BAE-Sepecat Jaguar, Mitsubushi F-1 and T-2

[John Howling Mouse]

Picked up a couple of the old 1:48 Esci Sepecat/BAC Jaguar GR.1 kits.

While maybe not as famous nor glamorous as other contemporary a/c, it suddenly occurred to me just what a great looking little plane the Jaguar really is.

Anyone know if a kit or aftermarket set exists to build a T.Mk.2 two-seat trainer version?

[Nigel Bunker]

Paragon used to make a resin conversion set but I think it was designed for the Airfix 1/48 kit. There was an article in SAM about it several years ago.

As the Jaguar is slab sided, you could do it yourself using plastic card and filler, and what's a little canopy moulding to a modeller?

Have fun.

[Captain Canada]

Hey Nigel,
    Just build about 60 of them from a bunch of different squadrons ( throw a few Canucks and Polacks in there for good measure ) and then pretend that WWII didn't end until the 70's......

[Geoff_B]

In the Bombers book there is a single engine Jag (RB199) with a delta wing, but no mention of a big wing Jaguar.

[Nigel Bunker]

Does anybody know where I can find plans for the big-wing Jaguar? I fancy building one to go alongside my big wing Harrier (currently under construction).

[nev]

No, but a larger wing on the Jaguar is no bad idea.  I've always felt its wing was far too puny.  And its obvious at airshows were the Jaguar rivals the F-104 for largest turn radius!

How about a big crank-wing variant, the Jaguar XL?

[uk 75]

I know its not as exciting as Harrier or TSR2 but Jaguar has some interesting what-if possibilities.

2 Seat Jaguars (Matchbox kit?)

Originally the RAF planned to have the bulk of its Jaguars in the "B" 2 seat training version (T1).   Had this plan gone ahead there might have been some interesting colour schemes.

Prototypes      Late 60s RAF training colours for Gnat (polished metal with dayglo orange bands on wings and tail area) and Hunters (polished metal with yellow band forward of the tail)

In-service      Hawk style red and white colours

Display teams    Red Arrows of course, but perhaps also the Hunter teams (Black and Blue colours).  There is also the Yellowjacks livery for the CFS Gnats in the 60s

Single seat

RAF Jaguars would have been limited to the three UK squadrons (6,41,54?) in usual camo colours (RAF Germany would have continued to operate Phantoms).
A naval version has been featured on the what-if site before.  As far as I can establish this aircraft (Jaguar N) was intended to operate on HMS Hermes instead of the Sea Vixens/Buccaneer.  Can't really see this one being much of an option as even the Sea Vixen was a better fighter than Jaguar and Buccaneer was already on Hermes.

Foreign sales

Jaguar was offered to a whole range of NATO and non-NATO customers.  Although it took a while to be successful as a ground attack aircraft in RAF service it would have been a better plane than the Alpha Jet (Germany, Belgium, Portugal), Mirage V(Belgium), F5 (Canada, Netherlands, Norway, etc).  For example Luftwaffe units equipped with Jaguar would have had the same kit as RAFG and could have operated jointly from motorways etc.  Similarly in Norway, RAF and Canadian units equipped with Jaguars could have reinforced their Norwegian colleagues on the same type.  In the real world, cost and politics ruled out such options.

Outside NATO, Jaguar could have met the needs of a whole slew of Hunter users (as it did for Oman, Ecuador and India) and F5 users (South Korea comes to mind).

Jaguar has grown on me over the years. Much of TSR2, the angular shape and the bird like undercarriage survived in this plane.  BAC would have liked to have given the RAF its swing wing P45, but as Tony Buttler points out, swing wings have a considerable weight penalty in smaller aircraft.  Its French origins make it hard to love as a replacement for the beautiful Hunter but in some ways Jaguar has lasted longer (from the early 70s to now).

Hope this encourages some easy what-if models!

UK75

[Geoff_B]

Hi Ralph

Plus i suppose you could mention that the basic design has been copied by both the Japanese and now the Chinese (although this is a somewhat enlarged version !!!).

I still want to do a FAA version as it would have been ideal operating off Hermes  with a squadron of Cyclones (583's) in the fighter role. Perhaps if we had done this and gone for medium sized CV after CVA-01 had failed we would have continued to operate lighter naval aircraft. I wonder if the Sea Jag could have operated off the light fleet carriers ?, then perhaps we could have sold them earlier to India and maybe Australia.

