Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incident

The Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incident occurred 1968 - the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force.

As a result of the emphasis on guided missiles over manned aircraft (originating from the 1957 Defence White Paper by then British Defence Minister, Duncan Sandys), the British aircraft industry had slipped into general decline in the 1960s. Furthermore, no appropriate aerial displays had been planned to mark the anniversary of the RAF's founding. Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock, a flight commander in No. 1(F) Squadron RAF, decided to take the matter into his own hands. On 5 April 1968 he flew his Hawker Hunter (XF442) single-seater fighter over London at low level, and finally under the top span of Tower Bridge. Knowing that he was likely to be stripped of his flying status as a result of this display, he proceeded to "beat up" several airfields in inverted flight at an altitude of about 200 feet "en route" to his base at RAF West Raynham.

Pollock was dismissed from the RAF with no chance of an appeal. His case was finally heard in 1982 and he was partially exonerated.

External links

* [http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/avhunt2.html Description of incident in the Hawker Hunter FAQ]
* [http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/hunter/history.html The Hawker Hunter History page with a brief description of the Pollock incident]