Britain's Top 10 UGLIEST Aircraft

[@RexsHangar]

I had a lot of fun with this, I hope you enjoy it :) F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible. Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Beautiful vid you made here, with some nice harp music, unlike these fugly mules here, Rex. 🤓🙃🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@artandmemes9190]

What was#7?

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

@@artandmemes9190 Think it was chopped by YT due to music rights, as they do...

[@steveshoemaker6347]

l have one for you>>>> The German JU-188....THANKS MY FRIEND.....Shoe🇺🇸

[@theboreditamar2108]

so can you at least say what is nomber 7?

[@nemo6686]

I love the idea of an air chase so slow that you have time for a cuppa between spotting the target and actually engaging it.

[@paulhaynes8045]

From the country that brought you a 'sport' that has meal breaks...

[@RexsHangar]

"Sir, they're gradually gaining on us!"

[@francesconicoletti2547]

A zeppelin goes about 85 mph. The British Channel is about 21 miles wide. The super marine thing takes an hour to climb to interception hight . So either the Germans tell the British when they are leaving their bases in order to give them a fair fight, or the Zeppelins loiter over Britain yelling insults until the interceptor turns up or the Zeppelin is raiding York.

[@mosesracal6758]

@@francesconicoletti2547 I like the idea of a Zeppelin forgetting its payload so they just hurl insults instead

[@woodrobin]

@@francesconicoletti2547 Loitering over the target yelling insults seems like it would more of a French tradition, if I've learned anything from Monty Python.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

I'll offer support for the Nimrod. Whether in the original or final livery, it was always a looker - and very effective too.

[@AndrewGivens]

It had very nice wings. But its mother was *so* much prettier. Like how Centurion was always upstaged when Comet would drop her off at the tank prom.

[@Manchester_hotpot_pie]

I went in a cockpit of a nimrod this year

[@tsofimoan]

Come for my fairey gannet baby at your peril

[@autofox1744]

"If I don't believe in drag coefficient it can't hurt me!" I nearly died laughing.

[@kv-2156]

As I read your comment he said it

[@uku4171]

Be careful dude

[@marhawkman303]

@@kv-2156 hilarious as it sounds... having all those stabilizers wires probably hurt the design a LOT.

[@reikawahara770]

Same

[@michaelbuckers]

@@marhawkman303 It's mostly just the wings. Shorter wider wings have higher drag, stacked wings have higher drag, and low speed flight causes wings to have higher drag. There were never a scenario in which multiple tiers of wings worked better than a single one, especially if you have weak engine like they did back then. But the method of designing things was to eyeball it with a slide rule, and predominant aeronautical design thinking was that if a pair of wings are good then several pairs are better, with not much thought given to it beyond that.

[@Dragons_Armory]

I actually really loved and have always loved the way Fairey Gannet looked, they look very Steampunk- Dieselpunkish. the very fact that it has a Swiss Army Knife of Engines and modes also makes it almost too fanciful to believe to have existed (and done so well) in real life.

[@daniel_charms]

There's a great story about a US Navy pilot who is scrambled to intercept an unidentified aircraft which turns out to be a Fairy Gannet. But as the pilot has never ever seen one, the Gannet's weird looks (and, even more so, the looks of its pilot - a long-haired and bearded fellow who's just chilling in his seat while reading a book) lead him to conclude (and report to base!) that he's found...God.

[@farmerned6]

@@daniel_charms Phoenix Squadron

[@jackhames3874]

Agreed, something about chunky turboprop planes is very appealing to me

[@emjackson2289]

The FAA would LOVE to have 10-12 Gannet's now.

[@sergeipohkerova7211]

I think the Fairey Gannett is functionally cool looking, kind of how the Stuka was ugly but purposeful and cool looking.

[@jmdriftboy]

Wait.... Stuka is ugly? I thought the design is so beautiful? (at least for me) Also with that siren sound, it sounds and look so good for me

[@wideyxyz2271]

@@jmdriftboy Nope Stukas are ugly but they have that Fuggly appeal about them.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

It could have been the British Skyraider in both services.

[@builder396]

@@jmdriftboy I guess its just the utter lack of sleekness, but in the end it just looked incredibly distinct and you could say it had character.

[@joeshmoe9978]

I like the wing fold on the Gannett

[@brettpeacock9116]

The HP Heyford dud have one outstanding first historically: In 1936 it was the First Aurcraft Ever to be detected and tracked by Radio Direction Finder ( RDF), later called Radar.... It flew a triangular course between 3 towns in Central England and the RDF crew were able to determine height and speed as well as course flown. Their findings were matched with the crew's records and were found to be largely accurate.

[@elgato9445]

Amazed that some of these designs made it past the drafting stage and were actually built. Some look so fragile that it would seem a light gale would bring them down.

[@warmstrong5612]

More like got past the "drawn on a napkin during a pub crawl" stage.

[@andredeketeleastutecomplex]

That's the UK's industrial standard for you, it doesn't make any sense.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Someone signed-off the Nissan Leaf car design. Someone else signed-off their Cube. Then there’s almost every car designed in 1970s UK and USA.

[@pb6198]

@@andredeketeleastutecomplex video author said it himself, aside from function. They worked, and well

[@Revthetankman]

Bri ish moment

[@CoastToKootenay]

Thank you for including Canada's legendary Avro CF-105 Arrow at 10:10!

[@stewm1267]

She was a beautiful lady!

[@philsharp758]

Dear Rex, sounds like you had a real blast compiling this list. Has somebody from the UK annoyed you lately? At least you had the grace to acknowledge the Gannet , whilst being ugly, was highly effective at its job of protecting the carrier and the accompanying escort fleet. All the best from the UK.

[@datathunderstorm]

I actually love the Turboprop powered Fairey Gannet - it’s always intrigued me, but I have always acknowledged it’s efficiency and albeit, quirky design. I think of it as a first generation Prius of the skies!!! 😃👍🏾

[@snarkymatt585]

Since when have Aussies needed an excuse to bag out on the Brits? Lol

[@peterbrown6224]

@@snarkymatt585 I'm both, it's tremendous banter.

[@williamcarrington61]

The Gannet was sadly missed, during the Falklands War .

[@philsharp758]

@@williamcarrington61 Agreed. Helicopters using active sonar have a greatly limited range, as opposed to an equipped ASW plane like the Gannet.

[@mikesuch9021]

I recently started watching your videos with my morning coffee. Excellent combination of information and some of the descriptions literally have me laughing out loud. Thank you for making my morning coffee more enjoyable. I've been a wingnut since the mid 1960s. And absolutely love when you show me aircraft I have not seen before. Good job. 👍

[@rodfearnley2486]

Having served on the flight deck of several Royal Navy carriers, I can honestly say the Gannet, both marks as shown, could take off and land when everything else was grounded due to rough weather.

[@rossmansell5877]

Still aloive then Rod? We were on Eagle together.☺☺

[@rodfearnley2486]

@@rossmansell5877 . Yup still alive Ross. Victorious and Ark Royal are the only Class A carriers that served on. Never Eagle. Albion and Bulwark twice, final ship was Invincible.

[@gordonforgrave264]

They were great inventors in their day!

[@Andrewausfa]

The Gannet is gorgeous! The wing fold mechanism is amazing engineering should you get a chance to see it close up. The Wyvern preceeded it as a turbo jet off carriers. HP115 was a bit unfair as its looks were not its fault being a design to look at low speed high AoA wings.

[@CessnaFlyerVT]

the engineering is cool, the airplane fufilled its role, but it is not gorgeous

[@Andrewausfa]

@@CessnaFlyerVT 😯'Tis

[@johnosbourn4312]

The Wyvern was a turboprop powered aircraft, not jet powered.

[@Andrewausfa]

@@johnosbourn4312 What makes the spinny thing go around and around?

[@gmf121266]

I actually love the gannet. It's not ugly it's different. There is one at my local air museum in Baginton, Coventry because of the Armstrong mamba engines. It's a one off that was actually highly successful in its own role.

[@mickhall88]

I always loved the chunky functional look of the Gannet. It was designed for a specific role, and much like an Apache or A10 Warthog, it was all about fulfilling that role, not looking pretty.

[@wideyxyz2271]

@@mickhall88 Good at it too!

[@masondegaulle5731]

Gannet was also sorely missed by British airmen during the Falklands war.

[@The_CrackedPot_Christian]

Yep, it was one of my favourite airfix kits growing up. I thought it was rather special as it was so unique; the propellers, folding design, and robust construction. The more I hear about it the greater my admiration for it grows.

[@Vinemaple]

Gannets were all business and crammed two independent-drive turboprops into a counterrotating propeller. Not pretty, but awesome. I need to find me a Gannet video by someone like Calum, or Rex. The Gannet is like someone who people keep telling, "You can't do that!" and says, "Well, I just did." And does it really well. Over and over.

[@Bucketroo]

I think the Fairey Gannett is ugly in an endearing sort of way. I can't bring myself to hate it. And it sounds like it was good at its job. You gotta admit that turning off one engine to get great loitering time while sub-hunting is a neat trick. I like the Fairey Gannett.

[@sheepFP5]

It's incredible that the Gannett and the DH Comet first flew within two months of each other. The Gannett really is one of those aircraft that is so ugly the ground just pushes it away...

[@sheepFP5]

Come to think of it maybe the plan was to make a patrol aircraft so ugly the Soviet subs had to surface to get a better look at it...

[@williamchamberlain2263]

@@sheepFP5 or they'd report it as damaged rather than an active hostile

[@allangibson2408]

The Gannet was however much safer to fly in than a Comet 1… So looks don’t tell you everything…

[@howardchambers9679]

I think the gannet looks good. Newark air museum has one. One of the curators gave me a choice of sitting in one or a Canberra. I chose the Canberra. Poor choice, at over 6' I could barely fit into the navigators seat let alone the cockpit. Stupid boy!

[@underwaterdick]

@@williamchamberlain2263 🤣 amazing! Love this comment

[@adrian.debeauvais5911]

I remember as a young air cadet seeing fairy gannet aircraft operational with fleet air arm at RAF Lossiemouth along with RAF Shackleton aircraft. The gannet of course was an unusual aircraft looking because of the large Radome slung underneath however very good it was for anti submarine detection. A really peculiar sounding aeroplane due to the double mamba turbo prop.I think it had a 3man crew originally as some variants had a rear mounted turret so a pilot, radar operator then observer who assisted the radar operator. I didn't see this armed type in service but no matter this aeroplane should have been mothballed as we didn't have a reconnaissance aeroplane in the Falkland war that could have stooged around miles away from our fleet and alerted the ships well in advance of incoming air attacks by the Argentines.A functional robust reliable aeroplane that could have saved many lives and ships during the South Atlantic campaign. She may have been a little ungainly looking but she was a lovely very functional design.

