Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s . The single - seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft , and later operated in fighter - bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts . Two - seat variants remained in use for training and secondary roles with the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) and Royal Navy until the early 1990s . The Hunter was also widely exported , serving with 21 other air forces ; 50 years after its original introduction it is still in active service , operating with the Lebanese Air Force . On 7 September 1953 , the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record , achieving 727 . 63 mph ( 1 , 171 . 01 km / h ) . Hunters were also used by two RAF display teams ; the " Black Arrows " , who on one occasion looped a record - breaking 22 examples in formation , and later the " Blue Diamonds " , who flew 16 aircraft . Overall , 1 , 972 Hunters were produced by Hawker Siddeley and under licence . In British service , the aircraft was replaced by the English Electric Lightning , the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and the McDonnell Douglas Phantom . Development . Origins . At the end of the Second World War , it was apparent that jet propulsion would be the future of fighter development . Many companies were quick to come up with airframe designs for this new means of propulsion , among these was Hawker Aviation ' s chief designer , Sydney Camm . The origins of the Hunter trace back to the Hawker Sea Hawk straight - wing carrier - based fighter , which had originally been marketed towards the Royal Air Force rather than the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy ; however the demonstrator Hawker P . 1040 did not attract the RAF ' s interest . The Sea Hawk had a straight wing and used the Rolls - Royce Nene turbojet engine , both features that rapidly became obsolete . Seeking better performance and fulfilment of the Air Ministry Specification E . 38 / 46 , Sydney Camm designed the Hawker P . 1052 , which was essentially a Sea Hawk with a 35 - degree swept wing . First flying in 1948 , the P . 1052 demonstrated good performance and conducted several carrier trials , but did not warrant further development into a production aircraft . As a private venture , Hawker converted the second P . 1052 prototype into the Hawker P . 1081 with swept tailplanes , a revised fuselage , and a single jet exhaust at the rear . First flown on 19 June 1950 , the P . 1081 was promising enough to draw interest from the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) , but further development was stalled by difficulties with the engine reheat . The sole prototype was lost in a crash in 1951 . P . 1067 . In 1946 , the Air Ministry issued Specification F . 43 / 46 for a daytime jet - powered interceptor . Camm prepared a new design for a swept - winged fighter powered by the upcoming Rolls - Royce Avon turbojet . The Avon ' s major advantage over the Rolls - Royce Nene , used in the earlier Sea Hawk , was the axial compressor , which allowed for a much smaller engine diameter and provided greater thrust ; this single engine gave roughly the same power as the two Rolls - Royce Derwent s of the Gloster Meteor s that would be replaced by the new fighter . In March 1948 , the Air Ministry issued a revised Specification F . 3 / 48 , which demanded a speed of 629 mph ( 1 , 010 km / h ) at 45 , 000 ft ( 13 , 700 m ) and a high rate of climb , while carrying an armament of four or two 30 mm ( 1 . 18 in ) cannon ( rather than the large - calibre gun demanded by earlier specifications ) . Initially fitted with a single air intake in the nose and a T - tail , the project rapidly evolved into the more familiar Hunter shape . The intakes were moved to the wing roots to make room for weapons and radar in the nose , and a more conventional tail arrangement was devised as a result of stability concerns . The P . 1067 first flew from RAF Boscombe Down on 20 July 1951 , powered by a 6 , 500 lbf ( 28 . 91 kN ) Avon 103 engine . The second prototype , which was fitted with production avionics , armament and a 7 , 550 lbf ( 33 . 58 kN ) Avon 107 turbojet , first flew on 5 May 1952 . As an insurance against Avon development problems , Hawker modified the design to accommodate another axial turbojet , the 8 , 000 lbf ( 35 . 59 kN ) Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 101 . Fitted with a Sapphire , the third prototype flew on 30 November 1952 . The Ministry of Supply ordered the Hunter into production in March 1950 . The Hunter F . 1 , fitted with a 7 , 600 lbf ( 33 . 80 kN ) Avon 113 turbojet , flew on 16 March 1953 . The first 20 aircraft were , in effect , a pre - production series and featured a number of " one - off " modifications such as blown flap s and area ruled fuselage . On 7 September 1953 , the sole Hunter Mk 3 ( the modified first prototype , " WB 188 " ) flown by Neville Duke broke the world air speed record , achieving 727 . 