CH53 over Basingstoke?

[onyx39]

Just flew over at a fairly high altitude... I could be wrong... but it looked like one.

[Z06George]

Didn't see/hear anything in Reading so I'm guessing it was flying in a different direction, awesome if it was a Super Stallion.

[QuantumTokoloshi]

We get a lot of Merlins going over, and at a distance, could be confused with a Ch-53. It is pretty cool if it was though.

[anonymous-user]

Much more likely it was mis-ID'd Merlin.

[nick heppinstall]

I saw a CH53 following the Trent when I was in Gainsborough around 8 months ago. It was very low !

Edited by nick heppinstall on Wednesday 19th March 21:34

[onyx39]

Crossflow Kid said:

Much more likely it was mis-ID'd Merlin.

Your correct, I work in Basingstoke, which is under the Odiham flight paths and we are overflown by Wokkas on a daily basis, this was flying in a different direction though, and seemed higher.
Another forum has confirmed 'twas a merlin though.

[RobbyJ]

I spotted a black CH-53 over London a few years back, defo not a Merlin, such an awesome beast!

[Dr JonboyG]

RobbyJ - was it an MH-53 doing nearly silent orbits between Battersea and Chelsea Bridges?

Also, I was pretty sure the US had retired all their -53 variants now.

[nick heppinstall]

Dr JonboyG said:

RobbyJ - was it an MH-53 doing nearly silent orbits between Battersea and Chelsea Bridges?

Also, I was pretty sure the US had retired all their -53 variants now.

Could have been German ? The one I saw certainly was.

[Dr JonboyG]

I know I definitely saw a US MH-53 doing circuits between those bridges but it would have been ~2000 or maybe 2001. The most amazing thing was how it was utterly silent except for when it was at the closest point to me.

[Z06George]

Dr JonboyG said:

RobbyJ - was it an MH-53 doing nearly silent orbits between Battersea and Chelsea Bridges?

Also, I was pretty sure the US had retired all their -53 variants now.

I don't know about the Marines and their CH53s but I thought the USAF still used the MH53? Unless it's a recent cut?

[RobbyJ]

It was 2000-2001 era I think, I would have been on a weekend ride along the embankment, really testing my memory but I think I was near Blackfriars it flew East down the river past me about about 2000ft.

[Mr_B]

The Mildenhall Mh-53 Pave lows went to the boneyard a few years back - had a friend who was a crew chief on them and was on their final flight around the southern part of the UK. They went from Mildenhall to Lincoln, Cambridge, Essex, London and over the Channel.
Got a guided tour inside one - awesome machine.

[Dr JonboyG]

There's a good e-book about the Pave Lows: http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil/digital/pdf/book/b_0...