135-542: J34 may refer to: Hawker J 34 Hunter , a British fighter jet in service with the Swedish Air Force LNER Class J34 , a British steam locomotive class Malaysia Federal Route J34 Pentagonal orthobirotunda (J 34 ), a Johnson solid Westinghouse J34 , an American turbojet engine [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
270-674: A Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) coup, Nasser and his Society of Free Officers were in contact with CIA operatives beforehand Nasser maintained links with potential allies, from the Egyptian Communist Party to the Muslim Brotherhood on the right. Nasser's friendship with CIA officers in Cairo led Washington to overestimate its influence in Egypt. That Nasser was close to CIA officers led them to view Nasser as
405-524: A 1955 meeting that "Nasser was a young man without much political experience, but if we give him the benefit of the doubt, we might be able to exert a beneficial influence on him, both for the sake of the Communist movement, and ... the Egyptian people". Traditionally, most of the equipment in the Egyptian military had come from Britain, but Nasser's desire to break British influence in Egypt meant that he
540-569: A 6,500 lbf (29 kN) Rolls-Royce Avon 103 engine from an English Electric Canberra bomber. The second prototype was fitted with a 7,550 lbf (33.6 kN) Avon 107 turbojet. Hawker's third prototype was powered by an 8,000 lbf (36 kN) Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 101. Production Hunters were fitted with either the Avon or the Sapphire engine. Early on in the Hunter's service
675-575: A CIA "asset". In turn, the British who were aware of Nasser's CIA ties resented this relationship, which they viewed as an American attempt to push them out of Egypt. The reason for Nasser's courting of the CIA before the coup was his hope the Americans would act as a restraining influence on the British, should Britain decide on intervention to put an end to the revolution (until Egypt renounced it in 1951,
810-926: A Middle Eastern arms race. Eisenhower very much valued the Tripartite Declaration as a way of keeping peace in the Near East. In 1950, in order to limit the extent that the Arabs and the Israelis could engage in an arms race , the three nations which dominated the arms trade in the non-Communist world, namely the United States, the United Kingdom and France, had signed the Tripartite Declaration, where they had committed themselves to limiting how much arms they could sell in
945-490: A Sapphire, the third prototype flew on 30 November 1952. On 16 March 1953, the first production standard Hunter F.1 , fitted with a single 7,600 lbf (34 kN) Avon 113 turbojet, made its first flight. The first 20 aircraft were, in effect, a pre-production series and featured a number of "one-off" modifications such as blown flaps and area ruled fuselage. On 7 September 1953, the sole Hunter Mk 3 (the modified first prototype, WB 188 ) flown by Neville Duke broke
1080-578: A ceasefire, the United Kingdom and France joined the Israelis on 5 November, seeking to depose Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and regain control of the Suez Canal , which Nasser had earlier nationalised by transferring administrative control from the foreign-owned Suez Canal Company to Egypt's new government-owned Suez Canal Authority . Shortly after the invasion began, the three countries came under heavy political pressure from both
1215-411: A daytime jet-powered interceptor aircraft. Camm promptly prepared a new design for a swept-winged fighter that would be powered by the upcoming Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet. The Avon's major advantage over the earlier Nene engine, as used in the earlier Sea Hawk, was adoption of the axial compressor , which allowed for a much smaller engine diameter and provided greater thrust; this single engine gave roughly
1350-532: A garrison of 80,000, making it one of the largest military installations in the world. The Suez base was an important part of Britain's strategic position in the Middle East; however, it became a source of growing tension in Anglo-Egyptian relations . Egypt's domestic politics were experiencing a radical change, prompted by economic instability, inflation, and unemployment. Unrest began to manifest in
1485-490: A leading edge sweep of 35° and slight anhedral , the tailplanes and fin are also swept. The Hunter's aerodynamic qualities were increasingly infringed upon by modifications in later production models, such as the addition of external containers to collect spent gun cartridges, underwing fuel tanks to increase range, leading edge extensions to resolve pitch control difficulties, and a large ventral air brake. Late-production F.6s also featured an "all-moving tailplane" , in which
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#17327759862931620-527: A nose-mounted ranging radar , providing range input to the gyro gunsight for air-to-air gunnery only. Other equipment included pylon-mounted underwing external fuel tanks, a forward-facing gun camera, and large streamlined pods for collecting expended shell cases beneath the gun pack. These were nicknamed "Sabrinas", after the buxom actress of the time . Several variants were fitted with tail-mounted brake parachutes. Typically, export Hunters were equipped to be compatible with additional types of missiles, such as
1755-606: A number of compatible napalm bombs were also maintained for intended use by the Hunters. In the interceptor role, the Hunters were supplemented by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) defence system also procured from the United Kingdom, based on the Bristol Bloodhound . In case of unserviceable airstrips, Swiss Air Force jets would take off from adjacent highways, using them as improvised runways. The Patrouille Suisse flight demonstration team were prominent fliers of
1890-469: A result of debt and financial crisis, Egypt was forced to sell its shares in the operating company to the British government. They were willing buyers and obtained a 44% share in the company for £4 million (equivalent to £476 million in 2023). This maintained the majority shareholdings of the mostly-French private investors. With the 1882 invasion and occupation of Egypt , the UK took de facto control of
2025-754: A result of the incident, Nasser began allowing raids into Israel by the Palestinian militants. Egypt established fedayeen bases not just in Gaza but also in Jordan and Lebanon, from which incursions could be launched with a greater amount of plausible deniability on the part of Nasser's Egypt. The raids triggered a series of Israeli reprisal operations , which ultimately contributed to the Suez Crisis. Starting in 1949 owing to shared nuclear research, France and Israel started to move towards an alliance. Following
2160-588: A revised fuselage, and a single jet exhaust at the rear. On 19 June 1950, the P.1081 conducted its maiden flight, and was promising enough to draw interest from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF); however, further development was stalled by difficulties with the engine's reheat . In 1951, the sole P.1081 prototype was lost in a crash. In 1946, the British Air Ministry issued Specification F.43/46 , which sought
2295-603: A shallow dive. Air Force officials were very impressed with the demonstration and since the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) were looking for a replacement for the Gloster Meteors in service at the time, the Hunter was a natural choice. Consequently, a contract for delivery of 30 F. Mk. 51 was signed on 3 July 1954. RDAF took delivery of the first two of these on 31 January 1956 and nine months later all 30 Hunters had been delivered to 724 Squadron. Since
2430-457: A single 6,500 lbf (28.91 kN ) Avon 103 engine. The second prototype, which was fitted with production-standard avionics, armament and a 7,550 lbf (33.6 kN) Avon 107 turbojet, first flew on 5 May 1952. As an insurance against development problems on the part of the Avon engine, Hawker modified the design to accommodate another axial turbojet, the 8,000 lbf (36 kN) Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 101. Fitted with
2565-496: A single month. Both sides claimed victory in the air war, Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 aircraft against its own losses of 19, while India claimed to have destroyed 73 enemy aircraft and lost 35 of its own. Despite the intense fighting, the conflict was effectively a stalemate. IAF Hunters performed extensive operations during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 ; India had six combat-ready squadrons of Hunters at
2700-564: A single pack that could be removed from the aircraft for rapid re-arming and maintenance. Unusually, the barrels of the cannon remained in the aircraft while the pack was removed and changed. In the two-seat version, either a single 30 mm ADEN cannon was carried or, in some export versions, two, with a removable ammunition tank. Later versions of the Hunter were fitted with SNEB pods; these were 68 mm (2.68 in) rocket projectiles in 18-round Matra pods, providing an effective strike capability against ground targets. The Hunter featured
2835-500: A single ventral airbrake. This meant, however, that the airbrake could not be used for landings. To address the problem of range, a production Hunter F.1 was fitted with a modified wing featuring bag-type fuel tanks in the leading edge and two (or 4 on later aircraft) "wet" hardpoints for 100-gallon drop tanks. The resulting Hunter F.4 first flew on 20 October 1954, and entered service in March 1955. A distinctive Hunter feature added on
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#17327759862932970-491: A strong friend of Israel, urged an alliance with that nation against Egypt. Prior to 1955, Nasser had pursued efforts to reach peace with Israel and had worked to prevent cross-border Palestinian attacks. In February 1955, Unit 101 , an Israeli unit under Ariel Sharon , conducted a raid on the Egyptian Army headquarters in Gaza in retaliation for a Palestinian fedayeen attack that killed an Israeli civilian. As
3105-492: A strong warning to the British if they were to invade Egypt; he threatened serious damage to the British financial system by selling the American government's bonds of pound sterling . Before their defeat, Egyptian troops blocked all ship traffic by sinking 40 ships in the canal. It later became clear that Israel, the UK, and France had conspired to invade Egypt. These three achieved a number of their military objectives, although
3240-538: 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
3375-524: Is largely due to the policy of the West in building up and flattering him". In a May 1956 gathering of French veterans, Louis Mangin spoke in place of the unavailable Minister of Defence and gave a violently anti-Nasser speech, which compared the Egyptian leader to Hitler. He accused Nasser of plotting to rule the entire Middle East and of seeking to annex Algeria, whose "people live in community with France". Mangin urged France to stand up to Nasser, and being
3510-539: The AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile and the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile . The Hunter is a conventional swept wing all-metal monoplane. The fuselage is of monocoque construction, with a removable rear section for engine maintenance. The engine is fed through triangular air intakes in the wing roots and has a single jetpipe in the rear of the fuselage. The mid-mounted wings have
3645-554: The Brunei Revolt in 1962, the Royal Air Force deployed Hunters and Gloster Javelins over Brunei to provide support for British ground forces; Hunters launched both dummy and real strafing runs on ground targets to intimidate and pin down rebels. In one event , several Bruneian and expatriate hostages were due to be executed by rebels. Hunter aircraft flew over Limbang while Royal Marines from 42 Commando rescued
3780-748: The Cape of Good Hope in Africa, giving the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces time to consolidate their position. The importance of the canal as a strategic intersection was again apparent during the First World War, when Britain and France closed the canal to non- Allied shipping. The attempt by the German-led Ottoman Fourth Army to storm the canal in 1915 led the British to commit 100,000 troops to
3915-607: The Egypt–Israel border , while British prime minister Anthony Eden resigned from his position. For his diplomatic efforts in resolving the conflict through UN initiatives, Canadian external affairs minister Lester B. Pearson received a Nobel Peace Prize . Analysts have argued that the crisis may have emboldened the USSR, prompting the Soviet invasion of Hungary . The Suez Canal was opened in 1869, after ten years of work financed by
4050-467: The Empire Test Pilots' School at MoD Boscombe Down . The Hunter is unusual among swept wing jet aircraft in being able to be safely spun inverted. This would be demonstrated to students of the school. As early as 1953 the first Hunter flew over Denmark, when test pilot Neville Duke demonstrated the F.1 over Copenhagen Airport. During this demonstration, the pilot broke the sound barrier in
4185-681: The Hawk T.1 entered service in the mid-1970s. Two-seat trainer versions of the Hunter, the T.7 and T.8, remained in use for training and secondary roles by the RAF and Royal Navy until the early 1990s; when the Blackburn Buccaneer retired from service. The requirement for Hunter trainers disappeared so the Buccaneer-orientated trainers were retired, leaving the RN T.8Ms to soldier on for a while longer. Hunters were also used by
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4320-480: The Hawker P.1052 , which was essentially a Sea Hawk outfitted with a 35-degree swept wing. Performing its first flight in 1948, the P.1052 demonstrated good performance and conducted several carrier trials, but was ultimately determined to not warrant further development into a production aircraft. As a private venture, Hawker proceeded to convert the second P.1052 prototype into the Hawker P.1081 with swept tailplanes,
4455-610: The Joint Chiefs of Staff declared at a planning session about what to do in the event of a Soviet invasion of the Near East: "Where will the staff come from? It will take a lot of stuff to do a job there". As a consequence, American diplomats favoured the creation of a NATO-type organisation in the Near East to provide the necessary military power to deter the Soviets from invading. The Eisenhower administration, even more than
