Thunder & Lightnings

Hawker Hunter - Survivor WP190

F.5 WP190 - Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Tangmere, West Sussex

Click for previous survivorSurvivor imageClick for next survivor

Hunter F.5 WP190 at Tangmere, 26th May 2019; Damien Burke

One of only two surviving F.5s, WP190 served with 1 Squadron, based at RAF Tangmere, and saw action in the Suez Crisis. Retired in 1958 to become an instructional airframe, in 1974 it became the gate guard at RAF Stanbridge and for a brief period masqueraded as WP180 (an aircraft destroyed on the ground by EOKA terrorists during the Suez Crisis).

In more recent years she was acquired by the Hunter Restoration Flight. Owned by Raymond Hansed, a five year restoration effort by Raymond, Sandy, John Holder and Sid Griffiths has brought it to the excellent condition you can see here. The markings the aircraft wears are those she wore during the Suez crisis, and it is thought that WP190 is the only preserved RAF aircraft in existence that actually took part in that conflict - she is also one of only two F.Mk.5s in existence.

Gifted to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Trust on 5th June 2002, she was stored off-site until the new hangar was completed and then moved indoors where she has remained ever since. She's displayed with a gun pack and nearby there is a sectioned Aden cannon that can be 'operated' by museum visitors to demonstrate the mechanism.

Information on this page current as of 10/01/2021, last updated by Damien

Find other photos of WP190 on the following sites:

Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net