From the other direction...

[Don'ttouchthat!]

There are a number of great threads on Prune about the Cold War V bomber force. I salute those who would have taken the potentially one way trip with such apparent insouciance. But is there anyone out there who could shed light on the reciprocal equivalent? It would be fascinating to hear from those lined up on the Soviet side about their memories and experiences from the other side of the front line. How was it for you? And how did you rate us as an attacking force - or defensive challenge?

[big v]

I think that drinking ethanol-based hydraulic fluid rather than Bateman's Best might restrict the replies somewhat..................

................standing by for extensive incoming.

Regards,

Vernon

[langleybaston]

My only contribution to this is the realisation, when the wall came down, what utter cr@p the Warsaw Pact Met. services were. Dreadful equipment, dreadful training, dreadful lack of ability. These, combined with the automatic loss of data to the Pact from the NATO countries once matters became tense ...... TTW, meant that their ops. would be in a very data-sparse area.

The higher formation forecast offices of NATO routinely produced detaled forecasts for nominated airfields of the Pact, and these were compared to the subsequent actuals. The results were the basis of an informal competition between the nations: MMO JHQ always came first. We were confident that some semblance of good advice could be maintained until we disappeared in a cloud of radioactive dust. Fortunately we were never tested.

[Pontius Navigator]

DTT

There is a project called the parallel history project.

There is also the story related to my by a pilot at BZN. They were hosting a WPC crew and come late Friday afternoon invited them to happy hour. They were puzzled about 'happy hour' and when explained that they had always been brought to a higher readiness on a Friday afternoon as they were taught that that is when we would have attacked.

The perceived medium bomber threat to UK and European rear areas was thought to be down the Baltic and across Denmark. The logic was that the Baltic was largely friendly airspace, Sweden might be hostile, and the central region would be too hot. Logical.

Whether they would have made ASM attacks against the UK ADR and followed through with bombers is of course speculative. One analysis (not afaik supported by UK) was a massive first strike with all targets covered. A logical reason why that was not a UK assumption was the UK AD could not cope with that and the exercises would be too short :)

[Tiger_mate]

readiness on a Friday afternoon as they were taught that that is when we would have attacked.

A Taceval at an RAFG airbase at 6pm one friday night revealed that friendly forces were already bombed :}

The traditional dawn 'over the top' would have meant sun in ones eyes though, and thats a bit of an own goal.

[Don'ttouchthat!]

From what I've read, the UK V force would seem to have set off on what even the most optimistic must have resigned themselves to being a potentially one way eastbound trip. Was that the same feeling for those heading in the other direction? In the earlier days, when the number of missile born warheads was low, was our thin line of radar, countermeasures and Lightning and other mates seen as a significant problem for any fullscale, westbound airborne attack?

However eroded by alcohol, ethanol or anythingelso-nol, memories from either side of the curtain would be very welcome!

[alfred_the_great]

If you are serving I suspect that DI might have a treasure trove of information. There's an entire section that hold a whole series of documents relating to just this.

[Don'ttouchthat!]

Sadly not, so not available to me. (Just to say, I'm not looking for anything not already in the public domain or restricted in any way, but given the fascinating insights from threads like 'Did You Fly The Vulcan', was wondering how the story looked from the opposite perspective.)

As a matter of interest, has there been any interaction since the thaw between those on our nuclear forces and their equivalents? It's interesting that much was made of opposing sides meeting again years after the Falklands. But did anyone ever subsequently meet the crew of a Bear they intercepted in earlier, less friendly times, for example?

[Fg Off Bloggs]

There was certainly a gathering at Old Warden in early October last of ex-SACEUR assigned aircrew and a number of ex-EGAF Flogger/Fitter/Fishbed type pilots! It was apparently a rip-roaring success!

[alfred_the_great]

There is no earthly way I'd ever drink with the Russian Navy..... my liver simply wouldn't cope!

[zetec2]

Re DontTouchThat's question re Bears above, not a Bear but a Midas, on a Canberra engine air test out of Lossy in the very early 80's (detached from Wyton & after engine change) somewhere around 40K feet way out over the North Sea above & ahead was a Midas (IL76 with radar dome al la Sentry) so we climbed in pursuit to get a closer look, Midas knew we were there & opened up & not only disappeared upward but at far greater speed than our poor old Canberra could match, years later at RIAT was talking to a Russian IL76 crew relating the tale, they laughed & said "they were just playing with you", thought that might put it into perspective that as we weren't really crossing swords it was at that time just a big game, don't know how it would have panned out if it had have been real but was quite an eye opener, PH. +

[Pontius Navigator]

Zetec, happened in Maritime from time to time. Win Harris at ISK wanted a photo of a Nimrod over the Kiev. Now that needs two Nimrods but by definition you only had one MPA in a given area at a time.

Permission was duly granted but when they arrived it was to find a P3 already on station. So they got their Nimrod photo and the P3 asked if they could do the same so round and round they went until a Bear turned up.

Round and round they went again with the aircraft all swapping positions to pose for photos.