4mastacker's spillage story has just reminded me of another spillage story.
Laarbruch, early 80's II (ac) Sqn Jags. Like all RAFG sqn's at the time, we were well practised in Taceval, Mineval, Maxeval etc but when we had VIP's turn up when there wasn't an exercise on, the sqn treated them to a mini exercise demonstration lasting only 30 minutes or so. We had a set team, used the same HAS and used the same scenario which we all practised so it looked very slick.
The scenario involved 2 Jags returning to the HAS after a wartime recce sortie. The first aircraft would taxi in and be winched back into the HAS. The film would be removed from the recce pod and dumped into the panniers of my motorcycle (although I was a sooty, this was my "war role"). I rode off at high speed to the RIC, offloaded the film and returned to the HAS where the second aircraft would be taxying in. In the meantime, the refuel bowser would reverse into the HAS in front of the first aircraft. As the second aircraft taxied down the pan towards the HAS, the "Air Attack Red" warning would sound. To speed things up, the second aircraft would taxi into the HAS nose first, shut down, HAS doors closed with everyone safe inside. This is a MK1 German HAS which is quite a bit smaller than the UK ones.
It looked so, so slick when it worked but on this occasion, the bowser driver misjudged things and reversed into the HAS wall. The bowser tank ruptured and it started to spew AVTAG all over the place. The bowser driver drove out of the HAS and up the pan before parking on the grass.
I'm at the other end of the pan watching this on my motorcycle when the second aircraft turns up and starts taxying towards the HAS. I leap off my bike and bring the aircraft to a halt before it reaches the thousands of litres of fuel running across the pan. The next thing I know is the SENGO pushing me out of the way and starts marshalling the aircraft through the fuel towards the HAS. I sh!t myself and dived behind an earth bank, convinced the whole thing would go up. Luckily it didn't. Apparently "the show must go on". The fuel eventually drained into the surrounding soil and the Germans made us excavate the soil to a depth of 2 metres and dispose of it. I'm told the VIP's were impressed though
