View source for BAC Strikemaster

{{Short description|Light attack aircraft by the British Aircraft Company, later British Aerospace}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
|name=BAC 167 Strikemaster
|image=Shoreham Airshow 2013 (9696960681).jpg
|caption=BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk 82A in Sultan of Oman's Air Force colour scheme at the 2013 Shoreham Airshow
|type= [[Attack aircraft]], [[Jet trainer]]
|manufacturer= [[British Aircraft Corporation]]
|designer=
|first_flight= 26 October 1967<ref name = "watkin 10">Watkins 2023, p. 10.</ref>
|introduction=
|retired= 1993<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.skytamer.com/British_Aircraft_Jet_Provost_T.5A.html|title=BAC Jet Provost T.Mk.5A British two-seat jet-trainer|first=Skytamer|last=Images|website=www.skytamer.com}}</ref>
|status= Retired
|primary_user= [[Royal Saudi Air Force]]
|more_users= [[Ecuadorian Air Force]] <br/>[[Kenya Air Force]] <br/>[[Royal New Zealand Air Force]]  
|produced= 1967&ndash;1983<ref name = "watkin 11"/>
|number_built= 146
|unit cost=
|developed_from= [[BAC Jet Provost]]
|variants=
}}

The '''BAC 167 Strikemaster''' is a jet-powered training and light [[attack aircraft]] designed and produced by the [[British Aircraft Corporation]]. It was a development of the [[BAC Jet Provost|Hunting Jet Provost]] trainer, itself a jet engined version of the [[Percival Provost]], which originally flew in 1950 with a [[radial engine]].

The Strikemaster is essentially an armed version of the Jet Provost T Mk 5. Various improvements and alterations were made to the aircraft, including an uprated [[Armstrong Siddeley Viper]] [[turbojet]] engine, wing [[hardpoint]]s capable of carrying a wide variety of munitions, a pair of [[machine gun]]s under the intakes, uprated [[Flap (aeronautics)|flap]] system with two jacks, enlarged [[Air brake (aeronautics)|airbrake]] jacks, new communication and navigation gear, different electrical system, canopy breakers on the [[ejection seat]]s, and a revised fuel system including [[aircraft fuel tank|tip tanks]] on the wing tips.

First flown in 1967, the aircraft was typically marketed as a light attack or [[counter-insurgency aircraft]], however, the majority of customers were air forces seeking an advanced trainer. The Strikemaster did see combat on multiple occasions in the service of [[Ecuador]], [[Oman]] and [[Yemen]]. A total of 146 aircraft were produced prior to the end of production in 1983. The type remains flying into the 2020s, albeit with increasing difficulty due to a decreasing supply of spare parts over time.

==Design and development==
During the 1950s, the [[BAC Jet Provost|Hunting Jet Provost]] had entered service as the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF), becoming the first ''[[ab initio]]'' jet trainer to be standardised by any air service in the world.<ref name="fi58 p795">''Flight International'' 13 June 1958, p. 795.</ref><ref name = "watkin 89">Watkins 2023, pp. 8-9.</ref> In the 1960s, the [[British Aircraft Corporation]], which had acquired [[Hunting Percival]], and therefore the Jet Provost, proceeded with the development of a counter-insurgency/light attack derivative of the type, which it designated as the BAC 167. By this point, it had become apparent that several of the competitions that the Jet Provost had been entered into had decided against the type due to its perceived lack of potential firepower.<ref name = "watkin 102728">Watkins 2023, pp. 10, 27, 28.</ref>

It was powered by a single [[Armstrong Siddeley Viper]] [[turbojet]], akin to the Jet Provost; however, this engine was uprated to produce up to  3,140 lb (14.0 kN) of thrust.<ref name = "watkin 10"/> The fuel system was also revised, incorporating conformal fuel tanks upon the wingtips along with the option to fit up to four 75-gallon underwing [[drop tank]]s, which extend the aircraft’s endurance and effective combat radius when required.<ref name = "watkin 12138">Watkins 2023, pp. 12, 138.</ref> Furthermore, key areas of the airframe, such as the wings, were stressed to withstand the additional loads incurred by the carriage of a variety of munitions.<ref name = "watkin 1011138">Watkins 2023, pp. 10-11, 138.</ref>

