Hawker Hunter and Special Weapons
 

Looking through a Hunter Modifcation chart I found reference to a mod for 4 aircraft then a further 3 to:

"Make Provision for Carriage of Special Store on Inboard Pylon".


Mod 1219 LTC item 6156 dated 18/12/64. qty 4 FGA9 aircraft
Mod 1276 LTC item 6300 dated 5/12/66. qty 3 T8 aircraft

Anyone have any further info? Ive never heard of Hunters being so equipped, although thinking about it it would seem a fairly reasonable assumption.

Maybe the 'Golf Bomb'?

http://www.rhodesianservices.org/use...e/golfbomb.doc

I don't believe that RED BEARD or WE177 were ever fitted, but that would be my only other guess? I know that RED BEARD was fitted to the single seat Scimitar.

LJ :ok:

Read Beard would be too big to carry under a Hunter's wing and WE.177 seems a bit late for the Hunter. Besides, there was no nuclear role for our Hunters. I would think it more likely to apply to chemical weapons, surely?

Spray?
 

Did Boscombe have a Hunter with a spray pod under the wing to simulate chemical weapon drop?

Yes. Seen by me on ex in 1978.

.. depressing that I can't remember what I had for breakfast, but this is still clear as a bell. 30 seconds or so in.

XE601 is the Hunter you refer to. Back on the air show scene until fairly recently but now (tragically) gone to France.

A&AEE operated it for a long time although I believe that it actually belonged to Porton Down for much of it's time at Boscombe Down. It certainly carried a wing pod that sprayed water for chemical simulation during exercises, but I believe it also flew tests connected with dispersion effects, as did Canberra WV787 before being used as an icing spray tanker.

Perhaps the mod details refer to the chemical dispersion tank/s that could be carried by the Hunter?

True, but harsh.

What is a Special Weapon then? I had thought it to be synonymous with buckets of sunshine, but the replies above seem to indicate it could be chemical or even just non-ordinary (i.e. special). Does Special Weapon==nuclear or not?

Saw the chemical hunter a few times "operationally". The tanks where modified drop tanks and in the standard drop tank position I.e outer. Modification clearly states inner pylon. I'm thinking possibly trials aircraft for the 177 or, with the T8, trainers for the Bucc fleet?

To answer your last question, yes it does. Yet another euphemism. On the Nimrod the controller was a SWEC - Special Weapons Enabling Controller IIRC.

Hated it.

Friend of mine was Air Commodore Nuclear Weapons at SHAPE. When NW sort of declined in importance, but to keep his job, it metamorphoses in to Air Cdre WMD :)

When No 8 Sqn operated the Venom in Aden, they produced a wing tank that could be dropped for downed aircrew - I believe that it contained a rifle and survival kit. I do not know if this was continued when they converted to the Hunter, but could the mod be connected with this use?

As far as I'm aware, there is absolutely no connection between the Hunter and atomic weapons. The RAF's aircraft certainly didn't carry any, nor did the Buccaneer trainers (they were instrument trainers). True, "Special Weapon" did usually refer to a nuclear device but I suspect that in this case it refers to some sort of chemical weapon tank. It might also refer to a napalm tank.

Nasty stuff napalm. I have it on good authority the RAF did not use napalm.

Naptha impregnated petroleum jelly or some such but not napalm :)

The dispersant tanks were fitted on the inner pylons - the later marks of Hunter could carry fuel tanks on both pylons.

Photos: Hawker Hunter FGA9 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

Photos: Hawker Hunter FGA9 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

I suspect the tanks were custom built - they are certainly different from standard Hunter inner wing tanks

Photos: Hawker Hunter FGA9 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

The dates for the mod though would fit in with WE177 development - there was a plan at one point to have both the P1154 and the Harrier so equipped. Perhaps a fit for trials aircraft?

The tanks on XE601 were certainly custom built but I don't know if a "standard" tank was ever designed - maybe the specs mentioned refer to this? I haven't heard of any such tanks been fitted to outer pylons though, in fact I've never heard of any other Hunter being used in this role apart from 601.

Pontious, that's interesting you say that about napalm as I've heard various contradictory stories from other people, claiming that there was a napalm capability, even though it was officially denied. Or as you say, maybe it was just a case of using something similar? Either way, I think the "special" must have been either chemical or napalm, not nuclear. The notion of strapping a Read Beard under a Hunter is nonsensical and even if WE.177 wasn't too late in the story (which I think it must have been), there was no role for the Hunter, and the aircraft would have been pretty useless for nuclear delivery in any case. More to the point, there wasn't even any need for such a capability as there were more than enough suitable platforms (Scimitar, Canberra, TSR2, Vulcan, Buccaneer, Jaguar, Phantom, Tornado).

Looking on further through the chart a further Mod - 1314 and LTC item 6418 dated 12 June 68 -

Newer pylons (pt no. E279837 and E279838 introduced in lieu and by conversion of Pt No. E229133 and E229134 for Carriage of Special Stores for the T8 only.



Wasnt Napalm used on the Torrey Canyon to try ang get it to burn?

Gents
Pipe down, will you.

You are all discussing the development a/c for the chem trail projects.

Please desist

Indeed napalm was used on the Torrey Canyon along with HE bombs.

"...Nasty stuff napalm. I have it on good authority the RAF did not use napalm.

Naptha impregnated petroleum jelly or some such but not napalm..."


Seem to recall "FRANTAN" (FRANgible TANk) as accessories on Rhodesian Hunters :E

My point about Napalm was that we used a euphemism rather than admit the truth.

A bit like the invention of 'respirator testing facilities' that had been known by their true name 'gas chamber' for half a century or more.