63 mph ( 1 , 171 . 01 km / h ) over Littlehampton . The record stood for under three weeks before being broken on 25 September 1953 by an RAF Supermarine Swift flown by Michael Lithgow . Design . Overview . The Hunter entered service with the Royal Air Force as an interceptor aircraft ; the type being the first jet aircraft produced by Hawker for the RAF . From the outset it was clear that the type had exceptional performance , being the first RAF aircraft capable of effectively matching the English Electric Canberra bomber ; the Hunter also set numerous aviation records , including absolute speed records . The type was also lauded for its quick turnaround time , enabled by features such as its removable gun pack , pressurised fuelling system , and its easy handling in flight . The definitive version of the Hunter was the FGA . 9 , on which the majority of export versions were based . Although the Supermarine Swift had initially been politically favoured , the Hunter proved to be far more successful , and would have a lengthy service life due to its low maintenance and operating costs . As the RAF received newer aircraft capable of supersonic speeds to perform the air interceptor role , many Hunters would be modified and re - equipped for undertaking ground - attack and reconnaissance missions instead ; Hunters deemed to be surplus to the RAF ' s requirements were also quickly refurbished for continued service abroad , the Hunter would be procured by a considerable number of foreign nations . In addition to former RAF aircraft , roughly half of the nearly 2 , 000 Hunters produced had been manufactured specifically for overseas customers . The Hunter would be in operational service with the RAF for over 30 years ; as late as 1996 hundreds were still in active service with various operators across the world . Armament and equipment . The single - seat fighter versions of the Hunter were armed with four ADEN cannon , with 150 rounds of ammunition per gun . The cannon and ammunition boxes were contained in a single pack that could be removed from the aircraft for rapid re - arming and maintenance . Unusually , the barrels of the cannon remained in the aircraft while the pack was removed and changed . In the two - seat version , either a single 30 mm ADEN cannon was carried or , in some export versions , two , with a removable ammunition tank . Later versions of the Hunter were fitted with SNEB Pods ; these were rocket projectiles in 18 - round Matra pods , providing an effective strike capability against ground targets . The Hunter featured a nose - mounted ranging radar , providing automatic ranging for aiming various armaments . Other equipment included pylon - mounted underwing external fuel tanks , a forward - facing gun camera , and large streamlined pods for collecting expended shell cases beneath the gun pack . Several variants were fitted with tail - mounted brake parachutes . Typically , export Hunters would be equipped to be compatible with additional types of missiles , such as the AIM - 9 Sidewinder air - to - air missile and the AGM - 65 Maverick air - to - surface missile . Layout and structure . The Hunter is a conventional swept wing all - metal monoplane . The fuselage is of monocoque construction , with a removable rear section for engine maintenance . The engine was fed through triangular air intakes in the wing roots and had a single jetpipe in the rear of the fuselage . The mid - mounted wings had a leading edge sweep of 35° and slight anhedral , the tailplanes and fin were also swept . The Hunter ' s aerodynamic qualities were increasingly infringed upon by modifications featuring upon later production models , such as the addition of external containers to collect spent gun cartridges , underwing fuel tanks to increase range , leading edge extensions to resolve pitch control difficulties , and a large ventral air brake . The airframe of the Hunter consists of six interchangeable major sections : the forward fuselage ( housing the cockpit and armament pack ) , center fuselage ( including the integral wing roots and air duct intakes ) , rear fuselage , tail unit assembly , and two individually - produced wings . Production was divided up as so to allow major sections to be completed individually and to allow manufacturing of the type to be dispersed to reduce vulnerability to attack . Establishing initial full - rate production for the type was difficult , manufacturing the Hunter required the development of 3 , 250 tool designs and the procurement of 40 , 000 fixtures , jigs , and tools . Engine . The P . 