Nimrod design proposals

Seem to recall a story that HSA kept stubbornly pushing and pushing the Trident derivative despite the MOD telling them they preferred the Comet variant, to the point where the Ministry effectively told them to forget the whole thing and they would buy the Atlantic (or was it the Orion?) instead.

I don’t think so… there was a version of the BAC1-11 considered for ASR 381 however that was modified with a VC10 wing and is sometimes referred to as the 10-11… The Japanese proposal dated from the mid 70’s and was part of a concerted effort by BAC to sell the 1-11 to the Japanese…

Zeb

Apparently there were paper proposals for VC-10 and BAC 1-11 varients and a design that combined the two.

A slight tangent, but this post over at Secret Projects has an illo of the BAC 1-11 offer to the JASDF in the 70s – probably some relation to the Nimrod paper proposal.

I did a little illustration project on this a while back… The first two images are the Maritime Trident or HS800. The third image is the HS1101, an MR derivative of the HSA Kingston Advanced Projects Group’s vg supersonic airliner project studies. BAck to HSA at Woodford for the four tyne HS784 and finally BAC’s VC10 based study, with weaponry carried in under wing panniers and MAD stinger in the fin bullet.

Zeb

ps: Thanks to jembiba at the secret projects site for the original VC10 plans…

Sources: Air Enthusiast December 1973, p260; Stuck on the Drawing Board, p224; Project Cancelled, p100-101

I think the book “Project cancelled” has a drawing of a Trident with under wing stores. Perhaps this was the proposal??
Trident Man will know.

Rgds Cking

Yes they were all involved in a fly off comparison at St Mawgan during 1964, this is when it was revealled that the Comet (Mk3 G-ANLO) had the best combination of features to make it as a maritime patroller, particularly low level, low speed loitering, combined with good dash speed. This effectively killed off the other designs from then on. I believe the Vanguard was considered aswel.
I have seen ‘fag packet’ type drawings for a ful MR VC-10, but not the others. the Trident in particular I cannot imagine how they would have incorporated the bomb bay.

The RAF had already turned down the Atlantic, and thus ASR381 was raised to ultimately become the Nimrod.