I have a conundrum
 

I am wondering if anyone might be able to resolve a conundrum for me? I went through Tac Weapons at RAF Chivenor in the Autumn of 1973. In my logbook my first recorded ‘single seat’ flight was in a Hunter FGA 9 On 23 October 1973 and the serial number I have logged is XG 169. When I Google that Serial number I discover the aircraft was lost when it was abandoned in flight on 5th June ‘73! I have tried to identify my ‘mistake’ by searching for other FGA 9’s with similar serials to no avail. Can you help?

They painted XG169 on another one until the engineers could get their stories straight.

Did it appear again in your log book? Suspect I've got a few "slightly out" regs in mine!

Maybe "typo" for XG196? Still survives at Bentwaters apparently.

Edit: appears to have been with 229 OCU at Chivenor in April '74. Is that the right unit?

Yep that is the correct unit. Thanks, I will investigate further. I always thought I was quite meticulous in completing my log books, but I’ve a few ‘holes’ in Gnat serial numbers. As to that serial reappearing - no chance! I didn’t ‘shine’ at TWU so only did the ‘short course’!

i have checked and XG 196 is/was an F6, I do remember that I flew a FGA 9 first. (I also realise that I had checked this serial previously - just in case).

Strangely, there is an IWM photo online of a XG169 said to have been taken in 1974!
It reads:-

Object description

A Royal Air Force Hawker Hunter F6 aircraft, XG169 '31', of No 234 Squadron / 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF, photographed in a steep dive, April 1974. No 229 OCU, which trained fighter pilots, was based at RAF Chivenor in Devon during 1951 - 1974.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0506294239.jpg
© IWM CT 915

XG196 was definitely an F6 whilst at Chivenor - it is in my logbook as such in 1969. It was converted to F6A for its time at Brawdy where it was still alive and kicking with tail no. 25 in 1981 when I last flew it there. At Brawdy F6/F6As had tail numbers whereas FGA9s had tail letters which is one easy way of telling them apart in photos.

My apologies - dyslexia lures. My answer above was for XG196 not XG169. The latter does not appear in my logbook at all having flown some 90+ single seat Hunters whilst at 229OCU Chivenor and TWU, Brawdy so I suspect that your logbook may well be a typo for 196.According to Tim McLellands book on the Hunter, XG169 was an FGA9 tail letter 'N' at Chivenor and did indeed crash and was written off in June '73 some 4 months before it appears in you logbook. Further evidence of a typo..

I flew XG196 on 19 Sep 75 at Brawdy on ATT6 whatever that was. It's in my logbook as a Hunter F6A.

Sorry for the diversion Clipped Wings, missed that it was a different mark.

Don't suppose you made a note of the code? List of aircraft at the Chivenor Open Day in August '72 at this link - lots of Hunters!

XG196 was subjected to my hands only once a SAP in August '76 whilst holding for an OCU slot. The aircraft was indeed an F Mk 6A.

Single seat Hunter at low level in the Summer of '76. Hunter heaven!!

Pete - ATT6 was 234 Sqn's term for a SAP and was the final one of the course - a 4 ball!

Guys,
thank you for the various pieces of information. Although my memory is somewhat hazy over my ‘short’ time at Chivenor, I am 99% sure that my first single seat sortie was in a FGA 9. But why my log book details should show a ‘9 serial that no longer existed is beyond me! I would have taken the details from the ‘auth sheets’, but I can find no FGA 9 serial number that is similar. My log book annotates it as an F9 (clearly I wasn’t keen on using too much ink on the G and the A!)

I have no record of flying XG 196 during my time at Chivenor. So XG 196 is becoming a Red Herring.
Treadigraph, you post was very interesting, nowhere is there an indication of any 63 Sqn Hunters! Despite the fact that other photographic evidence shows F6’s wearing the 63 Sqn insignia at that time, it does provide some great ‘other information’.

FGA9 or F6
 

Clipped Wings,
At Chivenor 229OCU, 63 and 234 squadrons were F6 sqns , the FGA9s were only used by 79Sqn for refresher courses, PAI courses etc so basic OCU students thus only flew the F6, at least that was the case when i went through 229OCU; my logbook shows all single seat sorties in F6s. Note also that the unit at Chivenor was 229 OCU and only became the Tactical Weapons Unit when it moved to Brawdy in 1974 - somebody correct me if my memory is playing tricks.Another step towards solving your conundrum maybe?.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=94268

The internet seems consistent wrt the dates, even if Buckland Brewer is quite a long way from Dartmoor.

My scribbles reveal F6s XG 191 & 196 on 234, F6 XG 197 and FGA9 XG 169 on 63. The mk9 probably carried 79 Squadron markings. No other airframes that I flew at Chiv could be confused with 169.
Also, in 72, it was very unusual not to fly first solos in the F6.

Hope that might help.

I do believe I was ‘a bit miffed’ that my first ‘single seat’ flight was not in a 63 Sqn aircraft - which were F6’s. I am adamant that the flight was in a FGA 9, why a ‘9 I know not. Perhaps there were no ‘6s available for that sortie.
In fact I flew FGA 9 (The ‘not’ XG 169 flight) 23rd Oct , F6 then FGA 9 (XJ 687) 24th and all remaining single seat rides in F6’s.