Are there any remotely plausible ways in which the "real world's" TSR2 could have been put into service on time and at cost?
Yes, I'd say so.
First is to have a Competent Project Manager. One man in charge, who can tell the ministers what the holdup is, what they're doing to fix it, and probably how much more time and/or money it'll take to fix.
Second is a handle on the avionics (since everyone harps on avionics first). For preference I'd buy full sets of Vigilante avionics from the US, but F-105 might also work. As could A-6.
Regardless, that's simply the Mark 1, "get this plane flying" version, with the definitive Mk2 version to be UK-sourced.
With known weights and volumes for say, Vigilante avionics plus 10%, you can design the rest of the Mk1 airframe around that. Ideally most of the UK-sourced components would be smaller and lighter, so you can carry more fuel as long as the CG stays put.
And since more of the design is solid, you can keep the airframe from getting into the weight death-spiral.
You are never going to replace Canberra sensibly if you're doing it in the environment pertaining to the British aircraft industry of the time.
1) TSR.2 might have got out of the starting gate less over-budget and not as late (therefore avoiding cancellation) if English Electric had been absolute project lead, with Vickers merely building part of the airframe and EE being free to choose the engines.
2) Specify an off the shelf avionics fit for the Mark 1 to get it into service while reserving space and weight for the system that was subsequently developed. This cheaper version then becomes the basis for service airframe familiarization and possibly for export.
Agreed.
Of course the chances of any of this being allowed politically are minimal. TSR2 or any Canberra replacement was always doomed until the Tornado era.
Strongly disagree here.
There are multiple aircraft of the capabilities requested that were developed in that timeframe. A-5, A-6, F-111, Su-24.
The systems required, INS + SLAR for nav, TFR for low low level flight away from SAMs and AAA, we're probably just too much for the UK to develop in the time, and even more so to integrate together.
Probably, which is why the Mk1 is getting US sourced avionics from a plane actively flying those types of missions, to buy time for the UK firms to reverse-engineer, copy, and/or improve upon.
