AFSB-1 Vespa Supersonic Bomber

Vulcan AFSB-1 Vespa
An AFSB-1 landing in Cacerta in 1965.
Role	Supersonic bomber
National origin	Cacerta
Manufacturer	Vulcan Aeronautics
First flight	11 November 1959
Introduction	5 May 1961
Retired	14 June 1972
Primary user	Cacertian Royal Air Fleet
Produced	1960—1965
Number built	43

The Vulcan AFSB-1 Vespa (Wasp) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in Cacerta and one of the first aircraft of its class in Tyran. The Vespa was designed and manufactured by Vulcan Aeronautics and entered service with the Cacertian Royal Air Fleet in 1961. Produced in small numbers, the Vespa was eventually retired in 1972 after eleven years in active duty.

Despite being considered a technological step forward, the Vespa is generally considered to be a failure. It lacked the intercontinental range that had been originally intended, thereby relegating the Vespa to short-range missions. At the end of its service life, Vespas were used as test platforms for Cacertian standoff missiles and as supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. The entire fleet was retired in favor of the technologically superior AFSB-2 Spettro strategic bombers.

As of 2019, only a single example of the Vespa exists at the Cacertian Aerospace Museum.

Operators

Former Operators

• Cacerta; Cacertian Royal Air Fleet—The CRAF operated the Vespa between 1961 and 1972. Their entire fleet of AFSB-1s were eventually replaced by the AFSB-2.

Specifications

General Characteristics

• Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, weapons officer)
• Length: 41.6 m (136 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 23.17 m (76 ft)
• Height: 10.13 m (33 ft 3 in)
• Wing Area: 162 m² (1,740 ft²)
• Gross Weight: 85,000 kg (187,393 lbs)
• Max Takeoff Weight: 92,000 kg (202,825 lbs)
• Powerplant: 2 × VulAer Sup-1 Afterburning Turbojets

Performance

• Maximum Speed: Mach 1.42 (1,510 km/h, 940 mph) at altitude
• Range: 4,900 km (3,000 mi, 2,600 nmi)
• Service Ceiling: 13,300 m (43,600 ft)
• Rate of Climb: 12.7 m/s (2,500 ft/min)
• Wing Loading: 525 kg/m² (108 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/Weight: 0.39

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 23 mm cannon in tail turret
• Payload: 24,000 kg (53,000 lb) across wing and fuselage pylons and internal weapons bay