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Development of the Hunter began with the Royal Air Force's search for a replacement for the Meteor in 1947. The first prototype was ready in mid-1951. The initial versions of the Hunter suffered from numerous problems with their aerodynamics, range and weapons. However development continued and most of the problems were fixed in the Mark 4 and Mark 6 versions of the aircraft. Hunters served as the primary fighter for the Royal Air Force well into the 1960s while two-seat trainers and ground attack variants were used until the 1970s. The Hunter was also an extremely popular export fighter eventually serving with twenty-one air forces outside of England. The Hunter Mk. 58 is the export version of the Mk. 6 fighter built for Switzerland. The Swiss Air Force used the Hunter from 1958 to 1994.
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| Wingspan |
33 ft 8 in |
| Length |
45 ft 10 1/2 in |
| Height |
13ft 2 in |
| Weight |
17,750 lbs (loaded) |
| Maximum Speed |
715 mph |
| Service Ceiling |
51,500 ft |
| Range |
1,900 miles |
| Engines |
Roll-Royce Avon 207 turbojet |
| Crew |
1 |
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