Researched 2026-10-11 from the sources listed below. Airframes move between hangars, workshops and loans: check with Tangmere Military Aviation Museum before travelling to see this one.
The airframe in brief
| Serial / registration | WB188 |
|---|---|
| Type | Hawker Hunter Mk 3 (P.1067 prototype) |
| First flew | 20 July 1951, Boscombe Down, Neville Duke |
| Units / operator | Hawker Aircraft (prototype and development flying) |
| World record | 727.63 mph, 7 September 1953, Neville Duke |
| Withdrawn | October 1953, to RAF Halton as instructional airframe |
| Later homes | Gate guard at Melksham and Abingdon (1961-64); RAF Colerne; RAF Museum Cosford (1975) |
| Arrived | Tangmere, 1992 on loan; gifted 2025 |
| Status | On display |
| Where | Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Chichester |
The story of WB188
WB188 was the first of three Hunter prototypes, ordered in June 1948 as the Hawker P.1067. Neville Duke, Hawker's chief test pilot, flew it for the first time at Boscombe Down on 20 July 1951. It then spent two years on development flying.
In 1953 Hawker set it aside for an attempt on the world air speed record. It was given a pointed nose, side-mounted airbrakes, extra wing fuel tanks and a reheated Rolls-Royce Avon. These changes made it the only Hunter Mk 3. On 7 September 1953 Duke took off from Tangmere and averaged 727.63 mph over a course between Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, a new world record.
WB188 flew for only about another month. From October 1953 it was an instructional airframe at RAF Halton, used by aircraft apprentices. Between 1961 and 1964 it served as a gate guardian at RAF Melksham and RAF Abingdon. It was then allocated for preservation and joined the station museum at RAF Colerne. In 1975 it moved to the RAF Museum's site at Cosford.
The RAF Museum lent WB188 to Tangmere in 1992, returning it to the airfield it flew from for the record. Ownership passed to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in 2025.
Seeing WB188 today
Displayed at Tangmere, the airfield Duke took off from for the 1953 record.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tangmere Military Aviation MuseumChichester, West Sussex | £15 | 23 | Hawker Hunter WB188 in one-off scarlet, in which Neville Duke took the world air speed record to 727.63 mph off this coast in 1953;… |
Also known as: Hawker P.1067 · Hunter prototype · Hunter Mk 3 · Neville Duke Hunter · red Hunter