German 'Luftwaffe' cannot find Tripolis
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German 'Luftwaffe' cannot find Tripolis
Yesterday I saw in a German news brodcast, that the 'Transall' with Vice Chancellor and Minister Roesler landed at a wrong airfield on their visit to Lybia and had to take off again to find the right one.
How emberrassing if this is true. Someone, who can shed some light on this?
How emberrassing if this is true. Someone, who can shed some light on this?
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From "Instruments of Darkness" by Alfred Price....
At 04:30 am on 13th July 1944, a lone twin engined aircraft circled the airfield at Woodbridge in Suffolk. The runway controller took it to be a Mosquito and flashed a green 'clear to land' signal to the aircraft. The plane touched down and taxied to the end of the runway, where it switched off its engines. Its crew were standing around on the apron, stretching their legs, when the crew bus arrived to pick them up; and it was in this way that an RAF flight-sergeant came to find himself confronted with three live German air crewmen. The surprise was mutual, but the British NCO hurridly produced a Very pistol and forced the Germans to surrender. The "Mosquito", it now transpired was a fully equipped Junkers 88 night-fighter. Its inexperienced pilot had inadvertently steered a reciprocal course on his compass and arrived in England without knowing it. He had been lucky to reach Woodbridge; when the RAF technicians attempted to take a sample of fuel from the aircraft's tanks they found that there was insufficient even for analysis.
The captured Ju 88 was full of electronic equipment ominously unfamiliar to British Intelligence. It was equipped with both the new SN-2 radar and "Flensburg", the homer which enabled night-fighters to use the radiations from the RAF bombers' "Monica" night-fighter warning radar equipment. Most important was the discovery that SN-2 worked on a frequency of 85 megacycles which meant that standard "window" used for the last year had no effect............. The jamming immunity enjoyed by SN-2 during its 8 month operational life had come to an end."
Perhaps this German pilot had a Grandson?
At 04:30 am on 13th July 1944, a lone twin engined aircraft circled the airfield at Woodbridge in Suffolk. The runway controller took it to be a Mosquito and flashed a green 'clear to land' signal to the aircraft. The plane touched down and taxied to the end of the runway, where it switched off its engines. Its crew were standing around on the apron, stretching their legs, when the crew bus arrived to pick them up; and it was in this way that an RAF flight-sergeant came to find himself confronted with three live German air crewmen. The surprise was mutual, but the British NCO hurridly produced a Very pistol and forced the Germans to surrender. The "Mosquito", it now transpired was a fully equipped Junkers 88 night-fighter. Its inexperienced pilot had inadvertently steered a reciprocal course on his compass and arrived in England without knowing it. He had been lucky to reach Woodbridge; when the RAF technicians attempted to take a sample of fuel from the aircraft's tanks they found that there was insufficient even for analysis.
The captured Ju 88 was full of electronic equipment ominously unfamiliar to British Intelligence. It was equipped with both the new SN-2 radar and "Flensburg", the homer which enabled night-fighters to use the radiations from the RAF bombers' "Monica" night-fighter warning radar equipment. Most important was the discovery that SN-2 worked on a frequency of 85 megacycles which meant that standard "window" used for the last year had no effect............. The jamming immunity enjoyed by SN-2 during its 8 month operational life had come to an end."
Perhaps this German pilot had a Grandson?
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Cue the story about the LYE staish who captained a C130 to land at the wrong Adana(?) and allegedly bravely D-cat'd all the flight deck crew but himself. Churchillian leadership if I ever heard of it...
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Very similar story at the now Bristol International, when what was then RAF Broadfield Down. The airfield had been handed over to the RAF but as yet no aircraft had arrived to the brand new airfield.A Junkers 88 had been on a raid to west Wales, not sure of target possibly Pembroke docks and turned and headed for home in northern France. Following the south wales coast then crossing the Bristol Channel, the crew spotted their 'home' airfield and landed in the semi dark evening, crew exited the a/c only to be met by RAF ground crew, they had mistakenly believed the Bristol Channel was the English Channel and they became the first a/c to land on the newly completed RAF Broadfield Down
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It couldn't happen surely.....................
Ask the (subsequently) very senior officer who led a 4 ship of Phantoms into a perfect break into the circuit at Bruggen (rather than Wildenrath).
Ask the (subsequently) very senior officer who led a 4 ship of Phantoms into a perfect break into the circuit at Bruggen (rather than Wildenrath).