[@gordonforgrave264]

This is good information on aircraft evolution. Thank you.

[@elennapointer701]

The Handley Page Heyford looks like the only plane in existence where a parachute was necessary for the pilot when the plane was on the ground.

[@christianmaas8934]

Much like the Gannett, I love the A6 intruder for its chunky and functional look. Just by looking at both aircraft you think "This thing is on a mission"

[@markfryer9880]

I came across a Fairey Gannet at the Moorabbin Air Museum in Melbourne, Australia and having never seen one before, my jaw just dropped! It was a real WTF moment! Here was a RAN version, all folded up and sitting outside with fading paint and crazed perspex, bumps and blisters, hump backed, contra-rotating propellers, and three separate cockpits. It's ugliness became part of the fascination of the aircraft. And to think that at one time it had flown from the flight deck of HMAS Melbourne, back in the days when Australia had a real Aircraft Carrier. Did I mention that the aircraft is huge, it just fills up this box of space and somehow three aircrew would jump in and get launched off the deck of HMAS Melbourne? It has to be at least 20 years since I saw the aircraft in person and yes it definitely made an impression on me! Mark from Melbourne Australia.

[@glennpettersson9002]

I spent my last few months in the RAN at the museum on HMAS Albatross, that was 1984. There was a Gannett there looking a little forlorn, they are huge and when we had to wash the bugger, well it was a long way up.

[@Boric78]

Yes the Fairey Gannet, or what we used to call in my days the 4 am out the window, down the wall hanging plants and find a random taxi aircraft. Bet she flew well.

[@Paul-md8de]

If good "old england" had retained this aircraft for just a few years longer they ( we ) wouldn't have lost so many ships during the Falklands fistycuffs , but hey ho those billionaires needed their tax cuts and some other poor sod paid the price

[@Boric78]

@@Paul-md8de true that the aew version would have saved lives. still looks like a tramp.

[@kenchristie9214]

The ugliest RAAF aircraft for me is the F-111 and it's Australian history is horrendous. The original cost for 24 F-

[@phrixos2826]

This was a very interesting video, You have a knack for presentation too. I have never seen any of these planes, Also you deserve credit for reading out your patrons names too, not many youtubers do that! Keep it up. I would like to see more on the Avro planes as they are a particular favourite of mine. My best to you and your family. Keep well

[@Fastbikkel]

Thanks for sharing this. I loved the actual presentations and the humoristic narration truly added to it all. Wonderful stuff.

[@Rincypoopoo]

Great stuff. I always had a soft spot for the Night Hawk, what with its search light, generator and other heavy equipment. Reminds me of the plane I made out of Leggo

[@wideyxyz2271]

Ahhhhh that takes me back. Building huge ungainly bombers out of Leggo! How I crave my youth!

[@Rincypoopoo]

@@wideyxyz2271 They were cool and crashed elegantly.. So many adventures.

[@carloduroni5629]

The planes I built out of primitive Lego bricks about 55 years ago were far sleeker and more aerodynamic than most of this Top10 contraptions. Hey! Does this mean that - without any engineering education - I could've applied for a designer job in those airplane maker companies?

[@wideyxyz2271]

@@carloduroni5629 indeed it does

[@wideyxyz2271]

@@Rincypoopoo agreed....

[@Uniquecapture]

I have to say this was both informative and hilarious at the same time. I appreciate the amount of time you must spend researching these aircraft to provide both entertainment and a very valuable resource, thank you.

[@fozzytheflyingmuppet]

The Aerovan is actually quite cute especially together with that pigs story! Loved the video!

[@paulqueripel3493]

Shorts almost copied it, but made it square in cross section. The Skyvan.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

@@paulqueripel3493 The square Belfast built Shorts Skyvan is a brilliant aircraft - short haul cargo for delivering into remote regions, like a landrover or a digger.

[@paulhaynes8045]

The first time I flew to Guernsey (40ish years ago) was on a plane not dissimilar to this - locally nicknamed "the Flying Shed". It looked frighteningly fragile and ungainly (I was overwhelmed by an urge to check all the bolts before flying in it!), but was actually a very comfortable aircraft. It was square in cross section, so there was plenty of headroom and the cabin felt spacious, it had 'proper' (ie rectangular) windows, and it flew below cloud level, so the view was uninterrupted. I get airsick, so wasn't too keen on this last point, but my memories of the flight are that it was surprisingly smooth. Having since done the journey on a 'normal' plane, I would much rather fly the Flying Shed.

[@zorktxandnand3774]

It looks a bit like a cartoon airplane in real life.

[@foxhoundmj2056]

yeah i agree.

[@DimRoditis]

You Sir are a valuable resource and a joy of a channel to watch and learn! Thank you for your time.

[@weldonwin]

I actually kind of like the Aerovan, it seems oddly personable. I see it as the aerial version of a pug: Squat, derpy, but full of character

[@steve1978ger]

It looks fairly modern, too - almost hard to believe this was designed in the early 40ies.

