The absolute first

It captured the worlds first absolute speed record in 1956.

10 March 1956 - The second Fairey Delta 2, WG777, today captured the World's Absolute Speed Record at 1,132 mph between Ford and Chichester in Sussex. Piloted by Lt Cdr P Twiss, this was the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph in level flight.
www.raf.mod.uk...

However, there appears to be a little controversy about this.

XF-104 number one achieved a top speed of Mach 1.79 at 60,000 feet on March 15, 1955. Lockheed test pilot J. Ray Goudey was at the controls. This was the highest speed achieved by either of the XF-104 prototypes.
home.att.net...

Mach 1.79 at standard altitude/pressure would be 1373 mph.

The Bell X-1A was the first to go past 1000 mph in level flight, but it was a rocket plane. The XF-104 appears to be the first to exceed 1000 mph, but it was an experimental prototype. From the records, the first OFFICIAL production airplane to break 1000 mph in level flight IS the Fairey Delta 2.

X-1A flights:
X-1A #9 December 8, 1953 Chuck Yeager 48-1384 USAF 3 1.9 18,300 First high-mach flight. Achieved mach 1.9 during slight climb.
X-1A #10 December 12, 1953 Chuck Yeager 48-1384 USAF 4 2.44 15,250 Encountered severe instability above mach 2.3. Inverted spin from apogee down to 7,624 m. Pilot recovered control.
en.wikipedia.org...

[edit on 11/29/2005 by Zaphod58]

I think the difference is that the X-1A and F-104 bfriefly exceeded 1,000pmh in a single run whereas the FD.2 made two separate sustained runs at over 1,000mph in opposite directions, which is what is required to eliminate any 'wind resistance' factor to establish an official world record. The record speed is the average of the two runs.

Polikarpov I-16

In the Soviet Union, the Polikarpov I-16 fighter plane was one of the most famous and loved airplanes. Looking like a stumpy racer, the I-16 consisted of a monocoque fuselage with a metal wing and was the first fighter in the world to go into service combining cantilever monoplane wings with retractable landing gear. From 1936 to 1939 the I-16 was at it's peak and was a match for any similar fighter in the world.



They first saw combat service in the 1935-1939 Spanish Civil War where they were said to be comparable with the early Me109. Later they were involved in the Sino-Japanese war of 1937, and the 'Mongolian Incident' of 1939 where as part of the Chinese Air Force they were successful against the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27. They saw service in the 1939-1940 Russo-Finnish war, and when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 nearly two thirds of the Soviet air force fighter arm comprised I-16s. Although it had become obsolescent with the advent of the Bf-109E and Bf-109F of the opposition, some remarkable results were achieved as the I-16 bore the brunt of the invasion and suffered heavy losses on the ground and in the air during 1941.

The I-16 was called by many names during it's career: Yastrebok, 'Young Eagle', in Russia; Mosca, 'Fly', by the men who flew it in Spain, and Rata, 'Rat' by those who opposed it; Abu, 'Gadfly', by the Japanese; Dienstjäger, 'Duty Fighter', by the Germans; but it was most fondly and best known as simply Ishak, 'Little Donkey', as it shouldered the responsibility of faithfully protecting it's homeland until the more advanced LaGG 3s and MiG 3s could be produced in sufficient numbers to take over. Only in late 1943 was the now obsolete I-16 finally withdrawn from front line service.

www.polikarpov.co.nz...

- Phil

[edit on 29-11-2005 by gooseuk]

1st stealth aircraft. The DeHaviland Mosquito? Although accidentally achieving stealth because of the materials used to construct it.

If we want to include unguided missiles, then it would be WWI. Bi-planes had rockets mounted between the wings to shoot down Zepplins.
And stealth? If we want to use the full term and not just radar, then it would be WWI as well. A plane was covered with clear plastic to make it harder to see from a distance. It worked, but was not pratical.
How about this: The first variable geometry fighter to fly. The F10F Jaguar? Nope. In 1940, Russia flew the Nikitin-Shevchenko IS-1. It was a bi-plane whose lower wing, along with the landing gear, retracted up into the upper wing. It actually worked, but was deemed to vunerable for combat and never reached production.

And about the FD.2. It wasn't a production aircraft. Only two were made, for reserch. It wasn't the first to break 1K, but was the first to make the record. And by over 300mph, the biggest jump from a previous record ever. If only it WAS put into production...

The December issue of 'Aeroplane' has an excellent feature on the FD.2, It includes a reprinted technical description and cutaway from Flight in 1958 and personal accounts on flying the plane by Peter Twiss (the World Record pilot) and accounts written by a senior RAF officer who flew it and urged that Fairey be given the go ahead to develop a fighter version immediately. Also included is mention how Marcel Dassault observed its low level supersonic testing in France and then went on to develop the Mirage and also the original FD.1 VTOL fighter project. All in all, an excellent read.