1067 first flew from RAF Boscombe Down on 20 July 1951 , powered by a 6 , 500 lbf ( 28 . 91 kN ) Avon 103 engine from an English Electric Canberra bomber . The second prototype was fitted with a 7 , 550 lbf ( 33 . 58 kN ) Avon 107 turbojet . Hawker ' s third prototype was powered by an 8 , 000 lbf ( 35 . 59 kN ) Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 101 . Production Hunters were fitted with either the Avon or the Sapphire engine . Early on in the Hunter ' s service the Avon engines proved to have poor surge margins , and worryingly suffered compressor stall s when the cannon were fired , sometimes resulting in flameout s . The practise of " fuel dipping " , reducing fuel flow to the engine when the cannon were fired , was a satisfactory solution . Although the Sapphire did not suffer from the flameout problems of the Avon and had better fuel economy , Sapphire - powered Hunters suffered many engine failures . The RAF elected to persevere with the Avon in order to simplify supply and maintenance , since the same engine was also used by the Canberra bomber . The RAF sought more thrust than was available from the Avon 100 series ; in response Rolls - Royce developed the Avon 200 series engine . This was an almost wholly new design , equipped with a new compressor to put an end to surge problems , an annular combustion chamber , and an improved fuel control system . The resulting Avon 203 produced 10 , 000 lbf ( 44 . 48 kN ) of thrust , and was the engine for the Hunter F . 6 . Operational history . Royal Air Force . The Hunter F . 1 entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1954 . It was the first high - speed jet aircraft equipped with radar and fully powered flight controls to go into widespread service with the RAF . The Hunter replaced the Gloster Meteor , the Canadair Sabre , and the de Havilland Venom jet fighters in service . Initially , low internal fuel capacity restricted the Hunter ' s performance , giving it only a maximum flight endurance of about an hour . A tragic incident occurred on 8 February 1956 , when a flight of eight Hunters was redirected to another airfield owing to adverse weather conditions . Six of the eight aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed , killing one pilot . Another difficulty encountered during the aircraft ' s introduction was the occurrence of surging and stalling with the Avon engines . The F . 2 , which used the Armstrong - Siddeley Sapphire engine , did not suffer from this issue . Further problems occurred ; ejected cannon ammunition links had a tendency to strike and damage the underside of the fuselage , and diverting the gas emitted by the cannon during firing was another necessary modification . The original split - flap airbrakes caused adverse changes in pitch trim and were quickly replaced by a single ventral airbrake . This meant , however , that the airbrake could not be used for landings . To address the problem of range , a production Hunter F . 1 was fitted with a modified wing that featured bag - type fuel tanks in the leading edge and " wet " hardpoints . The resulting Hunter F . 4 first flew on 20 October 1954 , and entered service in March 1955 . A distinctive Hunter feature added on the F . 4 was the pair of blisters under the cockpit , which collected spent ammunition links to prevent airframe damage . Crews dubbed them " Sabrinas " after the contemporary movie star . The Sapphire - powered version of the F . 4 was designated the Hunter F . 5 . The RAF later received Hunters equipped with an improved Avon engine . The Avon 203 produced 10 , 000 lbf ( 44 . 48 kN ) of thrust and was fitted to " XF 833 " , which became the first Hunter F . 6 . Some other revisions on the F . 6 included a revised fuel tank layout , the centre fuselage tanks being replaced by new ones in the rear fuselage ; the " Mod 228 " wing , which has a distinctive " dogtooth " leading edge notch to alleviate the pitch - up problem ; and four " wet " hardpoints , finally giving the aircraft a good ferry range . The Hunter F . 6 was given the company designation " Hawker P . 1099 " . During the Suez Crisis of 1956 , Hunters of No . 1 and No . 34 Squadrons based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus flew escort for English Electric Canberra bombers on offensive missions into Egypt . For most of the conflict the Hunters engaged in local air defence due to their lack of range . During the Brunei Revolt in 1962 , the Royal Air Force deployed Hunters and Gloster Javelin s over Brunei to provide support for British ground forces ; Hunters launched both dummy and real strafing runs on ground targets to intimidate and pin down rebels . In one event , several Bruneian and expatriate hostages were due to be executed by rebels ; Hunter aircraft flew over Limbang while the hostages had been rescued by Royal Marines from 42 Commando in a fierce battle . In the following years of the Borneo Confrontation , Hunters were deployed along with other RAF aircraft in Borneo and Malaya . The Hunter F . 