Supermarine Swift

The Supermarine Swift was a British single-seat swept-wing jet fighter flown by the Royal Air Force, developed as the Type 541 from the Type 510 research aircraft with the Rolls-Royce Avon replacing the Nene. The first prototype flew on 1 August 1951. On 26 September 1953 a Swift F.4 flown by Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record at 735.7 miles per hour. It entered RAF service as an interceptor in 1954, but a spate of accidents grounded it for a time and a public scandal followed, harming the reputation of the government, the RAF and the British aircraft industry. The Hawker Hunter took over most of its intended role, fewer than two hundred Swifts were built from an order of 497, and a later photo reconnaissance variant proved more successful.