Residents living in North Yorkshire might hear more sonic booms until the start of December - and here's the fascinating reason why.

A loud bang echoed across Yorkshire and the North East on Wednesday, November 17, leaving many people asking: "What was that explosion-like sound?"

There were reports from residents in Hambleton, County Durham, Teesside, Malton, Pickering and towards Whitby.

Residents described homes shaking and windows vibrating, with some suggesting it may have been an earthquake.

The reason behind the loud bang

The Swiss Air Force has since revealed an F-18 Hornet on a training mission was behind the sound.

A Swiss Air Force detachment is currently based at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire for a series of training missions.

The spokesperson said: "The sonic boom heard in the North East of England yesterday was caused by a Swiss Air Force F-18 Hornet aircraft completing operational training inside offshore training areas.

"Any inconvenience caused to local residents is regretted."

York Press: The Swiss Air Force is training at RAF Leeming. Photo by Sarah Caldecott.The Swiss Air Force is training at RAF Leeming. Photo by Sarah Caldecott.

The flight which led to the sonic boom on November 17 took place over the North Sea.

The Royal Air Force said sonic booms from aircraft out at sea would not normally be heard on land - though "climatic and wind conditions yesterday may have been a factor".

Crews from the Swiss Air Force will be training at RAF Leeming until December 10, 2021 - meaning any further loud bangs are likely to be a result of aircraft.

Why is the Swiss Air Force training at RAF Leeming?

The Swiss Air Force has been training at RAF Leeming for three years as part of 'Exercise YORKNIGHT'.

You can see amazing pictures of F18 Hornets and go behind the scenes of 'Exercise YORKNIGHT' here.

The Swiss Air Force has mainly flown over the North Sea and RAF Spadeadam, the electronic warefare range over in Cumbria so far.

Lieutenant colonel Aldo Wicki, Detachment Commander, explained to The Echo why they continue to come to RAF Leeming.

He said: "When it comes to advanced training you need highly qualified assets to train with and against.

"Our Air Force is too small to set up the assets so the opportunities in the UK are just fabulous - working with operationally experienced units from the RAF, or the US Air Force."

You can find out more about the operation here.

What is a sonic boom?

A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound.

Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap