Abingdon Air Show 1968 RAF 50 (old thread)

My dad and I went to this airshow. It was a good one. A Beverly pushed crates out the back at low level, one crate broke up.A Lighting had permision to brake the sound barrier i think? A very good day.

Dave

I was there, and have contributed some of my pictures to Librapix, see here:
http://www.planesandchoppers.com/groups.asp?id=14

I was there too ….it was before the RAFM existed (as an exhibition) and as well as a mid boggling volume of RAF aircraft in the air the static included the Wellington, Defiant, Beaufighter (now in Canada) and so many more not usually seen together or by then able to be photographed outdoors. It was a very memorable event. Thanks for triggering happy memories.

Tim

Yes – one of the best shows I have ever seen….sheer numbers not seen since the Coronation Review.

I’ve collected some Info about the 31 ship JP flypast.

All I know is posted here => http://www.a-k-d.com/provost/EIIR/EIIR.html

If anyone can provide more info ( especially the about the 2 FTS – Syerston 3 FTS – Leeming & 6 FTS – Acklington based planes / pilots ) I’d love to hear from them.

You must had lived quite close to me. I was in Austin Place. Does that ring a bell?
I have very few photos of that time. You might look at some on

https://sites.google.com/site/lgarey/beverleys

I was also a member of a PA28 group at Booker. One winter we came back from France in snowstorm and I was kindly talked down by Abingdon radar onto the narrow strip of runway that they had cleared, and was allowed to leave the Cherokee in the hangar next to their Spitfire until I could get it back to Booker. They even took me, my wife and the kids back to Austin Place by RAF transport!

I lived in Larkhill Road – you were slightly closer to RAF Abingdon main gate !

You must had lived quite close to me. I was in Austin Place. Does that ring a bell?
I have very few photos of that time. You might look at some on

https://sites.google.com/site/lgarey/beverleys

I was also a member of a PA28 group at Booker. One winter we came back from France in snowstorm and I was kindly talked down by Abingdon radar onto the narrow strip of runway that they had cleared, and was allowed to leave the Cherokee in the hangar next to their Spitfire until I could get it back to Booker. They even took me, my wife and the kids back to Austin Place by RAF transport!

Laurence

Enjoyed your tale of Beverley flying – envious ! I joined the Abingdon ATC Squadron a little after the Beverleys departed so had to make do with Andovers, Argosys and Hercules.

Do you have anymore Beverley or Abingdon photos?

The one you posted shows the Bev just about overhead the runway intersection with the threshold of runway 26(?) below and the field just beyond it where I spent endless hours watching the aircraft movements. I lived about 10 minutes cycle ride from there.

I know I have asked before but here goes again!Everone remembers the “Abingdon display”but there was also a 50th at RAF Oakington attended by Princess Margaret,Now does any one have details of that one!I was there at the time and worked hard getting ready for it and helping the arrival of all sorts of vintage types so come on!!Some one out there must remember it?!!!

Slightly off thread, but relevent to Beverley formations:
While I was in Oxford UAS I had several friends who flew Beverleys. On 8 September 1961 I took part in a flight to the SBAC Exhibition at Farnborough. We set off in several Beverleys from Abingdon (6 ship formation) and landed at Odiham. I was in XB285 with Flt Lt Lamb. There I changed to XB263, captained by Flt Lt Smith. We flew the short distance to Farnborough, where we landed in the middle of a mock battle with bomb bursts and smoke all around us, then took off again back to Abingdon, where we landed after a fly past and break (see the picture of XB285 over the airfield).

Post 68, a regular feature of Abingdon and other displays was a RAF C-130 demonstrating a ULLA drop – Ultra Low Level ( cant recall the A bit).

This was the dropping of vehicles or equipment from the ramp whilst the aircraft flew at circa 20 ft .

A school friends dad, Mike Nash was the C-130 pilot based with JATE at Abingdon who carried out much of this load dropping development flying.

Dim memories of one ULLA display going a bit wrong and lots of broken bits on the ground!

The ‘A’ was Ultra Low Level Airdrop . It was because of several accidents that this extraction method was abandoned. It was demonstrated by a RAF Hercules during the 1971 Abingdon Battle of Britain air display.

Gaydon makes sense with the J-type hangar in the background; thanks.

Guys,

I just checked my Dad’s log books & I misled you ( sorry ). According to his log book the various FTS’s got together & practiced out of Gaydon The first full EIIR flight was on 6 June, & was practiced 8 times before the shows on the 14th.

Regarding the Beverley formations at Abingdon, a better year was 1963, when although the formation was just four aircraft (XB263, XB269, XB291 and XM105), the sun shone and the “run-in (crawl-in?) and break” was quite something. I have the photos to prove it somewhere.

Post 68, a regular feature of Abingdon and other displays was a RAF C-130 demonstrating a ULLA drop – Ultra Low Level ( cant recall the A bit).

This was the dropping of vehicles or equipment from the ramp whilst the aircraft flew at circa 20 ft .

A school friends dad, Mike Nash was the C-130 pilot based with JATE at Abingdon who carried out much of this load dropping development flying.

Dim memories of one ULLA display going a bit wrong and lots of broken bits on the ground!

Adrian, yes, you’re quite right. Ive just checked my ancient notes and it was indeed a murky day in September 1967.

The flypast of Beverleys was XB240, XB285, XB286, XB288 and XL131, by the way. I’ve got no note of a solo Beverley display, although XB287 was in the static park.

Abingdon played host to a Battle of Britain display a few weeks later in September 1968 and there were wall to wall Beverleys in the flying display. including a rather ponderous formation flypast and horizontal bomb-burst.

Battle of Britain/At Home displays in the area shared alternate years with RAF Benson. There was no other display at Abingdon in 1968 as it was Benson’s turn…and I remember it well as it never stopped raining all day! Furthermore, all Beverleys had been retired by the end of 1967.
The show you are referring to at Abingdon is probably September 1967, as this was the Beverley’s ‘swan song finale’ and indeed there was a formation of Beverleys put up. I remember it well as it was misty all day and another show where the sun never shone!

Abingdon played host to a Battle of Britain display a few weeks later in September 1968 and there were wall to wall Beverleys in the flying display. including a rather ponderous formation flypast and horizontal bomb-burst.
All these years later I can’t recall a solo Beverley – which isn’t to say there wasn’t one – and a transonic Lightning display was only to be expected in any proper air show of the era. (OK, I know there’s a difference between supersonic and transonic…)

My dad and I went to this airshow. It was a good one. A Beverly pushed crates out the back at low level, one crate broke up.A Lighting had permision to brake the sound barrier i think? A very good day.

Dave

Dave -I think you’re getting confused over another show as there was no Beverley is the flying display at the June 68 Abingdon show. Also there was no Lightning breaking the sound barrier there …’she’ would not be amused!

The JP video is great, but it’s not Cranwell. look closely during the start of the take-off sequence and you can see a couple of hangars, at least one of which is a J-type. Given that the aircraft leading out are 2 FTS, my bet is Syerston.

I agree that the front aircraft are from Syerston and know that the formation was led by Wg Cdr LA (Tony) Fergusson OC Flying Wing RAF Syerston.

But – I don’t believe that this is Syerston. The general arrangement does not support that at all. That said, it is possible that there are several edits that appear seamless.