Mk 1C buoys
A complete war load of Mk 1C was kept on two Type S trolleys in the dump. 12 sets were kept at STM. Some were kept in with the smoke floats so we had to wear BA sets to get them out if we did not have time to ventilate the storage.
They were all loaded onto three AV 288 carriers. Each set was serviced annually. There were restrictions on the two types of Buoys (T17053 and T17054) on how they were loaded.
With only 16 RF channels and 3 Acoustic channels available, loading them was a bit of a jigsaw without a picture especially if there was a shortage of certain RF frequencies, which was a regular occurrence.
If i recall correctly you could not have two buoys with the same RF channel on the same carrier nor could you have actives with the same acoustic channel on adjacent hard points of the 288.
At StM we kept a large back up stock in a large building over by the dump, but still ran out of some RF channels on occasions. I also kept my dinghy in there along with the bonnet of an E-type jag belonging to a plumber and on occasion the angling club boat was in there as well. The storage building is still there. The Sonobuoy bay was used by the SAR staff. That is still there as well.
If you go into the imperial museum you will see one mounted on its servicing stand. I was amazed when I saw it.
Ex Jnr Tech in the Sonobuoy bay. A long time ago