4590-551: The Korean War and Britain's heavy involvement in this conflict led to a flurry of orders being issued; the need for capable modern interceptors was felt to be so pressing that the RAF was willing to consider accepting interim fighter aircraft while more capable fighters would continue to be pursued. In particular, the RAF felt that a pair of proposed fighter aircraft from Hawker Aircraft and Supermarine were of high importance and thus placed orders for these proposed fighters 'off
4725-683: The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 ; large numbers of Russian-built fighters had increasingly supplemented the ageing Hunters in the interceptor role by 1970. The Hunter was to play a major role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 ; along with the Folland Gnat , the Hunter was India's primary air defence fighter, and regularly engaged in dogfights with the Pakistani F-86 Sabres and F-104 Starfighters. The aerial war saw both sides conducting thousands of sorties in
4860-611: The North American F-86 Sabre , the Folland Gnat , and the Hawker Hunter; a pair of Hunters were loaned to the Swiss for further trials and testing. In January 1958, the government of Switzerland chose to terminate its independent fighter aircraft project, the in-development FFA P-16 , instead choosing to order 100 Hunters to replace its existing fleet of de Havilland Vampire fighters. Further development of
4995-763: The Radfan campaign against insurgents attempting to overthrow the Federation of South Arabia . SAS forces would routinely call in air strikes that required considerable precision, and, predominantly using 3-inch high explosive rockets and 30 mm ADEN cannon, the Hunter proved an able ground-attack platform. Both squadrons continued operations with their Hunters until the UK withdrew from Aden in November 1967. Hunters were flown by No.63 , No. 234 and No. 79 Squadrons acting in training roles for foreign and Commonwealth students. These remained in service until after
5130-752: The Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and as the Sinai War in Israel , was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so with the primary objective of re-opening the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as the recent tightening of the eight-year-long Egyptian blockade further prevented Israeli passage . After issuing a joint ultimatum for
5265-480: The Tripartite Declaration , and supply even more weapons to Israel. During the same visit, Peres informed the French that Israel had decided upon war with Egypt in 1956. Peres claimed that Nasser was a genocidal maniac intent upon not only destroying Israel, but also exterminating its people, and as such, Israel wanted a war before Egypt received even more Soviet weapons, and there was still a possibility of victory for
5400-748: The United States and the Soviet Union , as well as from the United Nations , eventually prompting their withdrawal from Egypt. Israel's four-month-long occupation of the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula enabled it to attain freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, but the Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 to March 1957 . U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower had issued
5535-940: 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 . During 1945, the Second World War came to a close and a new postwar Labour government, headed by Clement Attlee , came to power in Britain. The incoming Attlee government's initial stance on defence
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5670-580: 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
5805-588: The 1936 Anglo-Egyptian treaty allowed Britain the right of intervention against foreign and domestic threats). In turn, many American officials, such as Ambassador Jefferson Caffery , saw the British military presence in Egypt as anachronistic, and viewed the Revolutionary Command Council (as Nasser called his government) in a favourable light. Caffery was consistently positive about Nasser in his reports to Washington, right up until his departure from Cairo in 1955. The regime of King Farouk
5940-539: The 1950s, the Middle East was dominated by four interlinked conflicts: Britain's desire to mend Anglo-Egyptian relations in the wake of the coup saw the country strive for rapprochement throughout 1953-54. Part of this process was the agreement, in 1953, to terminate British rule in Sudan by 1956, in return for Cairo's abandoning its claim to suzerainty over the Nile Valley. In October 1954, Britain and Egypt concluded
6075-475: The 1955 Bandung Conference and was impressed by him. Zhou recommended that Khrushchev treat Nasser as a potential ally. Zhou described Nasser to Khrushchev as a young nationalist who, though no Communist, could if used correctly do much damage to Western interests in the Middle East. Marshal Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia , who also came to know Nasser at the Bandung Conference told Khrushchev in
6210-477: The 1955 deal. Nasser had let it be known, in 1954–55, that he was considering buying weapons from the Soviet Union, and thus coming under Soviet influence, as a way of pressuring the Americans into selling him the arms he desired. Khrushchev, who very much wanted to win the Soviet Union influence in the Middle East, was more than ready to arm Egypt if the Americans proved unwilling. During secret talks with
6345-491: 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
6480-499: The Americans supported Egypt, though trying hard to limit the extent of the damage this might cause to Anglo-American relations. In the same report of May 1953 to President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling for "even-handedness", Dulles stated that the Egyptians were not interested in joining the proposed MEDO; that the Arabs were more interested in their disputes with the British, French, Israelis and each other than in standing against
6615-428: The Anglo-Egyptian Agreement on the phased evacuation of British Armed Forces troops from the Suez base, the terms of which agreed to withdrawal of all troops within 20 months, maintenance of the base to be continued, and for Britain to hold the right to return for seven years. The Suez Company was not due to revert to the Egyptian government until 1968 under the terms of the treaty. Britain's close relationship with
6750-420: The Arab–Israeli dispute. It was a source of constant puzzlement to American officials in the 1950s, that Arab states and Israelis had more interest in fighting each other, than uniting against the Soviet Union. After his visit to the Middle East in May 1953 to drum up support for MEDO, the Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles found to his astonishment that the Arab states were "more fearful of Zionism than of
6885-478: The Avon engines proved to have poor surge margins, and worryingly suffered compressor stalls when the cannon were fired, sometimes resulting in flameouts . The practice of "fuel dipping", reducing fuel flow to the engine when the cannon were fired, was a satisfactory solution. Although the Sapphire did not suffer from the flameout problems of the Avon and had better fuel economy, Sapphire-powered Hunters suffered many engine failures. The RAF elected to persevere with
