“No other aircraft…”

RAF IN THE COLD WAR Beverley ops

…could quite match the Blackburn Beverley C1 as a ‘go-anywhere’ airlifter, even when the RAF retired it in favour of the Hercules. In this uniquely in-depth report, the son of former ‘Bev’ captain Flt Lt Richard Livermore details its use in the Middle East with No 84 Squadron, and just how well the type performed in tough conditions

The first Beverley to appear in-theatre wearing the new sand camouflage scheme was XL149, being flown by Flt Lt Richard Livermore. An official photographer took many air-to-air images on 12 March 1965 to help measure its effectiveness against different backdrops. IWM

Early in its career, one particular sobriquet became familiar when the Beverley’s achievements were discussed: “no other aircraft…” The air officer commanding RAF Transport Command, Air Marshal Sir Andrew McKee commented in 1957, “the Beverley has given an entirely new significance to the term ‘air-portability’, as its huge freight compartment literally opens the doors to a vast new range of Service equipment and military stores which hitherto could not have been carried by air.”