![RAF Red Arrows depart RIAT Fairford 14thJuly2014 arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/RAF_Red_Arrows_depart_RIAT_Fairford_14thJuly2014_arp.jpg)
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the
aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
display team of the
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 ...
based at
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
.
The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams that had been sponsored by RAF commands.
The Red Arrows have a prominent place in
British popular culture
British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empir ...
, with their aerobatic displays a fixture of British summer events. The badge of the Red Arrows shows the aircraft in their trademark diamond nine formation, with the motto ''Éclat'', a French word meaning "brilliance" or "excellence".
Initially, they were equipped with seven
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...
trainers inherited from the RAF
Yellowjacks
The Yellowjacks were a Royal Air Force aerobatic display team which flew Folland Gnat trainers painted yellow. The team was formed informally in the summer of 1963 by a group of flying instructors, led by Flight Lieutenant Lee Jones, at No 4 Fly ...
display team. This aircraft was chosen because it was less expensive to operate than front-line
fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
. In their first season, they flew at 65 shows across
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. In 1966, the team was increased to nine members, enabling them to develop their ''Diamond Nine'' formation. In late 1979, they switched to the
BAE Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...
trainer. The Red Arrows have performed over 4,800 displays in 57 countries worldwide.
History
Predecessors
The Red Arrows were not the first RAF aerobatics team. An RAF pageant was held at
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
in 1920 with teams from front-line
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
squadrons.
![LONDON DEFENDED Torchlight and Searchlight spectacle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/LONDON_DEFENDED_Torchlight_and_Searchlight_spectacle.jpg)
In 1925,
No. 32 Squadron RAF
Number 32 (The Royal) Squadron (sometimes abbreviated as No. 32 (TR) Squadron) of the Royal Air Force operates in the Very Important Person, VIP and general air transport roles from RAF Northolt in Greater London.
Originally formed in 1916 as ...
flew an air display six nights a week entitled "London Defended" at the
British Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925.
Background
In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibit ...
. Similar to the display they had done the previous year, when the aircraft were painted black, it consisted of a night-time air display over the Wembley Exhibition flying RAF
Sopwith Snipe
The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of th ...
s which were painted red for the display and fitted with white lights on the wings, tail, and fuselage. The display involved firing blank ammunition into the stadium crowds and dropping pyrotechnics from the aeroplanes to simulate shrapnel from guns on the ground. Explosions on the ground also produced the effect of bombs being dropped into the stadium by the aeroplanes. One of the pilots in the display was Flying Officer
C. W. A. Scott
Flight Lieutenant Charles William Anderson Scott, AFC (13 February 1903 – 15 April 1946Dunnell ''Aeroplane'', November 2019, p. 46.) was an English aviator. He won the MacRobertson Air Race, a race from London to Melbourne, in 1934, in a tim ...
, who later became famous for breaking three England–Australia solo flight records and winning the
MacRobertson Air Race
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and th ...
with co-pilot
Tom Campbell Black
Tom Campbell Black (December 1899 – 19 September 1936) was an aviator, English aviator.
He was the son of Alice Jean McCullough and Hugh Milner Black. He became a world-famous aviator when he and C. W. A. Scott won the London to Melbourne Ce ...
in 1934.
In 1947, the first jet team of three
de Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...
s came from
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...
Fighter Wing. Various teams flew the Vampire, and in 1950,
No. 72 Squadron was flying a team of seven.
No. 54 Squadron became the first RAF jet formation team to use smoke trails. Vampires were replaced by
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...
s,
No. 66 Squadron developing a formation team of six aircraft.
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...
aircraft were first used for aerobatics teams in 1955, when
No. 54 Squadron flew a formation of four.
The official RAF team was provided by
No. 111 Squadron in 1956, and for the first time, the aircraft had a special colour scheme, which was an all-black finish. After a demonstration in France, they were hailed as "''Les Fleches Noires''" and from then on known as the
Black Arrows
The Black Arrows,one of the predecessors to the current Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows, were an aerobatic demonstration team formed in 1956 by Squadron Leader Roger L.Topp, then Commanding Officer 111 Squadron ("treble-one"). ...
