Memories of RAFG
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But I'm enjoying this thread
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I spent 4 years at Gutersloh in the late 80s, seeing life both before and after reunification. Far too many stories to tell but without doubt they were the very best years of my life, not just my Service career.
Norvenich
Norvenich was the most frequently used crash diversion from Wildenrath. Irrespective of Wildenrath weather, Norvenich, just down the road, was always BLU, that is, unless you actually got diverted there. Then the weather state deteriorated in inverse proportion to your distance out and, by the time you arrived it was unavailable due to fog. Well, they did get paid for being a diversion.
Norvenich was the most frequently used crash diversion from Wildenrath. Irrespective of Wildenrath weather, Norvenich, just down the road, was always BLU, that is, unless you actually got diverted there. Then the weather state deteriorated in inverse proportion to your distance out and, by the time you arrived it was unavailable due to fog. Well, they did get paid for being a diversion.
It did exist in the Middle and Near East though ........... the observers were known to "forecast" 24 hours worth of hourly obs, and give them to the telegraphist with instructions to release one per hour. Every now and then the obs were sent as a slack handful as the telegraphist followed the observer down the road to the mosque.
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It seems as if I had your share:
Cyprus as a baby forecaster 3 years
EDUO as a forecaster of sorts 3
JHQ as forecaster and TACEVAL team 3
JHQ as cook and bottlewasher 6
It was tough but somebody had to do it.
Incidentally, whereas in my youth we found more than enough volunteers for all the overseas post ...... BFG, West Indies, Gib, Malta, Cyprus, N Africa, Aden [perhaps not], Nairobi, Singapore, HongKong ......
in later years the posting folk had to bend a few arms where "wives of" were in fact the larger breadwinner of the family. I think the retreat from Empire and the drawdown came at a timely moment, we had scraped the volunteer barrel dry. Hence my getting back to JHQ, but that is another tale.
Cyprus as a baby forecaster 3 years
EDUO as a forecaster of sorts 3
JHQ as forecaster and TACEVAL team 3
JHQ as cook and bottlewasher 6
It was tough but somebody had to do it.
Incidentally, whereas in my youth we found more than enough volunteers for all the overseas post ...... BFG, West Indies, Gib, Malta, Cyprus, N Africa, Aden [perhaps not], Nairobi, Singapore, HongKong ......
in later years the posting folk had to bend a few arms where "wives of" were in fact the larger breadwinner of the family. I think the retreat from Empire and the drawdown came at a timely moment, we had scraped the volunteer barrel dry. Hence my getting back to JHQ, but that is another tale.
11 years out of 24 in BAOR/RAFG and RAF(G).
My daughter was born there and we have British and German friends there who also travel here too.
So many holidays and memories just could not have been made without the chance to live there and enjoy the other side of the channel.
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Join Date: Sep 2006
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In the hot summer of 1969 our section plus a squadron of Hunters (111 sqn?) went back to RDAF Skrydstrup and won the live-firing FAC phase of "Bullseye 69" beating the Americans, Germans, Dutch & Italians.
Many folks made their mark during their tour in RAFG. Mine was a big oil stain on the ground behind Gutersloh's ESG when an off-load of heating oil didn't go to plan. My stunning career/freedom was saved because some electronic cut-out wasn't connected to the tank and MPBW/DoE(remember them?) had fitted the wrong dipstick (IIRC it read something like 40,000 ltrs max capacity instead of 24,000).
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4mastacker's spillage story has just reminded me of another spillage story.
Laarbruch, early 80's II (ac) Sqn Jags. Like all RAFG sqn's at the time, we were well practised in Taceval, Mineval, Maxeval etc but when we had VIP's turn up when there wasn't an exercise on, the sqn treated them to a mini exercise demonstration lasting only 30 minutes or so. We had a set team, used the same HAS and used the same scenario which we all practised so it looked very slick.
The scenario involved 2 Jags returning to the HAS after a wartime recce sortie. The first aircraft would taxi in and be winched back into the HAS. The film would be removed from the recce pod and dumped into the panniers of my motorcycle (although I was a sooty, this was my "war role"). I rode off at high speed to the RIC, offloaded the film and returned to the HAS where the second aircraft would be taxying in. In the meantime, the refuel bowser would reverse into the HAS in front of the first aircraft. As the second aircraft taxied down the pan towards the HAS, the "Air Attack Red" warning would sound. To speed things up, the second aircraft would taxi into the HAS nose first, shut down, HAS doors closed with everyone safe inside. This is a MK1 German HAS which is quite a bit smaller than the UK ones.
