Never heard of Tornado

[Phil_R]

A while ago I was in conversation with someone who had been in the US army for four years and who had never heard of Tornado.

Okay, fine, this particular individual had been involved with CBRN stuff and had spent two tours directing some sort of helicopter operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, so no direct involvement in allied air activity, but even so. How can you be a US Army captain and never have at least heard of something I've seen referred to as the most important combat aircraft in europe for the last 25 years?

Is this normal?

P

[drag king]

Many of them have never heard of Julius Cesar and the Roman Empire, think that you can drive from France to NYC and wonder whether we have running water and electricity in continental EU...

Go figure!

DK

[VinRouge]

think that you can drive from France to NYC

To be fair, you can drive from Paris to NYC.... may be where the confusion arises from

[INT ZKJ]

Nimrod crew met up with some USN submariners in the Intercon bar in Seeb a few years back.

One of the Sub lads said


“Well, Turkey is sure a lot different than I expected” !!


Wouldn't beleive that he had in fact missed Turkey some days ago.


:rolleyes:

[orca]

Are we saying that all RAF Flight Lieutenants would know what a FH70 or an AS90 was?

What? No? How can that be?

[Surplus]

A while ago I was in conversation with someone who had been in the US army for four years and who had never heard of Tornado.

Big whirly thing, Dorothy, red shoes, or the MRCA?

[Phil_R]

Are we saying that all RAF Flight Lieutenants would know what a FH70 or an AS90 was?

Well, to be fair, I could have told you that one of those was a towed gun and one was a self-propelled gun, and I'm neither in the military nor particularly an enthusiast of the genre.

So yes, I'd personally expect the average NATO officer to be at least as informed as me, no?

P

[thing]

To be fair to the cousins I met some pretty dumb folk in the UK military as well.

[orca]

Phil,

I would say that you are well informed - bravo - but I doubt that all RAF Flight Lieutenants are...but we have no way of proving this because a) you aren't one and b) even if you were one you wouldn't be all of them c) it'll take a while to ask them and d) if we do it via this forum they can scuttle off to google and find out.

You will of course note that I chose systems in use with our own army to make the task ever so slightly easier.

Perhaps the answer as to why this fellow had never heard of the Tornado was i) he was/ is American ii) the Tornado only had (approximately) four users which didn't include the USAF iii) he was/is a soldier and iv) if there were only (give or take) 3 European users of the Tornado then it can't really have been that important.

Anyway - it seems you are surprised and I am not - but that doesn't mean we have to fall out. (Not that we were falling out).

[Two's in]

I've seen referred to as the most important combat aircraft in europe for the last 25 years?

I think his reaction tells you more about the information source than this particular individual's knowledge. If he's only been in 4 years and already done 2 tours of Afghanistan/Iraq, you can be sure his thinking is not quite "Euro" centric yet. He could probably tell you about the 4,500 F-16s that have been built though...

[Rigga]

Spams arrived at 18Sqn Gutersloh just before it closed and "some" of them wondered what that "Vee-hi-cle" was?...it was a Hard-Top Land Rover.

[Martin the Martian]

Not the first time that US Army personnel have not known what a Tornado is. Last time the results were rather more tragic.

[Haraka]

Now who was it, in a Nimrod in G.W.1. , who allegedly read out the lettering on the stern of an American battle wagon crossing the Atlantic as " O ...H...... Ten.".....:) ?

[The Helpful Stacker]

To be fair to the cousins I met some pretty dumb folk in the UK military as well.

A squaddie lobbing 'faulty' IR Cylumes ("these aren't working, I've tried loads and when I break them they're not glowing") into the GIFA near a FARP is one of many accounts of UK mil stupidity I can recall off hand.:ugh:

[Herod]

To be fair, you can drive from Paris to NYC.... may be where the confusion arises from

Surprised nobody's bitten yet. I know what you mean. 1465 miles according to G**gle Earth

[Tankertrashnav]

Here you go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3MDI1QLc

I'll leave someone else to post "New York, New York" - if they must.


'faulty' IR Cylumes ... into the GIFA near a FARP'


That might as well have been in Mandarin for all it meant to me Stacker, so I guess that makes me pretty dumb as well!

[Haraka]

I remember a Harrier pilot ( a graduate) using his F95 PFO camera going Gütersloh to Wittering, where the undeveloped film was popped in a tin by the photogs to bring back to Gütersloh for developing.
The film was totally fogged.
He subsequently admitted he had peeped into the tin "Just for a second" to check that the film was in it.

