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USAFE Call Signs? 1960's & 1970's.
Evening All
Anyone know what call signs the USAF used whilst in UK during the 60's & 70's. Eg B-47s F100s, C-130s, F-111s, Phantoms. Regards Glider 90 |
Fortactical callsigns USAFE used 4-6 letter pronounceable words which were, IIRC, randomly generated with a 1-2 digit number. e.g. RATCH 1 to 5; SPONG etc. After some embarrassing incidents they set it to avoid call signs such as PENIS. There was the occasion a pair of F-111s asked to contact UH and get them to confirm what they should use. The answer from base ops was to tell the to adopt the callsigns STUPID 1 and 2. looking here the system doesn’t seem to have changed much. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a403713.pdf |
Today's Memory Quiz from GLIDER 90 :)
I should remember more, because I spent about 7 years at Eastern Radar (RAF Watton) in the 70s talking to thousands of them!! Sadly, very few callsigns are emerging from the dim recesses of my brain ... how annoying! The only ones I immediately recall are: STEAD ... Alconbury RF-4 AKEE ... Upper Heyford F-111 Hopefully other responders will fill some gaps for Lakenheath, Bentwaters/Woodbridge, Wethersfield, Sculthorpe etc. Mildenhall C-130s generally used 'Air Force nnnnnn', IIRC. I shall continue pondering. PS: I distantly recall SPONG and RATCH, but can't think who used those. |
Woodbridge/Bentwaters based F4s. |
Originally Posted by ORAC
(Post 10222347)
Woodbridge/Bentwaters based F4s. I think that also reads back to the F-100 days. Did that also carry on to the A-10? |
Can’t say. Controlled a lot of the F-4s because their secondary role was AD and they did a lot of 135 intercepts before or after their range slots. A-10s of course never had that role. Controlled a lot going to a towline, but can’t remember the callsigns. |
Much appreciated, it's a hobby of mine trying to make a list of call signs from that era.
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F-111s used Re-run and Lay during 1976/77.
Stead and Akee were F4s I think. Bruin was another c/s in use but I can't say what type. Hobby & Vice were A10s. |
Copied RERUN and LAY for UH. I remember when someone tells me the answer!! STEAD was deffo 10TRW RF-4 at ALC. Endless singleton sorties that saturated the controller at ERD!! Who was AKEE? Was that LAK F-111s?? |
FORM & AXE for KC-135 training flights from Mildenhall. BLUE A-10’s RAVEN F-111’s (the ones with the big lump on the fin) |
Originally Posted by uffington sb
(Post 10222683)
RAVEN F-111’s (the ones with the big lump on the fin)
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Akee were UH F111s, Trest were LN. IIRC, Tahoe were UH F111s too, and Jazz.
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20th TAC Upper Heyford F111E
Wing C/S Lay Squadrons Akee Sewn Rerun 48th TAC Lakenheath F111F Wing C/S Trest Squadrons Hid Ratch Pal |
We are cooking with gas! Some I now remember from 70-77, but not all. My “best” callsign was at Strubby in c. 1966, from a TF-100 who had just ejected off the Lincolnshire coast. He came up on 243.0 from his PLB and just said “This is Wiggins, anybody there?” The rest of the story I posted somewhere else in this Forum. He was rescued, but his partner didn’t make it, and subsequently Wiggins resurfaced on F-111 at LAK in the 70s ... sadly I never got to meet him. https://www.pprune.org/9759019-post16.html |
Coo, AKEE11. That brings back memories. Late '70's, RAF Leeming. ATC Supervisor (a pratt, but that's another story) accepts a commitment to use Leeming as a Weather Diversion for 76 (YES 76) F1-11's, on exercise. The fact that Leeming was fully committed as a Weather Div anyway was ignored. The smug look on his face was soon wiped as across the airwaves came "Leeming Approach, Akee 11, diverting your field due weather".
The other 75 (thankfully) didn't arrive. |
I can remember processing flight plans at LATCC like Windy, Porgy, Gopsy, all followed by 2 numbers.
Then there was also Rhode 20....... |
"OLD" and "ASK" were C-130s. As for "AXE", this may have been the 10th ACCS with its four EC-135s based at Mildenhall.
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