العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolLIST OF AIR MINISTRY SPECIFICATIONS
(Redirected from List of air ministry specifications)
This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft. A specification started from an Operational Requirement, abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for - this in turn led to a specification e.g. a two engined fighter with 4 machine guns. So for example, OR.40 for a heavy bomber led to Specification B.12/36. Aircraft manufacturers would design and build aircraft which the Ministry then bought for evaluation by the RAF. On very rare occasions, a manufacturer would design and build an aircraft using their own money as a "Private Venture" (PV). This would then be offered to the Ministry for evaluation. If the aircraft generated interest in the Ministry or RAF due to performance or some other combination of features then the Ministry might well bring out a specification based on the Private Venture aircraft.
The system of producing aircraft to a specification ran from 1920 to 1949 during which the Air Ministry was replaced by first the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) and then the Ministry of Supply (MoS). The system was applied to commercial aircraft as well - one of the last being the Bristol Brabazon. During the period, over 800 specifications were issued.
Each specification name usually followed a pattern. A leading letter was usually present to identify the aircraft purpose. The codes used included B for "heavy bomber", P for "medium bomber", F for "fighter" and A for "army co-operation". The second part was a number identifying it in sequence and then after the slash, the year it was formulated, so in the example given above, B.12/36 signifies the ''twelfth'' ''bomber'' specification issued in ''1936''. Specifications were not always issued in sequence.
Admiralty specifications were identified by the letter N (Naval) and experimental specifications identified by the letter E (Experimental), with training aircraft signified by the letter T (Training) and unpowered aircraft, i.e., gliders, signified by the letter X. The letter G (General) signified a general-purpose aircraft, with an M (Multi-role) being applied to aircraft intended for more than one specific purpose.
The letter C (Cargo) was applied to military transport aircraft, with the letter O (Observation) used for a naval reconnaissance aircraft - the letter S (Spotter) used for the more specialised role of naval spotting, i.e., observing and reporting back the fall of naval gunfire - and R (Reconnaissance) for a reconnaissance type - often a flying boat. Special purpose aircraft would be signified by a letter Q, this being used to specify aircraft such as target-tugs, radio-controlled target drones, etc.
Sometimes the purpose for which an aircraft is used in service would change from that for which the specification to which it was designed was issued, and so there are some discrepancies and inconsistencies in designation, the Royal Navy in particular liking to specify multiple roles for its aircraft in an attempt to make the best use of the necessarily limited hangar space onboard its aircraft carriers. In this case this resulted in several types designed to specifications originally intended to signify the naval Spotting role also being used for other purposes, e.g., S.15/33, resulting in the Blackburn Shark and Fairey Swordfish, the latter aircraft being primarily utilised as a torpedo bomber. Similarly S.24/37, which produced the Fairey Barracuda, again primarily designed for spotting, the dive bomber/torpedo bomber requirements being regarded as secondary when the specification was issued, but for which roles it was almost exclusively subsequently used, the original spotting requirement having been made obsolete with the introduction of radar.
In addition, some (mostly early) specifications appear to have no letter prefix at all, e.g., 1/21, the Vickers Virginia III.
The names of the aircraft shown in the table are not necessarily those they carried when provided for evaluation as at this point an aircraft would usually be referred-to as the ''Manufacturer'' ''X.XX/XX'', e.g., the ''Avro B.35/46'' - this is in addition to the manufacturer's own separate internal designation for the aircraft, e.g., Avro 698. With several manufacturers submitting designs to the same specification this could result in a number of different aircraft with the same ''X.XX/XX'' designation, e.g., ''Handley Page B.35/46'', etc.
Upon acceptance of the design(s) the final service names would usually be chosen by the Air Ministry when they placed a production order, in the above B.35/46 cases, where two aircraft were accepted to this specification, ''Vulcan'' and ''Victor'' respectively.
Upon entering service, in the absence of any already-planned variants a new type would initially have no Mark Number after the aircraft name, being simply referred-to as the ''Manufacturer Service-name'', e.g., the ''Avro Anson'', however upon acceptance of a new variant the previous (initial) version automatically became the 'Mark I', so in the example given, the previous (first) version of the Anson retrospectively became the ''Avro Anson Mk I'' upon acceptance of an ''Avro Anson Mk II''. Sometimes planned variants would be later cancelled leading to 'missing' Mark Numbers, or the extent of the changes may have justified given the new variant a completely new name, e.g., the Hawker Typhoon II subsequently becoming the Hawker Tempest, or the Avro Lancaster B.IV & B.V entering service as the Avro Lincoln. Typographical designation of Mark Numbers (Mk.) varied over time and inconsistencies are common, e.g., ''Mark II'', ''Mk. II'', ''II'', etc. Initially Roman numerals were used, changing to Arabic numerals post-World War II, e.g., Supermarine Spitfire Mk I to Supermarine Spitfire Mk 24.
''Note 1: where possible Mark Numbers are given here in this list in the form that was used at the time of acceptance. Variations may be encountered due to changes in format/typographical convention over time.''
''Note 2: due to mergers and amalgamations within the UK aircraft industry sometimes the name of the manufacturer changed over time, e.g., English Electric later became part of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), so the English Electric Lightning then became the BAC Lightning; the British Aircraft Corporation itself and Hawker Siddeley (HS) then later merged and became British Aerospace, subsequently becoming BAe (now BAE Systems). Thus the previously mentioned Avro Vulcan was subsequently referred-to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan; similarly, the Blackburn Buccaneer later became the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer. Where possible, for clarity the aircraft in this list are listed under the ORIGINATING company's name or the name of the manufacturer under which it first entered production.''
'Specifications within the tables are listed by year of issue and in numerical and alphabetical order. Specifications lacking a letter-prefix or where one is not currently known are listed first at the beginning of each year's entries before those with a letter-prefix.'
★ British military aircraft designation systems
★ General Staff Target - the British Army equivalent
1. No allowance sighting
2. Buttler 2004
★ ''Aeroplane Monthly Magazine''. - various articles - various issues 1973-1987. Web site
★ Buttler, Tony. ''Secret Projects: British Fighters and Bombers 1935 -1950 (British Secret Projects 3)''. Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-179-2.
★ Green, William. ''Famous Bombers of the Second World War, 2nd Edition''. London: MacDonald & Jane's,1975. ISBN 0-356-08333-0.
★ Meekcoms, K.J. and Morgan, E.B. ''The British Aircraft Specifications File''. London: Air Britain, 1994. ISBN 0-85130-220-3.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''Bombers Between the Wars 1919-39 - Including Patrol and Transport Aircraft (Blandford Colour Series)''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1970. ISBN 0-7137-0514-0.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''Bombers In Service - Patrol and Transport Aircraft Since 1960 (Blandford Colour Series)''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1972. ISBN 0-7137-0586-8.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''Fighters 1939-45 - Attack and Training Aircraft (Blandford Colour Series).'' London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1975. ISBN 0-7137-0378-4.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''The Pocket Encyclopedia of Bombers At War (Blandford Colour Series, New Orchard Edition)''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1977. ISBN 0-18507-902-8.
:Note: This is a combined volume made up of the following separate books:
:: Munson, Kenneth.''Bombers Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914-1919 (Blandford Colour Series) ''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1977. ISBN 0-7137-0632-8.
:: Munson, Kenneth. ''Bombers Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939-1945 (Blandford Colour Series) '', London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1975. ISBN 0-7137-0379-2.
★ Sinnott, Colin. ''The RAF and Aircraft Design, 1923-1939: Air Staff Operational Requirements'' London: Frank Cass, 2001. ISBN 0-7146-5158-3.
★ Handley Page Aircraft
★ United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects- Post War Operational Requirements
★ Unusual Aircraft - British Projects
★ WW2 British Secret Projects Vol. 1
This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft. A specification started from an Operational Requirement, abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for - this in turn led to a specification e.g. a two engined fighter with 4 machine guns. So for example, OR.40 for a heavy bomber led to Specification B.12/36. Aircraft manufacturers would design and build aircraft which the Ministry then bought for evaluation by the RAF. On very rare occasions, a manufacturer would design and build an aircraft using their own money as a "Private Venture" (PV). This would then be offered to the Ministry for evaluation. If the aircraft generated interest in the Ministry or RAF due to performance or some other combination of features then the Ministry might well bring out a specification based on the Private Venture aircraft.
