Tall stories

[814man]

This story is currently going around on various e-mail lists, one of which my next-door neighbour had received.

"From The Berwickshire Gazette:
Two traffic patrols officers from North Berwick were involved in an incident whilst checking for speeding motorists on the A1 road last May. They were using a hand-held radar device to trap unwary motorists on the Edinburgh to London trunk road.
One of the unnamed officers used the device to check the speed of an approaching vehicle, and was surprised to find that his target had registered a speed in excess of 300 miles per hour. The £8,000 radar then seized up and could not be reset by the bemused Policemen.
The radar had in fact latched on to a NATO Tornado aircraft in the North Sea, which was taking part in a simulated low-flying exercise over the Borders and Southern Scotland.
Following a complaint by the Chief Constable of the Lothian & Borders Police force to the RAF liaison office, it was revealed that the officers had a lucky escape. The tactical computer on board the aircraft not only detected and jammed the “hostile” radar equipment, but had automatically armed an air-to-ground missile ready to neutralise the perceived threat!!!
Luckily the Dutch pilot was alerted to the missile status and was able to override the automatic protection system before the missile was launched.
Lothian & Border Police Department have declined to comment, although it is understood that officers will be advised to point their radar guns inland in future."

I was asked whether this could actually happen. Not being an expert in such things I thought that it might be possible for the radar device to pick up an aircraft, although I'd be a bit sceptical about the range, however the second part about the aircraft response sounds a bit far fetched. I also seem to recollect having heard a version of this tale before, is it simply another working of an old urban legend?

[MadsDad]

The story has been around for a while, at least 4 years (the radar trap was said to have been on the A1, north of Berwick). In it's original version the policeman with the radar gun had been wondering how fast the plane was going and pointed the gun at the aircraft.

I told the story to a friend of mine whose occupation is designing naval radar systems. His opinion was that because the police radar guns work in the same sort of frequency range as missile targetting systems the receiver on the aircraft could well have interpreted it as a threat and gone into 'protection' mode.

However since the pilot would still have had to deliberately launch an ARM against it the only luck involved was that he hadn't had a speeding ticket recently.

[BEagle]

Sadly, I think that this is an urban myth. Although I've also heard tales about Electronic Protection Measures being used to jam Plod radar, I suspect that those are also "I knew someone whose mate told him" stroies.

But Plod radar used to cause interference on the ATC radar at a certain Jet Provost aerdrome in the early 1970s - so when they saw it, the ATCOs would ring the sqns to warn everyone:ok:

[Fg Off Max Stout]

A big green helo at low level was snapped by a gatso speed camera and we've got the evidence photo to prove it. Don't know what band gatso radars use but the RWR may well be able to detect it. Chaff, flare gone etc

[WebPilot]

It's a myth, of course:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/radar.htm

[Beeayeate]

Have heard that one several times now over quite a few years. The a/c involved range from Hunters to Bucs to Harriers. Good though, innit! :E

A tale that is true though (I was there so to speak), involves a radar Cpl at Wyton in the early 70s. Nobby (I'll call him) was demobbed from the sqd and had bought a nice house down on that new estate in St Ives. He used to meet with us for a drink once a week and took to complaining about the Phantoms that were at Alconbury at that time. These would turn in on finals over St Ives (when the wind was right) and caused a he££uva noise and disruption when overflying (ask any older St Ivian). Nobby eventually made a toy kite from kitchen silver foil with the horiz crossbar the exact length of the wave frequency of the Phant's radar. He subsequently flew this kite from his back garden - had the desired affect as well. The Phants began to go-round at first and then began turning in much higher over St Ives (making them sound quieter). The kite, it seems, was messing with their radar on approach. Before long though, the local plod visited with Nobby. He was charged and fined with the offence of flying a kite over 200ft. And asked to stop playing silly-burghers with the yanks.:hmm: :hmm:

[Impiger]

OK so this speeding tale is almost certainly not true but has anyone out there set off the speed cameras while low flying?

I'm pretty sure I did on the A9 a few weeks back in a small hekiplop`tter:O

[Ali Barber]

I know of an F-4 QWI who queried PC plod over whether the speed trap could have been affected by interference from an airborne radar, thereby giving such an erroneous reading!

PC Plod hadn't a clue how his radar gun worked, he just pointed it at the cars and read the dial on the back. The QWI then gave him a free lecture on the principles of pulse doppler radar theory and was let off for his troubles.

Personally, I think the QWI slipped away having put PC plod to sleep with his lecture technique.

[BEagle]

That's a version of the old 'turbine modulations from the radiator or air conditioning fan generating false velocity values on a PD radar' excuse!

[RatherBeFlying]

Given the itchy trigger fingers and BOBs in Iraq, waving a speed radar might attract serious HARM:uhoh:

[Cornish Jack]

The other end of the scale ..... and totally true, airborne aircraft stopped by traffic lights at red!! :confused:
Place - H M's North Wales outpost.
Time - mid '60s.
Scenario - H M's chaps (no chappesses) needed weekly dosh handout. Wherewithal was collected from local bank in standard 'J' type. Apparent lack of security taken care of by having a helo escort from the local S&R flight. On the day in question we duly low-levelled into town in company with 'J' type and circled while the dosh was counted out. Back on the road for the return and close formation to watch for 'baddies'. Only one set of traffic lights on the island and they changed to red as we arrived. Sooooooo..... into the hover and wait for the green , then off we go again. Hey ho! Helos may not be 'glam' machines but they do have their advantages!!:ok:

[John Eacott]

Back in 1983, the Victoria Police introduced speed cameras in parked cars. I was in the PAW at the time, and one of our pilots came across a suspicious car along the side of the Prince's Highway, in the LaTrobe Valley.

Having suss'd it as a speed camera, and having nothing better to do, he managed a low pass at 100+kts (it was only a JetRanger) to trip the camera, then landed in front of the car, which was unmanned. Left the 206 there for an hour or so (lunchbreak) just to rub it in :D

Somewhere, someone has the photo :cool:

[ZK-NSJ]

i heard of a similar story, a fj pilot was pulled over by teh local constablury who were sited on a road not far from teh end of teh runway, he was rather fuming at this and by the time he got to base he was rather late, rushing out to his craft and starting up he took off only to declare an emergency and turned around and headed back to base, dumping fuel as he came, said policeman were never seen in the area again

[BlueWolf]

If you can find the present location on the Web of the ever-transient Anarchist's Cookbook (author the Jolly Roger), contained therein you will find a recipe for jamming said police speed detection devices.

It involves a gun diode and about $100 worth of bits from Dick Smith Electronics (NZ & Aus), Radio Shack (North America), and whatever the current UK equivalent is.

'Tis a cheap investment, comrades, and it works.

:ok: :E

[Dunhovrin]

Similar vein - but true. 1996 a QHI on the Puma OCU gets a call from RAF plod. It seems plodman was out with his low-flying detector (was it nicked from the Argies? I can't remember). He had caught a Puma near Spade that was down at about 150' and doing very silly jinking and swerving.

"So let me get this right Sergeant. You had an active radar in use near an electronic warfare range."
"yes Sir"
"And when you locked up a helicopter heading towards this range he began to manouver violently?"
"Yes Sir"
"As if he was trying to say - break the lock - as he was being trained to do?"
"Umm yes sir"
"So not actually doing anything wrong then. And he was flying at 150 feet"
"Ohh yes sir"
"Right I'll have him."
"Good sir"
"He was authed down to 50'. What the hell was he doing up at that height near an EW range?"......


D'you know it seemed funnier in the crewroom....