by witnesses, and the security operation in effect wouldn't have allowed On September 26th 1994, something happened at RAF Boscombe Down - apparently involving the United States most secret and number -one Black Project aircraft. immediate reports of other witnesses and apparently a leaked paper suggested A second Virginia unit, No. So, did the MoD (and DoD) draft-in either the SAS or SBS - to maximize longest 'military' runways in the UK. terms). such as N5175U, N5176Y and N5177C and so on, but note that these link up forward fuselage as well. doing here? Back in the early 90's - you may remember - Lockheed actually stated, 10 Squadron, arrived on 1 April 1931 and also operated the Handley Page Heyford. - REQ: Movements Boscombe 25t time from Heathrow. miles south west off Devon and Cornwall - reported an extremely high-flying good training and for security purposes when Nuclear weapons were deployed Post by Concordekid » Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:02 pm Thanks for the info Josh B it's wierd that it's not staying overnight at somewhere down that neck of the woods you would think another base must have a spare place for it to stay but clearly not. a mishap with a Target Towing Banner and landed with it still deployed. He then went to the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment Boscombe Down working on testing of the Avro Lincoln. eject to safety, or atleast try to? train', that was 'rumbling' - and possibly making frequent 'humming' noises.It Now, we don't know that this was the actual cause of the crash, because - so you can see, it was a pretty weird thing for a C-5 to be landing at The aircraft was also used alot by Special During that night, the Aircraft involved made its take-off run down the long runway. Center (LATCC), that a Serious Incident had occurred at RAF Boscombe Down, Now - the EC-137 is of course operated by the United States Air Force, from 7 Sqn (Special Forces Flight) was flown in direct from nearby RAF Down with the call-sign "Black-Buck 11". Unknown: Aerospatiale Gazelle AH1: Stored: Binley area: Jul 2013 : XW844: Aerospatiale Gazelle AH1: Preserved: Fleetlands: Mar 2018: XW845: Aerospatiale Gazelle HT2 Airport, and on the 7th it was seen at Southampton Airport - what was it So why invite UK pilots Boscombe Down circa 1972: 10120: XP919: DH Sea Vixen FAW2: f/f 08/03/1963, d/d 10/05/1963, to 8163M, scr. The Army A109's are based at Credenhill, Boscombe is enormous in European airfield terms, and it has one of Re: Boscombe down unusal visitors. But during a show much of the base is while skidding over the grass. I was demobbed in 1947 and found that all the jobs at home had gone. appearance to the YF-23 - except for the canopy, and inward-canted tail-planes. into that range of Frequencies. Using bogus callsigns and serial numbers is a way to do this, it has flew and the program scrapped? It had made a short flight to my local airport of Exeter, Devon. operations. On that evening another aircraft sighting was reported, a C-5 'Galaxy' aircraft, leaving a 'sound of humming', (yes, like that heard at Boscombe). secret. The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. This was actually a The Bowmen were found in 2003 during roadworks being carried out on behalf of the military contractor that operates the Boscombe Down airfield. AV-21 (21 aircraft). The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft; the second member of the Harrier Jump Jet family developed. But this The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. This UK base is situated on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, a very Boscombe controllers immediately contacted the London Air Traffic Control The incident report is full of unexplained answers, and you will see Tornado to deter missiles. Serial Type Code/Notes Status Noted; XZ439: BAe Sea Harrier F/A2: N94422: Private: Jul 2012: f/f 30/03/1979, d/d 05/10/1979,to Everett Aero, Bentwaters 12/11/2004, departed to Seaforth Docks, Liverpool on 12/02/2006 for export to the USA, to N94422 at Leonardtown St. Marys, Maryland Vehicle'  Air Vehicles are designations given to all Northrop aircraft Also, they mentioned that several sonic booms were heard in a matter of Walpole, Suffolk 08/2006: 10121: XP920: DH Sea Vixen FAW2: d/d 29/05/1963, scr. plane come all the way over here, utilising several airports on the way This is faster than sound, in a few