The system of producing aircraft to a specification ran from 1920 to 1949 during which the Air Ministry was replaced by first the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) and then the Ministry of Supply (MoS). The system was applied to commercial aircraft as well - one of the last being the Bristol Brabazon. During the period, over 800 specifications were issued.
| Contents |
| Specification designations |
| List of specifications (incomplete) |
| 1920-1929 |
| 1930-1939 |
| 1940-1949 |
| Post 1949 Operational Requirements and Naval Requirements |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Specification designations
Each specification name usually followed a pattern. A leading letter was usually present to identify the aircraft purpose. The codes used included B for "heavy bomber", P for "medium bomber", F for "fighter" and A for "army co-operation". The second part was a number identifying it in sequence and then after the slash, the year it was formulated, so in the example given above, B.12/36 signifies the ''twelfth'' ''bomber'' specification issued in ''1936''. Specifications were not always issued in sequence.
Admiralty specifications were identified by the letter N (Naval) and experimental specifications identified by the letter E (Experimental), with training aircraft signified by the letter T (Training) and unpowered aircraft, i.e., gliders, signified by the letter X. The letter G (General) signified a general-purpose aircraft, with an M (Multi-role) being applied to aircraft intended for more than one specific purpose.
The letter C (Cargo) was applied to military transport aircraft, with the letter O (Observation) used for a naval reconnaissance aircraft - the letter S (Spotter) used for the more specialised role of naval spotting, i.e., observing and reporting back the fall of naval gunfire - and R (Reconnaissance) for a reconnaissance type - often a flying boat. Special purpose aircraft would be signified by a letter Q, this being used to specify aircraft such as target-tugs, radio-controlled target drones, etc.
Sometimes the purpose for which an aircraft is used in service would change from that for which the specification to which it was designed was issued, and so there are some discrepancies and inconsistencies in designation, the Royal Navy in particular liking to specify multiple roles for its aircraft in an attempt to make the best use of the necessarily limited hangar space onboard its aircraft carriers. In this case this resulted in several types designed to specifications originally intended to signify the naval Spotting role also being used for other purposes, e.g., S.15/33, resulting in the Blackburn Shark and Fairey Swordfish, the latter aircraft being primarily utilised as a torpedo bomber. Similarly S.24/37, which produced the Fairey Barracuda, again primarily designed for spotting, the dive bomber/torpedo bomber requirements being regarded as secondary when the specification was issued, but for which roles it was almost exclusively subsequently used, the original spotting requirement having been made obsolete with the introduction of radar.
In addition, some (mostly early) specifications appear to have no letter prefix at all, e.g., 1/21, the Vickers Virginia III.
List of specifications (incomplete)
The names of the aircraft shown in the table are not necessarily those they carried when provided for evaluation as at this point an aircraft would usually be referred-to as the ''Manufacturer'' ''X.XX/XX'', e.g., the ''Avro B.35/46'' - this is in addition to the manufacturer's own separate internal designation for the aircraft, e.g., Avro 698. With several manufacturers submitting designs to the same specification this could result in a number of different aircraft with the same ''X.XX/XX'' designation, e.g., ''Handley Page B.35/46'', etc.
Upon acceptance of the design(s) the final service names would usually be chosen by the Air Ministry when they placed a production order, in the above B.35/46 cases, where two aircraft were accepted to this specification, ''Vulcan'' and ''Victor'' respectively.
Upon entering service, in the absence of any already-planned variants a new type would initially have no Mark Number after the aircraft name, being simply referred-to as the ''Manufacturer Service-name'', e.g., the ''Avro Anson'', however upon acceptance of a new variant the previous (initial) version automatically became the 'Mark I', so in the example given, the previous (first) version of the Anson retrospectively became the ''Avro Anson Mk I'' upon acceptance of an ''Avro Anson Mk II''. Sometimes planned variants would be later cancelled leading to 'missing' Mark Numbers, or the extent of the changes may have justified given the new variant a completely new name, e.g., the Hawker Typhoon II subsequently becoming the Hawker Tempest, or the Avro Lancaster B.IV & B.V entering service as the Avro Lincoln. Typographical designation of Mark Numbers (Mk.) varied over time and inconsistencies are common, e.g., ''Mark II'', ''Mk. II'', ''II'', etc. Initially Roman numerals were used, changing to Arabic numerals post-World War II, e.g., Supermarine Spitfire Mk I to Supermarine Spitfire Mk 24.
''Note 1: where possible Mark Numbers are given here in this list in the form that was used at the time of acceptance. Variations may be encountered due to changes in format/typographical convention over time.''
''Note 2: due to mergers and amalgamations within the UK aircraft industry sometimes the name of the manufacturer changed over time, e.g., English Electric later became part of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), so the English Electric Lightning then became the BAC Lightning; the British Aircraft Corporation itself and Hawker Siddeley (HS) then later merged and became British Aerospace, subsequently becoming BAe (now BAE Systems). Thus the previously mentioned Avro Vulcan was subsequently referred-to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan; similarly, the Blackburn Buccaneer later became the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer. Where possible, for clarity the aircraft in this list are listed under the ORIGINATING company's name or the name of the manufacturer under which it first entered production.''
'Specifications within the tables are listed by year of issue and in numerical and alphabetical order. Specifications lacking a letter-prefix or where one is not currently known are listed first at the beginning of each year's entries before those with a letter-prefix.'
1920-1929
| 'Spec.' | 'OR' | 'Type' | Designs ('accepted' and ''tendered'') |
| 1/20 | None | First spec. issued: spares carrier | ''Bristol Type 37 Tramp'' |
| 2/20 | 'Interim' single-engine heavy bomber | 'Avro Aldershot', ''de Havilland Derby'' | |
| 3/20 | Single-seat deck-landing torpedo-carrier - Spec. superseded by 32/22 (q.v.) | ''Blackburn Dart (modified)'', ''Handley Page H.P.19 Hanley'' | |
| 1/21 | Long-range bomber - Vimy replacement | 'Vickers Virginia III' | |
| 2/21 | Experimental single-seat convertible biplane/monoplane fighter/interceptor/two seat reconnaissance-fighter aircraft - written for Bullfinch | ''Bristol Bullfinch'' | |
| 3/21 | Naval Fleet spotter/reconnaissance aircraft | 'Avro Bison' | |
| 5/21 | Light day bomber - DH.9A replacement | 'Fairey Fawn' | |
| 19/21 | Two-seat reconnaissance aircraft - Bristol Fighter replacement | ''Short Springbok'' | |
