Originally Posted by
Finningley Boy
Mainjafad, Nutloose, pr00ne and Pontius Pilot, many thanks, you've cleared my head and fitted the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. I was never sure if the Hunters, certainly, pre 1957, were dual assigned to close air support for example. I knew that the USAF oversaw and maintained the nuclear weapons/warheads which they owned but which under Project E UK crews would deliver. The same for some other NATO countries, Netherlands, Belgium and FRG. But Tactical Depot Squadron sounds right. What I could never understand, perhaps being simplistic, is the RAF/USAF maintained peace-time air defence of FRG airspace until the end of the cold war while the Luftwaffe would still carry nuclear bombs and the Heer light the blue touch paper on Pershings, albeit under the same type of rules governing oversight and maintenance?
Pontius, I stand corrected, but I recall reading something about mk 43 warheaded Torpedoes!?
Once again thanks all.
FB
RAFG, US and French defence of FRG airspace was a treaty obligation with the Soviets following the end of WW2. For the same reason no Luftwaffe aircraft were allowed down the Berlin corridors and BEA and Pan Am operated the domestic German routes to/from Berlin. Pretty sure the French were involved in this too, presumably with Air France, but I only ever saw BEA and Pan Am.