PEOPLE have been looking to the skies of Herefordshire and Worcestershire this morning to see and hear a loud miltary plane fly over.
Residents captured pictures of the huge RAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III flying in skies above Ledbury and Malvern at around 9am.
RELATED NEWS:
- Wasp sting leads to aircraft crash fears over Herefordshire airfield
- The helicopters seen over Herefordshire (including SAS Blue Thunder)
- SAS Blue Thunder helicopter filmed at Herefordshire airfield
The plane is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s.
The C-17 is known for performing tactical and strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo throughout the world.
Additionally, it also carries out medical evacuation and airdrop duties.
The plane's cruise speed is 515.7mph, and it is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers and their equipment.
Want to get the latest breaking news alerts sent straight to you? It's easy, just sign up for our breaking news email alerts here and the most important stories will be delivered straight to your inbox.
It was being followed by a Hercules at around 6,000ft, with people on Twitter suggesting that the planes were practising refuelling.
The flight path for the Globemaster showed it carrying out circuits between Clee Hill, near Tenbury Wells, and Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire.
In between those points, it could be seen from Ledbury and Bromyard.
The first production C-130A Hercules entered service in December 1956 and Lockheed went on to create a bewildering array of variants and subvariants for the US and foreign militaries, and civilian market.
OTHER NEWS:
- Photographer spots mysterious words on hillside between Hereford and Abergavenny
- Hackers post Hereford schoolchildren's records on dark web
- Hereford pub 'well and truly here to stay' after going into liquidation
Many years and design changes later, the Hercules is the RAF’s primary tactical transport aircraft and the current versions have been the backbone of UK operational tactical mobility tasks since they were brought into service in 1999.
It is frequently employed to operate in countries or regions where there is a threat to aircraft; its performance, tactics and defensive systems make it the ideal platform for such tasks.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel