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Project Y2 aircraft on patrol. USAF / Bill Rose Externally, Frost’s new variant looked almost identical to the radial-engined vehicle, but internally it was designed to take six or eight conventional jet engines which were disposed around the central cabin in a pat- tern similar to the small research aircraft. With the airframe built to retain each engine in an individual section with accompanying fuel tanks, these units could easily be removed for inspection and maintenance purposes. As something of a bonus, this re- design increased fuel capacity and may have improved the aircraft’s endurance. Exactly how the USAF intended to arm the RFGT-engined aircraft remains unclear, but there were ideas to fit two or four cannons. One unorthodox suggestion, which seems to have received very serious consideration, was to heavily armour the leading edge of the Silver Bug so it could be used to ram enemy bombers like a manned missile. The concept had already been explored by wartime Ger- man designers and became a feature of the experimental Northrop XP-79B flying-wing fighter. John Frost insisted that it would be possible to slice through an enemy bomber at speeds in excess of 2,000mph (3,218km/h) with absolutely no risk to the pilot and little prospect of causing any damage to the disc. This might have worked, but itis hard to imag- ine the average fighter pilot expressing great enthusiasm for the idea of smashing through a large Soviet bomber at Mach 2.75! USAF documents show that this aircraft was also envisaged as a light bomber although the question of how and where the appropriate stores were to be carried remains unan- swered. In addition to the USAF, RCAF and possibly the RAF, the US Navy showed great interest in Frost’s flying disc and recognised its useful- ness as a VTOL combat aircraft capable of operating from carriers, small ships and con- verted submarines with fully enclosed hangars. Frost had already concluded that the Soviets were operating their own version of Silver Bug from converted submarines and making overflights of US territory. He attrib- uted the more reliable UFO sightings to be evidence of this activity. Brief studies were also undertaken on larger and smaller variants of the advanced RFGT-powered design. One proposal was for a huge aircraft with a diameter of 100ft (30.5m) and a central thickness of 20ft (6.1m). This was envisaged as a long-range bomber, a reconnaissance vehicle or a trans- port aircraft. Details of the aircraft’s propul- Above: With reliability of the RFGT questionable, Frost and his team set about the design of an alternative propulsion system for Silver Bug, which made use of radially disposed conventional gas turbine engines. Avro Canada Left: Project Y2 Silver Bug in VTOL operation from an improvised site. Note that this drawing shows gun ports in the leading edge. USAF redesigning the RFGT aircraft to use conven- tional jet engines, providing some degree of redundancy. Gas turbines had undergone steady refinement since Project Y had started and Frost felt confident that a radially dis- persed series of jet engines could be config- ured to provide adequate power without a major weight penalty. Left: Project Y2 Silver Bug in VTOL operation from an improvised site. Note that this drawing shows gun ports in the leading edge. USAF redesigning the RFGT aircraft to use conven- tional jet engines, providing some degree of redundancy. Gas turbines had undergone steady refinement since Project Y had started and Frost felt confident that a radially dis- persed series of jet engines could be config- ured to provide adequate power without a major weight penalty. Project Y2 aircraft on patrol. USAF / Bill Rose Secret Projects: Flying Saucer Aircraft