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#17327759862937020-437: The Avon engines. The F.2, which used the Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire engine, did not suffer from this defect. Further problems occurred; ejected cannon ammunition links had a tendency to strike and damage the underside of the fuselage, and diverting the gas emitted by the cannon during firing was another necessary modification. The original split-flap airbrakes caused adverse changes in pitch trim and were quickly replaced by
7155-475: The Avon to simplify supply and maintenance, since the Canberra bomber used the same engine. The RAF sought more thrust than was available from the Avon 100 series; in response Rolls-Royce developed the Avon 200 series engine. This was an almost wholly new design, equipped with a new compressor to put an end to surge problems, an annular combustion chamber, and an improved fuel control system. The resulting Avon 203 produced 10,000 lbf (44 kN) of thrust, and
7290-439: The Baghdad Pact occurred almost simultaneously with a dramatic Israeli reprisal operation on the Gaza Strip on 28 February 1955 in retaliation for Palestinian fedayeen raids into Israel , during which the Israeli Unit 101 commanded by Ariel Sharon did damage to Egyptian Army forces. The close occurrence of the two events was mistakenly interpreted by Nasser as part of coordinated Western effort to push him into joining
7425-493: The Baghdad Pact. The signing of the Baghdad Pact and the Gaza raid marked the beginning of the end of Nasser's good relations with the Americans. In particular, Nasser saw Iraq's participation in the Baghdad Pact as a Western attempt to promote his archenemy Nuri al-Said as an alternative leader of the Arab world. Instead of siding with either superpower, Nasser took the role of the spoiler, and tried to play them off, to have them compete in attempts to buy his friendship. Under
7560-399: The Communists". The policy of the United States was colored by uncertainty as to whom to befriend. American policy was torn between a desire to maintain good relations with NATO allies such as Britain and France who were major colonial powers, and to align Third World nationalists with the Free World camp. Though it would be false to describe the coup deposing King Farouk in July 1952 as
7695-419: The F 8 and F 18 wings that defended Stockholm . The J 34 was armed with four 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon and two Sidewinders . The Swedish Air Force's aerobatic team Acro Hunters used five J 34s during the late 1950s. The J 34s were gradually replaced by supersonic Saab J 35 Draken and reassigned to less prominent air wings, F 9 in Gothenburg and F 10 in Ängelholm, during the 1960s. A project to improve
7830-430: The F.4 was the pair of blisters under the cockpit, which collected spent ammunition links to prevent airframe damage. Crews dubbed them " Sabrinas " after the contemporary movie star. The Sapphire-powered version of the F.4 was designated the Hunter F.5. The RAF later received Hunters equipped with an improved Avon engine. The Avon 203 produced 10,000 lbf (44 kN) of thrust and was fitted to XF833 , which became
7965-420: The FLN. Mollet came to perceive Nasser as a major threat. During a visit to London in March 1956, Mollet told Eden his country was faced with an Islamic threat to the very soul of France supported by the Soviet Union. Mollet stated: "All this is in the works of Nasser, just as Hitler's policy was written down in Mein Kampf . Nasser has the ambition to recreate the conquests of Islam . But his present position
8100-525: The French and Egyptian governments. The canal was operated by the Suez Company , an Egyptian-chartered company; the area surrounding the canal remained sovereign Egyptian territory and the only land-bridge between Africa and Asia. The canal instantly became strategically important, as it provided the shortest ocean link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean . The canal eased commerce for trading nations and particularly helped European colonial powers to gain and govern their colonies. In 1875, as
8235-458: The Hawker Hunter for several decades. Squadron aircraft were fitted with smoke generators on the engine exhausts and, later on, were painted in a distinctive red-and-white livery. The group officially formed on 22 August 1964, and used the Hunter as its display aircraft until it was withdrawn from use in 1994, the team continued to perform flight display using newer aircraft. The Hunter fleet endured several attempts to procure successor aircraft to
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#17327759862938370-444: The Hawker P.1040 for the RAF, but the demonstrator failed to interest them. Further modifications to the basic design resulted in the Hawker Sea Hawk carrier-based fighter . However, the Sea Hawk possessed a straight wing and was powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engine, both features that rapidly became obsolete. Seeking better performance and fulfilment of the Air Ministry Specification E.38/46 , Sydney Camm designed
8505-520: The Hunter FGA.9 variant. The FGA.9 saw frontline use from 1960 to 1971, alongside the closely related Hunter FR.10 tactical reconnaissance variant. The Hunters were also used by two RAF display units; the Black Arrows of No. 111 Squadron who set a record by looping and barrel rolling 22 Hunters in formation, and later the Blue Diamonds of No. 92 Squadron who flew 16 Hunters. In Aden in May 1964, Hunter FGA.9s and FR.10s of No. 43 Squadron RAF and No. 8 Squadron RAF were used extensively during
8640-544: The Hunter carried on as a day fighter until its retirement in 1974. The last flight of the Hunter in RDAF service was carried out on 30 April 1974. The entire fleet was initially preserved at Aalborg Air Base, in the hopes of a future sale to other users. No such sale was ever carried out, but 16 F.Mk. 51s and four T-Mk.53 (two additional T.Mk. 53 had been purchased from the Netherlands in 1967) were sent back to Hawker Siddeley in December 1975. Ultimately, most Hunters were sold either to private buyers or to military museums around
8775-434: The Hunter in the air-to-air role with a more modern fighter aircraft, the Northrop F-5E Tiger II . The Hunter remained in a key role within the Swiss Air Force; like the RAF's Hunter fleet, the type transitioned to become the country's primary ground attack platform, replacing the Venom. While the Swiss Hunters already had more armament options than the RAF aircraft, being cleared to carry Oerlikon 80 mm rockets instead of
8910-419: The Hunter was a significantly different aircraft to fly, compared to older types such as the Meteor, the need for a two-seat trainer soon arose, and the RDAF took delivery of two T.Mk. 53 two-seat trainers in 1958. In contrast to most other users of the Hunter, RDAF never converted the Hunter to the fighter-bomber role. Although some studies and experiments carried out in 1959, the project never materialised and
9045-421: The Hunter was the FGA.9, on which the majority of export versions were based. Although the Supermarine Swift had initially been politically favoured by the British government, the Hunter proved far more successful, and had a lengthy service life with various operators, in part due to its low maintenance requirements and operating costs, while further development of the Swift programme was cancelled in 1955. As
