, to prevent a “blue-on-blue” incident occurring.

 

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The Models

 

Both models are converted Novo Fairey Delta II kits.

 

About 12 months ago, I started work on converting a Eastern Express version of the Frog Mirage III kit into a two seater Mirage using the Falcon vacuform nose. However, it required too much filling for my liking and I basically abandoned it. It sat on the corner of my modelling desk ever since, looking forlornly at me.

 

I had the idea of using the FD II kit as a production aircraft and then I thought who would the British sell it to. Ah, ha! I thought, Israel! So I then started thinking about what was required to make it into a production fighter. Mmm, a radar would be necessary. Now, where to get a radar nose? Ah, ha! I had the spare nose from the EE Mirage III kit. So, I checked in the box and yes, there it was. So, after carefully removing the entire nose section of the Delta, I glued the nose from the aborted Mirage in it's place and it fit perfectly. Excellent.

 

Now, I had another FD II kit, which I'd bought off EvilBay which was partly constructed. My mind was thinking, how about the two seater Mirage nose? So, out came the razor saw and off it came (and off came the intakes from it's sides as well). Yes, it was a good fit but I needed to replace the sides to the fuselage where the intakes had been. Not too hard at all. So, now I had two FD IIs. A fighter and the second a trainer. I used the Mirage III's drop tanks on both kits and used up my horde of Red Top missiles. The nose wheel was a bit high on both kits so I cut that down on the two seater. The single seater ended up with the noseleg from the Mirage. What both are lacking is a gun. Oh, well, that fits with the mentality of the period that missiles are an assured kill...

 

Knowing that the Israelis operated in real life, Mirages, I had Kit print up some yellow triangles designed to fit the FD's wings and tail and they came up a treat, as you can see. The Israeli Star of Davids are from another aftermarket sheet I have.