1953 to 1995


united kingdom Queens Flight

Royal Air Force






Originally instituted as the King's Flight in 1936, it served the Royal Households of King Edward VIII and King George VI. It moved to RAF Benson in Sep 1939, disbanding in 1942 and reformed there in 1946. From 1952, with the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, the unit became the Queen's Flight and served with a mix of fixed wing and rotary wing airframes.
The Dragonfly HC.4 was introduced in Apr 1954 and phased out in autumn 1958, following the introduction of the Whirlwind HC.2 around Mar 1958. The HC.2 was replaced by the Whirlwind HCC.8 in 1959, itself to be replaced by the Whirlwind HCC.12 in 1964, supplemented with the Whirlwind HAR.10 until 1969 while both were replaced by the Wessex, which as the HC.2, had started operations in 1967.  In Apr 1969 the Wessex HCC.4 VIP version was introduced and served until the Flight was disbanded.
In April 1995, the Queen's Flight was absorbed into 32 Squadron at RAF Northolt and it was renamed 32 (The Royal) Squadron to acknowledge the honour. Although the fixed wing component remains with 32 Squadron, the UK rotary wing element of Royal Flying is largely through a private contractor, operating the Royal Household's Sikorsky S-76 from Blackbushe.




The S-76 is operated solely by the Royal Household not a contractor




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  Locations


YearsLocationICAO/FAA
1953/95RAF BensonEGUB




helicopter   Models


Years Models
1969/95 Wessex HCC.4
1958/69 Whirlwind
1954/58 dragonfly




Queens Flight List of helicopters


C/N VersionBuiltIn this Org In other Org
760753 s-76c 2009 G-XXEB : Queens Flight from Sep09
: Wales for Queen's Platinum Jubilee
- N753V
wa 48 w/o 1971 har.4 1955 XJ432 : XD801 ntu. Loaned to Queens Flight (as HC.2 ?) 1958-59, conv to HAR.10, 28+
wa266 hcc.8 1959 XN126 : del Queens Flight at RAF Benson on 5 Nov 1959.
wa267 w/o 1980 hcc.8 1959 XN127 : del Queens Flight at RAF Benson on 5 Nov 1959.
wa342 har10 1961 XP299 : Queens Flight Jan 1968 to Jun 1969
wa418 hcc.12 1964 XR486 : Westland Whirlwind HCC.12, c/n WA418, ff: 06May64; del Royal Air Force as +
Her Majesty's Government G-RWWW
wa419 w/o 1967 hcc.12 1964 XR487 : Westland Whirlwind HCC.12, c/n WA419, ff: 26Mar64; del Royal Air Force as +
: Built as HCC.12 specifically for the Queens Flt and del to RAF Benson in M+
: crashed at Brightwalton (near Newbury) during a flight from RAF Benson to +
wa627 hcc.4 1969 XV732 : First flew 17 Mar 1969, delivered 25 Jun 1969 to RAF for the Queens Flight+
: flew HRH Princess Anne to Amoco Bravo gas platform in Southern North Sea f+
: HRH Duke of Edinburgh flew himself from RNEC Manadon to Yeovil, via Taunto+
: Royal Visit to Northern Ireland as part of Silver Jubilee celebrations, VV+
: Queens Flt, brought HRH Prince Charles to Plymouth.
: HRH Duke of Edinburgh flew himself from Welshpool to Windsor Castle.
: Queens Flight visit Antwerp
: Transferred to 32 (TR) Sq from Queens Flight
: pictured in Queens Flight markings at RAF Museum, Hendon
- XV732
wa628 hcc.4 1969 XV733 : First flew 13 May 1969, delivered 30 Jun 1969 to RAF for the Queens Flig+
: Queens Flt, noted visiting RAF Mount Batten on 3 May 1979
: Queens Flt, visited the Air Tattoo, 23 Jun 1979
: Transferred to 32 (TR) Sq from Queens Flight
- XV733







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