Up to {{convert|3000| lb| kg|abbr=on}} of stores could be carried by the Strikemaster upon four [[hardpoint]]s present underneath its wings.<ref name = "watkin 1011">Watkins 2023, pp. 10-11.</ref> Underwing munitions could include up to four 500lb bombs, 24 SURA R80 rockets, eight 25lb practice bombs, eight 20lb fragmentation bombs, four 18-tube SNEB 68mm [[rocket pod]]s, a pair of 0.5 inch mini-[[gun pod]]s.<ref name = "watkin 138"/> In addition, a pair of 7.62mm [[Frazer Nash]] machine guns were present within the lower intake lips while a G90 [[gun camera]] could be installed in the nose cone. A variety of [[gunsight]]s could be provided for one or both of the crew.<ref name = "watkin 138">Watkins 2023, p. 138.</ref>

The Strikemaster was outfitted with dual [[ejection seat]]s that were suitable even for low-altitude escape. A key advantage of the type was its dual-role capability, being suitable for use in both the trainer and ground attack roles. Furthermore, the Strikemaster was capable of operating from relatively austere air strips; these attributes led to the type being widely used by numerous overseas nations as a relatively affordable combat aircraft.<ref name = "watkin 1011140">Watkins 2023, pp. 10-11, 140.</ref>

On 26 October 1967, the first prototype performed its [[maiden flight]] from [[Warton Aerodrome]]; a total of two prototypes were produced for company trials.<ref name = "watkin 138"/> As the result of an internal competition, the aircraft was given the name Strikemaster, which received official endorsement in October 1968.<ref name = "watkin 10"/> Production of the type was initially centred at Warton; however, during the late 1970s, final assembly was transferred to [[Bournemouth Airport|Hurn Airport]]. Sales of the type slowed during the early 1980s, leading to discontinuation of production.<ref name = "watkin 138139">Watkins 2023, pp. 138-139.</ref>

==Operational history==
During May 1966, [[Saudi Arabia]] became the first country to place an order for the type, opting for an initial batch of 25 Strikemaster Mk 80 aircraft as part of a wider air defence order.<ref name = "watkin 147">Watkins 2023, p. 147.</ref>  On 26 August 1968, the [[Saudi Arabian Air Force]] took delivery of its first examples; deliveries continued through to May 1978. In Saudi service, the Strikemaster was used in both the training and light attack roles.<ref name = "watkin 138147">Watkins 2023, pp. 138, 147.</ref>  

Another key early customer for the Strikemaster was [[Oman]], which ordered the type in 1967 and took delivery in the summer of 1969.<ref name = "watkin 154">Watkins 2023, p. 154.</ref>   On several occasions during the [[Dhofar Rebellion]], the [[Royal Air Force of Oman]] conducted combat missions with the type, the earliest such strikes being reportedly conducted in October 1969.<ref name = “watkin 154155”>Watkins 2023, pp. 154-155.</ref>    A particularly notable engagement occurred during July 1972, which has since been referred to as the [[Battle of Mirbat]]; a total of four Omani Strikemasters provided [[close air support]] to heavily outnumbered ground forces that were under attack by roughly 300 insurgents.<ref name = "watkin 11">Watkins 2023, p. 11.</ref> Three Strikemasters were shot down over the course of the conflict, including one that was allegedly lost to an [[SA-7]] surface-to-air missile.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

During the early 1970s, the [[Kenyan Air Force]] introduced the Strikemaster as part of a wider modernisation programme.<ref name = "watkin 143145">Watkins 2023, pp. 143-145.</ref> The Kenyan fleet often operated in close conjunction with its first combat jet fighter, the [[Hawker Hunter]].<ref name = "watkin 145146">Watkins 2023, pp. 145-146.</ref>

Following the creation of the [[Botswana Defence Force Air Wing]] in April 1977 amid escalating regional tensions, the service acquired nine refurbished Strikemasters formerly flown in Kenya and Kuwait.<ref name = "watkin 141">Watkins 2023, p. 141.</ref> During the late 1990s, the type was withdrawn following their replacement by second hand [[Canadair CF-5]]s; most of the surviving aircraft were sold onto the private sector.<ref name = "watkin 143">Watkins 2023, p. 143.</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510740,00.html "Ejected Pilot Survives Crash, Dies During Rescue Accident."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328051808/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510740,00.html |date=28 March 2009 }} ''foxnews.com'', 26 March 2009. Retrieved: 26 April 2012.</ref>