6 was retired from its day fighter role in the RAF by 1963 , being replaced by the much faster English Electric Lightning interceptor . Many F . 6s were then given a new lease of life in the close air support role , converting into the Hunter FGA . 9 variant . The FGA . 9 saw frontline use from 1960 to 1971 , alongside the closely related Hunter FR . 10 tactical reconnaissance variant . The Hunters were also used by two RAF display units ; the " Black Arrows " of No . 111 Squadron who set a record by looping and barrel roll ing 22 Hunters in formation , and later the " Blue Diamonds " of No . 92 Squadron who flew 16 Hunters . In Aden in May 1964 , Hunter FGA . 9s and FR . 10s of No . 43 Squadron RAF and No . 8 Squadron RAF were used extensively during the Radfan campaign against insurgents attempting to overthrow the Federation of South Arabia . SAS forces would routinely call in air strikes that required considerable precision , and , predominantly using 3 - inch high explosive rockets and 30 mm ADEN cannon , the Hunter proved itself to be an able ground - attack platform . Both squadrons continued operations with their Hunters until the UK withdrew from Aden in November 1967 . Hunters were flown by No . 63 , No . 234 and No . 79 Squadron s acting in training roles for foreign and Commonwealth students . These remained in service until after the Hawk T . 1 entered service in the mid - 1970s . Two - seat trainer versions of the Hunter , the T . 7 and T . 8 , remained in use for training and secondary roles by the RAF and Royal Navy until the early 1990s ; when the Blackburn Buccaneer retired from service , the requirement for Hunter trainers was nullified and consequently all were retired . Indian Air Force . India arranged for Hunters to be purchased in 1954 as a part of a wider arms deal with Britain , placing an order for 140 Hunter single - seat fighters ; simultaneous to an announcement by Pakistan of its own purchase of several North American F - 86 Sabre jet fighters . The Indian Air Force ( IAF ) was the first to operate the Hunter T . 66 trainers , placing an initial order in 1957 ; the more powerful engine was considered beneficial in a hot environment , allowing for greater takeoff weights . During the 1960s , Pakistan investigated the possibility of buying as many as 40 English Electric Lightning s , but Britain was unenthusiastic about the potential sales opportunity because of the damage it would do to its relations with India , which at the time was still awaiting the delivery of large numbers of ex - RAF Hunters . By the outbreak of the Sino - Indian War in 1962 , India had assembled one of the largest air forces in Asia , and the Hunter was the nation ' s primary and most capable interceptor . During the conflict , the Hunter demonstrated its superiority over China ' s Russian - sourced MiGs and gave India a strategic advantage in the air . India ' s aerial superiority deterred Chinese Ilyushin Il - 4 bombers from attacking targets within India . In 1962 , India had selected to procure its first supersonic - capable fighter , the Mikoyan - Gurevich MiG - 21 ; large numbers of Russian - built fighters had increasingly supplemented the aging Hunters in the interceptor role by 1970 . The Hunter was to play a major role during the Indo - Pakistani War of 1965 ; along with the Gnat the Hunter was India ' s primary air defence fighter , and regularly engaged in dogfights with the Pakistani F - 86 Sabres and F - 104 Starfighters . The aerial war saw both sides conducting thousands of sorties in a single month . Both sides claimed victory in the air war , Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 aircraft against its own losses of 19 , while India claimed to have destroyed 73 enemy aircraft and lost 35 of its own . Despite the intense fighting , the conflict was effectively a stalemate . IAF Hunters performed extensive operations during the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 ; India had six combat - ready squadrons of Hunters at the start of the conflict . Pakistani infantry and armoured forces attacked the Indian outpost of Longewala in an event now known as the Battle of Longewala . Six IAF Hunters stationed at Jaisalmer Air Force Base were able to halt the Pakistani advance at Longewala by conducting non - stop bombing raids . The aircraft attacked Pakistani tanks , armoured personnel carriers and gun positions and contributed to the increasingly - chaotic battlefield conditions , which ultimately led to the retreat of Pakistan ' s ground forces . Hunters were also used for many ground - attack missions and raids inside Pakistan ' s borders , such as the high - profile bombing of the Attock Oil refinery to limit Pakistani fuel supplies . In the aftermath of the conflict , Pakistan claimed to have shot down a total of 32 of India ' s Hunters . Due to unfavorable currency conditions and conflicting pressures on the military budget , several prospective procurements of modern aircraft such as the SEPECAT Jaguar and the British Aerospace Sea Harrier were put on hold following the 1971 war ; the indigenously developed HAL HF - 24 Marut had also not been as successful as hoped , thus the IAF decided to retain the aging fleets of Hunters and English Electric Canberra bombers . After considering several foreign aircraft to replace the Hunter , including the Dassault Mirage F1 , the Saab 37 Viggen , and several Soviet models , the Indian government announced its intention to procure 200 Jaguars , a large portion of which were to be assembled domestically , in October 1978 . In 1996 , the last of the IAF ' s Hunters were phased out of service , the remaining single squadron operating the Hunter converting to the significantly newer Sukhoi Su - 30MKI . Swedish Air Force . In the early 1950s , the Swedish Air Force saw the need for an interceptor that could reach enemy bombers at a higher altitude than the J 29 Tunnan that formed the backbone of the fighter force . A contract for 120 Hawker Hunters Mk 50s ( equivalent to the Mk 4 ) was therefore signed on 29 June 1954 and the first aircraft was delivered on 26 August 1955 . The model was designated J 34 and was assigned to the F 8 and F 18 wings that defended Stockholm . The J 34 was armed with four 30 mm ( 1 . 18 in ) cannons and two Sidewinder s . The Swedish Air Force ' s aerobatic team Acro Hunters used five J 34s during the late 1950s . The J 34s were gradually replaced by supersonic J 35 Draken and re - assigned to less prominent air wings , F 9 in Gothenburg and F 10 in Ängelholm , during the 1960s . A project to improve the performance of the J 34 resulted in several Hunters being fitted with a Swedish - designed afterburner in 1958 . While this significantly increased the engine ' s thrust , there was little improvement in performance , so the project was shelved , and the last J 34s were retired in 1969 . Swiss Air Force . In 1957 , the Swiss Air Force performed an extensive evaluation of several aircraft for a prospective purchase ; competitors included the North American F - 86 Sabre , the Folland Gnat , and the Hawker Hunter ; a pair of Hunters were loaned to the Swiss for further trials and testing . In January 1958 , the government of Switzerland chose to terminate their independent fighter aircraft project , the in - development FFA P - 16 , instead choosing to order 100 Hunters to replace their existing fleet of de Havilland Vampire fighters . further development of the indigenous P - 16 was discontinued . This initial order for 100 single - seat Hunters consisted of 12 refurbished RAF F . 6s , and 88 new - built F . 58s . Swiss Hunters were operated as interceptors , with a secondary ground - attack role ; from 1963 onwards , the outboard wing pylons were modified to carry two AIM - 9 Sidewinder air - to - air missiles . In the ground - attack role , the Swiss Air Force maintained an arsenal of conventional iron bombs , a number of compatible napalm bombs were also maintained for intended use by the Hunters . In the interceptor role , the Hunters were supplemented by a surface to air missile ( SAM ) defence system also procured from the United Kingdom , based on the Bristol Bloodhound . A portion of the Hunter fleet was permanently placed in reserve as " sleeper squadrons " , housed in remote mountain - side hangars . It was planned that in a large - scale conflict , these aircraft would fly from adjacent highways , using them as improvised runways . The " Patrouille Suisse " flight demonstration team were prominent fliers of the Hawker Hunter for several decades . Squadron aircraft were fitted with smoke generators on the engine exhausts and , later on , were painted in a distinctive red - and - white livery . The group officially formed on 22 August 1964 , and used the Hunter as its display aircraft until it was withdrawn from use in 1994 , the team continued to perform flight display using newer aircraft . The Hunter fleet endured several attempts to procure successor aircraft to the type ; in the case of the Dassault Mirage III this had been due to excessive cost overruns and poor project management rather than the attributes of the Hunter itself . A second attempt to replace the Hunter resulted in a competition between the French Dassault Milan and the U . S . LTV A - 7 Corsair II . Although the A - 7 was eventually chosen as the winner , it would not be purchased and further 30 refurbished Hunters ( 22 F . 