RAF Stations (past and Present) - Biggest, Best and Bonnieist??

[sisemen]

9 had a Tirpitz bulkehead that some outfit up the road thought was theirs


Always been argy-bargy about that bit of steel. Here's a signal from a few years ago

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c92/allan907/Tirpitzbulkhead.jpg

[navstar1]

OK Fellows I nominate RAF Sharjah 1966. Great Station Commander,left alone to get on with the job and great recreational facilities at "The Golden Flip Flop!!" What more could you ask??:cool:

[endplay]

Biggest - Bruggen, though Akrotiri ran it close

Hardest to find - Spadeadam. Keep going till you are convinced you're lost (and a bit scared, agrophobically speaking) then carry on for a few more miles (check fuel & phone coverage...er?) then a bit more and da da.

Best - Got to be Bawdsey in the early 70's. Scopie training school (95% Girls) and as a 17 year old JT I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Kind of spoiled the next 30 odd years though.

[pr00ne]

navstar

"What more could you ask? "

The opposite sex?

[navstar1]

Saturday nights,Carlton Hotel disco in Dubai. No road between Sharjah and Dubai so a Land Rover across the desert. Joy :ok:

[alisoncc]

Ran half this place in '66 at Sharjah. Definitely there at the same time Navstar1.

http://www.users.on.net/%7Ealisoncc/sharjah9.jpg

Muckrack Dec '65 and there again Jan '67. In between the holiday camp in the desert. Fabulous place.

[Lightning5]

Best : Tengah (two tours, Meteors, Jav's Lightnings)

Coldest and second best : Binbrook in the 70's.

Bonniest : Martlesham Heath (1959 11 Grp Comm Flt. (first posting as a mech !)

[OldnDaft]

Biggest: Bruggen

Best: Bruggen, by a country mile

Bonniest: The more remote areas of Spadeadam were quite stunning.

[navstar1]

I was a nav on 152 Twin pins all of 66. Happy days. Tom Sheppard was the Station CO:O

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Biggest: Akrotiri

Best: Gibraltar. Entertaining flying, a mess with its own beach and delightful schoolies who had great accomodation to spend the night in. All this and the opportunity to cause international traffic jams and annoy the Spanish - perfect!

Bonniest: Probably Brawdy; also had fantastic flying. The scenery around Stornoway was great too, and Coltishall was pretty.

[alisoncc]

I was a nav on 152 Twin pins all of 66. Happy days. Tom Sheppard was the Station COWhy a Nav? Twin Pins couldn't fly far enough to get lost. :D

Was a member of Tom Sheppards bondu/bundo bashing group. Had 100's of 35mm slides from then, but they turned mouldy in the garage and were disposed of a couple of years ago. Pity.

[Jayand]

Akrotiri the biggest?

[Blacksheep]

Biggest: Changi
Best: Changi
Bonnier: Changi

[Wander00]

Biggest - Death Star (Mount Pleasant) - project officer for the take over from the contractors

Bonniest - Neatishead when Aunt y Joan was Boss

Best - has to be Wyton for my last tour as OC Penguins

[navstar1]

I managed it!! Shame about the pics. Tom Sheppart was also a Flight Commander on my intial training course at South Cerney (192 course) How is life in Oz? :ok:

[Timesgoneby]

Nostalgic-Binbrook-Mum & Dad met there in 1943. Dad painted bombs on Lancs, Mum a NAAFI girl; too young for the Aussies. Many died -mostly kids : I controlled Lightnings & Canberras from there in 1965
Bawdsey , Bawdsey-Remember the Rowan & Martin Show in glorious colour TV- room packed & filled with laughter ...great place , great company.
Troodos +two years nearly heaven..long hair and soft touch govenors.
El Adem, our Libya..best blokes to be with on a camping holiday..When did your Boss volunteer to drive the poo tractor last?
Muscat & Oman...the locals were very happy we were there .
Luqa, Malta, treated as if we were family...

Worst: Marham; arriving at 0400 in KD, bloody cold, no hot water but an extra egg on the plate for Breakfast and the WO man(was he a White cap) muttering about us being scruffs. Sat with the Mrs watching Tornados doing bumps for an hour in the sunshine last year...2013 and smiled , wondered if any of the 'lads' would wipe a small tear (quietly) from their eye as they remembered being 45 years younger, still filled with pride at being a Brit.

[KPax]

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/p/pitreavie_castle/pitreavie_castle21.jpg One of my best postings.

[langleybaston]

QUOTE: ............ Gutersloh 1975-1978 (probably RAFG with two squadrons of Lightnings, then 3 Squadrons of Harriers + NATO planes of many nations just a stones throw from the East German border! Anyone remember the Harrier Force detachments?).

At one stage 1967 onwards G. had 2 x Lightnings [19, 92], 2 x Hunters [2, 4] and either a squadron of Whirlwinds [?] or at least a detachment thereof. Visiting aircraft, visiting squadrons, TACEVALS, the invasion of Czecho .......

Happiest and busiest days of my life for this Metman, top professional customers, a good number of whom rose to air rank, top Mess life, marvellous young wife and family, cheap cars, petrol, drink ............

We used cheapest NAAFI gin as screen wash in winter, cheaper than the kosher stuff.

Nostalgia is certainly not what it used to be.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

[Cubanate]

And now .......??

[langleybaston]

And now .......??

I have not changed my mind, but Happy Easter!

