Nimrod – Rise and Fall
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Nimrod – Rise and Fall
According to my latest issue of SETP Cockpit, Tony Blackman’s book “Nimrod – Rise and Fall” is scheduled for release in November 2011. Same information on Amazon.
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Almost right, the book will be launched at Duxford on Sunday 16th Oct at Tony's stand in the book sellers area, he'll be there all day. Signed copies only available through me or Tony's website (Google him).
From Tony:
This book is about an aircraft which was arguably the best reconnaissance aeroplane in the
world until it was scrapped prematurely by the government of the day under great financial
duress but, unfortunately, leaving the country almost defenceless from a long-distance maritime
reconnaissance point of view.
It is written especially for the general reader, rather than for Nimrod specialists, though I
hope that they will read it with interest and enjoy it. Not many people realise what a great job
the aircraft did because so much of its work was classified. Conversely they can’t comprehend
what a great loss it is to this country. My aim in writing this book is to let everyone know what
a superb aircraft it was and tell a few stories of all the things it could do.
A wee taster from the Prologue (1980 vintage):
“‘Radar to standby. Climbing’. As the airspeed bled back towards 230 knots and we started to
regain the radio signals from the sonobuoys further away in the field on only our second climb
to height, the lead wet underwater equipment operator came on the intercom, ‘Captain – Jez.
We’ve got an interesting line on buoy 14.’ ‘Yet another nuclear-powered Grimsby trawler’ I cynically
thought, instead of a submarine, wondering why we hadn’t detected it visually or on radar
as we laid the buoys.
“Maintaining RF contact, we gradually dropped down to low level, drew a blank on the
radar, and supplemented the field around buoy 14, shortly after which the AEO came on the
intercom reporting further buoys in contact and a classification of ‘Possub, Confidence Level
4’, and an identification of the suspected class of the Soviet hunter-killer submarine that we
were firmly in contact with, and which was tracking.....
There is a lot more to the book though, including 140 colour photos within the text:
CHAPTER 1 NIMROD FROM START TO FINISH
CHAPTER 2 HISTORY OF ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE
CHAPTER 3 NIMROD MR2
CHAPTER 4 NIMROD ANTI-SUBMARINE AND ANTI-SURFACE UNIT WARFARE
CHAPTER 5 NIMROD SEARCH AND RESCUE SORTIES
CHAPTER 6 LAND BATTLES AND SPECIAL SORTIES
CHAPTER 7 THE FALKLANDS CAMPAIGN
CHAPTER 8 NIMROD ACCIDENTS
CHAPTER 9 NIMROD AEW
CHAPTER 10 NIMROD MRA4
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX 1 A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MR2 CREW
APPENDIX 2 GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS
APPENDIX 3 NIMROD TIME LINES
APPENDIX 4 COMPARISON BETWEEN MRA4 AND MR2
APPENDIX 5 MOD DEFINED TASKS FOR THE NIMROD
INDEX
From Tony:
This book is about an aircraft which was arguably the best reconnaissance aeroplane in the
world until it was scrapped prematurely by the government of the day under great financial
duress but, unfortunately, leaving the country almost defenceless from a long-distance maritime
reconnaissance point of view.
It is written especially for the general reader, rather than for Nimrod specialists, though I
hope that they will read it with interest and enjoy it. Not many people realise what a great job
the aircraft did because so much of its work was classified. Conversely they can’t comprehend
what a great loss it is to this country. My aim in writing this book is to let everyone know what
a superb aircraft it was and tell a few stories of all the things it could do.
A wee taster from the Prologue (1980 vintage):
“‘Radar to standby. Climbing’. As the airspeed bled back towards 230 knots and we started to
regain the radio signals from the sonobuoys further away in the field on only our second climb
to height, the lead wet underwater equipment operator came on the intercom, ‘Captain – Jez.
We’ve got an interesting line on buoy 14.’ ‘Yet another nuclear-powered Grimsby trawler’ I cynically
thought, instead of a submarine, wondering why we hadn’t detected it visually or on radar
as we laid the buoys.
“Maintaining RF contact, we gradually dropped down to low level, drew a blank on the
radar, and supplemented the field around buoy 14, shortly after which the AEO came on the
intercom reporting further buoys in contact and a classification of ‘Possub, Confidence Level
4’, and an identification of the suspected class of the Soviet hunter-killer submarine that we
were firmly in contact with, and which was tracking.....
There is a lot more to the book though, including 140 colour photos within the text:
CHAPTER 1 NIMROD FROM START TO FINISH
CHAPTER 2 HISTORY OF ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE
CHAPTER 3 NIMROD MR2
CHAPTER 4 NIMROD ANTI-SUBMARINE AND ANTI-SURFACE UNIT WARFARE
CHAPTER 5 NIMROD SEARCH AND RESCUE SORTIES
CHAPTER 6 LAND BATTLES AND SPECIAL SORTIES
CHAPTER 7 THE FALKLANDS CAMPAIGN
CHAPTER 8 NIMROD ACCIDENTS
CHAPTER 9 NIMROD AEW
CHAPTER 10 NIMROD MRA4
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX 1 A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MR2 CREW
APPENDIX 2 GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS
APPENDIX 3 NIMROD TIME LINES
APPENDIX 4 COMPARISON BETWEEN MRA4 AND MR2
APPENDIX 5 MOD DEFINED TASKS FOR THE NIMROD
INDEX
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I look forward to reading about 'a typical day in the life of a MR2 crew'!
