And this year...
So now it is 2019 and 50 years since the Daily Mail race - and therefore 100 years since the epic flight.
By coincidence I was on the same RAF intake as Tony Alcock and later on was involved in the race while on 55 Squadron,from
which a couple of aircraft refueled the Royal Navy Phantoms Eastbound. The other Squadrons, 57 and 214, plus some 55 members
were involved with the Harriers Westbound. The US were interested in buying Harriers and the opportunity for some publicity was not lost
on the industry, as the "jump jet" could operate very close to the two towers and reduce ground transit. The Royal Navy then as now needed
no excuse for a little publicity - especially as "cuts" were very much in the news.
As the Harriers were not terribly fast in cruise, compared to the Phantoms, they were accompanied all the way across the pond
by the Victor K1A tankers. The Phantoms, on the other hand went full belt, which meant they had to fly as a pair and rendezvous a couple
of times with the 55 Squadron tankers - over the Canadian coast and also mid Atlantic. Our crew got "lumbered" for the latter role, which involved
carrying out an RV at an incredibly fast closing rate and then giving the Phantoms as quickly as possible their fuel. The Navy had positioned a ship
to provide some sort of radar coverage but the RV was carried out using air to air procedures available at that time (Tacan for DME ranging, VHF DF
for heaiding adjustment and finally the radar on the fighters for the final join up). We were lucky to have a very good cool navigator on the crew and the RVs worked out very well.
The Phantoms were faster every day (there were three pairs) and the last pair requested us to climb during the fuel transfer so they could reach cruise altitude quicker. This was unheard of as most receivers asked us to "toboggan" - descend - as their weight increased, Our Nav Radar, who was also the refueling operator on the periscope called out "They are using afterburner!" This was a playoff between fuel economy and speed and we gave them a fair bit more than planned - though we still had enough on board..
After refueling, the Phantoms shot off past us with long afterburner trails and on landing opened the rear hatch, so that the observer could be winched out by Wessex during the landing roll and whisked off to London. All great fun and the Daily Mail had a field day with the results. I still have some beaten up ante room copies which I , er, requesitioned.
The last crew got the record of 5 hours and 9 minutes. As has been noted above, a right royal party followed at the Banqueting Hall in London, where I recall, there was not too much to eat but plenty to drink - as befits crabs and fishes. DJ Simon Dee had been invited and the RN had contined to pull out all the stops till the end. All good, operational, book out of the window stuff.
Now... What is going to happen this year? Were you involved? If you were and you were on tankers please p.m. me so I can get tpgether a list of possible invitees if something comes up in May... No guarantees at this point...
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