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Cue the story about the LYE staish who captained a C130 to land at the wrong Adana(?) and allegedly bravely D-cat'd all the flight deck crew but himself. Churchillian leadership if I ever heard of it...
Having thought about it, mine might have been a different flight as our incident occurred on the way to Akinsi, just outside Ankara, Turkey. We definitely landed at the wrong air base though and embarrassment all round. And I was sure it involved the LYE Stash! Happened around April 95.
The funniest thing was our “Adavance, Adavance” Party was on the ground at Akinsi watching our aircraft fly over and into the distance, scratching there heads, thinking “where the hell are they going”. True Story!
Last edited by SRENNAPS; 13th Oct 2011 at 16:13. Reason: Correction!
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SRENNAPS is correct, it was the wrong Ankara. I was on the lead aircraft and (according to my LogBook) landed at Akinsi on 7 Apr 94.
The Staish came in (or rather didn't!) the following day shortly before we departed for Incirlik.
Oh how we laughed.
The Staish came in (or rather didn't!) the following day shortly before we departed for Incirlik.
Oh how we laughed.
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A relatively recent Nav fail in Ireland involved a flight of FAF Alpha Jets on a Nav Ex to Baldonnel declaring they were overhead the airfield to break into the circuit but were nowhere to be seen!
The ramp below full of Shamrock tailed A320's and RyanAir 737's should have gave the game away!!!! And the big sign on the terminal saying 'Dublin' might have been a clue!!!
BW
The ramp below full of Shamrock tailed A320's and RyanAir 737's should have gave the game away!!!! And the big sign on the terminal saying 'Dublin' might have been a clue!!!
BW
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ExAscoteer
Thanks for that. After 29+ years of detachments around the world I remember the dets and incidents like yesterday. It’s just the dates that have all merged into cloud nine
Thanks for that. After 29+ years of detachments around the world I remember the dets and incidents like yesterday. It’s just the dates that have all merged into cloud nine
Last edited by SRENNAPS; 14th Oct 2011 at 05:37.
Not to mention the Tutor which recently mistook Sleap for Shawbury and broke off half-way down finals, allegedly...
The rest of the students on the course were going to make a banner proclaiming "Welcome to RAF St Mawgan" to hang from the tower at Valley to welcome him home - but were advised that this would not be A Good Thing To Do!
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Wasn't there a case of some geographically incorrect Booties a few years back, clambered ashore in Spain rather than Gib? Apparently 'The Rock' isn't a significant enough point of reference......
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Cessna lands at Tonopah, Nevada ('Black Ops Airfield' at the time - and was before the F-117s arrived).
Joe Lighty pulled up to a 'nice' piece of pavement and asked for fuel. When asked what he was dong there, he said he was on a cross country from California to somewhere east, and planned to land at Tonopah (town)'s municipal strip. For those who have been there, Tonopah is a whopping 10000+ long, oriented 18/36 and 150+ wide major military runway, surrounded by the Nevada Desert. The intended landing site was 20 miles further north nearer to town (R/W: 09/27 - Grass - 3000' long).
Following a night chatting to security,
, he was shown the front gate, and was re-united with his Cessna - in 5 parts on a flatbed truck.
The story does not elaborate if he got to the East coast that weekend.
Joe Lighty pulled up to a 'nice' piece of pavement and asked for fuel. When asked what he was dong there, he said he was on a cross country from California to somewhere east, and planned to land at Tonopah (town)'s municipal strip. For those who have been there, Tonopah is a whopping 10000+ long, oriented 18/36 and 150+ wide major military runway, surrounded by the Nevada Desert. The intended landing site was 20 miles further north nearer to town (R/W: 09/27 - Grass - 3000' long).
Following a night chatting to security,
, he was shown the front gate, and was re-united with his Cessna - in 5 parts on a flatbed truck.The story does not elaborate if he got to the East coast that weekend.
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It’s just the dates that have all merged into cloud nine
I know that feeling!
That's why I went and looked it up in the LogBook!
I'm not sure whether it's my advancing years or the effects of alcohol over too many years.
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Then there was the apocryphal story of the national military contingent arriving in the Gulf to make their contribution to the war and wondering what all them mexicans were doing there.
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On exercise at Sculthorpe in 2000(?) a large gaggle of AAC helicopters called me to rejoin. I gave them the airfield info and waited. And waited. And got the binoculars out and looked. And waited some more. They then started to slowly appear over the horizon having made their approach into West Raynham - long closed and then mostly a housing estate.