Hunter

The Hawker Hunter was designed and built in the UK as a high-altitude daytime interceptor that could also carry bombs and rockets. Although only 1,972 were produced, it became the longest-serving RAF jet of its time, was also used by the Royal Navy, and was flown by fighter pilots in nineteen countries, with a thousand Hunters operating around the world at one point. Powered by a single Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine mounted below the fuselage, the Mk 6 could reach up to 1,130 km per hour and climb quickly to as high as 48,900 feet because of its high power-to-weight ratio. The Mark 6 was known for exceptional performance and aerobatic capability, and more than 20 were used by the Royal Air Force Black Arrows acrobatic team in the late 1950s. The aircraft on display, tail number J-4029, model F6, was donated by the Government of Switzerland to the Government of Canada in 1995 for display at the National Air Force Museum of Canada. It served with the Swiss Air Force from 1953 to 1995 and, beyond regular service, flew as one of the original four Hunters of Patrouille Suisse, the Swiss Air Force's official aerobatics team, from its founding in 1964 until 1994.

Ontario · Canada