Hawker Hunter T7

The Hawker Hunter 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 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 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 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 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 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. The example at Pas de Loup is a T7, serial number XL 612, a twin seater built in 1958. It was purchased in Wales where it was decaying at Swansea airport painted in the Empire Test Pilots School ‘Raspberry Ripple’ scheme where it has last seen operational service.

It was refurbished and repainted in the Desert scheme it would have had when it saw active service during the Aden Emergency in 1963 to 1965 based at RAF Khormaksar, defending British Positions in the face of National Liberation Front. The Hunter was equipped with a single 30mm Cannon and 4 underwing hard points that carried a combination of long range fuel tanks and 68mm rocket projectiles providing an effective strike capability against ground targets.

De Havilland Vampire

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet engine.

Work on the Vampire commenced during 1941 in the midst of the Second World War; it was initially intended as an experimental aircraft, albeit one that was suitable for combat, that harnessed the ground breaking innovation of jet propulsion. Out of the company's design studies, it was quickly decided to settle on a single-engine, twin-boom aircraft, powered by the Halford H.1 turbojet engine (later produced as the "Goblin"). Aside from its propulsion system and twin-boom configuration, it was a relatively conventional aircraft. Despite being originally ordered as an experimental aircraft only, during May 1944, it was decided to mass-produce the aircraft as an interceptor for the Royal Air Force (RAF). During 1946, the first production Vampire entered operational service with the RAF, only months after the Second World War had come to an end.

The Vampire quickly proved to be an effective aircraft and was adopted as a replacement for many wartime piston-engined fighter aircraft. During its early service, it was recognised for accomplishing several aviation firsts and various records, such as being the first jet aircraft to traverse the Atlantic Ocean. The Vampire remained in front-line service with the RAF up until 1953; after this date, it was progressively reassigned to various secondary roles, such as ground attack missions and pilot training operations, for which specialist variants of the type were produced. During 1966, the Vampire was officially retired by the RAF, having been withdrawn from its final role as an advanced trainer after having been replaced by the Folland Gnat.

The Vampire was exported to a wide variety of nations and was operated worldwide in numerous theatres and climates. Several countries deployed the type in combat during conflicts, including the Suez Crisis, the Malayan Emergency, and the Rhodesian Bush War. By the end of production, almost 3,300 Vampires had been manufactured, a quarter of these having been manufactured under licence in several other countries.

The example at Pas de Loup is a T11 twin seater, serial number XD 459, built in 1948. She spent most of her operational life stationed at RAF Gütersloh, a Royal Air Force West German military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, during the 1950’s. It was constructed by the Germans prior to World War II. The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and was handed over to the RAF in June 1945 as Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF.

She was discovered in a field in Essex, the UK covered with a thick layer of moss. She was purchased off a deceased estate and a total refurbishment was under taken including manufacturing missing panels, installing over 300 new rivets and a complete new paint job. A pole was manufactured and she was installed along the driveway leading into the Estate.

MIG 21 Interceptor

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.

Designed at the height of the Soviet Union to protect the Motherland and promote Communism worldwide, it became the most widely produced supersonic jet fighter of all time. A simple but powerful and agile design, it has allowed skilled pilots to defeat more advanced Western aircraft.

The Mikoyan design bureau began development of the MiG-21 in the 1950s, in order to replace the crash-prone MiG-19s. Its first flight was in 1956. Production began in 1959, and it entered service soon after. The MiG-21 holds the record for the most-produced jet aircraft. More than 10 000 units were produced (counting Chinese production). The MiG-21 fighter was in service with 50 countries. It continues to serve in around 20 countries to this very day, even though it is an out-dated aircraft.

The MiG-21 was nothing radical - it was a continuation of the existing MiGs (the 17 and the 19). Compared to its predecessor, MiG-19, the MIG-21’s main design difference is its triangular delta wings (as opposed to the swept wings on the MiG-19). Its primary improvements of such improved design were its speed and greater capacity for armament. The MiG-21 was relatively simple in design and technology. This allowed to produce these aircraft in large numbers.

The MiG-21 could carry a significant amount of armament for its size. Located to the left of the cockpit, the twin-barreled GSh-23 23 millimetre cannon was standard with 420 rounds carried. Optional were a variety of guided air-to-air missiles (the R-3, R-13M, and R-60, for later models) and unguided bombs or rockets. A total of 2 000 kilograms of ordinance could be carried.

The MiG-21 was highly manoeuvrable for its time, although even this feature is now outdated compared to fly-by-wire aircraft. In its day (the 60s and 70s), it posed a considerable threat in the hands of a good pilot to more modern western aircraft such as the F-4. One U.S. Air Force pilot said, “Perhaps the most important lesson on fighting the MiG-21 was that it was very manoeuvrable and that it was better to take care of it before you got into a tussle with it”.

In its many years of service, the MiG-21 has generated an excellent combat record, for the most part. Against Pakistani F-86s, F-104s, and MiG-19s it performed respectably, taking down several while suffering a few losses itself. Against well-trained Israeli pilots and their Mirage IIIs and F-4s, the MiG-21 and its mediocre pilots performed poorly with many shot down. In Vietnam, the MiG-21 showed its true capabilities, shooting down dozens of American F-4s or F-105s, mostly in close-range dogfights, where its manoeuvrability and lower speed gave it the edge. Overall, the MiG-21 has proved a highly successful fighter with a low price but much agility.

After over fifty years of service, the MiG-21 appears to still be going strong, although it is gradually leaving the scene of active service. Despite the advance of newer Russian fighters like the MiG-23 or the still more advanced MiG-29, the MiG-21 has yet to be entirely ousted. Many low-budget countries continue to use it, for lack of something better. China and some other countries retain upgraded versions of this fighter aircraft.

The example on the estate is serial number 8909, a MIF 21F-13, formerly with the Polish Air Force. The first two numbers indicate the production batch number then the final two the number of the aircraft in that batch. So, our aircraft was number 9 out of production batch 89. She was delivered to Squadron 11 PLM in January 1963 and was stationed at Mirisk-Mazowiecki near Warsaw during her active service. She was decommissioned in 2002 where she was then bought by a museum in the Netherlands where she was on display, she was acquired by Chateau Pas de Loup in 2020.