West Raynham Incident
I completed the Fighter Command Instrument Rating Examiner's course in June 1955 and had been briefed on the GCA procedures employed there.. As I remember them the GCA was manned by a director and two talkdown controllers. When high intensity recoveries were in progress the talkdown controllers were each dealing with two units, i.e. the first and third for one and second and fourth for the other, spacing having been arranged by the director. Because in the event of a missed approach the normal short pattern GCA would not be able to fit into the recovery stream the brief was to climb straight ahead to 1200/1500ft and call Marham GCA. The Marham runway is more or less in line with West Raynham's at a distance of about fifteen nautical miles, a flying time in a Hunter of about four minutes. The best laid plans etc. don't work when the Marham GCA crew are not in their caravan.
I subsequently did the Day Fighter Leader's Course in July 1957. By this time the aircraft was the Hunter F6 with a little more fuel but still some exciting returns to base happened - a couple of flame outs taxying in come to mind. It was considered more or less normal in those "press on regardless" days.