The Strikemaster was also operated by several private enterprises, such as Blue Air Training and Global Aviation; such businesses typically used them to conduct training activities.<ref name = "watkin 99101143">Watkins 2023, pp. 99-101, 143.</ref>

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. By the end of the 2010s, there was a shortage of several key components, such as brakes and starter generators, making it increasingly hard to keep the Strikemaster airworthy.<ref name = "watkin 100">Watkins 2023, p. 100.</ref> Many aircraft retired by [[Botswana Defence Force Air Wing|Botswana]], [[New Zealand]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Singapore]] are in museums and private collections.

==Variants==
[[File:14SquadronRNZAFStrikemaster.JPG|thumb|right|Photographed 14 years after it was retired, this BAC Strikemaster still wears the colours of [[No. 14 Squadron RNZAF]].]]
[[File:Team Viper display team in four BAC Strikemasters arp.jpg|thumb|The four BAC Strikemasters of the UK [[aerobatics]] display team Team Viper at [[Cotswold Airport]], [[Gloucestershire]], [[England]]]]
[[File:BDF Air Wing BAC Strikemaster at Duxford.jpg|thumb|right|One of Botswana's Strikemasters]]
[[File:RNZAF Strikemaster4.jpeg|thumb|220px|right|upright|RNZAF Strikemasters in 1984]]

* '''Strikemaster Mk 80''' : Export version for [[Saudi Arabia]], 25 aircraft.
* '''Strikemaster Mk 80A''': 22 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''': 13 aircraft were sold to Oman as a second 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''': 6 were sold to Ecuador as a second order.
* '''Strikemaster Mk 90''' : Export version for [[Sudan]], 4 aircraft.

===Production===
* Strikemaster 80: 136
* Strikemaster 90: 10

==Operators==
;{{BOT}}
* [[Botswana Defence Force Air Wing]] briefly operated a total of 9 secondhand Kuwaiti Mk 83s and Kenyan Mk 87s, with two aircraft later sold to Ivory Coast.
;{{ECU}}
* [[Ecuadorian Air Force]] received 22 Strikemaster Mk 89 and 6 Mk 89A aircraft.
; {{flag|Ivory Coast}}
* [[Ivorian Air Force]] purchased 2 former Botswanan Strikemasters. One was destroyed during the [[2004 French–Ivorian clashes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_463.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717021233/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_463.shtml |url-status=usurped |archive-date=17 July 2012 |title=Cote d'Ivoire, since 2002 |publisher=ACIG |website=acig.org |date=5 August 2004 |first1=Tom |last1=Cooper |first2=Alexander |last2=Mladenov}}</ref>
;{{KEN}}
* [[Kenya Air Force]] received 6 Strikemaster Mk 87 aircraft.
;{{KWT}}
* [[Kuwait Air Force]] received 12 Strikemaster Mk 83 aircraft.
;{{NZL}}
* [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]]
** [[No. 14 Squadron RNZAF]] received 16 BAC Strikemaster Mk 88 aircraft.
* Strikemaster Ltd operates 3 former RNZAF Strikemaster Mk 88 aircraft.
;{{OMN}}
* [[Royal Air Force of Oman]] received 12 Strikemaster Mk 82 and 13 Mk 82A aircraft.
;{{SAU}}
* [[Royal Saudi Air Force]] received 25 Strikemaster Mk 80 and 22 Mk 80A aircraft.
;{{SIN}}
* [[Republic of Singapore Air Force]] received 16 Strikemaster Mk 84 aircraft. All were retired in 1984.
;{{flag|South Yemen}}
* [[Yemen Air Force|People's Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force]] received 4 Strikemaster Mk 81s in 1970.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |title=Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 1: Aerial Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1962-1994 |date=2017 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Solihull, UK |isbn=978-1-912174-23-2 |page=32}}</ref>
;{{SUD}}
* [[Sudanese Air Force]] received 4 Strikemaster Mk 90s in 1983.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Weinert |first2=Peter |last3=Hinz |first3=Fabian |last4=Lepko |first4=Mark |title=African MiGs, Volume 2: Madagascar to Zimbabwe |date=2011 |publisher=Harpia Publishing |location=Houston |isbn=978-0-9825539-8-5 |page=156}}</ref>

