An airplane is a marvelous man-made machine, and this is not surprising. After all, some 100 years ago, no one could have guessed that multi-ton vehicles would roam the heavens at speeds far exceeding the speed of sound. Today, we will talk about Here is the Top 10 worst Aircraft in History
Top 10 Worst Aircraft in History
1. Vought F7U Cutlass
Prior to acquiring Northrop Grumman, Vought released some of the most famous and successful Aircraft in the history of the United States Navy. During World War II, Vought developed the F4U Corsair used in battles in the Pacific. They used the F-8 crusader in the Vietnam War.
Vought developed unusual Aircraft during this period, such as the F7U Cutlass, intended to modernize the US Navy, but tests have shown that it was an extremely dangerous and unreliable aircraft.
Several pilots died in accidents and incidents. Cutlass had a unique design for the time – particularly a two-wheeled tail built on the aerodynamic scheme of the “tailless.” However, the test revealed apparent problems.
2. PZL M-15
The Polish PZL M-15 is one of the strangest aircraft in appearance and has ever been in series production. It was the only serial jet biplane in history and the only jet aircraft to experience crop chemicals.
In the 1970s, the Soviet government felt the urgent need to replace the agricultural air fleet, which used obsolete Aircraft. Given that the state farms used the Polish agricultural plane for many years, the Polish company PZL began to develop a new plane.
One of the requirements was that the new Aircraft had to use a jet engine, which no one had done before. When PZL built a test jet, it turned out that its cruising speed was only 161 kilometers per hour (and a maximum – of 200 kilometers per hour).
In the end, the M-15 did not live up to expectations because it was too uneconomical, and its speed didn’t meet the desire. The company built Only 175 copies, after which the project was closed.
3. Yak-38
When the British Navy adopted the Harrier Jump Jet in 1969, the Soviet Union began developing its own light deck attack aircraft. Unfortunately, the Yak-38 eventually became one of the most useless naval Aircraft ever commissioned.
Despite the cosmetic similarities with the Harrier, the Yak-38 used a different lifting engine system. Due to these differences in design, the Yak-38 used much more fuel during takeoff than the Harrier.
This feature significantly limited the combat range of the Aircraft. With a full combat load, the flight range of the Yak-38 was only 680 km (or 500 km for vertical takeoff). Also, to lighten the Aircraft’s weight, it provided only four external pylons for weapons.
4. Bristol 188
In 1947, Charles Jaeger was the first to cross the sound barrier on a Bell X-1, ushering in a new era in aviation. After that, different countries began developing their own jets actively, but most were unsuccessful projects.
Bristol 188 – a futuristic stainless steel aircraft, which, according to the project, was to develop a speed of Mach 2.6. plane’s case would heat up to 300 degrees Celsius at such speeds, so Bristol 188 received the nickname “Burning Pencil.” During the first test flight, there was a problem – the takeoff speed of the “188th” was 480 kilometers per hour, which is a bust for any aircraft. The “Burning Pencil” needed a runway that was too long to take off.
5. McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
For many years, attempts were made to build so-called “parasitic” fighters, which would be docked with heavy bombers and protect “flying fortresses” from interceptors. In 1948, McDonnell introduced the XF-85 Goblin, a tiny and bizarre “parasite fighter” to be carried in the B-36 bomb bay, a modified B-29 bomber.
Unfortunately for McDonnell, Goblin was a complete failure. Although the plane turned out to be highly stable, it had fragile weapons – only four 12.7-mm machine guns. Also, during the first test flight, pilot Edwin Shoch failed to dock with the B-29 remote trapeze.
6. Baade 152
Although Germany played a leading role in the development of jet aircraft during World War II, the destruction of the German aviation industry and its slow post-war recovery led to Germany initially lagging behind other world powers in the development of postwar jet aircraft.
In 1956, German aircraft designers began developing their own jet passenger airliners. GDR engineers who previously worked for Junkers developed the Baade 152, Germany’s first turbojet passenger aircraft.
The plane used an unusual power plant, a swept wing, and a landing gear similar to the American B-47. Unfortunately, during the second test flight, prototype 152 crashed, killing the entire crew.
Engineers have made significant changes to the second prototype, completely redesigning the chassis configuration and changing the engine’s fairings. However, this idea also failed, and by 1961, the project was closed.
7. Tu-144
The British and French developed the “Concord,” and The USSR developed an almost identical Tu-144. Although the supersonic passenger plane turned out to be way advanced for its time, the Tu-144 proved to be one of the worst Aircraft ever commissioned.
The first flight of the Tupolev airliner was conducted two months before the Concorde’s flight. From the beginning, the Tu-144 had many problems. The first passenger prototype crashed right in front of the public during a demonstration flight in Le Bourget in 1973. However, commercial operation of the aircraft began.
After several flights, the engineers found that the hulls of the two Tu-144s were on the verge of complete destruction of the structure, while other Aircraft failed some systems during the flight. Although there were no more accidents, after only 55 flights, the plane was no longer in use for passenger traffic. After another 50 flights (where the Tu-144 was already acting as a cargo plane), the Soviets completely abandoned its operations.
8. Dassault Balzac V and Mirage III V
In general, the fighters’ projects with vertical takeoff and landing were unsuccessful. When the British developed the Harrier in the late 1960s, the French also began work on their own vertical takeoff and landing fighter.
The idea turned out to be good on paper but ultimately failed in practice. Dassault equipped one of the first prototypes of the Mirage III with eight lifting jet engines. The plane, named Balzac V, crashed a few months after its test flights, overturning during landing and killing the test pilot.
Dassault restored the prototype and continued testing. In 1965, an American pilot died during a test. After redesigning, it changed its name to Mirage III V. Like its predecessor. It had a promising start.
9. De Havilland Comet
De Havilland’s medium-haul passenger jet has delighted Britain. The Comet, which first took off in 1949, predicted a great future as it became one of its first jet airliners. Unfortunately, Comet was too advanced for its time, and De Havilland’s engineers lacked an understanding of designing airliners.
Their miscalculations led to the deaths of dozens of passengers. The first Comet crash occurred in 1952 when the plane failed to take off and departed from the end of the runway. A few months later, in 1953, an identical problem occurred in Pakistan, killing 11 people.
While investigating the accident, another comet met with the accident while taking off at the Indian airport, killing 43 people on board.
A little over a year later, on January 10, 1954, another Comet suffered an explosive decompression in the air and fell into the ocean, killing 35 people. As it turned out, the accident was caused by Comet’s square windows, which could collapse at high speeds.
10. Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig
The Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig, popularly known as the “Flying Bed,” was used to test the possibility of vertical takeoff and aircraft landing. Initially, two jet engines were attached to a small frame. It had no fuselage, wings, or control surfaces – only fuel tanks, engines, and pilots.
The tragedy happened in 1957 when the “Flying Bed” overturned and crushed the pilot. Rolls-Royce abandoned further testing after the crash and began researching other forms of UAV engines, which eventually led to the Harrier.
Conclusion
the top 10 worst aircraft in history serve as cautionary tales of ambitious designs marred by fatal flaws. From the Vought F7U Cutlass to the Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig, each aircraft’s story underscores the importance of rigorous testing, sound engineering principles, and an understanding of aerodynamics. These failures, though tragic, have contributed to the advancement of aviation safety and technology by highlighting the pitfalls to avoid in future endeavors.
