BAC Strikemaster

BAC 167 Strikemaster
BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk 82A in Sultan of Oman's Air Force colour scheme at the 2013 Shoreham Airshow
Role Attack aircraft, trainer aircraft
Manufacturer British Aircraft Corporation
First flight 26 October 1967
Status In service with 5 countries
Primary users Saudi Arabia
Ecuador
Kenya Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal Air Force of Oman
Produced 1967-1984
Number built 146
Developed from BAC Jet Provost

The BAC 167 Strikemaster is a British jet-powered training and light attack aircraft. It was a development of the Hunting Jet Provost trainer, itself a jet engined version of the Percival Provost, which originally flew in 1950 with a radial piston engine.

Design and development

The BAC 167 Strikemaster is essentially an armed version of the Jet Provost T Mk 5; the Strikemaster was modified with an uprated engine, wing hardpoints, a strengthened airframe, new communication and navigation gear, uprated ejection seats, shortened landing gear, and a revised fuel system including conformal fuel tanks on the wing tips.[1] First flown in 1967, the aircraft was marketed as a light attack or counter-insurgency aircraft, but most large-scale purchasers were air forces wanting an advanced trainer, although Ecuador, Oman and Yemen have used their aircraft in combat. A total of 146 were built.

Operational history

The Strikemaster was capable of operating from rough air strips, with dual ejection seats suitable even for low-altitude escape, and it was therefore widely used by third-world nations. Operations by the type were restricted by most military users after the Royal New Zealand Air Force found fatigue cracking in the wings of its aircraft. Many aircraft retired by Botswana, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Singapore have found their way into museums and private collections.

The Strikemaster was deployed by the Royal Air Force of Oman on several occasions during the Dhofar Rebellion, including a notable appearance providing Close Air Support during the Battle of Mirbat. Three Strikemasters were shot down over the course of the war, including one lost to an SA-7 missile.

The Ecuadorian Air Force deployed the Strikemaster during the brief 1995 Cenepa War, flying ground sorties against Peruvian positions. An Ecuadorian Strikemaster crashed during a training mission in the Northern Border area, near Colombia, on 25 March 2009. Both pilots ejected; one later died of injuries received during the rescue attempt.[2]

Variants

Photographed 14 years after it was retired, this BAC Strikemaster still wears the colours of No. 14 Squadron RNZAF.
The four BAC Strikemasters of the UK aerobatics display team Team Viper at Cotswold Airport, Gloucestershire, England
One of Botswana's Strikemasters
RNZAF Strikemasters in 1984

Production

Operators

 Botswana
 Ecuador
 Kenya
 Kuwait
 New Zealand
 Oman
 Saudi Arabia
 Singapore
 South Yemen
 Sudan
 United States

Specifications (Strikemaster Mk 88)

BAC Strikemaster, Shoreham Airshow 2014

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77[3]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "BAC Strikemaster Strike Aircraft (1967)" page 2 MilitaryFactory, 7/2/2014
  2. ↑ "Ejected Pilot Survives Crash, Dies During Rescue Accident." foxnews.com, 26 March 2009. Retrieved: 26 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Taylor 1976, pp. 172–173.
Bibliography
  • Taylor, John W.R. "Hunting Jet Provost and BAC 167." Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.

External links

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