| 3/22 | Two seat fighter/reconnaissance powered by a supercharged engine - Bristol Fighter replacement | ''Bristol Bloodhound'' | |
| 6/22 | Naval carrier fighter with interchangeable wheel & float undercarriages using Jaguar or Jupiter engine - Nightjar replacement | 'Fairey Flycatcher', ''Parnall Plover'' | |
| 7/22 | Army reconnaissance aircraft | ''Hawker Duiker'' | |
| 16/22 | Long range Torpedo Bomber to carry 21 inch torpedo | ''Blackburn Cubaroo'', ''Avro 557 Ava'' | |
| 21/22 | Twin-engined amphibian flying boat for civil operations - see also R.18/24 | ''Supermarine Swan'' | |
| 22/22 | Two seat fighter/reconnaissance powered by a supercharged engine - Bloodhound three aircraft order - revised from 3/22 (q.v.) | ''Bristol Bloodhound'' | |
| 31/22 | 4-seat heavy night-bomber | 'Handley Page Hyderabad' | |
| 32/22 | Single-seat deck-landing torpedo-carrier - Spec. supersedes 3/20 (q.v.) | 'Blackburn Dart II' | |
| 37/22 | fleet reconnaissance biplane | ''Hawker Hedgehog'' | |
| 38/22 | General Purpose seaplane/landplane | 'Fairey IIID' | |
| 41/22 | 'Middle East type transport aeroplane' - civil airliner | 'Armstrong Whitworth Argosy', 'de Havilland Hercules' | |
| B.30/22 | Heavy bomber - written for Bugle II production order but Sidestrand also apparently designed to this spec. | 'Boulton Paul Bugle II', 'Boulton Paul Sidestrand' | |
| 16/23 | None | Spotting ship-plane | 'Avro Bison' |
| 21/23 | Fleet two-seat torpedo bomber | ''Avro Buffalo'', 'Blackburn Ripon', ''Handley Page H.P.31 Harrow'' | |
| 25/23 | Fleet two-seat torpedo bomber/bomber | ''Handley Page H.P.25 Hendon'' | |
| 26/23 | Two-seat long-range day-bomber | ''Bristol Berkeley'', ''Handley Page H.P.28 Handcross'', 'Hawker Horsley', ''Westland Yeovil'' | |
| 4/24 | "Twin-Engined Home Defence Fighter" armed with two 37 mm cannons | ''Westland Westbury'' ''Bristol Bagshot'' | |
| 7/24 | 'High Powered Single-Seater Fighter Landplane' | ''Avro Avenger'', ''Fairey Firefly'', 'Fairey Fox', ''Gloster Gorcock'', ''Hawker Hornbill'' | |
| 9/24 | Twin engine medium day-bomber - Sidestrand II production order - see also 25/27 | 'Boulton Paul Sidestrand II' | |
| 13/24 | Patrol flying boat | 'Blackburn Iris III', ''Short Singapore'' | |
| 15/24 | 4-seat heavy night-bomber - initial production batch of Hyderabads | 'Handley Page Hyderabad I' | |
| 16/24 | Submarine-borne reconnaissance seaplane | 'Parnall Peto' | |
| 19/24 | Three-seat Spotter/Reconnaissance (FAA) /two-seat GP (RAF) aircraft with interchangeable land & float U/C & folding wings | 'Fairey IIIF' | |
| 23/24 | Twin engine civil airliner | ''Handley Page H.P.32 Hamlet'' | |
| 27/24 | Twin engine single seat interceptor | ''Boulton Paul Bittern'' | |
| 28/24 | Day and night fighter - Siskin replacement | ''Armstrong Whitworth Starling'' | |
| 30/24 | Two-seat reconnaissance/army co-operation aircraft | ''Short Chamois'', ''Vickers Vespa'' | |
| R.18/24 | Twin-engined amphibian flying boat - military version of boat ordered to 21/22 | 'Supermarine Southampton' | |
| 17/25 | Naval single-seater fighter monoplane | ''Avro 584 Avocet'', ''Vickers Vireo'' | |
| 20/25 | Army co-operation aeroplane - Bristol Fighter/DH.9A replacement | 'Armstrong Whitworth Atlas', ''Bristol Boarhound'' | |
| 23/25 | Two-seat day-bomber | ''Gloster Goring'', ''Handley Page H.P.34 Hare'', ''Hawker Harrier'', ''Westland Witch'' | |
| 24/25 | Torpedo-bomber - Horsely replacement | 'Vickers Vildebeest' | |
| 12/26 | Fast two-seat day bomber of all-metal construction using Rolls-Royce F.XIB engine | ''Avro Antelope'', 'Hawker Hart', ''Fairey Fox II'' | |
| 14/26 | Passenger flying boat | 'Short Calcutta' | |
| 21/26 | Naval Fleet fighter | ''Parnall Pipit'' | |
| F.9/26 | None | Day and night 'zone' fighter - no design accepted and Spec. superseded by F.20/27 (q.v.) | ''Armstrong Whitworth Starling II'', ''Bristol Bulldog Mk.I'', ''Bristol Bullpup'', ''Gloster Goldfinch'', ''Gloster SS.18'', ''Hawker Hawfinch'', ''Blackburn Turcock'' |
| N.21/26 | Naval Fleet fighter | ''Armstrong Whitworth Starling II'', ''Armstrong Whitworth AW XVI'', ''Blackburn Turcock'', ''Gloster Gnatsnapper'', ''Hawker Hoopoe'', ''Vickers Type 177'' | |
| O.22/26 | Naval high-speed, two-seat, Fleet fighter/reconnaissance | ''Blackburn Nautilus'', ''Fairey Fleetwing'', ''Handley Page H.P.37F'', 'Hawker Osprey', ''Short Gurnard'' | |
| 25/27 | Twin engine medium day-bomber - Sidestrand II production order - see also 9/24 | 'Boulton Paul Sidestrand II' | |
| 26/27 | General purpose aircraft - D.H.9A replacement | ''Bristol Beaver'', ''de Havilland Hound'', ''Fairey Ferret'', ''Gloster Goral'', ''Vickers Valiant'', ''Vickers Venture'', ''Vickers Vixen'', 'Westland Wapiti' | |
| 33/27 | 'Postal Aircraft' - experimental very-long range aeroplane for world distance-record attempt | 'Fairey Long-range Monoplane' | |
| B.19/27 | Twin engine night-bomber - Virginia/Hinaidi replacement - Hendon winner but introduction delayed so runner-up (Heyford) accepted | ''Fairey Hendon'', 'Handley Page Heyford', ''Vickers Type 150'' | |
| B.22/27 | Three engine night-bomber - abandoned due to delays and replaced by B.19/27 (q.v.) | ''Boulton Paul P.32'', ''de Havilland D.H.72 Canberra'' | |
| C.20/27 | Transport version of Hyderabad/Hinaidi - Chitral/Clive | 'Handley Page Clive' | |
| F.20/27 | 'Interception single-seat fighter' | ''Armstrong Whitworth Starling II'', 'Bristol Bulldog Mk.II', ''Fairey Firefly II'', 'Hawker Fury', ''Vickers Jockey'', ''Westland Interceptor'' | |
| F.29/27[1] | Fighter utilizing a 37 mm cannon from Coventry Ordnance Works | ''Vickers Type 161'', ''Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter'' | |
| R.5/27 | Reconnaissance flying boat | ''Blackburn Sydney'' | |
| 21/28 | High-speed mailplane for Imperial Airways | ''Boulton Paul P.64 Mailplane'', 'Boulton Paul P.71A' | |
| C.16/28 | Bomber-transport | ''Gloster TC.33'', ''Handley Page H.P.43'' | |
| F.17/28 | Bulldog II production order | 'Bristol Bulldog Mk.II' | |
| M.5/28 | Torpedo bomber - Spec superseded by M.1/30 (q.v.) | ''Handley Page H.P.41'' | |
| R.6/28 | Patrol/reconnaissance flying boat | ''Short Sarafand'' | |
| 4/29 | ''ab initio'' trainer - Moth with Gypsy I order | 'de Havilland Moth' | |
| 9/29 | Fast two-seat day bomber - Hart I production order | 'Hawker Hart' | |
| 13/29 | 4-seat heavy night-bomber - production batch of Hinaidi IIs | 'Handley Page Hinaidi II' | |
| B.10/29 | Twin engine medium day-bomber - Sidestrand III production order | 'Boulton Paul Sidestrand III' |
1930-1939
| 'Spec.' | 'OR' | 'Type' | Designs ('accepted' and ''tendered'') |
| 3/30 | Basic trainer - Avro 504N replacement | 'Avro Type 621 Trainer' | |
| 6/30 | ''ab initio'' trainer - Lynx-Avro (Avro 504N) production order | 'Avro 504N' | |
| 8/30 | ''ab initio'' trainer - Moth with Gypsy II order | 'de Havilland Moth' | |
| 9/30 | Two-seat carrier-borne torpedo bomber/three-seat Spotter-reconnaissance aircraft | ''Fairey T.S.R.I'' ;see also S.15/33 | |
| 16/30 | Naval fighter - written for Nimrod | 'Hawker Nimrod' | |
| 18/30 | Fairey IIIF replacement | 'Fairey Gordon I' | |
| 19/30 | Naval fighter/reconnaissance with folding wings and interchangeable wheel/float U/C | 'Hawker Osprey' | |
| F.7/30 | Fighter capable of at least 250 mph and armed with four machine guns | 'Gloster Gladiator', ''Gloster SS.19'', ''Hawker P.V.3'', ''Supermarine Type 224'', ''Westland F.7/30'' | |
