Mid 70's. 0200 hrs. 1000ft above the Mediterranean. Surface surveillance. Intermittent radar, random tracks tactics. Got a radar fix as we descended at about 2200 the previous day. Loran is a fickle friend - one line since about 2300. We are setting up to side scan the Egyptian coast and the Soviet anchorage at Sallum - latest int is that there are 12+ vessels there. I brief radar operator to give me a fix off the headland.
Switch on - scanitty, scannity, scan. Switch off. Good radar fix - Nav system within 2nm, and .... no contacts. Eh? Turn round, do it again ..... no contacts. Something is not quite right here ... continue west.
Co-pilot then says he has the lights of a village on the coast to port. Err, we're meant to be at least 25nm from the coast. I visit the flight deck - there are the lights of a largish city on the coast to port. Turn right I say, descend to 500ft and head north sharpish. This buys me some time to look at the topo - it has to be Tobruk, and there is a headland bearing a marked resemblance to the one at Sallum. I readjust the radar fix.
We turn the radar on again south of Crete - not too bad but turning east and a few more radar fixes establishes a serious ground speed input error. We can't complete the job and go home early - using airplot. Beer for breakfast.