Percival Provost

The Percival P.56 Provost was a British ab initio trainer for the Royal Air Force in the 1950s, replacing the Percival Prentice. It was a low-wing, monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. Seating was side-by-side. After a lengthy service career, the design was adapted for a turbojet.

Development
The Provost was designed to Air Ministry specification T.16/48 for a single-engined basic trainer aircraft to meet Operational Requirement 257 for a Percival Prentice replacement. The specification was issued on 11 September 1948 and the ministry received over 30 proposals for consideration. Two designs were chosen for prototype construction, the Handley Page H.P.R 2 and the Percival P.56. Percival was given a contract dated 13 January 1950 to build two Cheetah powered prototypes. The company also built a third prototype with an Alvis Leonides Mk 25 engine.

The Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah powered prototype serial number WE522 first flew on 24 February 1950. After evaluation against the H.P.R 2 at Boscombe Down the Leonides powered P.56 was selected for production as the Provost T.1, with an initial order for 200 aircraft being placed on 29 May 1951. Production ended in 1956 when 461 aircraft had been completed. The Percival Provost eventually formed the basis for the Jet Provost trainer which replaced it in RAF service.

Design
The Provost is an all-metal single-engined two-seat monoplane. It has two seats side-by-side with dual controls and a sliding canopy. The production aircraft are powered by a 550 hp Alvis Leonides 25 radial piston engine. It has a fixed conventional landing gear with a fully castoring tailwheel.

Operational history
The Provost entered service with the RAF in 1953 with the first batch of aircraft delivered to the Central Flying School (CFS) at RAF South Cerney. The CFS carried out intensive flight trials in May and June 1953 before instructor training commenced. The Provost was more capable than the Prentice it replaced which allowed the students to move straight on to the De Havilland Vampire after training on the Provost. On 1 July 1953 6 Flying Training School at RAF Ternhill started to re-equip with the Provost. The first pupil training course to use the Provost started in October 1953. No. 22 Flying Training School at RAF Syerston was the next to convert and it was followed by 2 FTS at RAF Cluntoe, Northern Ireland, 3 FTS at RAF Feltwell and then the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell. From 1956 the Provost was issued to some University Air Squadrons, with the first being the Queen's University Air Squadron, Belfast in January 1956. The last RAF production aircraft was delivered in April 1956.

The aircraft served with the RAF until the early 1960s, when it was replaced by the Jet Provost. A few Provosts continued in service during the 1960s with the Central Navigation & Control School (later Central Air Traffic Control School) at RAF Shawbury until the last example was retired in 1969. Several retired airframes were renumbered with maintenance serials and used for training of airframe and engine tradesmen. At least five Percival Provost have survived as civilian aircraft.

Exports
The first export order was placed in May 1953 by Southern Rhodesia for four T.1 aircraft which were designated the T.51. Later the Royal Rhodesian Air Force followed with an order for twelve armed trainers designated the T.52 which were delivered in 1955.

In January 1954 the Irish Air Corps ordered four T.51 aircraft and in 1960 a further order for six armed T.53 variants. The Burmese Air Force also ordered 12 armed T.53 variants in 1954 and eventually operated 40 aircraft.

In May 1957 the newly formed Sudan Air Force ordered four T.53 armed variant, two were lost in accidents shortly after delivery, a further three were bought in 1959 followed by five former RAF aircraft.

Former RAF aircraft were delivered to Royal Air Force of Oman as armed T.52 variants. In 1955 the Royal Iraqi Air Force ordered 15 armed Provost T.53s with the first delivered in May 1955. The final export customer was the Royal Malaysian Air Force who obtained 24 T.51 trainers between 1961 and 1968.

In 1968 Rhodesia obtained further aircraft using a convoluted route to get around an arms embarago.

Variants

 * Percival P.56 Mark 1
 * Two prototypes with Cheetah engines for evaluation, both later fitted with Leonides engines.


 * Percival P.56 Mark 2
 * One Leonides-engined prototype for evaluation.


 * Provost T.Mk 1
 * Two-seat Leonides-powered basic trainer for the Royal Air Force.


 * Provost T.51
 * Unarmed export version for the Irish Air Corps.


 * Provost Mk 52
 * Armed export version for the Rhodesian Air Force and Sultanate of Oman.


 * Provost Mk 53
 * Armed export version for Burma, Iraq, Ireland and Sudan.

Operators



 * Burma Air Force
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Irish Air Corps
 * Royal Malaysian Air Force
 * Royal Air Force of Oman
 * Rhodesia
 * Rhodesian Air Force
 * Sudanese Air Force
 * Empire Test Pilot's School
 * Royal Air Force
 * Cambridge University Air Squadron#
 * Central ATC School (CATCS)
 * Central Flying School
 * Central Navigation and Control School
 * No. 11 Air Experience Flight RAF
 * No. 2 Flying Training School RAF
 * No. 3 Flying Training School RAF
 * No. 6 Flying Training School RAF
 * No. 22 Flying Training School RAF
 * London University Air Squadron
 * Manchester University Air Squadron
 * Queen's University Air Squadron
 * No. 3 Flying Training School RAF
 * No. 6 Flying Training School RAF
 * No. 22 Flying Training School RAF
 * London University Air Squadron
 * Manchester University Air Squadron
 * Queen's University Air Squadron


 * Royal Air Force College
 * Zimbabwe Air Force
 * Zimbabwe Air Force

Ireland

 * On display
 * Provost T.51 183 on display at the Irish Air Corps Museum and Heritage Centre, Baldonnel Airfield, Co Dublin.
 * Provost T.51 184 on display by the South East Aviation Enthusiasts Group at Dromod.

New Zealand

 * Airworthy
 * Provost T.1 ZK-JOT painted as WV666 of the Royal Air Force is based at North Shore Aerodrome, North Island.

Oman

 * On display
 * Provost T.1 WV494 displayed as XF868 of the Sultan of Oman Air Force at Muscat.

United Kingdom

 * Airworthy
 * Provost T.1 G-BKFW with CAA permission to fly as XF597, registered to Sylamar Aviation and Services Ltd who operates as the Provost Team, based in the Newbury area of Berkshire.
 * Provost T.1 G-KAPW with CAA permission to fly as XF603, owned by the Shuttleworth Trust and based at Old Warden, Bedfordshire.
 * Provost T.1 G-MOOS with CAA permission to fly as XF690 is owned by a private operator in Somerset.


 * On display
 * Provost T.1 WV605 on display at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Suffolk.
 * Provost T.1 WV606 on display at the Newark Air Museum, Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire.
 * Provost T.1 WV679 on display at the Wellesbourne Wartime Museum, Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield, Warwickshire.
 * Provost T.1 WW421 on display at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, Bournemouth, Dorset.
 * Provost T.1 WW442 on display at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, Charlwood, Surrey.
 * Provost T.1 WV493 on display at the National Museum of Flight Scotland, East Fortune, Scotland.
 * Provost T.1 7607M on display at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Shropshire.


 * Stored or under restoration
 * Provost T.1 G-AWRY stored in the Newbury area of Berkshire after being damaged in 1987, marked as XF836.
 * Provost T.51 G-BLIW painted as WV514 under restoration at Shoreham Airport, West Sussex following an accident in 2010.
 * Provost T.1 WV499 stored at Weston Zoyland Aerodrome, Somerset.
 * Provost T.1 WW388 stored in the Newport area Shropshire.
 * Provost T.1 WW444 stored in the Rugely area of Staffordshire.
 * Provost T.1 WW447 stored for spares use at Shoreham Airport, West Sussex.
 * Provost T.1 WW453 stored at Weston Zoyland Aerodrom, Somerset.