| M.1/30 | Torpedo bomber - Spec. supersedes M5/28 (q.v.) | ''Blackburn M.1/30'', ''Handley Page H.P.46'', ''Vickers Type 207'' | |
| 13/31 | ''ab initio'' trainer with complete freedom for parachute escape by both occupants - D.H.60T accepted with modifications, becoming D.H.82 - see also T.23/31 | ''Avro Type 631 Cadet'', 'de Havilland D.H. 60T Tiger Moth' | |
| 18/31 | Basic trainer - Avro Type 621 Trainer with Lynx engine | 'Avro Tutor' | |
| C.26/31 | OR.4 | Bomber-transport - Valentia replacement | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.23'', 'Bristol Bombay', ''Handley Page H.P.51''. ''Vickers Type 230'' - (not built) |
| G.4/31 | General-purpose/torpedo bomber - Wellesley one of two designs submitted by Vickers and itself a PV | ''Fairey G.4/31'', ''Handley Page H.P.47'', ''Hawker P.V.4'', ''Parnall G.4/31'', ''Vickers G.4/31'', 'Vickers Wellesley', ''Westland PV-7'' | |
| R.20/31 | Twin-engined flying boat - all-metal Kestrel-engined Southampton II (Southampton IV/Scapa) | 'Supermarine Scapa' | |
| R.24/31 | General Purpose Open Sea Patrol Flying Boat | 'Saunders Roe London', ''Short R.24/31 Knuckleduster'', 'Supermarine Stranraer' | |
| T.23/31 | Tiger Moth I production order | 'de Havilland Tiger Moth I' | |
| 25/32 | Basic trainer - revised-Tutor production order | 'Avro Tutor I' | |
| B.9/32 | OR.5 | Twin-engine medium day bomber with appreciably higher performance than predecessors - later revised to specify Goshawk power and subsequently re-revised with Goshawk requirement dropped | ''Vickers Crecy'', 'Handley Page Hampden' |
| B.23/32 | Twin-engine medium bomber - written for Heyford I production order | 'Handley Page Heyford Mk. I' | |
| P.27/32 | Light day bomber - Hart/Hind replacement - see P.23/35 | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.29'', 'Fairey Battle' | |
| S.11/32 | Naval catapult observation/spotting seaplane for carriage on cruisers | 'Fairey Seafox' | |
| 13/33 | 4-engined mail seaplane and 4-engine flying boat carrier - Short-Mayo Composite | ''Short S.20 Mercury'', ''Short S.21 Maia'' | |
| 14/33 | Fairey Gordon II production order | 'Fairey Gordon II' | |
| 21/33 | Three-seat general purpose aircraft - improved Vildebeest | 'Vickers Vincent' | |
| 24/33 | Gloster Gauntlet production order | 'Gloster Gauntlet' | |
| 25/33 | Twin-engined troop and cargo transport - improved Victoria | 'Vickers Valentia' | |
| B.29/33 | Twin engine medium day bomber with power-operated nose turret | 'Boulton Paul Sidestrand V (Overstrand)' | |
| F.5/33 | Twin-engine two seat turret fighter - later cancelled | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.34'', ''Boulton Paul P.76'', ''Bristol Type 140'', ''Gloster F.5/33'', ''Parnall F.5/33'', ''Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Mk.V'' | |
| G.23/33 | General purpose aeroplane - Hart for Middle East | 'Hawker Hardy' | |
| R.1/33 | Patrol/reconnaissance flying boat | ''Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Mk.VII'' | |
| R.2/33 | Long-range patrol/reconnaissance flying boat | 'Short Sunderland' | |
| R.3/33 | Long-range patrol/reconnaissance flying boat - trials order for Singapore III | 'Short Singapore III' | |
| S.15/33 | Naval carrier-borne torpedo bomber/spotter/reconnaissance (TSR) - Fairey 9/30 (q.v.) design modified and re-submitted as T.S.R.II | 'Blackburn Shark', 'Fairey Swordfish' | |
| T.26/33 | Tiger Moth II production order | 'de Havilland Tiger Moth II' | |
| 2/34 | High-altitude research aircraft capable of reaching 50,000 ft | 'Bristol Type 138A' | |
| 16/34 | Three-seat general purpose aircraft - Vincent I production order including conversion of outstanding Vildebeests to Vincents | 'Vickers Vincent I' | |
| 22/34 | Close-support aircraft - Audax for SAAF | 'Hawker Hartebees' | |
| 24/34 | Basic trainer - production order for second batch of definitive Tutor design - see 3/30, 18/31 & 25/32 | 'Avro Tutor I' | |
| 30/34 | Twin-engined troop and cargo transport - Valentia I production order | 'Vickers Valentia I' | |
| 32/34 | Navigation trainer - Prefect production order | 'Avro 626/Prefect' | |
| A.39/34 | Army Co-operation aircraft | 'Westland Lysander' | |
| B.3/34 | Twin-engine night bomber & bomber/transport - Virginia, Heyford & Hendon replacement - transport requirement later removed after protests from manufacturers | 'Armstrong Whitworth Whitley', 'Handley Page Harrow' | |
| B.20/34 | Twin-engine night bomber - Hendon production order to this spec - see also B.19/27 | 'Fairey Hendon' | |
| B.23/34 | Twin engine medium day bomber - Overstrand production order | 'Boulton Paul Overstrand' | |
| B.28/34 | Twin-engine medium bomber - written for Heyford II production order | 'Handley Page Heyford Mk. II' | |
| F.5/34 | High-performance fighter with air-cooled engine for overseas (hot climate) use | ''Bristol 146'', ''Gloster G.38'', ''Martin-Baker M.B.2'', ''Vickers Type 279 Venom'' | |
| F.36/34 (modified by F.5/34) | Eight-gun fighter with Rolls-Royce PV-12 engine | ''Supermarine Spitfire'', 'Hawker Hurricane' | |
| F.37/34 | Eight-gun fighter with Rolls-Royce PV-12 engine capable of 350 mph - see also F.36/34 & F.10/35 | ''Supermarine Spitfire'' | |
| G.7/34 | Interim Hart day bomber replacement | 'Hawker Hind' | |
| O.27/34 | Naval dive bomber | 'Blackburn Skua' | |
| P.4/34 | Light bomber and close air support aircraft | ''Fairey P.4/34'', 'Hawker Henley' | |
| S.38/34 | Written for Swordfish production order | 'Fairey Swordfish I' | |
| 2/35 | Naval catapult-launched observation/spotting flying boat for carriage on cruisers | 'Supermarine Walrus' | |
| 13/35 | Naval torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance aircraft - written for Shark production order | 'Blackburn Shark' | |
| 14/35 | Army Co-operation aircraft - Audax replacement | 'Hawker Hector' | |
| 16/35 | Autogyro - written for Cierva C.30/Avro 671 Rota evaluation order | 'Avro Rota' | |
| 18/35 | Twin-engined coastal reconnaissance landplane - written for Anson | 'Avro Anson' | |
| 26/35 | Naval fighter/reconnaissance - Osprey IV production order | 'Hawker Osprey IV' | |
| 36/35 | Trans-Atlantic mail plane | 'de Havilland Albatross' | |
| 39/35 | Twin-engine communications aircraft - Envoy with dorsal turret order for SAAF | 'Airspeed Envoy' | |
| B.1/35 | OR.19 | Twin-engine medium bomber | ''Airspeed A.S.29'', ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.39'', ''Handley Page H.P.55'', 'Vickers Warwick' |
| B.21/35 | Twin-engine medium bomber - written for Whitley II production order | 'Armstrong Whitworth Whitley II' | |
| B.27/35 | Twin-engine medium bomber - written for Heyford III production order | 'Handley Page Heyford Mk. III' | |
| B.28/35 | Drawn up for Bristol 142M | 'Bristol Blenheim' | |
| B.29/35 | Written for Harrow intial production order | 'Handley Page Harrow' | |
| F.9/35 | Two-seat four-gun turret fighter - Demon replacement | ''Hawker Hotspur'', 'Boulton Paul Defiant' | |
| F.10/35 | Drawn up for the Spitfire prototype | 'Supermarine Spitfire' | |
| F.14/35 | Written for Gladiator I initial production order | 'Gloster Gladiator I' | |
| F.35/35 | Very high speed fighter | Airspeed A.S.31 (not built) | |
| F.37/35 | OR.31 | Fighter with cannon | 'Westland Whirlwind', ''Hawker Hurricane with Oerlikon cannon'', ''Supermarine Type 313'' |
| G.24/35 | General Reconnaissance - Anson replacement | ''Bristol Type 149'', 'Bristol Beaufort' | |
| M.15/35 | Land-based general reconnaissance/torpedo-bomber | ''Blackburn Botha'', 'Bristol Beaufort' | |
