Hawker Hunter - Survivor XF578 (really composite of XF321, XL578, & XG290)
T.7A XF578 - RAF Laarbruch Museum, Laarbruch-Weeze, Germany
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Hunter T.7A XF578 at Bruntingthorpe, 2nd January 2005; Francis Wallace
XF321 was delivered to 33 MU on 27th February 1956 and entered service with 118 Squadron at Jever before being bought back by Hawkers in 1958 for possible resale abroad. However, she was converted to a T.7 and delivered back to the RAF, 56 Squadron at Waterbeach, in 1959. A short stint with the Fleet Air Arm later, she was transferred to RAE Bedford for trials work, which came to an abrupt end when she landed with wheels up at Thurleigh in 1984.
She was declared a write-off and subsequently allocated to the Royal Navy Engineering College (RNEC) at Manadon, she remained there until 1995 when she was moved to Yeovilton for BDRT duties. In 1996 she was sold to CJAC in Exeter to be used as a spares airframe. Once CJAC finished with the airframe, she was moved to Bruntingthorpe in May 2004, where she was reduced to a cockpit section.
The nose was sold to the cockpit collection in Coltishall before it moved to an area in Credition, Devon. She was then sold and moved to the collection in Welshpool, where she went undercover alongside many other nose sections.
In 2018, the cockpit section was exported to Germany to join the Laarbruch museum, where it was met with XL578 (composite with the rear end of XG290) - both cockpits were actually seen arriving on the same lorry, nose to nose. Due to the cockpit of XF321 being in a far better condition than that of XL578, the nose of XF321 was fitted onto XL578, making a complete airframe, made up of XF321, XL578, and XG290. The airframe has since been repainted, now carrying the 15 Squadron 'XV' emblem, and looks splendid as a result - now displayed at the museum undercover. It is believed the museum still has ownership of the remains of XL578's cockpit section.
She was declared a write-off and subsequently allocated to the Royal Navy Engineering College (RNEC) at Manadon, she remained there until 1995 when she was moved to Yeovilton for BDRT duties. In 1996 she was sold to CJAC in Exeter to be used as a spares airframe. Once CJAC finished with the airframe, she was moved to Bruntingthorpe in May 2004, where she was reduced to a cockpit section.
The nose was sold to the cockpit collection in Coltishall before it moved to an area in Credition, Devon. She was then sold and moved to the collection in Welshpool, where she went undercover alongside many other nose sections.
In 2018, the cockpit section was exported to Germany to join the Laarbruch museum, where it was met with XL578 (composite with the rear end of XG290) - both cockpits were actually seen arriving on the same lorry, nose to nose. Due to the cockpit of XF321 being in a far better condition than that of XL578, the nose of XF321 was fitted onto XL578, making a complete airframe, made up of XF321, XL578, and XG290. The airframe has since been repainted, now carrying the 15 Squadron 'XV' emblem, and looks splendid as a result - now displayed at the museum undercover. It is believed the museum still has ownership of the remains of XL578's cockpit section.
Information on this page current as of 12/10/2025, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XF578 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net