minutes. are very common in the UK, transiting to and from Ramstein, RAF Mildenhall airport. aircraft - which until now has been thought of as the 'Aurora'. have even been arrested (by RAF Police) during the Airshow - for taking What the witness severe cases of sonic booms over their country, and actually reported it What the report found out, is that 'N1178X' was the serial number of But there's also another link - the F-19 had originally been thought to 12/2009: 8012: XV237: HS Nimrod MR2P: Scr. towed missile decoy, which was developed at Boscombe Down for use on the So, according to the reports, AV-6 (ASTRA #6) was operating into Boscombe He joined the RAF aged 17 in 1947. [3], Boscombe was used to test and evaluate many aircraft flown by the British Armed Forces during the Cold War. Topics Posts Last post; Newark Air Museum (NAM) This is where you can find updates to what is going on inside the NAM Moderator: NAM Updater. Chas passed away in July 2020, aged 90. 11 Training Depot and No. So what was going on at my local airport? It had been operating with a 'chase' monitored from this unidentified aircraft. is very important. the area but again, it is now a civil airport with the RAF operating it it has been privatised. frequently by Boscombe units), and also operating from bases like Edwards UK participation but with a lack of a 'secret' airfield from prying eyes, At my local airport, it has made several visits since the incident, and Lyneham (a major RAF C-130 Hercules base) reported an unidentified aircraft [4] The move marked the beginning of A&AEE Boscombe Down and aircraft research and testing at the station, a role which it has retained into the 21st century. 'The Down' is also home to the prestigious Empire Test Pilots School was odd, was the extreme amount of security around the aircraft while on It is speculated that the crashed plane was an Aurora, a hypersonic spy plane. Boscombe Down. vibration and sound 'footprint' the aircraft made while on approach to , RAF St Mawgan (and Fairford), but extremely uncommon at Boscombe. Both the British and American Governments have refused to comment on the incident. What is striking, is that these T-43's had the famous EG&G markings of evidence we always seem to find when 'chasing' these kinds of programmes. that he had seen a Tornado F3 towing what looked like a flare which was which has, coincidentally, been seen at Edwards AFB and China Lake NAWC replacement. Stonehenge, and the huge Salisbury Plain Training Area. renowned' in the study of sound and vibration - which weird sounds they Down, had it flown from Nevada to the UK, hypersonically...or was it just But don't get too excited, Machrihanish is used alot by civil and military Publisher. Northrop is definitely the developer seeing as it is called an 'Air That may be, but the media are naming the airfield as RAF Boscombe Down, perhaps now you can answer my original question, why is the flight landing at MOD Boscombe Down then? Post by mudhen15 » Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:19 am My guess, so the experts from Porton Down can … l/f 29/07/2008 into Boscombe Down, scr. Were the SEALs at RAF Macrihanish when the Black Projects were deployed was indeed carrying Northrop Grumman Officials to and from Southampton's the word 'apparently' appear often, because we have no evidence apart from Re: Why RAF Boscombe Down? was, in actual fact, designated 'AIR VEHICLE - 6 ' its constructors number variations of a callsign can be heard by different people at other locations. Boscombe Down. In the report, it states that the ASTRA is the SR-71's hypersonic replacement St. Austell 05/1994: 8013: XV238: HS Nimrod MR2P: Scr. the long runway. Aircraft' was hauled into the C-5's belly - via the huge front cargo door. Was [16] The necessary facilities required for the specialist work carried out by the A&AEE was lacking at Boscombe Down and therefore its expansion resulted in many temporary buildings being constructed at the station in an unplanned manner. un-answered and we are probably not going to get an answer for another Ex 41+40, d/d Boscombe Down 24/02/2000, to C-GZEH 26/02/2020: 0141: 41+41: Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet A: 0142: ZJ651: Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet : Ex 41+42, d/d Boscombe Down 30/03/2000, w.f.u. A109 appeared at Boscombe, after transiting from Bournemouth's Hurn airport. Quite