[@rhysmurch2479]

this! i was unable to put it into words

[@martinm6368]

Yup, I don't think it belongs onto this list.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

Yes, I quite liked it too. Did what it said on the tin - a flying van. Not many twin small engined aircraft that you can drive a car onto.

[@AndorRadnai]

I agree. The looks may be the equivalent of bolting wings to a Transit van, but that’s the point, It’s a shame that it met an early demise. Given enough time it could have turned into a global success story.

[@RetroGamesCollector]

The Nighthawk looks like something out of Whacky Races. Great video, looking forward to seeing No.7 once you sort the issues out 👍

[@Dafmeister1978]

I knew it looked familiar from somewhere! There's definitely a touch of Professor Pat Pending going on there.

[@randalscott7224]

Definitely a "Catch the Pigeon" vibe! (Dick Dastardly and Mutley's "Whacky Races" spin-off.)

[@Mavaholic]

I was Flight tech on P3s back in the late 70s and saw a bunch of these Gannets up close in Jacksonville and Iceland. That version had small hatches on the sides just behind the trailing edge of the wing where two operators sat side by side. Looked pretty cramped in there to me but the British flight crew loved them.

[@MrDgwphotos]

Speaking of the P-3, I've heard of P-3 crews shutting down one or two engines to save fuel as well?

[@Mavaholic]

@@MrDgwphotos Standard procedure on a mission was to shut down #1 engine for fuel conservation. It was always #1 because it had no generator or compressor. Only once did we shut down a second but that is a rare occurrence, as least in my experience. I don't remember why but it wasn't for very long and we were at high altitude.

[@gflo2781]

Great list, some I didn't know about on here, and now their horrible looks are etched in my mind! Love the sense of humour to these videos, blended with the history, always a treat to watch!

[@Otokichi786]

10. 1922 Vickers Vulcan airliner (The accountant's triumph?) 9. 1915 AD Scout "Zeppelin destroyer" (Cannon firing damselfly) 8. 1953 Fairey Gannet 7. +Copyright Strike!?* 6. 1945 Miles Aerovan 5. 1980 British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3 4. 1934 Handley Page Heyford 3. 1923 Blackburn R1 Blackburn 2. 1961 Handley Page 115 1. 1917 Supermarine Night Hawk "Zeppelin hunter"

[@bostonrailfan2427]

he earned his strike because he has a habit of using images and videos without proper credit in almost all of his videos

[@RexsHangar]

@@bostonrailfan2427 I got a strike on footage that I paid for, you can thank Sony Entertainment for being a greedy corporate entity and trying to claim everything on this platform as theirs

[@rjbartrop2]

@@RexsHangar Of course, now I just have to know what #7 was.

[@tenorlord]

@@rjbartrop2 Yes! Tell us! You should be able to do THAT, at least!

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

@@RexsHangar Sony sucks balls. I remember like a decade ago there was an ad for a super shiny new TV they released on their very own channel. According to KZbin, it was banned because the owner of the property haven't been paid for their licensing shit. I mean, c'mon, it was on their very own fricken channel!

[@1bert719]

The Heyfords are possibly the only aircraft the crew needed parachutes to exit whilst on the ground! I had a friend who worked on the bulbous Nimrod. When I questioned him about the failures he always replied "the bit I designed worked fine!" 😉

[@AndrewGivens]

Lol. I get the feeling that *all* the bits worked fine... but when you plugged them all together...

[@AndorRadnai]

May I ask which bit that was? ^^

[@1bert719]

@@AndorRadnai He was something in the electronic system design, but he's never said exactly what bit.

[@AndorRadnai]

@@1bert719 Well, now we at least know where that plane‘s issues did not originate from! ^^

[@thomaszinser8714]

Out of curiosity, what was the removed number 7? Even if you can't show footage, I'm kinda curious what the actual plane was.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Old Curiosity Shop more like, all these. Christ!

[@artandmemes9190]

Yea, what was #7?

[@RexsHangar]

The "Prone Pilot" version of the Gloster Meteor

[@leifvejby8023]

@@RexsHangar I had guessed the Airspeed and the General Aircraft Fleet Shadowers - wrong again!

[@greg_mid_tn3150]

@@RexsHangar Ugh! Like a goose grew a second head!

[@jesterscorner879]

Your commentary is absolutely brilliant. My son and I watched this and had a good laugh as well as learning a fair bit about aviation history. Thank You and keep the content rolling.

[@fredroessler]

I was always rather impressed by the Fairey Gannet and never realy bothered by its looks.

[@fate3071]

Look up the wyvern, it's like the Gannet, but looks significantly better

[@wideyxyz2271]

Me too perfect at what it was built for....

[@Skorpychan]

The Gannet has a sort of awkward, ungainly charm to it, I feel. It's like a pug, or a french bulldog. Ugly-cute.

[@belperflyer7419]

I loved the Gannet from the first time I saw one as a visiting CCF cadet at RNAS Stretton in 1955. It may not be beautiful in a conventional sense but has a practical appearance which certainly appeals to me.

[@jameshenry3530]

The Fairey Gannet was not the first turboprop aircraft to become operational with the FAA. The Westland Wyvern attack aircraft preceded the Gannet by a few years. The Wyvern participated in the 1956 suez war with moderate success. The Wyvern was the final fixed-wing aircraft produced by Westland.

