RAF Abingdon 1968 - Colour Photos

[PeteP]

Another selection of gems from the Michael Harries Collection. The label on the slide box simply says RAF Abingdon 1968 but a little bit of Google-ing suggests they were take on June 15 of that year at an air display held as part of the RAF's 50th anniversary celebrations - a Royal Review had taken place at Abingdon the day before. The box is also labelled "Turbo-prop and Jet" which makes me think there may well be another box somewhere with the prop aircraft from that show which included a Defiant, a Beaufighter and a Wellington.

All photos are by Michael Harries and are © 2007 The Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Trust.
Pete


Avro Vulcan B2 XL386, 83 Squadron, RAF Scampton


Handley Page Victor BK1 XA926, 57 Squadron, RAF Marham


Vickers VC10 XV107, 10 Squadron, RAF Brize Norton (Not quite 3 months old here but now pushing on to her 40th birthday and still, I think, going strong with 10 Squadron)


DH Vampire F3, 601 Squadron


Vickers Valiant BK1 XD816, 214 Squadron, RAF Marham


Supermarine Swift FR5 WK281, 79 Squadron, RAF Germany (now in the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum!)


Gloster Meteor NF13 WM367, A&AEE, Boscombe Down


Gloster Meteor F8 WH364, 85 Squadron, RAF Binbrook


English Electric Lightning F6 XS931, 11 Squadron, RAF Leuchers


Hunting Jet Provost T3 XM349


Gloster javelin FAW9 XH849


Hawker Hunter FGA9 XJ642, 54 Squadron, RAF West Raynham


Folland Gnat T1 XS105, 4 FTS, RAF Valley


Harrier GR1 XV281


DH Dominie T1 XS731, 1 ANS RAF Stradishall


DH Comet C4 XR399, 216 Squadron, RAF Lyneham


English Electric Canberra PR3 WE139


Lockheed Hercules XV215


Bristol Britannia C1 XL658, Lyneham Wing


Short Belfast C1 XR362, 53 Squadron, RAF Brize Norton

[Trev Clark]

Pete, these photos are like looking into another world, one much better than today.....the sun is always shining!! Is that Swift the RAF Museum one, now at Tangmere? I also note that the Harrier GR1 is fully loaded, as they all were then :o

[PeteP]

Is that Swift the RAF Museum one, now at Tangmere?

Good grief, Trev, so it is! I've edited the post to mention this. Well spotted! CHEERS
Pete

[jonesey2k]

Fantastic photos!

[DaveB]

They are indeed Jonesey (got a bad head this morning btw??) ;-)

Great shots and lovely quality Every time I go past Abingdon, I think how sad it is to see it void of any aircraft :-(

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[DispatchDragon]

I totally agree with Trev

A wonderful time - oh to be 15 years old again at Airshows like that

Pete thank you - and if you in your official role at the museum have the oppurtunity thank his family on behalf of all of us for sharing


Leif

[Garry Russell]

There was so much variety in those days...sights and sounds.

Halcyon days of long summers

Garry

[ianhind]

Pete

Indeed they were taken on 15 June 1968 - I was there before I owned a camera :-( so nice to see some photos :yipeee:

Where possible, there was one of every surviving RAF aircraft so some were brought from museums.

Those photos show most of the static line up of jets.

The props in the static display should include Bassett, Heron, Pembroke, Hastings, And over, Twin Pioneer, Varsity, Auster AOP9 , Auster T7, Chipmunk, Lincoln, Harvard, Provost, Beaufighter, Gladiator, Mosquito, Lysander, Magister,and other WW2 aircraft. And perhaps a Belvedere, Sycamore, Dragonfly.

And I have 25 Lightnings, 18 JPs, 20 Wessex, 9 Hunters 3 Victors and 12 Vulcans logged in the flying display.

Looking forward to more from this display.

Ian

[PeteP]

Thanks for the confirmation and extra info Ian, much appreciated. The way the box is labelled would certainly suggest there was another one with the props - I haven't found it yet but I'll keep looking.
Best
Pete

[ianhind]

Further comment on the Swift: I do not have it recorded at Abingdon so must have seen it before (annoying habit that would now be so useful as a historical record).

I note that I saw it on 6 February 1965 when IIRC it was the gate guardian at Northolt - but see further investigation below.

Since I logged PK624 http://www.fighter-collection.com/pages ... /index.php on the same day my memory that it was at Northolt seems to be correct (probably my first visit to Northolt = an hours bike ride from home).

But from http://www.landair.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/1967.htm , which mentions that it was dismantled on 12 April 1967, perhaps it was not a gate guardian but just present on the airfield for the ATC squadron mentioned in the history at the Tangmere web site . Afer all Uxbridge is too not far from Northolt.

So then it went elsewhere.