THE FRADU CANBERRAS |
ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA TT.18 WK142 - '848' |
WK142's service history
Built under contract from English Electric by A.V. Roe Ltd at Woodford as a Canberra B.2 for the Royal Air Force, WK142 was delivered declared ready for collection on 27th October 1954. Its first posting was to RAF 115 Squadron (Sqn) based at RAF Marham, but the length of time it served with the Unit is unknown at the time of writing, as is the duration with other RAF Squadrons it would serve with in the future. On 12th September 1969, WK142 was transferred to the Royal Navy as it joined the Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) at Hurn as aeroplane '847'. Maintained by Airwork Services Ltd and flown by civilian pilots, WK142 was the sole B.2 Canberra to see service with the FRU, and remained in use until June 1972. The aeroplane was then ferried to Salmesbury for conversion to TT.18 specification by English Electric. WK142 returned to FRADU on 4th March 1981 to begin its next stint with the Unit. Aside from a short time at St Athan receiving modifications (December 1982-February 1983), the aeroplane remained in service until March 1986, when it was returned to Warton for a major inspection, eventually. The first attempt to ferry it to Warton ended with hydraulic failure just after take-off, which resulted in a precautionary landing being made at Boscombe Down! |
[© Mike Freer] [© Kev Slade] [© Michael Baldock] | ||
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WK142's civilian life WK142 reportedly did not attract a buyer at the Phillips auction, but was later sold to a US-based collector who in turn sold it onto Bill McCoy, also based in the USA. A restoration team was put together to prepare the aeroplane for a ferry flight, and the US registration N76764 was issued. Following lots of hard work, WK142 departed St Athan on 17th August 1995, but within an hour of taking off it had returned caused by a developed snag. Undeterred, the team repaired the fault and tried again a month later, this time successfully, and the aeroplane arrived at its new home at Phoenix Field in Arizona. The next reported movement of WK142 occurred in October 2018, when it was moved by road to the Pima County Museum, Tucson, AZ, along with its companion TT.18 WJ614. - December 2020 Links |
[© Fred Saggie] | ||
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