==Specifications (Strikemaster Mk 88)==
[[File:BAC Strikemaster, Shoreham Airshow 2014.jpg|thumb|BAC Strikemaster, Shoreham Airshow 2014]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref= Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77<ref name="Janes 76 p172-3">Taylor 1976, pp. 172–173.</ref>
|prime units?= imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|genhide=

|crew= Two
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft= 33
|length in= 8+1/2
|span m=
|span ft= 36
|span in= 10
|height m=
|height ft= 10
|height in= 11+1/2
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft= 213.7
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil= NACA 23015 (modified) at root, NACA 4412 (modified) at tip
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb= 6,195
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb= 9,303
|gross weight note= pilot training
|max takeoff weight lb= 11,500
|fuel capacity= {{convert|366|impgal|USgal L|abbr=on}} total including tip tanks
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number= 1
|eng1 name= [[Armstrong Siddeley Viper|Rolls-Royce Viper]] Mk.535
|eng1 type= [[turbojet]]
|eng1 kn=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng1 lbf= 3,140<!-- jet/rocket engines -->

<!--
        Performance
-->
|perfhide=

|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph= 481
|max speed kts=
|max speed note= at {{convert|18000|ft|m|abbr=on}}<!-- supersonic aircraft -->
|cruise speed kmh=<!-- if max speed unknown -->
|cruise speed mph=<!-- if max speed unknown -->
|cruise speed kts=
|stall speed mph= 98
|stall speed note= flaps down
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph= 518
|never exceed speed kts=
|range km=
|range miles= 1,382
|range nmi=
|combat range km=
|combat range miles= 145
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note= combat radius: with {{convert|3000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} weapons, lo-lo-lo profile
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft= 40,000
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin= 5,250
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns= 2× [[7.62 x 51 mm NATO|7.62 mm]] machine guns with 550 rounds each
|bombs= 
|rockets= 
|missiles= 
|hardpoints= Four (two per wing)
|hardpoint capacity= {{convert|3000| lb| kg|abbr=on}} of bombs, machine gun pods, air-to-ground rocket pods, fuel drop tanks, and napalm tanks.
|hardpoint rockets=
|hardpoint missiles=
|hardpoint bombs=
|hardpoint other=

|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[BAC Jet Provost]]
* [[Percival Provost]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Aermacchi MB 326]]
* [[Aero L-39 Albatros]] (specifically Z-versions)
* [[Cessna A-37 Dragonfly]]
* [[Canadair CL-41G Tebuan]]
* [[HAL HJT-16 Kiran]]
|lists=
* [[List of attack aircraft]]
}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite magazine |last1=Matos |first1=José |title=Nao obrigado!: Portugal's Flirtation with the Hunting Jet Provost & BAC Strikemaster |magazine =The Aviation Historian |date=2017 |issue=20 |pages=84–88 |issn=2051-1930}}
* Taylor, John W.R. "Hunting Jet Provost and BAC 167." ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present''. New York, US: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. {{ISBN|0-425-03633-2}}.
* [[John W. R. Taylor|Taylor, John W. R.]] ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77''. London, UK: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. {{ISBN|0-354-00538-3}}.
* {{cite book |last = Watkins |first = David |title = Jet Provost Boys: True Tales from the Operators of the Jet Provost and Strikemaster |publisher = Grub Street Publishing |date = 2023 |isbn = 9781911714538}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|BAC Strikemaster}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061008144338/http://www.airforcemuseum.co.nz/main/BAE167Strikemaster/ RNZAF Museum Strikemaster page]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071209195036/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1759620.htm ABC Australia News]
* [http://www.warbirdalley.com/strike.htm BAC 167 Strikemaster]
* [http://www.blueairtraining.com Blue Air Training LLC]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171229125244/http://www.jetfighter.co.nz/index.php Strikemaster Ltd]

{{British Aircraft Corporation aircraft}}
{{British military aircraft since World War II}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bac Strikemaster}}
[[Category:British Aircraft Corporation aircraft|Strikemaster]]
[[Category:1960s British attack aircraft]]
[[Category:Counter-insurgency aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-engined jet aircraft]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1967]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]