Editing Delta wing (section)

===Supersonic thin wing===
[[File:SSSR-MiG-21SM(DN-ST-82-10891).jpg|thumb| The [[MiG-21]] fighter had a conventional tail]]
The American aerodynamicist [[Robert Thomas Jones (engineer)|Robert T. Jones]], who worked at NACA during the Second World War, developed the theory of the thin delta wing for supersonic flight. First published in January 1945, his approach contrasted with that of Lippisch on thick delta wings. The thin delta wing first flew on the [[Convair XF-92]] in 1948, making it the first delta-winged jet plane to fly.<ref>Jones, Lloyd, S.; ''U.S. Fighters'', Aero, 1975. p.247.</ref> It provided a successful basis for all practical supersonic deltas and the configuration became widely adopted.<ref>Von Karman, "Aerodynamics: Selected Topics in the Light of their Historical Development." 1954.</ref><ref>Hallion, Richard. "Lippisch, Gluhareff and Jones: The Emergence of the Delta Planform." ''Aerospace Historian'', March 1979.</ref>

During the late 1940s, the British aircraft manufacturer [[Fairey Aviation]] became interested in the delta wing,<ref name = "wood 73">Wood 1975, p. 73.</ref> its proposals led to the experimental [[Fairey Delta 1]] being produced to [[List of Air Ministry specifications|Air Ministry Specification E.10/47]].<ref name = "wood 74">Wood 1975, p. 74.</ref> A subsequent experimental aircraft, the [[Fairey Delta 2]] set a new [[Flight airspeed record|World air speed record]] on 10 March 1956, achieving 1,132&nbsp;mph (1,811&nbsp;km/h) or Mach 1.73.<ref name = "WG777 ind his">[http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/85-A-10-Fairey-FD-2-WG777.pdf "Individual History: Fairey FD-2 Delta WG777/7986M."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626142604/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/85-A-10-Fairey-FD-2-WG777.pdf |date=2020-06-26 }} ''Royal Air Force Museum'', Retrieved: 13 December 2016.</ref><ref name = "50 years flight">[https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/50-years-ago-16-mar-1956-205374/ "50 years ago: 16 Mar 1956."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220154526/https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/50-years-ago-16-mar-1956-205374/ |date=20 December 2016 }} ''Flight International'', 10 March 2006.</ref><ref name = "wood 77">Wood 1975, p. 77.</ref><ref name = "rafmus over">[http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/fairey-fd2/ "Fairey FD2."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628012952/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/fairey-fd2/ |date=2020-06-28 }} ''Royal Air Force Museum'', Retrieved: 13 December 2016.</ref> This raised the record above 1,000&nbsp;mph for the first time and broke the previous record by 310&nbsp;mph, or 37 per cent; never before had the record been raised by such a large margin.<ref name = "50 years flight"/><ref name = "wood 79">Wood 1975, p. 79.</ref>

In its original tailless form, the thin delta was used extensively by the American aviation company [[Convair]] and by the French aircraft manufacturer [[Dassault Aviation]]. The supersonic [[Convair F-102 Delta Dagger]] and transonic [[Douglas F4D Skyray]] were two of the first operational jet fighters to feature a tailless delta wing when they entered service in 1956.<ref>{{citation |title=Early Supersonic Fighters of the West |last= Gunston |first=Bill |year= 1976 |publisher= Ian Allan Ltd. |location=Shepperton |isbn=0-7110-0636-9 |id= 103/74 |pages=181 and 230}}</ref> Dassault's interest in the delta wing produced the [[Dassault Mirage]] family of combat aircraft, especially the highly successful [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]]. Amongst other attributes, the Mirage III was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizontal flight.<ref name="Mirage III">[https://web.archive.org/web/20151218081714/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/passion/avions/dassault-militaires/mirage-iii/?xtmc=mirage-iii&xtrc=0%20Mirage%20III "Mirage III."] ''Dassault Aviation'', 18 December 2015.</ref>

The tailed delta configuration was adopted by the [[TsAGI]] (Central Aero and Hydrodynamic Institute, [[Moscow]]), to improve high [[angle-of-attack]] handling, manoeuvrability and centre of gravity range over a pure delta planform. The resulting TsAGI S-12 airfoil was used in the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]] ("Fishbed"), which became the most widely built combat aircraft of the 1970s.<ref>Sweetman, Bill & Gunston, Bill; ''Soviet Air Power: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.'' Salamander, 1978, p. 122.</ref>