No. 1439 Flight RAF

No. 1439 Flight RAF
A Westland Whirlwind helicopter, like the ones used in the flight
Active	? - June 1942 8 May 1957 – 20 November 1957
Role	Strategic Reconnaissance Transport
Garrison/HQ	Western Desert (Egypt) RAF Hemswell RAF Christmas Island
Equipment	Bristol Blenheim Vickers Varsity<br/Avro Anson> Westland Whirlwind

There is unconfirmed evidence that a No. 1439 (Strategic Reconnaissance) Flight RAF was formed during the Western Desert Campaign ca. June 1942, flying Bristol Blenheim aircraft.^[1][2]

The flight was reformed as No. 1439 (Communication Support) Flight at RAF Hemswell on 8 May 1957 to support the Nuclear Weapons Task Force during the Operation Grapple nuclear weapon tests on or near Christmas Island (Kiritimati) in a remote Pacific region.^[1] Flying continued for six months until the Flight was dis-banded on 20 November 1957.^[1]

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 1439 Flight RAF, data from^[1][2]

From	To	Aircraft	Version	Example
June 1942	?	Bristol Blenheim
1 May 1957	20 November 1957	Vickers Varsity	T.1	WL676
1 May 1957	20 November 1957	Avro Anson	Mk.XIX	TX196
1 May 1957	20 November 1957	Westland Whirlwind	HAR.2	XD164

Flight bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 1439 Flight RAF, data from^[1][2]

From	To	Base
June 1942	?	Western dessert
1 May 1957	22 August 1957	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire
22 August 1957	?	LRWRE Woomera, Australia
?	20 November 1957	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire

References

Notes

1. Lake 1999, p. 89.
2. Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 123.

Bibliography

• Lake, Alan. Flying Units of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
• Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.