Seventies Coningsby Display (Plus 2 B+W)

[F3]

Right at the bottom of the old grocery box which houses my slide collection I came across a few of the earliest taken at an airshow with my 1st SLR camera. Whilst they are poor quality, as to be expected from a first attempt, I'm glad that I resisted previous urges to throw them out because they do give the flavour of a typical homespun, low-key RAF At Home of the time. No foreign visitors, and the majority of the a/c on show based in the region, the most interesting of which was undoubtedly the veteran Hastings of 230 OCU. This was the only time I ever saw one displayed as they were retired a few yrs later. Note the original B-17 Sally B w/out chin turret. Can't be certain of the year but best guess is '75.

Coningsby - B17 Sally B '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Hastings TC503 230 OCU '74 (2) by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Display Flightline '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Buccaneer XV355 '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - F4 OCU '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby -Hastings TC503 230 OCU '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Hastings TC503 230 OCU '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Vulcan XL446 35 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Vulcan B2 35 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Red Arrows Gnats '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Buccaneer XV355 237 OCU Coningsby '74 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Sea Fury '77 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Coningsby - Vulcan XL446 35 Sqn. '77 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

[The Phantom]

Cracking set of images where we had so many types in service.

That flight line shot is a cracker

[iainpeden]

I think 1975 is right as I first saw Sally B at Finningley that September. (Annoyingly she is not included on the Scramble report but was parked near to the Dutch Neptune)

[Vulcanone]

1977, as per here on Scramble

https://www.scramble.nl/?option=com_sho ... GB&id=1044

Nothing showing for 1975

[fisherman]

Great set once again Michael, the Hastings does it for me, takes me back to times at RAF Lindholme.

[F3]

Great set once again Michael, the Hastings does it for me, takes me back to times at RAF Lindholme.

Got a real soft spot for the Hastings as it was the first a/c I was able to access. Remember my dad taking me to a show @ Dishforth as a small boy of 4 or 5 and actually being allowed into one. The only two things I can remember are the Radio Operator's little cubicle and the smell of the leather upholstery.

[paddyboy]

Hi Mick

Awesome as always

I can almost hear the racket of the Hastings flyby from here

Thanks for posting

Paddyboy

[NickB]

Wow - that Hastings!
So many interesting types were retired in the 70s from both the RAF (& RN)... sadly I'm just that little bit too young to remember seeing a Hastings fly.

[jaybee]

Camo lightnings line up , and the reds Gnats shot are both my pick of the pops. Cheers Mick, keep em coming mate, so good to see those retro shots..JB

[raptor9]

Lovely. At a recent Duxford, I was chewing the fat with some younger enthusiasts and photographers, and the inevitable aviation quiz questions came up. I stated that I had flown behind four Bristol Centaurus engines, and four Bristol Hercules. Sadly, but possibly not really surprisingly, no one identified either aircraft. [Beverley and Hastings, as us oldies well know]. I felt a little sorry for them, because they missed a huge amount of classic aviation in those days!.

[petetasker]

Blimey that brings back memories. I think that Coningsby Open Day was the only time I (remember) seeing a Hastings fly - lovely!

[F3]

Blimey that brings back memories. I think that Coningsby Open Day was the only time I (remember) seeing a Hastings fly - lovely!

Me too Pete. Research has revealed that the Hastings on 230 OCU were known as 1066 Sqn.!

[slogen51]

Another cracking post

Can't remember ever seeing a Hastings actually fly

Definitely worth posting

[eLaReF]

Can't remember ever seeing a Hastings actually fly

One of my earliest flights was in an Anson (VM339 at Dishforth in 1962)

My ATC Log by eLaReF, on Flickr

so all these comments are making me feel really old!!

First Airshow RAF Turnhouse BoB 1958
Loved Gannets and saw lots of Hastings fly in & out of Turnhouse. I don't remember them being that loud, just a pleasant rumble.