. This team became the first team to fly a five-Hunter formation. In 1958, the Black Arrows performed a loop and barrel roll of 22 Hunters, a world record for the greatest number of aircraft looped in formation. The Black Arrows were the premier team until 1961, when the Blue Diamonds (
No. 92 Squadron) continued their role, flying 16 blue Hunters.
In 1960, the Tigers (
No. 74 Squadron) were re-equipped with the supersonic
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...
and performed wing-overs and rolls with nine aircraft in tight formation. They sometimes gave co-ordinated displays with the Blue Diamonds. Yet another aerobatics team was formed in 1960 by
No. 56 Squadron, the Firebirds, with nine red and silver Lightnings.
In 1964, the
Red Pelicans
The Red Pelicans were one of a number of aerobatics display teams of the Royal Air Force before the Red Arrows were selected to represent the service in 1965. The Red Pelicans flew the BAC Jet Provost aircraft.
History
In 1958, the Central Fly ...
, flying six
BAC Jet Provost
The BAC Jet Provost is a British jet trainer aircraft that was in use with the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1955 to 1993. It was originally developed by Hunting Percival from the earlier piston engine-powered Percival Provost basic trainer, and ...
T Mk 4s, assumed the role of the RAF's leading display team. In that same year, a team of five yellow Gnat trainers from
No 4 Flying Training School displayed at the
Farnborough Airshow
The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...
. This team became known as the Yellowjacks after Flight Lieutenant Lee Jones's call sign, "Yellowjack".
In 1964, all the RAF display teams were amalgamated, as it was feared pilots were spending too much time practising formation aerobatics rather than operational training. The new team name took the word "red" from the fact that the Red Pelicans' planes had been painted red (for safety reasons, as it was a far clearer and more visible colour in the sky) and "arrows" after the Black Arrows.
Establishment
![British Aerospace Hawk T1, UK - Air Force AN1355498](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/British_Aerospace_Hawk_T1%2C_UK_-_Air_Force_AN1355498.jpg)
The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the formal name of the Red Arrows, began life at
RAF Little Rissington
RAF Little Rissington is an RAF aerodrome and RAF station in Gloucestershire, England. It was once home to the Central Flying School, the Vintage Pair and the Red Arrows.
Built during the 1930s, the station was opened in 1938 and closed in ...
in Gloucestershire, then the Central Flying School. The Red Arrows moved to RAF Kemble, now
Cotswold Airport
Cotswold Airport (formerly Kemble Airfield) is a private general aviation airport, near the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire, England. Located southwest of Cirencester, it was built as a Royal Air Force (RAF) stat ...
, in 1966 after RAF Fairford became the place of choice for BAC to run test flights for Concorde. When
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
became the CFS headquarters in 1983, the Red Arrows moved there. As an economy measure, Scampton closed in 1995, so the Red Arrows moved just 20 miles to
RAF Cranwell
Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...
; however, as they still used the air space above Scampton, the emergency facilities and runways had to be maintained. Since 21 December 2000, the Red Arrows have been based again at RAF Scampton, near
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincoln ...
. On 13 October 2022, the Red Arrows moved to their new base at
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
.
![Hawker Siddeley Gnat T1, UK - Air Force AN2239232](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Hawker_Siddeley_Gnat_T1%2C_UK_-_Air_Force_AN2239232.jpg)
The first team, led by
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
Lee Jones, had seven display pilots and flew the Folland Gnat T1 jet trainer. The first display in the UK was on 6 May 1965, at Little Rissington for a press day. At the subsequent National Air Day display, three days later, at
Clermont Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
in France, one French journalist described the team as "''Les Fleches Rouges''", confirming the name "The Red Arrows". By the end of their first season, the Red Arrows had displayed 65 times in Britain, France, Italy, Holland, Germany, and Belgium and were awarded the
Britannia Trophy
The Britannia Trophy is a British award presented by the Royal Aero Club for aviators accomplishing the most meritorious performance in aviation during the previous year.
In 1911 Horatio Barber, who was a founder member of the Royal Aero Club, wa ...
by the
Royal Aero Club
The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910.
History
The Aero Club was foun ...
for their contribution to aviation.
In 1968, the then team leader (Sqn Ldr
Ray Hanna
Raynham George Hanna, (28 August 1928 – 1 December 2005) was a New Zealand-born fighter pilot who emigrated to England to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). During his RAF career he was a founding member of the Red Arrows aerobatics display tea ...
