There was a thread on this some time last year. Eagle seemed to have been the most likely, as the RAF was quite fond of birds of prey for naming its fast jets at the time.
The ordered-then-cancelled F-111s were pencilled in as Merlins, apparently, and the aborted supersonic VTOL P1154 would have been the Harrier.
The Harrier name, obviously, was reallocated to the P1127 (RAF), and the Merlin name is now attached to a helicopter…

William

I’ve heard that the name “Thunder” was considered, although I can’t remember the source right now. Think “Thinder and Lightning”.

For Roland Beamont’s account of test flying and the demise of the prosjekct, read his book “Phoenix From The Ashes”.

I just learned (from an ad in FlyPast) that my favourite aviation book has been reprinted, with “new” content. Does anybody know if he’s added info about the times when he was shot down?