Supermarine Type 553

The Supermarine Type 553 was a British Mach 2 research aircraft project from 1953 that never went beyond the initial proposal. The difficulty of achieving Mach 2 flight had become clear during the development of the Supermarine Type 545, and Vickers-Supermarine therefore proposed the 553 with a swept wing that would reduce aerodynamic drag. It was to have been built in aluminium alloy, which limited its top speed, and the Air Ministry wanted a twin-engined design in which alternative engines could readily be installed. Lack of endurance was also cited as a problem. Work on the Type 553 was abandoned, and the Bristol 188 was developed for the research role instead. It is one of the late Supermarine jet projects that stayed on paper.