9180-428: The Hunter's performance, giving it only a maximum flight endurance of about an hour. A fatal accident occurred on 8 February 1956, when a flight of eight Hunters was diverted to another airfield owing to adverse weather conditions. Six of the eight aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed , killing one pilot. Another difficulty encountered during the aircraft's introduction was the occurrence of surging and stalling with
9315-402: The Hunter, including the Dassault Mirage F1 , the Saab 37 Viggen , and several Soviet models, the Indian government announced its intention to procure 200 Jaguars, a large portion of which were to be assembled domestically, in October 1978. In 1996, the last of the IAF's Hunters were phased out of service, the last squadron operating Hunters later converting to the newer Sukhoi Su-30MKI . In
9450-416: The Jewish state. Throughout 1955 and 1956, Nasser pursued a number of policies that would frustrate British aims throughout the Middle East, and result in increasing hostility between Britain and Egypt. Nasser saw Iraq's inclusion in the Baghdad Pact as indicating that the United States and Britain had sided with his much hated archenemy Nuri al-Said 's efforts to be the leader of the Arab world, and much of
9585-453: The Mediterranean, where tankers received it. The US imported another 300,000 barrels daily from the Middle East. Though pipelines linked the oil fields of the Kingdom of Iraq and the Persian Gulf states to the Mediterranean, these routes were prone to suffer from instability, which led British leaders to prefer to use the sea route through the canal. The rise of super-tankers for shipping Middle East oil to Europe, which were too big to use
9720-503: The Near East came from the Kremlin, and urged Nasser to set aside his differences with Britain to focus on countering the Soviet Union. In this spirit, Dulles suggested that Nasser negotiate a deal that would see Egypt assume sovereignty over the canal zone base, but then allow the British to have "technical control" in the same way Ford auto company provided parts and training to its Egyptian dealers. Nasser did not share Dulles's fear of
9855-774: The Near East was seen as an ominous development that threatened to put an end to British influence in the oil-rich region. Over the same period, the French Premier Guy Mollet was facing an increasingly serious rebellion in Algeria , where the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) rebels were being verbally supported by Egypt via transmissions of the Voice of the Arabs radio, financially supported with Suez Canal revenue and clandestinely owned Egyptian ships were shipping arms to
9990-508: The Near East, and also to ensuring that any arms sales to one side was matched by arms sales of equal quantity and quality to the other. Eisenhower viewed the Tripartite Declaration, which sharply restricted how many arms Egypt could buy in the West, as one of the key elements in keeping the peace between Israel and the Arabs, and believed that setting off an arms race would inevitably lead to a new war. The Egyptians made continuous attempts to purchase heavy arms from Czechoslovakia years before
10125-444: The RAF received newer aircraft capable of supersonic speeds to perform the air interceptor role, many Hunters were modified and re-equipped for undertaking ground-attack and reconnaissance missions instead. Hunters deemed surplus to the RAF's requirements were also quickly refurbished for continued service abroad. The Hunter would be procured by a considerable number of foreign nations. In addition to former RAF aircraft, roughly half of
10260-492: The Russian boots clumping down over the hot desert sands. The projected Middle East Defense Organization (MEDO) was to be centered on Egypt. A United States National Security Council directive of March 1953 called Egypt the "key" to the Near East and advised that Washington "should develop Egypt as a point of strength". A dilemma for American policy was that the two strongest powers in the Near East, Britain and France, were
10395-441: The Soviet Union and insisted vehemently he wanted to see the end of British influence in the Middle East. The CIA offered Nasser a $ 3 million bribe if he would join the proposed Middle East Defense Organization; Nasser took the money, but refused to join. Nasser made it clear to the Americans he wanted an Egyptian-dominated Arab League to be the principal defence organisation in the Near East, which might be informally associated with
10530-471: The Soviet Union has never occupied our territory ... but the British have been here for seventy years. How can I go to my people and tell them I am disregarding a killer with a pistol sixty miles from me at the Suez Canal to worry about somebody who is holding a knife a thousand miles away? Dulles informed Nasser of his belief that the Soviet Union was seeking world conquest, that the principal danger to
10665-531: The Soviets in 1955, Nasser's demands for weapons were more than amply satisfied as the Soviet Union had not signed the Tripartite Declaration. The news in September 1955 of the Egyptian purchase of a huge quantity of Soviet arms via Czechoslovakia was greeted with shock and rage in the West, where this was seen as a major increase in Soviet influence in the Near East. In Britain, the increase of Soviet influence in
10800-584: The Soviets; and that the "Northern Tier" states of Turkey, Iran and Pakistan were more useful as allies than Egypt. Accordingly, the best American policy towards Egypt was to work towards Arab–Israeli peace and the settlement of the Anglo-Egyptian dispute over the British Suez Canal base, as the best way of securing Egypt's ultimate adhesion to an American sponsored alliance centered on the "Northern Tier" states. The "Northern Tier" alliance
10935-541: The Suez base for 20 more years. Britain refused to withdraw from Suez, relying upon its treaty rights, as well as the presence of the Suez garrison. The price of such action was an escalation in violent hostility towards Britain and its troops in Egypt, which the Egyptian authorities did little to curb. In January 1952, British forces attempted to disarm a troublesome auxiliary police force barracks in Ismailia , resulting in
11070-460: The Truman administration, saw the Near East as a huge gap into which Soviet influence could be projected, and accordingly required an American-supported security system. American diplomat Raymond Hare later recalled: It's hard to put ourselves back in this period. There was really a definite fear of hostilities, of an active Russian occupation of the Middle East physically, and you practically hear
11205-505: The United States. After he returned to Washington, Dulles advised Eisenhower that the Arab states believed "the United States will back the new state of Israel in aggressive expansion. Our basic political problem ... is to improve the Moslem states' attitudes towards Western democracies because our prestige in that area had been in constant decline ever since the war". The immediate consequence
11340-507: The West. Khrushchev had realised that by treating non-communists as being the same thing as being anti-communist, Moscow had needlessly alienated many potential friends over the years in the Third World. Under the banner of anti-imperialism, Khrushchev made it clear that the Soviet Union would provide arms to any left-wing government in the Third World as a way of undercutting Western influence. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai met Nasser at
