Hunter air and ground crew

[BEagle]

Tim, yes, feel free to use that.

Do contact DeltaJets and also some of the old Hunter sqn assocs - gold mine of information there!

[Mightycrewseven]

Cold War, Hot Wings: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot 1962-1994

Sqn Ldr (Ret'd) Chris Bain, who has just published his memoirs, include some Hunter stories:

His synopsis reads:

This is a semi-autobiographical account of a fighter pilot in the RAF from 1962 to 1994. He was both a Hunter and Harrier pilot, rose to Squadron Leader level, and commanded fighter and strategic recce units. He was CO of the Desert Rescue Team, flew Dakotas on desert supply running, and saw active fighter service receiving bullet holes in his aircraft during the Aden Radfan campaign. He flew Cold War covert recce missions, commanded the Harrier unit in Belize, spent the Gulf War working with the US Defence Intelligence Agency, and became a nuclear weapons specialist. The book includes inside accounts of army support missions on the Yemen border, flying cold war recce missions in Europe, early day conversion to Harriers without any training aids, and long range ultra-high-level, covert photo intelligence gathering sorties, including helping police and customs with airborne photography, most notably for the 2nd Moors Murder Inquiry. It also includes political, geographical and economic background of all the places in which he served, and comments on political and military decisions made at those times.

Before I waste my money, anyone read this book and fancy giving us a review?
M7sends

[G085H1TE]

Tim,
I've had this shot of Chivenor in my (small but perfectly formed) collection for a while. Judging by the kit on the ground (Hunter F.1s, Vampire FB.5s and T.11s) I guess it was taken around 1955?
It's not the best of scans I'm afraid - will see if I can do a better job of it now I've got a new, less grumpy, scanner.
My father's also got a few shots from his time with the other Hunter OCU (233 at Pembrey) in 1956-57 if they're of any interest to you?

[Tim McLelland]

That's a gem of a photograph - a real nostaligia trip! Somehow I guess Chivenor's flight line doesn't look quite so interesting these days... presume it's full of Army trucks? I saw that the approach lights on their wooden trestles over the estuary have gone too - tragic - Chivenor's had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra but I guess it's gone for good now

[BEagle]

Yes, a real gem of a photo. That's the RAF I wanted to join!! Lots of stations and lots of jets.

But SHOCK, HORROR!! Not only are those chaps wearing hats on the flight line, but not one of them is wearing a yellow road-digger's jacket!!!

The sun always did shine in the Summer in those days. Having been on the first of the Hawk courses back in 1980, I don't think I could face the pain of seeing what the RM have done to 'Heaven in Devon' - probably the finest station in the RAF in the eraly 80s.

May the fleas of a thousand camels forever infest the armpits and crotch of the utter tosser who handed it over to the Marines............

[rivethead]

Hey Tim i have in my hand at this very moment a book titled "RAF Chivenor"
by David Watkins, it is in the series of Britian in old photographs and this book has quit a lot of old pictures of the mighty CHIV with its Hunters and lots of othe aircraft.
There is even a picture of 36 Hunters flying in the formation of 229, of which i was lucky enough to see way back then.
I first came accross Chiv as a very youg LAC when i got posted there straight off my Mechs course at good old St Athan back in February of 1971,
working on the Hunter line with Mk 6 & 10s, what memories.
I went back there and finished my time on the Hawks in 1985.
I go back there now and again just across the esturary at Fremington camp and have a few times gone back onto the camp, and what a lot of changes.
Talking to someof the locals it was a bad day when all the CRABS moved out and the BOOTIES moved in.

[Double Zero]

Hunter pics

Please call if you wish at [email protected] - PM playing up at the moment.

- have a couple of shots of T8M XL602 when she was a Sea Harrier FRS1 Blue Fox testbed for us - an uncle was a fitter dedicated solely to that aircraft, and I must say I've not heard a good comment from him or my father re. working on the Hunter - great to fly, a total b----rd in original form to work on or use in combat !

[Algy]

...when it was news

Now that's how to write English.

[Tim McLelland]

Imagine - aerospace articles written by competent journalists. The mind boggles!

Oh and speaking of T8M's I hope the one at Exeter gets back into the air eventually. That should be worth a second glance!

[jindabyne]

From the loft ----

O'head Chivenor, FL370, 6/68, RTB from Wattisham (Queens B'Day Flypast Detachment)


Most men who flew in it


Chivenor Open Day, 8/68

[Tim McLelland]

Even more obscure! - the lead Hunter appears to be wearing the fairly short-lived natural metal finish with dayglow patches. I assume the F6's have white spines?

Useful photo this - it also clears-up the confusion as to the size of the upper wing roundels on the Chivenor Meteors - these seem to vary in size on various Meteors, depending on what unit they belonged to!

[Raven30]

Tim,
You are correct, it was 151 Sqn Hawks over Lundy with the tail letters spelling out the name. 1982 I think - I still have a copy somewhere.

[Two's in]

Saw a couple of Hunters going in to NAS Jacksonville, FL, just the other week, not sure who they belonged to but still a fantastic looking aircraft.

[country calls]

As a fresh faced 16 yr old Flight Line Mechanic I was loaned to Hunter Line at Valley, supposedly to stop me from learning bad habits before the start of my Hawk FLM course in 79. Guess where I learnt all my bad habits?????

Such gems as the quickest way to get from point a to b with a polypin (barrel) of Avpin, was to lay it on its side and propel it along the flight line with deft kicks.........

I still have the trademark scar on the top of my head from the mainwheel centering spike in the wheel well. If you forgot to duck your head as you ran the fuel hose in, you ended up spilling claret everywhere from the gash in your head exactly where the soft spot in a babys skull is. It's hard work, dialling the clockwork fuel distributor setting with blood in your eyes!

Best memory though, was running a field telephone from the linehut to the beach and toasting nicely in the sun between see offs.

[cliver029]

...Another Hunter Hazard

I've still got a scar on my back from backing into a very "warm" Hunter pitot head whilst doing a hot turn round at Tengah during "Confrontation"

[Mike Read]

Hunters/Chivenor

It is pleasing to see the photos of the Chivenor flight line at various times. I wonder if anyone out there remembers the day following the Royal Observer Corps day - 12 Oct 64 - when the visiting aircraft dispersed. They all had a training connection and it seemed a good idea to have a mixed formation flyby. So, with a Spitfire leading, (Phil Holde- Rushworth) a vic of a pointed nose Canberra and a Vampire T11 and a J.P. followed by a vic of Meteor F8 (me) with a Hunter F6 and a Gnat. As we flew by sombody said "why don't we go to Rissy" so we did ! Can't remember if the photo in my logbook was taken at Chiv or Rissy.

Or the New Years Eve Party on 31 Dec 64 when a rumour started about 1 Sqn (229 OCU that is - not the baloonists) planning a squadron flypast to welcome the new year. 2 Sqn boss, Buck Ryan, had a quiet word with our engineer and organised a 1st Jan 65 0900 take off, headaches notwithstanding. I have a photo of the Squadron - four boxes of Mk 6's with a box of Meteors and the Hunter spare tucked in behind. Needless to say, having been pipped at the post 1 Sqn gave in. Happy days. A great OC Flying, Mike Hobson, who permitted such things. No doubt such shennanigins would now need approval by CAS who would say "NO".