WIWOL Wednesday
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 26
TLP Jever, April 1986
The first laugh was going out in the evening after arrival and enjoying the delights of Jagermeister in the days before it came mixed with Red Bull. In the wagon on the way back through the gate we were asked for our "identity papers" by a conscript gate guard. A quiet Dutch voice said: "close your eyes and drift back 40 years, what's changed?" to the sniggeringly childish amusement of the rest of the team.
The second laugh came the following morning when, over a coffee, the Bitburg Eagle dudes were taking the piss about our complete lack of anything (navkit, radar, weapons and fuel, to name a few) to make it suitable for any of the roles they were attempting to undertake on the course. Quite rightly, they thought their bit of kit was the cat's pajamas - all the rest of us were insanely jealous... Cue me (a 300-hour JP) saying: "yeah, but, just watch our departure!"
As always, the groundcrew were egging us on during start-up since the boys out there had been unable to do anything because they were always out of gas before the mission started. As we were taxying out the sun was shining and I distinctly remember a tractor cutting the grass near the US line hut, which was a set of tents.
I got airborne second and bent it left across the grass towards the Eagle line at about 15-20ft - followed by a rotation over the line hut in clouds of grass cuttings and collapsing tents with paperwork flying everywhere.
Immensely satisfying for me and a morale booster for the boys who reported back that it was even grudgingly appreciated by the Americans running round trying to corral their F700-equivalents.
Christ, that was thirty years ago!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 145
30 Years Ago
"yeah, but, just watch our departure!"
Perhaps in an attempt to mitigate the "lack of anything", at least one of the missions that week was flown with the air defenders split into two Eagle/Lightning pairs (i.e., Eagle lead and Lightning wing, but I don't think they departed or recovered that way). Afterwards, the Bitburg guys seemed pretty jazzed about the arrangement because it allowed them to operate independently of each other, yet still completely offensively.
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 214
No Dophins. Sopwith or otherwise
It's really only the F3 (with extras)
They do 9 liveries. Not including 19.
For anyone interested:
EE Lightning F3 Review
They do 9 liveries. Not including 19.
For anyone interested:
EE Lightning F3 Review
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: France
Age: 77
Posts: 6,365
Reminds me of the Binbrook "Station Photograph" about 1982 - DC decreed "everyone" to be there, but it was clear from the final result that there was an absentee rate of between 25 and 30%. There was then a witch hunt, every flt and sqn commander being directed to scan the photo and identify who was not there. Cue much short sightedness amongst many officers. I have a copy of the photo somewhere
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Scotland
Age: 71
Posts: 94
It is Wednesday somewhere in the world now and I am away tomorrow (UK Wednesday) for a bit. Scruffy pointed out that my original photos in Posts 14 & 28 are no longer viewable. 
Don't know why but here they are again.
XR758 being dismantled at Darwin prior to being boxed back to the UK due to a fire out there.
Don't know why but here they are again.XR758 being dismantled at Darwin prior to being boxed back to the UK due to a fire out there.
Join Date: Aug 2010
Age: 88
Posts: 142
Thanks
Thanks for re posting - must have been a tough det - amazed the RAF broke the aircraft down like that - quite a few books stated that the RAF Had never actually taken a Lightning apart in service - well i guess that proves them wrong ! - Shows to good advantage just how clever the design of the aircraft was all fitting together like a jigsaw
