Just a few niggles that remain 'unanswered'.
1). I understand the Gulfstream was flight planned in from & out to White Sands, New Mexico & registered to an Aerospace company affiliated to EG&G.
2). The C5 WASN'T already due in as it's assigned duty was changed while on the ground at 'The Hall'. It was due to fly full of freight from Mildenhall the next day but within hours of the Boscombe Incident it was re-assigned, crew briefed & they told the ground crew to defuel the aircraft as it was "...hopping about 30 mins down the road but didn't know if they could refuel there so they wanted enough to get there, get out again with the load & meet a tanker...". I met the Crew Chief at RAF Lakenheath Flying Club a couple of years afterwards & he was remarkably candid about things.
3). The reports of people living near Boscombe hearing a strange noise or strange aircraft landing that night in particular. It was a Tornado was it? That's hardly a strange type with a strange engine sound as Tonkas had operated into & out of Boscombe for years.
However an experienced ATCO working his radar unit saw a 7700 squark pop up & overheard the American pilot asking London Mil' for a Military or Government Airfield with an east/west orientated runway of 7000 feet or longer. He was given options in terms of bearing & distance before eventually settling on Bos'. The controller concerned is a long standing friend & ex-colleague of a good friend of mine, we all talked about the Boscombe Incident on a number of occasions.
4). I heard a US tanker crew member late one night in December 1995 over East Anglia commit the one embarrasment all pilots commit at one time or another which is transmit on the wrong box, which wasn't so embarrassing but his words ring clear to me to this day. There were 3 tankers Quid 51,52 & 53 returning to Mildenhall . And one of them said "...yeah, we've just heard, the bird is back in the barn...". We were north of Waddo at around 7-9000' & could see the strobes & lights at both the 'Heath & the 'Hall.
5). A former schoolmate of mine who works for BAe & knows the aforementioned ATCO was called to Boscombe to fix something on an aircraft being tested there & asked an official who stated he'd worked there since the late 80's about the night in question & if it was indeed a Tornado why hadn't his department at Warton heard about it or been involved in the post incident 'clean up'. Apparently his facial expression was a picture but he couldn't be drawn on the matter.
I'm not a 'Conspiracy Theorist' by any means & if anything, am pro-establishment. But I'm not totally convinced by the Tornado & Towed Decoy story. Especially after speaking to an ATCO, a senior USAFE Crew Chief & what I heard that cold winters night over East Anglia.
The truth is out there.... in a filing cabinet.
