Military planes spotted flying low in the sky above our town
PLANE-SPOTTERS had a bit of a treat yesterday with military aircraft aplenty around northern Lincolnshire. Between around 1pm and 2pm, a Shadow R1 twin-turboprob plane from RAF Waddington headed towards North East Lincolnshire and circled several times over Killingholme, making approaches to the runway at Humberside Airport.
At times, it crossed over the Humber and over Hull city centre before heading back over the Wolds and returning to base.
Part of No 14 Squadron, the Shadow R1 - with identification SNAKE47 - is one of the less imposing RAF aircraft which is primarily used to add a “comprehensive intelligence gathering capability to ISTAR Force”.
The RAF says its “electro-optical and electronic capabilities complement those of the Sentinel R.Mk 1, its data combining with that gathered by Sentinel and other platforms to help analysts prepare comprehensive intelligence product.
Satellite communications links enable information download during a mission and the aircraft is also fitted with a comprehensive defensive aids suite.”
Meanwhile, two helicopters were zooming around the Grimsby area yesterday afternoon too.
The Wildcat AH1 choppers, manufactured by AgustaWestland, VALNT61 and MARINE11, are Army Air Corps aircraft, and are designed as a battlefield reconnaissance, troop transport, airborne command post and force protection platform.
They were performing exercises at low altitude over Grimsby and Cleethorpes from around 2pm and could be seen pretty much everywhere around the North East Lincolnshire area.
All of these visits were preceded by an RAF giant shortly after noon in the form of the C-130J Hercules from RAF Brize Norton.
The rumbling roar of the aircraft could be heard over parts of northern Lincolnshire including near Wrawby, Brigg and Caistor as it flew at a low altitude after heading in from East Yorkshire.
The huge military transport aircraft is one of a few that have visited the area in recent months as the RAF carries out exercise in our region.
Earlier in the summer there were sightings of an Atlas A400 – one of the biggest planes in the force – circling over Grimsby late at night as well as on other days. The four-engine turboprop aircraft has been in service since 2014 and provides tactical airlift and strategic oversize lift capabilities and part of the military fleet including the Hercules and C-17s.
Large transporters are not an uncommon sight over Lincolnshire as Humberside Airport is often used for landing practice and take offs.