Hunting T.3A Jet Provost

The Jet Provost was designed in response to a 1950s Royal Air Force requirement for a jet trainer. It was based on the earlier propeller driven Hunting Persival Provost. The first flight of the prototype Jet Provost T.1 took place June 26, 1954. Deliveries of the first production version, the T.3, began in 1958 and a total of 201 were delivered to the RAF by 1962. Several versions of the Jet Provost remained in RAF service until 1993 when the last of them were retired. Jet Provosts were exported to several countries especially in the Persian Gulf region. In addition an armed ground attack version of the aircraft the Strikemaster was built and widely exported. Surplus Jet Provosts have become popular in private hands where they are well liked for their reliability and performance.