In 1962 the RAN purchased four F4D-1's for evaluation purposes to replace their F9F-8's but opted for the F-8 Crusader, instead.
The Naval Aircraft Research & Development Unit (NARDU), the RAN's version of its RAAF equivalent, was gifted the aircraft & retained them for weapons, stores pylon & targetting system testing.
In the 1973 the F4D-1's were showing their age & heavy usage, so three were retired & used for parts to keep the 4th flying.
This 4th aircraft, which just happened to be the 4th airframe purchased, was virtually rebuilt during its refit & was modified by fitting a PR nose from a F9F-8P to the airframe, & designated as an F4D-1P, the only one of its kind. With the big, long PR nose it was only natural that everyone began calling it "the pelican". Then, in 1976, the SA Film Corporation movie production of Colin Thiele's novel "Storm Boy" was released & the plane had a name - Mr Percival.
Mr Percival was a busy aircraft, being used as a chase-plane to record test flights of other aircraft & the effectiveness of weapons delivery systems he clocked up almost as many flying hours as all other test aircraft combined.
On the 4th of June 1984 an undercarriage failure caused Mr Percival to crash on landing at NAS Parafield, South Australia, luckily with no loss of life or serious injury. However, after the inquest into the accident, Mr Percival was officially scrapped on the 30th of June that same year.
These images show Mr Percival in mid-January, 1984, just 5 months before the crash.
Well, that's one down!
One to go!
Hope you like him! :)