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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Models Queens Flight List of helicopters |
| C/N | Version | Built | In 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 + |  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 | |||
