Hunting Percival Jet Provost

Used for 'ab initio' jet training for the RAF and saw success on the export market.

Percival Jet Provost T3 in flight in 1960

The Jet Provost was initially developed as a jet engine modification of the piston-engine P.56 Provost, retaining to original wing structure mated to a new fuselage.

It was built as a private venture by Hunting Percival Aircraft Limited at Luton Airport.

The P.84 Jet Provost prototype (XD674) first flew at Luton on 26th June 1954 with Dick Wheldon at the controls. The aircraft was developed in liaison with the RAF Flying Training Command to ensure that it incorporated many of their desired characteristics such as easy instructional processes and low cost maintainance.

Later flight testing at Boscombe Down refined some of the designs and in Febraury 1955 the first of 10 pre-production aircraft took to the air. Just 3 months later 3 aircraft were asigned to the Central Flying School for assessment into an 'Ab Initio' ('from the beginning') training role.

A number of design changes and refinements were made by Hunting Percival and the T2 made its maiden flight on 1st September 1955. The T2 was purely a development variant and a number visited Scandanavia for winterization trials during the winter of that year.

In 1957 Hunting Percival received their first tangiable success for Jet Provost when a production order was received for 40 T3 aircraft with the increased power Armstrong Siddeley Viper engiine, ejector seats and a revised undercarriage arrangement.

In total, 201 T3's were built at Luton between 1958 and 1962 although the T4 variant was already underway by mid-1960. The T4 carried an improved Viper ASV.11 power unit and it was very quickly adopted into RAF service by the key training facilities at Cranwell, Little Rissington, Linton-on-Ouse as well as RAF Leeming and RAF Ackington. 198 T4's were built before a further engine upgrade and the addition of pressurisation saw the arrival of the T.5 which first flew on 28th February 1967.

BAC Jet Provost T5s in formation (XW291, XW288, XW293 & XW289)

Numerous militarised export versions of the T5 saw aircraft (T51) serving with air forces in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Kuwait and Sudan as well as T52's in Iraq, South Yemen, Sudan and Venezuela.

In October 1967, the new BAC Strikemaster took to the skies and so dawned a new era for the iconic design which started out as a private venture for Hunting Percival Aircraft over 15 years earlier.

Jet Provosts remain in service into the 1990's and due to its easy and inexpensive maintainance, a number still remain in flying and taxiable condition in private hands today.

Hunting Jet Provost Image Gallery

Hunting Jet Provost T Mk1

Hunting Jet Provost T Mk51 Ceylon Air Force (CJ701) air to air

Hunting Jet Provost T Mk5

Hunting Jet Provost T Mk5 RAF (XS231) air to air

Hunting Jet Provost T Mk4 RAF (XS231) low level flypast 16th March 1965

Specification

	Jet Provost Mk 4	Jet Provost Mk 5
Powerplant	2,500 lbst Viper 202	2,500 lbst Viper 202
Span	36 ft 11 in	35 ft 4 in
Maximum Weight	7,400 lb	6,989 lb
Capacity	Instructor / student	Instructor / student
Armament	Normally unarmed but capable of underwing stores carriage	Normally unarmed but capable of underwing stores carriage
Maximum Speed	410 mph	440 mph
Cruise Speed	390 mph
Maximum range	700 miles	900 miles

Survivors

There are 19 Jet Provost's on the British civil register as of February 2014 with a similar number still flying worldwide. Below is a list of registrations and possible locations together with static or display aircraft in the UK and gain there are over a hundred airframes worldwide.

