Sonic boom reported as RAF jets intercept civilian plane over England
Three Typhoon jets were launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Friday morning to investigate the aircraft, which was not in contact with air traffic control.
The plane, which had been travelling from Nice in the south of France, was escorted to Stansted airport after it was established there was nothing of concern.
People in Essex reported hearing a loud bang after the jets were authorised to travel at supersonic speed.
A Royal Air Force spokesperson said: 'We can confirm that RAF 'Quick Reaction Alert' Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Coningsby were launched today to investigate a civilian aircraft which was not in contact with air traffic control, communications were re-established and the aircraft was safely escorted to Stansted.'
Essex police said: 'A flight has been escorted into Stansted airport after it lost contact with the ground.
'We were called at around 11.40am today.
'Contact was re-established with the plane, which had been travelling from Nice, and was escorted into the airport by RAF aircraft.
'On the ground our officers determined there was nothing of concern.'
A sonic boom is caused when planes fly faster than the speed of sound, which at ground level is about 761mph.
The aircraft displaces the air and creates pressure waves that become compressed and are then released in a shockwave.
An aircraft flying at 20,000ft (6,092 metres) would create a sonic boom cone 20 miles wide.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
A hero who received 72 wounds but refused morphine & avoided attention – VC legend John Cruikshank dies aged 105
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL said: 'Courage is rightly regarded as the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all the others depend.' The truth of those words is highlighted by the heroics of RAF Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank, who has died at the age 105. 5 RAF Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank has died at the age of 105 Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 5 In 2013 with a Catalina flying boat, like the one he skippered Credit: Getty 5 The brave RAF ace stands proudly in his uniform Credit: PA:Press Association It was 81 years ago that he performed an extraordinary act of sustained bravery, as he defied the agony of multiple severe injuries to bring home his badly damaged plane after a lethal encounter with a U-boat off the coast of Norway. For this deed he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He was one of four Coastal Command airmen to receive this award, but his case was unique. The other three had died in action and were honoured posthumously. He had survived but it was a mighty close-run thing. It was appropriate that this Scotsman of rock-hard resilience should hail from Aberdeen, long known as 'the Granite City'. He had left school in 1938 to become an apprentice in banking. But the drumbeat of war was echoing across Europe so he volunteered for the Territorial Army, enlisting in the Royal Artillery. Called up for service with this regiment in 1939, he transferred to the RAF two years later then went through initial flight instruction in Canada and the US. Back in Britain, having won his wings as a pilot, he continued his training until March 1943 when he was assigned to 210 Squadron in Coastal Command, based at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands. The Last of the Few, John 'Paddy' Hemingway has died, age 105 Man of modesty His squadron's main duty was to protect Allied ships from U-boats and they were equipped with the rugged and reliable American-built twin-engine Catalina flying boat. It was on July 17, 1944, soon after D-Day, that the incident occurred which lifted John Cruickshank into the record book, but almost killed him. He was piloting an anti- submarine patrol off Norway when his radio operator John Appleton picked up a blip on the Catalina's equipment. John began to home in on the target, whose status as a U-boat was confirmed by fire from its 37 mm gun. Appleton wrote in his memoir: 'The skipper manoeuvred into a perfect attacking position astern of the submarine, just out of range of the enemy gunfire. He gave a blast on the klaxon and started the attack run-in from about two miles.' As the plane got closer, flak from the U-boat intensified and was reinforced as its two pairs of 20mm cannon opened up. The skipper manoeuvred into a perfect attacking position astern of the submarine, just out of range of the enemy gunfire. He gave a blast on the klaxon and started the attack run-in from about two miles John Appleton John flew on and appeared to have released the depth charges at the right moment. But the bombs had hung up, so he then took the plane out of range of the U-boat, while his crew rearmed their own guns and checked the bomb-release mechanism. 'Everyone ready! Here we go again,' said John over the intercom. Of the second attack, Appleton recalled: 'This time all the flak was bursting much closer to us and I was surprised at how thick it could be. 'We seemed to be flying into a wall of black explosions.' But again, John descended upon the target without hesitation. 5 The first thing John said when he had regained consciousness in the stricken Catalina, was: 'How are my crew?' Credit: PA:Press Association 5 John was awarded the Victoria Cross for his extraordinary act of sustained bravery Credit: Alamy This time the depth charges hit their target with deadly accuracy. Seconds later, the U-boat began to sink. None of the 52 men on board had a chance of survival. But by now John's plane, caught by more enemy fire, was in serious trouble. Flames and smoke began to fill the aircraft. The radar was wrecked and the nose canopy shattered. One crewman was dead and four others were badly wounded, including John, who had been hit in his chest and legs and was bleeding heavily. But all was not lost. With the use of extinguishers, some of the uninjured crewmen put out the fire. As the co-pilot took over the controls, John was carried to the back of the plane. Throughout, he set an example of determination, fortitude and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the service Citation from Victoria Cross ceremony Lapsing in and out of consciousness, he was in tremendous pain but refused any morphine from the emergency safety kit because he wanted to keep alert so he could help bring the Catalina boat plane home to Sullom Voe. With almost superhuman fortitude, he returned to the cockpit to oversee the final descent just as dawn was breaking. After landing successfully on the water, he ran the shattered plane on to the beach. He had to be given an emergency blood transfusion before being taken to Lerwick Hospital, where he was found to have suffered 72 wounds. Yet, by September, he was fit enough to receive the Victoria Cross from King George VI in Edinburgh, the first time Holyrood House had been used for an investiture since the reign of Queen Victoria. His citation read: 'Throughout, he set an example of determination, fortitude and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the service.' From a generation that never sought the spotlight Barney Crockett But he was a man of profound modesty who hated talking about his exploits. Even at his investiture, he crept out of a side door afterwards to avoid the attention of the press and public. In the same vein, when he had regained consciousness in the stricken Catalina, the first thing he said was: 'How are my crew?' Though he had recuperated imp-ressively in hospital, the legacy of his injuries was too severe to allow him to return to flying duties, so for the rest of the war he held a staff job at Coastal Command HQ. Later, on demobilisation at the end of the war, he resumed his career in banking, eventually working in international finance before he retired in 1977. Happily married, he lost his beloved wife Marion in 1985. In his final years, in sheltered accommodation, he disliked any fuss, whether about his VC or his birthdays. Barney Crockett, the former Lord Provost of his native Aberdeen, once said John was 'from a generation that never sought the spotlight'. But it was also the generation that saved the world from tyranny.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
A hero who received 72 wounds but refused morphine & avoided attention – VC legend John Cruikshank dies aged 105
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL said: 'Courage is rightly regarded as the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all the others depend.' The truth of those words is highlighted by the heroics of RAF Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank, who has died at the age 105. 5 5 It was 81 years ago that he performed an extraordinary act of sustained bravery, as he defied the agony of multiple severe injuries to bring home his badly damaged plane after a lethal encounter with a U-boat off the coast of Norway. For this deed he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He was one of four Coastal Command airmen to receive this award, but his case was unique. The other three had died in action and were honoured posthumously. He had survived but it was a mighty close-run thing. It was appropriate that this Scotsman of rock-hard resilience should hail from Aberdeen, long known as 'the Granite City'. He had left school in 1938 to become an apprentice in banking. But the drumbeat of war was echoing across Europe so he volunteered for the Territorial Army, enlisting in the Royal Artillery. Called up for service with this regiment in 1939, he transferred to the RAF two years later then went through initial flight instruction in Canada and the US. Back in Britain, having won his wings as a pilot, he continued his training until March 1943 when he was assigned to 210 Squadron in Coastal Command, based at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands. Man of modesty His squadron's main duty was to protect Allied ships from U-boats and they were equipped with the rugged and reliable American-built twin-engine Catalina flying boat. It was on July 17, 1944, soon after D-Day, that the incident occurred which lifted John Cruickshank into the record book, but almost killed him. He was piloting an anti- submarine patrol off Norway when his radio operator John Appleton picked up a blip on the Catalina's equipment. John began to home in on the target, whose status as a U-boat was confirmed by fire from its 37 mm gun. Appleton wrote in his memoir: 'The skipper manoeuvred into a perfect attacking position astern of the submarine, just out of range of the enemy gunfire. He gave a blast on the klaxon and started the attack run-in from about two miles.' As the plane got closer, flak from the U-boat intensified and was reinforced as its two pairs of 20mm cannon opened up. The skipper manoeuvred into a perfect attacking position astern of the submarine, just out of range of the enemy gunfire. He gave a blast on the klaxon and started the attack run-in from about two miles John Appleton John flew on and appeared to have released the depth charges at the right moment. But the bombs had hung up, so he then took the plane out of range of the U-boat, while his crew rearmed their own guns and checked the bomb-release mechanism. 