President Eisenhower Arrives at RAF Benson in a 216 Sqn Comet
A couple of photos taken at RAF Benson on Saturday 29th August 1959.
The occasion was when President Eisenhower was on a visit to the UK for talks with prime minister Harold Macmillian. During his visit Ike flew up to Scotland to see the Queen and rather than flying in Air Force One (or whatever it was called in those days), he was flown to Aberdeen and back by an RAF Comet of 216 Sqn.
At the time I was at RAF Abingdon awaiting my posting to 99 Sqn at RAF Lyneham and was in touch with one of my drinking friends who worked in ATC at Benson who told me that President Eisenhower was due to land at Benson to have talks with prime minister Macmillan at Chequers on his return from a visit to the queen at Balmoral and would I like to see a real live US president?
Nothing ventured nothing gained I grabbed my Rolleiflex camera, hopped on my motorcycle and drove over to Benson. Wearing uniform and with a rather large "professional" camera around my neck it was assumed I was an "official photographer" and I was ushered to the scaffolding erected for photographers and duly took my photographs.
The 216 Sqn Comet lands at RAF Benson
The Comet pulls up in front of the dais - and look at that bulled-up shiny finish!
...and Ike disembarks, doffing his hat as he does so.
Above's the itinerary as published in the press.
A visit to the National Archives at Kew and a look at 216 Squadron’s Operations Record Book for August 1959 provided the itinerary and crew details as below:
Comet XK 715
Flight No. Spec 1416
Crew:
S/Ldr P. E. Pullen
F/O J. Byrne
F/S D. Rance
F/S J. Hayley
M. Eng J. Clark
Sgt M.C. Wendler
Sgt (W) M. Wood
Routing:
27th August 1959 Lyneham — LHR 1600 - 1620
28th August 1959 LHR — Dyce (Aberdeen) 0845 - 1005
29th August 1959 Dyce — Benson 1045 - 1205
29th August 1959 Benson — Lyneham 1305 - 1400