) expanded the team from seven to nine jets, as he wanted to expand the team's capabilities and the permutations of formation patterns. During this season, the 'Diamond Nine' pattern was formed and it has remained the team's trademark pattern ever since. Ray Hanna served as Red Leader for three consecutive years until 1968 and was recalled to supersede Squadron Leader Timothy Nelson for the 1969 display season, a record four seasons as Leader, which still stands. For his considerable achievements of airmanship with the team, Ray Hanna was awarded a bar to his existing
Air Force Cross.
After displaying 1,292 times in the
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...
, the Red Arrows took delivery of the
BAE Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...
in 1979. Since being introduced into service with the Red Arrows, the Hawk has performed with the Red Arrows in 50 countries.
Later years
![RAF Red Arrows perform the Spaghetti Break over Scampton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/RAF_Red_Arrows_perform_the_Spaghetti_Break_over_Scampton.jpg)
In July 2004, speculation surfaced in the British media that the Red Arrows would be disbanded, after a defence spending review, due to running costs between £5 million and £6 million. The Arrows were not disbanded and their expense has been justified through their public relations benefit of helping to develop business in the defence industry and promoting recruitment for the RAF. According to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
, disbanding the Red Arrows will be highly unlikely, as they are a considerable attraction throughout the world. This was reiterated by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
on 20 February 2013, when he guaranteed the estimated £9m per annum costs while visiting India to discuss a possible sale of Hawk aircraft to be used by India's military aerobatics team, the
Surya Kiran
Surya Kiran () is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and are a part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations usually w ...
.
With the planned closure of RAF Scampton, the future home of the Red Arrows became uncertain. On 20 May 2008, months of speculation were ended when it was revealed that the Ministry of Defence were moving the Red Arrows to nearby
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
. However, in December 2011, those plans were put under review. The Ministry of Defence confirmed in June 2012 that the Red Arrows would remain at RAF Scampton until at least the end of the decade. Scampton's runway was resurfaced as a result.
In July 2018 the RAF announced that RAF Scampton, the wartime base of
No. 617 Squadron also known as ''The Dambusters'', would close by 2022. In March 2019, the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
indicated that RAF Waddington, alongside
RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
and
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
, was being considered as their future home. It was confirmed in May 2020 that Waddington had been selected. The move was completed on 13 October 2022. The Red Arrows will continue to use airspace above RAF Scampton for their training.
Misconduct inquiry
In December 2021,
Chief of the Air Staff Mike Wigston
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston, (born 25 February 1968) is the senior officer in the Royal Air Force, serving as Chief of the Air Staff since 26 July 2019. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from 2017 to 2018, an ...
ordered an inquiry into the Red Arrows, which ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' later reported related to allegations of bullying, misogyny, sexual harassment and drunkenness. Up to 40 new recruits to the squadron, many of whom were female, described the culture as "toxic". While the inquiry was ongoing some pilots left, leaving a smaller display team.
An inquiry delivered in November 2022 concluded that at least two pilots from the team had enough of a service case against them to warrant their discharge from the service. In November 2022 it was announced that the commanding officer had been suspended for investigations. The whole team were required to attend courses on "unacceptable behaviour" and "active bystander" training after one former female member claimed that newly arrived females on the team were seen as "fresh meat", and would be inundated with unwanted
WhatsApp messages
WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, Centralized computing, centralized instant messaging (IM) and Voice over IP, voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platfor ...
.
Pilots
Since 1966, the team has had nine display pilots each year, all volunteers. Pilots must have completed one or more operational tours on a fast jet such as the
Tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
,
Harrier, or
Typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
, have accumulated at least 1,500 flying hours, and have been assessed as above average in their operational role to be eligible. Even then, more than ten pilots apply for each place on the team. Pilots stay with the Red Arrows for a three-year
tour of duty
For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...
. Three pilots are changed every year, such that normally three first-year pilots, three second-year pilots, and three in their final year are on the team. The team leader also spends three years with the team. The 'Boss', as he is known to the rest of the team, is always a pilot who has previously completed a three-year tour with the Red Arrows, often (although not always) including a season as the leader of the Synchro Pair.
During the second half of each display, the Red Arrows split into two sections. Reds 1 to 5 are known as 'Enid' (named after
Enid Blyton
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...