'Everyone ready! Here we go again,' said John over the intercom. Of the second attack, Appleton recalled: 'This time all the flak was bursting much closer to us and I was surprised at how thick it could be. 'We seemed to be flying into a wall of black explosions.' But again, John descended upon the target without hesitation. This time the depth charges hit their target with deadly accuracy. Seconds later, the U-boat began to sink. None of the 52 men on board had a chance of survival. But by now John's plane, caught by more enemy fire, was in serious trouble. Flames and smoke began to fill the aircraft. The radar was wrecked and the nose canopy shattered. One crewman was dead and four others were badly wounded, including John, who had been hit in his chest and legs and was bleeding heavily. But all was not lost. With the use of extinguishers, some of the uninjured crewmen put out the fire. As the co-pilot took over the controls, John was carried to the back of the plane. Throughout, he set an example of determination, fortitude and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the service Citation from Victoria Cross ceremony Lapsing in and out of consciousness, he was in tremendous pain but refused any morphine from the emergency safety kit because he wanted to keep alert so he could help bring the Catalina boat plane home to Sullom Voe. With almost superhuman fortitude, he returned to the cockpit to oversee the final descent just as dawn was breaking. After landing successfully on the water, he ran the shattered plane on to the beach. He had to be given an emergency blood transfusion before being taken to Lerwick Hospital, where he was found to have suffered 72 wounds. Yet, by September, he was fit enough to receive the Victoria Cross from King George VI in Edinburgh, the first time Holyrood House had been used for an investiture since the reign of Queen Victoria. His citation read: 'Throughout, he set an example of determination, fortitude and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the service.' But he was a man of profound modesty who hated talking about his exploits. Even at his investiture, he crept out of a side door afterwards to avoid the attention of the press and public. In the same vein, when he had regained consciousness in the stricken Catalina, the first thing he said was: 'How are my crew?' Though he had recuperated imp-ressively in hospital, the legacy of his injuries was too severe to allow him to return to flying duties, so for the rest of the war he held a staff job at Coastal Command HQ. Later, on demobilisation at the end of the war, he resumed his career in banking, eventually working in international finance before he retired in 1977. Happily married, he lost his beloved wife Marion in 1985. In his final years, in sheltered accommodation, he disliked any fuss, whether about his VC or his birthdays. Barney Crockett, the former Lord Provost of his native Aberdeen, once said John was 'from a generation that never sought the spotlight'. But it was also the generation that saved the world from tyranny.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Golden eagles could be reintroduced to England for first time in 150 years
Golden eagles could be re-introduced into England for the first time in more than 150 years, after a study has found there are enough sites to support them. The bird of prey is sometimes seen in areas of northern England, like Northumberland, but these are from the growing population resident in southern Scotland. The species was wiped out in England in the 19th century because of persecution by those who saw them as a threat to livestock and game birds. The last-known golden eagle to have made a home in England disappeared from the reserve in the Lake District where it lived in 2015. Environment Secretary Steve Reed is now overseeing plans that could see the birds returned to England, as first reported by the Guardian newspaper. The PA news agency understands a feasibility study by Forestry England, not due to be published for several months, will conclude there is capacity to support a population of the birds. If such a scheme were to go ahead, it would likely mirror methods used to reintroduce red kites and sea eagles in other parts of the UK. Duncan Orr-Ewing, the head of species and land management at the bird charity the RSBP, told the Guardian the survival of golden eagle populations in England depended in the availability of prey. 'The main prey of golden eagles are things like grouse, rabbits, hares. But they can also take other things like deer calves, we've seen badgers, fox cubs, all of these sort of things. And you've got grouse moor estates. So I don't think prey availability is going to be a problem,' he told the newspaper. Defra said a reintroduction programme would also involve public engagement, and consider the impact of golden eagles on other species and the wider environment. A spokesperson for the department said: 'The recovery of golden eagles offers hope for the future of the species in Britain. Any next steps of their reintroduction in England will be set out in due course.'
