Percival Provost
| P.56 Provost | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Percival Provost T.1 preserved as part of The Shuttleworth Collection. | |
| Role | Military trainer aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Percival |
| Designer | Henry Millicer |
| First flight | 24 February 1950 |
| Introduction | 1953 |
| Retired | 1969 |
| Primary users |
Royal Air Force Burma Air Force Iraqi Air Force Irish Air Corps |
| Produced | 1950–1956 |
| Number built | 461 |
| Developed into | BAC Jet Provost |
The Percival P.56 Provost was a British basic trainer that was developed for the Royal Air Force in the 1950s as a replacement for the Percival Prentice. It was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage and like the Prentice had a side-by-side seating arrangement. The Provost has the distinction of being the last piston-engine basic trainer aircraft to be operated by the RAF.
The Provost was later adapted to make use of a turbojet engine, producing the BAC Jet Provost. The type was withdrawn in the 1960s, in favour of its jet-powered successor.
The Provost design is attributed to the Polish-born Aeronautical Engineer, Henry Millicer. Millicer later moved to Australia where he also designed the award-winning Victa Airtourer light aircraft. 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. 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. In 1961, production of the type ended with a total of 461 aircraft having been completed. The Percival Provost eventually formed the basis for the Jet Provost trainer which replaced it in RAF service.
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