French Crusader exchange at Coningsby in Aug 94

[tomdocherty72]

Can anyone here provide information on an Aeronavale F-8 Crusader squadron exchange with the RAF at Coningsby in August 1994?

[Lima Juliet]

It was with 29(F) Sqn following a few weeks out with the F8s in Landivisiau in France. The F8 was one aircraft that the Tornado F3 could mix with without losing 5 degrees a second in a turning fight to!

The French Sqn was 12F and their emblem was a gun toting duck. They also had a few ducks as mascots in a pond outside the Sqn HQ and one of the RAF crew, who got made Combat Ready (CR) in Landivisiau, had to follow the 12F tradition of drinking something nasty before diving in the pond to round up a duck or 2!

Of course, there were never any initiation ceremonies for getting CR - that would be wrong and childish! :E

I can't remember much more as I destroyed those memories with 1664 lager some time back...

LJ

PS. See page 19 of this (http://www.ecpad.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Dossier-BAN-Ldv-validé.pdf) to see a picture of a duck being caught.

[KG86]

TD72

Until I saw your age, I wondered why you were asking. I thought you might be about 20 yrs old, born in the Rutland area, with an unexplained affinity towards garlic.

[Wander00]

KG 86.. what an implication.................

[inputshaft]

If anybody has any doubt of Tomdochertys credentials, it's because they're about 30 yrs and 10,000 hrs too young themselves

[GreenKnight121]

Is this TD72?

Tom Docherty MCGI | LinkedIn (http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/tom-docherty-mcgi/22/26a/823)

Freelance author

Self Employed

September 2011 – Present (3 years 3 months)Forres, MorayAuthor of 8 RAF historical books and numerous aviation historical articles for magazines such as Flypast, Aeroplane, Classic Aircraft and Britain at War.



Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre Controller

Royal Air Force (http://uk.linkedin.com/company/1589?trk=ppro_cprof)

August 2002 – September 2011 (9 years 2 months) Kinloss



Air Loadmaster

Royal Air Force (http://uk.linkedin.com/company/1589?trk=ppro_cprof)

January 1987 – August 2002 (15 years 8 months)



Air Traffic Control Assistant

Royal Air Force (http://uk.linkedin.com/company/1589?trk=ppro_cprof)

January 1978 – January 1987 (9 years 1 month)Note: I corrected the error in dates and time for the second RAF posting that LinkedIn made.

[tomdocherty72]

OK, I confess, you got me! Now that you have can you help with my research?