BAC Strikemaster

Infobox Aircraft
name=BAC 167 Strikemaster


caption=Privately owned BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk 87
type=Attack aircraft
manufacturer=British Aircraft Corporation
designer=
first flight=1967
introduced=
retired=
status=Retired 1994 (New Zealand); many in museums and private collections.
primary user=Saudi Arabia
more users=Ecuador Kenya Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force
produced=1967-1984
number built=146
unit cost=
developed from= BAC Jet Provost
variants with their own articles=

The BAC 167 Strikemaster was 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.

Design and development

The BAC 167 Strikemaster is essentially an armed version of the Jet Provost T Mk 5; the Strikemaster was modified with an up-rated engine, wing hardpoints, a strengthened airframe, new communication and navigation gear, up-rated ejection seats, a revised fuel system, and shortened landing gear. 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

Capable of operating from rough air strips, with dual ejection seats suitable even for low-altitude escape, it was widely used by third-world nations. Use of the type was restricted by most users after the Royal New Zealand Air Force found fatigue cracking in the wings of its aircraft. Aircraft retired by Botswana, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Singapore have found their way into museums and private collections.

On 5 October 2006, due to loss of a wing, a Strikemaster crashed in New South Wales, Australia, claiming two lives [ [http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2006/AAIR/aair200605843.aspx Strikemaster crash investigation report] ] . Fatigue of the wing may come with age as well as usage. Approximately a dozen privately-owned Strikemasters are still flying.

Variants

*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

;BOT
*Botswana Defence Force Air Wing operated briefly ex-Kuwaiti Mk 83s and ex-Kenyan Mk 87s.;ECU
*Ecuadorian Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 89/89A aircraft.;KEN
*Kenya Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 87 aircraft.;KWT
*Kuwait Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 83 aircraft.;NZL
*Royal New Zealand Air Force
**No. 14 Squadron RNZAF received BAC Strikemaster Mk 88 aircraft.;OMN
*Royal Air Force of Oman received BAC Strikemaster Mk 82/82A aircraft.;SAU
*Royal Saudi Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 80/80A aircraft.;SIN
*Republic of Singapore Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 84 aircraft, all retired in 1984.;flag|South Yemen
*South Yemen Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 81 aircraft.;SUD
*Sudanese Air Force received BAC Strikemaster Mk 90 aircraft.

pecifications (Strikemaster Mk 87)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
crew=2
length main=33 ft 8 in
length alt=10.27 m
span main=36 ft 11 in
span alt=11.25 m
height main=10 ft 2 in
height alt=3.10 m
area main=214 ft²
area alt=19.8 m²
empty weight main=5,995 lb
empty weight alt=2,772 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
max takeoff weight main=11,500 lb
max takeoff weight alt=5,220 kg
engine (jet)=Rolls-Royce Viper Mk.535
type of jet=turbojet
number of jets=1
thrust main=3,410 lbf
thrust alt=15.2 kN
max speed main=450 knots
max speed alt=520 mph, 834 km/h
range main=780 nm
range alt=900 mi, 1450 km
ceiling main=40,000 ft
ceiling alt=12,200 m
climb rate main=5,250 ft/min
climb rate alt=87.5 m/s
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
guns= 2× 7.62 mm NATO machine guns with 550 rounds each
*Up to 3,000 lb (1,364 kg) of disposable stores on eight underwing hardpoints including bombs, machine gun pods, air-to-ground rocket pods, fuel drop tanks, and napalm tanks.

ee also

aircontent
related=
*BAC Jet Provost
*Percival Provost
similar aircraft=
*Aermacchi MB 339
*A-37 Dragonfly
lists=
*List of attack aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

* 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. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.

External links

* [http://www.airforcemuseum.co.nz/main/BAE167Strikemaster/ RNZAF Museum Strikemaster page]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1759620.htm ABC Australia News]
* [http://www.warbirdalley.com/strike.htm BAC 167 Strikemaster]