It looked so, so slick when it worked but on this occasion, the bowser driver misjudged things and reversed into the HAS wall. The bowser tank ruptured and it started to spew AVTAG all over the place. The bowser driver drove out of the HAS and up the pan before parking on the grass.
I'm at the other end of the pan watching this on my motorcycle when the second aircraft turns up and starts taxying towards the HAS. I leap off my bike and bring the aircraft to a halt before it reaches the thousands of litres of fuel running across the pan. The next thing I know is the SENGO pushing me out of the way and starts marshalling the aircraft through the fuel towards the HAS. I sh!t myself and dived behind an earth bank, convinced the whole thing would go up. Luckily it didn't. Apparently "the show must go on". The fuel eventually drained into the surrounding soil and the Germans made us excavate the soil to a depth of 2 metres and dispose of it. I'm told the VIP's were impressed though
Laarbruch, early 80's II (ac) Sqn Jags. Like all RAFG sqn's at the time, we were well practised in Taceval, Mineval, Maxeval etc but when we had VIP's turn up when there wasn't an exercise on, the sqn treated them to a mini exercise demonstration lasting only 30 minutes or so. We had a set team, used the same HAS and used the same scenario which we all practised so it looked very slick.
The scenario involved 2 Jags returning to the HAS after a wartime recce sortie. The first aircraft would taxi in and be winched back into the HAS. The film would be removed from the recce pod and dumped into the panniers of my motorcycle (although I was a sooty, this was my "war role"). I rode off at high speed to the RIC, offloaded the film and returned to the HAS where the second aircraft would be taxying in. In the meantime, the refuel bowser would reverse into the HAS in front of the first aircraft. As the second aircraft taxied down the pan towards the HAS, the "Air Attack Red" warning would sound. To speed things up, the second aircraft would taxi into the HAS nose first, shut down, HAS doors closed with everyone safe inside. This is a MK1 German HAS which is quite a bit smaller than the UK ones.
It looked so, so slick when it worked but on this occasion, the bowser driver misjudged things and reversed into the HAS wall. The bowser tank ruptured and it started to spew AVTAG all over the place. The bowser driver drove out of the HAS and up the pan before parking on the grass.
I'm at the other end of the pan watching this on my motorcycle when the second aircraft turns up and starts taxying towards the HAS. I leap off my bike and bring the aircraft to a halt before it reaches the thousands of litres of fuel running across the pan. The next thing I know is the SENGO pushing me out of the way and starts marshalling the aircraft through the fuel towards the HAS. I sh!t myself and dived behind an earth bank, convinced the whole thing would go up. Luckily it didn't. Apparently "the show must go on". The fuel eventually drained into the surrounding soil and the Germans made us excavate the soil to a depth of 2 metres and dispose of it. I'm told the VIP's were impressed though
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In ' 56 the re- formed Luftwaffe was in the hangar next to ours at RAF Wahn. They had one aircraft, a Heron ser. no. 001 and it was their pride and joy. One day it was parked opposite our Meteor NF 11s and as one taxied out the pilot failed to turn right (brake failure?) and taxied into the Heron damaging the wing and an engine. At his subsequent interview the pilot, after his bollocking apparently, was congratulated for grounding the Luftwaffe, even though it was 16 years too late!
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Vendee, mine was similar at Bruggen, went out to refuel two Jags in a HAS, we had them both tail in and the bowser would reverse in down the left side near the little office, the doors were open when I arrived so I started to get the jets ready, the bowser turfed up and we exchanged waves to acknowledge each other. He then proceeded to reverse in as I was opening the refuel panels when there was an almighty bang, looking over I could see he had hit the door locking bar that had gone straight through the tank. The driver just sat there obviously in shock, I legged it to the cab and informed him he had hit the door.... "What" "you have ruptured you tank mate".... "What" "your pissing fuel out"..... "What" "look in your other mirror"..... "****" "get it out of here". He drives out the HAS as I call for assistance and the fire brigade, I then isolate the jets, manually close the doors, drop the napalm seals and kill all power in the HAS, by now help is arriving and the Flight Sgt picks up a sandbag and thinking he is the little Dutch boy attempts to plug the tear that was of Titanic proportions. By now Everyman and a dog have arrived and they are attempting to offload the contents into another tanker, looking over the driver who is actually really a nice chap is making a statement to the plods and turning he points at me.
