Originally Posted by
chopper2004
I remember that this story first broke in the Sunday Express. At the main Morning Briefing at Boscombe the next day the Group Captain stood up and asked if anyone knew what it was all about (I was there)!
Please let me state a few facts that I believe explain some of the points raised.
1. The only time that I can recall the main Amesbury to Salisbury road being closed was around that time period and it was when a Tornado F3 recovered to runway 05 from a Towed Radar Decoy trial and they had been unable to wind in or jettison the decoy. This did happen so it was not a 'cover story'.
2. At that time there were often some interesting USAF C-12 variants that landed at Boscombe and spent some time on the ground there. I have no idea why they came in.
3. The strange aircraft in the hangar was Tornado F2A ZD 902, the Tornado Integrated Avionics Research Aircraft, and the hangar was what is now called B168. It was in for maintenance and had the airbrakes open, the canopy removed and the top of the nose that held the windscreen hinged forward to allow access behind the instrument panel. A tarpaulin had been draped over the open cockpit space to keep the cockpit clean as there were a significant number of pigeons that roosted in the roof. One reason that I remember this is that I saw it and it looked
very strange. The hangar doors were open both ends and with the afternoon sun angle and shadow it did look like a twin-finned aircraft with a forward hinging canopy.
4. C-5s had landed at Boscombe but the only time that I remember seeing one there was for IAT in 1990. I also recall that it taxied where it should not and sank into the surface. The surfaces that were strong enough for one were fairly limited.
I have no reason to try to dispel any conspiracy theories but I do remember this story because it caused quite a stir on base at the time.
L