Gloster Javelin

The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s and was the final aircraft design to bear the Gloster name.

The Javelin was designed in response to specification F.44/46 during the late 1940s and early 1950s as high-performance night fighter capable of all-weather operations. It was a T-tailed delta-wing aircraft powered by a pair of Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet engines. Following a protracted development period, the Javelin was introduced to squadron service during 1956. During its service life, it received upgrades to its engines, radar and weapons, which included the De Havilland Firestreak air-to-air missile.

The Javelin was replaced in the interceptor role by the English Electric Lightning, a supersonic aircraft capable of flying at more than double the speed of the Javelin. The Lightning entered service with the RAF only a few years after the Javelin. Fighter bomber and aerial reconnaissance variants were proposed, as well as the supersonic Gloster thin-wing Javelin, but none were pursued. The Javelin had a relatively short service life, the last examples were withdrawn from operational service in 1968 following the phased-in introduction of the Lightning. During this time both aircraft were operated by the RAF.