Airworthy

Jet Provost T3A (XM424)	Was at Classic Air Force, Coventry, Warks
Jet Provost T5A (XW433/G-JPRO)	Was at Classic Air Force, Coventry, Warks
Jet Provost T4 (XR673/G-BXLO)	Century Aviation, Church Fenton, North Yorkshire
Jet Provost T5A (XW355/G-JPTV)	Century Aviation, Church Fenton, North Yorkshire
Jet Provost T5A (XW422/G-BWEB)	Delta Jets, Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire
Jet Provost T3A (XM479/G-BVEZ)	Newcastle Jet Provost Co, Newcastle
Jet Provost T5 (XW291/G-BWOF)	Privately owned, Bournemouth Airport, Dorset
Jet Provost T5 (XW325/G-BWGF)	Privately owned, Carlisle
Jet Provost T5 (XW324/G-BWSG)	Jeff Bell - Jet Aerobatics, East Midlands Airport.
Jet Provost T5A (XW333/G-BVTC)	Privately owned, Humberside
Jet Provost T3A (XN459/B-BWOT)	Privately owned, North Weald, Essex
Jet Provost T4 (XN637/G-BKOU)	Jet Provost Display Team, North Weald, Essex
Jet Provost T5A (XW289/G-JPVA)	Privately owned, RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset
Jet Provost T4/T52 (XS228/G-PROV)	Swords Aviation, North Weald, Essex
Jet Provost T5P (XS230/G-VIVM)	Swords Aviation, North Weald, Essex
Jet Provost T5A (XW310/G-BWGS)	Where Eagles Share, North Weald, Essex

Display or storage

Jet Provost T3A (XM350)

Aeroventure Museum, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Jet Provost T4 (XR650)

Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, Wiltshire

Jet Provost T4

(XR662)

Boulton & Paul Association, Wolverhampton

Jet Provost T3A

(XN586)

Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey

Jet Provost T3A

(XN586)

Brooklands Technical College, Weybridge

Jet Provost T3

(XM362)

Defence College of Aeronautical Eng, RAF Cosford, Shropshire

Jet Provost T3

(XM410)

Defence Explosives Disposal School, Chattenden, Kent

Jet Provost T4

(XP688)

Delph Training Centre, Eccelston, Lancashire

Jet Provost T4

(XP557)

Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum, Dumfries, Scotland

Jet Provost T4

(XP568)

East Midlands Aeropark, East Midlands Airport, Derbyshire

Jet Provost T3

(XM404)

Fire Training College, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

Jet Provost T3A

(XN462)

Fleet Air Arm Museum, RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset

Jet Provost T3A

(XN589)

Gate Guard, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire

Jet Provost T3A

(XN494)

Gatwick Aviation Museum, West Sussex

Jet Provost T5

(XW293/G-WBWCS)

Jet Provost Club, Bournemouth Airport, Dorset

Jet Provost T4

(XS179)

Musueum of Science and Industry, Greater Manchester

Jet Provost T3A

(XM383)

Newark Air Museum, Nottinghamshire

Jet Provost T3A

(XM419)

Newcastle College, Newcastle upon Tyne

Jet Provost T3

(XM355)

Newcastle College, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Jet Provost T3A

(XN500)

Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Suffolk

Jet Provost T4

(XP627)

North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England

Jet Provost T5A

(XW363)

North West Heritage Group, BAE-Systems Warton, Lancashire

Jet Provost T4

(XS181)

Privately owned, Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire

Jet Provost T3A

(XN584)

Privately owned, Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire

Jet Provost T4

(XS177)

Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre, Lincolnshire

Jet Provost T4

(XS186)

Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre, Lincolnshire

Jet Provost T4

(XP627)

Privately owned, North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland

Jet Provost T3

(XM369)

Privately owned, Rossendale, Lancashire

Jet Provost T3

(XM402)

Privately owned, West Walton Highway, Norfolk

Jet Provost T4

(XP638)

Privately owned, Ystrad Myrach, Mid-Glamorgan, Wales

Jet Provost T4

(XP556)

RAF Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre, Lincolnshire

Jet Provost T5A

(XW353)

RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire

Jet Provost T3

(XM351)

Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford, Shifnal, Shropshire, UK www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford

Jet Provost T5

(XW323)

Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London, UK www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london

Jet Provost T4

(8409M/XS209)

Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle Lake District Airport, Cumbria

Jet Provost T3A

(XM414)

Ulster Aviation Society, Long Kesh, County Antrim, N. Ireland

Jet Provost T3A

(XM405/G-TORE)

University of London, Northampton Square, London

Jet Provost T4

(XP640)

Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, North Yorkshire, UK www.yorkshireairmuseum.

More Information

via email to: Heritage@baesystems.com

Please note that the information shown is based on that available at the time of the creation of this web page - If you have any additions or corrections please contact: Heritage@baesystems.com