Rhodesian Hawker Hunter underwing antenna?

[David Womby]

I've been looking at pics of late Rhodesian Air Force Hunter FGA9s.

Early ones hae a horizontal antenna mounted under fusleahe or under wing root parallel to fuselage. It looks to me like late ones had a large blade like antenna mounted to underside wing root. Can anyone confirm and was one mounted under wing root on both sides?

See this pic:

Thanks

David W

[miduppergunner]

Apparently they were "6s" upgraded to "10s" and I can find no reference to any mod. that would account to the attena. Perhaps it was added after the transfer. I have one picture of the first Rhodesian Hunter. from the port side and no blade type attena is visible. However I cannot see the "horizontal one to which you refer either. Maybe Edgar will appear soon.

[David Womby]

Apparently they were "6s" upgraded to "10s" and I can find no reference to any mod. that would account to the attena. Perhaps it was added after the transfer. I have one picture of the first Rhodesian Hunter. from the port side and no blade type attena is visible. However I cannot see the "horizontal one to which you refer either. Maybe Edgar will appear soon.

Thanks.

You can see the original antenna below port fuselage here:

As to the later antennas, I have now found pictures on the web showing it on both sides so I assume each aircraft ended up being fitted this way late in the Rhodesian Air Force days before the end of the war:

David W.

[StephenMG]

David,

The initial batch of Hunters supplied to Rhodesia were ex-RAF F.6s upgraded to FGA.9 standard. However, to complicate matters, a number of ex-Kenyan FGA.80s were received around the time of independance which had a different set of avionics, and therefore different set of aerials!

That 'towel rail' aerial is an ADF Sense Antenna or Sense Rail which is generally accompanied by an ADF Loop Antenna often mounted on the fuel pump access door in the belly. Some of the RAF FGA.9s had ADF systems installed so this may have been the case for the first Rhodesian aircraft too.

As for the pair of blade antennas, they look like UHF aerials to me so I suspect they are the radio aerials for the pair of UHF radio sets relocated from the spine - note that in your last photo the aircraft has a VHF aerial on the port wing but no UHF aerials evident at all on the spine where you would normally expect to see them. Note that in your second photo above the starboard DME aerial is visible to the left of the rightmost pilot's head inside the intake - this is the usual position for such aerials and so the DME system can be discounted as the reason for the aerials below the intakes. So, my educated guess is that they are UHF radio aerials.

It's a theory anyway!

[mmaker]

I have an old August 1982 SAM with an article for Rhodesian aircrafts.

P.m. inbound...

[David Womby]

David,

....... As for the pair of blade antennas, they look like UHF aerials to me so I suspect they are the radio aerials for the pair of UHF radio sets relocated from the spine - note that in your last photo the aircraft has a VHF aerial on the port wing but no UHF aerials evident at all on the spine where you would normally expect to see them. ........So, my educated guess is that they are UHF radio aerials.

It's a theory anyway!

Well, my model will have to have them! They look huge in the pics!

David

I have an old August 1982 SAM with an article for Rhodesian aircrafts.

P.m. inbound...

Thank you, George.

David