Originally Posted by
Pontius Navigator
WD3, no idea but I do remember the mission report vividly.
Another report, this time sanitised as it was a year or so earlier, related the experiences of a jet-jockey who evaded a number of Guidelines. He did 'this', then he did 'that' and so on. As we read on, counting the engagements off, the article stopped describing his evasive tactics after a dozen or so, In all we made it a count of 21.
Now this could have been any type. At the time we had not heard of the weasel or that type of mission.
If it was a weasel sortie it must have had one hell of an AUW at take-ff to get those balls airborne.
Doug's machine was a D, not a G or F so not a WW.
Doug was an easy going guy with a quick smile and great stick and rudder guy. He brought a tanker home with one engine out, one surging and he got chewed out when he got on the ground for not calling the command post and having a pre-landing conference since he was an 'emergency aircraft." He was told there were many considerations that had to be discussed before an emergency aircraft landed. Doug just smiled...
Later he had another engine shut down and came back to the home base. He called in to the command post (like a good little soldier) with the fact that he had shut down an engine, had x0,000lbs of fuel (enough for many hours of flight) and when he finished his report, he added, "So... what are MY intentions???"
The heavies didn't see his sense of humor. I think Doug finally made Lt. Col. but he was far to apolitical to make full bull....