Britannia to MOS/LED

[Lance Shippey]

1987, I boarded an Aeroflot AN24 from TAS (Tashkent) to UGC (Urgench) with a group of
U.S. citizens, due to the stay in Samarkand being reduced by one night because of the
lack of hotel rooms. I was seated alone at the back, opposite the galley and freight hold.
45 mins into the flt,, a doctor in the group advised me that he thought he was having a
stroke, and would go into the WC. and leave the door unlocked. I should bring his wife
to the WC if he failed to come out. After having to call his wife, we helped him out of the
WC, and laid him down on the floor of an empty freight compartment. I asked the one
stewardess for the oxygen cylinder, which she gave me in two parts. I asked her what
pressure to put through the mask. Her reply, "I don't know, I have not been shown how
to us it" At this stage, I advised the 2 KGB men sitting near the galley, that I was going
to enter the cockpit, and speak to the captain. I told the young captain in German, that
I was a pilot, and we needed to divert, He replied," Military airspace" we can't. I will put
more speed, and land without flaps. radio for ambulance, You get off first. O.K. ?
The American doctor survived, but refused to get into the ambulance. He eventually
returned to HEL (Helsinki) with me, and back to the U.S. Thank heavens, that many
Uzbeki's speak German, as a second language.

[WHBM]

It's about 400nm Tashkent to Urgench, almost wholly over uninhabited desert. In an An-24 you were probably halfway there or more by the time you finally spoke to the captain an hour into the flight, so continuing to planned destination sounds appropriate, especially as he already had contact with them, to arrange an ambulance on arrival.

German was a common second language in Soviet schools, due to the links with the GDR (and it being a lingua franca in adjacent countries), but fewer links with English-speaking countries. Putin did German at school.

[Lance Shippey]

Putin lived in Dresden 1985-1990. He worked at the KGB office on Angelikestrasse
as KGB Officer. The lived in a special apartment block for KGB and Stasi employees.
A Stasi Identity card was found after the fall of the wall. Putin's second daughter,
Katerina was born in Dresden in 1986. Dresden was important to the KGB, because
of the Semper opera, and art filled museums which attracted many Western visitors
Many Westerners falling foul of "Honey Traps" at the Bellevue hotel were rich pickings
for Putin's masters. His German is excellent, albeit, with a Russian accent.
The eastern states, (Uzbekistan) have a large number of German speakers, because
of the Soviets moving the "Volga Russians" to the East in 1941, when they thought
they ma be German collaborators.

[Lance Shippey]

Dear Albert Hall,
I thought you may like to know. Andrzej Jeziorski died on
Jan. 31st. 2018. He flew for 304 Polish bomber squadron
on Wellington's during WW2. and for BY until 1982.
He died in London at the age of 95.

Lance Shippey.2222

[Lance Shippey]

Col. Andrzej Jekiorski. arrived in Plymouth on board Polish ship
"ORP Sobieski" from St. Jean de Luz, France on June 6th 1940.
He served in the armed forces in Scotland, and in 1942, trained
as a pilot, joining the 304 Polish bomber squadron. After WW2
he became a commercial pilot, and flew with Britannia until the
beginning of 1983. He was still flying at the age of 87.
He had more decorations than my local B and Q Store.
Knights cross to the order of Polonia Restituta.
Commander cross of the order of Polonia Restituta,
Order of the merit of Poland class 111 and 1V (1990)
Cross of Valour.
With thousands of commercial flights as passenger behind me,
Cpt. Jekiorski's Britannia flt. LED/LGW is the most memorable.
His welcome address whilst still on the ground in LED, and his
announcement that we were leaving Soviet airspace made life
that much better for me.
I would be interested in learning what Cpt Jekiorski did after
WW2 prior to his joining BY.? (Euravia having started in 1961)

Lance Shippey