BAC Strikemaster
| BAC 167 Strikemaster | |
|---|---|
 BAC 167 Strikemaster |
|
| Type: | Trainer aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 26, 1967 |
| Production time: |
1967 to 1984 |
| Number of pieces: |
146 |
The BAC 167 Strikemaster is a jet-propelled aircraft intended for training and ground attacks.
history
The history of the BAC Strikemaster begins in the early 1950s when the Royal Air Force (RAF) was looking for a new trainer aircraft to replace the older war-era types.
The company Percival Aircraft designed the robust low- wing aircraft Percival Provost with propeller drive and fixed landing gear and, at that time still rare, side by side seats for teachers and students. This solved a problem of the older types like the T-6 Texan / Havard : the flight instructor's poor view of the front. The aircraft was propelled by a 550 hp / 410 kW radial engine Alvis Leonides 126 . The prototype first flew on February 23, 1950 and the aircraft was named Provost T.Mk. I by the RAF from 1953, put into service as a standard training aircraft. Percival became part of the Hunting Group in 1954. When production ended in 1959, 491 machines had been built.
At that time, the training system was anything but logical, because the trainee pilot immediately switched from the propeller plane to the training version of the de Havilland DH100 Vampire , a fully- fledged current fighter jet, even if it was getting on in years. At Hunting, the idea of building an aircraft that could close the performance gap between Provost and Vampire matured . They took the wing and tail unit of the Provost and redesigned the fuselage so that a jet engine ( Armstrong Siddeley Viper ) could be installed. In addition, a retractable nose wheel landing gear was installed, which could be very compact, as no propeller required large ground clearance.
Put into service
The RAF ordered ten of these machines in March 1953 and the first aircraft was flown on June 26, 1954. In 1955 this model was named the Jet Provost T.Mk. I put into service. This model soon gained a good reputation for its economy and almost proverbial robustness, which was in no way inferior to the Soviet designs. Over the years, wing tip tanks, more powerful engines, a pressurized cabin were installed and structural reinforcements were made on the various versions. At BAC, the hunting group had meanwhile become part of this consortium, the idea came up of converting the BAC 145, as the Jet Provost was now called, into a weapons trainer and, in the event of war, a light attack aircraft.
Weapon training was also possible with the original version to a very limited extent. The aircraft, now designated as BAC 167, has two permanently installed machine guns and underwing stations for a total load of 1360 kg, has now been named Strikemaster and corresponds to the RAF version Jet Provost T.Mk. V. The Royal Air Force never used the name Strikemaster .
export
This type became the first choice for many smaller air forces. The aircraft was exported to Ecuador, Kenya, Kuwait , New Zealand , Oman , Singapore , Sudan and Saudi Arabia . Oman's planes have been shown to have flown combat missions and have performed well. The RAF replaced the Jet Provost / Strikemaster with the BAe Hawk in the early 1990s . For details on using the Jet Provost / Strikemaster in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, see Royal New Zealand Air Force .
The Strikemaster is still in use and is now being looked after by British Aerospace , which has incorporated BAC.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Type | two-seat light tactical fighter and trainer aircraft |
| length | 10.27 m |
| span | 11.23 m |
| height | 3.34 m |
| Empty mass | 2810 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 5216 kg |
| Engine | Rolls-Royce Viper Mk 535 jet engine with 1547 kp thrust |
| Top speed | 774 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 13,410 m |
| Use radius | 233 km (with full payload) |
swell
- Data are taken from the compilation AERO, which appeared in the 1980s to 90s.