, author of the ''Famous Five'' books) and Reds 6 to 9 are known as 'Gypo' (the nickname of one of the team's pilots back in the 1960s). Enid continue to perform close-formation aerobatics, while Gypo perform more dynamic manoeuvres. Red 6 (Syncro Leader) and Red 7 (Synchro 2) make up the Synchro Pair and they perform a series of opposition passes during this second half. At the end of each season, one of that year's new pilots will be chosen to be Red 7 for the following season, with that year's Red 7 taking over as Red 6.
![red](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Red.arrows.pilots.arp.750pix.jpg)
The Reds have no reserve pilots, as spare pilots would not perform often enough to fly to the standard required, nor would they be able to learn the intricacies of each position in the formation. If one of the pilots is not able to fly, the team flies an eight-plane formation. However, if the Team Leader, 'Red 1', is unable to fly, then the team does not display at all. Each pilot always flies the same position in the formation during a season. The pilots spend six months from October to April practising for the display season. Pilots wear green
flying suits during training, and are only allowed to wear their red flying suits once they are awarded their Public Display Authority at the end of winter training.
The new pilots joining the team spend their first season flying at the front of the formation near the team leader. As their experience and proficiency improve, they move to positions further back in the formation in their second and third seasons. Pilots who start on the left of the formation stay on that side for the duration of their three-year tour; the pilots on the right side stay on the right. The exception to this are Reds 6 and 7 (the Synchro Pair), who fly in the 'stem' of the formation - the two positions behind the team leader.
During an aerobatics display, Red Arrows pilots experience forces up to five times
that of gravity (1g), and when performing the aerobatic manoeuvre 'Vixen Break', forces up to 7g can be reached, close to the 8g structural limit of the aircraft.
As well as the nine pilots, 'Red 10', who is the team supervisor, is a fully qualified Hawk pilot who flies the tenth aircraft when the Red Arrows are away from base. This means the team have a reserve aircraft at the display site. Red 10's duties include co-ordination of all practices and displays and acting as the team's ground safety officer. Red 10 often flies TV cameramen and photographers for air-to-air pictures of the Red Arrows and also provides the commentary for all of the team's displays.
On 13 May 2009, it was announced that the Red Arrows would include their first female display pilot. Flt Lt Kirsty Moore (née Stewart) joined for the 2010 season. Flt Lt Moore was not the first female to apply to become a Red Arrow, but was the first to be taken forward to the intense final selection process. She joined the RAF in 1998 and was a qualified flying instructor on the Hawk aircraft at RAF Valley. Prior to joining the team, she flew the Tornado GR4 at RAF Marham.
The 'Blues'
The engineering team that supports the Red Arrows is known as "The Blues" and consists of 85 members drawn from various technical and support trades in the RAF.
Each season nine members of the Blues are selected to be members of the 'Circus'. The position of "Circus 1" (the engineer who accompanies the "Boss", Red 1) is normally occupied by the Junior Engineering Officer. Similarly, the position of Circus leader (Red 6 or 7) is occupied by a technician of sergeant rank; the other slots being filled by technicians holding corporal or senior aircraftman rank. Each member of the Circus works with the same pilot for the duration of the season and is responsible for servicing their aircraft and preparing their flying kit prior to each display. Circus members fly in the back seats of the jets during transit flights.
Aircraft
![Red Arrows Display New Tail Fin Design MOD 45158585](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Red_Arrows_Display_New_Tail_Fin_Design_MOD_45158585.jpg)
The team use the same two-seat training aircraft used for advanced pilot training, at first the
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...
which was replaced in 1979 by the
BAE Systems Hawk T1.
The Hawks are modified with an uprated engine and a modification to enable smoke to be generated; diesel is mixed with a coloured dye and ejected into the jet exhaust to produce either red, white or blue smoke.
Displays
![RedArrows01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/RedArrows01.jpg)
The first display by the Red Arrows was at RAF Little Rissington on 6 May 1965. The display was to introduce the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team to the media. However, the first public display was on 9 May 1965 in France, at the French National Air Day in
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...
. The first public display in the UK was on 15 May 1965 at the
Biggin Hill International Air Fair
The Biggin Hill International Air Show, or Biggin Hill Air Fair, was one of the largest civilian airshows in the world and the largest privately organised air show in Europe. It ran once a year, usually near the end of June, at London Biggin Hil ...
. The first display with nine aircraft was on 8 July 1966 at RAF Little Rissington.
The first display in Germany was at
RAF Laarbruch
Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was ().
The site now operates a ...
on 6 August 1965. The Red Arrows performed in Germany a further 170 times before formation aerobatics were banned in Germany following the
Ramstein airshow disaster
The Ramstein air show disaster occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1988 during the ''Flugtag '88'' airshow at USAF Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Three aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their display ...
in 1988.
During displays, the aircraft do not fly directly over the crowd apart from entering the display area by flying over the crowd from behind; any manoeuvres in front of and parallel to the audience can be as low as , the 'synchro pair' can go as low as straight and level, or when in inverted flight. To carry out a full looping display the
cloud base
A cloud base (or the base of the cloud) is the lowest altitude of the visible portion of a cloud. It is traditionally expressed either in metres or feet above mean sea level or above a planetary surface, or as the pressure level corresponding to ...
must be above to avoid the team entering the cloud while looping. If the cloud base is less than but more than the Team will perform the Rolling Display, substituting wing-overs and rolls for the loops. If the cloud base is less than the Team will fly the Flat Display, which consists of a series of fly-pasts and steep turns.
![red arrows in apollo formation cotswoldairshow 2010 arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Red_arrows_in_apollo_formation_cotswoldairshow_2010_arp.jpg)
The greatest number of displays flown in any year was in 1995, when the Red Arrows performed 136 times. The smallest number of displays in one year was in 1975, after the
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
limited their appearances. At a charity auction in 2008, a British woman paid £1.5 million to fly with them.
By the end of the 2009 season, the Red Arrows had performed a total of 4,269 displays in 53 countries. The 4,000th display was at
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 airspac ...
during the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
Airshow in September 2006.
Following the accidents during the 2011 season, the Red Arrows retained Red 8 and moved the original Red 10 to the Red 5 position to enable them to continue displaying with nine aircraft. In March 2012, the MOD announced that the Red Arrows would fly aerobatic displays with seven aircraft during the 2012 display season as Flt Lt Kirsty Stewart had moved into a ground-based role with the team. It is believed this was due to the emotional stress she had been suffering over the loss of her two Red Arrows colleagues the previous year. As a consequence of this, Red 8 also dropped out of the display team to enable an odd number of aircraft to perform and thus maintain formation symmetry. However, the team carried out official flypasts with nine aircraft by utilising Red 8 as well as ex-Red Arrow display pilot and then Red 10 Mike Ling. The Red Arrows returned to a full aerobatic formation of nine aircraft in 2013.
!['Red 6' of the world famous air display team the Red Arrows](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/%27Red_6%27_of_the_world_famous_air_display_team_the_Red_Arrows.jpg)
In 2014, The Red Arrows celebrated 50 years of Aerobatic history as a display team returning to RAF Fairford for the Royal International Air Tattoo. For the entirety of the 2014 display season, the aircraft carried special 50th Anniversary markings on their tails instead of just the red, white and blue stripes.
![Red Arrows Over Kuwait City MOD 45157986](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Red_Arrows_Over_Kuwait_City_MOD_45157986.jpg)
After the 2016 display season, the Red Arrows embarked on an Asia-Pacific and Middle East Tour. They performed flypasts or displays in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
;
Hindon and
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
;
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
;
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
;
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
;
Danang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
;
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
,
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
;
Muscat
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...
in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
;
Manama
Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...
in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
;
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
. The programme was the first time the team had displayed in China, and the first time a British military aircraft had deployed to Vietnam.
The summer 2019 display season took the team on a tour of North America, known as ''Western Hawk 19.'' After performing at the
Royal International Air Tattoo
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a to ...
(RIAT), the team departed across the Atlantic at the end of July. As well as performing at US and Canadian air shows, they promoted the UK through school visits and meetings with business leaders. This was the Red Arrows' biggest-ever tour, flying to more than 25 cities, 21 displays and 30 flypasts.
On 2 June 2022
Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...
, as part of
Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952, the first British monarch to ever celebrate one.
In the United Kingdom, the ...
, closed with the Queen and Royal Family observing a flypast from the balcony of
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
.