11475-519: The aircraft a good ferry range. The Hunter F.6 was given the company designation Hawker P.1099 . During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Hunter F.5s of No. 1 and No. 34 Squadrons based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus flew escort for English Electric Canberra bombers on offensive missions into Egypt. For most of the conflict the Hunters engaged in local air defence due to their lack of range. During
11610-615: The arms sales. Nasser's first choice for buying weapons was the United States. However his frequent anti-Zionist speeches and sponsorship of the Palestinian fedayeen , who made frequent raids into Israel, rendered it difficult for the Eisenhower administration to get the approval of Congress necessary to sell weapons to Egypt. American public opinion was deeply hostile towards selling arms to Egypt that might be used against Israel. Moreover, Eisenhower feared doing so could trigger
11745-542: The canal to the UK, and the economic consequences of the canal being put out of commission, concluding: The possibility of the Canal being closed to troopships makes the question of the control and regime of the Canal as important to Britain today as it ever was. In the aftermath of the Second World War , Britain's military strength was spread throughout the region, including the vast military complex at Suez with
11880-710: The canal to the UK, including the need to meet military obligations under the Manila Pact in the Far East and the Baghdad Pact in Iraq, Iran, or Pakistan. The report noted the canal had been used in wartime to transport materiel and personnel from and to the UK's close allies in Australia and New Zealand, and might be vital for such purposes in future. The report cites the amount of material and oil that passes through
12015-617: The canal was useless. The crisis strengthened Nasser's standing and led to international humiliation for the British ;– with historians arguing that it signified the end of its role as a world superpower – as well as the French amid the Cold War (which established the U.S. and the USSR as the world's superpowers). As a result of the conflict, the UN established an emergency force to police and patrol
12150-524: The canal, meant British policymakers greatly overestimated the importance of the canal. By 2000, only 8% of the imported oil in Britain arrived via the Suez Canal with the rest coming via the Cape route. In August 1956 the Royal Institute of International Affairs published a report "Britain and the Suez Canal" revealing government perception of the Suez area. It reiterated the strategic necessity of
12285-535: The continued presence of Britain at Suez for a further two years, led to domestic unrest including an assassination attempt against him in October 1954. The tenuous nature of Nasser's rule caused him to believe that neither his regime nor Egypt's independence would be safe until Egypt had established itself as head of the Arab world. This would manifest in the challenging of British Middle Eastern interests throughout 1955. The US, while attempting to erect an alliance in
12420-569: The country as well as the canal, its finances and operations. The 1888 Convention of Constantinople declared the canal a neutral zone under British protection. In ratifying it, the Ottoman Empire agreed to permit international shipping to pass freely through the canal, in time of war and peace. The Convention came into force in 1904, the same year as the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France. Despite this convention,
12555-578: The deaths of 41 Egyptians. This led to anti-Western riots in Cairo resulting in damage to property and the deaths of foreigners, including 11 British citizens. This proved to be a catalyst for the removal of the Egyptian monarchy . On 23 July 1952 a military coup by the Egyptian nationalist ' Free Officers Movement '—led by Muhammad Neguib and future Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser —overthrew King Farouk and established an Egyptian republic. In
12690-440: The defence of Egypt for the rest of the war. The canal continued to be strategically important after the Second World War for oil shipment. Petroleum historian Daniel Yergin wrote: "In 1948, the canal abruptly lost its traditional rationale. ... [British] control over the canal could no longer be preserved on grounds that it was critical to the defence either of India or of an empire that was being liquidated. And yet, at exactly
12825-521: The drawing board' in 1950. The reasoning behind these two aircraft being ordered in 1950 was intended to serve as an insurance policy in the event of either one of these projects failing to produce a viable aircraft; these two aircraft would later become known as the Supermarine Swift and the Hawker Hunter respectively. On 20 July 1951, the P.1067 made its maiden flight , flown by Neville Duke , from RAF Boscombe Down , powered by
12960-574: The early 1950s, the Swedish Air Force saw the need for an interceptor that could reach enemy bombers at a higher altitude than the Saab J 29 Tunnan that formed the backbone of the fighter force. A contract for 120 Hawker Hunter Mk 50s (equivalent to the Mk 4) was therefore signed on 29 June 1954 and the first aircraft was delivered on 26 August 1955. The model was designated J 34 and was assigned to
13095-484: The elderly 3-inch rockets used by the RAF, to carry bombs from both inner and outer pylons and to launch AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, the change to a primary air-to-ground role resulted in the Hunter 80 upgrade, adding chaff/flare dispensers, BL755 cluster bombs and the ability to carry AGM-65 Maverick missiles. Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War ,
13230-432: The entire tailplane pivoted to provide better transonic flight control. The elevator was retained as part of the all-moving tailplane. The airframe of the Hunter consists of six interchangeable major sections: the forward fuselage (housing the cockpit and armament pack), center fuselage (including the integral wing roots and air duct intakes), rear fuselage, tail unit assembly, and two individually produced wings. Production
13365-408: The first Hunter F.6. Some other revisions on the F.6 included a revised fuel tank layout, the centre fuselage tanks being replaced by new slightly smaller ones in the rear fuselage; the distinctive "dogtooth" leading edge extension (Mod 533) to alleviate the pitch-up problem; the "Mod 228" wing, with increased structural strength and four (rather than the previous two) "wet" hardpoints, finally giving
13500-501: The form of a Middle East Defense Organization to keep the Soviet Union out of the Near East, tried to woo Nasser into this alliance. The central problem for American policy was that this region was perceived as strategically important due to its oil, but the United States, weighed down by defence commitments in Europe and the Far East, lacked sufficient troops to resist a Soviet invasion of the Middle East. In 1952, General Omar Bradley of
13635-471: The growth of radical political groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt , and an increasingly hostile attitude towards Britain and its presence. Added to this anti-British fervour was the role Britain had played in the creation of Israel . In October 1951, the Egyptian government unilaterally abrogated the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 , the terms of which granted Britain a lease on
