Hispano HA-200

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano_HA-200

The Hispano HA-200 Saeta (English: Arrow) was a twin-seat jet advanced trainer
designed and produced by Spanish aircraft manufacturer Hispano Aviación. It has
the destinction of being the first Spanish aircraft to harness jet propulsion.

The German aircraft designer Willy Messerschmitt can be largely credited for his
role in designing the HA-200, which reused a substantial portion of the earlier
piston-powered HA-100 Triana. On 12 August 1955, the first prototype conducted
its maiden flight. It was not until 1962 that the first production aircraft
performed its first flight. That same year, deliveries of the trainer aircraft
commenced to the Spanish Air Force. It would be used in this capacity by the
service for multiple decades.

The HA-200 was later further developed into the Hispano Aviación Ha-220 "Super
Saeta", which functioned as a dedicated ground attack platform, armed with
rockets, bombs, and other munitions. The HA-220 served in the Spanish Air Force
throughout the 1970s, seeing action during the Polisario uprisings against
insurgents. The HA-200 was also exported, the type being produced under license
by Egypt, where it was designated as the Helwan HA-200B Al-Kahira. During the
1980s, the more capable CASA C-101 was introduced to Spanish service,
supplementing and eventually succeeding the older HA-200 in both trainer and
light attack roles.

The origins of the HA-200 Saeta are heavily intertwined with the German aircraft
designer Willy Messerschmitt, who was responsible for producing a significant
proportion of its design. Following the end of the Second World War,
Messerschmitt emigrated from Germany and begun offering his services to various
other nations, including South Africa. During 1951, he had settled in Francoist
Spain and shortly thereafter begun to design aircraft for the government in
conjunction with local aircraft manufacturer Hispano Aviación. During the early
1950s, Messerschmitt worked on the HA-100 Triana, a piston-powered prototype
trainer aircraft; while never attaining production, this design would
subsequently serve as the basis for the HA-200. In fact, the two aircraft
directly shared many design features, including the wing, tail unit, and
tricycle undercarriage; original elements were largely confined to the area
forward of the cockpit.

As early as 1951, Messerschmitt had promoted the idea of Spain developing its
independent aviation industry, as well as suggesting the pursuit of both an
indigenous jet fighter and jet engine. Throughout the 1950s, progress on the
HA-200 programme was supervised by Messerschmitt from Hispano's office in
Saville. It would be Spain's first indigenously-developed aircraft to be powered
by the turbojet engine. On 12 August 1955, the first prototype conducted its
maiden flight, flown by Major Fernando de Juan Valiente, the company's chief
test pilot. Valiente later praised the prototype's handling qualities, stating
them to be light and responsive, including "viceless and straightforward" stall
characteristics.


Role
Two-seat advanced jet trainer

Manufacturer
Hispano Aviación

Designer
Willy Messerschmitt

First flight
1955

Introduction
1962

Primary users
Spanish Air Force
Egyptian Air Force

Number built
212 (90 in Egypt)

Developed from
HA-100 Triana

In 1970, the HA-200 replaced the aging CASA 2.111 (a Spanish development of the
Heinkel He 111) in Escuadrón 462 on the Canary Islands. From there, they
frequently flew on detachments to Spanish Sahara.

Late in 1974, during the Polisario uprisings, the HA-200 conducted its first
combat missions against the Polisario Front. In one instance, guerillas ambushed
a police patrol from higher ground and caves, keeping them pinned from their
protected positions. In response, several T-6D fighters and UH-1 helicopters
strafed the Polisario positions with machine gun fire, but had little effect;
additional air strikes by a pair of Saetas, armed with 2.75" FFARs, were more
successful. Diving at a 45 degree angle at the cave entrances, the HA-200's
qualities proved itself most suitable for the role. Following these rocket
attacks, ground troops attempted to take the caves but were pushed back.

The next morning, the Saetas returned to perform more air strikes in the company
of more T-6s and UH-1 troop carriers. The attack pattern was repeated with
success again, aided by a Forward Air Controller that directed ground fire to
where it would be most effective. Multiple rockets entered the caves through the
5–10 foot entrances, few reported missed their target. It is believed that one
of the rockets set off some stored mortar rounds, as there were several large
explosions. Afterwards, ground troops advanced upon the caves again, this time
facing hardly any resistance as most of the guerillas had been killed by the
rockets from the Saetas.

Specifications (HA-200E)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 8.92 m (29 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 11.02 m (36 ft 2 in) (over tip tanks)
Height: 3.26 m (10 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 17.40 m2 (187.3 sq ft)
Airfoil: 6.22:1
Empty weight: 1,990 kg (4,387 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 3,450 kg (7,606 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,389 L (367 US gal; 306 imp gal) (including tip tanks)
Powerplant: 2 × Turbomeca Marboré VI turbojets, 4.71 kN (1,058 lbf) thrust each

Performance
Maximum speed: 700 km/h (430 mph, 380 kn) at 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
Cruise speed: 600 km/h (370 mph, 320 kn) at 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
Stall speed: 130 km/h (81 mph, 70 kn) (flaps down)
Never exceed speed: 790 km/h (490 mph, 430 kn) (max dive speed)
Range: 1,400 km (870 mi, 760 nmi)
Service ceiling: 13,000 m (43,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 16.99 m/s (3,345 ft/min)

Armament

Hardpoints: Two



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