Messerschmitt HA 300

HA 300

Jet-powered fighter aircraft

The Hispano Aviación HA 300 is an Egyptian supersonic fighter aircraft which dates from the 1960s and was designed by Willy Messerschmitt.

It was conceived as a multipurpose delta-wing light supersonic fighter aircraft. The original intention was to use a British Bristol Orpheus 12 engine for the series, but when it emerged that there were no plans to continue developing this engine, work started on developing an in-house E300 jet engine with an installed weight of just 800 kg. In the end, however, this engine was not ready in time, so the first V1 prototype took off on its maiden flight on 7 March 1964 with a Bristol Orpheus 703 engine (2,200 kp) after all. The second prototype was also fitted with an Orpheus engine. Following extensive tests in an An12 in Egypt and an Indian HF24 Marut, the E300 engine was finally ready for use and there were plans to start trialling it with the third prototype, the V3. However neither the V3 nor the V4, which was also completed, ever flew, as more problems with the engine emerged.


MESSERSCHMITT MUSEUM OF FLIGHT


HA 300


SERVICE HISTORY

HA 300 JET-POWERED FIGHTER AIRCRAFT


Since 1952, Professor Willy Messerschmitt had been working with a small team in Spain under a consultancy agreement. Following the success of his HA 100 and HA 200 trainer aircraft designs, he began work on a small, single-seater interceptor at the request of the Spanish government. The desired criteria were that it would be able to defend point targets under visual flight conditions and reach speeds of around Mach 1.5 and that it would also be suitable for production in relatively large numbers by less affluent countries.

The result was an aircraft that, true to Messerschmitt’s design principles, offered the perfect compromise between performance, weight and manufacturing costs. In 1956, the design for the world’s smallest, lightest and most compact Mach 2 fighter aircraft was complete. However, due to a lack of funds, the Spanish government’s interest in this project started to dwindle from 1957. Egypt bought the project and all the documentation in late 1959.

In 1963, work started on the construction of the first prototype. This was modified to reflect the operating conditions in Egypt, so there were significant differences compared to the original design. After these design modifications – including the addition of a horizontal stabiliser, which wasn’t part of the original design – the V1 prototype was ready for its maiden flight. This was completed successfully on 7 March 1964, with Indian test pilot Kapil Bhargava at the controls.

In the years that followed, a final configuration was tested using the V2 and V3 prototypes and the new E300 engines. However, in May 1969, a political decision was taken to terminate the project that had been running for almost 10 years. Due to a change in the political environment in Egypt, a decision was taken to purchase the Soviet MiG21 – an aircraft of a very similar design – instead of the HA300. In 1991, the company then known as Dasa (present-day Airbus) bought the first HA 300 prototype, which was still in good condition, dismantled it, and transported it by air from Egypt to Manching. There, the world’s lightest supersonic fighter aircraft – a valuable aircraft given its technical history – was carefully restored by apprentices in the training workshop. When the restoration work was complete in 1997, the aircraft was then exhibited alternately in the Messerschmitt Museum of Flight in Manching and the Flugwerft Schleissheim aviation museum, a branch of the Deutsches Museum. On 28 May 2015, the HA 300 V1 was returned to the Messerschmitt Museum of Flight, where it is now part of the permanent static display in the museum’s gallery.

FACTS AND FIGURES

HA 300 JET-POWERED FIGHTER AIRCRAFT


Owner

Airbus


Year of construction

1963



Length

12,40 m


Wingspan

5,84 m


Height

3,15 m


Take-off weight

5.500 kg


Engine

1 × EGAO E300 with 3,100 kp (4,400 kp with afterburner) – planned
1 × Bristol Orpheus703 engine


Power

3,100 (4,400 kp with afterburner): planned EGAO E300 2,200 kp: Orpheus 703


Speed

2.125 km/h


MESSERSCHMITT HA 300 JET-POWERED FIGHTER AIRCRAFT

  •  HA 300

    HA 300

  •  HA 300

    HA 300

  •  HA 300

    HA 300

© Airbus und Airbus Heritage

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