Originally Posted by
ancientaviator62
Mr N,
I am sure you are right but whatever the (usual) lousy contract said the boys and girls at the coal face had to do with an increasingly unserviceable 'K' fleet.
My only contact with the 'J' came as a member of the HEART when we visited Abbey Wood for the day The team there were very cagey about the 'J' and it did not inspire us with confidence By the time the 'J' came into service I had already left having already been extended for a year to do the HEART job.
As the RAF was the 'J' launch customer I think that Lockheed could have shown a bit more respect ! Perhaps I am being very naive !
I doubt the ‘naive’ bit. The J procurement was a mess. LM ran rings around the MoD, their poorly written contract, and the people on the PT. I was out at Marietta on one visit and was having a look around one of our new J models during testing. It had obviously failed one particular test, but I remember the LM engineer clearly expected the RAF engineer witnessing the test to sign it off. He didn’t, but i have always thought that was only because I was there.
I seem to remember LM was paying to have the aircraft ‘stored’ in the UK (Marshall’s?) as they needed them out of the way.