Hawker Hunter - Survivor WT555
F.1 WT555 - Vanguard Self Storage, Staples Corner, Brent Cross, London
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Hunter F.1 WT555 at Greenford, 31st August 2017; James Rossiter
WT555 was the first production F.1 and therefore quite an important airframe. First flown on 16th May 1953 from Hawker's plant at Dunsfold, it was retained by them for handling and performance trials.
The airframe then retired to ground instructional duties at RAF Locking before being transferred to the RAF Museum at Cosford. Incredibly, they decided to dispose of it - the owner of Vanguard Haulage wasted no time in snapping it up and displaying it from time to time on the roof of his business as a publicity tool. In 1990, the aircraft was removed from the roof and placed into storage, however it reappeared back on the roof again in 2004.
At the end of July 2021, WT555 was removed from display at Vanguard and road moved to North Weald for restoration. In May 2021, the restoration project was completed, which included a repaint into overall silver colours. WT555 was soon moved by road from North Weald to the Vanguard's building at Staples Corner, in London, where it is now undercover and suspended from a celling on display!
The airframe then retired to ground instructional duties at RAF Locking before being transferred to the RAF Museum at Cosford. Incredibly, they decided to dispose of it - the owner of Vanguard Haulage wasted no time in snapping it up and displaying it from time to time on the roof of his business as a publicity tool. In 1990, the aircraft was removed from the roof and placed into storage, however it reappeared back on the roof again in 2004.
At the end of July 2021, WT555 was removed from display at Vanguard and road moved to North Weald for restoration. In May 2021, the restoration project was completed, which included a repaint into overall silver colours. WT555 was soon moved by road from North Weald to the Vanguard's building at Staples Corner, in London, where it is now undercover and suspended from a celling on display!
Information on this page current as of 02/06/2022, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of WT555 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net