| O.30/35 | Naval fighter/dive bomber development of Skua (q.v.) | 'Blackburn Roc' | |
| P.23/35 | Written for Battle I production order | 'Fairey Battle I' | |
| Q.32/35 | Radio-controlled Fleet Gunnery target aircraft - Queen Bee replacement | 'Airspeed Queen Wasp' | |
| 10/36 | Written for Beaufort production order | 'Bristol Beaufort I' | |
| 11/36 | Interim General Reconnaissance - aircraft later re-named 'Blenheim IV' and 'Bolingbroke' name transferred to Canadian-built Blenheim | 'Bristol Bolingbroke I' | |
| 17/36 | Written for Hotspur initial production order - later cancelled | ''Hawker Hotspur''; cancelled | |
| 19/36 | Naval torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance aircraft - written for Shark additional production order | 'Blackburn Shark' | |
| 25/36 | Written for Skua initial production order | 'Blackburn Skua' | |
| 26/36 | Written for Roc initial production order | 'Blackburn Roc' | |
| 29/36 | Written for Wellington (revised Crecy from B.9/32) initial production order | 'Vickers Wellington I' | |
| 33/36 | Written for Blenheim I production order (Rootes) | 'Bristol Blenheim I' | |
| 36/36 | Written for Lysander initial production order | 'Westland Lysander I' | |
| 37/36 | Written for Walrus additional production order | 'Supermarine Walrus I' | |
| 42/36 | Target tug - order for Henley target tug conversions by Gloster's | 'Hawker Henley III' | |
| 47/36 | Written for Bombay II production order | 'Bristol Bombay II' | |
| B.12/36 | OR.40 | Four-engine heavy bomber | ''Armstrong Whitworth B.12/36'', 'Short Stirling', ''Supermarine Type 316'' |
| B.20/36 | Twin-engine medium bomber - written for Whitley III production order | 'Armstrong Whitworth Whitley III' | |
| B.30/36 | Written for Hampden initial production order | 'Handley Page Hampden I' | |
| B.44/36 | Written for Dagger-Hampden (Hereford) production order | 'Handley Page Hereford I' | |
| R.1/36 | OR.32 | Small reconnaissance flying boat | 'Saro Lerwick', ''Blackburn B-20'' |
| P.13/36 | OR.41 | Twin Vulture-engined medium bomber for "world-wide use" - introduction delayed due to production difficulties necessitating further order of Whitleys & Wellingtons | 'Avro Manchester', ''Handley Page H.P.56'', ''Vickers Warwick with Rolls-Royce Vulture engines.'' |
| S.41/36 | Naval carrier-borne torpedo bomber - Swordfish replacement | 'Fairey Albacore' | |
| T.6/36 | Advanced monoplane trainer mounting manually-operated dorsal turret - Don accepted but proved unsuitable | 'de Havilland Don', ''Miles Kestrel'' | |
| T.23/36 | Multi-role crew trainer | 'Airspeed Oxford' | |
| T.40/36 | OR.44 | Development and production of a trainer version of the Miles Hawk | 'Miles Magister' |
| 2/37 | Written for Blenheim I production order (Avro) | 'Bristol Blenheim I' | |
| 6/37 | Twin-engine VIP transport aircraft - order for The King's Flight | 'Airspeed Envoy' | |
| 19/37 | Written for Manchester I production order | 'Avro Manchester I' | |
| 20/37 | Written for Roc floatplane production order | 'Blackburn Roc' | |
| 32/37 | Written for Halifax initial production order | 'Handley Page Halifax I Srs 1 - I Srs 3' | |
| 37/37 | Magister I production order | 'Miles Magister I' | |
| 38/37 | Three-seat communications aircraft & instrument/wireless trainer | 'Miles Mentor' | |
| 43/37 | Engine testbed | 'Folland Fo.108'; designs also tendered by General Aircraft & Percival | |
| B.32/37 | OR.44 | Production contract for a four-engine version of the P.13/36 H.P.56 design | 'Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax' |
| F.9/37 | OR.49 | Twin-engine day/night fighter | ''Gloster G.39'' |
| F.11/37 | Twin-engine two seat day & night fighter/ground support | ''Boulton Paul P.92'' | |
| F.18/37 | Heavily armed interceptor armed with 12 x 0.303 mgs and capable of at least 400 mph | ''Bristol F.18/37'', ''Gloster F.18/37'', ''Hawker Tornado'', 'Hawker Typhoon', ''Supermarine Type 324'', ''Supermarine Type 325'' | |
| Q.8/37 | Radio-controlled Fleet Gunnery target aircraft - Queen Bee replacement - role subsequently carried-on by Queen Wasp - see Q.32/35 | Airspeed A.S.37 (not built) | |
| S.23/37 | OR.52 | Four-engine carrier-based Fleet shadower/follower - low-speed, high-endurance, ship-tracking aircraft - requirement later rendered obsolete due to introduction of radar | ''Airspeed AS.39'', ''General Aircraft GAL.38'' |
| S.24/37 | OR.53 | Naval torpedo/dive-bomber, reconnaissance - Supermarine entry featured variable-incidence wing | ''Supermarine S.24/37'', 'Fairey Barracuda' |
| T.1/37 | Basic trainer | ''Heston T.1/37 Trainer'', ''Miles M.15'', ''Parnall 382/Heck 3'', Airspeed A.S.36 (not built) | |
| 16/38 | Trainer - Master I production order | 'Miles Master T.Mk.I' | |
| 20/38 | Communications aircraft - Vega Gull order | 'Percival Vega Gull' | |
| 21/38 | Communications aircraft - Dominie production order | 'de Havilland Dominie' | |
| 24/38 | Twin-engine communications aircraft - Envoy production order | 'Airspeed Envoy' | |
| 25/38 | Twin-engine communications aircraft | 'Percival Petrel' | |
| 26/38 | OR.65 | Three-seat wireless or navigation training aircraft with dual controls - Vega Gull adapted for communications training | 'Percival Proctor I' |
| 28/38 | OR.66 | Two-seat helicopter - written for Weir W.6 | ''Weir W.6'' |
| B.9/38 | Twin-engine medium bomber of simple construction using materials other than light alloy wherever possible | see B.18/38 | |
| B.18/38 | Twin-engine medium bomber of mixed wood/metal construction | 'Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle' | |
| O.8/38 | Naval carrier-borne fighter/observation - winner developed from Fairey's earlier P.4/34 entry | 'Fairey Fulmar' | |
| S.7/38 | Naval catapult-launched observation/spotting flying boat - Walrus replacement | 'Supermarine Sea Otter' | |
| T.29/38 | Twin-engine R/T (Radio Telephony) training aircraft - Dominie three aircraft order | 'de Havilland Dominie' | |
| 19/39 | Twin-engine transport aircraft - order for Hertfordshire later cancelled | 'de Havilland Hertfordshire' | |
| 20/39 | Twin-engine communications aircraft - order for No. XXIV Squadron RAF | 'de Havilland Flamingo' | |
| 21/39 | Twin-engine VIP transport aircraft - order for The King's Flight | 'de Havilland Flamingo' | |
| B.1/39 | Four-engined heavy bomber | 'Avro Lancaster', ''Handley Page H.P.60'', ''Short S.34'' | |
| B.23/39 | Very high altitude version of Wellington capable of operating at 40,000 ft | 'Vickers Wellington V' | |
| E.28/39 | Experimental aircraft using Whittle jet-propulsion with provision for 4 x 0.303 machine guns | 'Gloster E.28/39' | |
| F.17/39 | Long-range fighter development of Bristol Beaufort - written for Beaufighter | 'Bristol Beaufighter' | |
| F.18/39 | Fighter - Hurricane/Spitfire replacement | ''Martin-Baker M.B.3'', ''Martin-Baker M.B.5'' | |
| F.22/39 | OR.76 | Fighter fitted with heavy-calibre nose-mounted gun | Vickers 414 ''Vickers Type 432'' - also tests with ''Vickers Type 439'' testbed - specification later cancelled |
| N.8/39 | Naval two-seat carrier-borne fighter - Roc replacement - replaced by N.11/40 | see N.11/40 | |
| N.9/39 | Naval two-seat carrier-borne fighter - Fulmar replacement - replaced by N.11/40 | see N.11/40 | |
| R.5/39 | Long-range patrol flying boat - Sunderland replacement - superseded by R.14/40 (q.v.) | ''Saunders-Roe S.38'' - later cancelled | |
