In service with the Air Force of Zimbabwe (2022)[1] Active as a warbird and contractor aggressor aircraft
Primary users
Royal Air Force Indian Air Force Swedish Air Force Swiss Air Force
Number built
1,972
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for aircraft, achieving a speed of 727.63 mph (1,171.01 km/h; 632.29 kn).
The single-seat Hunter was introduced to service in 1954 as a manoeuvrable day interceptor aircraft, quickly succeeding first-generation jet fighters in RAF service such as the Gloster Meteor and the de Havilland Venom. The all-weather/night fighter role was filled by the Gloster Javelin. Successively improved variants of the type were produced, adopting increasingly more capable engine models and expanding its fuel capacity amongst other modifications being implemented. Hunters were also used by two RAF display teams: the Black Arrows, who on one occasion looped a record-breaking 22 Hunters in formation, and later the Blue Diamonds, who flew 16 aircraft. The Hunter was also widely exported, serving with a total of 21 overseas air forces.
During the 1960s, following the introduction of the supersonic English Electric Lightning in the interceptor role, the Hunter transitioned to being operated as a fighter-bomber and for aerial reconnaissance missions, using dedicated variants for these purposes. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary roles with the RAF and the Royal Navy until the early 1990s. Sixty years after its original introduction it was still in active service, being operated by the Lebanese Air Force until 2014.
The Hunter saw combat service in a range of conflicts with several operators, including the Suez Crisis, the Aden Emergency, the Sino-Indian War, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Rhodesian Bush War, the Second Congo War, the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. Overall, 1,972 Hunters were manufactured by Hawker Aircraft and its successor, Hawker Siddeley, as well as being produced under licence overseas. In British service, the Hunter was replaced in its principal roles by the Lightning, the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
^"Flying History: Zimbabwe's Proud Aircraft Tradition". Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
The HawkerHunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late...
of the HawkerHunter fighter aircraft: Hawker P.1067 Prototype, first flight 20 July 1951, three built with the first later modified as a Hunter Mk 3 for...
The HawkerHunter Tower Bridge incident occurred on 5 April 1968, when Royal Air Force (RAF) HawkerHunter pilot Alan Pollock performed unauthorised low...
Farnborough Airshow crash, which had killed 31 people. The aircraft, a HawkerHunter T7, failed to complete a loop manoeuvre and crashed, hitting vehicles...
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British...
The following is a list of units that have used the HawkerHunter fighter aircraft. Abu Dhabi Defence Force Air Wing United Arab Emirates Air Force Belgian...
BAC Strikemaster, HawkerHunter, and Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. During the 1980s and 1990s, British Aerospace, the successor company to Hawker Siddeley, was trying...
News, Virginia, United States. It operates Dassault Mirage F1, Mk-58 HawkerHunter, Israeli F-21 Kfir, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, and Aero L-39 Albatros military...
introduced when 16 de Havilland Vampire jets were received. The first HawkerHunters arrived in 1959 and were followed by additional fighters through 1977...
developed over 11,000 lbf (49 kN). It powered early versions of the HawkerHunter and Handley Page Victor, and every Gloster Javelin. Production was also...
Enfield, producing ADEN. The ADEN cannon entered service on the British HawkerHunter in 1954, and was subsequently used on every British gun-armed aircraft...
to many Hawker aircraft designs, from the biplanes of the 1920s to jet fighters. One particularly notable aircraft he designed was the Hawker Hurricane...
The RAF service replaced its Meteors with newer types such as the HawkerHunter and Gloster Javelin. As of 2023[update], two Meteors, G-JSMA and G-JWMA...
and HawkerHunter aircraft were based at RNAS Brawdy, with 849 Naval Air Squadron operating Gannet, 759 Naval Air Squadron with two seat Hunter and 738...
wartime production of many of the RAF's aircraft of the time, such as the HawkerHunter and the Gloster Javelin interceptors, were viewed as questionable. Petter...
engine. The 1952 British film The Sound Barrier features HawkerHunter fighters. HawkerHunter Mk 4s play a major role in the 1957 British Cinemascope...
(PDF) from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018. "HawkerHunter Aviation Ltd - Aircraft". Archived from the original on 30 September...
Rolls-Royce Avon, which were used in the English Electric Canberra and HawkerHunter aircraft, used a high gas volume cartridge driving a turbine instead...
and the British aircraft industry. Ultimately, the less problematic HawkerHunter assumed much of the role intended for the Swift and only half as many...
Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and the North American F-86 Sabre. The HawkerHunter appeared too late for the war but was widely used and took part in several...
Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but this name is rarely used...
rising ground, one killed. 10 June 1960 - XG193 HawkerHunter F.6, 111 Squadron, collided with another Hunter during aerobatic display near RAF Wattisham...
and later swept wing, axial flow-engined combat aircraft, such as the HawkerHunter and de Havilland Sea Vixen. In comparison with the Vampire, it had a...
training in various technical disciplines. The training was based on the HawkerHunter, the SADC's first air defence fighter. The following month, another...
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