Hunters from Chivenor

Maps and Manuals



A new acquisition from eBay is a chart used by a pilot who flew the Hawker Hunter from RAF Chivenor in the late 1950s.

The chart, which is a folded copy of  RAF 1:500,000 Aeronautical Chart, Sheet NW 50/5.5, GSGS 4715, Edition 1-GSGS, Published in 1957, is annotated and marked up with the local danger areas and a range circle (in nautical miles) centred on RAF Chivenor in Devon. Green areas were, I suspect, those used by aircraft from Chivenor. Red areas were those not!

A transparent compass rose, pointing to Magnetic North, has also been stuck on the chart, again centred on Chivenor. The chart is folded in such a way that it would fit into the knee pocket of a flying suit and it is also within a protective plastic sleeve. Inserted into the sleeve, on the reverse of the portion of the chart shown in the picture above, is a Flight Planning Data sheet that gives the fuel requirements for returning to Chivenor from various ranges and altitudes, as well as fuel requirements for diversions to other airfields from overhead Chivenor. This is shown below.

The initial models of the Hawker Hunter had limited range compared to later models of this famous British aircraft. The Hunter F Mk. 4 was the first to be endowed with a greater range capability. It was an elegant and classic  design, and pilots loved to fly the Hunter.

Below is the front and rear cover of the official Pilot's Notes for the aircraft.

The Hunter was a very successful design, and served for 50 years with the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm, as well as with numerous air forces around the world.

The diagrams above and to the left, are from: 

Air Publication (AP) 4347D Volume I , Hunter F Mk. 4 Aircraft, General and Technical Information.

The diagram to the left shows the approach plate that pilots of 229 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), would have carried in the cockpit to guide their approach and landing at Chivenor after a training flight.


For a period in the early 1960s, 229 OCU at Chivenor used the strafing and rocket range at St Govans Head in South Pembrokeshire, and I will describe their use of the range in a future post.