The Shuttleworth Collections Hunting Percival Piston P.56 Provost T.1, displaying with aerobatics at its Old Warden Airfield base, during the Shuttleworth Season Premiere Airshow 2022. The pilot is RAF Group Captain and Test Pilot, Peter 'Willy' Hackett MBE MA BSc.
The Percival P.56 Provost is a basic trainer developed for the RAF in the post-war years. The design, a low wing, piston-powered taildragger, shares some similarities with the Jet Provost that followed from its development. The aircraft had some export success in Asia and Africa, serving with the air forces of countries including Burma, Iraq and Zimbabwe.
It was designed to Air Ministry Specification T.16/48, issued in 1948 calling for a single engine basic trainer as a replacement for the Percival Prentice. It was one of 30 proposals submitted and was one of the two aircraft finally chosen; the other being the Handley-Page H.P.R.2.
It is an all-metal, 2 seat monoplane with a conventional fixed landing gear and it replicated the handling characteristics and roll-rate of the modern jet fighters entering service at the time.
The prototype (WE522) was designed by Polish born aeronautical engineer Henry Millicer and flew for the first time on 23rd February 1950. The first two prototypes (WE522 and WE530) had been ordered in January 1950 and they were powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engine, this engine being replaced in production aircraft by the Alvis Leonides on a third prototype. After evaluation at Boscombe Down, the Leonides powered P.56 was selected and an order for 200 aircraft (designated Provost T.1) was placed on 29th May 1951.
The Provost entered service with the RAF in 1953, the first batch of aircraft being delivered to the Central Flying School (CFS) at RAF South Cerney. The first training course to use the Provost started in October 1953 and allowed students to move straight into training in the De Havilland Vampire.
From 1956 the Provost was issued to some University Air Squadrons, the first being the Queen's University Air Squadron, Belfast in January 1956. The last RAF production aircraft was delivered in April 1956.
The Provost served with the RAF in the training role until the early 1960s, when it was replaced by the Jet Provost. A small number remained with the Central Air Traffic Control School at RAF Shawbury until the last example was retired in 1969.
In addition to 391 aircraft for the RAF, the Provost was exported to Rhodesia, Ireland, Malaya, Burma, Iraq, Muscat and Oman, and Sudan, total production being 461 aircraft.
Export variants had provision for the carriage of bombs or rockets below the wings. Production was concluded in 1960.
Although the Provost served for a relatively short time with the RAF, it led to the development of the Jet Provost, which introduced ab initio jet training to the RAF.
This aircraft, XF603 was acquired by the Shuttleworth Collection in 2001 from Kennet Aviation at Cranfield and has what appears at the outset to be a rather inappropriate camouflage paint scheme with RAF roundels. None of the RAF trainers sported this paint scheme but a number of Provosts were sold to Oman where they were used operationally, hence the camouflage. RAF roundels were required on the delivery flights from the UK to Oman thus justifying the apparent conundrum.
Kennett Aviation originally purchased this aircraft for spares as a donor airframe for their Piston Provost, G-MOOS. As it was in such good condition, it was decided to restore the airframe to full flying condition. The airframe, complete with engine, was found at the Rolls Royce engineering facility in Bristol, being used as an instructional airframe for apprentices. It had been “walled” into a large workshop and part of the wall had to be taken down in order to get the aircraft out. One wing was off and the fuselage was littered with sweets. The engine had been inhibited and when opened for inspection, it was found to be in excellent condition. Fully restored and the first Kennet Aviation aircraft to have the registration begin with Kilo Alfa (Kennet Aviation), the aircraft went to the Shuttleworth Collection as G-KAPW.
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