Hawker Sea Hawk FGA.6 WV908

WV908 was built at Baginton, Coventry by Armstrong-Whitworth.
It was assembled at Bitteswell and took its first flight on 31st January 1954. Delivered to the Fleet Air Arm at RNAS Abbotsinch in February 1955, it served initially with 807 NAS (Navy Air Squadron) based at RNAS Brawdy, and was embarked on HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. During November 1955 WV908 was flown to RNAY Fleetlands, where it underwent modifications to the airframe. It was back in service in July 1956, this time with 898 NAS, also based at RNAS Brawdy. With this unit it was coded '470/O', and was based on HMS Ark Royal on several occasions. From July 1957 WV908 was again at Fleetlands, this time for conversion FGA.6 specification.

In April 1958 WV908 was issued to 806 NAS, based at RNAS Lossiemouth. This period of service only lased three weeks, as the aircraft suffered damage following a forced landing. Sent back to Fleetlands for repair, it rejoined the Unit, now based at RNAS Brawdy, in July 1959. It was coded '188/A' for this role, wearing the colours it wears today, and stayed in service until 1960 when she was retired and placed in store.

In October 1960 it was re-assigned to second line duties with 738 NAS at RNAS Lossiemouth, and stayed for a two-year period. Mothballed again in 1962, it remained in storage at Belfast until 1971, when it was loaned to RAF Halton and used a systems trainer for RAF engineers.

In 1976 a team of engineers from RNAS Culdrose selected WV908 for their project to restore a Sea Hawk to flying condition. It was moved by road to Cornwall in November 1976, and a restoration started in earnest. On 23rd May 1978 WV908 flew for the first time since 1962.

Airshow Bookings for WV908
[courtesy of the RNHF]

No dates for the 2005 airshow season have been confirmed by the RNHF.

After flying from Cornwall for several years the aircraft was transferred to Yeovilton to join the Historic Flight in 1982 to begin a two year overhaul programme. The aircraft flew again in 1984 and was displayed in her 806 Squadron markings with the codes [188/A]. After the 1986 airshow season she was given another major overhaul emerging in 1989 in pristine condition. It was reflown by Lt. Cdr. Mike Broadwater on September 20th.
Sadly the funds to keep the aircraft flying were simply not available and she was therefore put into long-term storage.

The Sea Hawk emerged from her slumber in early 1995, when British Aerospace at Dunsfold took on the task of giving WV908 a major overhaul. The aircraft was moved to the Surrey factory and a restoration programme began. The overhaul suffered a few setbacks along the way, including the discovery of corrosion in the aircraft's Rolls Royce Nene engine. However the restoration team overcame all quickly. A series of small snags then dogged the aircraft as it reached the final stages during 1996, and this prompted the RNHF to cancel any possible airshow work for the aircraft during the 1996 season. This allowed the team at Dunsfold to do a lot of 'fine-tuning' to the airframe.

Finally WV908 made her first post restoration flight on October 23rd 1996 at Dunsfold. At the controls was pilot Lt. Cdr. David Baddams, and the aircraft flew for 58-minutes. He was delighted with the aircraft's performance. The following day WV908 was ferried to Yeovilton ready for her official hand-over back to the RNHF on 1st November.

WV908 made her debut performance at the Fighter Meet 1997 at North Weald in company with W5856 on May 10th/11th; this was the first of the numerous planned displays for the 1997 summer season.

However during July 1997 WV908 suffered severe heat damage to the fuselage structure in the engine bay, caused by escaping engine exhausts and gases from the Nene engine. The problem was very serious, with the aircraft being permanently grounded a realistic possibility. The RNHF team evaluated the problem and reached a decision to repair the damage, and BAE-Systems were employed to undertake the repair job in 1998. It was moved back to BAe Dunsfold by road where work was started, but two years the aircraft returned to Yeovilton in September 2000 following the factory's closure.

The pace of the repair then dropped as a small group of BAe engineers, deployed especially to Yeovilton, concentrated on getting Firefly WB271 back in the air first.
In mid-2002 the team began full-time work on WV908, and a little over a year later the aircraft was repaired and now fully re-assembled. It was placed on static display at Yeovilton Air Day 2003, minus its ejection seat equipment. Unfortunately the overhaul of the cockpit safety equipment took a considerable amount of time, and it wasn't until early September 2004 that the items returned to Yeovilton.

The RNHF team then worked at full speed re-installing all the equipment, which was completed in the space of one day. Ground runs then re-commenced, with the aim of getting the aircraft fit to fly at Yeovilton Air Day on 18th September.
On Wednesday 15th September, WV908 flew again for the first time in seven years, in the hands of Russ Eatwell. The following day, Russ put on his first practice display over Yeovilton in front of the Commodore in company with VR930. On Saturday it made its display comeback at Yeovilton, and it also appeared at Biggin Hill the following day.
Its last commitment of the season was at Duxford in October.

WV908 is back.

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