Miles M.52: Gateway to Supersonic Flight

by Captain Eric Brown CBE DSC AFC QCVSA RN, Dennis Bancroft C.Eng MRAeS

Overview

The only personal account of the development of the M.52 and the mystery behind its cancellation.

In December 1943, a top secret contract (E.24/43) was awarded to Miles Aircraft. The contract was to build the world's first supersonic jet capable of 1000mph.

The only reliable source of data on supersonic objects came from the Armament Research Dept and their wind tunnel tests on ammunition. From this, Miles developed an exceptionally thin-winged, bullet-shaped aircraft. the research was inexplicably passed to the Americans in 1944. By December 1945, one prototype was virtually complete. The second, destined for an attempt at the sound barrier was 80 per cent complete. In February 1946, Capt Eric Brown was confirmed as the test pilot and October 1946 was set for the supersonic trials.

However, on 12 February 1946, Miles were ordered to stop production. No plausible explanation was given for the cancellation when Britain was within six months of breaking the sound barrier. Eric Brown and others directly involved including Dennis Bancroft, the Chief Aerodynamicist on the M.52, have now come together to try and finally solve the mystery behind the cancellation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781803991672
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Edition description:	New edition
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,121,315
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Captain Eric Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, QCUSA, RN, was a former Royal Navy officer and test pilot who is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as holding the record for flying the greatest number of different aircraft.

Dennis Bancroft, C.Eng, MRAeS, was the Miles chief aerodynamicist.

Table of Contents

Foreword 7

Acknowledgements 9

Abbreviations 10

1 In the beginning 11

2 A big step into the unknown 19

3 A steep learning curve 25

4 The Supersonic Committee 37

5 In at the deep end 43

6 The Gillette Falcon 51

7 A fateful visit 61

8 The propulsion unit 67

9 The Churchill Directive 77

10 Barnes Wallis - éminence grise 83

11 The model concept gains ground 91

12 The Power Jets crisis 97

13 The final blow 101

14 Red herrings 108

15 Test history of the M.52 rocket models 113

16 The aftermath 119

17 The eternal enigma 127

18 Guessing games 135

Postscript 143

Appendices 149

Chronology of relevant events 173

Bibliography 213

Index 216