| T.34/39 | Advanced trainer | ''Airspeed Cambridge'' - later cancelled |
1940-1949
| 'Spec.' | 'OR' | 'Type' | Designs ('accepted' and ''tendered'') |
| 17/40 | Very high altitude bomber - Wellington V production order | 'Vickers Wellington V' | |
| B.1/40 | OR.78 | Twin-engine fast bomber carrying no defensive armament | 'de Havilland Mosquito' |
| B.6/40 | Twin-engine day/close support bomber - later renamed Blenheim V | 'Bristol Bisley' | |
| B.20/40 | "Close Army Support Bomber" with Merlin engine able to dive bomb and photo-reconnaissance | De-navalised version of ''Fairey Barracuda'' offered but specification not proceeded with.[2] | |
| E.28/40 | Experimental research aircraft for deck landings - cancelled 1943 | Folland Fo.116 (not built) | |
| F.2/40 | Fighter using Whittle jet-propulsion (Metrovick) - written for Meteor - see also F.9/40 | ''Gloster Meteor II'' | |
| F.4/40 | High-altitude fighter - superseded by F.7/41 (q.v.) | ''Westland Welkin'' | |
| F.9/40 | Fighter using Whittle jet-propulsion (Rover/Rolls-Royce) - written for Meteor - see also F.2/40 | 'Gloster Meteor I' | |
| F.16/40 | High-altitude fighter | ''Vickers Type 432'' | |
| F.18/40 | Night fighter version of Mosquito | 'de Havilland Mosquito NF.II' | |
| F.19/40 | Low-cost emergency production fighter | ''Miles M.20'' | |
| F.21/40 | Fighter version of Mosquito | 'de Havilland Mosquito F.II' | |
| N.5/40 | Naval 2-seat Fleet fighter | 'Fairey Firefly' | |
| N.11/40 | Naval Fighter | 'Blackburn Firebrand F.1' | |
| R.14/40 | OR.91 | Very long range reconnaissance flying boat - Centaurus-engined Sunderland replacement | ''Saunders-Roe S.41'', ''Short Shetland'' |
| S.12/40 | Naval catapult-launched observation/spotting flying boat - Walrus & Sea Otter replacement - superseded by S.14/44 (q.v.) | ''Supermarine Type 381'' | |
| T.24/40 | Training aircraft | Airspeed A.S.50 (not built) | |
| X.10/40 | Troop-carrying glider capable of carrying 7 troops | 'General Aircraft Hotspur I'; cancelled after eighteen built - redesigned Hotspur II relegated to training - see X.22/40 & X.23/40 | |
| X.22/40 | Troop-carrying training glider - Hotspur II production order | 'General Aircraft Hotspur II' | |
| X.23/40 | Troop-carrying training glider - Hotspur II further production order | 'General Aircraft Hotspur II' | |
| X.25/40 | OR.98 | Troop-carrying glider capable of carrying 14 troops | ''Slingsby Hengist'' |
| X.26/40 | Troop-carrying glider of wooden construction capable of carrying between 24-36 fully armed troops | 'Airspeed Horsa' | |
| X.27/40 | Tank-carrying heavy glider capable of carrying 7-ton load | 'General Aircraft Hamilcar' | |
| 12/41 | Target tug | 'Miles Martinet' | |
| B.2/41 | Twin-engine bomber - Blenheim replacement - requirement exceeded by Mosquito and Buckingham relegated to courier/transport duties | 'Bristol Buckingham C.1' | |
| B.5/41 | OR.106 | Pressurised high-altitude bomber - evolved into B.3/42 (q.v.) | Pressurised version of the ''Vickers Warwick III'' |
| B.8/41 | Four-engined heavy bomber - see also B.3/42 | ''Short S.36'', ''Vickers Windsor | |
| B.11/41 | High-speed high-altitude unarmed bomber | ''de Havilland DH.99'', ''Hawker P.1005'', ''Miles M.39'' | |
| E.6/41 | Experimental jet fighter - DH Spider Crab | 'de Havilland Vampire' | |
| F.4/41 | Spitfire with Griffon engine - written for Spitfire IV but amended to include Mk. XXI redesign. Preceded in introduction by Mk.s XII & XIV - some overlap with F.1/43 (q.v.) | 'Supermarine Spitfire XXI' | |
| F.7/41 | OR.108 | High-altitude fighter - revised from F.4/40 (q.v.) | ''Vickers Type 432'', 'Westland Welkin' |
| F.10/41 | Written for Hawker Tempest | 'Hawker Tempest' | |
| N.1/41 | Naval fighter | ''Miles M.20/4'' | |
| T.9/41 | Four-seat radio trainer. | 'Percival Proctor IV' | |
| X.3/41 | Emergency Tallboy-carrying conversion of Horsa for attack on ''Tirpitz'' - later cancelled when Lancaster was modified to carry Tallboy | ''Airspeed A.S.52 Horsa'' | |
| 5/42 | Glider for RAAF | ''de Havilland Australia DHA.G2'' | |
| B.3/42 | OR.115 | High-performance long-range bomber | ''Vickers Windsor'' |
| C.1/42 | Cargo version of Lancaster - York I production order | 'Avro York I' | |
| E.5/42 | Experimental single-engined jet fighter - later cancelled - see E.1/44 | ''Gloster GA.1'' | |
| E.6/42 | Experimental lightweight Tempest - written for Tempest Light Fighter - refined & re-issued as F.2/43 (q.v.) | ''Hawker Fury'' - see F.2/43 | |
| F.6/42 | Single-seat fighter | ''Boulton Paul P.99'', ''Boulton Paul P.100'', ''Hawker Type P.1018'', ''Hawker Type P.1019'', ''Hawker Type P.1020'', ''Folland Fo.117a'', ''Miles M.42'', ''Miles M.43'', ''Miles M.44'' | |
| H.7/42 | Torpedo bomber - Beaufighter replacement | 'Bristol Brigand' | |
| Q.9/42 | Twin engine target tug - planned production of Monitor later cancelled - see also Q.1/46 | ''Miles Monitor TT Mk.1' | |
| R.8/42 | OR.118 | Long-range patrol/reconnaissance flying boat - Sunderland with Hercules engines | ''Short Sunderland IV/Seaford'' |
| 20/43 | OR.142 | Two-seat training glider suitable for ATC cadets | 'Slingsby Kirby Cadet TX Mk.1' |
| 29/43 | Airliner version of Lancaster IV - see also B.14/43 | 'Avro Tudor' | |
| A.17/43 | Army liaison and VIP transport aircraft - Messenger I production order | 'Miles Messenger I' | |
| B.14/43 | Heavy bomber | 'Avro Lincoln', ''Handley Page H.P.65'' | |
| B.27/43 | Heavy bomber - bomber version of Hastings | ''Handley Page H.P.66/Hastings B.1'' | |
| E.16/43 | Experimental helicopter | ''Cierva W.9'' | |
| E.24/43 | Experimental jet research aircraft capable of 1,000 mph and able to reach 36,000 ft in 1 and 1/2 minutes | ''Miles M.52''; cancelled 1946 | |
| F.1/43 | OR.120 | Development of Spitfire with Griffon & laminar flow wing - see also N.5/45 | 'Supermarine Spiteful' |
| F.2/43 | Written for Tempest Light Fighter | 'Hawker Fury'; cancelled at conclusion of hostilities. | |
| F.9/43 | Two-seat high-altitude night fighter | ''Westland Welkin NF.II'' | |
| F.12/43 | Long-range fighter for Pacific - written for Hornet | 'de Havilland Hornet' | |
| F.19/23 | Folland design to be built by English Electric | ||
| N.4/43 | OR.113 | Carrier-based fighter - Seafire with Griffon engine | 'Supermarine Seafire XV' |
| N.7/43 | Carrier-based fighter - revised as N.22/43 (q.v.) | 'Hawker Sea Fury' | |
| N.22/43 | Revision of N.7/43; carrier-based fighter | 'Hawker Sea Fury' | |
| O.5/43 | Torpedo bomber - Barracuda replacement | 'Fairey Spearfish' | |
| Q.10/43 | Radio-controlled Fleet Gunnery target aircraft - Queen Wasp replacement | 'Miles Queen Martinet' | |
| S.11/43 | Naval carrier-borne attack/strike aircraft - later cancelled - Sturgeon also submitted to Q.1/46 & M.6/49 (q.v.) | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.54'', ''Short Sturgeon'' | |
| S.28/43 | Firebrand replacement | ''Blackburn B-48 YA.1/Firecrest'' | |
| T.13/43 | Advanced trainer | 'Bristol Buckmaster' | |
| T.23/43 | Trainer - all-weather fully aerobatic three-seater | 'Percival Prentice' | |
| TX.3/43 | Two-seat side-by-side seating training glider | ''General Aircraft G.A.L.55'' | |
| 2/44 | Brabazon Committee Type I | Long range transatlantic airliner | ''Bristol Brabazon I'', ''Miles X-15'' (not built) |
| 16/44 | Stop-gap airliner version of Lancaster | 'Avro Lancastrian C.Mk 1' | |
| 18/44 | Brabazon Committee Type Va | Civil feederliner | 'Miles Marathon' |