58As and eight T . 68 trainers ) were purchased in 1974 instead . By 1975 , plans were laid to replace the Hunter in the air - to - air role with a more modern fighter aircraft , the Northrop F - 5E Tiger II . The Hunter remained in a key role within the Swiss Air Force ; like the RAF ' s Hunter fleet , the type transitioned to become the country ' s primary ground attack platform , replacing the Venom . While the Swiss Hunters already had more armament options than the RAF aircraft , being cleared to carry Oerlikon 80 mm rockets instead of the elderly 3 - inch rockets used by the RAF , to carry bombs from both inner and outer pylons and to launch AIM - 9 Sidewinder air - to - air missiles , the change to a primary air - to - ground role resulted in the Hunter 80 upgrade , adding chaff / flare dispensers , BL755 cluster bomb s and the ability to carry AGM - 65 Maverick missiles . In the 1990s , the discovery of wing cracking lead to the quick scrapping of all Hunter F . 58As . The end of the Cold War also allowed Switzerland to retire its Hunters earlier than expected , even before taking delivery of the McDonnell Douglas F / A - 18 Hornet s that had been ordered as replacements for the type ; the Hunter was completely withdrawn from Swiss service in 1994 . Author Fiona Lombardi stated of the retirement of the Hunter , the Swiss Air Force " definitively lost the capability to carry out air - to - ground operations " . Republic of Singapore Air Force . Singapore was an enthusiastic operator of the Hunter , first ordering the aircraft in 1968 during a massive expansion of the city - state ' s armed forces ; deliveries began in 1971 and were completed by 1973 . At the time , considerable international controversy was generated as Britain ( and , as was later revealed , the U . S . ) had refused to sell Hunters to neighbouring Malaysia , sparking fears of a regional arms race and accusations of favouritism . The Republic of Singapore Air Force ( RSAF ) eventually received 46 refurbished Hunters to equip two squadrons . In the late 1970s , the Singaporean Hunter fleet was upgraded and modified by Lockheed Aircraft Services Singapore ( LASS ) with an additional hardpoint under the forward fuselage and another two inboard pylons ( wired only for AIM - 9 Sidewinder s ) before the main gears , bringing to a total of seven hardpoints for external stores and weapons delivery . As a result of these upgrades , they were redesignated as FGA . 74S , FR . 74S and T . 75S . The RSAF Black Knights , Singapore Air Force ' s aerobatic team , flew Hunters from 1973 until 1989 . By 1991 , Singapore ' s fleet of combat aircraft included the General Dynamics F - 16 Fighting Falcon , the Northrop F - 5 Tiger II , as well as the locally modernised and upgraded ST Aerospace A - 4SU Super Skyhawk ; the Hunters were active but obsolete in comparison . The type was finally retired and phased out of service in 1992 , with the 21 surviving airframes being sold off to an Australian warbird broker , Pacific Hunter Aviation Pty , in 1995 . Others . Africa . During the 1950s , the Royal Rhodesian Air Force was an important export customer of Britain , purchasing not only Hunters but De Havilland Vampire s and Canberra bombers as well . The Royal Rhodesian Air Force used its Hunter FGA . 9s extensively against ZANU / ZAPU insurgents in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s , occasionally engaging in cross - border strikes . The Air Force of Zimbabwe used its Hunters inherited from the Rhodesian Air Force to support Laurent Kabila during the Second Congo War , and were reported to be involved in the fighting in Mozambique . During Siad Barre ' s regime in present day Somalia , Hunters were used , often flown by former Rhodesian Air Force pilots , to conduct bombing missions during the civil war in the late 1980s . Belgium and the Netherlands . The Belgian Air Force received 112 Hunter F . 4s between 1956 and 1957 to replace the Gloster Meteor F . 8 . The aircraft were built under licence in both Belgium and the Netherlands in a joint programme , some using U . S . offshore funding . SABCA and Avions Fairey built 64 aircraft in Belgium and a further 48 were built in the Netherlands by Fokker . The Hunters were used by Nos . 1 , 3 and 9 Wings but did not serve for long ; the aircraft with 1 Wing were replaced in 1958 by the Avro Canada CF - 100 Canuck , and most were scrapped afterwards . The Belgian and Dutch governments subsequently ordered the improved Hunter F . 6 , with Nos . 1 , 7 and 9 Wings of the Belgian Air Force receiving 112 Fokker - built aircraft between 1957 and 1958 . Although built in the Netherlands , 29 aircraft had been assembled from kits in Belgium by SABCA and 59 by Avions Fairey , and were operated by 7 and 9 Wings . No . 