HAL Vayu FGA.3

[comrade harps]

HAL Vayu FGA.3
a/c E256, 2 Squadron, Indian Air Force,
Halwara, India, September 1965



American government agents successfully evacuated thousands of scientists, engineers and other people with desired technical expertise (plus their families) to the States during the revolutions that swept western Europe in 1950. Among those extracted were Professor Willy Messerschmitt and jet engine designer Ferdinand Brandner and many in their former design teams.




Messerschmitt, Brandner and their associates found employment with the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which had revived its recently closed aeronautical and aeroengine divisions to take advantage of rapidly expanding defence budgets. By 1952 Messerschmitt's team had settled on a tailed delta configuration for a lightweight, single seat, single-engined interceptor to be powered by the company's Brandner-designed J-62 turbojet. Devised to a weapons system concept, the aircraft was to be armed purely with AIM-9 Sidewinders and didn't have a pound for air-to-ground. Submitted to the USAF as the Curtiss-Wright CW100 Eaglehawk, the proposal lost out to Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter in a competition for a lightweight fighter.




Work continued through to 1953, but losing money on what appeared to be a dead end and frustrated with the attitude of their European staff, Curtiss-Wright sought to sell the Eaglehawk and its J-62 engine to other countries. Argentina, Brazil and South Africa all expressed interest, but it was neutral India that was won over by the prospect of building a supersonic designed by the famous Willy Messerschmitt. In 1954 the Indian government announced that the country's major aircraft manufacturer, HAL, had been contracted to supply 200 "futuristic" supersonic Vayu fighters from 1960. The design unveiled was a warmed-over Eaglehawk and the fine print revealed Willy Messerschmitt as a "consultant" and Curtiss-Wright as a "design partner". At the same time, it was announced that early prototypes of the Vayu were to be powered by the Rolls Royce India Orpheus, with the definitive production aircraft to have an afterburning version of the J-62 developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment and manufactured by Tata. To arm the Vayu the Defence Research and Development Laboratory was tasked with designing an infrared-guided air-to-air missile, which was also to be manufactured by Tata. A nation-wide ground controlled intercept (GCI) network was an essential feature of the Vayu Weapon System to direct this lightweight, missile-armed interceptor without gun armament or radar into an engagement position.



Taken together, the "Vayu Weapons System" was promoted by the Indian government as a nation-building project. At the time of its announcement the Hindustan Times called it "bold," The Times of India "ambitious" and The Hindu said it was "visionary." A more sober assessment in the New Indian Express was written under the headline of Pie In The Sky and called it a "folly."




Things didn't go to plan. A major defence review following the failures of the Indian military during the 1962 Sino-Indian War almost resulted in the demise of the Vayu. By the end of 1962 just 12 Vayus had been built, including 4 prototypes and 8 pre-series aircraft, all of which were powered by an afterburning Orpheus due to delays with the J-62, which was underpowered and lacked reliability (the Orpheus going on to power all production machines, too). The missile program had repeatedly failed at key performance tests. The essential radar and command and control network was years behind schedule. As production Vayu F.1s and two-seat T.2s rolled off the HAL production line most of the jets were simply flown to Kanpur for storage. Amid newspaper stories detailing the scandal of "Messerschmitt's Hot Rod," the Vayu Weapons System officially came to an end in July 1963, but production of the planes continued late into the year before the line switched to making Dassault Canada Mirage IIIEIN/FGA.3 fighters and IIIDIN/T.4 trainers. During HAL's run of 147 Vayus, the IAF imported 60 Mirage IIICIN/FGA.1 fighters and 12 IIIBIN/T.2 trainers as a belated response to a Pakistan's acquisition of 200 F-/RF-/TF-105Gs Starfighters.