For the 2022 display season, The Red Arrows are flying a seven aircraft display, due to "2 formation pilots moving to other roles within the RAF". Flypasts are still intended to be performed with nine aircraft, with experienced Red Arrows pilots flying the remaining 2 aircraft.On 2 June 2022
Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...
, as part of
Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952, the first British monarch to ever celebrate one.
In the United Kingdom, the ...
, closed with the Queen and Royal Family observing a flypast from the balcony of
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
.
Display charges
In 1977, a charge of £200 was introduced by the
MOD
Mod, MOD or mods may refer to:
Places
* Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band
* M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
for a Red Arrows display. By 2000, the charge had risen to £2,000 (including
VAT
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
and insurance). In 2011 the team manager quoted the charge as £9,000.
Transits
On a transit flight (getting to or from a display location) the team may fly at the relatively low altitude of . This avoids the complication of moving through the cloud base in formation, and also avoids much controlled air space. Jets are more efficient at higher altitude, so longer flights are made at . On transit flights, the formation can include spare planes. Sometimes a
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
or an
A400M
The Airbus A400M AtlasNamed after the Greek mythological figure. is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space) as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabil ...
accompanies them, carrying spare parts. They often provide flypasts and brief displays to smaller events if they are already passing over or it is a small detour.
![Symmetry MOD 45160740](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Symmetry_MOD_45160740.jpg)
As the fuel capacity of the Hawk sets a limit to nonstop flight distance, and the Hawk is incapable of
air-to-air refuelling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...
, very long flights between display sites may need landings on the way to refuel. For example, a flight from
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
to
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
for an international air display team competition had to be done in seven hops: RAF Scampton,
RAF Kinloss
Royal Air Force Kinloss or RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland.
The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishme ...
(Scotland),
Keflavík
Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129.
In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarðv ...
(Iceland),
Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq (; ; da, Søndre Strømfjord), is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commer ...
(west Greenland),
Narsarsuaq
Narsarsuaq (lit. ''Great Plan'';''Facts and History of Narsarsuaq'', Narsarsuad Tourist Information old spelling: ''Narssarssuaq'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thri ...
(south tip of Greenland),
Goose Bay (
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
),
Bagotville, (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
).
For the same reason, Red Arrows displays in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
are unlikely because there is no land near enough for a Hawk to land and refuel to reach New Zealand on the most fuel that it can carry.
Smoke
The smoke trails left by the team are made by releasing
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
into the
exhaust
Exhaust, exhaustive, or exhaustion may refer to:
Law
*Exhaustion of intellectual property rights, limits to intellectual property rights in patent and copyright law
**Exhaustion doctrine, in patent law
** Exhaustion doctrine under U.S. law, in p ...
; this vaporises in the hot exhaust flow, then re-condenses into very fine droplets that give the appearance of a white smoke trail.
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
s can be added to produce the red and blue colour. The diesel is stored in the pod on the underside of the plane; it houses three tanks: one tank of pure diesel and two tanks of blue and red dyed diesel. The smoke system uses per minute; therefore each plane can trail smoke for a total of seven minutes: – five minutes of white smoke, a minute of blue and a minute of red.
In 2021, the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
asked the civil sector to help develop an environmentally friendly smoke system for the team's aircraft. This is part of its drive to make the RAF
net-zero by 2040.
Incidents and accidents
''Data from:'' Ejection History - Red Arrows
;: Gnat XR573 hit trees while joining formation during a practice at
RAF Kemble
Kemble may refer to:
Places
* Kemble, Gloucestershire, a village in England
** Kemble railway station
** Cotswold Airport (formerly Kemble Airfield and RAF Kemble)
** Kemble Air Show, former name of the Cotswold Air Show
* Kemble, Ontario, Canad ...
. Flt Lt Jerry Bowler (no ejection) was killed.
[Halley 2001, p. 77]
;: Two Gnats crashed, XR995 at Kemble, on fire and XR992 in a field near
Chelworth. The pilots both ejected safely although a fire warning from air traffic was intended for XR995.
;: Gnats XR986 and XR545, collided during the cross-over manoeuvre over the runway at Kemble, with four fatalities.
;13 December 1971: Gnat XR567 crashed on approach to
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upper Heyford was a Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the Second World War the airfield was used by Bomber Command. During the Cold War, Upper Heyford was one ...