[Out Of Trim]

Herod,

I guess most of knew that he meant drive from Paris, Texas to New York! :ok:

Tankertrashnav,

Infra Red chemical glow sticks, only observable with night vision equipment!

[Bclass]

On a joint exercise in Holland back in 92 our Buccs were parked up next to F14s from the JFK. Unsurprisingly, something broke, so a spare was to be flown over from Lossie. This was the opportunity to wind up the spams with tails of the new top secret Brit stealth fighter.

They still believed the story when a matt black Hunter taxied onto the pan a few hours later...

[The Helpful Stacker]

That might as well have been in Mandarin for all it meant to me Stacker, so I guess that makes me pretty dumb as well!

Sorry TTN, I'll translate.

'faulty' IR Cylumes' = Infra-red Spectrum Lightsticks. Only visible using night vision goggles, therefore not 'faulty', just not visible with said squaddie's Mk.1 eyeball.

GIFA = Great Iraqi F**k All, ie: the middle of bloody nowhere in Iraq.

FARP = Forward Arming and Refuelling Point, used in support of helicopter operations for, well as the name suggests.

[Whenurhappy]

I think that the average Flt Lt - of any Branch - has a pretty good idea of the other Services' kit - we are a lot more Joint (OK - read 'Army') these days and, again, most Flt Lts will have done a spell in Afghan (as the ill-educated seem to refer to Afghanistan) and will be familiar with a lot of 'Green' terminology and kit.

I laughed at the IR Cylume story!

[Haraka]

"Cylumes". Interesting to see how they were adopted. I had some given to me for evaluation c.1983 -the optical variety, although then called "Cyalumes".
Also with IR "Nitesun", tales of soldiers looking up at Helos at night using the device. Optically invisible but still extremely damaging to the retina.(IIRC)

[Simplythebeast]

I love Septics, was in a hotel once and a yank couple were at the next table in the restaurant. Mrs yank, looking at the menu,said "What's caviar?" Her husband said "Thats whale eggs isn't it." Made I smile.

[Onceapilot]

Long ago... NATO personel were trained to a STANAG on recce of friendly forces equipment*!:eek:

*And lots of other important stuff.


OAP

[The Helpful Stacker]

Veering well off-topic......

......although then called "Cyalumes".

Technically speaking that is the correct spelling, as that is the name of a company that makes them (http://www.cyalume.com/), but its often spelt without the 'a'.

[tucumseh]

I imagine most US servicemen, of whatever persuasion, would have a good laugh at the RAF Gp Capt supplier who, in 1996, insisted on procuring Active Dipping Sonar spares for C130. Most 5 year olds come to think of it. It's ok, the money wasn't wasted. Once they'd picked themselves up off the floor, GEC-Marconi refused to quote.

[Wrathmonk]

Simply

Must say that despite having visited America on many occasions (and not just Nellis/Las Vegas!) I still have no idea what grits is.

Neither can I successfully order a breakfast in Denny's without at least one question from the waitress.

The locals must have a right old laugh at my expense.

But I have heard of a Tornado;)

[Darvan]

This is far from unusual. Even during the height of the CW when European skies were full of Vulcans and Buccaneers many US aircrew, both in the US and Europe, had never heard of Buccs or Vulcans. However, I always take care not to stereotype Americans.

[orca]

I'm enjoying this thread - some good banter.

I am going to ask the first Flt Lt I see on Monday what the US Army's primary MBT is, what an Arleigh Burke is and what the USAF might do with a AGM-88?

I'll get back to you with the results.;)

[Simplythebeast]

Wrath.....one may be excused for not knowing what caviar is perhaps.....but please, whale eggs? Imagine the size of the egg cup!
As for grits...that is the food of the Devil and a scone will always be a scone and a biscuit a biscuit.
We shouldn't accept this ignorance from our Colonial cousins, dash it all man, we INVENTED foreigners!

[BEagle]

Wrathmonk wrote:
Neither can I successfully order a breakfast in Denny's without at least one question from the waitress.

Ah, the joys of practical RTI training at the hands of those sweet little ladies who work in American breakfast establishments!

Top tips:

Get your words in first! "Yes, it's a lovely day and we're ready to order!"
"American breakfast please, 2 eggs over easy, bacon, hash browns and rye toast with regular butter. Non-decaff. coffee, OJ and seperate cheques please.


