The sad fact is that the British, who had led the world in aircraft development in 1945, had completely lost their edge after only four years. Note that the Venom, which was first flown in 1949, had a top speed of only 572 mph and a ceiling of only 40,000 feet. That performance was hopelessly inadequate in comparison with the contemporary North American Sabre and Mig-15. RAF fighter squadrons were getting Venoms when they should have been getting Hawker Hunters. I'm not saying that the Venom was a bad aircraft, simply that it was outdated before the prototype ever even flew.
Les Neaves, e-mail, 09.10.2010 16:27
I flew both Vampire and the Venom in the 1950's, with 145 Squadron in Germany. The Venom was supposed to reach 0.94 Mach, I only managed to reach 0.91 Mach and that was after reaching 42,000 Ft, rolling it slowly onto it's back and pulling through into a dive. Even so it was a nice aircraft to fly.
John Daly, e-mail, 05.03.2010 07:41
The Mark 4 was the most delightful aircraft. Splendid stable gun/rocket platform for air to ground and plenty of power (NO Navigator nor radar!) Could loop it at 40,000 ft. Bang seat, power controls. Perfect!
Don Huckle, e-mail, 14.01.2010 13:53
The NF2 was a stopgap all weather fighter rushed into service in spite of Farnborough`s misgivings. It carried the outdated AI Mk10 which came from the Mosquito. It was probably as well because the first time we fired the guns the recoil smashed through the bulkheads and destroyed the radios. When fired after dark the muzzle flash caused the pilot to lose his night vision. Unlike the Sea Venom ejector seats were not fitted