| 22/44 | Transport aircraft - mixed passenger, freight/passenger or all-freight high-payload/short-distance - see also G.9/45 | ''Bristol Wayfarer/Freighter'' | |
| C.3/44 | Long-range general-purpose transport - York replacement | 'Handley Page Hastings' | |
| E.1/44 | Experimental Nene-powered jet fighter | ''Gloster GA.2'' | |
| E.6/44 | Written for Saro SR.44 flying-boat jet fighter | ''Saro SR.A/1'' | |
| E.9/44 | Flying wing bomber/airliner | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52'' | |
| E.10/44 | Experimental Nene-powered jet fighter - Jet Spiteful | see N.5/45 | |
| F.13/44 | Long-range fighter with Eagle 22 piston engine capable of accepting a turboprop at a later date - RAF version of N.11/44 (q.v.) - see also N.12/45 | ''Westland Wyvern'' | |
| N.5/44 | Naval carrier-version of Hornet | 'de Havilland Sea Hornet' | |
| N.7/44 | OR.167 | Carrier-based fighter - navalised version of Spitfire F Mk.21 | 'Supermarine Seafire F Mk.45' |
| N.11/44 | Naval long-range carrier-based fighter with Eagle 22 piston engine capable of accepting a turboprop at a later date - RN version of F.13/44 (q.v.) - see also N.12/45 | ''Westland Wyvern'' | |
| N.15/44 | Naval carrier-version of Mosquito | 'de Havilland Sea Mosquito TR.33' | |
| S.14/44 | Naval land-based ASR | ''Supermarine Seagull ASR-1'' | |
| X.4/44 | Tank-carrying heavy glider capable of carrying 7-ton load and returning under its own power | ''General Aircraft Hamilcar X'' | |
| A.2/45 | Army Aerial Observation Post (AOP) - replacement for Taylorcraft Auster AOPs | ''Auster A.2/45'', ''Heston A.2/45'' | |
| A.4/45 | Army three-seat light communications aircraft - Leonides-powered Pioneer II later accepted 1950 | ''Scottish Aviation Pioneer I'' | |
| B.3/45 | Two-seat twin-engine high-altitude fast jet bomber carrying no defensive armament - Mosquito replacement - revised from E.3/45 (q.v.) | 'English Electric Canberra B.1' - see also B.5/47 | |
| C.15/45 | Transport aircraft | ''Handley Page H.P.72'' | |
| E.1/45 | OR.207 | Experimental aircraft for research into proposed tailless configuration of early DH.106 Comet airliner design | 'de Havilland DH.108' |
| E.3/45 | Experimental two-seat twin-engine high-altitude fast jet bomber carrying no defensive armament - Mosquito replacement - reissued as B.3/45 (q.v.) | 'English Electric Canberra' | |
| E.11/45 | Experimental aircraft for research into low-speed handling and high Mach number flying of tailless designs - two examples of Swallow (one low- and one high-speed) ordered - see also E.1/45 | 'de Havilland DH.108' | |
| N.5/45 | Naval carrier-borne fighter - Seafang developed to this spec. but supplanted by Nene-powered, Naval version of E.10/44 (q.v.) | 'Supermarine Attacker', ''Supermarine Seafang'' | |
| N.12/45 | Long-range carrier-based fighter - Wyvern with Python turboprop engine - see also F.13/44 & N.11/44 | 'Westland Wyvern S.4' | |
| G.9/45 | Military transport aircraft capable of carrying a 3 ton load into jungle areas - see also 22/44 | ''Bristol Wayfarer/Freighter'' | |
| GR.17/45 | OR.220 | Carrier-borne ASW | ''Blackburn B-54/B-88'', 'Fairey Gannet' |
| Q.19/45 | OR.204 | Mosquito target tug | 'de Havilland Mosquito TT.39' |
| T.7/45 | Three-seat advanced trainer using turboprop engine - Harvard replacement - replaced by T.14/47 (q.v.) | ''Avro Athena T.1'', ''Boulton Paul Balliol T.1'' | |
| 2/46 | Brabazon Committee Type I | Long range transatlantic airliner - Brabazon II (Coupled Proteus) order | ''Bristol Brabazon II'' |
| 26/46 | Brabazon Committee Type II | Short-range feederliner - Dragon Rapide replacement | 'de Havilland Dove' |
| B.14/46 | OR.239 | Four engine jet heavy bomber - later used as insurance against delay of aircraft submitted to B.35/46 | ''Short Sperrin'' |
| B.35/46 | OR.229 | Four engine swept-wing jet heavy bomber with a cruising speed of 500 kt and a ceiling of at least 55,000 ft | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.56'', 'Avro Vulcan', ''Bristol Type 172'', 'Handley Page Victor', ''Short PD.1''; Designs also submitted by Vickers & English Electric |
| C.16/46 | Brabazon Committee Type IIB | Short-medium range airliner | ''Armstrong Whitworth A.W.55 Apollo'', ''Handley Page H.P.76'', ''Handley Page H.P.77'', ''Handley Page H.P.78'', 'Vickers Viscount' |
| E.4/46 | Experimental gyrodyne | ''Fairey Gyrodyne'' | |
| E.19/46 | Experimental helicopter for crop spraying | ''Cierva Air Horse'' | |
| E.27/46 | Experimental aircraft for investigation into delta wing characteristics at transonic speeds | 'Boulton Paul P.111' | |
| E.41/46 | Experimental swept-wing version of Attacker - evolved into Swift | ''Supermarine 510'', 'Supermarine Swift' | |
| F.43/46 | Interceptor using Rolls-Royce AJ.65 or Metrovick F.9 axial engines - superseded by F.3/48 (q.v.) | ''Gloster P.234'', ''Gloster P.248'', ''Gloster P.250'', ''Hawker P.1054'' | |
| F.44/46 | Two-seat twin-engined night/all weather fighter | see F.24/48 & F.4/48 | |
| N.7/46 | Naval carrier-borne interceptor/fighter bomber | 'Hawker Sea Hawk' | |
| N.11/46 | Two seat trainer version of Sea Fury | 'Hawker Sea Fury T.20' | |
| N.40/46 | Naval carrier-borne jet fighter - see also F.4/48 | ''de Havilland DH.110'' | |
| R.5/46 | Four engine long-range Maritime patrol bomber - Liberator GR replacement | 'Avro Shackleton' | |
| Q.1/46 | Naval target tug | 'de Havilland Mosquito TT.39', 'Miles Monitor', 'Short Sturgeon TT.1', | |
| B.5/47 | OR.235 | Three-seat twin-engine high-altitude fast jet bomber carrying no defensive armament - Mosquito replacement - revised from B.3/45 (q.v.) to include visual bombing requirement | 'English Electric Canberra B.2' |
| C.2/47 | Brabazon Committee Type III | Airliner - medium-range Empire transport | 'Bristol Britannia', ''Handley Page H.P.83'', ''Handley Page H.P.84'', ''Handley Page H.P.85'', ''Handley Page H.P.86'' |
| E.8/47 | OR.250 | Experimental one-half scale research version of Bristol Type 172 four-jet long range bomber design - later revised for reconfigured Type 176 - all subsequently cancelled | ''Bristol Type 174'' |
| N.9/47 | Naval carrier-borne jet fighter | ''Supermarine Type 508'' | |
| T.1/47 | Two seat trainer version of Meteor - written around Gloster's civil Meteor demonstrator ''G-AKPK'' | 'Gloster Meteor T.7' | |
| T.14/47 | Two-seat advanced trainer using Merlin 35 - replacement for T.7/45 (q.v.) | 'Avro Athena T.2', 'Boulton Paul Balliol T.2' | |
| 8/48 | ''ab initio'' trainer - Tiger Moth replacement - written for Chipmunk T.10 production order | 'de Havilland Chipmunk T.10' | |
| E.6/48 | no OR | Experimental research aircraft using one-third scale version of Handley Page B.35/46 wing design | 'Handley Page HP.88 |
| E.15/48 | no OR | Experimental one-third scale low-speed research version of Avro's B.35/46 design | 'Avro 707 |
| F.3/48 | OR.228 | Written for P.1067, replaced F.43/46 | 'Hawker P.1067 (Hawker Hunter)' |
| F.4/48 | OR.227 | Two-seat twin-engined night/all weather fighter - replacement for Vampire NFs | ''de Havilland DH.110'', 'Gloster Javelin' |
| F.24/48 | Two-seat twin-engined night/all weather fighter - interim stop-gap for F.4/48 - Meteor NF development originally to F.44/46 (q.v.) | 'Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11' | |
| B.9/48 | OR.231 | Four engine jet heavy bomber - less advanced stop-gap for B.35/46 designs - written around Valiant | 'Vickers Valiant' |
| B.22/48 | OR.302 | Pathfinder version of Canberra | 'English Electric Canberra B.5' |
