The first A.W.52 TS363 at Baginton

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947

Another view of the unmarked TS363

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947

RG324 at Baginton, shortly after its first flight in March 1945.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947

The unmarked TS363 photographed at Baginton in December 1946, well before its first flight at Boscombe Down in the following year.
Armstrong Whitworth's AW 52 started as a twinkle in Chief Designer, John Lloyd's eye towards the end of 1943. Following flight testing with the AW 52G glider, the Ministry of Supply sanctioned the construction of two AW 52 to serve as 3/4-scale flight test machines for a proposed tailless airliner. The first of the pair, TG363, seen here, took off for its maiden flight on 13 November 1947, followed by TG368 on 1 September 1948. Incorporating a laminar airfoiled wing and powered by twin 5.000lb s.t. Rolls-Royce Nenes. These expensive machines proved a bitter disappointment, their laminar wings becoming instantly far less efficient the moment a fly struck their leading edges. To compound matters, the lack of adequate tail moment arm damping produced pitch axis control problems at high speed, leading to the imposition of a 288mph indicated limitation.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947

The second prototype, TS368, photographed in September 1948 at Bitteswell.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947

The AW.52G from a drawing dated 10th September 1944;

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947

The full-scale AW.52 shown in a 1945 drawing, as intended with Metrovick Beryl axial-flow turbojets.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1947