Summary

Aircraft History:
The Hawker Hunter was a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s by the Hawker Aircraft Co. for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in response to the British Government's specification F.3/48. The design took advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing aircraft configuration more suitable of high-speed jet-powered flight. It was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF.

The Hawker Hunter (P.1067) was produced for the Royal Air Force. In September 1953, a modified example flown by test pilot Neville Duke broke the world air speed record with a recorded speed of 727.63 miles per hour. This record was broken shortly thereafter by the North American F-100. The Hunter served with RAF until the 1980s and was widely exported with around 2000 examples being built in single and two-seat configurations.

By 1950, a number of design studies had been completed and discussions were held between company representatives and the Australian government regarding the production of the P.1080/P.1081 design in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) for the RAAF. Despite announcements by company and government sources the P.1081 was not approved for production and negotiations were protracted. Following a visit to the United Kingdom by Lawrence Wackett (Manager of CAC) and V.F Letcher (Commonwealth Director of Aircraft Production) in late 1950, the program was cancelled and the North American F-86 Sabre was subsequently selected for local production by CAC.

Model History:
This 1:24 scale model was donated to the Museum by the Hawker Aircraft Ltd in 1953. It is mounted on a display plinth inscribed 'Hawker Hunter'. The Museum acquired the model as a result of the 'Jubilee of Flight' exhibition at the former Science Museum of Victoria in 1953-54 where it had apparently been displayed. It appears to be a plinth-mounted factory model used for promotional or display purposes.

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