galaxy flyer - thanks for your posts. Nice to get stuff from the big guys..... Remember being on a Belfast Westbound, nightstopping Dover AFB, with another nightstopping Eastbound, and the USAF Despatcher being somewhat gobsmacked when we told him he had 20% of the global fleet on his field.
As far as the cross-section of the freight bay was concerned - your C-5 was of course bigger. but, as I mentioned in another thread, we did have 12x12ft, which I think was taller than yours, and we could carry a Sea King without taking the rotor head off. At the time, I don’t think any other (western) aircraft could do that.
my final memory of 53 Sqn was the sqn flying everyone who wanted to go to the laying up of the sqn standard in Edinburgh cathedral. Can’t remember who drew the short straw to be the operating crew - but the rest of us got monumentally pissed, and, as far as I can remember, there was a distinct lack of roadsigns in Edinburgh the day after.
Happy days. Although the fact that the sqn was being disbanded in the first place was distinctly unhappy-making.....
I also went on the very last RAF Belfast task - 3598, Brize - Gütersloh and back, 12 Sep 1976.
airsound