Top tip, M2. Why didn't they tell me that earlier?

may I ask if you refer to the crater shown on the picture linked below? (I mean not the one on the runway side, but the second one which has a written indication that I can´t actually get to read)

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...ml#post7074058

crater
 

izod tester,

when you say this:

"I remember that the RE had considerable difficulty repairing the bomb crater between the Control Tower and the FiGAS hangar and the repair was delayed several days whilst they extracted a bulldozer which had been pushing hard core into the hole."

can you tell us which one of the craters shown in the picture linked below are you talking about?? (I´d guess it´s the one which has a written note, below the runway...)

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...ml#post7074058

Have been doing a spot of redesign and the site is back on now

Thanks for everyone's input, really valuable.

The series is complete now, it was originally a three parter; Atlantic Conveyor, San Carlos FoB and Port Stanley Airport but the last one kind of grew as I started writing it to include Black Buck and RAF Stanley

A trilogy in 5 parts!

The Atlantic Conveyor #Falklands30 | Think Defence

Harrier Forward Operating Base ? Falkland Islands | Think Defence

And on Port Stanley

That Famous Runway at Port Stanley ? Part 1 (Pre Conflict) | Think Defence

That Famous Runway at Port Stanley ? Part 2 (Conflict) | Think Defence

That Famous Runway at Port Stanley ? Part 3 (Post Conflict) | Think Defence

On my original question about San Carlos FoB, it seems the runway surface was pretty much anything the sappers could lay their hands on; MEXE pads, PSP and the materials they used for helicopter landing pads onboard the civilian ships.

Feedback, as ever, is always very much welcome

Tried all five links, all came back forbidden on this server. Is there a problem?

ColinB the links worked on my PC.

The crater I was referring to is the third black arrow up from bottom left.

I arrived in Stanley in early 1985 and was intrigued to find that the entrance to the HQBFFI mess at Lookout (assorted tents and cabins) had a floor made of AM2 matting. Having been involved in the procurement and movement of said matting I reckoned that it was without doubt the most expensive mess entrance anywhere in the 3 services!

Sorry about any access problems, have just transferred to a new host so the DNS needs to propagate.

Interestingly, had a comment on one of the posts from Dave Morgan DSC which confirms the San Carlos FOB runway was PSA 1.

One of the great things about this kind of material is how it provides an opportunity for people to contribute to the accuracy of the post I am very grateful for it.

I´ve writing my own account of airfields and planes in the Malvinas for over two years now. If it all goes according to my plans, it might be turning into a book late this year.

Regarding FOB San Carlos, I remember reading somewhere that the matting used there was gathered out of the existance that some RFA ships had, since most of the actual FOB sunk with the Atlantic Conveyor. How accurate could this be?

Also, I´d like to ask if anyone has information regarding a second FOB erected sometime between southern winter 1982 and late 1983 in the Goose Green area.

One last note: there is some information about RN SHARs taking up the interception role around August 1982, maybe due to the fact that RAF Stanley had to suffer major refurbishing works, or maybe because of some harrasment from the west. I tend to believe those planes were based in some CV, but I failed to find out which one. Could it be Vince?

ISTR several lengths of AM2 being used at Murray Heights as bridges, as well as a second-hand UH-1 main rotor blade.

The original runway plus the extension were laid with AM2, some of the original Harrier dispersals were laid with PSP. It was the 26 end of the runway that was re-laid. Because most arrivals were from the East and the F-4s did carrier-style 'arrivals' into the cable with the added benefit of 'chute popped just before touchdown, the matting was 'creeping' and had developed a bit of a hump. Normal ops were suspended midnight Fri 22 Apr 83, and 1500ft of matting was taken up leaving about 4400ft useable runway. C-130 Tankers were launched and recovered during Sat and Sun along with Harriers. Full runway was back in use around mid-day Sun 24 April.

Surely the CV at the time was Lusty.

@ExBlanketStacker:

My recollection is that the decision was taken much earlier, in the early '80s.

The last petrol powered vehicle I can remember is the early APV which replaced the Piglets in West Belfast in 1985.

EG

You would think being on GSE I would remember this, but can any Phantom crew members recall, after a sortie, when the first aircraft landed and took the RHAG, did the second aircraft wait till the first had cleared the runway, or did the second land with the first one still on the runway? I know we didn't start rewinding the cables in till both aircraft were down and off the runway.

As far as I recall it ( v late 82/early 83) it was very definitely "one at a time". I think the possible consequences of a missed "trap" by a second F-4 with one still on the runway ruled out doing anything else :eek:.

I thought that was how it worked Wiggy. I was trying to recall if the first one landed, unhooked, then went down to the end, to let the second one in. Since the majority of landings were towards Stanley, I suppose the stop was near enough the Phandet turnoff, to allow the jets to turn in there. They certainly didn't hang about when landing.

