First flown in February 1950, the Hunting Percival Provost began to replace the Percival Prentice in RAF Flying Training Command from 1953. The piston-engined type took a student pilot through his basic training to the point where he could begin his advanced training on de Havilland Vampire T.11 jet aircraft. The 461 Provosts built up to 1956 continued in service until the early 1960s. As the T.53, the type was also supplied to Burma, Iraq and the Sudan, while the T.51 and T.52 were used by Eire and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.