A special flypast to commemorate the impending retirement of the Hercules from RAF service will take place across all 4 nations of the UK on Wednesday 14th June, with the aircraft set to fly over Island skies during the afternoon.
The historic event will pay tribute to the distinguished service of the Hercules and 47 Squadron and 3 of the iconic transport aircraft will be involved in the display covering locations with significance to their history.
They will depart from RAF Brize Norton at 10:00 on Wednesday morning before flying to FS Aldergrove in Northern Ireland and on to RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, accompanied by a Typhoon escort.
They will then turn South flying over Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Essex where they will depart Colchester Garrison at 15:15 and head towards the Isle of Wight before turning North again to be over Boscombe Down near Salisbury by 16:22. It is hoped that Islanders will be able to see the plane from the northern coast, but there are no guarantees.
The historic aircraft was 1st made in 1956 for the US Air Force and, a decade later, it entered the service of the RAF where it has been a part of key operations ever since, including during the Falklands War in 1982 and the evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021.
Now, however the RAF is transitioning to a fleet of 22 Airbus A400 Atlas aircraft amongst others.
The historic flight comes not long before the Island will also play host to flypasts from a Spitfire and a Lancaster Bomber for Isle of Wight Armed Forces Day on Sunday 25th June. You can find out more about the exact route and timings of the flight here.
I flew in one from the Falklands in 84 back to Brize only took 18 hours and 3 refuelling in flight great work horse.
Great memory 4Lo.
Shame when any of our history goes.
Times move on and the A400M outclasses the Hercules in every respect.
I flew to the Gulf in 90 in one, also out of Brize, wrapped up in our maggots trying to keep warm! Love them, best planes to grace the skies!
My husband fly also to the Gulf in the 90s
Fairwell Fat Albert, I don’t think that I will ever forget how to roll you into a flying hospital. It was an honour to serve in you, thank you for dropping me at the Ascention leg of the medical retrieval, to get a bit of a tan going before takeover of patients on the return working journey back to Brize.
I hope to get to see you for the last time on Wednesday, rest easy and thanks for your service.
I don’t think the RAF want to ‘retire’ the Hercules, it is more to do with our wretched government wanting to continually hollow out our armed forces. The were incidents in Afghanistan where special forces troops were involved and where the Hercules was the only aircraft capable of operating.
Has anyone seen this today?
it flew south of the Island, it came in over the bay then round to needles
People have said they have seen it in Ventnor, so maybe south of the island not north as written in this article.
I am in Ventnor and missed it somehow 🙁