| HF-24 Marut | |
|---|---|
| HF-24 Marut preserved at the Oberschleissheim museum near Munich | |
| Role | Fighter-bomber |
| Manufacturer | Hindustan Aeronautics |
| Designer | Kurt Tank |
| First flight | 17 June 1961 |
| Retired | 1985 |
| Primary user | Indian Air Force |
| Number built | 147 [1] |
The Hindustan Aeronautics HF-24 Marut (Sanskrit: "Spirit of the Tempest") was an Indian fighter-bomber aircraft of the 1960s. It was India's first jet aircraft, first flying on 17 June 1961. The wooden mock-up of the aircraft was flyable as an air-launched glider.
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The Marut was designed by the famed German designer Kurt Tank, but never realised its full potential due to insufficient power. The basic design was developed by Kurt Tank's team during Tank's days developing jet aircraft in Argentina, which was to be called Pulqui III, as a follow on for the Pulqui II. Tank departed Argentina for India carrying the Marut's concept with him. Although originally conceived to operate in the vicinity of Mach 2, the aircraft in fact turned out to be barely capable of reaching Mach 1,[2] due to the lack of suitably powered engines for the airframe. After the Indian Government conducted its first nuclear tests at Pokhran, international pressure prevented the import of better engines, or at times, even spares for the Orpheus engines. This would be one of the main reasons for this aircraft's early demise.
It was used in combat in the ground attack role, where its safety features such as manual controls whenever the hydraulic systems failed and twin engines increased survivability.
A total of 147 aircraft were built, including 18 two-seat trainers. The last examples were withdrawn from service in 1990.
Given the limited number of Marut units, most Marut squadrons were considerably over-strength for the duration of their lives. According to Brian de Magray, at peak strength No.10 Squadron had on charge 32 Maruts, although the squadron probably did not hold a unit-establishment of more than 16. All in all, the Marut squadrons acquitted themselves very well in the 1971 war. The Marut, as an aircraft, was shown to be tough and capable. No aircraft were ever lost in air-to-air combat. However, 4 were lost to ground fire and two were lost on the ground. The Maruts were in the thick of it, right through the fighting on the western front, and the Squadrons ended the war with a total of three Vir Chakras.[3]
A mock up of the Hf 24 Marut can be seen in Kamla Nehru Park in the city of Pune, India.
In the 1971 war, some HF-24 Maruts and Hawker Hunter aircraft were used to assist the post at Battle of Longewala in the morning by the Indian Air Force. They were not outfitted with night vision equipment, and so were delayed from conducting combat missions until dawn.[4] In 1967, one Marut was used as a testbed for the Egyptian Brandner E-300 engine.[5]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77 [7]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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![[1]](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/marut-1.jpg){kind=link}