How's this for a classy Canberra scheme?

Only just revisited this discussion and notied that David Burke raises an interesting point. The number of times I’ve been up close to a Canberra it never occurred to me just how big a wing they had. I certainly never realised that it was 19 feet. Not that it makes a bit of difference to me I still think they were beautiful.

Great images of WH876. Does anybody have a top surface view showing roundel placement and black / white markings ?

WH876

I was based at BDN some years ago and went to check out WH876 at Aberporth. OC Handling Sqn kindly agreed to fly myself and OCRAFSU down there by B206 heli from Thruxton. The aircraft was in a pretty sorry state with the nose having been butchered by the fire section with their cutters. The main spars were pretty rotten in the undercarriage bays and so there was no way it would ever move again. Hence the decision to remove the front end, forward of the bomb bay doors. On arrival at Boscombe, I removed much of the damage up to the most complete frame and then the front of another B2 to graft on to it. I remember the section behind the cockpit, where the trials seats used to be fitted was completely full of sand, probably to keep the nose on the ground at Aberporth in the winds, since the engines had been removed. Incidentally, I believe this was the only Canberra ever fitted with a MK10 seat. I left BD long before the cockpit restoration was completed, but the guys did an absolutely fantastic job judging by the pics I’ve seen.

Steve

Fantastic!

I suppose it’s possible the pale grey faded to near off-white. The cockpit appears still to be in these colours.

Can anyone else confirm for sure?

Love the top pic albert !!
Do you have any more from the ejection sequence ??

regards baz

Apologies for zombifying this thread, but does anyone happen to have any photos of WH876 in the scheme she last carried/was scrapped in? I’ve come by some bits of the aircraft and would like to know what she looked like before they were torn out of her. One of these is a panel with the serial painted on it – I imagine from the rear fuselage (it has bits of stringer on the back). This is white, while on the Martin Baker scheme this area was grey, so I presume she had a repaint between bang seat testing and the end.

Not sure if WH876 was repainted after this, but here she is in 1981 during ejection-seat trials with A&AEE at Boscombe Down.

She appeared at IAT 80 and ’83 at Greenham Common in this scheme and finally at IAT Fairford in July 1985 where I last photographed her above.

Apologies for zombifying this thread, but does anyone happen to have any photos of WH876 in the scheme she last carried/was scrapped in? I’ve come by some bits of the aircraft and would like to know what she looked like before they were torn out of her. One of these is a panel with the serial painted on it – I imagine from the rear fuselage (it has bits of stringer on the back). This is white, while on the Martin Baker scheme this area was grey, so I presume she had a repaint between bang seat testing and the end.

Consul

Interestingly your 1972 pic doesn’t show the in-flight re-fueling probe fitted to WH876 in 1971 for the trials with the stop-gap Vulcan tanker conversion. Must have been only a short trial.

Les
The probe IS there in my shot, it’s just that being white it merges into the white of a building in the background. I’ve found another angle and an enlargement shows the probe more clearly.

You sure Albert? Reason I ask is that WT205 was a B.6 modded to B.15 standard and B.6/15s had Avon 109s – with triple breech starters. The camo Can in the acommpanying pic looks like it has single a breech starter. Compare the shape of the “bullet” cone between the camo Can and WV787 the B(I)8 hybrid in the lead. The length of the cartridge housing is definitely different. I know the res of my pic isn’t up to much, it’s a scan, but the difference is noticable.

Not saying it’s not WT205 but it’s a genuine question mate.

I am just quoting the caption of the photo in the book “The Cold War Years -Flight testing at Boscombe Down 1945-1975”.I’m sure you’re right, as it also quotes the top white T4 as WH854, when it is definately WJ867. The one we think is WK164 is WK121, as it says WK164 failed to start on the day of the formation.

You sure Albert? Reason I ask is that WT205 was a B.6 modded to B.15 standard and B.6/15s had Avon 109s – with triple breech starters. The camo Can in the acommpanying pic looks like it has single a breech starter. Compare the shape of the “bullet” cone between the camo Can and WV787 the B(I)8 hybrid in the lead. The length of the cartridge housing is definitely different. I know the res of my pic isn’t up to much, it’s a scan, but the difference is noticable.