Think you've cracked it? Wrong - there'll always be something you've overlooked:

"Is that regular OJ, or large?"

Bug.ger!

Another gotcha is if you ask for sausage rather than bacon - "Would that be links or patties?"...:uhoh:

But the waitresses were always such a delight!

We once went into a steak-and-potatoes restaurant on our way back from a visit to Indianapolis, which has a well-known car race once a year; sadly there are 364 other days...as we'd discovered. One chap asked for some more butter for his baked potato.

"Would that be regular butter?", the little lovely asked.

"OK - I give in. What are the alternatives - low alcohol, unleaded, caffeine-free, lead-free or what?", I asked her.

"Regular or melted butter?", she giggled.

And another gem of information was added to our corporate knowledge of American restaurant interrogations. Which, to be fair, were always so friendly and fuss-free!

My first experience of such interrogations was in the late '70s during Vulcan trips to Offutt. At JB's, the waitress would query "French'talianthousan'islan'bluecheese" as one word when you said that you'd like a salad with your steak. "Nothing, thanks", tended to confuse her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a more serious note, after a couple of F-15s couldn't tell the difference between a pair of Blackhawks and a pair of Hinds, with predictably and sadly tragic results, it was decided that aircraft recognition should feature during morning briefs at Incirlik.

For some unknown reason, the Cousins decided to hold these wretched briefs about 5 hours before 'compress' missions. Which, predictably, went down rather poorly with the RAF crews. One day - or rather b£oody early morning, we'd endured a pointless 'same as before' brief which stopped just short of 'Padre, some words for our brave boys'. Up jumped some REMF keen to run his recce slides....the first of which was an F-15C.

"Hind, Hind - waste the motherfarqhar - oorah!" called some irritated Brit.

The briefing then ended. The RAF DetCo told us not to take the pi$$ out of the Spams - "No problems, Boss, they do it well enough themselves!" came the reply.

[TyroPicard]

BEags...
Delete seperate cheques, insert separate checks.....

[BEagle]

orca wrote: I am going to ask the first Flt Lt I see on Monday what the US Army's primary MBT is, what an Arleigh Burke is and what the USAF might do with a AGM-88?

1. MBT? Presumably still the Abrams.
2. An Arleigh Burke? Probably some ship used to shoot down unarmed civilian airliners?
3. AGM-88? HARM explains its role rather better.

Checks? Oh dear, I think not!

[West Coast]

and seperate cheques please.

You probably don't stand your round at the pub either.

[West Coast]

2. An Arleigh Burke? Probably some ship used to shoot down unarmed civilian airliners?

Even with benefit of the Internet you managed to f*#% that up, different class of ship. You also dicked up aircraft identification a few threads back when you tried to identify a H-60.

Wherever you thought you were on military knowledge, you're not there anymore, might want to research before you hit the submit button.

[typerated]

Funny you mentioned AGM-88 - just after GW1 I had to explain to a USAF F-4 driver what an ALARM was - he had never heard of it. It happened that he was a F-4G WW driver from the 52TFW!


Neither could he see any use for the loiter mode.


I was convinced for a while he was taking the pi$$ but it gradually dawned on me that the backseater did the clever stuff he just drove.

[Exnomad]

Having worked for a company bade in the US mid west, who had never seen the sea close up, only from 30,000 ft.
Did not know what a tide was. But hey they knew a lot of other things.

[Lord Spandex Masher]

might want to research before you hit the submit button.

Or the trigger...

[Roadster280]

Speaking as a retired bleep (and therefore know sod all about artillery), even I know that FH70 was retired by the RA over 10 years ago! The FH70 is as relevant to the RA as the Jaguar is to the RAF today.

Since most military weapon systems are operated by NCOs rather than officers, it's a bit worrying if the officers can't get it right. No wonder there are blue on blues. One might thank God that nukes are/were under officer control, but I'm not so sure about that.

Still, in a world where a (RAF) Phantom could splash a (RAF) Jag over Germany (with entirely officer crew), target recognition was the least of the worries if the procedures were so dangerously lax.

[Herod]

Did not know what a tide was.

Used to be a brand of washing powder, but I don't think it's on the market anymore. (I know; sad old git)

[West Coast]

Quote:Did not know what a tide was.
Used to be a brand of washing powder, but I don't think it's on the market anymore. (I know; sad old git)

It's still around. Tide is what I used when I had to wash my own clothes, now I have a wife to do such mundane chores.

