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Exhibition marks 50th anniversary of Hawk aircraft

Lara King / BBC A man with white hair is sat on a cream chair, wearing a blue jumper with a white collar shirt underneath. He is holding a picture of red and white Hawk jets.Lara King / BBC
Gareth Jones worked on the Hawk aircraft for almost 40 years in Brough

An exhibition is celebrating 50 years since the Hawk aircraft took its first flight.

The plane has been exported to 22 countries from the BAE Systems factory in East Yorkshire and is still used by the Red Arrows.

Visitors to the exhibition will get the chance to learn about the aircraft's history.

Production of the Hawk stopped in Brough in 2017 with the loss of almost 400 jobs.

It was on August 21 in 1974 that the prototype aircraft, originally called the XX154, took to the air at RAF Valley for the first time.

The flight lasted 53 minutes and reached a height of 20,000ft (6,096m) heralding the launch of the world’s most successful military training aircraft, which is still in service around the world today.

Gareth Jones, who started work at the Brough factory in 1970 and finished in 2009 in the mechanical systems department, told BBC Radio Humberside: "It was a very satisfying job to have.

"The Hawk stood the test of time and it seems unreal there are aircraft still flying in the RAF.

"A number of aircraft were flown out of Brough and it was a one-way trip. Once they'd taken off there was no coming back.

"If anything went wrong it was either go to Humberside or ditch it in the river because the runway wasn't deemed safe to land because of nearby buildings."

Lara King / BBC A picture of a Hawk jet with points around it showing the key features of the aircraft. It acts as an information board.Lara King / BBC
An information board that forms part of a new Hawk exhibition in Brough

The exhibition is being run by David Wilson Homes at its new development Hawk View, which is a stone's throw from the BAE Systems factory and is overlooking the old runway.

Daniel Smith, managing director of the housebuilder, said: “Despite production ceasing in Brough in 2017, the town remains synonymous with the aircraft industry and the Hawk in particular.”

People are also being invited to come along and share their memories of the Hawk on camera as part of an oral history video.

The exhibition is free and is running from 22 to 26 August and from 29 August to 2 September.

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