CANBERRA – TT.18 – WJ680

Its difficut to determine what happened to WJ680 then as 59 Sqd converted to B(I)8s in Feb 1957 having moved to RAFG Geilenkirchen in the November of that year. Its possible that 59 Sqd operated B.2s and B(I)8s side by side for a while – at least util December 1957. As an aside, 59 Sqd was renumbered to 3 Sqd in January 1961 at RAFG Geilenkirchen operating B(I)8s and two T.4s only, where WJ680 went is a mystery.

It crops up again in 1968 however, after seven years in someplace, when it was converted into TT.18 Target Tug role. WJ680 then again drops out of sight for another couple of years until it joined 7 Sqd at RAF St Mawgan – this must have been after May 1970 when 7 Sqd re-formed at RAF St Mawgan. WJ680 was the aircraft involved in the famous incident in 1972 when the rudder top hinge sheared on an air test. The navigator on that flight, Plt Off Geoff Burns, ejected safely and the pilot brought the TT.18 into a wheels-up landing. WJ680 took two and a half years to rebuild. Geoff Burns now flies as one of the navigators for WK163.

Following the sojurn on 7 Sqd, WJ680, in the sparse record available to me, is given as being on the strength of 100 Sqd with the identification of “CT” (which it retains to this day). 100 Sqd was at RAF Wyton and operated TT.18s from Dec 1981, coincidental with 7 Sqd shutting down at St Mawgan. Record says that WJ680 went into open storage at RAF Wyton and was seen in this condition in 1992.

In 1996 it was flown into Kemble where it stood in the open until mid-1999 when it was moved into the DevonAir hangar.

Ron Mitchell, the owner, got a servicing team together in 1999 and began working on the Canberra. After months of servicing and a succesful engine runs, David Piper (ex-45 Sqd and WK163 pilot) flew WJ680 out of Kemble on 7 January 2000 bound for RAF Marham.

During 2000 WJ680 resided in a hangar at Marham with work being carried out to bring the aircraft back into flying trim while Ron’s the search for sponsors went on. It wasn’t to be though. Ron says, “We are working very hard on CT to get her ready for a ferry to Bournemouth late July – we are aiming for the week of 23-27th. She will only be there for a few weeks being readied for a new Permit to Fly. With that Permit, she will then fly to the Temora Aviation Museum, 125mls from Canberra, Aus., where she will be operated as part of the collection – often as a “Vintage Pair” with their F8 Meteor (“Winston”), something I had always wanted to do in the UK.”

On August 10 2001, WJ680, “CT” departed RAF Marham for Bournemouth.

Sold! (by Ron Mitchell)


WJ680 will be in de Havilland Aviation’s hangar 600 at Bournemouth (the Bournemouth Aviation Museum) where Jim Goodwin’s team will complete the Minor servicing and apply for her Permit to Fly. This is expected to take 4 to 6 weeks, during which time she will be readied for an epic flight.