. Flt Lt Clem Longdon and Flt Lt Richard "Dick" Michael Storr (no ejection) were killed.
;16 February 1976:Gnat XP531 struck a cable and made emergency landing at RAF Kemble; damaged beyond repair. Both crew ejected safely.
;?? June 1976: Gnat XR987 - Flight instrument technician in the rear seat ejected during check flight to investigate uncommanded control movements. Pilot Flt Lt Dudley Carvell - Cpl Ginger Whelan ejected through the canopy from the back seat when he thought control of aircraft had been lost. "No-one was hurt and we had the aircraft flying again the next week"
;24 June 1976:Gnat Red 1 XS111 - The undercarriage collapsed when the aircraft ran into the overrun area after the brakes failed on landing at RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire; Sqn Ldr Richard "Dickie" Duckett was unhurt.
;3 March 1978:Gnat Red 4 XR981 - Struck ground whilst practising Vic rollback aerobatics at RAF Kemble. Pilot Flt Lt Stephen Edward Noble and Wg. Cdr. Dennis George Hazell AFC died; XR981 happened during pre-season practice, specifically while the team were practicing roll-backs at low altitude. The aircraft ended up inverted and neither occupant left the aircraft. One seat fired, but I can't remember which, but couldn't go anywhere. Steve Noble survived initially but died later that day. Quote:"3 Mar 1978, in the footnote you are not sure which ejection seat fired. It was the rear seat (Wg Cdr Hazell). The aircraft had hit the ground and then bounced back into the air, one wing then dug in and the aircraft cartwheeled eventually ending up upside down. During this time it was still travelling at some speed and as the rear seat was a little higher and the canopy was broken, it made contact with the ground pulling the top handle of the seat and setting off the ejection sequence, but as you say the seat could not go anywhere and so the seat rails came out through the bottom of the floor. Sadly I witnessed this crash from start to finish, with many others, as it was a families day for the Red Arrows and many people were there to watch the practice".
;22 May 1979:Gnat XP539 had a fuel blockage that caused engine problems and aircraft was abandoned at RAF Leeming, Yorks. Wg Cdr Ernie Jones ejected OK (XP539 actually belonged to the Red Arrows, but was a reserve ship not fitted with smoke. It was flown by Wg Cdr Ernie Jones, who was the only person on board, and was visiting Training Command HQ. The accident was due to asymmetric fuelling of the aircraft – when one side ran out of fuel the flow proportioner, which equalised usage from both sides, cut the fuel flow off from the other side, causing embarrassment).
;: Hawk XX262 hit a yacht mast at an air show in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, Sussex. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Steve Johnson, ejected safely.
;: A Hawk hit the ground at
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, while practising a loop. The pilot, Flt Lt Chris Hirst, suffered serious injuries when the impact with the ground forced the ejection seat through the canopy and deployed the drogue chute, dragging him out.
;:Hawk XX257 crashed into the sea 3 miles off Sidmouth, Devon after the engine suffered a failure of a rotor blade in the low pressure compressor. Pilot, Flt Lt P.D. Lees was rescued by a Sidmouth independent inshore rescue boat.
;: A Hawk rammed into the back of another on a runway.
;:Hawk XX297 flown by Flt Lt Dan Findlay flew into the jet wash of the leading aircraft during a practice display at
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
and was unable to relight the Hawk's engine. The pilot ejected safely after unsuccessfully attempting an emergency landing back at RAF Scampton.
;: Hawks XX241 & XX259 collided during a winter training practice with one aircraft crashing into a house in the village of
Welton, Lincolnshire
Welton (; or Welton by Lincoln) is a large village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was recorded as 4,327 in the 2011 census. It is geographically situated nort ...
. The aircraft of Flt Lt Spike Newbery struck the aircraft of new Team Leader Sqn Ldr Tim Miller from behind, knocking off the tail. Both pilots ejected successfully. Flt Lt Newbery suffered a broken leg and had to leave the team.
;:Hawk XX304 crashed whilst attempting to take off, and the fuel tanks exploded. The pilot Sqn Ldr Pete J. Collins (Red Arrows' deputy leader) ejected safely.
;:Hawk XX243 crashed practising a "roll back" at RAF Scampton. The pilot Flt Lt Neil Duncan MacLachlan was killed.
