cutaway drawing
Noseprobe contains sensor devices; windspeed, gust
detectors, skin temperature, &c. – the fins give
stability and prevent nosedroop at supersonic speeds
Cannon firing a variety of ammunition
Battery of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles
Electronics bay
Starboard air intake
Port jet engine
Cabin pressurisation nitrogen cylinder
(lox stored below electronics)
Starboard engine multi stage compressor
Combustion chamber
Main inboard fuel tank
Wingbrace housing
Starboard wing fuel tanks
Double slits in lower tail serve reheat air
Bled air from turbine used for deflector braking
Control run to tail
Reheat ring
Starboard aileron
Retro rocket for emergency braking
(in place of parachute braking)
Gunsight grouping
Radio and cabin air control mounted on side of cockpit
Control panel and column
Starboard engine gauges
Flight computer
Canopy jacks
landing procedure
This seemingly dangerous landing manoeuvre is in fact safer (given a very high degree of piloting skill) than trying to put down a (supersonic 3,000mph.) fighter on a short flight deck. It involves putting the aircraft in a stall close to a huge flap attached to Cloudbase. This reduces flying speed but momentum still carries the aircraft forward in a tail-down position till it contacts the flap whereupon clamps engage and the flap is lowered to the horizontal position. This manoeuvre has to be performed with only 1 ft. tolerance each way, so great skill is called for.
landing procedure diagram
weapon systems
Main cannon (1) fires a variety of ammo — tracer, armour-piercing, rocket shells, etc. At (2) a battery of air-to-air/air-to-ground missiles.
weapon systems cutaway drawing
main cannon
air-to-air/air-to-ground missiles
cockpit
Incredibly compact. Entry is by means of floor at (1), pilot is ejected into cockpit complete with seat. At (2) is a neat gunsight grouping. Box behind seat is a flight computer autopilot. All round visibility.
cockpit cutaway drawing
floor entry hatch
gunsight grouping
nose probe
Houses the hyper-sensitive instrument panel, i.e. air temperature, skin temperature, wind speeds, gust detectors, radar and radio aerials, etc. The two small stabilisers at each side are designed to give steadiness at high speeds, preventing nose dip when full throttle is applied suddenly.
nose probe cutaway drawing
tail section
Has an unusual design. Twin turbojet compressors (1), one each side of fuselage, serve the rear mounted ram jet (2). Bled air serves the pitch jets (3) which give control at high (supersonic) speeds in rarefied air and are also used for Cloudbase landing manoeuvres. For normal landing or reducing airspeed quickly, bled air is used as braking jets (4), whilst in case of emergency a small but powerful retro rocket (5) can be brought into play. The lower double slit supplies booster reheat warm air.
tail section cutaway drawing
turbojet compressors
ram jet
pitch jets
braking jets
retro rocket

Technical specifications published originally in TV21 #157 and Captain Scarlet 1968 Annual,
annual pages later reprinted in Dutch Captain Scarlet Album

BREAKDOWN

  1. Spectrum air defence and strike force — the Angel aircraft. A single-seater strike aircraft designed for speed and efficiency in attack and defence. The exact specification of its complex control system and panel must remain top secret.
  2. Powered by colboltibe fuel, a highly powerful liquid gas, the mammoth storage fuel tanks have been redeveloped to enable the aircraft to complete any assignment without re-fuelling. The results of this redevelopment have increased the fuel capacity to 500 gallons-plus, and boosted the consumption ratio to 51.35 miles per gallon.
  3. Entry to the cockpit is by hydraulic lift from the Amber Room up through the hull of the craft. Cockpit constructed of lightweight transparent cahelium-extract alloy. Instruments and gunsights are arranged within easy view of the pilot, who has all-round visibility.
  4. Hyper-sensitive instruments compacted in the nose probe to detect air and metal temperature and wind speeds along with radar and radio communication aerials.
  5. Extra armaments designed to combat Mysteron forces include electron ray cannon discharge, and air-to-ground torpedo cannon along with air to air missiles. Both cannon fire computer pre-selected shells; these comprise tracer, armour-piercing and rocket shells. Electron Ray Discharge Cannon Designed to combat "indestructility" of Mysteron enemy. Converted from electron-ray machine rifle into compact cannon and housed in the nose probe. Works on an impulse of static electricity built up from turbo-jet thrust, and converted into electron rays by means of black-box computer. The minute computer is compacted in the tail fin, and conversion is executed in .074 of a second. The computer also pre-selects the target and triggers the gun on a time delay programmed by the pilot.

SPECIFICATION REVISION

Angel jet divemeter illustration Angel jet divemeter illustration Angel jet divemeter illustration

Electron Ray Discharge Cannon Designed to combat "indestructibility" of Mysteron enemy. Converted from electron-ray machine rifle into compact cannon and housed in the nose probe. Works on an impulse of static electricity built up from turbo-jet thrust, and converted into electron rays by means of black-box computer. The minute computer is compacted in the tail fin, and conversion is executed in .074 of a second. The computer also pre-selects the target and triggers the gun on a time delay programmed by the pilot.

OIVEMETER

The Divemeter has been developed solely to prevent the Angel strike-craft from crashing. Its function is to pull a crippled craft out of a steep dive and then pilot it automatically back to Cloudbase.

Housed in the stabilising fins, the divemeter is auto-programmed. It reacts only when the wind velocity, speed and air pressures on the fins create an equalised reaction when the craft is trapped in an inescapable dive. Shock waves from the air pressure build up on the fins and trigger the computer rays activating the altimeter in the cockpit to danger-level. When danger-level plus is attained, impulse rays are relayed to the stabilising computer component which automatically "cuts" the engines.

A further component then fires the turbo-jets in a rapid stall and start motion releasing an air pressure build-up from the jets to counteract the pressure on the nose probe. The plane is then staggered into a sharp climb which continues until levelling out at 200 feet. Once the stall and start motion is activated, the auto-pilot is then brought into play, to guide the plane back to Cloudbase. The whole operation takes .05 of a second to complete. The auto-pilot is also triggered off as soon as the engines are cut by an external force other than the pilot.

additional specifications published originally in Captain Scarlet 1969 annual

angel jet reverse plan
Reverse plan
angel jet side elevation
Side elevation
angel jet plan
Plan

Elevations published originally in Captain Scarlet model sheet

Angel Interceptor
Technical Specifications
name: Angel Interceptor
top speed: 4,000 m.p.h.
length: 60 ft.
engines: twin turbo-jet compressors — exact specificatnon top secret (increased magna-boost '68)
wing span: 35 ft.
weight: 35,643 lbs.
armaments: air to air missiles; air to ground torpedo cannon; electron ray discharge cannon.
description: Single seater strike aircraft with a top speed of 3,000 mph. Developed from the World Army Airforce 'Viper' jet by the makers, International Engineering. The final blueprint vastly different from the original Viper, being specially adapted for Cloudbase requirements. 60 ft. long, precision engineered, the plane is incredibly compact carrying extra electronic instruments and mammoth fuel tanks essential for Spectrum operations. Having a wingspan of 35 ft. and weighing only 40,100 lbs, each aircraft costs £1,250,000 and takes 9 months to build. Clamped in a 'V' formation on Cloudbase runway and automatically released on take-off order, the Angel aircraft are ready for immediate launching.
designer: Derek Meddings