Helwan HA-300-The Supersonic Mirage of Egypt

After World War II, German aircraft designer Willy Messerschmitt was detained by Allied forces for collaborating with the Nazi regime. He was convicted of using forced labor for aircraft production in 1948 and served two years in prison. Because Germany was banned from manufacturing aircraft until the mid-1950s, Messerschmitt turned his company to producing other goods, including sewing machines, prefabricated housing, and the famous Messerschmitt Kabinenroller. While banned from building planes in Germany, he moved to Spain in the early 1950s to work as an adviser to the Spanish government. In 1951, he initiated the design of the HA-300 supersonic interceptor aircraft for Hispano Aviación. His design initially followed a tailless delta-winged glider approach, calling the aircraft the Hispano HA P-300. The aircraft was a mix of wood and metal, with a light alloy forward fuselage and a wooden rear section. It had a thin delta wing with a span of nearly 20 feet and an area of 215 square feet. The aircraft was powered by a Bristol Orpheus 703-S-10 turbojet engine with 8,200 lbf thrust with afterburner. However, instability during testing, engine problems, and funding issues led to the cancellation of the project, and Spain shut it down in 1960.