[West Coast]

Or the trigger...

No argument from me on that point Spandex.


Still, in a world where a (RAF) Phantom could splash a (RAF) Jag over Germany (with entirely officer crew), target recognition was the least of the worries if the procedures were so dangerously lax.

[BEagle]

Tide is what I used when I had to wash my own clothes, now I have a wife to do such mundane chores.

And do you offer to wash hers? Or would that be un-American, oo-rah?

Jaguar GR1 XX963/AL of 14 Sqn was shot down on May 25th 1982 35 miles NE of RAF Bruggen, West Germany, by a live AIM-9L Sidewinder accidently fired from Phantom FGR2 XV422 of 92 Sqn during a simulated combat exercise. The Jaguar pilot ejected safely. The Board of Inquiry determined that the master armament switch in the Phantom had not been taped in the "safe" position and the pilot inadvertently rendered one of the two main safety switches "live". The Phantom's pilot and navigator were court martialled and found guilty of offences of neglect, for which they received severe reprimands.

Not so much incorrect target recognition as cognitive failure at the end of yet another long, tiring RAFG exercise.

[orca]

BEagle Old chap,

Not wanting to nit pick on what is (I assume) a tongue in cheek thread - but the premise of the three questions was that a Flt Lt of four years total service was to be the examinee. Your answering them was much like my 100% record against my 10 year old in 11 plus revision.;)

But well done nonetheless.

[West Coast]

Yeah, but Beags failed the test!

[BEagle]

So I guess that's a no, regarding the washing....eh Westie?

And do learn about adverbs of certainty....:rolleyes:

[West Coast]

I will as soon as you learn aircraft and ship types...I'll even allow use of the net.

Whoever is home and needs wash does it, but she prefers to do it as I tend to lump all colors and types together. I do iron whatever is the needed. I take some pride in the a well ironed uniform shirt.

[brickhistory]

I suppose mentioning that a CBRN-focused US Army captain of all of four years service probably couldn't spot his counterpart in the British Army, or the RAF, or the RN, as he's probably never seen one of those either never mind a Tornado.

Since 2010, there's all of how many left tootling about? And the question can apply to the personnel or the jet, take your pick.

I think I saw a Group Captain once; or it could have been a USN Captain. It was at a distance and I simply didn't care. Probably more of them, however, than Tornadoes these days.

Hmm, Jag shot down by Phantom using an AIM-9...

Jags are gone and were half French.

Phantom, alas gone too, was American as was the Sidewinder.

Amusing thread until the massive chip exposure. I think there's an ointment for that now.

[glendalegoon]

Are there any tornado(S) still flying?

Oh, and there is a Paris, Virginia and you can drive to DC in less than 1.5 hours.

I went to an A&W root beer place in Canada and asked for ice. SHAME ON ME

And a pizza, ALL DRESSED UP? Oh come on. We say: everything on it!

I wonder if the OP could tell us the difference between one side of a claymore and the other side?

;-)

[Norma Stitz]

Sorry, but just to add to the list of 'funnies' for Americans and their shortcomings, a friend of mine was seeing in some Keflavik-based F-15s back in the late 1980s to Lossiemouth. One of the pilots asked him, pointing to the northwest ramp "Hey, how do we get over to that museum over there?"

My mate replied "That, sir, is No.8 Sqn Royal Air Force and they are frontline Shackleton AEW aircraft.":)

[West Coast]

Some museum pieces fly.

[Ogre]

Roadster

Be assured the recognition of Jaguar from Phantom was not an issue, they both knew exactly who the other was....

[BBadanov]

I always found the OP's observation quite common.

To a US guy, Tornado (if they knew their history) would be a B-45.

I found in Asia and Europe, they didn't know what a Lightning was - a P-38? Not the EE variety. Therefore the F-35 is a Lightning "II", not "III".

It needs to have a "F" or "B" designator to register.

But yes, take care not to stereotype Americans, as some are smart.

[Roadster280]

Beags and Ogre.

I did say that target recognition wasn't so much the issue as the procedures. I'm quite sure that the crew of the Phantom knew very well it was a Jaguar, and therefore not a live target. Not that one would have expected to find a MiG or Sukhoi over Nordrhein-Westfalen in 1982.