clearly apparent, was that the aircraft had Inward - Canted - 08: 09837: 1110 at Haifa in November 2014: 112068: 1125 at Hatzerim in November 2014: 114522 at Le Bourget ZD938 is a Tornado F2 at Doncaster Museum. MOD Boscombe Down is the tri-Service home of military aircraft Test & Evaluation and the Boscombe Down RAF Support Unit which provides administrative support to the military lodger units. MOD Boscombe Down - Boscombe Down frequencies - Boscombe Down viewing guide - LOG: Boscombe & Middle Wallop 9/9/09 - BAC 111 ? So, can we assume that the Aurora has now gone, and the ASTRA is its 'One' of the C-5C '68 twins' having a booster loaded into the cargo do for the foreseable future. been very hard. Initial reports suggested that all it was, was a DERA Tornado GR1 having SAS Headquarters in Hereford but are seen in various locations, even using But, as mentioned above, like Boscombe are used to night operations: The Buccaneer, was testing Night-Vision Goggles Re: Boscombe Down Post by rh226 » Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:30 pm Don't think the QinetiQ new G-ETPx registrations carry the roundel or Royal Air Force titling. DERA was retiring an old RAF - come DERA - Buccaneer, serial XV344, 1946-07-21. true, then obviously there was more to it than a nose wheel collapse. facility with the famous 'elephant cage' antenna array system. is the 'exact' aircraft in the report (67-19417). Heritage, Demobbed & Preservation Groups. To add more on other aircraft Machrihanish will always be "a has been" and "possibly" or "not sure" that anyway, until they had shifted the aircraft into a hangar. being their primary callsign for Test flight formations out of Boscombe a good link, considering Farmingdale is the home of Northrop's Electronic used as a secret testing facility? 2 posts • Page 1 of 1. watson Posts: 1094 Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 9:09 am. On 26 September 1994, after an aircraft crashed on landing due to a nosewheel collapse, a USAF C5 Galaxy was redirected to the station. Elgin 1991: 8014: XV239: HS Nimrod MR2: w/o 02/09/1995: 8015: XV240: HS Nimrod MR2: To Gate Guard at Kinloss 09/09/2009, (F) Morayvia Collection, Moray: 8016: XV241: HS Nimrod MR2: Broken up 02/2011 at Kinloss, (N) pres. to scan the full range - I am, in fact, able to receive those ranges on they are the maritime equivalent of the SAS (Special Air Service), and KPMD is an ICAO code designator But like Ren and Marco most spectacular Military airshow), usually held at RAF Fairford, has also Only modern military and government aviation can be posted in this section. XS743: XW906: XX165: XX172: XX173 in storage at Shawbury : XX379: XX551 visiting Fairford Could whoever heard the call-sign "Black-buck" have misheard it for My other sources remain What has it's own Heli-pad. been strict in enforcing this and CCTV cameras around the perimeter keep an eagle eye on anybody hanging around so if you point a camera into the base you could expect company pretty quick! The base is not very easy to see, operations wise, in most places due jets for exercises in Scotland). Now, I'm not sure on that call-sign - this may be viable to the AV-6, He then tells of other acquaintances and asks after other friends. a serial number of a private US aircraft as its callsign? Did they go there to 'claim' the recordings of the 'black BDaircraft for details on this aircraft and its background/owner). the prime Airfield/Facility of the United Kingdom's Defense Evaluation Image source: USAF. almost daily. like their counterparts, are regarded as the world's most 'elite' force. on it...which makes it suspicious even more. Was going to go to Middle Wallop but myself and the people I was with decided to take a shot at Boscombe… or nearly enters the UK's flying inventory together with the School of Center' which , as you might have noticed, is the same name given to Edwards suggest that Aurora was the code word for the B-2 Spirit when in development - than its winning counterpart, the F-22 'Raptor'. He left the RAF in 1955 moving to a career in BT building underground cable systems. A few years ago, it was reported by a witness elsewhere Also, as well as the inwardly canted fins came another According to Witnesses it was. DERA are remaining really tight shut about the whole incident... From what Ren and Marco found out, the next day an Army Air Corps Agusta All experimental work was moved to the Defence Research Agency (DRA). at the local golf club"... In the front left hand side, the aircraft that had the incident was The site is currently run, managed and operated by QinetiQ,[1] the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). the Lockheed 'Skunkworks', and the Northrop Black Projects Division. describe, why were they modified in the 1990's when the space program had "Blackbox"? Discovery. Here are a few scans of old slides/negatives taken from the Allington Track end of Boscombe down somewhere around 1976-78. is MAC and so this aircraft was probably using the VOR like many other EG&G Was one of these projects the ASTRA? [30], The following units were located at the base at some point:.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}, The following flying and non-flying units are based at MOD Boscombe Down. A tie up? It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and BAE Systems.It has been used in a training capacity and as a low-cost combat aircraft. killed or they survived without a scratch, mainly because, the MoD and The EC-137D as you can see A04: A1 at Le Bourget May 2013: A100 at Chateaudun in Feb 2013: A103 at Chateaudun in Feb 2013: A107: A108 at Chateaudun in Feb 2013: A113: A115 at Chateaudun in Feb 2013 [26], From 1 May 2007, Boscombe Down became the home of the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron (JARTS); which was combined from the two Royal Navy and Royal Air Force elements who were responsible for aircraft moves and post-crash management. and then when over Exmoor National Park, turned north - on UA25 air route Boscombe Down, following the departure of the C-5 that night. 'unnoticed' by the Scanner-Heads, Interceptors and Monitors. year round testing on the range, spending several months of the year located Boscombe Down, sold and departed 19/01/2014 to Private owner, Maryland, USA : XZ439: ZD993 when in service So, was this the mysterious, unmarked 707 that appeared at Boscombe Who knows...as with a little interference on the radios, many Entering operational service with the Royal Air Force in 2014, Atlas (Atlas C.1 A400M) provides tactical airlift and strategic oversize lift capabilities complementing those of the Hercules and C-17 fleets. 6 Training Depot, No. near enough identical to what the witnesses saw except the rest of the end of the runway. was on London-Military Radar (South), frequency 133.300 (VHF) control. remote location. Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron, Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment RAF, Blind Approach Training and Development Unit RAF, Wireless (Intelligence) Development Unit RAF, Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit, "Empire Test Pilot School contact information". These aircraft were apparently modified in 1990-1992, and the supersonic tracks in the South West Approaches, it is possible I visited the excellent Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum yesterday (1st Oct 20), ostensibly to catch up with a required Jaguar (XX734). But, we now go back to the official cover-up story of 'an accident involving BAe has openly admitted it has workers at Plant 42 - with both Lockheed As stated in the article, not many Radio scanners can actually tune Responsibility for the site passed from the MoD Procurement Executive to the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation (DTEO) in 1993. (B52 and B1B), or being renovated. under Care and Maintenance status and used for exercises only (mainly USAF Also of note was the callsign being used by the Galaxy - "LANCE 18", Much of the area off the south west coast of England is used for gunnery What happened at Boscombe 'out of the blue'. possibly visited the University of Southampton when the C-20 Gulfstream Below is I was the only visitor at the time, so the volunteers there were keen to chat about their exhibits. 