| R.2/48 | OR.231 | ||
| T.12/48 | Trainer - two-seat Wyvern conversion trainer | 'Westland Wyvern T.3' | |
| T.16/48 | Trainer - Prentice replacement | ''Handley Page H.P.R.2'', 'Percival Provost' | |
| C.19/49 | Transport - Hastings C.2 order | 'Handley Page Hastings C.2' | |
| E.10/49 | Experimental - additional order for Avro 707s including side-by-side seating conversion-trainers - these later cancelled - see also E.15/48 | 'Avro 707 | |
| F.15/49 | Jet fighter - interim Vampire replacement | 'de Havilland Venom' | |
| F.23/49 | OR.268 | Supersonic jet fighter/interceptor | 'English Electric Lightning' |
| M.6/49 | OR.275 | Light carrier-borne ASW - written around Short Sturgeon variant - spec derived from GR.17/45 | ''Short S.B.3'' |
| N.14/49 | Naval carrier-borne all-weather strike fighter - see also N.40/46 & F.4/48 | 'de Havilland Sea Vixen' | |
| E.27/49 | Delta wing research | 'Boulton Paul P.120' |
Post 1949 Operational Requirements and Naval Requirements
| 'OR' | ''Year'' | 'Type' | Related aircraft |
| ER.100 | 194? | Experimental low-speed research version of English Electric P.1 (q.v.) | 'Short S.B.5' |
| ER.103 | 1947 | Experimental research aircraft capable of Mach 1.5 at 36,000 ft - modified for P.1 as F.23/49 (q.v.) | 'English Electric P.1', 'Fairey Delta 2' |
| OR.301 | February 1952 | Rocket propelled interceptor | Saunders Roe SR.53, Avro 720 |
| OR.303 | 195? | Lightweight fighter to intercept Soviet Tu-4 bombers | ''Folland Midge'' |
| OR.304 | 195? | Helicopter for Coastal Command | 'Bristol Sycamore' |
| OR.323 | 195? | Transport aircraft - Hastings replacement | 'Armstrong Whitworth Argosy' |
| OR.324 | 1952 | Low-level bomber - Spec. B.126T written to this OR - cancelled 1954 | ''Avro 721'', ''Handley Page H.P.99'' - proposals also tendered by: Bristol, Shorts & Vickers. |
| OR.334 | 195? | VTOL transport aircraft | 'Fairey Rotodyne'; later cancelled |
| ER.43 | ~1953 | Experimental direct jet-lift VTOL research aircraft | 'Short SC.1' |
| ER.134 | 1953 | Experimental high-speed research aircraft capable of sustaining Mach 2.75 to investigate effect of kinetic heating on airframe | 'Bristol 188' |
| ER.163 | 195? | Experimental Fairey Delta 2 with de Havilland Gyron engine - later cancelled | ''Fairey Delta 2'' |
| ER.204D | 195? | Experimental VTOL aircraft using Bristol Pegasus | 'Hawker P.1127' |
| NA.39 | 1953 | Carrier borne strike aircraft to Spec. M.148T | 'Blackburn Buccaneer', ''Short PD.13'' |
| NA.47 | 195? | Mixed rocket-jet interception fighter for RN | ''Saunders-Roe SR.177''; cancelled 1957 |
| NR/A.32 | 195? | Light carrier-borne ASW to Spec. M.123 | 'Short Seamew' |
| F138D | 1953 | Mixed rocket-jet interception fighter - written around SR.53 | ''Saunders-Roe SR.53'' |
| OR.330 | 1954 | Supersonic high flying reconnaissance aircraft | ''Avro 730'', ''Handley Page H.P.100'' |
| OR.329 /F.155 | 1955? | Supersonic high flying interceptor | Fairey "Delta III"; cancelled 1957 |
| OR.356 | 19?? | Supersonic V/STOL - Spec. SR.250 | ''Hawker Siddeley P.1154''; later cancelled |
| OR.357 | 19?? | Maritime reconnaissance aircraft - led to Nimrod | 'Hawker Siddeley Nimrod' |
| OR.362 | 19?? | Supersonic trainer aircraft - led to Jaguar | 'SEPECAT Jaguar' |
| GOR.339 | 1956 | STOL Tactical-Strike/Reconnaissance aircraft capable of Mach 2 and suitable for operation from unpaved strips - Canberra replacement | ''British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2''; later cancelled |
| GOR.345 | 195? | V/STOL combat aircraft version of Hawker P.1127 - Harrier development | 'Hawker Siddeley Harrier' |
| GSR.3335 | 196? | Helicopter - Scout replacement | 'Westland Lynx' |
| GSR.3336 | 196? | Helicopter - Sioux replacement | 'Westland Gazelle' |
| RB.156 | Reconnaissance-bomber | ''Avro 730'' | |
| ASR.365 | 196? | Helicopter - Tactical Support | 'Westland Puma' |
| ASR.367 | 196? | Bomber - Vulcan B.2 - see also B.35/46 | 'Avro Vulcan B.2' |
| ASR.368 | 196? | Bomber - Victor B.2 - see also B.35/46 | 'Handley Page Victor B.2' |
| ASR.371 | 196? | Transport aircraft | 'Short Belfast' |
| ASR.372 | 196? | Trainer version of Lightning - Lightning T.5 | 'English Electric Lightning T.5' |
| ASR.373 | 196? | VIP Transport aircraft - Andover CC.2 | 'Hawker Siddeley Andover CC.2' |
| ASR.376 | 196? | Tanker aircraft | 'Handley Page Victor B(K).1/1A' |
| ASR.378 | 196? | Transport aircraft - VC10 | 'Vickers VC10' |
| ASR.381 | 196? | Interim Maritime Patrol aircraft to Spec. MR.254 - written around Atlantique | ''Breguet Atlantique'' |
| ASR.382 | 196? | Two-seat trainer version of P.1154 for RAF - cancelled | ''Hawker Siddeley P.1154'' |
| ASR.384 | 196? | Harrier requirement - see also GOR.345 | 'Hawker Siddeley Harrier' |
| ASR.385 | 196? | Phantom for RAF | 'McDonnell Douglas F-4M Phantom' |
| ASR.397 | 1970 | Basic jet trainer - Jet Provost replacement | 'Hawker Siddeley Hawk' |
| ASR.409 | Harrier replacement | McDonnell Douglas AV-8 as Harrier GR.5 | |
| NSR.6451 | 19?? | V/STOL carrier borne fighter aircraft - Naval Harrier | 'BAE Sea Harrier' |
See also
★ British military aircraft designation systems
★ General Staff Target - the British Army equivalent
References
1. No allowance sighting
2. Buttler 2004
★ ''Aeroplane Monthly Magazine''. - various articles - various issues 1973-1987. Web site
★ Buttler, Tony. ''Secret Projects: British Fighters and Bombers 1935 -1950 (British Secret Projects 3)''. Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-179-2.
★ Green, William. ''Famous Bombers of the Second World War, 2nd Edition''. London: MacDonald & Jane's,1975. ISBN 0-356-08333-0.
★ Meekcoms, K.J. and Morgan, E.B. ''The British Aircraft Specifications File''. London: Air Britain, 1994. ISBN 0-85130-220-3.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''Bombers Between the Wars 1919-39 - Including Patrol and Transport Aircraft (Blandford Colour Series)''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1970. ISBN 0-7137-0514-0.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''Bombers In Service - Patrol and Transport Aircraft Since 1960 (Blandford Colour Series)''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1972. ISBN 0-7137-0586-8.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''Fighters 1939-45 - Attack and Training Aircraft (Blandford Colour Series).'' London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1975. ISBN 0-7137-0378-4.
★ Munson , Kenneth. ''The Pocket Encyclopedia of Bombers At War (Blandford Colour Series, New Orchard Edition)''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1977. ISBN 0-18507-902-8.
:Note: This is a combined volume made up of the following separate books:
:: Munson, Kenneth.''Bombers Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914-1919 (Blandford Colour Series) ''. London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1977. ISBN 0-7137-0632-8.
:: Munson, Kenneth. ''Bombers Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939-1945 (Blandford Colour Series) '', London: Associate R.Ae.S., 1975. ISBN 0-7137-0379-2.
★ Sinnott, Colin. ''The RAF and Aircraft Design, 1923-1939: Air Staff Operational Requirements'' London: Frank Cass, 2001. ISBN 0-7146-5158-3.
External links
★ Handley Page Aircraft
★ United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects- Post War Operational Requirements
★ Unusual Aircraft - British Projects
★ WW2 British Secret Projects Vol. 1
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
