Author Topic: Hawker Super Hunter F.11  (Read 3050 times)

Offline Aeroplanedriver

  • Newly Joined - Welcome me!
Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« on: June 22, 2021, 02:31:50 PM »
My entry to the One Week GB on the other site...Revell 1/72 Hunter FGA.9 + Freightdog resin sets for P.1083 supersonic wing and P.1109B Radar nose Hunter. 

From the beginning the Hawker Hunter was a capable fighter for its time, but despite its export success it lost out to supersonic contemporaries such as the F-100 and Mirage. 

In 1955 the Hawker P.1109B demonstrated a radar equipped Hunter armed with guided missiles in the form of the IR guided DeHavilland Firestreak.  Another development explored a supersonic version with a thinner, more highly swept wing and an afterburing Avon engine.  Seeing the potential of merging these developments Hawker produced the P.1112 in late 1956.  There was immediate interest from overseas with this new "Super Hunter" capable of Mach 1.4 and a cruise speed of Mach .94-.97 without the use of afterburner.  RAF interest was lukewarm with the new Mach 2+ EE Lightning well into development, and other even more ambitious fighters on the drawing board. 

Then the axe fell on the RAF in the form of the March 1957 Defense White Paper which announced that the era of the manned fighter was largely over.  The Lightning was spared, but all other promising future fighters were abandoned.  Suddenly the RAF saw the supersonic Hunter as a way to supplement fighter number without introducing a "new" aircraft.  The upgrade was given the designation Hunter F.11, following on from the FGA.9 ground attack upgrade of the F.6 already in development.  In production form the F.11 was equipped with the Ferranti AI.23 AIRPASS Radar system that also equipped the Lightning.  This capable radar set combined with a potential warlord of four Firestreak missiles turned the Hunter into a capable interceptor. 

In Early 1959 the RAF ordered 128 Hunter F.11s, with the first 36 being upgraded F.6 airframes.  Experience with the upgrade showed that a new build would actually be easier and in some ways cheaper than the extensive upgrade, plus with export interest heating up a new production line was warranted. 

The F.11 served with the RAF from late 1959 until 1985 when the last RAuxAF squadron disbanded.  Twelve examples remained in service the Royal Navy FRADU until 1994. 

Export customers included Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Thailand, and Norway with F.11 production totaling 488 including conversions from F.6 models. 

This model depicts an F.11 serving with 74 "Tiger" Squadron in late 1962.  Following Iraq's failed invasion of Kuwait in 1961 the UK beefed up its military presence in the region, deploying two squadrons of Hunter F.11s and a squadron of Canberra bombers to Muharraq in Bahrain.








Offline kitnut617

  • Measures the actual aircraft before modelling it...we have the photographic evidence.
  • Holding Pattern
  • *
  • I'd rather be dirtbike riding...
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2021, 09:47:18 PM »
Hmm! yeah! that does look nice Nick  :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
  • "Define 'interesting'?"
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2021, 10:28:30 PM »
She's one pretty beast! :-*
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

  • Unaffiliated Independent Subversive...and the last person to go for a trip on a Mexicana dH Comet 4
  • Global Moderator
  • His stash is able to be seen from space...
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2021, 11:30:43 PM »
Definitely a real beauty to see and an excellent back story to round it all out.  :smiley:
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
  • Administrator - Yep, I'm the one to blame for this place.
  • Whiffing Demi-God!
    • Beyond the Sprues
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2021, 02:33:24 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Buzzbomb

  • Low Concentration Span, oft wanders betwixt projects
  • Accurate Scale representations of fictional stuff
    • Club and my stuff site
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2021, 06:45:55 AM »
Everything there is excellent.  :smiley:

Offline apophenia

  • Perversely enjoys removing backgrounds.
  • Patterns? What patterns?
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2021, 06:57:37 AM »
Very nice! And an excellent backstory  :smiley:
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline kim margosein

  • Newly Joined - Welcome me!
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2021, 10:09:41 AM »
This is a great model of a beautiful airplane.  My hat if off to you.  However, I am reminded of a remark by the lat Roy Braybrook (paraphrase)  "those who cry in their beer over the demise of the thin wing Hunter need to look at the Northrop F-5 to see what a real transonic fighter looks like"

Offline elmayerle

  • Its about time there was an Avatar shown here...
  • Über Engineer...at least that is what he tells us.
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2021, 11:55:32 AM »
Damn, that's beautiful and with a great backstory, too.

