Hawker Siddeley P.1127 – Photos & Videos

The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 are the experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber. P.1127 development began in 1957, taking advantage of the Bristol Engine Company’s choice to invest in the creation of the Pegasus vectored-thrust engine. Testing began in July 1960 and by the end of the year the aircraft had achieved both vertical take-off and horizontal flight.

Source: Hawker Siddeley P.1127 on Wiki

The Hawker Siddeley P.1127 was a British experimental jet aircraft developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was the first aircraft to demonstrate the ability to take off and land vertically using vectored thrust from a single engine. The P.1127 was designed by Sir Sydney Camm and his team at Hawker Aircraft, with the assistance of the Bristol Engine Company and the Royal Aircraft Establishment. The P.1127 was powered by a Bristol Pegasus turbofan engine, which could rotate its four nozzles to direct the thrust either horizontally for forward flight or vertically for hovering.
The P.1127 had a conventional wing and tail configuration, but with small wingtip jets for lateral stability and control in hover mode. The P.1127 made its first tethered flight in October 1960, and its first free flight in November 1960. It underwent extensive testing and evaluation by both Hawker and the Royal Air Force, proving the feasibility and potential of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The P.1127 was the precursor of the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel and the Harrier, which became the world’s first operational VTOL jet fighters.