My point was that the procedures and culture in those days were more dangerous than any deficiency in target recognition.

[GreenKnight121]

Of course, then there are the potato fields near Moscow - which I can reach in a few hours driving (in a ground vehicle) from the Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy, Utah, USA.



Moscow, Idaho

[airborne_artist]

Many, many years ago in my blue phase I found myself on the Rock with a spare forenoon. It was a fine day, so I went to the top.

A cruise ship was in port. Some of the passengers were also enjoying the view from the summit.

Elmer, in plaid shorts and a mildly clashing check shirt was standing next to Ethel who was dressed entirely in beige.

They were both facing South, looking out over the water. Ethel turned to Elmer and said "Gee, Elmer, what's that big island over there?"

[PFMG]

For all of you with a US-centric view of the world there is a New York in Lincolnshire (coincidentally just up the road from Boston) which if you care to take the Euotunnel you can depart from in your motor vehicle and never have to get out until you are in France some 3-4 hours later.

[BEagle]

In the Beef Fifty Two bar at the old Ramada, Bellevue, a couple of RAF aircrew are chatting to a couple of the local ladies.

When asked "Wher'ya from", they reply "Lincoln".

"Gee", says one of the ladies, "did they name that after our president?"

:rolleyes:

[dctyke]

PFMG

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: lincs
Posts: 98
For all of you with a US-centric view of the world there is a New York in Lincolnshire (coincidentally just up the road from Boston) which if you care to take the Euotunnel you can depart from in your motor vehicle and never have to get out until you are in France some 3-4 hours later.


And of course you know that New York in lincs was once one of the biggest bomb dumps in the raf of the 70's. But you knew that!

[gijoe]

'I would say that you are well informed - bravo - but I doubt that all RAF Flight Lieutenants are...but we have no way of proving this because a) you aren't one and b) even if you were one you wouldn't be all of them c) it'll take a while to ask them and d) if we do it via this forum they can scuttle off to google and find out.'

I could name lots of Flt Lts that pride themselves on not being in the military and so wouldn't have a clue what a FH70, AS90, CR2 or CVR(T) is, nor would they be worried about it.

Ho hum!

:ok:G

[cobalt42]

DC... Largest? Probably one of the smallest. When the F4's were moving mud, I don't believe we were licensed to store more than 2or3 aircraft loads of 1000 lb HE.
Great place to work, though...
Used to live in Scrub Hill... Bomb Dump to NY, turn right, next 'cross road'.

[Tankertrashnav]

Out of Trim and Helpful Stacker - thanks for the explanation :ok:

Thread drift away from aviation from a minute - we were once queueing outside St Paul's Cathedral for admittance to Good Friday evensong. I remarked to Mrs TTN that they would be letting us in in good time for the service, and an Australian tourist in front of us turned and asked "Is this a church then?" On receiving an affirmative reply he shouldered his backpack and ambled off!

[Wensleydale]

"Neither can I successfully order a breakfast in Denny's without at least one question from the waitress."


Back in the days of the Sentry deployment to Aviano for 9 years at the end of the last century... there was an unofficial challenge to order a meal in the base Burger King without any questions from the serving staff, who obviously recognised that something was afoot. The closest that anyone got, after much rehearsal in the transport going to base, was when he asked for his choice - explaining that he was very well that morning, did not want to go large, did not want water or a desert, and the meal was to eat in the restaurant [sic] etc. He stood back triumphantly only to be asked "do you want to pay in dollars or lira?"

[Phil_R]

I am going to ask the first Flt Lt I see on Monday what the US Army's primary MBT is, what an Arleigh Burke is and what the USAF might do with a AGM-88?

Not to toot the old horn, but I could have done that (although I'd have to rely on an entirely chance mention that an AGM-88 is a HARM and it being fairly clear what ARM stands for).

To drag the thread back to my original point, I'm quite astonished that this stuff wouldn't be drilled into everyone in the military.

P

[Wensleydale]

"To drag the thread back to my original point, I'm quite astonished that this stuff wouldn't be drilled into everyone in the military."


I assume that the excellent magazine "Recognition Journal" is no longer produced and distributed to the armed forces - a victim of funding cuts no doubt?!

[Willard Whyte]

Many, many years ago in my blue phase I found myself on the Rock with a spare forenoon. It was a fine day, so I went to the top.

A cruise ship was in port. Some of the passengers were also enjoying the view from the summit.

