Rudder fine steering on BA 747 Classics?

[suninmyeyes]

I used to fly BA 747 Classics but they did not have rudder fine steering. The ones we inherited from BCal after the merger did have rudder fine steering which made controlling the plane between 30 and 60 knots on crosswind takeoffs and landings much easier.

Does anyone know if Boeing produced the 747 classics without rudder fine steering or was it deactivated by BOAC/British Airways?

[CV880]

I was 747 trained (by BA although not a BA employee) in 1971 so its all a very long time ago but I vaguely recall the very early 747's had rudder pedal steering but it was activated by a push-pull cable from the nose gear shock strut. The cable failed due to excessive bending as the gear extended and retracted and the system ended up being inop. Boeing redesigned it to be electrically actuated via the nose gear air ground sensors. I don't know if there was a retrofit for the electrically actuated system or what BA did about it.