Four minute warning.
My memory from R.A.F Cottesmore, 10 Squadron - Victors) was that the crew lived in "caravans" at the end of the runway. The a/c had been DI'd and locked with a key 'till the "alarm" went off. The crew ran to the a/c and took off on a mission (practice).
Three went on the mission and the last of the four did a circuit and returned to base. I'm sure that the pilot of No. was usually Group Captain Johnnie Johnson of Battle of Britain fame. I saw such a demo for many V.I.Ps including the King of Jordan.
We developed a trolley acc. full of rechargeable batteries, in a trolley, that was used as the power supply for starting the engines instead of the mobile generator that was on the pad.
As the last a/c took off the ground crew had but a few minutes to remove all chocks, bungs cables, the trolley acc. etc from the runway as the 4th a/c did it's circuit and landed. It was a frightening sight to see the a/c bearing down as the ground crew worked away.
The memory is dim, but that's how I remember it. Looking at the photos I'm surprised to see a/c that were other than white all over apart from the a/c registration marking and Squadron crest.
Last edited by Lancelot37; 9th May 2008 at 21:32.
Reason: Addition