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The Hawker Hunter Mark 58 was the designation given to 152 aircraft sold to Switzerland between the late 1950s and early 1970s. Swiss interest in the Hunter began when it was submitted for competitive trials against the Canadair Sabre, Folland Gnat and Swiss P-16. The Hunter won the trials, and in 1957 the Swiss borrowed two aircraft, XE587 and 588 for more detailed gunnery and bomb trials in Switzerland.
In January 1958 the Swiss placed an order for 100 aircraft based on the F.Mark 6, but with the addition of a tail parachute. The first twelve aircraft were delivered from a cancelled RAF order, and the remaining 88 aircraft were built from new in 1958-60. The first delivery was made on 15 January 1959 and the last on 6 April 1960. These Mark 58 fighter aircraft were used to equip Staffels 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 19 and 21 of the Swiss Air Force.
In the early 1970s the Swiss placed two further orders for Hunters, this time for ground attack aircraft, updated to the F.G.A.9 standard and delivered as the Mark 58A. The first order was for 30 conversions, to be delivered between December 1971 and April 1973, and the second was for 22 conversions, to be delivered between January 1974 and April 1975. These orders were filled by converting a wide range of older aircraft, including British F.4s, F.6s and Dutch T.7s.