Another One Gone: Genl Dick Lord

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Brig Genl Dick Lord lost his battle with cancer yesterday.

Go well sir.

[groundfloor]

Some members here may remember him from his Royal and US Navy days. Check this out: American Top Gun fighter pilot academy set up by British - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/5032158/American-Top-Gun-fighter-pilot-academy-set-up-by-British.html)

He went on to a hugely successful career at home with the SAAF.

A true gentleman. We will miss him.

[Schiller]

Without question the finest fighter pilot I ever met. RIP

[son of brommers]

One of the nicest ex-mil people I had the pleasure of meeting, go well Sir!

[MrBernoulli]

Unfortunately, the link provided above is 'dead'.

[Evalu8ter]

An absolute gentleman and raconteur - After only one brief meeting I enjoyed a most wondeful E-Mail discussion with him over many months as he helped and guided some work I was doing. For someone who'd "been there, done that" he was a remarkably modest man, and, like many SAAF operators of his generation, was able to appreciate and expoit aviation in all of its forms, not just Fast Jet, to great effect.

His books were great reads, and deserve a wider readership.

Godspeed Vlamgat....

[tarantonight]

My father and Dick were big mates back in the day and I have kept in touch with him over the years, a top man and by all accounts one of the best. The only driver my dad thought was better than him. What are you lot like....................................

I cherish a signed book I have and 'From Tailhooker to Mudmover' is a classic book which includes a classic era in the FAA and their time on 121.

God speed Dick, and say hello to my old man - he will be looking forward to a beer with you. An absoloute true gent sir.

Many thanks for posting this SRT.

TN:D

[groundfloor]

Link "fixed".:ok:

With thanks to Dean at "The unofficial SAAF website"

Dick Lord: An Officer and a Gentleman

By Dean Wingrin

The SAAF and wider aviation community has been saddened by the loss of Brigadier General Dick Lord who passed away on the evening of Wednesday 26 October, having been ill for some time.

Although born in Johannesburg, Dick joined the Royal Navy in 1958 where he qualified as a fighter pilot. He flew Sea Venoms and Sea Vixens aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carriers Centaur, Victorious, Hermes and Ark Royal. Whilst serving in the Royal Navy, Lord did a two year exchange tour with the US Navy, flying A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms out of San Diego, California. It was during this posting that he was forced to eject from an A-4 Skyhawk. Other tours of duty included that of Air Warfare Instructor, flying Hunters from the naval air stations at Lossiemouth and Brawdy.

After 12 years with the Royal Navy, Lord returned to South Africa in the early 1970’s and joined the SAAF (almost by accident) and flew Impalas, Sabres and the Mirage III. During the Border War, he commanded 1 Squadron, flying the Mirage F1AZ. He then ran airforce operations out of Oshakati and Windhoek in the then South West Africa. Lord was commander of the Air Force Command Post in Pretoria during the successful rescue of all 581 people from the ill-fated liner Oceanos in 1991.

A highlight of his career was organizing the successful flypast of 76 aircraft for Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as President of South Africa in 1994. Lord retired shortly thereafter as a Brigadier (now called Brigadier General) and moved to Somerset West near Cape Town.

Lord did not rest on his laurels and much to the delight of SAAF historians and enthusiasts, he authored many books on the South African Air Force. The first, Fire, Flood and Ice, covered SAAF rescue missions and was later reprinted as Standby!. The following book was the immensely popular Vlamgat, the story of the Mirage F1 in SAAF service. After repeated requests, Lord published his autobiography titled From Tailhooker to Mudmover. His fourth and final book, published in 2008, was Fledgling To Eagle which recounted the story of the South African Air Force during the Border War. All his books were eagerly welcomed and equally treasured.

[airborne_artist]

Here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/naval-obituaries/8873213/Brigadier-General-Dick-Lord.html)

"In 1966 he found himself flying from Ark Royal off Beira, Mozambique, to enforce the oil blockade of Rhodesia following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence. After one mission to intercept a suspected blockade-runner, he returned to find that the carrier had been overtaken by a tropical storm and that her flight deck was pitching through 65ft: his aircraft caught the third arrester wire and damaged its undercarriage – reckoned a near perfect landing in the conditions."