1974, F4 OCU: GA & AD courses going through at the same time, much banter, mud-moving vs ear-defending etc. The first Luftwaffe exchange crew, ever, come through Coningsby. All the RAF chaps in awe of the smart leather jackets, cool shades and extremely tasty other halves. Both guys are good operators, know the ropes, enter into friendly game of getting through the OCU without causing too many waves.
Last phase before moving to Squadron is live drop at Wainfleet, one LW pilot & RAF nav in #1, RAF pilot and LW nav in #2, call into the range. Strange noise on range frequency, sounds like music, but not quite. Further audio checks and it transpires the LW pilot is singing, quietly, the German National Anthem. Breaks into intelligible words.... "Today ve make history, zis is ze first time, since 1945, zat ze Tcherman Air force has dropped bombs on Britain..." "In hot..... off range..etc, etc.."
Laconic voice from Range officer, who by the way flew the BoBF Lancaster, "No wonder you lost the f.....g war, those bombs were 6 o'clock at 2000 yards...!!"
Fair play to the guy, he had a Transall come in to CGY and drop a barrel of finest quality German beer for the occasion, which we all enjoyed at HH.... whilst discussing the accuracy or not of the mud-movers.
Happy days.
