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Old 12th Feb 2012, 20:46
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P6, Kinsman was indeed a dispersal exercise where crews allocated to a particular dispersal would exercise that dispersal. It was not part of a force generation exercise.

One we did was Ballykelly with 4 aircraft deploying in on a Monday and operatng out of there until Thursday when we flew home. Another notable one I recall was Pershore. We did a hi-lo-hi in and scraped in below fuel minimums after 5hr 45. We had never been there before but were committed to a straight in approach from overhead Cumberland; the skipper called visual about 50 miles out. The following day we did the same route cut short to 5hr 25.

We had the QRA caravans with individual bunk rooms. I remember getting up in the early morning light as dawn broke and looked in on our AEO the late Paddy Roache. All seemed well as Paddy was standing there half-in, half-out of his flying suit. A few minutes later when he hadn't arrived for breakfast I was sent to find him. He was tucked up in bed. He had been getting undressed!

Kinsman was a routine Restricted exercise although Peter Hennessey makes much of it in his book The Secret State. The nickname was later changed but I can't remember what it was called.
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