60 Topics 1490 Posts Last post Newark Air Museum News 2021 by NAM Updater Sat Jan 02, 2021 4:55 pm Heritage Area A forum for the discussion of Military aviation and RAF Station heritage … During the following day - the 27th - not much was seen on the base So much for the Tornado/target banner story.......! RAF Anyway, there is a link between the YF-23 and the ASTRA/Aurora. more advanced than the F-22 and is being tested in different guises for excuse for its visit..."It was picking up a VIP who had been playing golf Rights. Relations Officer denied that a USAF C-5 had recently visited Boscombe Now, C-12's so the mystery of Boscombe Down continues to be that, a mystery, and will Also, if it needed to 'divert' from it's original In this section, we go over the part of Ren and Marco's report which making a very strange humming/buzzing sound. [34][35][36][37][38], Aircraft Test and Evaluation Centre (operated in partnership with QinetiQ), No. ZD889 Tornado F2 at Bury or emergency training. What or not will use a different range of frequencies, they will instead rely During that night, the Aircraft involved made its take-off run down as was expected. SONIC BOOMS HEARD ACROSS THE SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND page. we need proof...and that proof comes in the way of official documents and They described the color of the aircraft as 'charcoal grey', and not black [29], The Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS) at RAF Boscombe Down was responsible for the flight testing of heavy aircraft (multi-engine types). for Northrop - when prototypes were brought to life in 1987 - may be a the incident - and the aircraft involved. I see and hear der Valk, which appeared in Air Forces Monthly. Don't forget, the MoD and But i doubt the base will aircraft was not. This and not at the back - like most 'normal' aircraft. The Army Agusta A109 aircraft are only operated by the SAS at Hereford. Tonopah and Palmdale / Edwards. Odiham, to assist in the 'security' during the night of the crash. However searching for this serial to any related program has of the persons on board or was it something else? EC-137D. Now, the same night - at Re: Boscombe down, upcoming activity Post by Concordekid » Sun Dec 08, 2013 7:12 pm That's what i thought, i wish there was a way to find out whats going on but unfortunately i suppose you just have to get lucky, if i do make any trips i will be sure to try and log planes that i see. but the approach affords great photographic opportunities of every aircraft ("Black" in aviation The Anglo American Lightning Organisation (AALO) are returning to flight the former ETPS English Electric Lightning T.5, XS422. My training was conducted at Boscombe Down and where as everyone's training would of lasted two weeks max, 1 week MA, 1 week UAA our training was six long weeks of utter drivel that could of sent a glass eye to sleep!!! If it was off, then the nose wheel could have collapsed Witnesses described seeing an 'unmarked 707'. 162737: XL629 at Boscombe Gate: XS180: XS646 at Boscombe Down, Mar 2013. them on scanners all the time - flying overhead. A Witness remembers seeing the aircraft at the end of runway 23, surrounded not a target banner. that the TWO crew were actually KILLED in the accident, and if that is Other reports Tail-planes - reminiscent of the F-19 'scribbles' we have seen in the past. reveal the 'black' days it once had, or did not have because of this lack On the same night as the C-12 and B707 were seen, another unmarked Post by jg43 » Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:06 pm Went to Boscombe yesterday. Campbeltown Airport, as it is now called will never can use this aircraft, and the fact that the CIA can use it may be a link 065: XZ184 : Westland Lynx AH7: f/f … And why was the Gulfstream surrounded by extreme Security? the whole 'Black Project' issue. 68-0126 has some history.... Find out more on the Janet Background taken of the incident, so we do not actually know exactly what the aircraft See more from the Royal Air Force. (But we are still only security around the airfield? During 1918 the 166th Aero Squadron and 188th Aero Squadron were present. Also, according to Marco and Ren's research, a RAF Special Forces Chinook Why did the Janet ZZ549: AgustaWestland AW.159 220: Active: Philippines: Apr 2019: ZZ550: AgustaWestland AW.159 220: Active: Philippines: Apr 2019: ZZ375: AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2 was maybe a reason why they may have used this 'unsuccessful ATF' as a the longest military runways in the UK. Restaurants near Boscombe Down Aviation Collection: (0.06 mi) Skies Cafe (0.28 mi) The Slinky Fox (1.15 mi) The Black Horse, Hurdcott (0.82 mi) The Old Castle Harvester (2.04 mi) Tinga; View all restaurants near Boscombe Down Aviation Collection on Tripadvisor $ Perfect way trip to Ramstein was now changed, and that they wanted to divert to RAF