THE 30th anniversary of a Hercules plane crash off the coast of Italy in which 52 people died has been marked by ceremonies in Italy and Lyneham.

The tragedy happened on November 9 1971 when a Hercules transport aircraft from RAF Lyneham, flown by crew from 24 Squadron, was escorting Italian paratroopers to Livorno from Pisa.

Five crew on a Hercules aircraft that was third in a line of nine aircraft, were killed, along with 47 Italian paratroopers, when their plane mysteriously plunged in to the Mediterranean sea.

Wing Commander Rick Hobson, the officer commanding 24 Squadron at RAF Lyneham, gave a reading at a ceremony in St Michael's Church on November 9. On the same day a ceremony attended by 200 people, including families of those killed, took place at Livorno cemetery.

Wg Cdr Hobson said the flight took place at night but it was a mystery why one of the aircraft crashed.

"It's one of those great mysteries," he said.

"There was an inquiry but the results were inconclusive and it appears the plane flew into the sea for no apparent reason."

Wg Cdr Hobson said no mechanical problems were discovered with the aircraft.

"It was number three of nine aircraft, it was a Hercules transport aircraft number XV216," he said.

"All we know directly is that they were flying out over the sea, over the Mediterranean, when the pilot of the lead aircraft noticed an orange glow in the sea to his right."

Wing Commander Hobson said the pilot asked each of the other aircraft to radio in and discovered what had happened when the crashed aircraft failed to respond.

He said said six members of 24 Squadron from Lyneham, led by Squadron Leader Nick Newton, paid their respects at the memorial service at Livorno cemetery.

Group Captain David White, the British Air Attache to Rome, was also at the ceremony.

On the same day, at St Michael's Church in Lyneham, Group Captain Richard Bates, the officer commanding 24 Squadron in 1971, gave a reading.

More than 80 people attended, including the families of some of those killed in the crash.

A carved marble memorial is also to be laid on the seabed where the Hercules crashed as a permanent memorial.