Not commonly known, this was just to put the aircraft in trim. Pies on the flight deck give a nose-down trim which was good for SAR.
Simples
Ullage
Aw ditor,
I'm impressed, nay, totally and overwhelmingly in awe that not only could you sell nothing to someone else, but you actually persuaded a customer to part with money for nothing in return.
Perhaps a different 'ullage' to the one us stackers were used to. Ours was the empty headspace above the liquid in the fuel tanks - also used as a nickname for a certain OC POL at a large AT base in the early seventies.
I'm impressed, nay, totally and overwhelmingly in awe that not only could you sell nothing to someone else, but you actually persuaded a customer to part with money for nothing in return.
Perhaps a different 'ullage' to the one us stackers were used to. Ours was the empty headspace above the liquid in the fuel tanks - also used as a nickname for a certain OC POL at a large AT base in the early seventies.
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...the AEO came on the intercom reporting further buoys in contact and a classification of ‘Possub, Confidence Level 4’, and an identification of the suspected class of the Soviet hunter-killer submarine ...
If it was 1980 vintage perhaps it was an MR1? When did it stop being called Jez?
From my first days on MR2s, mid 80s, it would have been:
'Tac Nav - Acoustics. Contact in Lofar (difar/Barra as required) 14 analysing!'
The subsequent classification would once again, as Ray has already stated, have been announced on intercom (hopefully the right one!) by acoustics - for which read the lead wet!
But the UK isn't in this game any more, so this conversation comes under the heading of nostalgia....
From my first days on MR2s, mid 80s, it would have been:
'Tac Nav - Acoustics. Contact in Lofar (difar/Barra as required) 14 analysing!'
The subsequent classification would once again, as Ray has already stated, have been announced on intercom (hopefully the right one!) by acoustics - for which read the lead wet!
But the UK isn't in this game any more, so this conversation comes under the heading of nostalgia....
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Lead Wet's headset u/s was it? Or was this the same AEO who (admittedly a couple of years after 1980) used to spend much of his time while we were in contact leaning over the wet teams' shoulders and, using one of those extending pointer things, repeatedly point out various lines on the AQS901 CRT and ask what they were? A system he thought worked rather well until his pointer suddenly developed a 90 degree bend and would no longer retract and fit into the pen pocket on his flying suit.
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You MR2 only boys need to get some in. In the MR1 the wetties did radio and there were only 3 dry and 3 wet. It was common place therefore for the AEO to stand watch on Sonics and Jez (note Biggus, the term acoustics came in with the MR2). Indeed many of the ex Shack dry men could hack it on sonics and vice versa the ex shack wet men could operate the ASV21D. The only places you did not often find the AEO were ESM, in the galley, or in ordnance. Which is why I decided to become one
Now if you want a funny MK1 AEO story, how about the very first nestor fit? A secure radio down the back in linescan, utterly and totally isolated from intercom. More than one AEO incurred the wrath of the GSU for spending the entire sortie off intercom monitoring the square root of **** all.
Not that anybody on the crew gave a toss.
Now if you want a funny MK1 AEO story, how about the very first nestor fit? A secure radio down the back in linescan, utterly and totally isolated from intercom. More than one AEO incurred the wrath of the GSU for spending the entire sortie off intercom monitoring the square root of **** all.
Not that anybody on the crew gave a toss.
I, along with many other trades/individuals, used to take the mickey (hopefully in a light hearted way - it's called banter) out of the AEO on the Nimrod for many years. Then it finally dawned on me....
The AEO was getting paid the same amount as money as me for doing bug#er all, so who the mug...? Certainly not the AEO!
The AEO was getting paid the same amount as money as me for doing bug#er all, so who the mug...? Certainly not the AEO!
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I always found the 11 point dividers handy for the AEO problem!!
Now if you want a funny MK1 AEO story, how about the very first nestor fit?
As if to prove the point there was the AEO who changed the MAR tape mid sortie then proceeded to 'address' it on what he thought was Tac intercom but was in fact Box 2 set on ASWAC Primary: "This tape is classified SECRET. GIB Green 025, 15th May 1977, xxxSqn Crew x, Flt Lt xxxxxxxx, etc, etc".
When he finished there was a stunned silence, broken only by the voice of 'Roget Wait Y'all' on the JFK, to whom we were providing Direct Support at the time: "Gee Sir, was that all for me?"
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There were two distinct types of AEO, good ones and I'd rather have the fuel.
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Magic to see some good maritime banter coming back. I've kinda missed that since I stood with a tear in both eyes on Oct 19 in the breezy Kinloss hangar...
Keep it coming!!
Keep it coming!!