Panavia

Tornado
 Photo: Robert Deering 10/18/2012
National Museum of the USAF
Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO)
Dayton, Ohio
During the 1991 Gulf War, military planners made the elimination of Iraq's air defenses a top priority. At the start of Operation Desert Storm (called Operation Granby by the British), Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR1 aircraft attacked Iraqi air bases at low-level with Hunting JP233 anti-runway weapons and suppressed enemy air defenses. Afterward, GR1 aircrews flew medium-level missions using 1,000-pound bombs. At the end of the conflict, they used Paveway II laser-guided bombs against other strategic targets. Flying more than 1,500 operational sorties, mostly at night, RAF GR1 aircrews played an important role in forcing the Iraqis out of Kuwait, and the RAF lost six GR1s in combat.

Development of the Tornado began in 1968, when the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy initiated a collaborative project to produce a low-level, supersonic aircraft. Panavia Aircraft, a new tri-national company established in Germany, built the variable sweep wing aircraft, and the first prototype flew on Aug. 14, 1974. Operational deliveries began in July 1980.

Tornados could carry a wide range of weapons, including the Air-Launched Anti-Radar Missile (ALARM) for the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) and the Paveway II and III laser-guided bombs (LGB). The RAF also modified a number of Tornados to carry the Sea Eagle anti-shipping missile. This variant became the GR1B.

The aircraft on display flew with the RAF's 17 Squadron from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where it sported desert camouflage and the name Miss Behavin'. The aircraft is currently painted as an aircraft assigned to 617 Squadron. It came to the museum in October 2002 as a donation from the RAF.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 45 ft. 7.25 in. (wings fully spread); 28 ft. 2.5 in. (68° sweep)
Length:  54 ft. 9.5 in.
Height: 
Empty Weight:  
Gross Weight: 
Crew: Pilot and navigator in tandem seating 		PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 1,452 mph at 36,000 ft.
Cruising speed:
Range:
Service ceiling:
Engines: Two Turbo Union RB199-103 turbofans with 15,800 lbs. thrust
Armament: Two IWKA-Mauser 27mm cannon, two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and 18,000 lbs. of ordnance
   
SOURCE: National Museum of the United States Air Force  

HISTORY

On 26 March 1969, four partner nations – United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, agreed to form a multinational company, Panavia Aircraft GmbH, to develop and manufacture a Multi Role Aircraft (MRA), later renamed as the Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA).  RCA. The project's aim was to produce an aircraft capable of undertaking missions in the tactical strike, reconnaissance, air defence, and maritime roles; thus allowing the MRCA to replace several different aircraft then in use by the partner nations. Various concepts, including alternative fixed-wing and single-engine designs, were studied while defining the aircraft. The Netherlands pulled out of the project in 1970, citing that the aircraft was too complicated and technical for the RNLAF's preferences, which had sought a simpler aircraft with outstanding manoeuvrability.  An additional blow was struck by the German requirement reduced from an initial 600 aircraft to 324 in 1972.

When the agreement was finalised, the United Kingdom and West Germany each had a 42.5% stake of the workload, with the remaining 15% going to Italy; this division of the production work was heavily influenced by international political bargaining. The front fuselage and tail assembly was assigned to BAC (now BAE Systems) in the United Kingdom; the centre fuselage to MBB (now EADS) in West Germany; and the wings to Aeritalia (now Alenia Aeronautica) in Italy.  Similarly, tri-national worksharing was used for engines, general and avionic equipment. A separate multinational company, Turbo-Union, was formed in June 1970 to develop and build the RB199 engines for the aircraft, with ownership similarly split 40% Rolls-Royce, 40% MTU, and 20% FIAT.

At the conclusion of the project definition phase in May 1970, the concepts were reduced to two designs; a single seat Panavia 100 which West Germany initially preferred, and the twin-seat Panavia 200 which the RAF preferred and which would become the Tornado. The aircraft was briefly called the Panavia Panther, the project soon coalesced towards the two-seat option.  In September 1971, the three governments signed an Intention to Proceed (ITP) document, at which point the aircraft was intended solely for the low-level strike mission, where it was viewed as a viable threat to Soviet defences in that role.  It was at this point that Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff announced "two thirds of the fighting front line will be composed of this single, basic aircraft type".

Source: Wikipedia