[Cubanate]

I take your point LB, although, as an ex-Bruggenite 1974 - 1977 and 1980 - 1982, I might disagree :E, but I'm thinking of what's around now :ok:

[Herod]

If we're talking about now, I would have to nominate Odiham. Not the biggest, best or bonniest, but the only one in my service history that is still open. South Cerney, Syerston, Tern Hill, Khormaksar, Sharjah, Thorney Island, Oakington and Lyneham. All closed. That's life, I guess.

[navstar1]

Sharjah Happy Days!

[MPN11]

I can’t vote on Now, obviously! In any case, the sole survivors of my 30 years are ...

Shawbury ... a shadow of its former self from the ATC Powerhouse days.
Waddington ... so different from V-Force days.
MoD Main Building ... enough said. I hope they fixed the sewage smells.

So, RIP to all the places I worked ... Feltwell, Manby, Strubby, Binbrook, Tengah, Changi, Sopley, Watton, West Drayton, Stanley, Bentley Priory, Bracknell.

And the RIP list from the OH ... Henlow, Upwood, Hullavington, Luqa, Lyneham, Locking, West Drayton, Brampton. MoD Adastral, Bracknell. (Her survivors are Cranwell, Odiham and Northolt)

A bit different now, eh?!

[langleybaston]

Ah! I understand "now"! My RIP list is tentative, some relics may survive.

RIP Uxbridge, Nicosia, Acklington, Topcliffe, Dishforth, Church Fenton, Linton, Manby, Strubby, Upwood, Finningley, Shinfield, Bawtry, Gutersloh, Detmold, JHQ, ............ memory fades.

I think Brize and Leeming are still active?

[And I still eat at, and stay in, the Petwood at Woodhall Spa, when the Chinese Plague permits].

[downsizer]

when the Chinese Plague permits].

Wow. Disgraceful.

[morton]

Wow. Disgraceful.
​​​​​
Wow, are you what is called a snowflake? You realise this is the military aviation section with military humour?

Standing by for incoming and thread drift!

[pr00ne]

Coming out with that Trumpism IS a disgrace, and the fact that it is on an internet rumour site is irrelevant!

[Less Hair]

Given that the Chinese state media still claim the virus is "imported" a little firing back won't do any harm.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/18/1021030/coronavirus-leak-wuhan-lab-scientists-conspiracy/

[Specaircrew]

Wow. Disgraceful.
...and the 'drip of the year' award goes too:D

[middlesbrough]

South Cerney, Hullavington, Stradishall, St Mawgan, Changi, Labuan, Gan, Luqa, Majunga, Ballykelly, Kinloss, Machrihanish, Finningley, Newton, Upwood, Lyneham, North Luffenham,

[Ninthace]

Biggest, Bruggen after IX Sqn joined.
Best, Gutersloh - NATO Taceval Consultants - IIRC a royal vist, AOCs and Taceval in the space of a fortnight
Bonniest - not sure but the gliding was good at Halton (wasn't bad at Cosford either)

[langleybaston]

Chinese Plague? I miss-spoke.
It is of course Wuhan Flu.

[langleybaston]

Biggest, Bruggen after IX Sqn joined.
Best, Gutersloh - NATO Taceval Consultants - IIRC a royal vist, AOCs and Taceval in the space of a fortnight
Bonniest - not sure but the gliding was good at Halton (wasn't bad at Cosford either)

Royal Visit was, I seem to remember, Princess Royal as was? EDUO took it in its stride as far as external appearances were concerned.
Great Staish, OC Ops and Execs .......... happiest tour of my career.

Sound of Freedom could be a bit much on the top patch though .............

[Boeing Jet]

Marham for me! Canberra's, Tornados, Victors, went on several detachments with some of these squadron's, a great time had!!!! :ok:

[pr00ne]

Boeing Jet,

Wow! Never thought I would see a stake being claimed for "El Adem with grass!"

[Finningley Boy]

Of the stations I was at, I've got some off Piste locations;

Biggest Ramstein (USAF) but a posting

Portreath/St Mawgan The Best

Stanmore Park The worst but all relative!:ok:

FB

[Slow Biker]

Biggest - Changi. I was tempted to vote it best, but I was too young to make the best of it; Malcomb Club every evening and water skiing Wednesday PM and weekends, That was until I met a nice young lady ops clerk - the future Mrs SB - who dragged me out to explore the island.
Best has to be Gutersloh, although...
Bonniest - Linton-on-Ouse, very close to best.
The rest were just work.

[ORAC]

280SU Mount Olympus.

Only 5 living-in mess members, honesty bar (we rotated OIC and the the monthly stock check was a happy hour where we drank the excess stock) and treated like lords by the local staff.

In the winter you could ski in the morning and waterski in the afternoon. In the summer it was cool and long evenings were spent in the restaurant in Platres run my the local mess manager.

VC-10 crews used to check-in before taxi at BZ to book parties because we allowed them to bring in their cabin crew.

Abiding memories - surviving being driven over a cliff into a storm drain and ending up inverted with our heads just above the water by the commander of US U2 operations who was making a 48 hour visit to Cyprus to see how they operated. Turned out he’d been drinking all day. US embassy stepped, he disappeared and it never happened...

Leaving the mess at AKR and driving back up the mountain with the lights out to see if anyone was going the other way, four wheel drifting on the narrow track Ben’s along the Grand Canyon with a 400ft vertical drop on one side and a cliff on the other and getting back in under 45 minutes...

Sky-diving out the mess windows into the snow drifts below.....