13770-534: The hostages in a fierce battle. In the following years of the Borneo Confrontation , Hunters were deployed along with other RAF aircraft in Borneo and Malaya . The Hunter F.6 was retired from its day fighter role in the RAF by 1963, being replaced by the much faster English Electric Lightning interceptor. Many F.6s were then given a new lease of life in the close air support role, converting into
13905-536: The increasingly chaotic battlefield conditions, which ultimately led to the retreat of Pakistan's ground forces. Hunters were also used for many ground-attack missions and raids inside Pakistan's borders, such as the high-profile bombing of the Attock Oil refinery to limit Pakistani fuel supplies. In the aftermath of the conflict, Pakistan claimed to have shot down a total of 32 of India's Hunters. Due to unfavourable currency conditions and conflicting pressures on
14040-508: The indigenous P-16 was discontinued. This initial order for 100 single-seat Hunters consisted of 12 refurbished RAF F.6s, and 88 new-built F.58s. Swiss Hunters were operated as interceptors, with a secondary ground-attack role; from 1963 onwards, the outboard wing pylons were modified to carry two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. In the ground-attack role, the Swiss Air Force maintained an arsenal of conventional iron bombs,
14175-399: The large-calibre gun demanded by earlier specifications). Initially fitted with a single air intake in the nose and a T-tail , the project rapidly evolved into the more familiar Hunter shape. The intakes were moved to the wing roots to make room for weapons and radar in the nose, and a more conventional tail arrangement was devised as a result of stability concerns. In 1950, the outbreak of
14310-620: The military budget, several prospective procurements of modern aircraft such as the SEPECAT Jaguar and the British Aerospace Sea Harrier were put on hold following the 1971 war; the indigenously developed HAL HF-24 Marut had also not been as successful as hoped, thus the IAF decided to retain the ageing fleets of Hunters and English Electric Canberra bombers. After considering several foreign aircraft to replace
14445-419: The nations whose influence many local nationalists most resented. From 1953 onwards, American diplomacy had attempted unsuccessfully to persuade the powers involved in the Near East, local and imperial, to set aside their differences and unite against the Soviets. The Americans took the view that, just as fear of the Soviet Union had helped to end the historic Franco-German enmity , so could anti-Communism end
14580-465: The nearly 2,000 Hunters produced had been manufactured specifically for overseas customers. The Hunter would be in operational service with the RAF for over 30 years. As late as 1996, hundreds were still in active service with various operators across the world. The single-seat fighter versions of the Hunter were armed with four 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN cannon , with 150 rounds of ammunition per gun. The cannon and ammunition boxes were contained in
14715-416: The new leadership of Nikita Khrushchev , the Soviet Union was making a major effort to win influence in the so-called Third World . As part of the diplomatic offensive, Khrushchev had abandoned Moscow's traditional line of treating all non-communists as enemies and adopted a tactic of befriending so-called "non-aligned" nations, which often were led by leaders who were non-Communists, but were hostile towards
14850-726: The outbreak of the Algerian War in late 1954, France began to ship more and more arms to Israel. In November 1954, the Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Defense Shimon Peres visited Paris, where he was received by the French Defense Minister Marie-Pierre Kœnig , who told him that France would sell Israel any weapons it wanted to buy. By early 1955, France was shipping large amounts of weapons to Israel. In April 1956, following another visit to Paris by Peres, France agreed to totally disregard
14985-438: The performance of the J 34 resulted in one Hunter being fitted with a Swedish-designed afterburner in 1958. While this significantly increased the engine's thrust, there was little improvement in overall performance, so the project was shelved. The last of the J 34s was retired from service in 1969. In 1957, the Swiss Air Force performed an extensive evaluation of several aircraft for a prospective purchase; competitors included
15120-524: The same moment, the canal was gaining a new role—as the highway not of empire, but of oil. ... By 1955, petroleum accounted for half of the canal's traffic, and, in turn, two thirds of Europe's oil passed through it". Western Europe then imported two million barrels per day from the Middle East, 1,200,000 by tanker through the canal, and another 800,000 via pipeline from the Persian Gulf ( Trans-Arabian Pipeline ) and Kirkuk ( Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline ) to
15255-515: The same power as the two Rolls-Royce Derwents of the Gloster Meteors, a fighter aircraft that would be replaced by the envisioned new aircraft. In March 1948, the Air Ministry issued a revised Specification F.3/48, which demanded a speed of 629 mph (1,010 km/h) at 45,000 ft (13,700 m) and a high rate of climb, while carrying an armament of four 20 mm (0.79 in) or two 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon (rather than
15390-525: The same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J34&oldid=1133750562 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hawker J 34 Hunter The Hawker Hunter
15525-573: The start of the conflict. Pakistani infantry and armoured forces attacked the Indian outpost of Longewala in an event now known as the Battle of Longewala . Six IAF Hunters stationed at Jaisalmer Air Force Base were able to halt the Pakistani advance at Longewala by conducting non-stop bombing raids. The aircraft attacked Pakistani tanks, armoured personnel carriers and gun positions and contributed to
15660-894: The strategic importance of the canal and its control were proven during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, after Japan and Britain entered into a separate bilateral agreement. Following the Japanese attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur , the Russians sent reinforcements from their fleet in the Baltic Sea . The British denied the Russian Baltic Fleet use of the canal after the Dogger Bank incident and forced it to steam around
15795-806: The time was still awaiting the delivery of large numbers of ex-RAF Hunters. By the outbreak of the Sino-Indian War in 1962, India had assembled one of the largest air forces in Asia, and the Hunter was the nation's primary and most capable interceptor. During the conflict, the Hunter demonstrated its superiority over China's Russian-sourced MiGs and gave India a strategic advantage in the air. India's aerial superiority deterred Chinese Ilyushin Il-4 bombers from attacking targets within India. In 1962, India had selected to procure its first supersonic-capable fighter,
15930-506: The two Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan were of particular concern to Nasser. In particular, Iraq's increasingly amicable relations with Britain were a threat to Nasser's desire to see Egypt as head of the Arab world. The creation of the Baghdad Pact in 1955 seemed to confirm Nasser's fears Britain was attempting to draw the Eastern Arab World into a bloc centred upon Iraq, and sympathetic to Britain. Nasser's response
16065-559: 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
16200-725: The type; in the case of the Dassault Mirage III this had been due to excessive cost overruns and poor project management rather than the attributes of the Hunter itself. A second attempt to replace the Hunter resulted in a competition between the French Dassault Milan and the U.S. LTV A-7 Corsair II . Although the A-7 was eventually chosen as the winner, it would not be purchased and further 30 refurbished Hunters (22 F.58As and eight T.68 trainers) were purchased in 1974 instead. By 1975, plans were laid to replace
16335-474: The world air speed record for jet-powered aircraft, attaining a speed of 727.63 mph (1,171.01 km/h) over Littlehampton , West Sussex . This world record stood for less than three weeks before being broken on 25 September 1953 by the Hunter's early rival, the Supermarine Swift, flown by Michael Lithgow . The Hunter entered service with the Royal Air Force as an interceptor aircraft. It
16470-594: The world. Only one example (47-401/E-401) was reserved for museum use in Denmark and currently resides in Danmarks Flymuseum in Stauning. In 1954, India arranged to purchase Hunters as a part of a wider arms deal with Britain, ordering 140 Hunter single-seat fighters at the same time that Pakistan announced its purchase of several North American F-86 Sabre jet fighters. The Indian Air Force (IAF)
16605-409: Was a determination to see the entire Middle East as Egypt's rightful sphere of influence, and a tendency on the part of Nasser to fortify his pan-Arabist and nationalist credibility by seeking to oppose all Western security initiatives in the Near East. Despite the establishment of such an agreement with the British, Nasser's position remained tenuous. The loss of Egypt's claim to Sudan, coupled with
16740-494: Was a new policy of "even-handedness" where the United States very publicly sided with the Arab states in disputes with Israel in 1953–54. Moreover, Dulles did not share any sentimental regard for the Anglo-American " special relationship ", which led the Americans to lean towards the Egyptian side in the Anglo-Egyptian disputes. During the difficult negotiations over the British evacuation of the Suez Canal base in 1954–55,
16875-629: Was a series of challenges to British influence in the region that would culminate in the Suez Crisis. In regard to the Arab leadership, particularly venomous was the feud between Nasser and the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri al-Said , for Arab leadership, with the Cairo-based Voice of the Arabs radio station regularly calling for the overthrow of the government in Baghdad. The most important factors that drove Egyptian foreign policy
17010-471: Was achieved in early 1955 with the creation of the Baghdad Pact comprising Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq and the UK. The presence of the last two states was due to the British desire to continue to maintain influence in the Middle East, and Nuri Said's wish to associate his country with the West, as the best way of counterbalancing the aggressive Egyptian claims to regional predominance. The conclusion of
17145-457: Was desperate to find a new source of weapons to replace Britain. Nasser had first broached the subject of buying weapons from the Soviet Union in 1954. Most of all, Nasser wanted the United States to supply arms on a generous scale to Egypt. Nasser refused to promise that any U.S. arms he might buy would not be used against Israel, and rejected out of hand the American demand for a Military Assistance Advisory Group to be sent to Egypt as part of
17280-429: Was divided up so major sections could be completed individually and manufacturing of the type could be dispersed to reduce vulnerability to attack. Establishing initial full-rate production for the type was difficult, as manufacturing the Hunter required the development of 3,250 tool designs and the procurement of 40,000 fixtures, jigs, and tools. The P.1067 first flew from RAF Boscombe Down on 20 July 1951, powered by
17415-773: 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
17550-656: Was that no major conflict would occur for at least a decade, and thus there would be no need to develop or to procure any new aircraft until 1957. In accordance with this policy, aside from a small number of exceptions such as what would become the Hawker Sea Hawk for the Royal Navy , the majority of Specifications issued by the Air Ministry for fighter-sized aircraft during the late 1940s were restricted to research purposes. Aviation author Derek Wood describes this policy as being: "a fatal error of judgement which
17685-590: Was the engine for the Hunter F.6. The Hunter F.1 entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1954. It was the first high-speed jet aircraft equipped with radar and fully powered flight controls to go into widespread service with the RAF. The Hunter replaced the Gloster Meteor, the Canadair Sabre , and the de Havilland Venom jet fighters in service. Initially, low internal fuel capacity restricted
17820-597: Was the first jet aircraft produced by Hawker for the RAF. From the outset it was clear that the type had exceptional performance, being the first RAF aircraft capable of effectively matching the English Electric Canberra bomber. The Hunter also set numerous aviation records, including absolute speed records. The type was also lauded for its quick turnaround time, enabled by features such as its removable gun pack and pressurised fuelling system, and for its easy handling in flight. The definitive version of
17955-446: Was the first to operate the Hunter T.66 trainers, placing an initial order in 1957. The more powerful engine was considered beneficial in a hot environment, allowing for greater takeoff weights. During the 1960s, Pakistan investigated the possibility of buying as many as 40 English Electric Lightnings, but Britain was unenthusiastic about the potential sales opportunity because of the damage it would do to its relations with India, which at
18090-565: Was to cost Britain a complete generation of fighters and heavy bomber aircraft". As the Cold War arose in the late 1940s, the RAF came to recognise that it would urgently require the development and procurement of fighters equipped with features such as swept wings . By this time, it had also become apparent that newly developed jet propulsion would form the future of fighter aircraft development. Many companies were quick to devise their own designs to harness this means of propulsion. Hawker Aviation 's chief designer, Sydney Camm , had proposed
18225-632: Was viewed in Washington as weak, corrupt, unstable, and anti-American, so the Free Officers' July coup was welcomed. Nasser's contacts with the CIA were not necessary to prevent British intervention against the coup as Anglo-Egyptian relations had deteriorated so badly in 1951–52 that the British viewed any Egyptian government not headed by King Farouk as an improvement. In May 1953, during a meeting with Secretary Dulles, who asked Egypt to join an anti-Soviet alliance, Nasser responded by saying that
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