Hunters without pylons and tanks

[Matt Roberts]

I am finishing up my Academy F-6 (Black/yellow checkered one) and I wanted to do one 'clean' to show off it's lines versus the FGA-9 loaded for bear.

Was it common for Hunters to ever fly clean or was the endurance so short that even training flights needed the 100 gal tanks.

I have been doing a few birds recently without all of the stuff hanging from it (last was an Italian Eurofighter) but I got to thinking as I am decaling this one did I make a mistake.

Matt

[AnonymousAA72]

Most pic's I've seen of the F6 shows the pair of 100gal tanks, BUT I have noted pic's where the inner, pylon is tank-less......

[tompot]

I remember seeing Hunters at Farnborough in the fifties without wing tanks. Somewhere in my collection there may even be photos showing them.

[Tony Whittingham]

Hello Matt,

I have it on good authority from my uncle, who was at Bruggen in the fifties, that the Hunters (F4) there did not carry any stores or pylons. Here is the quote from his email:

(snip)

We were a day interceptor squadron, and the East German border was only a few minutes away, so we generally neither caried tanks nor flew long sorties. Tanks came in to general use with the low level ground support role for the later marks.

(snip)

Hope this helps

[AnonymousAA72]

Hello Matt,

I have it on good authority from my uncle, who was at Bruggen in the fifties, that the Hunters (F4) there did not carry any stores or pylons. Here is the quote from his email:

(snip)

We were a day interceptor squadron, and the East German border was only a few minutes away, so we generally neither caried tanks nor flew long sorties. Tanks came in to general use with the low level ground support role for the later marks.

(snip)

Hope this helps

Worth having a look at the pic's on this site re. RAF Jever....plenty of pic's of Hunters on here. Steam Laundry

Quite right regarding the F4, though this and the F5 were plumbed for 100gall tanks, it seems these were rarely worn - and no doubt for the reasons given by your uncle. Matt's question was relating to a 63 Sqn F6, not the F4 and looking at the pic's on RAF Jever's site, it seems early deliveries didn't and late F6's did (more or less!!). Regarding 63 Sqn though, they were based at RAF Waterbeach, and generally photo's of that unit and other F6 units of the day, seem to show a pair of tanks being carried....

Edit: Had to post this one..a 93Sqn RAF Jever F6 with 4 Tanks!!!

Edited September 24, 2009 by Bill Clark