Franek,
Somewhere on this Thread there was a pic of the Leeming AT Controllers around 1969: pretty sure Jack Blocki was on it. Tried to find it with "Search this Thread", drew blank as usual. Anybody ?
Second Thought - could it have been sent to me as a PM ? Will check.
He was always talking of retiring to Cyprus, glad he managed it at the end. Was his British wife "Brenda" ?
On P.170 #3398 I said:
..."Our work was the dullest flying imaginable. During the summer months our chief regular customers were the TA AA camps at Tonfanau: they fired 3.7s (?) out to sea, some of the time at a target (drogue - flag ?) towed by the Beau. When this was in front of the guns, the crew were fairly safe, but as it got farther down the firing line the angle closed up, and sometimes an over-keen Terrier would bang off one round too many.
They peppered the tail feathers of the Beau from time to time, but never managed to shoot it down. "Joe" and "Zed-Zed" philosophically accepted this hazard: as for the little (NS) airman on the winch at the back (who was closest of all to the shrapnel), nobody asked him"...
Ormeside (#12190),
So you were down at the "sharp end" too ? Living Dangerously, I'd say ! Don't remember Joe and Zenon flying Spits and Vampires at all, as they were busy most days with the Beau - but they undoubtedly could if they wanted to, whereas we Spit and Vamp drivers wanted to know nothing of the Beau. Don't think I ever even looked in the cockpit.
Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 29th Aug 2018 at 19:53.
Reason: Duplication !