[@richuar]

I absolutely love the Wyvern, it’s my favourite aircraft of all time, I also really love the Gannet! But all though it entered service the year before the Gannet it wasn’t cleared for carrier operations until about a month after the Gannet. The Gannet also got the distinction of being the first turboprop aircraft to successfully land on a carrier whilst it was in development in June 1950 just beating the Wyvern TF2 to that landmark by mere days.

[@leneanderthalien]

@@richuar yep, and after the Gannet (special but nice look) did the french build the Breguet BR1050 Alizé (similar missions), fitted with a Roll Royce RDa21 Dart turboprop (very reliable engine, but a bit thisty), the Alizé was in service from 1961 up the 2000...

[@martindice5424]

Brilliant mate! As a Brit I am swelling with pride at our aeronautical … mishaps? The Gannet was excellent (though never easy on the eye) Commander Hobbs at the Fleet Air Arm Museum (where I had the privilege of working in 1990s) once described her as ‘The Queen of the Skies’ and awaited the gaffaws in good sport. He also described the Scimitar as ‘leaking fuel like incontinent puppies’ on the flight deck. Excellent chap.

[@MyMongo100]

I think the Gannet is a cool aircraft. We had one at the college where I did my HND at, we could run a ground power unit to drive the hydraulic systems.

[@davidtaylor8822]

My Dad was an RNAS officer in charge of the Gannets of 831 Squadron, Culdrose, in the late '50s/early '60s. He loved them and many years later was delighted to find one of his old aircraft on display at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. I never thought of them as being ugly, but now you mention it...

[@straybullitt]

Oh come on Rex! The Fairey Gannet?!? Just the engineering alone, required to fold the wings like that, make it a beautiful machine.

[@londonalicante]

The gannet is ugly, but beautiful, useful and practical at the same time. The Z folding wings are the worst thing about it. Somebody should have said "we need more space on deck rather or we'll need a second hinge." It's a case of finding a practical solution to an imposed impractical specification. I also wonder if a diagonal hinge would have allowed the wings to fold backward avoiding the second hinge.

[@masteronone2079]

I agree Rex was a a bit harsh on the Gannet, I see it as appealingly plump, say the Barbara Windsor of the aviation world, maybe there were stray bits bulging out but they were bulging out appealingly.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

Yeah. Looks like all the engineers had a blast with that plane.

[@HunterSteel29]

Sorry, but as a fan of not fat things, the Fairey Gannet is ugly as sin.

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

The Gannet is a genius design and so is its engine. They managed to fit the most contrary demands into one aircraft. It was a naval design from the start. It needs to be small in length and wingspan. It needs to be stored and to be worked on in cramped conditions in carrier hangars. It needs to fit the into the carrier's elevator. It needs to be able to fly slow and save even in really bad weather. It needs a large weapon bay for a variety of differend loads. It needs to be usable in different roles to limit the number of different types on the carrier. And it still needs to have some impressive performance to do all its jobs. The double engine follows the same principle as the airframe. It produces as much power as possible while being as small as possible. Afaik it was the first time ever that a double engine was just as reliable as two separate engines. Being able to shut down one half of the double engine greatly improved the loitering time. The genius esign of the double Mamba is the one feature that made the Gannet successful while every other comparable turboprop naval design of the time failed. Fairey managed to stuff as much aircraft as possible into the limited size that was available. It still is quite streamlined. Remember that a subsonic aircraft is allowed to be chubby as long as it is drop shaped. Back in the 1930s, Douglas caused some seriously raised eye brows when they first revealed the design of the DC-3. It literally was the first wide body airliner that didn't fly backwards when facing a head wind. It was not slower than the narrow body Boeing 247 with roughly the same power to weight ratio. It was as capable as it is because the width of the fuselage doesn't hurt as long as the shape of the fuselage is right. Same is true for the Gannet.

[@kirkmooneyham]

Certainly a lot of love for the Gannett in the comments. To me, it's not so much outright ugly as it is simply very functional looking, all business, no frills. I think its success speaks for itself.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

12:30 "What if a Goethe bomber, but also with a howdah and a big game gun?" It's like someone was trying to re-live their tiger hunting exploits.

[@luckystriker7489]

Thank you, this was a lot of fun to watch. Although it is not the first of your videos that I have seen, not by a long shot, it is the one that convinced me to subscribe.

[@pwmiles56]

Circa 1986, I failed a job interview with one of the Marconi companies by mentioning the shortcomings of the AEW Nimrod. I was told some time later, its failure was the result of poor heat dissipation from the fuselage-housed electronics.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Air electronics operators melted on test flights, apparently - bad! They were passing out near dead.

[@crabby7668]

I also went to Rochester for an interview when aew was the main project. Cancelled a few years later.

