Things I (we?) didn’t know about Falklands Nimrod MR ops
Things I (we?) didn’t know about Falklands Nimrod MR ops
Someone very kindly recently sent me some files that are open in the National Archive at Kew, including ORBs and DEFE 58/265 (201 Squadron: Operation Corporate (Falklands Conflict); deployment of Nimrods; lessons learned).
In these files there were sketchy details of a plan for a Nimrod Detachment at Easter Island, described in the 201 Squadron documents.
One of the files detailed an initial “warning of requirement” on 6 April for two aircraft and three crews to be on two hour standby to deploy Westabout to Easter Island for a self-supporting 30 day detachment. Kinloss had to prepare up to six Mk 2 aircraft for this, each armed with three Mk 46 torpedoes.
By 8 April the priority was for two Mk 2s on 12 hour standby to deploy to Ascension Island and the Easter Island option was now priority 2, on 24 hour standby. The Pacific requirement was now to carry six Stingray torpdoes in one aircraft, and for both aircraft to be painted in hemp colour. Chaff cartridges were demanded.
Intriguingly, it then said: "The Pacific (redacted) cancelled." I can't see what the redacted word or words say. My best guess is (Operation *Something*)
The DEFE 58/265 document revealed that on 19 April GCHQ specialists arrived at Kinloss “to fit RACAL RX and recorder to Nimrod Mk 2. Intention being to try out kit at Kinloss before deploying it.” This was then installed as STF080 and air tested overnight, with “No problems.”
I understand that the rack was designed by EWAU, and mounted a stack of Racal radio receivers and a reel to reel tape recorder. The rack was COMINT only and was interchangeable on the C-130K and the Nimrod MR.Mk 2 by rotating the feet through 90°. On the Nimrod MR.Mk 2 these had to attach to the fore and aft rails for the sonar operator’s seats, and had to clear the refuelling hose strapped to the floor, whereas they fitted to a different kind of attachment on the Herc.
On 24 May it was “confirmed that the Nimrod MR2(P) standard crew size when flying from Ascension Island consisted of 15 personnel (including an extra pilot and air engineer) plus 3 GCHQ personnel.”
I was fascinated by the reference to the standard crew size including three GCHQ personnel - that seems a bit generous, when the aircraft was fitted with one single-seat SIGINT rack! It raises the question as to whether it was GCHQ guys from the Two Boats GCHQ monitoring station at Ascension Island that were used to man the racks, and why they used civilians, and didn’t use 51 Squadron guys. There have been all sorts of references to 51 Squadron C Flight personnel deploying on other aircraft types during the Falklands campaign, and I had assumed that the Hercules/Nimrod SIGINT rack would have been the most likely destination for these chaps.
Finally there were the four 42 Squadron personnel detached to fly with the Hercules detachment from ASI, according to these documents. They were: MAEOp T Blezard (from crew 2), MAEOp R Kutassy (crew 1), MAEOp BRA Mildwater (crew 7) and FS ME Turner (crew 4). I wonder (but am not asking anyone to tell me) what they were up to?