The Scottish Aviation Bulldog is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat)

training aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

Beagle Aircraft The Beagle is a small breed of scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting rabbit or hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instin ...

as the B.125 Bulldog. The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at

Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing near Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex, England. It has a Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence tha ...

. The first order for the type was for 78 from the Swedish Air Board. Before any production aircraft were built, Beagle Aircraft ceased trading and the production rights for the aircraft, with the Swedish order, were taken over by Scottish Aviation (Bulldog) Limited. All subsequent aircraft were built at Prestwick Airport by Scottish Aviation, and later by

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

Operational history

Sweden

The first 58 aircraft (known as the SK 61A and SK 61B) were delivered to the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...

in 1971. Twenty more aircraft were delivered to the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

as FPL 61C in 1972, although these were transferred to the Air Force in 1989 as SK 61C. By 2001 all the Swedish aircraft had been withdrawn from military service. 26 were bought in 2004 by the Hungarian company AVIA-Rent.

United Kingdom

The largest customer was the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, which placed an order for 130 Bulldogs in 1972, entering service as the Bulldog T.1 in 1975. It was used by the Royal Air Force as a basic trainer, in particular as the standard aircraft of the

University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons (UAS), are Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF. That offers training and flight training to university students, with the goal of attracting students into a ca ...

s and, later, Air Experience Flights, providing flying training. The aircraft was also used by the Royal Navy for Elementary Flying Training (EFT) at

RAF Topcliffe Royal Air Force Topcliffe or RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in North Yorkshire, England. It was established as a RAF Bomber Command station in 1940. The British Army took over a large part of the s ...

. The RAF sold off its remaining Bulldog trainers in 2001 as

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

light aircraft for a low price. They were replaced by the

Grob Tutor The Grob G 115 is a general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft ( Grob Aerospace before January 2009). The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in serv ...

Variants

The following Bulldog models were produced: Museum of Flight Beagle B125 Bulldog

;Bulldog Series 1: One prototype built by Beagle Aircraft (''G-AXEH''), one built by Scottish Aviation; now in the collection of the National Museum of Flight at

East Fortune East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles (3 km) north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during t ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

. ;Bulldog Series 100 *Model 101: Export model for Sweden. Swedish military designation SK 61 (AF) or FPL 61 (Army). 78 built. *Model 102: Export model for

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. 15 built. *Model 103: Export model for

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Five built. *Model 104: Refurbished second prototype (''G-AXIG'') * Model 121: Primary trainer for the

. RAF designation Bulldog T.1. 130 built, five of which transferred (sold) to the

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta () is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate regiments, with minimal air and naval forces. Since Malta is the ...

in 2000. * Model 122: Export model for

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Six built. * Model 122A: Export model for Ghana. Seven built. * Model 123: Export model for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. 37 built. * Model 124: Company demonstrator (''G-ASAL''). Used for weapons trials. * Model 125: Export model for

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. 13 built. * Model 125A: Export model for

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, ''Silāḥ al-Jaww al-Malakī al-ʾUrdunī'') is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded in 1955, the RJAF serves as the primary ...

. Nine built. * Model 126: Export model for

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Six built. * Model 127: Export model for Kenya. Nine built. * Model 128: Export model for

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF) was a Hong Kong Government department based in Hong Kong. It was formed as an air force in 1949 as part of the Hong Kong Defence Force. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the Uni ...

. Two built. * Model 129: One aircraft for a civil customer in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

(''YV-375-CP''). * Model 1210 : Export model for

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. Six built. Light attack variant with underwing hard points ;Bulldog Series 200 : Four-seat variant with retractable undercarriage. One prototype built (''G-BDOG''). Also known as the Bullfinch in civilian guise.

Operators

Maltese Air Force Scottish Aviation Bulldog T1 JPTA

Military operators

; * Lebanese Air Force Bulldog operators

Former military operators

; * Botswana Air Force ; *

Ghana Air Force The Ghana Air Force (GHF) is the aerial warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). The GHF, along with the Ghana army, Ghanaian army (GA) and Ghana Navy, Ghanaian navy (GN), make up the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghanaia ...

; *

Kenya Air Force The Kenya Air Force (KAF) or is the national aerial warfare service branch of the Republic of Kenya. The main airbase operating fighters is Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, while Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi is the headquarters. Other ba ...

; *

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force formations of the British Royal A ...

; * Maltese Air Wing ; *

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces, established four years after the nation became independent. As at 2021, the air force is one of the largest in A ...

; *

Former civil operators

; *

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

Aircraft on display

;United Kingdom *Bulldog 104 ''G-AXIG'' at

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

, Edinburgh, Scotland.Ellis 2016, p. 312 *Bulldog 125 ''G-BDIN'' at

South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (SYAM) is a volunteer-led museum located at Lakeside in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It occupies the former site of the Royal Air Force Station, RAF Doncaster. The museum occupies the last remaining o ...

, Doncaster, England. *Bulldog T.1 ''XX634'' at Newark Air Museum, Nottinghamshire.Ellis 2016, p. 186 *Bulldog T.1 ''XX654'' at

Royal Air Force Museum Cosford The Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, located at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, is a free museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departmental public ...

, Shropshire.Ellis 2016, p. 193 *Bulldog T.1 ''XX669'' at

.Ellis 2016, p. 302 *Bulldog T.1 ''XX520'' at 172 (

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath ( ) is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, ...

) Squadron

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

(Haywards Heath TA Centre), Sussex *Bulldog T.1 ''XX637'' a
Ulster Aviation Society
Maze Long Kesh, Lisburn, Northern Ireland (Current markings are a XX530 tribute)

Specifications (Bulldog Series 120)

References

* * *

External links

Scottish Aviation Bulldog Cockpit Flying Video
{{Swedish military aircraft designations 1970s British military trainer aircraft

Bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft

Aircraft first flown in 1969 Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft