NOSTALGIA Page 10
The RAF Review.15th July 1953 at RAF Odiham
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On the 15th of July 1953,RAF Odiham was the setting for what was,I believe ,the largest display of military airpower that this country has ever seen.The occasion was the Royal Review of the Royal Air Force by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second,celebrating her coronation which had taken place at the beginning of June.
The Review,to which the public were admitted,consisted of two parts.The static aircraft park,containing over 300 aircraft was reviewed by the Queen starting at 1430(2.30PM).Later in the afternoon ,the flypast of over 600 aircraft of the RAF and Commonwealth airforces took place.
From Jerry Bryant comes this excellent photo of the flypast by of Avro Shackletons from St Eval.

Jerry's father,Ft.Lt. P.R.C. Bryant DFC, is thought to have been in "T-K" (Top centre).

There are 174 aircraft visible in the picture.

Ft.Lt. Bryant served in the RAF from 1942 to 1957- on Shackletons from 1951 to 1955. He was awarded the DFC in 1944. Born at Portsmouth in Hampshire in 1923, he died in Durban ,South Africa in 1982.

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Canadair Sabres,Vampires, Venom,Hastings,Shackletons and Washingtons

Varsities,Neptunes,Valettas,Meteors and Lincolns

Just part of the lineup of aircraft.

Listed below are the aircraft taking part.Given are the aircraft type(number of participating aircraft in brackets),Squadrons/units and/or bases where known,representative serial number/code for one aircraft of type.
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STATIC DISPLAY
Avro Anson(various marks)(7).from 1 ANS and CNS.VV902/B
Auster AOP6(6).from ?.TW582
Bristol Freighter Mk31E.(1).from 41 Sq RNZAF.NZ5909.
Canadair Sabre(12).from 410/439/441 Sq.19144
Canadair Sabre F1(4) fromTAF.XB582
English Electric Canberra B2((5) from RAFFC and 10 Sq.WH673
English Electric Canberra PR3(1) .from ?.WE144
DHC Chipmunk T10(58) .from ?.WG322
DH Devon C1 (2) from ?,VP966.
NA Harvard T2B(12) from CFS,No 1/3/6/22 FTS.KF280/N-Q
HP Hastings Mk1(1) from 115 Sq TG530/"Iris II"
HP Hastings C1(2).from 202Sq.TG621/AB
HP Hastings C2(2).from Manby and 242Sq.WJ337/GAF
HP Hastings C4(1).from 24 Sq.WD500
Avro Lancaster GR3(4).from 1 MRS.RE181/H-S
Avro Lincoln(8).from 57/61/100/116/527 Sqs/230 OCU/CNS/CGS.RF514/S
Gloster Meteor T.7(17).from 202/203/205/206/207 AFS.WA737/X-52
Gloster Meteor Mk3((4).from ?.EE339
Gloster Meteor Mk7(2).from 78Wing/RAAF.WH220
Gloster Meteor F.8(19).from 500/600/601/604/610/611 Sq ,266OCU,APS .WH450/A
Gloster Meteor FR9 (4).from 2 Sq.WH542/B-K
Gloster Meteor Mk9(8).from ?.WX976
Gloster Meteor NF11(20).from ?.WM152/G
Lockheed Neptune MR1(4).from 203 Sq.WX518/B-J
Airspeed Oxford(9).from 8 and 9 FTS.X6781/S-P(oldest aircraft in the review)
Percival Prentice T1(12) from CFS/1 ASS/1FTS/3FTS.VS733/N-B
Percival Provost T1(4) from ?.WV429
Avro Shackleton MR1A(3).from?.WB819/B
Avro Shackleton MR2(1)from ?.WL747
Bristol Sycamore HR12(1) from ASWDU.WV783/F-X
Vickers Valetta T3(4) from 1/2 ANS.WJ468/B
DH Vampire T11(4).from 202/208AFS.WZ566/31
DH Vampire Mk3(8) from ?.VF340
DH Vampire FB5(17).from 614SQ and 233 OCU.VV616/Q3-K
DH Vampire FB9(14) from ?.WR171
DH Vampire NF10(3).from 41 Sq.WM677
Vickers Varsity T1(5).from201 AFS/1 and 2 ANS.WF416/A
DH Venom FB1(4)from 266 Sq.WE331/A-B
Boeing Washington B1 (4).from 35/90/115/207 Sqs.WF572/N
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FLYPAST
Bristol Sycamore HC1 (1).XD196.First aircraft in Flypast
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Airspeed Oxford 1.(12) from Wellesbourne Mountford.NM276
Avro Anson (21) from Shawbury.VS578/A
Avro Lincoln(45) from Waddington ,Upwood and Hemswell.RF555
Avro Shackleton MR1A and MR2.(18) from St Eval and Ballykelly.WL745/T-O
Avro Vulcan Prototype(1) VX770
Boeing Washington.(12) from Marham.WF550
BP Balliol T2 (12) from 7FTS.WG120
Canadair Sabre F4(24) from ?.
Canadair Sabre (36) from RCAF.
DHC Chipmunk T10(32) from Booker and South Cerney.WK643
DH Vampire T10 (12) from 23Sq
Vampire FB5 (12) from 75 and 76SQs RAAF
DH Vampire FB5(12) from?,WA194
DH Vampire T11(1)_ from 206AFS.WZ561/O-55
DH Venom FB1(24) from 5,11 and 266 Sqs.WE344/B-A
English Electric Canberra (48) from Binbrook,Hemswell and Bassingbourn .WE113
Gloster Meteor F4(12) from 206AFS.VW256/11-P
Gloster Meteor (various Marks)(192)from 1/19/41/43/54/56/63/64/65/66/74/92/222/245/247/257/263 Sqs>VZ494
Gloster Meteor NF11(36) from 29/85/141/151/264 Sqs
Gloster Javelin Prototype(1) WT827
Hawker Hunter F1 (1) WT555
HP Hastings (3) from Lyneham.WD486/Y
HP Victor Prototype(1) WB771
Lockheed Neptune MR1(5).from Kinloss.WX504/A-A,also 51-15965/H of 217SQ.
N A Harvard IIB (12) from Little Rissington.KF748/N-D
Short Sunderland MR5(3). from ?.SZ581/B-Y
Supermarine Swift F1/F4 (6) from Boscombe Down.WK195.
Vickers Varsity T1(12) from Thorney Island and Swinderby.WF421/A
Vickers Valiant 2nd Prototype.(1) WB215
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Supermarine Swift F1.(1) WK198 .Last aircraft in Flypast
SX988 Lincoln B2.This aircraft from 7Sq was flown during the flypast by WarrantOfficer Kaz Kijak.To read a short account from Kaz about the flypast click here .
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Other Aircraft not in Show
The following aircraft either overflew as pre- display items or landed .
Tiger Moth G-AHUT.
Auster AOP 6 .661 Sq.VF543
Canberra PR3 ,540 Sq.WE141.
Canberra PR3 WE137
Harvard 2B.6 FTS. FX283/X-O
Hastings C1.202Sq.TG567
Hastings. RAFFC. WD499
Hastings C2 .WD475/G
Meteor T7.ITS W Raynham.WL368/W
Spitfire LF16e.1 AACU.TE389/C
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I doubt if we will ever again see such a gathering of British military aircraft.In fact,the total RAF strength now doesn't match the numbers present or flying on that day.Bear in mind also that this was just the Air Force.The Fleet Air Arm had it's own day a month previously as part of the Royal Navy Review at Spithead and Lee-On-Solent.
The information here has come from a variety of sources including various accounts of the review in enthusiasts magazines of the day ,and my own records.Any additions or corrections most welcome.
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