RAF Fast Jets To Practice Dispersal Off MOBs
Mid 1980s I was involved in planning a trial for dispersing nuke-armed GR1s; all very TS UK Eyes etc. Shortly after I was posted they did the practical element. Mate of mine was in the back seat of a Marham jet which slipped into West Raynham at sunset. As it taxied in he glanced to the right to see a spotter in a hedge with a long lens.
I think Out of Trim is correct, it will be the recent ex-operational stations. Leuchars has already been used for 'off station QRA' whilst Losiemouth had it's runway upgraded for P-8. using the ones still under military control also gives you the FP and security you would need
I remember the good old days of Gutersloh and the sheer volume of MT needed to roll the support convoys. It might be instructive for someone to do the sums and work out just how much more kit groups of deployed aircraft will need as compared to being on an MOB where sharing is possible, Then there is storing the stores and fuel. Going to be fun!
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I always thought one airfield we should never have ditched was Saint Athan, it had been extensively upgraded and had the facilities to take the transport fleet if needed, the only disadvantage is probably its location. If you had to close Lyneham then moving it to Saints would probably have attracted Welsh grants etc.
It’s ok saying they would need to invest in the transport to sustain operations off grid, but you would also need people to back that up and operate the fleets of vehicles, catering, fuel, etc.. etc…
It’s ok saying they would need to invest in the transport to sustain operations off grid, but you would also need people to back that up and operate the fleets of vehicles, catering, fuel, etc.. etc…
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Mid 1980s I was involved in planning a trial for dispersing nuke-armed GR1s; all very TS UK Eyes etc. Shortly after I was posted they did the practical element. Mate of mine was in the back seat of a Marham jet which slipped into West Raynham at sunset. As it taxied in he glanced to the right to see a spotter in a hedge with a long lens.
St. Athan had one relatively short runway, narrow taxiways, very limited parking and it also has a very poor weather factor.
Not really much use for AT/AAR aircraft unless at low weights.
Not really much use for AT/AAR aircraft unless at low weights.
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So some adaptions to barriers and lights etc, a few exercises and suddenly the M6 finds itself on the initial target list. I can't imagine these sites would be numerous enough to make them hard to find?
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They won’t be using roads, far too much road furniture these days, in any case there are plenty of proper runways in the UK, it’s going to be enough of a challenge to get all of the supplies and tech to another airfield. If hostilities do break out satellite surveillance is so fast the enemy would just follow the support convoy, thankfully nobody is likely to start a shooting war with Russia
I think if a shooting war with Russia broke out on a scale that required large scale dispersal it's unlikely to last long enough to require a full service support before everything starts to glow in the dark
"would lift a tank as well as a fuelled airframe "
to be fair the illustration shows Saladin Armoured Cars - about 11 tons a piece
And it was originally to be STOL not VTOL, with a payload of 35,000 lb
Still mad but stranger things have flown,,, and been bought - tho why the OR branch kept insisting on UK-Ascension range is beyond me
If there hadn't been a knock down fight over the engines that wasted a couple of years it might well still have been in service
to be fair the illustration shows Saladin Armoured Cars - about 11 tons a piece
And it was originally to be STOL not VTOL, with a payload of 35,000 lb
Still mad but stranger things have flown,,, and been bought - tho why the OR branch kept insisting on UK-Ascension range is beyond me
If there hadn't been a knock down fight over the engines that wasted a couple of years it might well still have been in service
681 was indeed barking mad! For STOL it would (probably) have had 4 x 18290lb thrust BS100 engines under development for P.1154, but for VTOL those would have been supplemented by 2 wing pods each fitted with 9 x 11000lb thrust lift engines....
Fortunately, but to the detriment of the British aircraft industry, the 681 was cancelled in favour of the C-130.
Fortunately, but to the detriment of the British aircraft industry, the 681 was cancelled in favour of the C-130.