Hunter XL573

[hunty]

Afternoon all

To mark the 50th anniversary of this aircrafts first flight in April, I would like to put together an article of any interesting, or amusing stories from any pilots who flew her. Photos of 573 would also be welcome.

I know its short notice, but if you could send anything you have to me direct, I'll should just about have time to put something together.

Cheers

Hunty

[A2QFI]

http://www.classicjets.co.uk/hunterdt/xl573.html

[BEagle]

8 Jan 1976 was the only day when I flew XL573. At the time, Valley had even more appalling weather than usual. So the Boss of 3 (Hunter) Sqn, 4FTS decided that 13 (Hunter) Refresher Course would all go to Leuchars for the day. I was allocated to fly with him.

I don't recall much of it - the trip there took 1:15 with 0:10 actual IF (at Valley!). We went hi-lo; on the way there some Air Trafficker asked a Nimrod to fly exactly overhead Machrihanish. "That'll give your navigator something to do!", he remarked. "All 3 of them!", quipped the Boss.

LU was very accommodating to us, as I recall. A short break for lunch and then off again for the trip back to Valley - a spot of LL Nav, then up to high level and back for a QGH to PAR and 5 circuits. Total sortie time was 1:15 again, of which 0:20 was IF. That was my FHT; all went fine and 4 days later I said goodbye to Valley and drove down through Wales to Brawdy with all my worldly possessions (and my flying kit) squeezed into my MG Midget with me.

[huntaluvva]

In case anyone was thinking of hauling their logbooks out of the loft, just to narrow the search a bit, here is a brief history of 573. The units are all correct, but some of the dates are a bit woolly:

1958 CFE West Raynham, code letter L

10.62 CFE move to Binbrook

12.65 229 OCU Chivenor, code no. 97

1971? (possibly earlier) 4 FTS Valley, code no. 97

1980? 237 OCU Honington

? Laarbruch Stn Flt

? 237 OCU Lossie

1993 Storage Shawbury

Sold to Barry Pover, Exeter

1994 Flying again as G-BVGH

Hoping that this rings a few bells....

[Chairborne 09.00hrs]

Inability to spell "Honington"....

Here's a couple of my piccies for you:


At Honington in August '83, still in "Training Command" colour scheme worn at 4FTS




Seen whilst on deployment to Waddington in the summer of '87




Hope you like them.

[sikeano]

Never had the Pleasure,

[grobace]

I remember ...

Fg Off Tichband was captain on 28 Feb 66 when we went to do WA-1 from Chivenor. The trip was DNCO'd for a u/s radar, but we still did 1 hr 10 mins. Not that I can recollect anything else, and I've nearly choked to death from the cloud of dust ...

[huntaluvva]

Chair, We like your piccies very much, thank you.

It looks like 12 Squadron should be added to the list of units that 573 served with, or were the Lossie Hunters all pooled on to OCU charge- does anyone know?

BEagle and grobace, thank you for dusting off your logs.

Please could you help the uninitiated: what exercise was WA-1? I note that scrubbing it still didn't stop you having 1hr 10 of quality time...

[BEagle]

Air-to-air gunnery exercise 1, if I recall correctly?

Attempting to shoot at the flag towed by a Meteor. At least, that's what it was when I was at Brawdy in 1975/6.

In those days we needed the radar for ranging - we weren't taught 'pegged' ranging.

WG was strafe, WB was bombing and I think WR was SNEB rocketry? WC cine weave, and WBG was composite strafe and bombing - can't remember whether there were composite strafe and rocketry exercises.

[klubman]

573 at Honington

Just a bit of info from a PPRuNE newbie about Hunters at Honington.

My first (and only) posting as an Airframe Technician was 237 OCU. The ex-4FTS 'frames (including 573) arrived in 1979 as a result of the Buccaneers being grounded following the Nellis crash. They were brought in to keep the pilots current.

I applied for aircrew duties whilst at Honigton, and my farewell gift from the OCU was an hour long trip in sister ship XL609, with the American exchange pilot, Capt Ken Alley. Brilliant!

[Dan Gerous]

Got a couple of slides of this A/C when it was coded "WC" with 237 OCU at Lossie. Dates on slides are March 85 and May 86.

