de Havilland DH112 Sea Venom FAW.22
Aircraft overview:
Designed and built at Hatfield and first flown in 1949, the DH112 Venom single-seat fighter was a progressive development of the Vampire. It had a fatter fuselage ‘pod’ to take the much larger, higher thrust DH Ghost engine, and a thinner and more efficient wing . It was the first RAF fighter to have wing-tip fuel tanks, the wing being stressed for combat with these tanks full.
The Sea Venom was a navalised development of the RAF’s 2-seater Venom NF3 Night Fighter, developed for the Fleet Air Arm. Navalisation for operation from aircraft carriers included power folding wings; a stronger, longer-stroke undercarriage; a horn under each wing for the catapult strop, and an A-form arrestor hook (which passes through the hot jet exhaust when lowered).
The Sea Venom’s standard armament was four 20mm Hispano cannon in the fuselage and bombs or unguided rockets under the wings.
The AI Mk.21 air interception radar was operated by the Observer who sat slightly behind and below the Pilot.
Other features include power-operated ailerons, small wing slats to improve aileron control at the stall, non-skid wheel brakes, and a gun-camera pod under the port wing root.
Total Sea Venom production was 295 in Britain for the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, plus 75 two-seaters built under licence in France by Sud-Ouest Aviation as the Aquilon 202.
The Museum’s de Havilland Sea Venom is the centre piece of the de Havilland at Sea exhibition opened by Capt. Eric “Winkle” Brown in June 2014
Aircraft specifications:
Power Unit: One 5,300 lbst de Havilland Ghost 105
Wing Span: 42 ft 11 in. (13.08 m)
All-Up Weight (A.U.W): 15,800 lb (7,167 kg)
Max. Speed: 575 mph (925 kph)
Ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,192 m)
Range: 705 miles (1,135 km)
On display at the Museum:
The Museum’s exhibit, the FAW.22 was built at Chester in 1957 and acquired in 1978.
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