[@timgosling6189]

I did the RAF GD Aerosystems Course just after it was cancelled and we had a briefing from those involved. One reason was indeed the heat from the computer system, whose 2.4MBytes of storage was supplied by copper core memory that occupied many cubic feet and weighed around a ton on its own. Individual 0s and 1s were stored by the magnetic orientation of ferrite rings around intersecting wires. There was also a large travelling wave tube down the side of the cabin which generated even more heat and took up even more space in what was a small fuselage to begin with. But the main problems came from the radar itself. Due to a poor choice of frequencies and processing techniques this suffered from phenomena known as blind range and blind speed. So it would detect a 'Canberra sized target at 400 miles' but it would disappear at 350, reappear at 320, disappear at 270 say, etc, etc, etc. Similar blind zones existed for relative radial velocity. So a target would be tracked for a while, then disappear. When it disappeared the computer would generate a predicted track. But when the true target reappeared, the predicted track would remain. Thus one real target could quickly generate a dozen false ones. Couple in the high noise factor of the twist cassegrain antennas and with less processing power than a modern coffee machine the radar did a better job of jamming itself than any enemy could have done. Unfortunately, I understand the head of the Marconi group at the time, the famous Arnie Weinstock, had significant personal financial interest in this particular radar and antenna design so they had to use it.

[@crabby7668]

@@timgosling6189 I experienced core memory myself years later in a civilian land based mini computer. Mini not being subject to the trades description act, as it was 5 or 6 19 inch racks with an 80mb disk drive the size of a washing machine! I can see that core memory could be problematic in a plane, but I suppose it was all they had at the time.

[@timgosling6189]

@@crabby7668 Someone decided it had to retain all the data even if there was a total aircraft power failure. Copper core was the only technology at the time that would do it. The fact that the aircraft itself would then have been in imminent danger of crashing seems to have been forgotten!

[@Emppu_T.]

I remember seeing an old Boxy Skyvan (with Laboratory of Space Technology, written on the side of it) at airshows around my country, everyone called it The Flying Milk Carton. It's not much of a looker but it's endearing to whitness!

[@zorktxandnand3774]

At number 1 we have the first and only ever flying Lighthouse. A very enjoyable video. love your deadpan, yet surprisingly factual humour.

[@ashhawk2346]

I was ready to kick off a storm when i saw the suggestion of the Nimrod thankfully you went with its swollen sister.. Nimrod in my opinion is a gorgeous looking plane.

[@Dr_Jebus]

Fantastic stuff! Very much enjoyed this new format. Now looking forward to some more of these 'beauties' getting a full episode of their own

[@TheCatBilbo]

I remember seeing the Fairey Gannet at Duxford, many moons ago. I'd never seen anything like it: animal, vegetable, or mineral! (certainly not aerial). It all looked wrong - reminded me of a Corsair that had over-developed & grown an extra propeller, a fat belly, kept the inverted gull wings but shrunk in length. It didn't look like it should actually fly, so also reminded me of a fat bumblebee.

[@Gattobuono]

I personally find the Gannet one of the most beautiful aircraft of its era. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'

[@AndreaAzzqy]

I love the fairey gannet, its fascinates me when seeing sub hunter with contra rotating props, and unique folding wing. We have one on Jakarta Military Museum (Indonesian Navy Gannet AS.4) and one Gannet AS.4 in Surabaya Navy Museum. Andre from Jakarta - Indonesia

[@timgosling3076]

Blackburn already figures largely in your selection but I’d still put in a vote for the Beverley. It’s sheer size made it impossible to ignore and it’s capacity for payload also came with an almost total absence of discernible performance. The problem with the Nimrod AEW computer memory was that MOD required that, inter alia, it should retain all data in the event of a total power failure. At the time, the only solution was something called copper core memory. This used a mesh of copper wires and ferrite rings that could be magnetised one way or the other to store a 0 or 1. It was therefore a bit heavy and, hard as it is to believe today, it’s total capacity of 2.4 MBytes weighed around a ton. It didn’t have to be zeroed before takeoff but as the radar had a habit of generating false tracks it did dump remarkably quickly in use😳

[@awuma]

Must be that missing #7 ;-)

[@alexsis1778]

@@awuma The memory comment at least is from the #5

[@worldcomicsreview354]

It would have been easier for it to just print punch cards as it went

[@goetzliedtke]

The USA Space Shuttle had core memory. Somewhat smaller but still the same thing. I saw it.

[@marhawkman303]

@@goetzliedtke yeah, while i get the desire to retain all data....this was a terrible way to do it. Like @World comics Review said... they'd have been better off printing punch cards.

[@ambergris5705]

An incredibly beautiful airliner was the De Havilland Comet. Such a sleek design with the engines in the wings, and a very elegant nose. Quite incredible how they managed to make it into the Frankenstein-esque Nimrod, and then into that AEW3 monstrosity.

[@undefined40]

I consider #2 actually aesthetically very pleasing and #8, except for the radar dome version, quite ok, the double propeller even pushing it into the interesting range.

[@Morgan_Sandoval]

#2 looks like someone slapped wings and an engine on a sperm. Good luck unseeing that~

[@undefined40]

@@Morgan_Sandoval You write this as if it were something negative. It's the fast and powerful that make it.

[@Morgan_Sandoval]

​@@undefined40 Just because a sperm is fast and strong doesn't mean the specific mix of the genetics it carries isn't a dumpster fire floating in a flash flood. Don't anthropomorphize your gametes, mate.

[@ollep9142]

I agree with HP 115 looking good. Could have put the Corsair attack aircraft there instead. My first impression seeing a model of one was "that's one ugly plane"!

[@undefined40]

@@ollep9142 Yea that big mouth definitely deserves a mentioning. I guess he will put the A-7 in the American edition of the "Ugliest Aircraft" series

[@MySteaming]

The Fairy Gannet was a true beauty. Unconventional - maybe. But none the less, a beautiful aircraft. It's a model maker's dream. So eye catching, full of interest & striking.

