C/n 835 - XV105

Date
3 October 1967	First flight.
20 October 1967	Handover to RAF 10 Squadron as XV105.
11 November 1968	Named 'Albert Ball VC' in a ceremony at RAF Brize Norton.
6 November 1970	Operated the first Washington Schedule (or 'Dulles Sched') as Ascot 2097, returning via Manchester.
March 1981	XV105 was spotted in Wellington, NZ, operating a Royal Flight. Prince Charles visited Australia, using XV105, during this month, so he most likely went to New Zealand as well.
24 June 1982	Carried survivors of the attacks on 'Sir Galahad' and 'Sir Tristram' from Wideawake via Dakar to Brize Norton.
21-25 February 1984	Flew HRH The Prince of Wales from London to Brunei and back via Bahrain and Singapore to attend celebrations to mark Brunei's independance. Carried commemorative covers.
27 June 1985	Carried the PM, Mrs. Thatcher, from London Heathrow to Milan Malpensa for an EU conference, as Ascot 1107.
20 January 1986	Carried the PM, Mrs. Thatcher, from London Heathrow to Lille and back again for an Anglo-French summit during which the construction of the Channel Tunnel was announced. Crewed by Captain Neil and F/E Richie Spence.
2-6 May 1986	Carried the PM, Mrs. Thatcher, to Seoul via Anchorage, then to Pusan, Tokyo and back home. First visit of a British PM to South Korea, attended G7 summit in Tokyo. Anchorage - South Korea - Japan - Anchorage legs crewed by Captain Neil and F/E Richie Spence.
7 June 1986	Operated yearly Aries flight over the North Pole.
26-27 June 1986	Carried the PM, Mrs. Thatcher from LHR to Amsterdam Schiphol airport for The Hague European Council meeting. Aircraft positioned Schiphol - Valkenburg Naval Air base later on the 26th, carrying the PM back home from Valkenburg on the 27th. Crewed by Captain Neil and F/E Richie Spence.
9-11 July 1986	Carried the Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, to Nairobi, Kenya, Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe and Maputo in Mozambique, on an EC mission to discuss the ending of apartheid. Crewed by Captain Wolley and F/E Richie Spence.
29-30 June 1987	Carried the PM, Mrs. Thatcher, from London Heathrow to Brussels and back for an EEC summit meeting. Crewed by Captain Conlon and F/E Richie Spence.
1989	Used for trials with Loral Matador infrared countermeasure pods, captained by Sqn Ldr Frank Huddleston.
12 April 1995	First flight after conversion to C1K tanker/transport.
24 April 1995	Delivery to 10 Squadron as C1K.
21 June 1996	Flew a continuation training sortie from RAF Brize Norton, lasting approx. 3 hours, carrying commemorative covers for the 45th anniversary of the first flight of the HP.88. Crewed by Captain T.D. Hewgley, Flt.Lt. D.P. Hatter, Flt.Lt. H.A. Timbers, Sgt. P.A. Radcliffe.
November 1999	Repainted into the new grey colourscheme.
14 October 2005	Transferred to 101 Squadron upon disbandment of 10 Squadron, allocated letter 'V'.
June 2007	XV105 was revealed at a Brize Norton families day with special artwork on its tail commemorating 90 years of 101 Squadron.
12 June 2010	Took part in Queen's birthday flypast over Buckingham Palace together with XV108.
30 August 2011	Aircraft withdrawn from service, flown to Bruntingthorpe on its final flight. Total time: 38272.05 hours.
23 May 2012	Airframe scrapped at Bruntingthorpe.

1. XV105 at RAF Brize Norton, with passengers boarding.
2. Taking off from what looks like Brize, with a Belfast and another VC10 in the background.
3. XV105 coming in to land at RAAF Avalon, in Australia, near Melbourne.
4. A bit later on XV105 has lost its 'Air Support Command' titles. Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport was a regular stop for RAF VC10s.

1. XV105 parked in its white over grey colourscheme.
2. During and after the Falklands War, XV105 was one of the C1s that carried wounded back to the UK and received Red Cross markings on these occasions.
3. In this case, the markings were for a Falklands - Montevideo - UK flight crewed by Richard King in June 1982. Two days later he had a chance to photograph XV105 from another VC10 and the markings were still there.
4. Mike Grierson flew as Navigator on VC10s and took this photo as XV105 was cruising at 31,000 feet.

1. On 26th June 1998 XV105 is at Tempelhof airport for what looks like a public day of some sort.
2. A photo of XV105 being positioned by tow truck. As the entry door is not fully closed and the pitot covers are still on it doesn't look like a departure.
3. From 1999 on XV105 flew in the new grey colourscheme, here it carries the 10 Squadron crest on its tail.
4. In June 2007 a special anniversary tail was unveiled, commemorating 90 years of 101 Squadron.

1-2. Two other photos of the special tail on XV105.
3. Peter Foster was fortunate enough to photograph the commemorative scheme on XV105 during an air-to-air session.
4. By October 2010 XV105's tail was once again grey. This photo also shows that the Conways could get a bit smoky at low power settings.

1-3. On 3rd October 2010 XV105 visited Paderborn, a less frequent destination for the VC10s.
4. On this photo XV105 is taxiing at Hanover, where the RAF VC10s were regular visitors.

1. XV105 taxiing at Trapani, Sicily, during 101 Squadron's detachment there for op ELLAMY, providing air support over Libya in 2011. Mount Erice is clearly visible in the background.
4. XV105's last landing at Bruntingthorpe airfield.