Consul
Sorry, no info on the schemes used, the civvies seemed to change them more often than people change their socks. :rolleyes: However, it could be that the light blue – a smart looking scheme I agree – denoted use by the Bomber Maritime Test Squadron at BosDwn. I have a colour pic of WK164 in similar colours when with the BMTS.

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. The civvies are notoriously bad at recording the colour/configuration events in the flying lives of their aircraft, more interested in the data I guess. Most extant info comes from “rememberances” and personal observation by individuals. Consequently it is difficult to pin down any one aircraft’s usage or colour scheme with any accuracy – particularly the Canberras as they were all over the place in those days.

Ant H
I was disappointed that both were chopped up rather than offered for preservation when they came up for disposal-does anyone know why this was done??

WH734’s cockpit section was saved and is currently being refurbished for a private customer by a specialist firm in the UK. WH734 has a bit of “history” as it was one of the Canberras fitted out as an air-to-air refuler. Have a pic of it topping up a Lightning. As to why they scrap them without offering them up to enthusiasts, don’t know. Must be a bean-counter thing. 🙁

lanky
Are all the canberras that come out of RAF service simply scrapped?

You asked this question. Does it refer to the two Canberras mentioned here or is it a “general” question? If you meant the two mentioned in this thread then they were not RAF Canberras, they were flown by the UK’s research establishment.

lanky and ollie

Grow up will you, these things are not Airfix kits. It takes some serious dedication and back-breaking engineering to make a good presentable cockpit section no matter what the aircraft – in some cases it takes years.

This is definitely a B.2. Three ejection seats therefore not a PR type. Engine starter buttons are for the single cartridge type starters therefore not a B.6 (and it’s not T.4).

Still not sure of the identity of this cockpit section though, at the moment WJ640 is in the frame so to speak. This was owned by a Film Studio based, I think, at Denham Aerodrome and last recorded in 1991. So, it could be anywhere now. Maybe someone can tighten up on this.

But then again, life’s to short to try and follow through on this hulk. After being used as a “Broadsword” spaceship in a sub-B class film of a computer game it is probably now owned by the film company or handed on to a scrappy like most of the Lightning cockpits were.

Hope it never happens. It’ll be full of squadrons of computer generated airframes in full colour with four-part harmony and sly allusions to modern events.

Anyway, everybody knows that WWII was in black & white.

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Didn’t say they’d be in focus. :rolleyes:

So we jack it up a tad until we get a macro adaptor donated and fitted . . . 😉

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Bringing another B-17 to the UK???

Why?

1689 Flt, Bomber (Defence) Training Flt – originally formed in 1944 at Leconfield by re-designating 1484 Flt, (Bomber (Gunnery) Flt. Typical aircraft – Hurricane, Anson, Spitfire, Martinet, Beaufighter, Tiger Moth.

Disbanded 1945 at Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.

Re-formed 1946 at Aston Down as 1689 (Ferry Pilot Training) Flt by re-designating 41 Group Training Flt. Was attached to 20 MU. Typical aircraft include – Wellington, Lancaster, Hornet, Lincoln, Mosquito, Sptfire, Oxford, Harvard, Vampire, Meteor.

Typical Flt marking – 9X. Typical aircraft codes – Wellington, X RP506 9X; Lancaster VII NX612 9X; Hornet F.3 PX348; Mosquito IIIVP346 9X-T; Oxford I RR332 9X-P. There are others of course.

Disbanded April 1953 at Aston Down, moved to Benson and absorbed into the Ferry Training Flight.

This from Alan Lake’s book, Flying Units of the RAF

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See you’ve not had a pic yet APC. Here they all are at RAF Sculthorpe in 1952 with the complete, mixed, RAF/USAF crews.