[@dante001ish]

I have a particular fondness for Fairey aircraft & the Gannet was long lasting & innovative, She might not be a sleek vixen but she is a buxom one...And that has a beauty all to itself.

[@DonDiesel85]

Yooo Broo - The Lil' wingding @9:15 had me straight-up laughing out loud.

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

Half of the British biplanes from the mid 1920s to the early or mid 1930s were ugly. They all look like the designers had a competition for who is able to install the highest amount of drag in a single aircraft. To me the Gannet was love at first sight. Its designer was a genius just like the designer of its double engine. But I still don't like the AEW versions because they destroy the chubby and still streamlined design. The Aerovan isn't particularly ugly. It's just a bit too fat because it's highly uncommon for such a small aircraft to have such a spacious fuselage. It acutally isn't as fat as it may appear at first glance. Look at it from above or below. It has a kinda nice drop shape and probably didn't have extreme drag. Considering how early the design work was started, the spacious fuselage with its large backdoor was cutting edge technology. There weren't many aircraft around that already had that feature that is now standard in military transport aircraft. I can't even say why but I kinda like the Heyford. Even though it had some advantages (easy to load bombs into it, high angle of attack on takeoff without needing long legs, engines far away from dust), I think the disadvantages of the design were bigger than the advantages. And I still like its unconventional looks. I don't understand the H.P. 115. The worst place for an air intake is on top of a delta wing. It is an extreme low pressure zone everytime the aircraft is operated in high angles of attack. For example on take off. Having the engine power and engine reliability compromised by low pressure in front of the air intake is a bad idea when you want to take off. When things go wrong, that intake position even fucks up measured data during testing because it sucks air out of a zone that you usually will want to stay undisturbed to get realistic test data. To test a wing without interference with the engine, a nose air intake would be much better. Of course it would have lead to a larger, heavier and more expensive design.

[@ahonokotoba]

The Van looks good and sensible to me It can also carry rampaging pigs, a feat which is rare to even the best aircraft right now

[@shatterquartz]

10:46 I can think of another delta-winged jet-powered aircraft with fixed landing gear, the Payen Pa 49. It looks endearingly raypunk, like something out of a vintage Buck Rogers comic.

[@brianfarley7735]

Loving your "ugliest aircraft" series! Also very fun to see my old ship USS Enterprise in your outros 👍

[@dimasakbar7668]

I had a fond memory of Faery Gannet since one was used as monuments in front of my parent family hometown's airport. Interestingly, it is also on a roundabout, something the British also gave us. As a kid, i love its chubby looks, and its extra canopy and windows, always wonder why they dont just add ventral gunner while at it

[@mtrivelin]

Nice video! After witnessing this gallery of abominations, the planes created by Klunk in "Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines" suddenly felt strangely realistic.

[@dereksmith6126]

I enjoyed that. Hope you will be doing the same for other nations! There are definitely some horrendous abominations out there. However, there is something about the Fairey Gannet that I love! Keep up the great content Rex.

[@zorktxandnand3774]

Yes, please!

[@greenseaships]

11:28- "Despite looking about as stable as British fiscal policy in the 2020s..." Fixed that for ya!

[@Morgan_Sandoval]

10:30 I quite literally shouted "It looks like someone slapped wings and an engine on a sperm!" out loud, then had to send three people on discord pictures of it.

[@ironzentaur]

I like your presentation style and your humor! Thanks a lot...

[@datathunderstorm]

Thank you for a highly entertaining video with a highly appreciated generous dose of delightful British humour. While I thoroughly enjoyed this format, I laughed hysterically at most of the tongue in cheek descriptions of virtually all these “Dawn of Man” aircraft I’ve never heard of today. I’ve wiped away my tears of laughter but remain totally cheerful - thanks to this very entertaining and highly humorous format. Thank you Rex, you’ve made my Sunday!! 😊👍🏾

[@asdf9890]

I actually cursed when the Blackburn came up #3 😂 That thing could be modified into some art deco/steampunk art piece today though! Nighthawk too! That thing looks like a flying house boat...probably about as fast I imagine too.

[@AndorRadnai]

Honestly, if one cleans up the proportions a bit and bedazzles it with a few pipes, cogs and gold details… that is a recipe for steampunk perfection! ^^

[@perrydowd9285]

Numbers 10 to 2 were certainly ugly, but the night hawke takes it to a whole new level. Still the old saying goes. If you've never made a mistake you've never made anything.

[@cmacdhon]

The Aerovan is adorable. They look like something that would follow you around if you were nice to it.

[@timsytanker]

That made me laugh!

[@duncanhamilton5841]

My mate did a atint driving Nimrods in circles over the North Sea very late in their service life. The state of the ancient airframes made a boring job pretty sketchy, and the whole thing smelt of builders foam. The AEW was doomed from the start as the Nimrods were all handbuilt, and thus different - what fitted inside one, wouldn't necessarily fit in another

[@redemissarium]

sound like rolls royce car --all handbuilt, expensive, and always break 😁

[@duncanhamilton5841]

@@redemissarium pretty much 🤣... although to give the Nimrod credit, for a 1950s airliner it did well. But you can see from all the appendages, bulges and add ons on the later variants that it was already at the limit of what the airframe could take.

