List Of Fatal Accidents And Incidents Involving Royal Air Force Aircraft From 1945
Many hundreds of fatal accidents and incidents involving military aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force have occurred since 1945, the great majority of them before the end of the Cold War. They are grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Combat losses and aircraft operated by experimental establishments not on RAF strength are not included. This is a very far from complete list: for example a total of 890 Gloster Meteors were lost in RAF service (145 of these crashes occurring in 1953 alone), resulting in the deaths of some 450 pilots. 1940s ;1945 *On 29 September ''PD343'' an Avro Lancaster B.1 of No. 550 Squadron RAF went missing on a flight from Italy to the United Kingdom with 26 on board.Halley 1999, pp. 7–24 *On 2 October ''KH219'' a Consolidated Liberator GR.6 of No. 203 Squadron RAF went missing in the Bay of Bengal returning to Singapore on a supply flight, 12 on board. *On 4 October '' PA278'' an Avro Lancaster B.1 of No. 103 Squadron ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Northwood Mid-air Collision
The 1948 Northwood mid-air collision took place on 4 July at 15:03 when a Douglas DC-6 of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and an Avro York C.1 of the Royal Air Force (RAF) collided in mid-air over Northwood in London, UK (then in Middlesex). All thirty-nine people aboard both aircraft were killed. It was SAS's first fatal aviation accident and was at the time the deadliest civilian aviation accident in the UK. It is still the deadliest mid-air collision in British history. The DC-6, registration SE-BDA and named ''Agnar Viking'', was on an international scheduled flight from Stockholm via Amsterdam to London's RAF Northolt. The Avro York of the 99 Squadron, with serial number MW248, was on a flight from RAF Luqa in Malta to RAF Northolt. The aircraft were two of four participating in a stacking at Northolt. At the time of the accident, the SAS aircraft was holding at 2,500 feet while the RAF aircraft was holding at 3,000 feet. However, due to an error in the sett ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design. Other aircraft developed to the same specification include the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Handley Page Hampden. During the development process, performance requirements such as for the tare weight changed substantially, and the engine used was not the one originally intended. The Wellington was used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, performing as one o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Dishforth
Royal Air Force Dishforth or more simply RAF Dishforth is a former Royal Air Force station near to Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1936, the base was used as a bomber airfield during the Second World War with both British and Canadian squadrons flying missions from the airfield. After the war, the base was used by various squadrons and training units before being disposed of in 1992 and handed over to the Army Air Corps. History The site at Dishforth was elected during the expansion period of the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. Named after the village of Dishforth, just to the north of the main runway, the base was opened in September 1936. Just like RAF Leeming further north, the airfield was adjacent to the Great North Road (now the A1(M)), and even extended over the road for some of its dispersal areas in the late 1930s. Five C-type hangars were built at the south-east boundary of the airfield, with the technical areas beyond the hangars. The creation of hardstandi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Leuchars
Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspace. The station ceased to be an RAF station at 12:00 hrs on 31 March 2015 when it became Leuchars Station and control of the site was transferred to the British Army. The RAF temporarily returned to Leuchars between August and October 2020 to carry out QRA (I) responsibilities while runway works were being carried out at RAF Lossiemouth. History First World War Aviation at Leuchars dates back to 1911 with a balloon squadron of the Royal Engineers setting up a training camp in Tentsmuir Forest. They were soon joined in the skies by the 'string and sealing wax' aircraft of the embryonic Royal Flying Corps; such aircraft favoured the sands of St Andrews, where not the least of the attractions was the availability of fuel from local gar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Binbrook
Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook was a Royal Air Force station, now closed, located near Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. The old domestic site (married quarters) has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was primarily used by Bomber Command in the Second World War. The Central Fighter Establishment moved to Binbrook from RAF West Raynham between 1959 and 1962 and two English Electric Lightning squadrons were stationed there between 1965 and 1988. History Bombers RAF Binbrook was opened as a Bomber Command station in June 1940 during the Second World WarHalpenny 1991, p. 42. and home to No. 12 Squadron RAF, with Vickers Wellington Mk II and III, between 3 July 1940 and 25 September 1942 before it moved to RAF Wickenby. Another squadron stationed at Binbrook before 1942 was 142, with the Fairey Battle, from 3 July 1940 to 12 August 1940 and from 6 September 1940 to 26 November 1941 when it moved to RAF Waltham. The squadron used the Battle until ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Benson
Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, used primarily for the transportation of troops & equipment. Flying squadrons comprise No. 33 Squadron & No. 230 Squadron flying the Puma, No. 22 Squadron which provides operational evaluation and training for all aircraft in Joint Helicopter Command and No. 28 Squadron, which is the combined Puma and Boeing Chinook HC6A training unit. Other units include the Oxford University Air Squadron and No. 6 Air Experience Flight, both flying the Grob Tutor T1 light training aircraft used for student and cadet flying training. The National Police Air Service and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance are also based at the station, both operating Airbus H135 helicopters. RAF Benson opened in 1939 and during the Second World War it was tasked with tra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF St
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The RAF ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (British Army). The station opened in 1937. With the transfer of pilot training to RAF Valley on Anglesey in 2019, the station closed in 2020. In February 2021, the MOD confirmed that no alternative military use had been identified for the site and that it would therefore be sold. History RAF Linton-on-Ouse opened on 13 May 1937 as a bomber airfield and was the home of No. 4 Group RAF until 1940. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Military Airfields of Yorkshire v. 4'' – Page 122 The base's first commander was Wing Commander A. D. Pryor. When the Second World War began, bombers were launched from Linton to drop propaganda leaflets over Germany and the base was eventually used to launch bombing raids on Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. Linton was one of 11 sta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of . (Although most DC-3s flying today use Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, many DC-3s built for civil service originally had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone.) The DC-3 has a cruising speed of , a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of , and can operate from short runways. The DC-3 had many exceptional qualities compared to previous aircraft. It was fast, had a good range, was more reliable, and carried passengers in greater comfort. Before the war, it pioneered many air travel routes. It was able to cross the continental United States from New York to Los An ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1949 Exhall Mid-air Collision
The Exhall mid-air collision happened on Saturday 19 February 1949 over the village of Exhall when a British European Airways Douglas DC-3 / Douglas Dakota collided in clear weather with a Royal Air Force Avro Anson T21. The Dakota was on a flight from Northolt Airport near London to Glasgow-Renfrew Airport in Scotland. With a crew of four it was carrying six passengers, and had taken off from Northolt at 09:13 hr. The Royal Air Force Avro Anson T21 was being operated by No. 2 Air Navigation School on a cross-country training exercise from RAF Middleton St. George. The two aircraft collided at 4500 ft near the village of Exhall, near Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ... in Warwickshire. The wreckage fell near an old peoples' home, the Exhall Lodge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. Initially known as the ''Avro 652A'', the Anson was developed during the mid-1930s from the earlier Avro 652 airliner in response to a request for tenders issued by the British Air Ministry for a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Having suitably impressed the Ministry, a single prototype was ordered, which conducted its maiden flight on 24 March 1935. Following an evaluation in which the Type 652A bettered the competing de Havilland DH.89, it was selected as the winner, leading to Air Ministry Specification 18/35 being written around the type and an initial order for 174 aircraft being ordered in July 1935. The Type 652A was promptly named after British Admira ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |