3D model
Turn it over
A procedural model built in Blender from published dimensions, drawings and photographs, painted as WV562 'P-C' in natural aluminium with yellow trainer bands, as displayed at the RAF Museum Midlands, Cosford. Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom · download .glb (984 KB)
History
The Provost
After the war the RAF wanted a basic trainer that behaved more like the fast aircraft its pupils would go on to fly than the old Tiger Moth did. Percival’s P.56 Provost, which first flew on 24 February 1950, was a stout low-wing monoplane with a large radial engine, a tailwheel undercarriage and a roomy cockpit where pupil and instructor sat side by side.
The Provost T.1 entered RAF service in 1953 and 461 were built. Student pilots flew it on their first courses before moving on to the Vampire, the “Provost to Vampire” syllabus that a generation of RAF pilots followed. Its sprung undercarriage, hydraulic flaps and powerful engine made it a demanding but forgiving machine, and several air forces abroad bought it as well.
The jet-powered Jet Provost, a redesign with the same name and a similar cabin, began to replace it in RAF training from the late 1950s. The piston Provost left front-line training soon afterwards, though some survived in other roles into the 1960s.
This airframe
T.1 WV562
WV562 is a Provost T.1 that served with No. 22 Flying Training School, wearing the code “P-C”, and was later kept as an instructional airframe with the maintenance serial 7606M. It stands in Hangar 1 at the RAF Museum Midlands, Cosford, in natural aluminium with the yellow trainer bands round the rear fuselage and across each wing. The model shows it as it appears there.
Where to see one
In the gazetteer
The gazetteer records the Provost in 7 UK collections. The airframe modelled here is marked.