Originally published at: USAF Apologizes After F-35 Triggers Sonic Boom Over England
An F-35A fighter inadvertently caused a sonic boom during a training mission over eastern England.
So what, it may have rattled a few tea cups and biscuit baskets but the sound of freedom may be a bit noisy at times. My home is near an active MOA where Boeing routinely conducts delivery acceptance and compliance flight checks. Mach 1 and above is nothing to get your knickers in a twist about.
So what? A sonic boom is not just the roar of engines of Boeing’s subsonic testing. It can cause serious damage to structures on the ground. When a Lakenheath-based F-111F inadvertently broke the sound barrier while conducting a training mission on the RAF’s Benbecula RBS range in Scotland in 1985, it knocked a prefab building off its mounts. The Queen was NOT amused. Neither were the RAF personnel in the building. It was fortunate for the USAF that no civilian structures or persons were involved.
Gone are the days when the Brits appreciated our presence in the UK due to the threat from Eastern Europe. Although I recognize the difference on how the UK people feel about the US military presence and that of the UK government. But I say bring them home.
Nonsense
The presence of US troops in Europe is still welcomed by the overwhelming majority of the population. This article is a storm in a teacup. The original BBC post was far less sensationalist and can be read here: USAF apologises for sonic boom over Norfolk and Cambridgeshire - BBC News.
As stated “Supersonic flight over land is rare and only authorised in exceptional circumstances.” hence some people mistook it for an explosion.
BBC’s article says it was an F-15.
Do we know which it was?
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