But it helped having a very old, hugely experienced and highly skilled nav whose rapid, accurate calcualtions were invaluable.
Back then, we had no indication of position up front in the VC10K outside TACAN, VOR or NDB range and all the nav had was a single Carousel INS, plus Omega...and a sun-gun. Being an experienced old hand, the nav (L***y R*****n) kept an eye on the kit to make sure he knew exactly where we were at any time, plus somehow kept a mental plot on the Buccs' whereabouts. A top chap!
The tankers, ever helpful, were closing below the Bears to get the door numbers by use of the obliquitous aircrew torch and camera.
When we first had the VC10K, we didn't have any 'Q' cameras, but our 'clients along the A40' were very glad of the odd 'private' reel of film we sent them:
(The original was much sharper - this is just a photo of a print which appeared later in Air Clues, to give an idea.)
After a few such shots, we soon found ourselves receiving 4 swish new Canon cameras, 300mm telephoto lenses and UV filters. Some crews brought back excellent photos; for many years the 'official' shots of the Bear G were those which had been taken by a VC10K pilot.
Whereas the scabby old cassette recorder we used to plug in to the 5th seat intercom to record Boris-to-Boris chat was hardly cutting edge. We did once hear that the analysts had been in stitches listening to one Bear crews' raunchy comments about the night they'd just had in Cuba....
Squadron rules for 'claiming' Bears were simple. By day, no film = no kill. By night, independent confirmation of type. But we weren't daft enough to try for door numbers.
Mostly.
Apart from the Foxtrot crews, all other Bear mates were quite sociable. Particularly when we held the Sun calendar up in the cockpit window. Little did Sam Fox ever know how much her parts played their part in bringing down the Iron Curtain. She does now though as I managed to persuade a hack to let her know - she found it most amusing, I'm told!