Originally Posted by
chevvron
I saw several Hastings from the old 202 'Met' Squadron parked at Aldergrove in 1963 and apparently ready for 'retirement' but I understand next year they were re-purposed to become the T5 nav trainers at Lindholme (which I saw there in 1965) which served until Lindholme closed in 1972 so when I went back to Lindholme in '73 for my Area Radar training at Northern Radar they had gone (but there was still the solitary Victor an a hangar)
I also saw Hastings up to 1967 when visiting Abingdon but never got to fly in them.
The last Hastings I saw was in 1974 when it served as camera ship (TG 506 I think) in the runup to the Farnborough Airshow in August /September in 1974. It was retired shorly after the airshow.
Chevvron, None of the MET1's you saw at Aldergrove in 63 went on to be Nav Trainer T5's, the only MET1's that did were already so modified by that year and they were TG505,511 and 517 converted in 1960, the other five T5's were converted from standard C1's.
The 1974 Farnborough camera ship was the RAE resident WD480 making its last ever flight on the 31st of August 74, I watched it from near Greenham Common as it flew a racetrack pattern with the various airshow attendees for-mating alongside it, it was only later that I discovered it to be its last flight.