PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - V Bomber dispersal airfields after 1968
View Single Post
Old 15th Feb 2012, 14:09
  #43 (permalink)  
BEagle
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Quite near 'An aerodrome somewhere in England'
Posts: 26,819
Received 271 Likes on 110 Posts
Bloodhound Mk 1 sites were:

Breighton
Carnaby
Dunholme Lodge
Marham
Misson
North Coates
Rattlesden
Warboys
Watton
Woolfox Lodge

We had Bloodhound Mk 2 at RAF Wattisham - one of the missile pads couldn't be used as the launcher would have been about 2 ft from a PSA lighting pole...so the rocket wouldn't have got very far.

Having a SAM site on an active AD aerodrome was...interesting. Although it gave us an excellent excuse for wazzing the place on approved aerdrome attacks (until some mate went over OC Ops Wg's office at about 500 knots), the Rules for security lighting directly contradicted the Rules for aerodrome lights during exercises. So although the area south west of Needham Market might have been a black hole (in lighting terms!), the blaze of security lights surrounding the Bloodhound site could be seen from Lowestoft on a good night....

I was fortunate enough to be tasked to arrange some activity for a station Mineval once - an opportunity for much inspired villainy! One item of which was a 'defecting' Vulcan which was escorted through the Bloodhound MEZ by a pair of F-4s. Once inside min. range, the Vulcan crew had been tasked to accelerate and open the bomb doors to see what the reaction from the F-4 crews would be. All went to plan, but as the Vulcan approached the aerodrome, over the ether came the immortal words of the 'Mad Major', 56(F)'s Luftwaffe exchange officer as he broke off from formating on the Vulcan's wing: "SHOOT ZE F***ER!!"...followed by an amused "Fox 2" from the other jet.
BEagle is online now