;: Flt Lt R. Edwards landed short of the runway after a practice run at the Red Arrows then home base, RAF Cranwell, and ejected safely at low altitude.
;: A Hawk overshot the runway while landing at
Jersey Airport
Jersey Airport is an international airport located in the parish of Saint Peter, west northwest of Saint Helier in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.
History
Air service to Jersey before 1937 consisted of biplane airliners and some seaplanes la ...
in advance of an
air display
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
. The pilot Flt Lt Jez Griggs ran the jet into a gravel pile and little damage was sustained.
;: The wingtip of a Hawk hit the tail of another during a practice flight near RAF Scampton.
;: Two Hawks were involved in a mid-air collision. The synchro pair were practising one of their manoeuvres when the two aircraft collided. Red 7 (Flt Lt David Montenegro) landed his plane safely, but Red 6 (Flt Lt Mike Ling)
ejected
Ejection or Eject may refer to:
* Ejection (sports), the act of officially removing someone from a game
* Eject (''Transformers''), a fictional character from ''The Transformers'' television series
* "Eject" (song), 1993 rap rock single by Sense ...
and suffered a dislocated shoulder. The incident took place during pre-season training in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. Due to his injuries, Flt Lt Ling was unable to participate in the forthcoming display season and was replaced by 2008's Red 6, Flt Lt Paul O'Grady.
;:A Hawk aircraft crashed into a field near Throop Mill, one mile from
Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil cont ...
following a display at the
Bournemouth Air Festival
The Bournemouth Air Festival is an annual air show held along the coast at Bournemouth, in Dorset, England. It has featured aircraft from the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, as well as civil aviation displays. Since its formation in 2008, t ...
. Flt Lt Jon Egging, pilot of Red 4 (XX179), died in the accident. The investigation into the incident determined that Flt Lt Egging was incapacitated due to the effects of
g-LOC
g-force induced loss of consciousness (abbreviated as G-LOC, pronounced "JEE-lock") is a term generally used in aerospace physiology to describe a loss of consciousness occurring from excessive and sustained g-forces draining blood away from t ...
until very shortly before impact. His widow Emma Egging was made an
OBE in the
2021 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...
.
;: Pilot Flt Lt
Sean Cunningham was ejected from his aircraft while it was on the ground at
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
and subsequently died from his injuries. He was shot into the air and received fatal injuries when his parachute failed to open. The UK
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...
announced in 2016 that it would be prosecuting the ejection seat manufacturer
Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company's origins were originally as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection s ...
for breach of Health and Safety law. The company has since pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974c 37 (abbreviated to "HSWA 1974", "HASWA" or "HASAWA") is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that defines the fundamental structure and authority for the encouragement, regulation and enfor ...
.
;20 March 2018: A Hawk crashed at RAF Valley. Two people, the pilot and an engineer, were on board at the time. The pilot of Red 3, Flt Lt David Stark, was hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries whilst the engineer, Cpl Jonathan Bayliss, was killed. According to the coroner the crash could have been avoided. Flt Lt Stark was unable to resume his place in the 2018 display team and was replaced by Sqn Ldr Mike Ling, outgoing Red 10.
;28 August 2022
: A bird strike smashed the cockpit canopy of Red 6 during the closing display at
Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...
Air Show. As a result the display was cut short and the Red Arrows returned to
Hawarden airfield where they were based for the weekend. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Gregor Ogston was unharmed. Images shared on The Red Arrows social media accounts showed his helmet had taken the impact force of the bird strike.
Video game
In 1985, Database Software released a
flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
called ''Red Arrows'', made in cooperation with the flight team. In the simulator, stunts have to be performed while flying in formation. It was available for the
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...
,
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...
,
BBC Micro
The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...
and
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
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References
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External links
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BBC Archivevideo from ''
Go With Noakes
John Noakes (born John Wallace Bottomley; 6 March 1934 – 28 May 2017) was an English television presenter and former actor. He co-presented the BBC children's magazine programme '' Blue Peter'' in the 1960s and 1970s and was the show's longe ...
'' in 1976 at RAF Kemble
{{Modern aerobatic teams
Britannia Trophy winners
Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force
West Lindsey District
British aerobatic teams
Organisations based in Lincolnshire
1965 establishments in the United Kingdom
Military units and formations established in 1965