Jags might have been a better idea New Zealand as well in place of their Skyhawks, thinking a little more on the subject, what if we had been able to fit Blue Fox, or Blue Vixen into the nose of the Jaguar, then we might have had a more multi-role light fighter bomber. Not as good as an F-16 of course as it would need more umpf to get near Mach 2, but it would provide smaller airforces with a very capable multi-role aircraft.

Tony Buttlers Bombers book has quite abit on the Jaguar development including some intresting STOL variants with lift engines and a single larger engine.

Cheers

Geoff B B)  

[uk 75]

Hi Geoff


Carrier Jags


India of course has some Jags in the maritime strike role.  They are getting a Russian carrier to play with, so if anyone is ingenious enough to get a Jaguar aboard a carrier...

From what I have read on sites and in books the maritime Jag was probably suited to Hermes or Foch style carriers but nothing smaller.  They would have course have been simple to operate off USS Oriskany and the like.               Although Jags can carry AAMs they would have needed a radar fit to be of any use as fighters.  However, a multi-role Jaguar might have been possible.


CV 62

If it had not been for the Phantom procurement the optimum size for an RN carrier would probably have been a considerably simplified and standardised Hermes derivative.  To have escaped cancellation the ships would have had to have been ordered before 1962 and come into service between 1966 and 1968 (allowing older ships and their larger crews to be paid off)  At the same time the Cyclone would have joined the Buccaneer in both RN and RAF service (No Phantoms, no 1154s).  In appearance the ship would have looked like Hermes from the deck down, with the large Bristol/Invincible style funnel and radars.  Missiles would have been left open for later fitting with Seacat.
Such a carrier force (3-4 ships) would have still been in service through the Falklands and the Gulf War (if it had survived John Nott!).  If Cyclone had been upgraded successfully it might have also been given a fixed wing vstol version in later years.



New Zealand

A Commonwealth Jaguar would have been fun. I am sure that if Canada had bought Jaguar for NATO duties it might have been a better bet for Australia and New Zealand


Makes Mondays bearable!

Ralph UK75

[Radish]

I like the idea of chopping the outer wing panels off and reversing them, to give a sort of "W" wing effect.
Another option is long leading-edge extensions like on the FBW example or the F-18E.
A friend added a big revolving radome on tup for an Enonomacs early warning machine.
Why not a Big spine like on the F-16D/F?
Israeli??
Conformal tanks anywher?
Twin finned??
A T-tail??
RCAF??
Royal Danish AF??
Floats?? For operations from canals.....the Dutch??
           
How about Argentinian??

[elmayerle]

Well, I've definitely got a Jaguar M outfitted with the radar nose of the Maritime Strike Jaguar and it'll probably be done in Aeronavale markings.  Beyond that, the radar nose, with electro-optical window just behind it, would be good for a multi-role version, either land or ship based.  I've also got the kits stuck away to do a singel-seat, active-duty, merge of the Jaguar ACT and the Japanese T-2CCV.  I'd be putting the forward fuselage of the Jaguar on the T-2 airframe, but cutting so as to retain the T-2's M61 rather than the Jaguar's twin ADEN's.

Further possibilities are being considered.

[Martin H]

I did a Sea Jag in overall DSG from the Italeri kit, with the extended nose gear off a matchbox Phantom, with a sea Eagle slung under the centerline pylon. There are a few photos of it on my site someware

[Davey B]

In appearance the ship would have looked like Hermes from the deck down, with the large Bristol/Invincible style funnel and radars.  Missiles would have been left open for later fitting with Seacat.

I thought about something like this, but entering service in the 80s to replace the Centaur-class survivors (Albion, Centaur and Hermes) and to support the CVA-01s. Air group for the Centaurs would've been SR.177 Thunderbolts and Scimitars, latter replaced by Sea Jags. Both types replaced on new carriers by P.96RN.

[Captain Canada]

RCAF Jaguars is a must, instead of the CF-5.

I'd like to do one up as a northern flank defender, with white over the grey and black national insignis.

Naval birds would be sweet as well.......

[John Howling Mouse]

Thanks, Nigel.  I was also wondering if I could graft the canopy/cockpit of a Fujimi Mitsubishi F-1 onto/into the Airfix kit.  Might not be authentic but, then again, that's not why I like this site so much.

As for the vac-forming, I just handed over that vac-forming kit and plans to my technie friend at work.  Hoping to have a quote on building the machine soon!!!