English Electric Canberra - Survivor WJ717 (9052M)
TT.18 WJ717 - Privately Owned, Crew area, Cheshire
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Canberra TT.18 WJ717 at St Athan, 19th June 2002; Alan Allen
WJ717 was delivered to the RAF in August 1953 as a B.2 and started her flying career with 15 Sqn. The airframe then moved on to 61 Sqn before being placed in storage at RAF Wroughton with 15 Maintenance Unit. In September 1967, WJ717 was flown to Warton by the British Aircraft Corporation for a refurbishment and conversion to TT.18.
A year later she made a ferry flight to RAF Shawbury where WJ717 went into storage with 27 Maintenance Unit. In later 1969, the airframe was transferred to the Royal Navy with the Fleet Requirements Unit where it was then given the fleet number '841'. In September, the airframe made a landing at Boscombe Down after experiencing engine vibration mid-flight, from here she was moved to RAF Aldergrove for a major inspection. WJ717 then returned to flight in early 1973 and was transferred to the Fleet Requirements and Air Directions Training Unit (FRADTU) based at RNAS Yeovilton. On October 31st 1978, WJ717 was one of two FRADTU Canberras that were flown over to the United States Navy Air Station based in Florida where it took part in a handful of trials over three months.
In 1985, WJ717 made her final flight into RAF St Athan where she went into long-term storage before being given the maintenance number '9052M' in 1990. During this period, her wings, engines, and rear fuselage were stripped and sold off to the scrapman. By the mid-1990s, she was transferred to 4 School of Technical Training for a few years, and in early 2000 WJ717 moved back to St Athan and was placed into storage again.
After languishing at St Athan for several years, the fuselage was eventually sold to a private collector in 2006 who moved it to Crewe, Cheshire. It is currently unknown what sort of condition WJ717 is in.
A year later she made a ferry flight to RAF Shawbury where WJ717 went into storage with 27 Maintenance Unit. In later 1969, the airframe was transferred to the Royal Navy with the Fleet Requirements Unit where it was then given the fleet number '841'. In September, the airframe made a landing at Boscombe Down after experiencing engine vibration mid-flight, from here she was moved to RAF Aldergrove for a major inspection. WJ717 then returned to flight in early 1973 and was transferred to the Fleet Requirements and Air Directions Training Unit (FRADTU) based at RNAS Yeovilton. On October 31st 1978, WJ717 was one of two FRADTU Canberras that were flown over to the United States Navy Air Station based in Florida where it took part in a handful of trials over three months.
In 1985, WJ717 made her final flight into RAF St Athan where she went into long-term storage before being given the maintenance number '9052M' in 1990. During this period, her wings, engines, and rear fuselage were stripped and sold off to the scrapman. By the mid-1990s, she was transferred to 4 School of Technical Training for a few years, and in early 2000 WJ717 moved back to St Athan and was placed into storage again.
After languishing at St Athan for several years, the fuselage was eventually sold to a private collector in 2006 who moved it to Crewe, Cheshire. It is currently unknown what sort of condition WJ717 is in.
Information on this page current as of 01/10/2006, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of WJ717 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net