English Electric Canberra - Survivor WH850
T.4 WH850 - Marham Aviation Heritage Centre, RAF Marham, Norfolk
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Canberra T.4 WH850 at Narborough, 16th November 2014; Richard E Flagg
Built at Preston as the last in a 12 aircraft contract for T.4s, WH850 was ready for collection on 14 June 1954. She was taken onto the charge of 15 Sqd (B.2s at RAF Cottesmore) where she served for a while until being transferred to RAF Honington's Station Flight, probably when 15 Sqd moved to Honington in February 1955. 15 Sqd closed down in April 1957 and this may have been the event that caused WH850 to move back to the Station Flight at RAF Cottesmore.
She was soon on the move again, this time to Germany when she joined 88 Sqd (the first of the B(I).8 Strike Squadrons) at RAFG Wildenrath. She would seem to have stayed with 88 Sqd when they were re-numbered as 14 Sqd at Wildenrath in December 1962. Later, after a stint on Station Flight at Wildenrath, WH850 moved to the Station Flight at RAFG Laarbruch, probably when the B(I).8 squadrons were gathered there in the early 1970s. From Laarbruch, WH850 transferred back to the UK, joining 231 OCU for a while before being put into store at RAF St Athan in June 1972, exactly 18 years after she was delivered to the RAF.
WH850 was eventually sold to BAe in November 1981 and stored at Samlesbury in December 1986 before being scrapped in 1988. However, the cockpit section was preserved and bought by the Macclesfield Historical Aviation Society, Chelford where is was on display at Barton airfield, Manchester. In 2002, the cockpit was moved to Wellesley Aviation in Norfolk where it could be seen for many years. On 10th February 2016, WH850 was moved to the Marham Aviation Heritage Centre where she is currently under restoration.
She was soon on the move again, this time to Germany when she joined 88 Sqd (the first of the B(I).8 Strike Squadrons) at RAFG Wildenrath. She would seem to have stayed with 88 Sqd when they were re-numbered as 14 Sqd at Wildenrath in December 1962. Later, after a stint on Station Flight at Wildenrath, WH850 moved to the Station Flight at RAFG Laarbruch, probably when the B(I).8 squadrons were gathered there in the early 1970s. From Laarbruch, WH850 transferred back to the UK, joining 231 OCU for a while before being put into store at RAF St Athan in June 1972, exactly 18 years after she was delivered to the RAF.
WH850 was eventually sold to BAe in November 1981 and stored at Samlesbury in December 1986 before being scrapped in 1988. However, the cockpit section was preserved and bought by the Macclesfield Historical Aviation Society, Chelford where is was on display at Barton airfield, Manchester. In 2002, the cockpit was moved to Wellesley Aviation in Norfolk where it could be seen for many years. On 10th February 2016, WH850 was moved to the Marham Aviation Heritage Centre where she is currently under restoration.
Information on this page current as of 01/11/2020, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of WH850 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net