Hawker Hunter FGA.9
Following the moderate success of the Hawker Sea Hawk naval attack aircraft, Hawker began work on a version with a more powerful engine and swept wings, the P.1052, in 1948. While promising, work on the P.1052 and the more advanced P.1081 never progressed beyond the prototype stage. Hawker saw potential in the design and famous British aircraft designer Sydney Camm began reworking it as the P.1067 to fufill the RAF’s requirement for a day interceptor. This first flew in July 1951 as the Hunter, and subsequent prototypes used either the Rolls-Royce Avon or Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire engine.
While abysmally short-ranged, the Hunter displayed superb maneuverability and transonic speed, and so was placed in production as the Hunter F.1 (Avon engine) and F.2 (Sapphire engine). Some problems were quickly identified: besides its short range, the intakes did not pull in enough air for the Avon engine (the Sapphire did not share these problems) and it had a tendency to flame out. Both versions shared problems with ejected shells striking and damaging the fuselage at high speed, canopy fogging, and problems with the ventral airbrakes. Hawker went back to the drawing board and produced the Hunter F.3, with an improved Avon, revised airbrakes, and a more pointed nose for improved aerodynamics; this was followed by the F.4 with a slightly larger wing, more fuel capacity, and blisters under the nose to collect spent shells. Finally, the design culminated with the Hunter F.6, which incorporated all the improvements of the F.4, had a redesigned wing with dogtooth leading edges for improved performance, and finally fixed the Avon’s problems with a new compressor and fuel system.
The Hunter F.6—subsequently modified as the FGA.9 to carry air-to-ground ordnance, as the English Electric Lightning replaced it as an interceptor—proved to be every bit as successful as Camm had hoped. Fast and very maneuverable, even if the range problem was never wholly solved, the Hunter was also reliable and rugged. 23 air forces would eventually adopt the Hunter. The RAF used it in Aden (Yemen) against separatist insurgents, while Pakistani-flown Iraqi Hunters and Jordanian Hunters proved to be the only real challenge to Israeli Mirage IIIs before and during the Six-Day War of 1967. The air force using the Hunter most extensively was India’s, who used it in both the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars, mainly in the ground attack role, where it excelled.
The Hunter also was exceptionally long-lived, remaining in service into the 21st Century with a few air forces. India did not retire their Hunters until 2002, while Swiss Hunters (refitted to carry both AIM-9 Sidewinders and AGM-65 Maverick missiles) stayed in frontline service until replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet in 1996. As recently as 2007, Lebanon put its stored Hunters back into service. The RAF, the original customer, still flies three Hunters as research aircraft. Finally, there are 36 Hunters flying with private companies as warbirds, research aircraft, and aggressors.
Though technically not a FGA.9, this is a Hunter Mk. 58 built for the Swiss Air Force; Swiss Hunters, as mentioned above, were modified to essentially FGA.9 standard. Delivered in 1959, J-4035 served its entire career with Fliegergruppe 11 at Payerne. It was retired in 1994 and sold to the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino, California, which kept it in flyable condition until 2007, when it was donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
The Hunter is probably my favorite British aircraft (though the deHavilland Mosquito is a very close second); it looks fast standing still. J-4035 is in superb condition, wearing the semi-glossy Swiss tactical camouflage carried by their Hunters and deHavilland Vampires.
Hawker Hunter FGA.9
Following the moderate success of the Hawker Sea Hawk naval attack aircraft, Hawker began work on a version with a more powerful engine and swept wings, the P.1052, in 1948. While promising, work on the P.1052 and the more advanced P.1081 never progressed beyond the prototype stage. Hawker saw potential in the design and famous British aircraft designer Sydney Camm began reworking it as the P.1067 to fufill the RAF’s requirement for a day interceptor. This first flew in July 1951 as the Hunter, and subsequent prototypes used either the Rolls-Royce Avon or Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire engine.
While abysmally short-ranged, the Hunter displayed superb maneuverability and transonic speed, and so was placed in production as the Hunter F.1 (Avon engine) and F.2 (Sapphire engine). Some problems were quickly identified: besides its short range, the intakes did not pull in enough air for the Avon engine (the Sapphire did not share these problems) and it had a tendency to flame out. Both versions shared problems with ejected shells striking and damaging the fuselage at high speed, canopy fogging, and problems with the ventral airbrakes. Hawker went back to the drawing board and produced the Hunter F.3, with an improved Avon, revised airbrakes, and a more pointed nose for improved aerodynamics; this was followed by the F.4 with a slightly larger wing, more fuel capacity, and blisters under the nose to collect spent shells. Finally, the design culminated with the Hunter F.6, which incorporated all the improvements of the F.4, had a redesigned wing with dogtooth leading edges for improved performance, and finally fixed the Avon’s problems with a new compressor and fuel system.
The Hunter F.6—subsequently modified as the FGA.9 to carry air-to-ground ordnance, as the English Electric Lightning replaced it as an interceptor—proved to be every bit as successful as Camm had hoped. Fast and very maneuverable, even if the range problem was never wholly solved, the Hunter was also reliable and rugged. 23 air forces would eventually adopt the Hunter. The RAF used it in Aden (Yemen) against separatist insurgents, while Pakistani-flown Iraqi Hunters and Jordanian Hunters proved to be the only real challenge to Israeli Mirage IIIs before and during the Six-Day War of 1967. The air force using the Hunter most extensively was India’s, who used it in both the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars, mainly in the ground attack role, where it excelled.
The Hunter also was exceptionally long-lived, remaining in service into the 21st Century with a few air forces. India did not retire their Hunters until 2002, while Swiss Hunters (refitted to carry both AIM-9 Sidewinders and AGM-65 Maverick missiles) stayed in frontline service until replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet in 1996. As recently as 2007, Lebanon put its stored Hunters back into service. The RAF, the original customer, still flies three Hunters as research aircraft. Finally, there are 36 Hunters flying with private companies as warbirds, research aircraft, and aggressors.
Though technically not a FGA.9, this is a Hunter Mk. 58 built for the Swiss Air Force; Swiss Hunters, as mentioned above, were modified to essentially FGA.9 standard. Delivered in 1959, J-4035 served its entire career with Fliegergruppe 11 at Payerne. It was retired in 1994 and sold to the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino, California, which kept it in flyable condition until 2007, when it was donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
The Hunter is probably my favorite British aircraft (though the deHavilland Mosquito is a very close second); it looks fast standing still. J-4035 is in superb condition, wearing the semi-glossy Swiss tactical camouflage carried by their Hunters and deHavilland Vampires.