Bristol Britannia AEW: BEWARE

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In the 1960s, the RAF started to examine options for land-based AEW aircraft. NASR.6166 was a joint RAF/RN requirement issued in 1962, for a carrier-borne AEW aircraft that would also be used from land bases. This requirement specified an FMICW radar.

That didn't stop companies from offering alternatives. One of those was Bristol, which offered a Britannia equipped with a Marconi S-band radar. This had a 24ft x 7ft (7.3m x 1.2m) elliptical antenna in a mushroom-type radome. Transmitter power was 3 MW. This was proposed for use on overseas bases.

Bristol called this the Britannia Early Warning Airborne Radar Equipment or BEWARE (apparently thought up by one of the designer's sons).

(data from Chris Gibson, The Air Staff and AEW).
 
This would be around the time that the TSR-2, Malta class CVs and other defence projects were cancelled by an incoming government?

It would have certainly been an interesting concept and as long as they didn't intend going down the Canadian path and install compound engines on it. I don't see why it's use should be restricted to overseas bases because such a capability would have been ideal for UK bases and probably would've better than the Shackleton AEW that did eventuate. Definitely would've been more comfortable for the aircrew.
 
ngatimozart said:
... as long as they didn't intend going down the Canadian path and install compound engines on it...
Click to expand...

There was another, contemporary 'Canadian path' - installing Rolls Royce Tynes in place of the Bristol Proteus (as per the Canadair CL-44-6/CC-106 Yukons of 1959-61).

I don't know what engine type Bristol proposed for BEWARE but ditching the Proteus in favour of Tynes gets around Proteus intake icing problems while providing increased power with a reduced sfc. The obvious candidate would have been the 5,667 ehp Tyne RTy.20 Mk 21 then being prepared for the Breguet 1150 Atlantic ASW aircraft.

Bristol might have packaged this as a new-build BEWARE procurement combined with a re-engining programme for the RAF's Series 250 Britannia transports.
 
Not sure where you're going with this thread. AEW radars were being grafted onto just about any aircraft that could lift them. Re-engining might be good for a variety of reasons, but ultimately the radar needs a stable and capable power supply.

Anyway, as for the Britannia. From AVIA 65/2280:

It would have needed new generators, and more of them, to provide power for the radar and other systems. The existing electrical system of Britannia was described as 'frequency wild', ranging from 561Hz at take-off to 478Hz at cruise rpm.

'To provide larger generators and consequent speed drives would be a formidable and costly undertaking involving a completely re-designed electrical system for this aircraft and may not be a feasible proposition.'

J.B. Sanders, AD/FS, in reply to S/Ldr C. Gilbert, FS(PE)1, 2 July 1973.

So slapping a radar on an airframe isn't as easy as it looks. This was before the antenna installation was even looked at.

Chris
 
Last edited:
starviking said:
ngatimozart said:
This would be around the time that the TSR-2, Malta class CVs and other defence projects were cancelled by an incoming government?
Click to expand...
The Maltas were cancelled immediately postwar - you may be thinking of the CVA-01 carrier.
Click to expand...
My bad, yes the CVA-01. Thanks for the correction.
 

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