[@keithrichards378]

Absolutely fantastic viewing, love commentary. Well done, lots of fun.

[@brianhaygood183]

Hard to believe the same country that made these made the Vulcan. What a machine.

[@michaelbeloff3505]

Good job! I don't know why, I have always like the look of the Heyford. I loved it when Matchbox released it in 1980 when I was still in university. I still have the kit in the wonderful box art.😊

[@kKingKazuma]

Love this type of funny videos, would like to see more from other countries!

[@notatallheng]

6:48 - "The Nimrod on its own had its fair share of issues as it was." Everyone who recognizes the underwing stores in that picture: Yes, yes it did.

[@jayoneill1533]

Blackburn certainly had a knack for ugly aircraft. It was as if the designers had heard about airplanes but never actually seen any.

[@get4084]

Informative and humourously delivered! I laughed throughout the vids!

[@mstasz2108]

I absolutely love... SOME of these planes. Especially the fat ones. But then I loved the Transavia Airtruk from Mad Max as well.

[@miscbits6399]

The Airtruk was built for a purpose and excelled at it. The twin booms are to allow loaders to get to the fertiliser loading hatch with ease and without (corrosive) spillage and the small passenger cabin is intended to ferry ground support crew from the ops base to the farm field used for the day. It's a VSTOL plane built to swoop low and slow with heavy loads on short flights

[@CrimznRaven]

I just recently found your channel. And I love it!

[@mathewkelly9968]

Love the Gannet , seen one on display i was amazed how big it was .

[@BattleshipMan_]

The Gannet can be summed up as: An A-1H Skyraider who's been force-fed biscuits for the last 20 years, raped by a Beluga Whale and then shat out onto British carriers.

[@Ord_Wingate]

The Fairey Gannet was a superb aircraft , looked odd but superb

[@brucelamberton8819]

Except it had numerous design flaws, both aerodynamic and mechanical that were never really rectified. This included issues with the tail assembly, especially when fitted with a radome, and engine and gearbox failures Although relatively easy to fly once airborne, it had a tendency to veer to the left upon landing, catching quite a few inexperienced or inattentive pilots out, or to pitch up late and "bolter" if landing on one engine. It was also rather maintenance-intense, requiring FAR greater maintenance hours per flying hour compared to piston-engined aircraft.

[@arthurneto2967]

Very nice video! Number 9 reminds 'Wing Dings' cartoon/Fairey Gunnet is cool!!

[@legoeasycompany]

Imagine failing so hard as a Jet Naval Recce type that they had to stick with the Lancaster's older sibling till the end of the century

[@RaulEdu33]

4:57 Should've called it the AeroSunFish 😂🐠🛩

[@gustiwidyanta5492]

The Gannet is one of my favourites,just because how quirky it looks.

[@sw-wk5rd]

0:35 mark the photo used of a spitfire is actually a 1/72 Model, fun fact

[@jean-yvesmead3972]

The Shorts Seamew deserves at least a dishonourable mention.

[@sirrliv]

It really hit home this time just how terrible the Supermarine Nighthawk was. It almost looks like they tried strapping wings to some sort of gun tower emplacement until it flew. Crewing it must have felt more like climbing through the rigging of a sailing ship than an aircraft; in that way it's almost slightly steampunk. And that top speed; even the projected speed of 75 mph... Bro! There were trains that went faster than that! This was an aircraft that could be outrun by a steam engine! Then again, it is fun to imagine the crew of the 8:20 to Blackpool looking out of the footplate as this mass of canvas, glass, and nonsense disappears behind them and thinking "I don't see what all the fuss is about. This aeroplane gubbins will never replace the railway if they're building them like that."

[@Rich77UK]

I love the Gannet. One of my favourite planes ever.

[@steveluke4779]

I spent some years working pn the AEW Nimrod project at Marconi, which was reported to be a way of saving jobs at BAE SYSTEMS, at a time when the Services realy wanted the AWACS.

[@alecfoster5542]

The Handley Page HP.115 reminds me strongly of a paper airplane.

[@richieb7692]

The Gannet is an Awesome aircraft... It's one of those double take, WTF, were those designers on crack, or what planes... Even gravity couldn't take it seriously And that's what makes it so good

[@jw589]

Aww come on the Aerovan is cute 😁

[@onkelmicke9670]

Yeah I could think of worse looking candidates

[@stephenremington8448]

It reminded me of the Short Skyvan, I didn't think they looked good back in the day, now I think they look nice, especially with a good paint design.

[@hobbyhermit66]

Back in the 70's there was a fun model kit called the "Flapjack". It was motorized, with flapping wings, rotating prop, and recoiling cannons. The Gannet would make a great model for this type. It already has the wings and props for it.

[@Sherwoody]

The Short Seamew could get an honourable mention. Looking like a creation from the Pixar movie Planes, the enemy would have laughed themselves to death at the mere sight of being attacked by it.

[@Robutube1]

Maybe it is the missing No.7?

[@arthurscott4467]

I love the way your opening ever so subtle music is RULE BRITANNIA, a subtle hint that hiding among the clouds, are some of Britain's weirdest, if not the ugliest aircraft that could only cause an enemy to laugh itself to death, While these aircraft ruled their way to extinction. Your tongue in cheek description does the wry,British sense of humor justice.