Previously in the year Germany had surveyed the site and cleaned it up, as in your case they then had to excavate out a large area again. A board of enquiry was formed and along I go to be interviewed, the driver said I was marshalling him in (I wasn't) he then said he lost sight of me ( but carried on). They then pulled out and presented an MT order requiring two marshallers for tankers and had I read it, nope, I then said it was standard practice for one to Marshall it in across the station (spread the poo far and wide
) it turned out the Squadrons had rejected the order and it was never issued. End of the day, the poor driver got a £25 fine, the bowser was written off, lots of soil was removed and burnt, and I was commended in my actions in isolating the aircraft away from the danger and for my prompt and effective actions... As for the Flight Sgt, he just got wet.
Previously in the year Germany had surveyed the site and cleaned it up, as in your case they then had to excavate out a large area again. A board of enquiry was formed and along I go to be interviewed, the driver said I was marshalling him in (I wasn't) he then said he lost sight of me ( but carried on). They then pulled out and presented an MT order requiring two marshallers for tankers and had I read it, nope, I then said it was standard practice for one to Marshall it in across the station (spread the poo far and wide
) it turned out the Squadrons had rejected the order and it was never issued. End of the day, the poor driver got a £25 fine, the bowser was written off, lots of soil was removed and burnt, and I was commended in my actions in isolating the aircraft away from the danger and for my prompt and effective actions... As for the Flight Sgt, he just got wet.
There were two Bills on the sqn: Sqn WO Bill xxx, a real WO, feared and respected in equal measure, and Chf Tech Bill xxx sqn eng ops. The line squawk box goes, 'is Chf Tech xyz there?' I'll find him sir, recognizing the voice. John, Bill wants you on the box. Yes mate, says John on the box, what can I do for you? Wrong Bill, the box melted as the WO explained to John the facts of life; John was mortified. I felt a little guilty so I went to the hangar and confessed to setting up poor John. I got the WO look that froze me to the spot. But, man that he was, WO Bill went over to the line hut and made peace with John. Me? I was in the dog-house only for a day or so.
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During my time on a UAS we went to Wildenrath on summer camp and they didn't forget us in a hurry. Especially our arrival 
Pantech loaded with our personal kit arrived at the main gate and was given an escort vehicle to strictly follow, so as to drop off the kit at various quarters and messes without getting lost. First stop (obviously) the Officers Mess. Car drives up to the entrance and driver follows as instructed.
It was just a pity that the large canopy outside the Mess entrance was about 2" lower than the roof of the Pantech... and more of a pity that the Summer Ball was that night ..
Fortunately the local contractors and German efficiency kicked in - the Pantech was extricated and the canopy made safe pronto but even so we weren't popular
CS
Pantech loaded with our personal kit arrived at the main gate and was given an escort vehicle to strictly follow, so as to drop off the kit at various quarters and messes without getting lost. First stop (obviously) the Officers Mess. Car drives up to the entrance and driver follows as instructed.
It was just a pity that the large canopy outside the Mess entrance was about 2" lower than the roof of the Pantech... and more of a pity that the Summer Ball was that night ..
Fortunately the local contractors and German efficiency kicked in - the Pantech was extricated and the canopy made safe pronto but even so we weren't popular
CS
At this time of year thoughts may turn to Christmas markets. We managed a good few, and our consensus was that they are much better at night.
Detmold was magical, and Rheydt. Essen was poor, Aachen [with a Mess coach trip] was good. Koln is over-valued, being spread over too many venues. Then there was Bruggen village, and Gutersloh and a marvellous one in Weimar.
The UK versions seem over commercialised, all food and drink, whereas the German ones "in our day" had a good deal of relevant Christmas artefacts, cribs, candles, decorations, painted wood and china ......... and of course music.
Are there any Market memories to share?
Detmold was magical, and Rheydt. Essen was poor, Aachen [with a Mess coach trip] was good. Koln is over-valued, being spread over too many venues. Then there was Bruggen village, and Gutersloh and a marvellous one in Weimar.
The UK versions seem over commercialised, all food and drink, whereas the German ones "in our day" had a good deal of relevant Christmas artefacts, cribs, candles, decorations, painted wood and china ......... and of course music.
Are there any Market memories to share?