Offline Volkodav

  • Counts rivits with his abacus...
  • Much older now...but procrastinating about it
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2021, 12:35:17 PM »
Very nice!

I actually have all those bits in my stash too, was planning a carrier based version, but as I am currently a model kit collector as opposed to a model kit builder, who knows if it will ever happen.

Offline Aeroplanedriver

  • Newly Joined - Welcome me!
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #10 on: June 26, 2021, 01:52:07 AM »
Very nice!

I actually have all those bits in my stash too, was planning a carrier based version, but as I am currently a model kit collector as opposed to a model kit builder, who knows if it will ever happen.

I was considering a carrier version with he parts but decided it was too much work for a One Week GB.  I have another set of the wings/afterburner but I don't have another radar nose.  In the past I've made a radar nose for a Hunter from the forward end of a 1/48 F-15 drop tank, and it fit perfectly.  I think the model is maybe on here somewhere.  Anyway, I do have a plan for a Royal Navy Super Hunter in some form....either carrier based or a late Cold War shore-based interceptor to supplement RAF Tornadoes in the 80s. 

Thanks for the kind comments folks!

Offline Silverfox

  • Newly Joined - Welcome me!
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2021, 04:49:18 PM »
That's gorgeous! I have thought of doing an updated/upgraded Hunter with a radar nose myself, although it would be in 1/48th scale. This is a good inspiration though!
I love the colour scheme too, it just goes perfectly with the shape of the aircraft.

Offline KiwiZac

  • The Modeller Formerly Known As K5054NZ
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #12 on: June 27, 2021, 09:49:59 AM »
Oooooh that's nice. Beautiful work all round!
Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG"
https://linktr.ee/zacyates

Offline Aeroplanedriver

  • Newly Joined - Welcome me!
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #13 on: June 27, 2021, 12:32:20 PM »
That's gorgeous! I have thought of doing an updated/upgraded Hunter with a radar nose myself, although it would be in 1/48th scale. This is a good inspiration though!
I love the colour scheme too, it just goes perfectly with the shape of the aircraft.

Like I said I have previously done 1/72 radar-nosed Hunters with 1/48 F-15 drop tank noses as the radome and it worked perfectly.  The ratios of 48:72 and 32:48 are both .666666 so a 1/32 Eagle drop tank should be perfect for a 1/48 Hunter.  I REALLLLLLY wish Colin would do some of his Hunter resin mods for the 1/48 Airfix kit but he has given me a very legitimate reason why he doesn't. 

Offline Volkodav

  • Counts rivits with his abacus...
  • Much older now...but procrastinating about it
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #14 on: June 27, 2021, 07:32:09 PM »
I REALLLLLLY wish Colin would do some of his Hunter resin mods for the 1/48 Airfix kit but he has given me a very legitimate reason why he doesn't.

Because 1/72 is the only real scale?

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
  • "Define 'interesting'?"
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2021, 07:57:00 PM »
I REALLLLLLY wish Colin would do some of his Hunter resin mods for the 1/48 Airfix kit but he has given me a very legitimate reason why he doesn't.

Because 1/72 is the only real scale?

Brother Paul, that is just so-o wrong! :o

And, boy, are you in Greg's Bad Book, now! :icon_crap:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Aeroplanedriver

  • Newly Joined - Welcome me!
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #16 on: June 28, 2021, 01:14:20 AM »
I REALLLLLLY wish Colin would do some of his Hunter resin mods for the 1/48 Airfix kit but he has given me a very legitimate reason why he doesn't.

Because 1/72 is the only real scale?


That was NOT his legitimate reason!   ::) ;)

Offline elmayerle

  • Its about time there was an Avatar shown here...
  • Über Engineer...at least that is what he tells us.
Re: Hawker Super Hunter F.11
« Reply #17 on: June 28, 2021, 03:09:07 AM »
That's very tempting to duplicate.  One thing I'd be tempted to add as a later update would be the 3 foot fuselage fuel tank extension the CFE asked for/suggested.