Hawker Hunter - Survivor XF995 (ex G-BZSF)

History Survivors Profiles Gallery Walkaround Links, References & Credits

T.8B XF995 - Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd. RAF Scampton Heritage Centre, RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire

Hunter T.8B XF995 at RAF Scampton, 11th August 2008; Damien Burke

Hunter T.8B XF995 at Kemble, 16th June 2002; Damien Burke

XF995 was built as a Hunter F4 at Blackpool (the 51st F4 of the sixth production batch of 57 aircraft). was first flown July 1956 and delivered to the RAF at No. 33 MU, RAF Lyneham on 20th July 1956. Operated by No 247 Squadron and No 229 OCU, she was returned to Hawker Siddeley Aviation in 1963 and converted to a T.8B (one of three) for the Royal Navy. She was later transferred to the RAF and flown by No. 237 OCU for Buccaneer pilot training and ended her military career as an instructional airframe at RAF Cranwell.

Sold in November 2000 to Chris Perkins, Delta Jets got the job of returning her to the air and did so remarkably quickly, flying her to Kemble in February 2001. In early 2007 she was acquired by Hawker Hunter Aviation (HHA) at RAF Scampton and re-registered as XF995, losing her civilian ID and coming under MoD auspices once more. She was maintained by HHA on behalf of the MoD for several years and operated on various trials and defense simulation work. The aircraft was grounded due to the Shoreham disaster in 2015 and never took to the skies again, leaving her in outside storage. XF955 was de-registered in 2019 and was put on display undercover in the RAF Scampton Heritage Centre where she can be seen today.

Information on this page current as of 15/01/2022, last updated by Damien

Find other photos of XF995 on the following sites:

Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net

Michael Elliot from Lincs	Posted at 8:16pm on Monday, February 11th, 2013
XF995 is owned and operated by HHA on the uk military register. It is not owned by the MoD. HHA are a military contractor with several aircraft on the military register where they are fully regulated by the MAA.
Roger Bevington from Thetford Norfolk.	Posted at 4:13pm on Friday, August 12th, 2011
The two A/C in question was XL568 and WV322. 322 had a starter fire and whilst undergoing repairs in the 237 Sqn Hanger its rear end was attached to XL568, main fuselage as the Tailplane forging was being changed. I remember doing a Primary Star servicing on 322's rear end during this time. The Aircrew all said that"Arfur" was quicker than either of the two complete origional A/C.
Michael Swift from Bury St Edmunds Suffolk	Posted at 4:16pm on Saturday, June 26th, 2010
I was on 237OCU from 75-80.Two our aircraft sustained damage.One had a damaged front fuselage and the other had a damaged rear fuselage.As a temporary measure we created a serviceable aircraft by fitting the good 'bits' together. We called it 'Arfer'.It flew perfectly alright till the MU team carried the necessary repairs.It quite amused the Students when we told them what 'Arfer' meant?

Add Comment
Name:
Email:
Location:
Comments: