One embarrassed clergyman
PPatRoN
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One embarrassed clergyman
He used the PA to give an excellent potted history of the Dakota, and explained that it was flown by the BBMF. Then told people to get their cameras ready.
Two years in the planning, the golden jubilee celebrations of the church included a summer fair this afternoon, and since the parish priest is (was?) very pro-RAF (and somewhat pro-forces in general), the Air Cadets had been invited, and bids had been put in to the Reds and the BBMF. Great anticipation followed the news that a Dakota would visit, and a crowd was attracted.
So, they had their cameras ready, the bouncy castle was empty for the first time all afternoon, and a Dakota was spotted. On the horizon. Which is more or less where it stayed, often obscured by trees at the edge of the playing field where the church fair was held. A fair on a park in the next village along from the town in question (so they'll tell you, but it's joined on and is only 1.6km away) had an unexpected flypast.
Back at the church fair, there was a display. Of one crestfallen clergyman doing his best to put on a brave face, and not entirely succeeding; and a number of embarrassed air cadets whose benevolent fund raffle ticket sales hit a sudden plateau. Hard words were heard from some of the revellers about the standard of RAF navigation. One wag suggested that a work experience scheme was involved.
I guess someone may have a hats-on talk on Monday.
adr
Two years in the planning, the golden jubilee celebrations of the church included a summer fair this afternoon, and since the parish priest is (was?) very pro-RAF (and somewhat pro-forces in general), the Air Cadets had been invited, and bids had been put in to the Reds and the BBMF. Great anticipation followed the news that a Dakota would visit, and a crowd was attracted.
So, they had their cameras ready, the bouncy castle was empty for the first time all afternoon, and a Dakota was spotted. On the horizon. Which is more or less where it stayed, often obscured by trees at the edge of the playing field where the church fair was held. A fair on a park in the next village along from the town in question (so they'll tell you, but it's joined on and is only 1.6km away) had an unexpected flypast.
Back at the church fair, there was a display. Of one crestfallen clergyman doing his best to put on a brave face, and not entirely succeeding; and a number of embarrassed air cadets whose benevolent fund raffle ticket sales hit a sudden plateau. Hard words were heard from some of the revellers about the standard of RAF navigation. One wag suggested that a work experience scheme was involved.
I guess someone may have a hats-on talk on Monday.
adr
Last edited by adr; 28th Jun 2008 at 21:22.
Well, the BBMF Dakota had no trouble finding Cosford this afternoon whilst en route from one display to another. A beautiful flypast by arrangement with ATC, much to the delight of the assembled air cadets and 633 VGS staff -- made our day.
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Oh hell, but these things happen.
'Missing Man' formation over a funeral, except the funeral was held at a different Churchyard 2 miles away.
The thought was there, anyway. The boys were mortified when they landed on. (Oh, and it wasn't their fault, bad Int Brief from the Padre).
'Missing Man' formation over a funeral, except the funeral was held at a different Churchyard 2 miles away.
The thought was there, anyway. The boys were mortified when they landed on. (Oh, and it wasn't their fault, bad Int Brief from the Padre).
Last edited by taxydual; 28th Jun 2008 at 21:26. Reason: Added 'the' in front of Padre
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Not actually a new problem. I can remember a nav ('Snotty' N****n) getting it badly wrong in '94. After orbiting for over 15 mins in the Lanc, we did a nice job of three flypasts of a church where a VSO's daughter was getting hitched. Actually we didn't, as the correct church was three villages away. VSO's 'thank you' letter was very pleasant really, considering a telescope would have been needed to see us. Come to think of it, don't remember Snotty 'progressing his career' after that.
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A fair on a park in the next village along from the town in question (so they'll tell you, but it's joined on and is only 1.6km away) had an unexpected flypast.
PPatRoN
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I [...] bet that other village fete had a bouncy c.
It lacked a copper-roofed cruciform church, a school, and a clergyman standing on a eurobin or something, waving his hat in a large arc; and it was on a large irregular park, instead of on a small rectangular playing field. But it did have a bouncy castle.
I like Wensleydale's explanation.
adr
Last edited by adr; 29th Jun 2008 at 14:04. Reason: typo
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How about some fundraising for a satnav? - as a former airborne worrier I'd happily donate a few bob to get the aircraft over the DZ.
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How about some fundraising for a satnav?
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I think the Ozmates can one-up you all in this case. I've since spoken to the CO who was involved, and he tells me it didn't happen quite as described, but close enough.
DEAD ON TARGET
In the late Sixties the RAAF saw the need to add a helicopter gunship to its inventory to assist in the Army’s Vietnam involvement. Despite the American’s bringing a Cobra Gunship to Canberra in an attempt to sell them to the Australians, the frugal bean counters won out, and the long-suffering men at the coal face had to make do with a compromise - a standard Huey with twin side guns, twin forward facing miniguns, and a forward firing rocket pod on each side. The resulting gunship was, like any compromise, not without its shortcomings, but it did have one advantage over the ‘store-bought’ version, in that its side door guns allowed the Australian gunship to fire out to the side and to the rear. This feature was a very rude shock to the VC until they learned to be aware of it.
The task of setting up the gunship flight in Vietnam was undertaken by the men on the spot with minimum assistance from ‘the System’. The squadron was lucky to have a young Equipment Officer unlike any other. Usually EquipOs are the bluntest of Blunts, but this one was anything but. He was a scrounger extraordinaire, and virtually equipped the 9 Squadron gunships from the black market, in one case swapping a pair of the highly sought after Australian Army GP boots with an American for a complete pair of miniguns.
The task of actually mating all this complex and diversely obtained armament to an airframe not designed to take it fell mostly to the Warrant Officer Armourer at the Squadron. He did a brilliant job, and the armament suite he helped design and fit to the Huey remained the standard on gunships, virtually unmodified, until the RAAF surrendered the helicopters to the Army in 1989.
Years after the Squadron’s return from Vietnam, the WO Armourer, long retired from the RAAF, died. The officer who was the original gunship leader in Vietnam was by then the CO of 9 Squadron at Amberley, west of Brisbane. The WO was to be buried in Southport, and the CO decided to stage a flypast of gunships for the funeral as a special mark of respect. The gunships would fire a long burst from their miniguns, (with blank ammunition), as they overflew the cemetery. It was to be a sort of up market firing party - a bit more impressive than six soldiers firing a volley from their rifles over the casket.
For those readers who have not heard a minigun fired, it is nothing like your classic rat-tat-tat of the average machine gun. At 6000 rounds per minute, the electrically operated guns each emit what can only be described as a very loud, continuous - and quite frightening - roar.
The officer tasked to lead the formation listened, slightly incredulous, as he was briefed to fire his miniguns at 500 metres over a civilian cemetery, but the Boss seemed to have all things covered. Like all these operations, there would be a man on the ground equipped with a radio to clear the flypast in and to co-ordinate the exact timing. On this day, it would be the CO acting as the radio man on the ground. The formation leader was given the co-ordinates of the cemetery. He worked out his lead in direction, flew to his pre-arranged holding point, and with watches synchronised, set out to be overhead at the exact moment required.
He established comms with the CO at the cemetery, and was ‘cleared in live’ - or in this case ‘cleared in blank’. Approaching the cemetery, he saw the funeral party, adjusted his course slightly to line up exactly with the grave, and as he flew overhead, his timing accurate almost to the second, fired his miniguns. On the ground, the result was every bit as spectacular as hoped for. The roar of the miniguns caused a sensation, but the pilot was distracted by two rather disturbing reports in his headset as the burst of fire ceased. One was of the Crewman, who, looking back, reported that half the funeral party had gone to ground, including some who had actually jumped into the grave. The second report was from the CO on the ground. His voice came faintly over the radio: “Bushranger 01, where are you? Your time over target was ten seconds ago, and I can’t hear you.”
Oh dear - right time to the second, but… wrong cemetery. Apparently the CO had taken down the details of everything, but had assumed that the funeral was at the Southport Cemetery, whereas it was actually at another cemetery some kilometres up the road.
The ex-Warrant Officer’s family members were a little disappointed at the lack of a promised flypast. And happily, the family of the unfortunate man whose funeral party temporarily joined him in his grave to avoid the ‘attacking’ helicopter saw the humour in the incident. The CO was able to apologise for the ‘attack’ and all was well. It quite probably eased the pain of parting for the deceased man’s family. It gave them something else to think about, and most certainly must have made for some unexpected laughs - and skinned knees - at the wake.
In the late Sixties the RAAF saw the need to add a helicopter gunship to its inventory to assist in the Army’s Vietnam involvement. Despite the American’s bringing a Cobra Gunship to Canberra in an attempt to sell them to the Australians, the frugal bean counters won out, and the long-suffering men at the coal face had to make do with a compromise - a standard Huey with twin side guns, twin forward facing miniguns, and a forward firing rocket pod on each side. The resulting gunship was, like any compromise, not without its shortcomings, but it did have one advantage over the ‘store-bought’ version, in that its side door guns allowed the Australian gunship to fire out to the side and to the rear. This feature was a very rude shock to the VC until they learned to be aware of it.
The task of setting up the gunship flight in Vietnam was undertaken by the men on the spot with minimum assistance from ‘the System’. The squadron was lucky to have a young Equipment Officer unlike any other. Usually EquipOs are the bluntest of Blunts, but this one was anything but. He was a scrounger extraordinaire, and virtually equipped the 9 Squadron gunships from the black market, in one case swapping a pair of the highly sought after Australian Army GP boots with an American for a complete pair of miniguns.
The task of actually mating all this complex and diversely obtained armament to an airframe not designed to take it fell mostly to the Warrant Officer Armourer at the Squadron. He did a brilliant job, and the armament suite he helped design and fit to the Huey remained the standard on gunships, virtually unmodified, until the RAAF surrendered the helicopters to the Army in 1989.
Years after the Squadron’s return from Vietnam, the WO Armourer, long retired from the RAAF, died. The officer who was the original gunship leader in Vietnam was by then the CO of 9 Squadron at Amberley, west of Brisbane. The WO was to be buried in Southport, and the CO decided to stage a flypast of gunships for the funeral as a special mark of respect. The gunships would fire a long burst from their miniguns, (with blank ammunition), as they overflew the cemetery. It was to be a sort of up market firing party - a bit more impressive than six soldiers firing a volley from their rifles over the casket.
For those readers who have not heard a minigun fired, it is nothing like your classic rat-tat-tat of the average machine gun. At 6000 rounds per minute, the electrically operated guns each emit what can only be described as a very loud, continuous - and quite frightening - roar.
The officer tasked to lead the formation listened, slightly incredulous, as he was briefed to fire his miniguns at 500 metres over a civilian cemetery, but the Boss seemed to have all things covered. Like all these operations, there would be a man on the ground equipped with a radio to clear the flypast in and to co-ordinate the exact timing. On this day, it would be the CO acting as the radio man on the ground. The formation leader was given the co-ordinates of the cemetery. He worked out his lead in direction, flew to his pre-arranged holding point, and with watches synchronised, set out to be overhead at the exact moment required.
He established comms with the CO at the cemetery, and was ‘cleared in live’ - or in this case ‘cleared in blank’. Approaching the cemetery, he saw the funeral party, adjusted his course slightly to line up exactly with the grave, and as he flew overhead, his timing accurate almost to the second, fired his miniguns. On the ground, the result was every bit as spectacular as hoped for. The roar of the miniguns caused a sensation, but the pilot was distracted by two rather disturbing reports in his headset as the burst of fire ceased. One was of the Crewman, who, looking back, reported that half the funeral party had gone to ground, including some who had actually jumped into the grave. The second report was from the CO on the ground. His voice came faintly over the radio: “Bushranger 01, where are you? Your time over target was ten seconds ago, and I can’t hear you.”
Oh dear - right time to the second, but… wrong cemetery. Apparently the CO had taken down the details of everything, but had assumed that the funeral was at the Southport Cemetery, whereas it was actually at another cemetery some kilometres up the road.
The ex-Warrant Officer’s family members were a little disappointed at the lack of a promised flypast. And happily, the family of the unfortunate man whose funeral party temporarily joined him in his grave to avoid the ‘attacking’ helicopter saw the humour in the incident. The CO was able to apologise for the ‘attack’ and all was well. It quite probably eased the pain of parting for the deceased man’s family. It gave them something else to think about, and most certainly must have made for some unexpected laughs - and skinned knees - at the wake.
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I hope to f
k they can find Waddington next Saturday; like church fetes, one airfield looks very much like another.
Thinks: How would they cope with finding an aircraft carrier when it might not be exactly where they left it?
k they can find Waddington next Saturday; like church fetes, one airfield looks very much like another.Thinks: How would they cope with finding an aircraft carrier when it might not be exactly where they left it?
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Mind you I do remember a scheduled visit of a B52 to Farnborough where the comentator explained that the aircraft had flown all the way from the US had been Tanked on route. No B52 appeared. A little later the comentator came up on tannoy the B52 had actually displayed but at Blackbush
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Ah yes, Farnborough 2004. I attended the following day with my USAFLO, a Space Command former missileer who apparently suffered occasional ribbing from his aircrew mates about his decidedly ground-based (indeed, silo-based) 'combat' history.
He took enormous pleasure in grabbing some extra copies of the show daily with 'B52 Misses Farnborough By Four Miles' headline to mail to them...
He took enormous pleasure in grabbing some extra copies of the show daily with 'B52 Misses Farnborough By Four Miles' headline to mail to them...
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Thinks: How would they cope with finding an aircraft carrier when it might not be exactly where they left it?
Mind you I do remember a scheduled visit of a B52 to Farnborough where the comentator explained that the aircraft had flown all the way from the US had been Tanked on route. No B52 appeared. A little later the comentator came up on tannoy the B52 had actually displayed but at Blackbush.
Actually, it later transpired that the ATC service provided had been 'somewhat lacking', and the B-52 was forced to keep it's speed up and remain quite high, so when it approached the airfield it was at the wrong height and speed. It was unable to make the flypast without overstressing the aircraft in a high-speed turn.
Unfortunately there was only time for a single flypast in the 'tight schedule', so the aircraft returned to Fairford.
[/spotter-hat OFF]
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Actually, it later transpired that the ATC service provided had been 'somewhat lacking', and the B-52 was forced to keep it's speed up and remain quite high, so when it approached the airfield it was at the wrong height and speed.
It looked low enough to me - from Farnborough we only saw the tail fin in the distance as it impressed the locals over Blackbushe....