They're Handley Page Hastings, one of which is still to be seen in the Airspace building at Duxford. It was based to some extent I believe on the Halifax especially the wing. (Dons tin helmet for the incoming).

Not required I would say!

Thanks 212, that's re-assuring.

Probably not even one aircraft per squadron

Probably more aircraft in that photo than in the RAF now.

Dan Gerous
 

Google suggests 479 aircraft in the current RAF inventory. So if you wish to count them in the picture you might be correct.

I would suggest that the current RAF inventory contains a good mixture of incredibly capable aircraft though. The same is probably not true of the photo above.

BV

I think it was in the low 300s in the static and over 600 in the flypast. Some Commonwealth Air Forces too https://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/nos10.html

There was a book on the subject


They were capable for their time!

Of course they were. But times change. As an example, instead of a whole squadron dropping a couple of bombs each to damage a target, you can now have one jet drop one bomb and destroy a target. And that jet can carry a few of those bombs.

I know where this conversation will end up though so I’ll leave it there.

BV

And IIRC all the aircraft were UK (and possibly Germany?) based. And we had a lot more further afield in them days.

Oh, guys, the World and Technology and Capability have moved on since then. There is no point in comparing then and now. I used to write stuff in the 70s to assorted Commands and overseas Air Forces. Was it 12 Commands? And 5 Air Forces?

It’s irrelevant … yes, it’s a lovely nostalgic photo of a great event back in the old days. And in 2022 all those assets coukd be wasted in a modern combat scenario in minutes.

You can't beat a little nostalgia......and it really is a fabulous photo.:ok:

yes indeed … despite the canopy covers and the NAAFI van! :ok:

But surely the NAAFI van is the heartbeat of the operation?

For the record it isn' my picture gents - I can't find the thread in History & Nostalgia to give you the authors name ut I agree - an amazing shot

Apologies for being late to the party - but I’ve only just caught up with the thread.

I have some experience of commentating at these events, including actually flying over Buck House in the Lancaster and reporting live on Radio 4, as part of the BoB 50th anniversary flypast in 1990.

As far as Huw Edwards’ was concerned, I noted that he fell into exactly the trap that I had tried to warn the MoD Chief Comms Officer (Events) about beforehand. I suggested that when the tv director keeps changing the aircraft in vision, so that they don’t appear in flypast order, the inexpert observer doesn’t know which aircraft it is that they’re looking at!

As it often does, that happened on Thursday, when the director chose to show the three Hercs of Wave 7 before the Phenom and four Texans of Wave 6. But Edwards lost the plot, despite the fact that we saw Wave 6 a few seconds later. He then misidentified the big transports of Wave 8 for the surveillance aircraft of Wave 9. Those were his most serious mistakes, but they could have been prevented, with expert help. And with such help, he might not have made his other errors.

I’ve pointed this out to MoD Events, and also to BBC Events, and suggested they that they could and should do better another time. Indeed, they have done better in the past - with Sophie Raworth on BBC1 in 2018 for the (bigger) RAF 100 flypast, when she was ably assisted by OC Coningsby, Air Cdre Mark Chappell.

Whether they (Beeb or MoD) will pay the slightest attention, who knows?…..

Btw, I thought the flypast itself was brilliant. And how excellent that they chose to do the ’70’ with front line fighters….

airsound

Plus one for Sophie Raworth. She did an excellent series at Duxford and also went flying at Stow Maries which is a hidden gem of a WW1 airfield. Not forgetting a terrific effort on a D-Day anniversary with "feeds" coming at her from several sites.

(In answer to the question about the "taildraggers" in the 1953 photo).

In addition there is one at the Newark Aircraft Museum. Its a T5 which was previously at Lindholme on the Strike Command Bombing School, used for training V Force nav radars. On open days, etc you can look around for a small charge. I was horrified to see that they had altered the interior of the aircraft by moving the student navs' seats nearer to the table. I certainly didnt recall having any problems squeezing into my seat 40 years earlier!

My first tour was on the excellent Hastings with 24 Sqn at Colerne. The Hasty-bird did evoke the odd comment as we trundled round the world. I well remember a USAF dispatcher at Lajes in the Azores, where we'd stopped for 100-octane, saying"Yup", we said - "Sheesh" was his response

And off we roared for Gander, Newfoundland

airsound

And heard in the Tower at Ottawa,whilst our AAEE Hasty arrived;`
`What is a Hastings,anyway...?
`It`s something like a 4-engined `Gooney-bird`.
`Geez man..that`s beyond the `fringe`..!

Thanks, airsound, for the sensible assessment of the reasons for the suboptimal BBC commentary.
My Dad had the good fortune to go from Hastings at Lyneham to an exchange tour with the RCAF on their own version of the "4-engine Gooney Bird", the North Star (a Canadair-built DC4 with Merlin engines) - unfortunately, the longer engines put the props exactly in line with the pilots' seats, which led to the start of the tinnitus which plagued him thereafter.