Fly Past

SHORT BELFAST 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERSPATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 77 77 77

examples were purchased by

civilian company HeavyLift for

commercial operations.

The retirement of the Belfast left

the Lockheed Hercules as the RAF’s

sole long-range freighter, so when

war broke out in the Falklands in

1982 the RAF was forced to charter

Belfasts back from HeavyLift to

move equipment to and from the

South Atlantic. HeavyLift’s Belfasts

were again required to support

the RAF during the first Gulf

War, transporting vehicles and

helicopters too large to be

carried by the Hercules.

It would be 2001 before

the capability gap left by the

phasing out of the Belfast

(in 1976) would finally be

filled by the Boeing C-17

Globemaster III.

Left

The prototype Belfast

began life as G-ASKE

before being re-

registered as XR362.

It subsequently joined

the RAF and fl ew

with 53 Squadron

alongside nine

other examples. This

aircraft was named

‘Samson’ in 1969.

Left

The RAF Museum

Cosford has

preserved Belfast

XR371 within the

National Cold War

Museum Exhibition

. This machine was
the last of the type to
join the RAF and was
named ‘Enceladus’
by 53 Squadron.
Following retirement
it was sold to Rolls-
Royce, which donated
it to the RAF Museum
in 1978. The aircraft
landed at RAF Cosford
on October 6 of that
year and has been on
display ever since.
STEVE BRIDGEWATER

“...when war broke out in the Falklands

in 1982 the RAF was forced to charter

Belfasts back from HeavyLift...”

cruising speed from 275mph
(443km/h) to 315mph (507km/h),
and boosted the operating ceiling by
2,000ft (610m). They also enabled
8,000lb (3,629kg) of extra payload
to be carried.
In service the Belfast flew
solely with 53 Squadron at RAF
Fairford and RAF Brize Norton,
but was usually found at far-flung
airfields around the globe, carrying
military freight and troops
wherever necessary.
By the end of 1968 the squadron
had f lown more than three million
miles and carried cargo as diverse as
a single Chieftain tank, up to three
Alvis Saladin armoured cars, a pair
of Westland Wessex helicopters, up
to four of the same manufacturer’s
Whirlwind helicopters, up to six
Wasp or Scout helicopters and even
two Polaris submarine-launched
ballistic missiles at the same time.

RETIREMENT
Reorganisation of the new RAF
Strike Command was to have
repercussions on the RAF’s Belfast
fleet, and ushered in the retirement
of a number of aircraft types,
including the Bristol Britannia
and de Havilland Comet in 1975.
Defence cuts also spelled the end
of the line for the Belfasts, which
were phased out of service in
1976 and flown to RAF Kemble,
Gloucestershire for long-term
storage. The following year, five