Avions à réaction de la Royal Air Force - Documentaire français

Video from the channel imineo Documentaires about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 53:55. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.

A French-language documentary covering the generations of jet aircraft of the Royal Air Force and the British naval air arm (Fleet Air Arm), from the Gloster Meteor to the arrival of the Eurofighter Typhoon. It combines flight footage with explanations from pilots and technicians about the Jaguar and the Tornado GR4, whose weapons, engine and cockpit are described on the ground.

The story begins with Frank Whittle's work on jet propulsion in the 1930s and the German Messerschmitt Me 262. The Meteor entered service in July 1944, was used against V1 flying bombs and led to night-fighter variants. Next came the Vampire, the Venom and, in carrier aviation, the Attacker, the Sea Hawk, the Scimitar, the Sea Vixen and the Buccaneer, alongside two British innovations: the steam catapult and the angled deck. The Korean War drove the development of the Swift, which disappointed, and the Hunter, which succeeded. Then came the Lightning, capable of Mach 2, and the cancellation of the TSR2, which left a gap partly filled by Buccaneers transferred to the RAF. The Harrier, with vertical take-off and landing, entered service in 1969 and fought in the Falklands in 1982. Finally, the Jaguar and the Tornado took part in the 1991 Gulf War.

According to the video, around 3,500 Meteors and 1,972 Hunters were built, with the latter serving in 22 air forces. The Lightning F6 doubled its fuel capacity with a ventral tank. The Tornado is the result of cooperation between the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, with a variable-geometry wing and two versions: strike and air defence (F3). Its first prototype flew in August 1974. The final section presents the Eurofighter Typhoon: the programme began in 1983 with the EAP demonstrator, which flew in 1986, and the Typhoon made its first flight in 1994. It can reach 40,000 feet (12,000 m) in two minutes from a standing start, and the first deliveries to the RAF were made at Warton.