The BAC 167 Strikemaster is a British jet-powered training and light attack aircraft. It was a development of the Hunting Jet Provost trainer, itself a jet engined version of the Percival Provost, which originally flew in 1950 with a radial piston engine.
Light attack aircraft by the British Aircraft Company, later British Aerospace
BAC 167 Strikemaster
BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk 82A in Sultan of Oman's Air Force colour scheme at the 2013 Shoreham Airshow
The BAC 167 Strikemaster is essentially an armed version of the Jet Provost T Mk 5; the Strikemaster was modified with an uprated engine, wing hardpoints capable of carrying four 500 pound Mk82 bombs, two machine guns under the intakes, uprated flap system with two jacks, larger airbrake jacks, new communication and navigation gear, different electrical system, canopy breakers on the ejection seats, and a revised fuel system including tip tanks on the wing tips. First flown in 1967, the aircraft was marketed as a light attack or counter-insurgency aircraft, but most large-scale purchasers were air forces wanting an advanced trainer, although Ecuador, Oman and Yemen have used their aircraft in combat. A total of 146 were built.
Operational history
The Strikemaster was capable of operating from rough air strips, with dual ejection seats suitable even for low-altitude escape, and it was therefore widely used by third-world nations. Operations by the type were restricted by most military users after the Royal New Zealand Air Force found fatigue cracking in the wings of its aircraft. Many aircraft retired by Botswana, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Singapore are in museums and private collections.
The Strikemaster was deployed by the Royal Air Force of Oman on several occasions during the Dhofar Rebellion, including a notable appearance providing Close Air Support during the Battle of Mirbat. Three Strikemasters were shot down over the course of the war, including one lost to an SA-7 missile.
The Ecuadorian Air Force deployed the Strikemaster during the brief 1995 Cenepa War, flying ground sorties against Peruvian positions. An Ecuadorian Strikemaster crashed during a training mission in the Northern Border area, near Colombia, on 25 March 2009. Both pilots ejected; one later died of injuries received during the rescue attempt.[2]
Variants
Photographed 14 years after it was retired, this BAC Strikemaster still wears the colours of No. 14 Squadron RNZAF.The four BAC Strikemasters of the UK aerobatics display team Team Viper at Cotswold Airport, Gloucestershire, EnglandOne of Botswana's StrikemastersRNZAF Strikemasters in 1984
Strikemaster Mk 80: Export version for Saudi Arabia, 25 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 80A: 20 aircraft were sold to Saudi Arabia as part of a follow-up order.
Strikemaster Mk 81: Export version for South Yemen, four aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 82: Export version for Oman, 12 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 82A: 12 aircraft were sold to Oman as part of a follow-up order.
Strikemaster Mk 83: Export version for Kuwait, 12 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 84: Export version for Singapore, 16 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 87: Export version for Kenya, six aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 88: Export version for New Zealand, 16 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 89: Export version for Ecuador, 22 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 89A: A number of aircraft were sold to Ecuador as part of a follow-up order.
Strikemaster Mk 90: Export version for Sudan. The last Strikemaster was delivered to Sudan in 1984.
Production
Strikemaster 80: 136
Strikemaster 90: 10
Operators
Botswana
Botswana Defence Force Air Wing operated briefly ex-Kuwaiti Mk 83s and ex-Kenyan Mk 87s.(later sold to Ivory Coast)
Ecuador
Ecuadorian Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 89/89A aircraft.
Ivory Coast
Ivorian Air Force purchased two ex-Botswana Strikemasters. One was destroyed during the 2004 French–Ivorian clashes.[3]
Kenya
Kenya Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 87 aircraft.
Kuwait
Kuwait Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 83 aircraft.
Guns: 2× 7.62 mm machine guns with 550 rounds each
Hardpoints: 4 (2 per wing) with a capacity of 3,000lb (1,400kg) of bombs, machine gun pods, air-to-ground rocket pods, fuel drop tanks, and napalm tanks.
Cooper, Tom (2017). Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 1: Aerial Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1962-1994. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p.32. ISBN978-1-912174-23-2.
Taylor, John W.R. "Hunting Jet Provost and BAC 167." Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN0-425-03633-2.
Taylor, John W. R.Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN0-354-00538-3.
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