Hawker P.1121

P.1121
Hawker P.1121 model on display at the Midland Air Museum.
Role	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	Hawker Siddeley
Status	Cancelled

The Hawker P.1121 was an cancelled British supersonic fighter aircraft. It was designed by Hawker Siddeley by a team headed by Sir Sydney Camm. The P.1121, which was initially funded as a private venture by the company, was being developed with the aim of producing a suitable aircraft that conformed with the requirements of Operational Requirement 339 (OR.339) by the Air Ministry.

In 1958, all work was stopped, shortly following the publication of the infamous 1957 Defence White Paper by Minister of Defence Duncan Sandys, which had called for manned fighter aircraft to be phased out and replaced with guided missiles.

In March 1954, Hawker decided to embark on the development of a new fighter aircraft in response to the release of Operational Requirement 323 (OR.323) by the Air Ministry . This initial design, designated as the P.1103, was a twin-seat swept wing aircraft powered by the de Havilland Gyron turbojet engine and armed with two sizable Red Dean air-to-air missiles. The proposed design was reworked the following year when, in February 1955, the Ministry issued Operational Requirement 329 (OR.329), which, amongst other requirements, called for a large 40-inch sweep-scanning radar unit, AI.18, to be installed. In October 1955, Hawker decided to tender its revised P.1103 proposal for the requirement, notably offering the Red Hebe missile as an alternative to Red Deen.

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