http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 7AFTER OVER 30 years of
service, the RAF’s Tucano
T1 fleet is preparing for
retirement and replacement
by the T-6C Texan T1, which
will continue the role of
training future fast jet pilots.
The out-of-service date for
the Tucano is October 31,
when the final aircraft with
1 Flying Training School/No
72 Squadron will be officially
retired at RAF Linton-on-
Ouse, North Yorkshire. The
base will close next year,
as training on the new
Texans will now take place
at RAF Valley, Wales.
Only around 28 examples
remained operational at
Linton-on-Ouse by thebeginning of July. Over
the last six months or so,
a further 22 have been
withdrawn from use and
are now stored at the
base awaiting disposal.
Additionally, 26 are in
storage at RAF Shawbury,
Shropshire, from where
aircraft have been rotated
regularly with the active fleet
to even out the number of
flying hours on each airframe.
Two others, previously flown
by QinetiQ, are stored at
MOD Boscombe Down,
Wiltshire, following their
retirement last December.
A total of 130 examples
were originally purchased
by the RAF and built underFirst
Typhoons
for No 12
Squadron
SEVERAL TYPHOONS
have been noted operating
with No 12 (Bomber)
Squadron at RAF
Coningsby, Lincolnshire,
following the unit’s official
re-formation. In late June,
ZK436 was allocated to
the unit, but it had been
transferred to No 29
Squadron by early July.
At the beginning of that
month, two former No
29 Squadron aircraft,
ZJ920 and ZK327, were
being flown by No 12(B)
Squadron at Coningsby.
None of the aircraft carried
squadron markings.
On December 14,
2017, the Ministry of
Defence announced
plans to re-form No 12(B)
Squadron, which would
temporarily integrate
Qatar Emiri Air Force
(QEAF) pilots and ground
crew to provide training
and support as part
of the QEAF purchase
of 24 Typhoons. On
July 24, 2018, the unit
officially re-formed during
a ceremony at Horse
Guards, London, as a
joint RAF/Qatari unit. The
squadron had previously
flown the Tornado GR
from RAF Marham,
Norfolk, but disbanded
on February 14, 2018,
as part of the drawdown
of the RAF Tornado
fleet. Dave AllportF-35B ZM151, piloted by Wg Cdr Scott Williams, the commanding offi cer of No 207 Squadron, touches down for the fi rst time
at RAF Marham. Crown CopyrightTHE KOREA Aerospace
Industries (KAI) Light Armed
Helicopter (LAH) has taken
to the air for the first time
at the company’s Sacheon
facility, according to a
July 4 statement from the
manufacturer. Two pilots
conducted a 20-minute
test flight. Derived from the
Airbus Helicopters H155, the
LAH is being developed forthe Republic of Korea Army
(ROKA). The service has a
requirement for 214 LAHs as
it aims to replace the existing
AH-1F and MD500 fleets
from 2022. Development
of the LAH began in June
2015 and the prototype was
unveiled last December.
Ground tests began in
January followed by a flight
readiness review in June.THE NEXT six Royal Air
Force F-35B fighters flew
in to their home base at
RAF Marham, Norfolk
on July 16, allowing for
the establishment of No
207 Squadron, the type
Operational Conversion Unit
(OCU), which will begin pilottraining in September. The
six jets completed a ten-
hour transatlantic flight from
Marine Corps Air Station
Beaufort, South Carolina.
A total of 18 are now in
UK hands, 15 of which
are at Marham – the
remaining three being withNo 17 Test and Evaluation
Squadron at Edwards Air
Force Base, California.
The latest arrivals in the UK
comprised serials ZM137,
ZM139, ZM149, ZM150,
ZM151 and ZM152.
Engineers have already been
trained at RAF Marham’sIntegrated Training Centre,
part of a £550m investment
in the station which has
also led to the resurfacing
of runways and the addition
of new landing pads to
allow vertical landings. See
p94-97 for more on No 207
Squadron’s return to the UK.Second UK-based Lightning squadron arrives
Maiden fl ight for Korea’s
Light Armed Helicopter
Although the
RAF had not
fl own the Tucano
as a display aircraft since
2014, the Tucano Display
Team has been re-formed
to mark its fi nal year of
operations. Here, Flt Lt Liam
Matthews, a No 72 Squadron
instructor, puts ZF264 ‘264’
through its paces at the Royal
International Air Tattoo, RAF
Fairford, Gloucestershire, in
July. Rich CooperRAF Tucano fl eet
winding down
licence by Short Brothers in
Belfast, Northern Ireland. The
type first entered RAF
service in 1988 and
since then just
three have been
lost in accidents.
Disposals began
over a decade ago
and at least 44 have been
sold to private owners on
the warbird market, the
majority of these having
ended up in the US.
Although one is preserved
as a gate guard at Linton-
on-Ouse, its future must
be in doubt when the
base closes, as the MOD
plans to sell off the site
completely. Dave AllportSubscribe to http://www.airforcesmonthly.com for breaking news
stories. Email the news team at [email protected]06-07 HeadlineNews AFM Sep2019.indd 7 8/5/2019 9:33:30 AM