BRISTOL BRITANNIA 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 69floor and cargo handling gear, while
the C.1 could be fitted with 115
rearward-facing seats.
The decision to buy the Britannia
came about after the projected
Vickers V 1000 turbojet transport
was cancelled, and the first RAF
example performed its maiden flight
on December 29, 1958.
The type entered RAF service
with 99 Squadron in March 1959
and 511 Squadron followed suit in
December that year. Both
squadrons were based at RAF
Lyneham, Wiltshire.
Type: Five-crew strategic transport aircraft
First fl ight: August 16, 1952 (Type 175), December 29, 1958 (C Mk.1), entered
service March 1959
Powerplant: Four 4,445shp (3,315kN) Bristol Siddeley Proteus 255 turboprops
Dimensions: Span 142ft 3in (43.36m), length 124ft 3in (37.87m)
Weights: Empty 90,600lb (41,096kg), all-up 185,000lb (83,916kg)
Max speed: 397mph (639km/h) at 22,000ft (6,705m)
Range: 5,334 miles (8,584km)
Capacity: 115 troops, 53 stretcher cases or 31,966lb (14,500kg) of cargo
Replaced: Handley Page Hastings
Taken on charge: 23 (20 C.1s and three C.2s)
Replaced by: Lockheed C-130 HerculesBRISTOL BRITANNIA C MK.1
The aircraft served around the
world and provided the RAF with
a valuable global reach capability.
On one occasion a 511 Squadron
aircraft flew the 4,160 miles
(6,695km) from Palisadoes Airport
in Jamaica to RAF St Mawgan,
Cornwall, UK in 12 hrs 40 mins –
the longest ever flight by an RAF
Britannia and a speed record over
the distance.
Defence cuts in the mid-1970s
conspired against the Britannia
and the operating squadrons were
disbanded in January 1976. The
type was retired from RAF service
at the same time, and many were
sold to airlines in the UK and
further afield.floor and cargo handling gear, while
Above
Britannia C.1 XL640
fi rst fl ew on October
8, 1959 and was
delivered to 511
Squadron on October- Named ‘Antares’,
this aircraft operated
within the Britannia
pool at RAF Lyneham
until September 3,
1975 when it retired
after 17,359 hours and
7,669 landings. The
aircraft was later sold
to Monarch Airlines,
which passed it to
Eurafric, which in turn
leased it to Aer Turas
as EI-BCI. The aircraft
joined Redcoat Air
Cargo as G-BHAU in
1979 and three years
later it departed for
Zaire, where it was
registered 9Q-CHU
with Katale Aero
Transport. ANDY HAY/
WWW.FLYINGART.CO.UK
Above left
Britannia XL636 was
the fi rst example
of the type to be
delivered to the RAF,
on June 9, 1959.Below left
The RAF Museum
collection at RAF
Cosford includes
this Britannia, which
was built in 1957 and
delivered to BOAC as
G-AOVT. In 1964 it was
leased to British Eagle
and used for MoD
trooping fl ights to the
Middle East before
being converted
to a freighter
and, eventually,
sold to Monarch
Airlines. Ownership
subsequently passed
through various
airlines before it
was sold to the RAF
Museum in 1984. It
was displayed in BOAC
markings until 2007
when the airframe
was repainted to
represent C.1
XM497 ‘Schedar’.
STEVE BRIDGEWATER“Onlookers commented on the Britannia’s
quietness and the aircraft soon earned the
nickname ‘Whispering Giant’.”