As stored Vayus piled up at Kanpur, the IAF's chief engineer, Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh,  hatched his own plans for turning the Vayu into a practical combat aircraft. With a small budget, Singh's team focused on adding off-the-shelf equipment already in the IAF inventory to the Vayu. This strategy saw the licence-built DEFA 552 30mm cannon (already used in the HAL's licence-built version of the F-86H, the Sabre FGA.6, the ill-fated HAL Swift and the new Mirage series) scabbed onto the fuselage underside in a semi-conformal gun pod, with the Sabre FGA.6's gunsight and ranging radar used for aiming. The wings were rebuilt to carry heavier loads and the inner hardpoints modified to carry external fuel tanks.




No.2 Squadron (Winged Arrows) was the only combat-coded Vayu operator during the India-Pakistan war of August-September 1965. Ground attack was usually flown with two 18 round pods of licence-built SNEB 68 rockets, the ventral DEFA 552 30mm cannon and a pair of drop tanks. Mission profiles included close air support and interdiction, plus flying escort for Canberra bombers and Sabre fighter-bombers. For fighter missions, the cannon pod and drop tanks were carried, with the outer underwing pylons left empty. One was lost to ground fire and another was shot down by an AIM-9B fired by a Starfighter. In return, No.2 squadron pilots shot down an F-104G with the cannon and an F-5A with a combination of cannon and rocket fire.



Now proven in combat, post-war another two combat-coded squadrons were equipped with the Vayu FGA.3. These three squadrons, Nos. 2, 31 and 200, flew the Vayu over East Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Finally equipped with air-to-air missiles, they used an AIM-9B to shoot down an F-100D and the cannon to claim an AT-28D. During 1977-78 the type was phased out of frontline service in favour of the HAL built Mirage J79/FGA.8. Another two squadrons flew both the FGA.3 and T.4 versions on advanced fighter training duties and the type was highly regarded as an adversary (aggressor) opponent, these units maintaining the Vayu in service until 1983.

[PR19_Kit]

A magic looking model and a cracking backstory to go with it. Nice work there. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Sweet, and the paint scheme/markings suit it well! 

[Scotaidh]

Very nice, Comrade!   

I can't wait for the "how I did it". 

[zenrat]

Looks good Comrade.

[comrade harps]

Very nice, Comrade!   

I can't wait for the "how I did it". 

It starts with this:


Add:

• Gun pod: from Bronco Blohm & Voss BV.178 with cannon barrel from Airfix Fw.190F
• Intake shock cones: Hasegawa Kfir
• Pylons: Inners from Hasegawa A-4E/F Skyhawk with MERs cut off and outers unidentified from spares box
• External fuel tanks: modified and in green plastic via a spares box, possibly from Matchbox F-5A
• Rocket pods: unidentified from spares box
• Decals: from Special Hobby Ajeet Mk.1

[JayBee]

A fantastic job there Comrade, I look forward to any in build photos, and not just because I have one of those kits awaiting "treatment".
One question, what does Vayu mean.

[NARSES2]

That's a very attractive aircraft 

[NARSES2]

One question, what does Vayu mean.

Sanskrit for wind. Also Vayu Deva is the Hindu God of the Wind. I was interested as well 

[comrade harps]

I look forward to any in build photos, and not just because I have one of those kits awaiting "treatment".

No build pics, but it goes together a treat. I think some of the part numbers in the instructions are wrong, though. It's a nice kit.

[Tophe]

Unusual & nice!

[PALG]

yr kidding - someone new has put out a Helwan kit??!!  Finally.   No longer reliant on the CLassic resin kit. I might revive an old idea for a Palestine Free Air Force HA-300.

[comrade harps]

yr kidding - someone new has put out a Helwan kit??!!  Finally.   No longer reliant on the CLassic resin kit. I might revive an old idea for a Palestine Free Air Force HA-300.

That would be the follow-up to the Helwan Ha-200: http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,45203.msg808714.html#msg808714

[PALG]

That would be the follow-up to the Helwan Ha-200: http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,45203.msg808714.html#msg808714
[/quote]

Was it only this year u posted that? Seems like a couple of years ago.