The Black Arrows, one of the predecessors to the current

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Aerobatic Team the

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force (RAF) based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-Royal Air Force team, replacing several un ...

, were an aerobatic demonstration team formed in 1956 by Squadron Leader Roger L.Topp, then Commanding Officer 111 Squadron ("treble-one"). One of the many memorable feats accomplished by the Black Arrows was the execution of a world record loop of 22

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

s in formation at the Society of British Aircraft Constructors' show at Farnborough in 1958."Treble One's Twenty-Two"
/ref> This was a world record for the greatest number of aircraft looped in formation, and remains unbroken to this day. After the loop the Black Arrows performed the world's first 16 aircraft barrel roll. Roger Topp handed over the lead of the Black Arrows to Squadron Leader Peter Latham in late 1958. Latham expanded the size of the team to nine aircraft from the original five and led the Squadron for two years. No. 111 Squadron was formed at

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where they received the Hunter before moving to RAF Wattisham in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. Until 1961, the Black Arrows were the RAF's premier team. In the early years of the 1960s the "Blue Diamonds" of No. 92 Squadron RAF (also flying Hunters), "The Tigers" of No. 74 Squadron RAF, equipped with the new

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It is capable of a top speed above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured ...

, the " Red Pelicans" flying BAC Jet Provosts, and the "Yellowjacks" flying Folland Gnats formed. The large number of squadron display teams later rationalised to a single unit from the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...

Aircraft used

List of Leaders

* 1956–1958: Roger Topp * 1958–1960: Peter Latham

Notes and references

External links

Videos of the Black Arrows' last show, in Barcelona
accessed on 5 November 2022
Royal Air Force website - see Red Arrows History
accessed on 5 November 2022

at RAF website through the

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British aerobatic teams Organisations based in Suffolk Military units and formations in Suffolk Royal Air Force units {{RAF-stub