Back | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
The Hawk entered RAF service in April 1976, replacing the Folland Gnat and Hawker Hunter in the advanced training and weapons training roles respectively. The Hawk T1 (“Trainer Mark 1”) was the original version used by the RAF, deliveries commencing in November 1976, with 176 being ordered.
From 1983 to 1986, some Hawks were equipped as the short-range interceptor aircraft for point-defence. 88 T1s were modified to carry two AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles (AAMs) in addition to the centreline gun pod carrying a single 30mm ADEN cannon. These aircraft were designated Hawk T1A. In the event of war, they would have worked in collaboration with Tornado F3 aircraft, which would use their Foxhunter search radars to vector the radarless 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. Hawks were used also as “aggressors”, simulating air combat with Tornado ADVs.
The most famous RAF operator of the Hawk is the Royal Air Force aerobatic team , The Red Arrows, which adopted the plane in 1979. The Hawk subsequently replaced the English Electric Canberra in the target towing role. The Royal Navy acquired a dozen Hawk T1/1As from the RAF, for use as aerial targets for the training of ships’ gunners and radar operators. Eighty Hawk T1/1A 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. In 2009, the RAF began receiving the first Hawk T2 aircraft, which will replace the T1 in the advanced trainer role.
References used…
- World Air Power Volume 22
- SMN Photographic Reference Library
The Kit…
James has done a very comprehensive in box review of this kit that is well worth a read to get an idea of how good value this kit really is. (click to read the Here Now review) I was so impressed with what he said that I actually got on the internet straight away, found a kit at one of my local Argos stores and reserved it. On picking it up and looking in the box I’ve got to echo everything that James has said about it, my only reservation being the red plastic but more about that later on in the build. The kit only comes with one set of decals for the Red Arrows Aerobatic Display Team and these are very well produced and I’m sure that if you choose this scheme you will not be disappointed with the end result but I wanted something different. As a child I spent a lot of time in North Wales and was always fascinated by the jets flying down the valleys at low level and a trip the RAF Valley on Anglesey always a highlight of any holiday. Whilst at Valley I always remember the Red and White 4 FTS training Hawks that continually buzzed around t he place and when Xtradecal brought out a new set of decals covering one of these aircraft I was sold so on with the build.