Not saying it’s not WT205 but it’s a genuine question mate.

Albert

Good picture from your archives, as usual. 🙂 Have an image of the same formation but in B&W from above and to starboard. Seems it was a notable event because A&AEE actually found enough Canberra pilots to fly the formation.

Anyway, for your interest (and others of course) here’s the pic again with the various serials. Notable is the fact that WH876 is shown fitted with the refueling probe (dry system). Also, the overall blue Canberra is the PR.3 prototype VX181. The lead aircraft is now at the Newark Aviation museum – WV787. Don’t know the ident of the camo Canberra, be nice to think it’s WF922 – but that would be too much of a chrissy present.

Sorry Les, the camo Canberra is B.15, WT205. 😮

Not a Canberra in the true sense, but a classy livery, i think, that was before they put the ugly camera’s on it for shuttle liftoff monitoring

Not that one I’m afraid. That B-57B was retired in the late 90s I believe. The Canberras NASA used to monitor the shuttle lift-off were their two WB-57D’s. One of them visited Mildenhall recently.

Les – The Boscombe Canberra WH876 was in a worse state than WT308 ! When I get a new scanner I will post some pictures of her at Aberporth.

Not a Canberra in the true sense, but a classy livery, i think, that was before they put the ugly camera’s on it for shuttle liftoff monitoring

Les – The police used to be happy up to about sixteen feet . Indeed I helped move a Dakota a few years ago and that had inches to spare. However new rules allow for civil escorts and the companies charge for the service . It does mean that a load can travel quicker however because the escorts don’t get called away like the Police used to be. As for RAF moves – far easier because cost isn’t a factor and thye have all sorts of exemptions.

WF922 at MAM is a Canberra that was moved by road (to Baginton from Cambridge) – but it was quite a few years ago.

Roger Smith.

Ollie – There were a number of record breaking Canberra’s – I guess you are referring to the Napier Scorpion boosted WK163 which is at Coventry with Air Atlantique. She is quite a George Washington’s hatchet job as per most test and trials Canberra’s !

Any recant photos as i have a canberra model and i am thinking of finishing her as that? The only other info i remember was that ‘the record breaking canberra’ was painter on the nose.

I wish? I sometimes get lucky with single aircraft but not THIS lucky! :rolleyes:

Albert

Good picture from your archives, as usual. 🙂 Have an image of the same formation but in B&W from above and to starboard. Seems it was a notable event because A&AEE actually found enough Canberra pilots to fly the formation.

Anyway, for your interest (and others of course) here’s the pic again with the various serials. Notable is the fact that WH876 is shown fitted with the refueling probe (dry system). Also, the overall blue Canberra is the PR.3 prototype VX181. The lead aircraft is now at the Newark Aviation museum – WV787. Don’t know the ident of the camo Canberra, be nice to think it’s WF922 – but that would be too much of a chrissy present.

Out of interest I would be interested to know how much flying Canberra B(I) 6 WT308 did out of Boscombe Down.

B(I)6 WT308 was basically a Farnborough Canberra, with the Weapons Dept from September 1955. It was transferred to BosDwn on 10 June 1983 and stayed there for a year returning to Farnborough on 24 July 1984.

On its return to Farn it was put into storage and subsquently retired from flying. Although allocated to the Navy at RNAS Culdrose in May1990 for ground rescue training (Navy serial No A2601) it was eventually moved by road during Sept 1992. It has been at Predannack since 1 October 1992 – and that’s where it still lies.

BTW, I have a page for WT308 here. (The gen above isn’t shown on the page as I’ve only just received it and haven’t updated yet.)

And no, it’s definitely not recoverable. 🙁

Out of interest I would be interested to know how much flying Canberra B(I) 6 WT308 did out of Boscombe Down.

Ollie – There were a number of record breaking Canberra’s – I guess you are referring to the Napier Scorpion boosted WK163 which is at Coventry with Air Atlantique. She is quite a George Washington’s hatchet job as per most test and trials Canberra’s !