The Helwan HA-300 was a single-engine, delta-wing, light supersonicinterceptor aircraft developed in Egypt during the 1960s. It was designed by the German aircraft designerWilly Messerschmitt. At various stages, Spain and India were involved in the development program. Spain was financing two projects, the HA-200 and the Hispano HA-300, but cancelled the HA-300 project before a prototype was built due to overruns. Egypt then took over financing, and the program was transferred to Egypt where both it and its engine would be made, and where the aircraft was successfully flown. Near the end of the program, India began financing the development of the E-300 engine for use in the Indian HF-24 Marutjet fighter. The HA-300 was an ambitious and costly project for Egypt, at a time when it was seeking to expand both its civilian and defence aviation industry. Six aircraft had entered service before the project was terminated in 1969.
Design and development
Origin
Following their defeat at the end of World War II, the West Germans were prohibited from undertaking any research or development related to aircraft until 1955, which left Willy Messerschmitt looking for work. He therefore moved to Spain where he joined Hispano Aviación and started designing an ultralight fighter aircraft in 1951. A lack of funds slowed the aircraft's development and Messerschmitt was able to build only a delta-shaped tailless plywood glider. Towed by a CASA 2.111, the test flight for the glider was prematurely terminated due to instability and the airplane did not become airborne. Due to funding problems and the resultant long development time, Spain abandoned the project in 1960. Egypt then acquired the design from Hispano Aviación. The design team, headed by Messerschmitt, moved to Helwan, Egypt, to continue its work on the HA-300, which now stood for Helwan Aircraft 300. Ferdinand Brandner, an Austrian jet engine expert, was also invited to develop a turbojet for the new fighter. Egypt aimed to produce a lightweight supersonic, single-seat fighter that could join the Egyptian Air Force as an interceptor.
HA-300
Development of the Egyptian HA-300 started in the test facilities and workshops in Factory No. 36 in Helwan, southeast of Cairo, under the supervision of the Egyptian General Aero Organisation, beginning officially in 1959. The first prototype of the HA-300, powered by a 2,200 kgp Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 703-S-10, first flew on 7 March 1964, and achieved Mach 1.13. Egypt sent two Egyptian pilots to India in 1964 to prepare for the HA-300 flight development. It was followed by a second Orpheus-powered prototype which first flew on 22 July 1965. The third and last prototype was fitted with the Egyptian E-300 engine, which it was hoped would make it capable of attaining and Mach 2.0 within 2.5 min after takeoff. This prototype was flight-tested at least once when it achieved a speed of Mach 2.1 with the Egyptian Brandner E-300 engine. A total of 135 million Egyptian pounds was spent on the development, while the E-300 engine was transferred to the Indian government for use in the HAL HF-24 Marut fighter.
E-300 Engine
The HA-300 fighter was originally designed around the afterburningBristol Siddeley Orpheus Orpheus 703-S-10 turbojet, but aside from whether the British would even release it for use by the Egyptians, President Nasser saw that being dependent on a British engine was a major threat to national security, due to the potential for an embargo to ground the aircraft thanks to continued British hostility toward Egypt following the 1956 Suez crisis when Britain, France and Israel invaded Egypt. The HA-300 was modified for the Egyptian Brandner E-300 engine, whose planned output was to have been of thrust on afterburner, which would also improve the HA-300's performance. India assisted in funding its development in exchange for their use of it as the powerplant for their HF-24 Marut. The E-300 ran successfully for the first time in July 1963.
Termination
The Helwan-300 project was cancelled on May 1969. The reason was not publicly stated but financial and political factors likely played a part. The German engineers working on the design were forced to leave Egypt after receiving multiple death threats from the Israeli Mossad. In order to fill the now vacant role, Egypt established close contacts with the Soviet Union and purchased Soviet aircraft instead of continuing to develop indigenous designs.
Aircraft on display
The first HA-300 prototype has been on display in the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim at Oberschleißheim near Munich since 1997. It was bought by Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG and restored at Manching by MBB over a five and a half year period.
One HA-300 is displayed by the Messerschmitt Stiftung in Manching.
