Hawker Hunters with Napalm

[Uncle Dick]

Any references or photos of Hawker Hunters with napalm?

 

I presume the smaller drop tanks were converted/used for napalm drops in the Middle East and Rhodesia but I can find very few photos.

 

What colour/markings if any would the napalm tanks have been painted in?

[XV107]

I'll have to try to find it, but there is a source somewhere which talks about the use of napalm against the Torrey Canyon by Hunters - and the various attempts made by official spokesmen to not use the word 'napalm' when explaining to the press what was being sent in the Torrey Canyon's direction....

[tempestfan]

9 hours ago, XV107 said:

...and the various attempts made by official spokesmen to not use the word 'napalm' when explaining to the press what was being sent in the Torrey Canyon's direction....

Enough to lay waste to half of the USSR.. .

[71chally]

Somewhere I have a pic of a surviving big 'Porton' tank for a Hunter, is this the same thing?

[Selwyn]

13 hours ago, tempestfan said:

Enough to lay waste to half of the USSR.. .

A very old hand friend of mine I worked with in the RAF told me at that time  when the UK press got to know about the use of Napalm on the Torrey canyon he was instructed by the boss the to go out to the storage area that contained the empty napalm tanks, paint out the word "Napalm" on each tank description block, and stencil  the word "Firebomb" in its place!

 

Selwyn

[Uncle Dick]

Various sources point to 161 x 1,000lb bombs being dropped by Buccaneers and possibly Sea Vixens and Hunters, Hunters dropping in the order of 3,200 gallons of Napalm and 9,800 gallons of kerosene (and 16 rockets being fired), I have even read some reference to the Torrey Canyon being torpedoed! But remarkably very few images of anything to do with the above can be found!

 

The following image is from Chris Bolton's excellent images & accounts in the Middle East via his Twitter page  https://twitter.com/CcibChris caption reads:

 

"Taken by me at Raschid Range. (Now Burj al Arab Hotel) practicing with weapon we never had. Napalm. 50' 450kts"

 

Looks to be a 208 squadron Hunter dropping 300 gallon style tanks marked with 2 concentric bands presumably to indicate napalm? What would be the colours of the bands?

 

and another lovely image from the same source in colour (what is the white coloured store port out wing position) SNEB pod or rocket pod of some sort? Looks a little uneven in diameter to me possibly bulging out towards the front but that may be just perspective?

 

CyhccxTXUAAGWxW.jpg

 

 

[Flankerman]

On 02/12/2016 at 7:59 AM, 71chally said:

Somewhere I have a pic of a surviving big 'Porton' tank for a Hunter, is this the same thing?

 

The 'Porton Tank' was used to simulate spraying chemical weapons - there is one on display at the excellent Boscombe Down Aviation Collection......

 

 

 

Re the Torrey Canyon and napalm - I can remember that questions were asked in the House of Commons - when certain naive MP's were scandalised that the UK actually had stocks of napalm.

 

Ken

[Dave Fleming]

I was led to believe the Porton tank was a custom design, the front end is quite different from tanks.

 

Iirc the napalm tanks were based on 100 gallon tanks.

[Flankerman]

As it says on the sign at the museum... "These tanks were adapted from 230 gallon drop tanks"

 

The front end looks quite blunt though ???

 

Ken

[Grizzly]

Received a heavy shower from this aircraft in the Lake district in build up to first Gulf war. It was very effective ! ! 

[Selwyn]

On 03/12/2016 at 11:33 PM, Uncle Dick said:

Various sources point to 161 x 1,000lb bombs being dropped by Buccaneers and possibly Sea Vixens and Hunters, Hunters dropping in the order of 3,200 gallons of Napalm and 9,800 gallons of kerosene (and 16 rockets being fired), I have even read some reference to the Torrey Canyon being torpedoed! But remarkably very few images of anything to do with the above can be found!

 

The following image is from Chris Bolton's excellent images & accounts in the Middle East via his Twitter page  https://twitter.com/CcibChris caption reads:

 

"Taken by me at Raschid Range. (Now Burj al Arab Hotel) practicing with weapon we never had. Napalm. 50' 450kts"

 

Looks to be a 208 squadron Hunter dropping 300 gallon style tanks marked with 2 concentric bands presumably to indicate napalm? What would be the colours of the bands?

 

and another lovely image from the same source in colour (what is the white coloured store port out wing position) SNEB pod or rocket pod of some sort? Looks a little uneven in diameter to me possibly bulging out towards the front but that may be just perspective?

 

CyhccxTXUAAGWxW.jpg

 

 

The colour picture is of a SNEB pod (M155) fitted with the heat shield fairing on the front which makes the nose a slightly greater diameter. Also indicates Live HEAT rockets loaded, not practice smoke rounds which did not use the additional fairing.

 

Selwyn