9 Wing was disbanded in 1960 , and by 1963 the Hunter squadrons in 7 Wing had also been disbanded . A large number of the surviving Hunters were sold to Hawker Aircraft and re - built for re - export to India and Iraq , with others to Chile , Kuwait and Lebanon . Middle East . Between 1964 and 1975 , both Britain and France delivered significant quantities of arms , including Hunters , to Iraq . The Hunters were far more effective in fighting guerrilla activity than the Russian MiGs then operated by Iraq . In 1967 , Hunters of the Iraqi Air Force saw action after the Six - Day War between Israel and several neighbouring Arab nations . During the War of Attrition Iraqi Hunters usually operated from bases in Egypt and Syria . While flying a Hunter from Iraqi Airbase H3 , Flight Lieutenant Saiful Azam , on exchange from the Pakistan Air Force , shot down two Israeli jets including a Mirage IIIC . Some missions were also flown by the Royal Jordanian Air Force , but most of the Jordanian Hunters were destroyed on the ground on the first day of the Six - Day War . Replacement Hunters for Jordanian service were acquired from both Britain and Saudi Arabia in the war ' s aftermath . The Lebanese Air Force operated Hawker Hunters from 1958 . A Lebanese Hunter shot down an Israeli jet over Kfirmishki in the early 1960s ; its pilot was captured by the Lebanese Armed Forces . One Hunter was shot down on the first day of the Six - Day War by the Israeli Air Force . They were used infrequently during the Lebanese Civil War , and eventually fell out of usage and went into storage during the 1980s . In August 2007 , the Lebanese Armed Forces planned to put its Hunters back into service following the 2007 Lebanon conflict , to deal with Fatah al - Islam militants in the Nahr el - Bared camp north of Tripoli . However , the programme was delayed by lack of spare parts for the aircraft , notably cartridges for the Martin - Baker ejection seats . On 12 November 2008 , 50 years after its original introduction , the Lebanese Air Force returned four of its eight Hunters back into service with 2nd Squadron , based at Rayak AB : one two - seater and three single - seaters . Today , the Lebanese AF is the only military air arm in the world still operating the Hunter . There have been recent military exercises conducted with Hunters , such as those that took place on 12 July 2010 . South America . Chile undertook the acquisition of Hunters from Britain in the 1960s for use in the Chilean Air Force . Two years after delivery was completed in 1971 , the Hunters were used by military officers in the 1973 Chilean coup d ' état to overthrow the socialist president of Chile , Salvador Allende , on 11 September 1973 . Coup leaders had ordered the Hunters to relocate to Talcahuano on 10 September . The following morning , they engaged in bombing missions against the presidential palace , Allende ' s house in Santiago , and several radio stations loyal to the government . Before the coup d ' etat , in June 1973 , the Liberian oil tanker " Napier " ran aground in the Guamblin Island and sparked off an oil spill ( 30 , 000 t of oil were released ) . After the rescue of the crew , she was fired upon and set on fire by Chilean Hawker Hunters in order to burn the oil and avoid further pollution . The UK signed contracts prior to the Chilean coup d ' état for delivery of further 7 Hawker Hunters , the overhaul of Hawker Hunter turbines and materiel . The James Callaghan government delivered the vessels , submarines and planes behind schedule and the aero - engines and the submarine spare parts were " blacked " by the unions until October 1978 ( short before the start of the Argentine Operation Soberanía ) , as they were removed from the East Kilbride plant : " The union convenor at the East Kilbride plant indicated that the engines were all rusting away anyway , because they have been left packed in crates and left outside the warehouse ever since the overhaul work had been completed in 1975 " . In 1982 , after the Falklands War , a number of Hunters were air freighted to Chile as part of the arrangements for providing support for UK operations in the South Atlantic . The purchase of Hunters by Chile may have been a factor in the decision by the Peruvian Air Force to acquire Hunters of their own . Britain was keen to sell to Peru as the decision to sell Hunters to Chile became a controversial political issue for the British government following the coup , and the sale would uphold Britain ' s concept of regional " balancing " . New Zealand Operators . Civil . An airworthy ex - Singapore single seat FGA ( RSAF serial 517 ) occasionally flies , under the ownership of Mr Dave Phillips , from Classic Flyers Museum at Tauranga , as ZK - JIL . A non - airworthy T75S ( RSAF serial 500 ) is also on static display at the museum .