Well I am back from a very nice visit to Perth and have been reading myself back in to the thread. Some excellent stories and pics. Before I resume my Op Vigour thread I will be answering some of the queries.
48 used to send their Hercs to HAEK at Kai Tak for major servicing, although we did rotate a/c back to the UK for deep servicing.
As to SF crews Xercules is correct in saying there was an SF crew on every squadron. This was known as the 'Pathfinder Crew' and were all PV cleared. I did this job on 45 in Changi and back in the UK. A Flt Cdr on one of the squadrons, S/L 'Red L.... I seem to recall, wrote a service paper recommending that a separate flight be set up to cope with the increased SF tasking. You will not be surprised to hear that this was when the NI 'troubles were brewing up.
One of his sub recommendations was that they should have suitably equipped dedicated a/c. The crew recommendation was acted on and the crews were attached to 36 (the first RAF Herc squadron) and then 47 when 36 was disbanded. The dedicated a/c did not materialise until MANY years later when it was apparent even to MOD that they were essential.
I have a memory of the first a/c to arrive at Colerne being XV 179 despite XV 176 being the earliest serial.