FRADU HUNTER PHOTO GALLERY
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T.8C HUNTERS ['869' to '872']
T.7 XF310 T.8C XF358 T.8C XL584 T.8C XF357 T.8C WV363

'869/VL' = Hunter T.7 XF310
 

[© Kev Darling]

[© Garry Lakin]

[© Geoff Wakeham]

[© Peter R. March]
 
Hunter XF310 has a fairly illustrious career behind it.
Originally built as a F4 it didn't actually enter RAF service, instead it went Fairey Aviation Limited in June 1956 and used for experimental Fairey Fireflash missiles. The programme was never got past the development stage and the missile lost out to the DH Firestreak with the RAF. The jet was then surplus to requirements and was sold back to Hawkers for possible resale in 1958.

XF310 was one of six F.4s converted to T.7 status for the Royal Air Force and its first flight as such took place on 24th April 1959.
Entering RAF service for the first time on 29th May 1959, it had spells with No.20(F) Sqn coded 'T', and later with the TWU based at Brawdy. It ended its RAF career at 2TWU based at the former RNAS Lossiemouth, now an RAF station as aircraft '01'.
It was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1982 and arrived at Yeovilton for use with the FRADU.
Still wearing its RAF 'camouflaged uniform', it took on the identity '876/VL' until a re-spray in 1985 when it became '869/VL' in an all-grey colour scheme. It served the FRADU for a total of 11 years before the jet was withdrawn in 1993.

It was ferried by air to RNAS Culdrose in March 1993, and remained in ground instructional use with the Flight Deck school for the next 3 years. Auctioned off in January 1997 XF310 was sold to private buyers based in Tasmania, Australia. It was shipped out to its new home but unfortunately suffered salt water damage in transit, rendering the engine useless. 
The aeroplane was placed in store and was later sold to new owners based in Melbourne.
It is now on display in a Museum in the area.


'870/VL' = Hunter T.8C XF358
 

[© David Hastings]

[© D Marshall]

[© Richard Parkhurst]

[© Glen Moreman/Delta Jets]

[© Glen Moreman/Delta Jets]
 
Hunter F.4 XF358 was delivered to the RAF at RAF Kemble/5MU on 6th March 1956.
It was posted to RAF No.112(F) Sqn where it served as aircraft 'P.'
This was its only service as it was bought back by Hawkers in in 1959 for resale. 

Converted to a T.8 for the Fleet Air Arm, XF358 was handed over at RNAS Lossiemouth. It had a varied Royal Navy career.
It was painted up in a day-glo scheme complete with yellow training bands and it served with RN 700Z Squadron between 1961 and 1962 where it was used to help train Fleet Air Arm crews for the Blackburn Buccaneer just coming into service.
In 1963 it was based at RAF Tengah, Singapore, with the Royal Naval Air Holding Unit, where it helped shore based FAA-pilots to keep their flying hours up. It is thought that XF358 returned to the UK later that year and went into service with RN 759 Sqn based at RNAS Brawdy, as aircraft '804/BY'. It remained in service at Brawdy until 1969 when it was transferred to RNAS Yeovilton for use with the Air Direction Training Unit and also the Station Flight. It was coded '728/VL' for this purpose. 

In 1973 XF358 was absorbed into the new FRADU fleet at Yeovilton and it took on the new call-sign '875'.
It later became '870', a change that is likely to have occurred due to a period of storage previously.
It kept its '870' call-sign throughout the rest of its FRADU career until retirement in 1995 when it was ferried to RAF Shawbury for storage. 

During 1998 XF358 and another T.8C were trucked down to Boscombe Down airfield, with assistance from Kemble-based Delta Jets, with the intention of being made airworthy to be used as mock-target planes for the military. However the plan did not proceed and instead it was used for ground instructional duties.

In August 2004 XF358 was acquired by Gary Montgomery as a spares source for his Blue Diamonds Hunter restoration project.
It was dismantled and moved by road to Exeter by the Hunter Flying Club, where spares recovery work started immediately.
More recently, the cockpit section has been sold to Northern Lights, based in Canada.
It will in time be mated to a single seat F-58 fuselage, thus providing Northern Lights with a big-engined two-seat trainer.


'871/VL' = Hunter T.8C XL584
 

[Unknown]

[© Andrew P. March]

[©Peter R. March]

[© Martin Morley]

[© Richard Parkhurst]
 
XL584 was one of ten Hunter T.8s built by Hawkers for the Navy, taking its first flight on 8th September 1958 at the hands of David Lockspeiser. It was handed over to the Fleet Air Arm on 6th October 1958 and went into service with RN 764 Sqn as '702/LM'. It remained with the Unit until the mid 1960's when it was transferred RNAS Yeovilton for the Flag Officer of Flying Training/Yeovilton Station flight. It was prepared by Hawkers at Dunsfold in high gloss epoxy paint; upper surfaces dark grey-blue in colour and lower surfaces white, complete with an Admirals flag painted on the nose.
This led to the aircraft gaining the nickname of an 'Admiral's Barge'.
The scheme is widely regarded as one of the most attractive Hunter service schemes.
It lost its blue finish in 1969, when it was transferred onto the strength of the Air Direction Training Unit (ADTU) at Yeovilton, becoming '744/VL.' 

