THE FRADU CANBERRAS |
ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA TT.18 WJ717 - '841' |
WJ717's service history
English Electric Aircraft Ltd built WJ717 as a Canberra B.2 bomber for the Royal Air Force. Released for collection in August 1953, the aeroplane was first posted to RAF 15 Sqn at RAF Coningsby, as the Unit was gradually saying goodbye to its Boeing Washington bombers. The Unit was moved to RAF Cottesmore the following year due to heavy reconstruction work beginning at Coningsby, and WJ717 continued to be used by the Squadron, now operating from Leicestershire. Unfortunately WJ717's further history is unconfirmed at the time of writing, but it later saw service with RAF 61 Sqn at RAF Upwood before it was placed in storage at RAF Wroughton with 15MU (Maintenance Unit). It was flown to British Aircraft Corporation (BAC)'s Warton airfield for refurbishment and conversion to TT.18 standard on 7th September 1967. WJ717 was instead transferred to the Royal Navy, and entered service with the Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) at Hurn in September 1969. Issued the fleet number '841' and maintained and flown by civilians from Airwork Services Ltd, the aeroplane carried out numerous sorties on behalf of the Fleet Air Arm until it was moved to RAF Aldergrove in August 1972 for a major inspection. Earlier that month it had encountered engine vibrations mid-flight, which required a precautionary landing being made at Boscombe Down. On 31st October 1978, WJ717 was one of two FRADU Canberra aeroplanes (the other was TT.18 WJ574) detached to the United States Navy Air Station in Key West, Florida where it was employed with trials work for three months. WJ717 remained in service until September 1980, when it was sent to Salmesbury for a thorough refurbishment. It was returned to FRADU on 10th March 1982, and remained in use until December 1985, when following the arrival of several Dassault Falcon 20 business jets at Yeovilton; it was moved to RAF St Athan for long-term store. |
[© Robin A. Walker] [© Richard Parkhurst] [© Mike Freer] | |||
|
||||
| ||||
WJ717's civilian life In October 2006, the remnants of WJ717 were disposed of to a scrap dealer based in Cheshire. It is not confirmed whether any part of the airframe still survives today, but it's possible that the cockpit section was saved and is under private ownership. CAN ANYONE HELP!!! - December 2020 | ||||
|
<< Previous airframe | Next airframe >> |