Mass Herc Flypast - 1980s?
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Mass Herc Flypast - 1980s?
Remember the days when you could see a flypast of fifteen RAF Hercs at an airshow? I took this at an airshow in the 1980s using my Boots instamatic, I think it was Greenham Common but not too sure.
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Try 1985 or 1986 at the IAT, as it then was. The Hercs were working up in the week prior and I think all of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire saw them. Seems such a long, long time ago now and I don't think William Hill would offer attractive odds on it happening again.
Conan
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An Interesting website you've got there Conan.
Are you the bird with the bottle or the bald chap fighting back the wave of nausea? He has an excuse though as I'd also feel unwell with that on my knee. My apologies should that happen to be Ms Conan 'letting her hair down' at the village's WI charity meet and greet.
Village life as depicted on biscuits tins: Thatched cottages and red GPO boxes replaced by flabby slappers waving bottles of cheap bubbly at OAPs. Has a certain down-market novelty value I suppose.
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An Interesting website you've got there Conan.
Are you the bird with the bottle or the bald chap fighting back the wave of nausea? He has an excuse though as I'd also feel unwell with that on my knee. My apologies should that happen to be Ms Conan 'letting her hair down' at the village's WI charity meet and greet. Village life as depicted on biscuits tins: Thatched cottages and red GPO boxes replaced by flabby slappers waving bottles of cheap bubbly at OAPs. Has a certain down-market novelty value I suppose.
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XL5, it is one of a few websites that cater for different areas. This one I was aked to do to cover village events, etc. This afternoon sees another charity event to raise funds for the Macmillan cancer fund. I do hope that you are not too offended. One day, I might show you the other sites. The Air to Air shots and the corporate events have a rather different feel to them.
Sorry to have offended your sensibilities.
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The Herk flypast may even have been in 1987. I am looking for a video clip of it that I know to exist - when I can get five minutes.
Conan
XL5, it is one of a few websites that cater for different areas. This one I was aked to do to cover village events, etc. This afternoon sees another charity event to raise funds for the Macmillan cancer fund. I do hope that you are not too offended. One day, I might show you the other sites. The Air to Air shots and the corporate events have a rather different feel to them.
Sorry to have offended your sensibilities.
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The Herk flypast may even have been in 1987. I am looking for a video clip of it that I know to exist - when I can get five minutes.
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I can remember seeing 15 Herc's fly over to Arnhem to celebrate the anniversary of market garden this would not have been this occasion by any chance.
I never forgot it as i was sitting on the ridge of a roof at the time building bloody great view.
makes sense with the AAC flags and squaddies in the pic.
I never forgot it as i was sitting on the ridge of a roof at the time building bloody great view.
makes sense with the AAC flags and squaddies in the pic.
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Of course back then we had 60+ Hercs (all Ks) which had not been hammered to death in various hot and sandy places.
Oh and loads of techies to fix them when they broke and spares etc etc.
It was a regular thing to put up a 15 ship for a para drop exercise.
Sadly those days are long gone
Oh and loads of techies to fix them when they broke and spares etc etc.
It was a regular thing to put up a 15 ship for a para drop exercise.
Sadly those days are long gone
It was Fairford, 18 Jul 1987.
We only flew on the Saturday, as the weather was so bad on the Sunday. A few 'interesting' emergency briefs after all the 'what happens if....?' questions. Luckily, nothing untoward happened.
We only flew on the Saturday, as the weather was so bad on the Sunday. A few 'interesting' emergency briefs after all the 'what happens if....?' questions. Luckily, nothing untoward happened.
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Have some photos lying about somewhere of more or less all of 72 squadrons wessex in the air at once for their departure from Odiham
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Wasnt there something in the 70s called the JATFOR concept which involved large formations of Hercs doing para/air drop? I seem to remember them takeing off in streams from Lyneham, flying a route and then doing the drops on Salisbury Plain. I seem to have a figure of 36 in my mind but cant believe that even then we could generate such a large peercentage of the force. Anyone remember this?
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Conan.T.L. My sensibilities not even mildly scuffed, but sense of humour triggered by the depiction of village life. Things have obviously changed since Postman Pat did his rural rounds. Now, back to those Hercs.....
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Spectre, I remember it well. JATFOR (Joint Air Transport Force - Parachute Brigade) was in it's heyday in the early 70s and one of the biggest exercises was Exercise Ruby Signet in Denmark in October 1972. There were possibly even more than 36 hercs used in a single wave and the first one delivered some 2400 Paras and the following returning waves delivered well over 60 HSP/MSP. I was based at Vaerlose for 10 days ready to ground handle the aircraft if the weather prevented a drop and the big recovery phase at the end when it all had to be recovered back to UK. Fortunately no fatalaties on the drop although one Maldrop with a Ferret Armoured Car produced a new vehicle 10 ft wide and 3ft high, another ended up in the middle of a forest and yet another went into a lake! There was a MOD Movie of JATFOR made from this Exercise - possibly still in the library gathering dust...
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I seem to remember an extremely large formation in the mid 70s. All bar 1 aircraft was at home, (that one u/s in Townsville, I think). The drop was in near Kiel, I think. You could not hear yourself think when they all started up and do power checks together.
176 was the only one not to make it. With all of them gone you could shout to the line to get spares, it was that quiet.
Didn't the aircraft fly a little too close to each other during the drop?
176 was the only one not to make it. With all of them gone you could shout to the line to get spares, it was that quiet.
Didn't the aircraft fly a little too close to each other during the drop?
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Adrian Mole's memory serves him well. I just dragged out my old logbook and see that I flew XV184 on Ruby Signet on 16/18th Oct '72.
My memory may not be as accurate as his but I seem to recollect that when the full formation was assembled it was nearer to 60 than 36 strong.
My memory may not be as accurate as his but I seem to recollect that when the full formation was assembled it was nearer to 60 than 36 strong.
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I would be surprised if we could muster a 2 ship now 
, although even just 5 years ago I remember an 11 ship doing a para drop over soulsbury, there must have been about 800 paras lined up along the bund road fence having a pre-drop wee 
- But seeing 11 hercs in formation is a fairly impressive sight 
, although even just 5 years ago I remember an 11 ship doing a para drop over soulsbury, there must have been about 800 paras lined up along the bund road fence having a pre-drop wee - But seeing 11 hercs in formation is a fairly impressive sight