F.1 WT555 at Greenford, 1990; Graham O'Driscoll	F.1 WT569 at Kenfig Hill, 18th June 2001; Alan Kilham

WT555 was the first production F.1 and therefore quite an important airframe. First flown on 16th May 1953 from Hawker's plant at Dunsfold, it was retained by them for handling and performance trials. Retired to ground instructional duties at RAF Locking, it was then transferred to the RAF Museum at Cosford. Incredibly, they decided to dispose of it - the owner of Vanguard Haulage wasted no time in snapping it up and displays it from time to time on the roof of his business as a publicity tool. The picture above was taken in 1990 - a few months later the aircraft was removed from the roof and placed in storage; however in March 2004 the aircraft appeared on the roof once more. As Vanguard has now been swallowed up by Pickfords the aircraft's future may be in some doubt. Information current as of 05/04/2004.

WT569 was one of the first production batch of Hunter F.1s and spent some time doing development work as a result, notably aileron trials. Hopefully this overall grey is an undercoat and signifies an ongoing repaint, but unfortunately nobody was about when Alan visited so we don't know anything about current plans for this example.

F.1 WT612 at RAF Henlow, 1st April 2004; Tony Bourne	F.1 WT619 at Manchester, November 1998; Garry Lakin

The oldest Hunter gate guard in existence was Henlow's F.1 WT612. First flying in July 1954, and actually one of the development aircraft, it didn't exactly have a long career, being grounded in 1957 and spending the years until 1984 as a ground instructional airframe, being gutted internally in the process, after which it was rescued and placed on the gate at Henlow. WT612 was looking somewhat faded and tired but I'm told she's structurally sound. In early 2004 she was moved to RAF Wittering for a complete repaint and has now been returned to gate guard duties at Henlow, looking absolutely immaculate. Information current as of 03/04/2004.

One of relatively few surviving F.1s is this one at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. As you can see, large areas of the aircraft's skin have been removed to reveal the construction underneath, which gives visitors an idea of the methods used in building a 1950s jet fighter. The aircraft is kept in excellent condition and despite many years in the museum is not even dusty!

F.1 WT651 at the Newark Air Museum, 21st May 2005; Les Bywaters	F.1 WT660 at HAPS site, 29th May 2000; Bob Lawson

Thankfully a number of early Hunter variants have survived, and Newark Air Museum's F.1 WT651 is among them. At one point the gate guard at RAF Credenhill, she was looking a bit tatty and faded in early 1998 but a visit in 1999 found that the museum's rolling repaint programme had indeed reached WT651as predicted. A handful of years later and it was looking very faded once more but a further repaint and a move indoors to the new hangar hopefully mean that's the last time we'll ever see this aircraft looking anything less than immaculate! Information current as of 21/05/2005.

WT660 was the gate guard at RAF Carlisle for over 30 years, having had only a brief service life lasting from 1955 (with the DFLS) to 1957 (with 229 OCU), before being retired and used as a maintenance airframe until May 1957. After disposal, it spent many years privately owned at Cullen and was bought in November 1999 by HAPS and is currently undergoing a complete restoration for static display. The cockpit is presently being worked on and the instrumentation is complete. There is a new canopy to be fitted and the colour scheme will include the red dorsal and fin from DFLS days. It is not available at the moment for general public viewing but the end result will be worth waiting for! This aircraft is a beauty and is being carefully restored by a real enthusiast.

F.1 WT680 at Fleet Hargate, 26th April 2005; author	F.1 WT694 at Caernarfon Air World, 19th August 2001; author

Previously looked after by 1429 Squadron ATC at the Defence Test & Evaluation Organisation's facility at Aberporth, this aircraft has since been refurbished and put on display in the carpark of the Anglia Motel by the side of the A17 road. Unfortunately her repaint was carried out simply re-doing the previous inaccurate paint scheme - as a Mk.1 she never wore these colours in service. A dummy pilot has been added for effect, and the airframe allowed to rest on its tailpipe, apparently on purpose. If you do go along to take your own pictures, there's a bucket next to it for donations - the huge sum of 20 pence is requested by a notice next to the bucket! Apparently since this photo was taken she's been restored to a more normal stance, sitting on all three wheels. Information current as of 26/04/2005.

Previously beautifully presented against a huge wall painting showing Hunters in action, Caernarfon Air World's Hunter F.1 is WT694, but unfortunately she's now been moved and shoved up next to a Vampire and assorted bits and pieces, making a clear photo impossible. She is in excellent condition though the cockpit is not quite complete and one main oleo has drained, leaving her lopsided. She was previously the gate guard at RAF Debden from 1969 until 1973, when she moved to become the gate guard at RAF Newton before disposal and eventual display - thankfully undercover - at Caernarfon.

F.2 WN904 at Waterbeach, 31st May 2006; author	F.3 WB188 at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, February 13th 1999; author

At the former RAF Waterbeach (now in Army hands), a Hunter stands guard in memory of the long-gone Hunter squadrons of the 1950s that operated from there; WN904 only ever flew with 257 Squadron however. Apparently the Army were given the choice of keeping the Hunter or having it moved on (it's actually owned by the IWM), but elected to keep it there both because of their own RAF links (39 Engineers Regt. have preparation of airfields as one of their tasks) and because of its historical significance to the area - well done lads. It's years in the open had left it a bit the worse for wear, and it moved to Duxford for a respray in late 1998 before returning to Waterbeach. 7 years down the line it's looking rather faded again unfortunately. If you want to take a picture of WN904, do ask the guards at the gate first. Information current as of 31/05/2006.

The very first Hunter, indeed the prototype P.1067, has luckily survived to be preserved, due no doubt to its record-breaking status. Converted to F.3 form with pointed nose, reheat and new airbrakes, Neville Duke broke the world speed record in this very aircraft. Commemorated in 1997 by the red-painted G-HHUN, unfortunately that aircraft has since been lost in an accident, tragically killing BAe's senior test pilot. Information current as of 03/09/2005.