HAWKER SIDDELEY HAWK T.1W XX240 |
XX240's service history
Hawker Siddeley built Hawk T.1 airframe XX240 at its Dunsfold factory, and it was delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 27th October 1978. During 1996, XX240 was officially reallocated to RAF 74(R) Squadron (Sqn), a component unit of 4FTS responsible for advanced weapons training. XX240's FRADU career On 14th December 2001, XX240 arrived at RNAS Culdrose to join the Fleet Requirements & Air Direction Unit (FRADU). Full ROYAL NAVY lettering was applied on the rear fuselage, as it was introduced into the FRADU fleet. It remained in service with the Fleet Air Arm, until it was ferried to RAF St Athan on 10th October 2005, in preparation for a major overhaul to take place. It did not return to Culdrose upon completion of this work, instead being returned to the RAF. Return to the RAF From April 2006, XX240 was operated with 4FTS without any component squadron markings, but by the beginning of 2007 it had gained full RAF 208(R) Sqn insignia, with blue/yellow bars on the rear fuselage and emblem on the nose. It was employed on advance training duties until April 2008 when it was taken out of service. Back to FRADU! The aeroplane arrived at RNAS Culdrose from RAF Valley on 28th April 2008, and was immediately re-introduced into FRADU service. During June 2013, the FRADU Unit was stood down, and its fleet transferred to the newly reformed 736 Naval Air Squadron (736NAS) at RNAS Culdrose, and the aeroplane continues to fulfil taskings that have been associated with FRADU for the past 40 years, alongside its Navy training sorties. |
[© Mike Hall] [© Richard Woulfe] [© author] [© author] |
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Post FRADU career XX240 adopted full 736NAS markings and fleet number in early 2014, becoming
aircraft '840' complete with a 'CU' on the tail fin. It remained with the Unit
until July 2017, when it was ferried to RAF Shawbury for storage. - December 2020 |
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