The Scottish Aviation company at Prestwick in Ayrshire initially created a four-seat STOL (short take-off and landing) single-engined aircraft for the Royal Air Force. This eventually became the highly successful "Pioneer" with a remarkable short take-off performance, which suited it for use in action against terrorists in Malaya and Borneo. This led to the design of a larger, twin-engined "Twin Pioneer" with similar characteristics. This first flew in June 1955 but only 87 production aircraft were built. The biggest user was the RAF though it was also bought by a number of other countries.
The Twin Pioneer at the Museum of Flight was built in 1959 and saw service in Borneo as XM961. After RAF service, it was registered as G-BBVF and flown by a civilian company for aerial survey work. After being written off in a gale, it was sold to the Museum of Flight in 1982.
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