[hunty]

573 stories

Thanks to all the guys who have taken the time to help with my project.

The photos taken at Honington and Waddington were very helpful and all I need now are a few more stories from pilots who flew her.

Cheers

Hunty

[Mike Read]

Flew it lots of times on 79 Sqn, 229 OCU, Chivenor, 68/69 but nothing exciting happened thank goodness.

[GPMG]

I know it's a matter of personal opinion but I think that the Hunter is one of the few aeroplanes that looks better in the 2 seat configuration than the single seat.

[LOMCEVAK]

Here is another piece of the jigsaw. When the Hunters were retired from Valley (1979 I think) they were put into deep storge at 5 MU, RAF Kemble. Following the Buccaneer fleet grounding in early February 1980 many T7s and F6s were then recovered from storage and delivered to RAF Honington and RAF Laarbruch for pilot currency. I had completed the Buccaneer OCU course 3 days before the Nellis accident and managed to get detached to 5MU to help with the airtests and deliveries (I had held there before the Bucc OCU and had bought the UTP, Mike Lawrance, many beers! A thread on stories from pilots who held there would be interesting!). My logbook shows that Mike and I airtested XL573 on 10 March 1980 and then I delivered it solo to Honington 2 days later. I remember nothing special about either sortie and there is no mention of a second airtest before delivery so I assume that it was in good shape after the first one. 208 Squadron then kindly flew me back to Kemble in XF995, the T8B now operated by HHA at Scampton.

I never flew XL573 again during my time on 208 Squadron (June 1980 - Dec 1984), either at Honington or Lossiemouth, and as the photograph posted was taken at Honington in August 1983 when the only Buccaneer unit was 237 OCU I suspect that it remained an OCU aircraft until the OCU disbanded and then it went to 12 Sqn. I cannot confirm if it was ever operated by the Laarbruch wing, but there were many 'RAF Germany liaison visits' from Honington to Laarbruch when it could have been seen parked at VAS.

[hunty]

Booklet

Afternoon

I would just like to say thanks to ALL the guys who took the time to answer my request. The booklet is coming along nicely and I'm sure Duncan Simpson TP, will appreciate it.

Cheers

Hunty

[ZH875]

Originally Posted by huntaluvva

It looks like 12 Squadron should be added to the list of units that 573 served with, or were the Lossie Hunters all pooled on to OCU charge- does anyone know?

12(B) Sqn had three Hunters on strength in the eighties (whilst I was there) tail codes were X, Y and Z.

IIRC XL573 was Z, and was the only Hunter I flew in, with Cas Capewell as the Pilot, smashing trip down the Lecht ski run, even if we were upside down at the time. 4 minutes from Aviemore to shutdown at Lossie.

The sqn was on a detachment at the time, so minimum manning left at Lossie, Cas volunteered to act as brakeman whilst the aircraft was pushed back into the HAS, one of the gentlemen aircrew out there.

[Peter Carter]

Might be this one..

According to my logbook, I flew XL573 82 times in the early 80s. There is a 50% chance that this is it (if not, it's the photo jet). Also, 573 might have been the jet that dropped both wing tanks on Holbeach. About 800 at 6, I think.

[rvusa]

Only once, 79Sqn 229 OCU 21st Sept 1967. 55 minutes. The first trip of the FR (Fighter Recce) course with that gentleman of the recce world, George Cole. He was the perfect 'good guy' to B*** A******** 'bad guy'! Not surprisingly, I saw very little of the targets, whilst George reported an unbelievable amount of detail. Of course, he had probably 'done' these targets many times before!!

[Wholigan]

Once only - 29 June 1966.

WR1 - first rocket dual on the DFGA course with Trevor Nattrass as the instructor.

50 minute sortie - - oh and BEags - they were 3 inch drains in 1966, not Sneb.



Ahhh those were the days when my trousers fitted me!!!!




By the way - whatever happened to the days when you could claim - - "Oi - I joined the DFGA world - nobody said I had to fly at night!!!!"


(Edited to say "Oops, don't post without checking wot yer fingers triped into the window fingee!!")