Bye Bye Bruggen

[NutLoose]

One hopes the place isn't left to rot, such a fun vibrant station in its time...

Auf Wiedersehen Elmpt... | Forces TV (http://forces.tv/31324748)

[newt]

Sad day indeed! Many happy days spent there over two tours. :ok:

[Roadster280]

Very sad. I have served in 16 Signal Regiment twice, in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. In those days, RAF Brüggen was just down the road.

Thanks for posting that, NutLoose.

Certa Cito.

[handysnaks]

...and I went to primary school there in 66-70!

[uffington sb]

29 years in the RAF and I never did a tour in Germany.
My only overseas tour was seven months at RAF Gan in the Maldives, it was hell!!

[sitigeltfel]

My only overseas tour was seven months at RAF Gan in the Maldives, it was hell!!
You should count yourself lucky, tourists pay a fortune to visit the place now! ;)

[racedo]

Good article linked to it and also read about Pioneer Sergeants having to cut a leg of a horse to show it hadn't been sold....

[Finningley Boy]

Was never stationed there myself, but no plenty who did with 25 Sqn and my own brother who was in Tech Stores and went on a number of deployments with 17 Sqn to Deccimomanou (sorry if spelling incorrect) during their Phantom era. All spoke well of the place, as if they were at a really good holiday camp! That despite the constant running pace with the exercise tempo.

FB:)

[Bo Nalls]

Must be missing something - should there be video with that link?

[NutLoose]

Yes, and it's there on my pc

[Roadster280]

The vid didn't work properly for me until I opened it in Firefox. Odd.

[sittingstress]

The hairs on the back of my neck shot up at the images of the inside of the COC. I spent days cooped up in there in the SHORAD Cell.

I arrived at Bruggen as a young thruster in 1986 and left in '89 on promotion and with a financee to LBH. I departed there in '92 with a wife, a daughter, a tax free Ford Orion 1.6 Ghia i and a schrank. I left behind the set of friends that I still have today (it was the reunion last weekend) and took with me without a doubt the most amazing memories a young Gunner can ever acquire; some funny, some very sad but most involving some form of skullduggery or another and wobbly, or bacardi :)

Bloody hell I miss it!

[Fluffy Bunny]

The clips of the CoC did stir some memories. Spent many a night and weekend in there on shift in the Commcen wishing I was in the rugby or footie club or down the gliding club...

However, it was all good once the Shoarma was delivered!

[Dark Helmet]

I'd love to see what 'my' HAS 48 looks like now. I was a Cpl HAS Boss on 9 sqn and spent far too long stuck inside it!

Seven years at Bruggen over two tours. Really enjoyed them both and have some great memories of 9 and 17 sqn.

[doodledog]

Dark Helmet you bring back memories. Ah, HAS 48, the one with the uphill slope requiring a burst of power on exit to negotiate the turn! BTW, you weren't the chap who placed the aircraft steps just outside the door on TACEVAL, thus allowing the numpty pilot to 'blow' said steps into the back of the GLO's Metro whilst executing the aforementioned turnout manoeuvre? :uhoh::uhoh:

Trashed the back tailgate of the Metro and the subsequent debrief with the Sqn QWI involved a hat and no biccies :{

[NutLoose]

I always thought take a RAFG HAS, remove the main doors, insert a mezzanine level and glaze the whole front, cut some large panoramic windows in the sides as required and they could be converted into some des-res houses.. I would imagine it wouldn't take much heating either, as it must be pretty well insulated.

Even looks good in the winter...... they weren't

http://www.fox2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=867&sid=eedf675cfb2d42f4acd003d55110493f



...

[OldnDaft]

Best camp in the RAF by a country mile. Worked extremely hard, played even harder. Was fortunate to serve on 17(F) Sqn in the late 80's and also went back for another Stn tour in 95. Loved the rugby club and was honoured to skipper the mighty Bears for a season during my second tour.

[melmothtw]

Lived there as a dependent - happy days.

[Dark Helmet]

@DoodleDog
I'd forgotten it had a slight upslope. Nope, wasn't me!

I have seen:

When we used to do CSAS BITEs during a hot winch I have seen a set of steps, which were placed at the back of the HAS, picked up by the taileron and subsequently thrashed both the steps, and the taileron, to death. Luckily not my HAS!

A Tornado taxiing out sucking the, un-pinned, HAS door onto the wingtip. I was watching them from my HAS and couldn't do anything to stop it.

[NutLoose]

When we used to do CSAS BITEs during a hot winch I have seen a set of steps, which were placed at the back of the HAS, picked up by the taileron and subsequently thrashed both the steps, and the taileron, to death. Luckily not my HAS!


Watched the second Jag in our RAFG HAS on exercise winch itself back into and along the HAS wall. The nose castored round and hopped the chocks, the pilot was hanging on the ladder trying to stop it while the HAS Sgt was throwing chocks under the nosewheel, looking round I saw one of the Flems move and belt the stop button, but not before the damage was done to the stab and wing.
The said winch system was stripped and inspected, no fault was ever found.... many years passed and on a course I met the Flem that stopped it, he asked me if I remembered it, I said yes, he then told me he had hit the winch button by accident and seeing the accident unfold started to move away from the button, he said no one noticed him as everyone turned to look at the Jag, realising it needed stopping he turned and went for the stop button, at which point everyone looked at it and saw him moving towards it, he was praised for his swift actions lol. :p

Still we did have a quiet exercise with one jag damaged, the winch out of action, and the HAS being quarantined. :)

.

[melmothtw]

That make me laugh Nutloose. Good for him!!

[Dark Helmet]

@Nutloose
Great story!

I'll confess to carrying out an engine run on a Tornado and forgetting to open the back blast doors! Luckily I noticed the temps looking a bit strange. The guy on the headset said that he thought it was getting hot in the HAS!