Aircraft HS Hawk T1A TAF No 4 FTS/208/(R) Sqn Valley
The Hawk entered RAF service in April 1976, replacing the Gnat and Hawker Hunter in the advanced training and weapons training roles respectively. The ("Trainer Mark 1") was the original version of the Hawk used by the RAF, deliveries commencing in November 1976. The UK ordered 176 T1s. From 1983 to 1986, some Hawks were equipped as the short-range interceptor aircraft for point defence. 88 were modified to carry two AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles in addition to the centerline gun pod carrying a single 30 mm ADEN cannon. These aircraft were designated In the event of war, they would have worked in collaboration with Tornado aircraft, which would use their Foxhunter search radars to vector the radar-less Hawks against enemy targets. Such missions would have been flown by instructor pilots. Conversions were completed in 1986. With the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, RAF Hawks are no longer tasked with this role. The most famous RAF operator of the Hawk is the Red Arrows aerobatic team, which adopted the plane in 1979. The Finnish Air Force aerobatics team, the Midnight Hawks, also uses the aircraft. The Hawk subsequently replaced the English Electric Canberra in the target towing role. The Royal Navy acquired a dozen Hawk 1/1As from the RAF, for use as aerial targets for the training of ships gunners and radar operators. Eighty Hawk TMk1/1A aircraft have been upgraded under the Fuselage Replacement Programme (FRP), which involves the replacement of the aft centre and rear fuselage sections, using new build sections derived from the Mk. 60.
Size: 5598px × 3746px
Location: RAF Kinloss Morayshire Grampian Region Scotland UK
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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