Indian HPT-32 pole sitters

[ehusmann]

India has always been a country where new Wrecks and Relics can be found in batches. However, lately that has been the case even more. About a decade ago the Indian Air Force removed the HPT-32 primary trainer from its inventory. The plane had the tendency to shut down mid-flight, which apparently wasn't quite something to get enthousiastic about. Most of the then remaining planes were stored at Dundigal. For several years around 80 could be seen stored around the southern hangars (here). However, since 2017 all of sudden the numbers reduced dramatically and now only 9 or 10 can still be seen. Most of the others have sinced turned up around the country at schools, colleges, science centers, parks and whoever seems to want one.

With some very specific searches in Google and Yahoo I was able to trace about 40 of them, many of which could even be identified through pictures. Some on the list below were not part of those 80 stored at Dundigal (like the i/a frames at Dundigal itself), but most probably were. The other 20 to 30 will probably pop up somewhere as well in the near future. I am quite certain this list is not complete.

78 identified ones:
X2514 - Devrukh
X2517 - Jalahalli
X2520 - Kanpur
X2523 - Solapur - Science Center - dismantled, not preserved (yet?)
X2524 - Sangamner
X2527 - Tambaram
X2530 - Dundigal
X2531 - Dharwad - Regional Science Center
X2533 - Nagpur
X2534 - Bikaner
X2535 - Kalaburagi
X2536 - Haldwani
X2538 - Balurghat - exact location unkown, a news article says in the garden of a government building (with picture)
X2540 - Jaspur
X2542 - Bangalore
X2543 - Chandigarh - and now at the Heritage center
X2544 - Bangalore
X2546 - Pune
X2548 - Barrackpore
X2552 - Kolkata - Science City
X2553 - Tilaiya - Sainik School
X2555 - Dharamsala
X2558 - Raigoan
X2559 - Purnia
X2562 - Manauri
X2563 - Tirupati
X2564 - Bangalore
X2565 - Chimney Hills
X2567 - Bangalore
X2573 - Lucknow
X2578 - Coimbatore - Police Museum
X2579 - Dundigal
X2580 - Chittorgarh - Sainik School
X2581 - Thanjavur
X2582 - video known, location still unknown, not even a town name so far
X2586 - Nalanda - Sainik School
X2587 - Prayagraj
X3145 - Bhandara - location now known
X3146 - Bangalore
X3147 - Kazhakkoottam - Sainik School
X3214 - Lucknow
X3215 - Jhansala
X3219 - Gopalpur
X3222 - Punglwa - Sainik School
X3223 - Bhopal
X3225 - Gandhinagar
X3226 - Karad
X3227 - Amritsar Museum
X3228 - Hyderabad
X3229 - Avadi
X3231 - Lucknow
X3232 - Kanpur
X3234 - Kakinda Aircraft Museum
X3236 - Palam – Indian Air Force Museum
X3237 - Trivandrum
X3239 - Varanasi
X3240 - Bangalore – HAL Heritage Center
X3241 - Nagpur - Raman Science Centre and Planetarium
X3242 - Bhubaneswar
X3245 - Mudesa - Sainik School
X3246 - Dundigal
X3247 - Junagadh
X3248 - Tirunelveli - Regional Science Center
X3249 - Devka
X3250 - Chandrapur - Sainik School
X3251 - Pune
X3252 - Razam
X3254 - Dundigal
X3255 - Rewari
X3256 - Prayagraj (now located at a traffic circle)
X3260 - Chandigarh
X3261 - Dehradun
X3262 - Siliguri - North Bengal Science Center
X3263 - Kanpur
X3264 - Nagpur
X3266 - Kota
X3267 - Dundigal
"VT-SOU"/74 - Ahmedabad

1 removed from known location
X2574 - Dundigal - removed (see unidentified)

13 serial still unknown
Avadi
Bamrauli
Bareilly
Devlali
Dundigal - this might be X2574 which was removed from another location at the same air base
Gurgaon
Jaipur
Kanpur
Karad
Memaura
Mhow
Mullanpur
Yelahanka


4 possible HPT-32s (but not clearly recognizable from GE images and no known pictures):
Bapatla
Delhi
Memaura
Sulur

Obviously I would love to hear about more, so please say so if you know of any others. Identified or not, even already located or not. And I do have pictures of most of the above, but I do not wish to post them as I do not have the copyrights. I only keep them for reference, contact me if you wish to see proof of any of the above.

Erwin

[ehusmann]

I have updated the list above, as in the past 2 years the number of found HPT-32 has more than doubled! Updates in bold above.
Right now 58 are known by serial (and 1 known, but not located).
18 more are known but without serial.
4 possible.

So that makes no less that 77 in total! Still more can pop up the coming time, but it is close to the total that were stored at Dundigal for all these years.

[patrick dirksen]

Brilliant detective work!

[ehusmann]

Thanks! I know it is not a wildly popular type (perhaps for many not even a known type), but it is simply amazing how many are popping up all the time. Again I have been able to add 6 to the list (in red). It remains weird that this type specifially is being used to promote the Air Force. A type that is generally considered somewhat of a failure...

X2562 and X3261 were known, just not identified yet.
VT-SOU is probably a fake registration. I have no knowledge of any civilians to begin with and it is parked at "Silver Oak University", which is probably where the registration comes from. Might be X3274, but I am not sure that one ever existed in the first place.
X3256 is probably in Prayagraj, because the poster of the movie is from there and on the movie a banner for a university nearby can be seen, but location has to be confirmed. It certainly is not the other one that I discovered in the same town in the same search (X2587 is at the gate to the Tarapore Dwar military base).

[ehusmann]

And another few extra HPT-32s (in green), but also one less. X2574 was preserved at Dundigal at the officers institute, but has been removed from there. At the same time one is now on the parade ground, so that is likely the X2574, but I have no evidence of that yet. Two more are at Dundigal as well, close to each other with two Air Force schools. One was known already, but now identified. The other was recently placed, that one is coded 79, most likely X2579, but that's not 100% confirmed yet.

Also there is again a picture of a HPT-32 of which the location is unknown. It is unmarked, on a metal pole (like used for rigging lights), probably somewhere in the north of India. This is not in the list, because it may be one of the other unidentified ones.

So, for now, 67 identified, 16 unknown and 5 uncertain, makes it close to 90 already!

[ehusmann]

One and a half years later and there are some updates again. 10 more have been identified, all in bold above (marks from previous updates have been removed). The updates include some that were known before, but quite still some new ones as well. In total already 90 are known, and this might be close to the full list now. There are no more visible at the storage location of Dundigal, although some of the ones that were known to be there have not yet been found in the country. We may still get to 100....

[K2G]

One and a half years later and there are some updates again. 10 more have been identified, all in bold above (marks from previous updates have been removed). The updates include some that were known before, but quite still some new ones as well. In total already 90 are known, and this might be close to the full list now. There are no more visible at the storage location of Dundigal, although some of the ones that were known to be there have not yet been found in the country. We may still get to 100....

X2565 is preserved at Chimney Hill AFS. 13.07255, 77.49892
Noted this month

[ehusmann]

Brilliant, another one, that's 78 (+13)! Thanks, added above.