Aircraft between 1946 and present
Picture: Lightning landing.
Aircraft types first flown between 1946 and present - Either used or tested by the Royal Air Force
Post World War II, Cold War 1945 –1991, Present
Royal Air Force and the Cold War
De Havilland Canada Chipmunk UK - 1946 - (Trainer)
Handley Page Hastings - 1946 (Four-engined piston transport)
Handley Page Marathon - 1946 (Four-engined piston navigation trainer)
Percival Prentice - 1946 (Single-engined piston trainer)
Auster Antarctic UK – 1947
Boulton Paul Balliol UK – 1947
Bristol Sycamore - 1947 (Single-engined communications helicopter)
North American Sabre -1947 (Single-engined jet fighter/interceptor)
Vickers Valetta - 1947 (Twin-engined (piston) transport)
Avro Athena UK – 1948
Hiller HT2 - 1948 (Single-engined land rescue helicopter)
Saro Skeeter - 1948 (Helicopter)
Avro Shackleton - 1949 (Four-engined piston maritime patrol)
De Havilland Comet UK - 1949 - (Arliner)
De Havilland Venom - 1949 (Single-engined jet night fighter)
English Electric Canberra UK - 1949 - (Bomber)
Hawker Typhoon - 1949 (Single-engined piston fighter)
Vickers Varsity - 1949 (Twin-engined (piston) crew trainer)
Blackburn Beverley UK – 1950
De Havilland Heron - 1950 (Four-engined piston communications)
Percival Provost - 1950 (Single-engined piston trainer)
Scottish Aviation Pioneer - 1950 (Single-engined piston liaison)
Westland Dragonfly - 1950 (Single-engined piston helicopter)
Gloster Javelin - 1951 (Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor)
Hawker Hunter - 1951 (Single-engined jet fighter/fighter-bomber)
Vickers Valiant - 1951 (Four-engined strategic bomber)
Avro Vulcan - 1952 (Four-engined jet strategic bomber)
Handley Page Victor - 1952 (Four-engined jet strategic bomber)
Hunting Percival Pembroke - 1953 (Twin-engined light transport)
Westland Whirlwind - 1953 (Single-engined helicopter)
Auster AOP UK – 1954
BAC Jet Provost - 1954 (Single-engined jet trainer)
English Electric Lightning - 1954 (Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor)
Lockheed Hercules - 1954 (Four-engined turboprop transport)
Supermarine Swift - 1954 (Single-engined jet)
Folland Gnat - 1955 (Single-engined jet trainer)
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer - 1955 (Twin-engined piston transport)
Bristol Britannia UK - 1956 (medium/long-range airliner)
Blackburn Buccaneer UK - 1958 (strike aircraft)
McDonnell Douglas Phantom - 1958 (Twin-engined jet fighter)
Westland Wessex - 1958 (radio and navigator training)
Westland Wessex - 1958 (Twin-engined transport helicopter)
Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 - 1959
Argosy UK – 1959
Beagle Husky - 1960 (Single-engined piston trainer)
Hawker Siddeley Kestrel - 1960 (Single-engined fighter, ground-attack aircraft/experimental)
Beagle Basset UK - 1961
Bristol Belvedere UK - 1961 (Cargo helicopter)
Boeing-Vertol Chinook USA - 1961 - (Transport helicopter)
Hawker Siddeley Dominie 1962 (Twin-engined jet navigation trainer)
Hawker Siddeley HS 125 - 1962 (Twin-engined jet VIP transport)
Vickers VC-10 - 1962 (Four-engined jet transport/tanker)
Short Belfast UK - 1964 (heavy lift turbopropfreighter)
Britten-Norman Islander - 1965 (Twin-engined communications aircraft)
Hawker Siddeley Andover UK – 1965
BAE Nimrod - 1967 (Four-engined jet maritime patrol) See Nimrod
Hawker Siddeley Harrier - 1967 (Single-engined jet vertical take off and landing ground attack) See Harrier
Scottish Aviation Jetstream - 1967 ( Twin-engined turboprop multi-engine trainer)
Westland Gazelle - 1967 (Single-engined light training and VIP helicopter)
SEPECAT Jaguar - 1968 (Twin-engined jet ground-attack)
Westland/Aérospatiale Puma - 1968 (Twin-engined transport helicopter)
Scottish Aviation Bulldog UK - 1969 (Trainer)
Westland Sea King - 1969 (Twin-engined rescue helicopter)
Lockheed Tristar - 1970 (Three-engined jet transport/tanker)
Agusta A109E Italy – 1971
Beechcraft Super King Air - 1972 (Twin-engined turboprop multi-engine trainer)
British Aerospace Hawk - 1974 (Single-engined jet trainer)
Eurocopter Squirrel - 1974 (Single-engined training helicopter)
Panavia Tornado - 1974 (Twin-engined fighter/bomber) See Tornado F3 and Tornado GR4
Slingsby Firefly - 1974 (Single-engined trainer aircraft)
Boeing Sentry - 1977 ( Four-engined jet AWACS)
BAe/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II - 1978 (Single-engined jet vertical take off and landing ground attack) See Harrier
Eurocopter Twin Squirrel - 1979 (Twin-engined helicopter)
Bell Griffin - 1981 (Twin-engined turbo training and rescue helicopter)
BAe 146 UK - 1983 (medium-sized commercial airliner)
Grob Tutor - 1985 (Single-engined piston trainer)
Shorts Tucano - 1986 (Single-engined turboprop trainer)
European Helicopter Industries - Merlin - 1987 (Three-engined helicopter transport)
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III - 1991 (Four-engined jet transport/cargo)
Eurofighter Typhoon - 1994 (Twin-engined jet fighter)
Raytheon Sentinel - ASTOR - 2004 (Surveillance)