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RAF Scampton: Red Arrows jet sells for £90,000

Adrian S Pye/Geograph The aircraft outside RAF ScamptonAdrian S Pye/Geograph
The Hawk T1 jet was one of the first of its type delivered to the Royal Air Force in 1980

A jet flown by the world-famous Red Arrows aerobatic team has sold at auction for £90,000.

The Hawk T1 jet was handed to the RAF in 1980 and was flown for 32 years, taking part in hundreds of displays.

After the jet was retired, it was used as a "gate guard" at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire until the station's closure last year.

Ex-military hardware auction site GPSV said it was bought by a private buyer in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

The jet, which has now been dismantled, was described as being in good condition.

It was built by British Aerospace and painted in the world-famous Red Arrows livery.

It was also fitted with a now-removed smoke and dye pod which allowed it to produce the iconic red, white and blue smoke trails.

Retired in 2012, it spent a short time in storage before being selected in 2015 to stand guard, without its engine, outside RAF Scampton.

As well as being home to the Red Arrows from 2000 until 2022, RAF Scampton was also the HQ of the famous World War Two Dambusters 617 squadron.

The Red Arrows team is now based at nearby RAF Waddington.

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History of the Red Arrows

MOD Red Arrows cockpit footageMOD
  • The RAF had several aerobatic display teams in the 1950s and 1960s, but decided to disband them and form a single, full-time professional team
  • The name Red Arrows was chosen to combine the appeal and expertise of two earlier teams, the Black Arrows and the Red Pelicans
  • The team was founded in 1965 at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire
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