Take Off Gallery

E-3D Sentry Aircraft Lands at RAF Waddington

An E-3D Sentry aircraft from 8 Squadron, Royal Air Force lands at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.
The Sentry's roles include air and sea surveillance, airborne command and control, weapons control and it can also operate as an extensive communications platform.
The RAF operates seven E-3D Sentry aircraft in the airborne surveillance and command-and-control role. The aircraft are based at RAF Waddington, where they are operated by Nos 8 and 23 Squadrons as the UK's contribution to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force.
The E-3D also forms one arm of the UK Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) triad of Sentinel R1, E-3D and Nimrod R1 aircraft. Whilst primarily procured as an airborne early warning aircraft, the E- 3D has been extensively employed in the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) role.
The E-3D Sentry, known to the RAF as the AEW1, is based on the commercial Boeing 707-320B aircraft, which has been extensively modified and updated to accommodate modern mission systems. Mission endurance is approximately 11 hours (over 5000nmls), although this can be extended by air - to- air refuelling.
The E-3D is the only aircraft in the RAF's inventory capable of air-to-air refuelling by both the American flying-boom system and the RAF's probe-and-drogue method

Mixed flock of Northern shovelers (Anas clypeata), Gadwalls (Anas strepera) and Common teal

Mixed flock of Northern shovelers (Anas clypeata), Gadwalls (Anas strepera) and Common teal (Anas crecca) taking off from a small lagoon, Brownsea Island, Dorset, England, UK, February. Did you know? Brownsea island has a long history, with uses ranging from a 9th century hermitage to the first ever scout camp in 1907

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McDonnell RF-4B Phantom

United States Marine Corps - McDonnell RF-4B-25-MC Phantom 153099Y (msn 1391), of VMCJ-2 Playboys'. Whilst flying with VMFP-3 153099 stalled and crashed on take-off from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma on 25 October 1976. Date: circa 1968

© The Peter Butt Aviation Collection / Mary Evans The Peter Butt Aviation Collection / Mary Evans

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