English Electric Canberra - Survivor XH170
PR.9 XH170 - RAF Wyton (gate guard), Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
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Canberra PR.9 XH170 at RAF Wyton, 3rd December 2022; Jake Wallace
XH170 entered service with 58 Sqd at RAF Wyton in August 1960 during the introductory phase of the PR.9 into RAF service. 2 years later, she joined 39 Sqn which was based at RAF Luqa in Malta at the time. On the disbandment of 58 Sqd, 39 Sqd returned to the UK (RAF Wyton) in October 1970 and brought their PR.9s with them. Around this time frame, XH170 underwent a CAT 3 repair. 39 Sqd became the Tactical Recce/Strategic Recce unit for war deployment to the Northern Flank using Oerland, Norway as a detachment base so XH170 would have had some cold trips after the warmth of Malta.
The airframe continued to serve up until the 27th of January 1982 when she made her last flight at RAF Wyton.
6 or so months later after her retirement flight, she was put on gate guarding duties at RAF Wyton, and still guards the gate today. In the early years of gate guarding, she had the company of not one, but two other Canberras, also guarding the gates of Wyton. To the left of XH170 sat PR.7 WH773, and to the left of her was B.6(mod) WT305. As part of the one-gate guard policy which came out in the late 1980s, WH773 and WT305 were removed from the gate a few years later while XH170 remained. WT305 was unfortunately scrapped, whilst WH773 headed for the Gatwick Aviation Museum.
Although an empty shell, XH170 is in surprisingly good condition for a gate guard, that can be found wearing brand-new tyres! She has undergone a few repaints over the years, which has certainly helped to protect her from the British weather. Under all these layers of paint, she is covered top to bottom in tape, sealing up any places where water might like to get into and sit, helping to preserve her further. Unfortunately, her canopy and quarter panels have clouded quite badly, but this is to be expected having sat outside for 4 decades. Apart from her paintwork looking a little scruffy in places, and lacking markings, XH170 is in good shape.
The airframe continued to serve up until the 27th of January 1982 when she made her last flight at RAF Wyton.
6 or so months later after her retirement flight, she was put on gate guarding duties at RAF Wyton, and still guards the gate today. In the early years of gate guarding, she had the company of not one, but two other Canberras, also guarding the gates of Wyton. To the left of XH170 sat PR.7 WH773, and to the left of her was B.6(mod) WT305. As part of the one-gate guard policy which came out in the late 1980s, WH773 and WT305 were removed from the gate a few years later while XH170 remained. WT305 was unfortunately scrapped, whilst WH773 headed for the Gatwick Aviation Museum.
Although an empty shell, XH170 is in surprisingly good condition for a gate guard, that can be found wearing brand-new tyres! She has undergone a few repaints over the years, which has certainly helped to protect her from the British weather. Under all these layers of paint, she is covered top to bottom in tape, sealing up any places where water might like to get into and sit, helping to preserve her further. Unfortunately, her canopy and quarter panels have clouded quite badly, but this is to be expected having sat outside for 4 decades. Apart from her paintwork looking a little scruffy in places, and lacking markings, XH170 is in good shape.
Information on this page current as of 05/12/2022, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XH170 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net