Not strictly a TACEVAL, but Exercise Lionheart 1985. RAF Gutersloh. This was I believe the biggest exercise since WW2.
I was on detachment from Shawbury with two Gazelle HT2s, responsible for "Battle Damage Repair Recce", BDRR. The Gazelles had been given this "new" war role for the exercise. This struck fear into many of the old school, dyed in the wool QHI cadre at Shawbury who hadn't seen an NBC suit for donkey's years, but that's a different story.
Basically BDRR simply meant going out after an air raid with a Royal engineer observer and recceing the airfield from low level whilst plotting bomb damage and UXBs on a gridded map. So "advanced" were comms back then that having completed the task, the paper map was put in a plastic bag, complete with a stone (I kid you not) and dropped from a high hover through the message chute onto the COMCEN car park. The sentry was then to retrieve it and take it inside for further action by the Royal Engineer repair teams.
The Gazelles had been painted with a temporary camouflaged scheme using emulsion paint of some sort. However, the nose panel of the aircraft was left in the normal gloss red, along with its peacetime fleet letter in black. This was so flying through rain didn't cause the temporary paint to get dissolved and run back off over the canopy.
We had done the job a few times before, it worked well. However, on the occasion is question, an RAF policeman was walking across the COMCEN car park as we approached the high hover. I expected him to just keep on walking and move clear. However, he stopped, looked up at the aircraft, took one pace backwards, drew his 9mm pistol and held it in the firing position, aimed at me! It was obvious he was taking it seriously, I could see him faking the recoil (at least I hoped it was fake).
However, we completed the drop and returned to our hide in one of the Harrier HASs on the south side of the runway. I immediately got on the phone and asked what the policeman thought he was doing. A rapid "field enquiry" was held.
Apparently the policeman looked up at the helicopter, saw it had "E" on its nose panel and assumed this stood for "Enemy"!
So he shot me (had he done so, the Gazelle would have crash landed on his head).
Next day I decided to use the other Gazelle. This was "F" for friend......
