Hawker Hunter
Posted: 09 Nov 2015, 00:19
Am intrigued by the Hunter. The quick change gun pack and ground attack in mountainous terrain scenes are very interesting. It seems it had all the ingredients for success:
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Check out T8M... no, I did not know either that it existed (before watching the above vid). Great story!arfah wrote: No radar
Wikipedia:On 5th April 1968, an RAF pilot flew his Hawker Hunter jet fighter into central London on an unauthorised mission and proceeded to make one of the most impressive and memorable political protests in British history, using some of the UK's most famous buildings.
Introduction
The Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incident occurred on 5 April 1968 when Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Hunter pilot Alan Pollock performed unauthorised low flying over several London landmarks and then flew through the span of Tower Bridge on the Thames. His actions were to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the RAF and as a demonstration against the Ministry of Defence (Air) for not recognising it.
Upon landing he was arrested and later invalided out of the RAF on medical grounds, which avoided a court martial.
Background
In the 1960s, the British defence industry saw a shifting emphasis from manned aircraft towards guided missiles, originating from the 1957 Defence White Paper by British Defence Minister Duncan Sandys. The British aircraft industry had slipped into general decline and morale in the aerial services of the British armed forces was low. Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock, a flight commander in No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron RAF, was further displeased that no aerial displays had been planned to mark the RAF's 50th anniversary.
On 1 April 1968, Pollock and other members of No. 1 Squadron took part in anniversary leaflet raids on other RAF stations and on 4 April visited RAF Tangmere, where they performed a display.
Incident
On 5 April 1968, Pollock decided on his own initiative to mark the occasion of the RAF anniversary with an unauthorised display. His flight left the soon-to-be-closed RAF Tangmere in Sussex to return to RAF West Raynham in Norfolk, a route that took them over London. Immediately after takeoff, Pollock left the flight and flew low level. Having "beaten up" Dunsfold Aerodrome (Hawker's home airfield), he then took his Hawker Hunter FGA.9 (XF442), a single-seater, ground-attack jet fighter, over London at low level, circled the Houses of Parliament three times as a demonstration against Prime Minister Harold Wilson's government, dipped his wings over the Royal Air Force Memorial on the Embankment and finally flew under the top span of Tower Bridge. He later wrote of the decision to fly through Tower Bridge:
"Until this very instant I'd had absolutely no idea that, of course, Tower Bridge would be there. It was easy enough to fly over it, but the idea of flying through the spans suddenly struck me. I had just ten seconds to grapple with the seductive proposition which few ground attack pilots of any nationality could have resisted. My brain started racing to reach a decision. Years of fast low-level strike flying made the decision simple . . .""
Knowing that he was likely to be stripped of his flying status as a result of this display, he proceeded to "beat up" several airfields (Wattisham, Lakenheath and Marham) in inverted flight at an altitude of about 200 feet en route to his base at RAF West Raynham, where, within the hour, he was formally arrested by Flying Officer Roger Gilpin.
Although other pilots had flown under the upper span of Tower Bridge, Pollock was the first to do so in a jet aircraft.
Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the incident his unit was posted to North Africa without him while he remained on a charge. He was subsequently invalided out of the RAF on medical grounds. This avoided a court martial and the embarrassment to the government of Pollock giving a reason for his stunt and perhaps receiving the support of the public.
In the early 1950s, the RAF had a big problem. Having brought the first generation of jet fighters like the Gloster Meteor into service, they suddenly found them outclassed. Royal Australian Air Force Meteors were coming up short against North Korean Mig-15s in the skies over Korea and something had to be done. The RAF purchased the North American Sabre as a stop-gap. But for the long term, they decided to rush a brand new second-generation fighter into production. That aircraft would become the Hawker Hunter.
The Hunter initially had a number of problems. But once they were ironed out the aircraft became a huge success for the British aircraft industry - exported to over 20 nations worldwide. The Hunter flew in a range of conflicts with the RAF such as Suez and Aden, including in a ground attack role. It also became a favourite at air shows for display teams like the Blue Diamonds and Black Arrows. Finally, a Hunter F.6 just like the one at IWM Duxford was flown through Tower Bridge by pilot Alan Pollock, a story which has entered RAF legend.
In this episode of Duxford in Depth, Liam Shaw examines the Hawker Hunter's innovative design, explaining how it changed through various iterations. He also looks at its role in conflicts like Aden and Suez, its use as a display aircraft for the Black Diamonds and in that very famous incident at Tower Bridge.