QRA nostalgia

[asiaseen]

My penultimate flight on 43 Sqn was a QRA scramble to intercept a Bear D en route to Cuba. They were obviously listening to our GCI frequency because the guys in the back kept pointing to their ears and indicating we should go back to base as instructed by the controller. These pics were taken somewhere near the Faroe Islands and I apologise for the slightly crappy quality.

http://www.pixcastle.com/pic/3001IQZqg/303452.jpg

http://www.pixcastle.com/pic/3001IQZqg/303455.jpg

http://www.pixcastle.com/pic/3001IQZqg/303454.jpg

[zarniwoop]

Wonderful photographs, thanks for sharing them, when were they taken?

Does the large bulge on the underside mean that this is the anti-submarine/shipping version?

[asiaseen]

They were taken in June 1971. This is the maritime recce/elint version of the Bear. In the original prints you can see that the nosewheel doors are cracked slightly open and the badge on the SD cap in the bubble on the 2nd pic. We got a little close!

[zarniwoop]

I've only come across the Bear twice, at the IAT at Fairford around 1993-96, I can't remember which years (I'm sure someone here will have the dates).

The first year the Russians sent one, despite the best efforts of the organisers the Russians wouldn't put on a flying display so the aircraft was in the static park. The following year the Russians sent two Bears (one Air Force one Navy). One was in the static park, the other did a short display.

The display was quite amazing, we had headed back to the car for some lunch, so quite a distance away from the action, when I noticed that the Bear in the Flying Park had started up and was taxying out, we were some distance away but the sight and sound are still with me.

The pilot held the Bear on the runway about as long as he could, took off, did one low, slow pass over the runway then came back in to land and taxy back to park.

Being the stupid sod that I am I didn't have the camera.

[Geezers of Nazareth]

Just out of interest and curiosity, how did you know it was going to Cuba?

I know that's the most likely destination given the part of the route whcih you escorted it, but could it not have gone down to West Africa?; or maybe out to the mid-Atlantic, turn around and came back from a different direction?

Did you ever have any radio comms with them while they were flying (and you were 'escorting')? Surely it's not beyond the impossible to indicate to them to call you on a particular VHF freq, even if it is just to officially warn them off and (unofficially) say 'hello' and pass the time of day. I've got photo's of a Swiss AF F-18 with 'call 121.5' in huge letters painted on the centre-line fuel-tank.

How far out into the Atlantic did you escort them?

I would imagine that one of the tasks for the interceptor aircraft is to take photos of the intruder aircraft. In which case, there's a superb collection of photo's sitting in a drawer somewhere! How I'd like to see some of those! :ooh:

Apart from Bears, what other types were encountered on these flights?

(sorry for all the questions)

[BOAC]

Just out of interest and curiosity, how did you know it was going to Cuba?

I know that's the most likely destination given the part of the route whcih you escorted it, but could it not have gone down to West Africa?; or maybe out to the mid-Atlantic, turn around and came back from a different direction?
- there's always the Intelligence Service, but a pretty big clue is when the same airframe with the same (now knackered) geezer in the pod comes back 6 hours later through the Iceland/Faroes gap. The 'route' as you put it was used by ALL traffic on all the routes you list as far as I am aware.

[Warmtoast]

QRAs and Intercepts - When the Boot is on the Other Foot - The View From the Intercepted

I liked Asiaseen's photos of the interception of Russian Bears. My photo album has some photos taken in 1980 showing what it's like to be intercepted, although on this occasion the parties concerned: RAF, USN and US Marines were friendly allies.

There we were trundling along at 20,000 ft over the middle of the Indian Ocean miles from anywhere, en-route from Sri Lanka to Seeb (Muscat) when an American voice came over the UHF emergency frequency asking us to look out to our left. Sure enough we’d been intercepted by a couple of F-14s and F-4s from the USS “Coral Sea”.

Having identified us as RAF, we had a friendly chat and wondered why the intercept? Seems they were on constant readiness and all unknown aircraft approaching their battle group was deemed to be hostile until proven otherwise, hence the intercept. The hostage crisis of U.S. Embassy staff being held by the militant followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran was in full flow and the USS Coral Sea was on station in the northern Indian Ocean / Gulf of Oman area monitoring the situation.

I assume the Russians routinely took photos of the aircraft intercepting them, for their crew room or intelligence purposes and I wonder have any been posted on the web?

Anyway a couple of photos taken in 1980 when being intercepted by US Navy fighters are attached.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Herc7Medium.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Herc6Medium.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Herc5Medium.jpg


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Herc4Medium.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Herc3Medium.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Herc1Medium.jpg

[Opssys]

Warmtoast's post reminded me of I think a Picture taken by Gainsey from a Bear, when it was being intercepted by RAF Tornado's when on its way to RIAT back in the day, OK maybe I dreamed it..

[BEagle]

Such fun......

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/HelloBoris.jpg


:ok:

[Groundloop]

BEagle, that's one big interceptor!:ok:

[NutherA2]

Apart from Bears, what other types were encountered on these flights?

During the early days of 43 Sqn's Phantom operations the Russians didn't provide a great variety of types for interception and sadly I didn't carry a camera, but on 24 April 70 my logbook shows a formation of 12 Badgers as well as 2 Bears and on 18 September 72 we "Shadowed" a pair of Bison from north of the Shetlands down to about 30 miles east of Hull, until they obligingly turned north and we handed over to a QRA (IAF?) Lightning at Bell Rock lighthouse so our recovery to Leuchars didn't take too long.

[asiaseen]

Here be a Badger E.

http://www.pixcastle.com/pic/3001IQZqg/303451.jpg

It was one of these on a fleet exercise off Iceland when I was with 899 Sqn which we intercepted in a Sea Vixen just after launch from Eagle. The fleet was pretty scattered but he took us on a tour round the major ships and very kindly brought us back to the ship just in time for our landing slot. No one on board got a picture as we flew past but the photogs cobbled one together which was released to the press. For some reason the Mirror had suspicions about its authenticity and there was a big headline about the Navy faking photographs (as if they never did it themselves).

[nacluv]

Re BEagle's post/photo.

Maybe the Bear had called in for a quick splash and dash??