Supermarine Type 545 Fighter Prototype

The Supermarine 545 was a supersonic jet fighter project designed for the Royal Air Force.

The project commenced during the early 1950s in response to interest in transonic aircraft within the Royal Air Force. Supermarine, who was at the time engaged in the development of another front-line fighter, the Swift, decided to use this existing programme as the Type 545’s starting point. Major differences from the proceeding Swift was the adoption of a crescent wing and a more powerful powerplant in the form of the reheated Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine; amongst its performance capabilities, Supermarine claimed that the aircraft would be readily capable of achieving Mach 1.3.

During February 1952, the company received an order for a pair of prototypes to be built. However, by the time that the first was completed, the project had become politically unpalatable due to the considerable shortcomings of the Swift. Having lost confidence in Supermarine, on 25 March 1956, the contract was cancelled prior to the first aircraft ever taking flight. After a brief period in storage, the sole Type 545 was donated as an instructional aid to College of Aeronautics at Cranfield Airport, Bedfordshire; it was eventually scrapped in 1967.

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