They might have been viewed as an expensive luxury by the Treasury, but the de Havilland Comets that formed the backbone of RAF signals intelligence collection efforts from 1958-74 were an essential tool. No 51 Squadron’s employment of these aircraft remains to some degree in the shadows, but the latest research casts new light on their clandestine Cold War activities...
They might have been viewed as an expensive luxury by the Treasury, but the de Havilland Comets that formed the backbone of RAF signals intelligence collection efforts from 1958-74 were an essential tool. No 51 Squadron’s employment of these aircraft remains to some degree in the shadows, but the latest research casts new light on their clandestine Cold War activities...