Elmer, in plaid shorts and a mildly clashing check shirt was standing next to Ethel who was dressed entirely in beige.

They were both facing South, looking out over the water. Ethel turned to Elmer and said "Gee, Elmer, what's that big island over there?"

One recalls a trip from Edmonton to Elmendorf AFB a few years ago in a 'K. About an hour prior to top of drop Flight engineer looks out of the port window and asks me:

"what's the name of that big lake?"

A: "The Pacific Ocean"*

Or the RAF co-pilot flying over the Alps asking "Which one's Everest"

Or the RAF co-pilot on another fleet, after hearing the above story, whilst flying over same said mountain range, asking, once the laughter had died down "Yeah, but which one is Everest?"

Or the RAF aircrew (can't remember crew position - probably co-pilot) stating, after getting out of breath playing beach volleyball, "it must be the altitude."


*I deleted a few expletives present in the original answer.

[BEagle]

Wensleydale wrote: I assume that the excellent magazine "Recognition Journal" is no longer produced and distributed to the armed forces - a victim of funding cuts no doubt?!

Many years ago, the Education Section at the Covert Oxonian Aerodrome was having a clear out of the library. Someone was about to throw away a large number of magazines, but the wife of one of our Flt Cdrs (who worked there), managed to save a box full, which her husband passed on to me.....

Including the first ever edition of the 'Inter-Services Aircraft Recognition Journal', dated September 1942:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/Recce1_zps6f1da1ff.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/nw969/media/Recce1_zps6f1da1ff.jpg.html)

Here's one from a few years later (January 1958), by which time it was the 'Joint Services Recognition Journal:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/Recce2_zps10461d16.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/nw969/media/Recce2_zps10461d16.jpg.html)

OK - it's obviously a Spitfire on the cover of the Sep '42 edition, but anyone care to guess the aeroplane and ship on the Jan '58 edition? Or the carrier from which the photo was taken?

No doubt Haraka will know?

[Willard Whyte]

HMS Eagle & Belfast?

Edit: Hmm, don't think it's Belfast actually.

[Haraka]

Wyvern of course.
Not sure of the carrier.
Possibly the Albion (or Eagle)
The cruiser could be the Bermuda ( Gambia or Mauritius?)

[Phil_R]

OK, couldn't have done that.

[Flap Track 6]

Carrier Deck letter code 'J' is HMS Eagle before the angled deck was fitted. Code was changed to 'E' afterwards.

[India Four Two]

OK - it's obviously a Spitfire on the cover of the Sep '42 edition

Yes, but it's a Vc.

230 OCU ( I had to look that bit up ;))

[BEagle]

Yes, it's indeed a Westland Wyvern on H.M.S. Eagle...

But the cruiser is neither Belfast, Bermuda, Gambia nor Mauritius.

[Haraka]

Well Beags I am pretty sure the Cruiser is of the" Mauritius" class.

Others of her class were Jamaica and Kenya, but at that time they were close to being paid off..........

[BEagle]

Not a Mauritius Class cruiser......but close.

A ship with a very impressive history!

[airborne_artist]

Is the vessel moored in the Smoke, Beags?

[BEagle]

No.









.

[tow1709]

We've drifted a long way off the origins of this thread!


Ceylon class? Although I think both these and Mauritius class were subsets of the Colony class.


If not any of the above, then Swiftsure class?

[Not_a_boffin]

Looks like Sheff to me.

[Eric T Cartman]

Shiny Sheff ? (C24)

[BEagle]

Correct - it is indeed Shiny Sheff! H.M.S. Sheffield took part in the operation to sink the Bismarck, amongst other actions and was eventually scrapped in 1967.

The photo was taken during 'EX STRIKEBACK' in the Atlantic during Sep 1957. A NATO exercise which involved a mere 6 navies, over 200 warships, 650 aircraft and 75000 personnel.....

Makes a JMC seem a bit lame.

[Haraka]

H.M.S. Sheffield took part in the operation to sink the Bismarck
...being nearly sunk herself by the Fleet Air Arm.

Well done to Not-a-boffin and Eric T Cartman. I wasn't even that close.

[West Coast]

Correct - it is indeed Shiny Sheff! H.M.S. Sheffield took part in the operation to sink the Bismarck, amongst other actions and was eventually scrapped in 1967.

You figure that out with aid of the Internet this time?

[diginagain]

"I think we're going to need a bigger boat."