In 1973 XL584 was absorbed into the new FRADU fleet and it became '871' and it served throughout the 1970s until a major overhaul in 1983. When it re-entered FRADU service later that same year, XL584 had taken on a new call-sign, '877' and a new battleship grey colour scheme. 

Unfortunately the aircraft was destroyed in an accident on 31st October 1984.
It occurred over the Solent and tragically the pilot, Ted Clowes was killed.
To date the cause of the crash has never been established.


'871/VL' = Hunter T.8C XF357
 

[© Mike Hall]

[© Peter R. March]

[© Mike Hall]

[© Jeff Middleton]

[© Philip Shean]
  
Built originally as a Hunter F4 for the RAF, XF357 served her entire, yet brief career with RAF 130(F) Sqn. based at RAF Bruggen in Germany. It was then bought back XF357 was bought back by Hawker Siddeley and rebuilt as a T.8 in 1959. 

Handed over to the Fleet Air Arm in 1959, XF357 originally went into service with 764 Sqn based at RNAS Lossiemouth but by 1962 it was a part of RN 738 Sqn, also based at Lossiemouth as '634/LM'. It moved with the Squadron in 1964 to Brawdy and was later given the new call-sign '779' and tail code 'BY', it also wore the codes '777/BY' during its time with the Squadron. 

It moved onto FRADU's fleet during the early 1970's, and given the FRADU call-sign '870'.
The FRADU rotated their Hunters in order to reduce airframe hours on individual aircraft, and it is likely that XF357 was put into store during 1975/6, but it was back in service during 1978 as '877.'
In 1985 XF357 was again put into store at RAF Shawbury, but it was back in service a year later using its third call-sign, '871'.
It remained in service until retirement in 1994. 

Auctioned off in 1995 the aircraft was purchased by Barry Pover and it joined his Classic Jet Aircraft Company based at Exeter Airport. It was an active airshow participant on the European Airshow circuit between 1996-97, but was sold in 1998 to Glenn Lacey of Jet Heritage, Bournemouth Airport. It was ferried down to its new home by Keith Hartley and it was taken apart ready for a major overhaul, but midway through the owner put the aircraft up for disposal in late 1999.
Operated by the Old Flying Machine Company from 2000 to early 2002, the aircraft is now owned by a private individual and is normally based in Yorkshire, but can occasionally be found at Exeter. It is painted up in an overall-silver colour scheme representing the prototype T.7 XJ615.


'872/VL' = Hunter T.8C WV363
 

[© Peter R. March]

[Unknown]

[© Peter R. March]
 
Hawker Hunter WV363 was originally built as a Hunter F4 for the RAF and it's entire career was spent in RAF Germany at RAF Geilenkirchen, with No. 234(F) Sqn as aircraft 'K'. It was then retired in 1957 and put in store, where it was subsequently acquired by Hawkers for refurbishment and re-sale. 

During 1959 it was converted to a T.8 for the Fleet Air Arm and it went in service with RN 764 Sqn at Lossiemouth.
It was originally given the aircraft number '701' and shore code 'LM', but from 1965 it was aircraft number '687'.
In 1966/7 WV363 was transferred to RNAS Brawdy and RN 759 Sqn, where it exchanged its LM shore code for 'BY', and became aircraft '801'

On 11th December 1969 WV363 was loaned to the FRU at Hurn.
The Unit had just started taking delivery of Hunter GA.11s and had at that time no two seat trainers available.
Its stay only lasted eight months, on 26th August 1970 the aircraft was ferried to RNAS Yeovilton and used by the Air Direction Training Unit (ADTU) as '747'. When the FRU and ADTU merged to became FRADTU in 1972 WV363 remained in service for an unconfirmed length of time before it was placed in store at RAF Kemble as a reserve aircraft.
It was kept at Kemble until April 1981 when it was transferred to the FRADU as '872/VL'.

It remained a part of the FRADU fleet until the aircraft was lost on 15th February 1992 70 miles off the Isle of Lewis, whilst on a mission simulating a missile attack on Royal Navy Ships. It is believed that after completion of the first attack the aircraft suffered a loss of power and flames were reportedly coming out of the tail pipe. Given that there was no recovery action possible the pilot ejected and was later picked up by a Royal Navy ship un-injured. The aircraft crashed into the sea and was not recovered. The most likely cause for the accident was thought to be engine failure caused by damage from a foreign object.
The aircraft was not replaced in the FRADU line-up of two-seat Hunters.

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