30 Sqn Centenary

[Ken Scott]

Congratulations to 'Dirty 30' on achieving its century:


www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/30-squadron-centenary-parade-25032015

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Congrats to Dirty Thirty - I thought that was just rhyming slang till I met them - filthy minds - filthy! ;)

[Willard Whyte]

Five happy years on Dirty from the late 90s to the end of the K (on that Sqn), my happiest in the raf in fact.

[NutLoose]

100 yrs, it must be due disbandment then.....MOD tradition and all that..




Seriously, congratulations

[Lima Juliet]

Are we going to have to endure "100 years of" every RAF Sqn until 23 March 2043? Surely, the story of RFC/RNAS sqns reaching 100 has been done and we should all now wait until all RAF sqns that were around on 1 Apr 1918 turn 100.

Otherwise, I fear that we are diluting the message of the Junior Service coming of age?

LJ

[ExAscoteer]

Cracking Sqn!

Ventre a terre.

[StopStart]

Are we going to have to endure "100 years of" every RAF Sqn....etc etc blah blah

"Endure?" Really? There are a slack handful of operational sqns left in the RAF. If the few that are left serving want to mark their unit's centenary then good luck to them. Having a bit of pride in ones unit these days can only be a good thing.
Additionally all of those folk PVRing into the bright lights of civvy street can use the celebrations as a freebie leaving do too...

And as for "diluting the message", please... If the RAF spent a bit less time gazing up its own arse worrying about the latest "message" and a bit more time focussing on its own fundamental flaws it would be a far better place.
:rolleyes:

And yes, congrats 30 Sqn! I did 7/8 years with the Sqn, precisely 70 years after my grandfather served his time on 30. :ok:

[fergineer]

Was there for a few years

[Brian W May]

They had particularly low standards on 30 Sqn.

They even accepted me for just over 4 years before getting rid of me to 242 . . .

[ancientaviator62]

I had the privilege of being the ALM Leader on 30 for eight years !

[Herod]

A happy two years in the RHS with thirty. I would have stayed in the RAF, but Mr Wilson made me an offer to leave that was too good to refuse. Happy days.

[Alison Conway]

Congratulations 30 Sqn. I served 2 tours, once as Sgt/FS and the second as the last Air Engineer leader. I had super troops and loved every minute of it!

[Brian 48nav]

I did 4 years on 30,but never felt the same about the squadron as I did 48.Of course having one's first tour at Changi, newly married,new aircraft etc plus lots of great young co-pilots, many of whom we are still in contact with ( Angus, the Steves, Ron J,Norman H, Ed V,plus the much missed George & Graham etc etc ) and some brilliant captains ( Sir John, Dave Carter, Don K, Bob O etc ), meant that the next tour was never going to be quite the same.

Arriving back at Fairford in winter, the awful quarter at South Cerney ( at least it made us go straight into the housing market aged 23 & 20! ) and pilots I didn't think were a patch on what I had become used to - sorry guys if any of you read this - meant I was grumpy to start with. I think the only person from 30 I'm still mates with is Joe O, apart from the few who had also come from 48.

Despite that congratulations to 30 Sqn! Well done!

48 centenary next April ( 2016 )!

[Davef68]

No centenary markings on a Hercules?

[Ken Scott]

I believe there had been an aspiration to paint up an ac but it's not so simple these days - no RAF paint shops, so who pays the contractor? Have to get QinetiQ approval for a mod, etc. Sadly it seems to come under the heading of TFD.

Still, maybe one of the junior (younger) Hercules squadrons will have better luck?

[ewe.lander]

Hit the deck! well done 30 for evading cuts! Loved my time on the maddest Sqn in the RAF (with the best band despite the drummer.......Flip!!) :ok:

[Lima Juliet]

Stoppers

I did not mean to 'pee' on 30's achievement, however, I do mean "endure" and "dilute". I also agree that way too much time is spent on media messaging - we would be better off giving some of the media folk gardening gloves to join the SWO's working party, sometimes. But a constant parading of each numberplate's 100th (not forgetting that some are 'made up' sqns these days like 92, 56, 54, 115, 16, 57, 72, etc...) just serves to make Joe Public think - "another ome? Big deal!".

In my humble opinion, of course! :ok:

LJ

[snippy]

I know the techies "asked" to go on the parade were very happy to be 30 Sqn techies for the day......:mad:

[Ken Scott]

As all the Hercules sqns share a pool of ac with centralised servicing I suppose that 30 don't have any airmen of their own, except perhaps for the admin clerk, so it would be difficult for them to have a parade without any assistance from the rest of the station.

[snippy]

I suppose a parade full of loadies, pilots and co-pilots just wouldn't look right eh:rolleyes:

[Ken Scott]

I suspect it wouldn't be correct as per the drill manual, nor is 30 big enough by itself to mount 2 flights which is the minimum needed. On any other squadron (non-Hercules) the people who service the aircraft would be a part of the unit so I don't think it's a gross misuse of the manpower although I'm sure for the individuals concerned there were probably quite a lot of things they'd rather have been doing.

[Tea White Zero]

Well done all on Dirty Thirty.

great times - K and J, Co-pilot, Captain, Flt Cdr

A drink to you all - Flat out!

[ICM]

If getting Centenary Markings was too difficult for 30, it appears not to have been for 29 Sqn:

http://twitter.com/RAFCGY/status/581418585261809664

Does having a centralised fleet make the difference?

[Lima Juliet]

As an ex TRIPLEX man, I have to say that the Typhoon's paint scheme is 110% gopping! :yuk::yuk::yuk:

LJ

PS. I also stand by my feelings of too many centenaries...

[Chugalug2]

Congratulations to 30. Excellent outfit, excellent Boss, in my time (1968-1971). I too was first tour on 48 at Changi (1963-1966) and a difficult act to follow indeed, but I would put 30 at the top of the league of the 5 MRT Squadrons on which I served. All depends though, as Brian48 says, on who, when, and where.

Leon I'm sorry that centenaries are a bete noir for you. Don't know if you've heard, but there's a bit of big one coming up in 3 years time. Hope it doesn't rain this time!

[Lima Juliet]

Chug

You see I agree that 3 years time is worth celebrating but the celebration of every Sqn centenary before then may well run the risk of making the general public think "oh no, not again..."

Anyway, 1 April 2018 is the centenary of every RAF Squadron that formed prior to March 1918.

LJ

[smujsmith]

At the rear end of GW1 I was fortunate enough to be made an honorary member of 30 on our redeployment from Riyadh to Bahrain. Our captain J**n W***s was superb, with nutty Bob as the Eng and J**n S**f**n as our Loadie we had a great time, and we're not worried that our return to pick up our medals was a couple of months late. As a GE of course, I could only ever have been an honorary member to the crew I served with, they all took me on board as fellow crew and I was proud of that. Happy anniversary to 30 Squadron, I do hope that squadron spirit is still as lively as in my day.

Smudge:ok:

[nimbev]

I suppose a parade full of loadies, pilots and co-pilots just wouldn't look right ehNo, but it would look bloody funny! :D:D

30 was my first squadron, Beverleys in Muharraq. Great first tour (apart from the location) singlies did 2 years at Muharraq, whereas if one was posted to Sharjah the tour was only 1 year and in those days there wasnt a lot of difference in the social life (or lack of).
When I got my posting it was to 30 Sqn in Nairobi - they didnt tell me that by the time I joined the squadron would have moved to Bahrain - bit of a difference.:(:(

[Bengerman]

Happy Birthday 30, my first Sqn, great times.

[XEng]

Two tours and 3 globals, thanks 30, I had a ball.

Happy birthday.