Short SB.5

The Short SB.5 was a British single-seat jet research aircraft designed by Short Brothers and Harland of Belfast in response to Air Ministry requirement ER.100. It was built to settle a technical dispute over the proposed English Electric P.1, the prototype of the Lightning, by testing the low speed handling of the wing sweep a supersonic fighter needed. Its wings could be set on the ground to sweep angles of 50, 60 and 69 degrees, and an interchangeable rear fuselage carried the tailplane either on top of the fin or low on the fuselage. The first flight was made at Boscombe Down in December 1952. The trials found the T-tail unsatisfactory and confirmed the low tailplane and 60 degree sweep chosen for the P.1. The aircraft later joined the Empire Test Pilots School, then the RAF Museum at Cosford, and moved to the Ulster Aviation Society in 2025.