The rules were only 1 F4 airborne unless the C130 tanker was also up - unless there was a QRA scramble and then the C130 got airborne asap after the F4s. That way if there was any problem after the first one landed the second one could be re-fuelled if necessary.

If I may ask to both of you, could you recall how often those QRA sorties were lunched between late 82 and the openning of MPA?

I´m trying to figure out some pics I have of an argentinian Navy Electra been "escorted" by a couple of F-4s and I have two different dates for 1983 and another pair for 1985... could it be that there were that many incidents? Were any QRA lunched against the Mirage fighters the AAF placed in Rio Gallegos by December 1982?

Could you share these photos with us?

V. late Dec 82 - March 83, ;) - I really can't give you a hard number of launches but things still seemed a bit twitchy, even tense at times and if there was a hint from any of our assets on or around the islands of a possible "problem" QRA would be launched, so it wasn't that infrequent an event.

What then usually happened was you headed west and sat on CAP "just in case" whilst the situation was resolved. I don't recall anybody coming into contact with any Argentinian aircraft when I was down there.

I think there was at least one successful intercept of a (?(the) Electra after I left so your mid 83 date might be right.

Hopefully I can add a little to the debate but you may have to wait until it's published:

Fighters Over The Falklands due out in November

Gee ... Already on my 2013 Christmas List :ok:

CAW,

I do not recall how often QRA launched for a CAP out to the west, but when I was OC Eng from mid Aug 84 - end Dec 84 we certainly had one "live" scramble in the early morning (0500 or so) which turned out to be a USN (or possibly US Coastguard) P3 which I was told was in transit from ASI to Chile and which had been on the ground at ASI the day before. No doubt one of the F4 operators will recall more details and may even know why there was, apparently, no flight plan received at Stanley.

thowman, these are a few of the pictures I mentioned. The last one (4th), it was shot in the early or mid ´90s according to the sources I have.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4822/daj3.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/9088/nke4.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2776/yi9y.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5075/362i.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Geehovah, are you the author of "Fighters Over The Falkland"? Could not you just briefly (or privatly if you wish) say something regarding this topic?

Also, I´m almost completly sure that there were incidents between March and July 1988 and, again, some time in 1997. Does anyone know the nature of these incidents? Were they "simple" interceptions? I have information of an argentinean ELINT flight around 1987 which was actually able to overflight Byron Heights or the areas close to it... could anyone tell anything on this event? Is the date actually right?

wiggy & John Blakely thank you for your comments!!:ok:

CAW, I researched the earlier incident and included one of my own. All will be revealed in the book. Forgive me if I don't publish the details in advance.

It was indeed AM2 matting. I know because I made the bar floor out of it when we arrived on 18 October 1982. It was a good bar though a little short on beer. We tried to get some from Batemans with a promo picture but to no avail. And for all those who weren't there in Stanley days, this is how it was - ploughed field and wellys - not the usual front line aircrew deal.

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9656a645.jpg

Dave - if you want some gen on those days PM me.

Geehovah, thanks for your answer. Guess I´ll need to find a way to get your book. Any chance to get to pre-order it to you so it can be sent down here by November (or before)??

Bsweeper, that´s truly an original picture. Hadn´t seen it before, thou I had read somewhere about the bar set up at RAF Stanley... well, guess there were many of them around.

In case you didn´t know, by late 83, when the MPA construction started, beer was apparently one of the most demanded supplies. If I´m not mistaken, I read at Wickham´s memories of that enterprise, that some time in Summer 1984 something like 4 containers were drunk each month at te construction site.

One last thing, now that some of you are around, could anyone tell anything about the "norwegian rubber hangars" deployed at RAF Stanley? When did they get there? Were they any good? Any incidents you recall with them? (fires, ie)

Thank you,
Christian

CAW

That wasn't the RAF Stanley bar set up, it was where 29 Sqn det hung out in the evening (after dark) when they weren't in the Portacabin (where half of us aircrew slept - the other half being in the "Rangatraz").

The Hangers were very good despite the appalling weather conditions and wind. How they were set up was a mystery to me but we were very grateful. Far more worrying was the chalk crusher (for AM2 footage) conveniently placed next to the ramp. The dust got all over the place.

I remember we got airborne one day, switched the Master Arm on upon coasting out, and a Skyflash lit up as "Ready" even though it wasn't "Selected" (!?). Pilot was scared stiff to touch a thing. We spent a bit of time keeping the Pucaras company at the end of the runway before the armourers sorted it out.

Turned out that it was chalk dust in the weapon relays behind the Nav's seat even though the canopies were taped down overnight and Hoovers regularly employed for cleaning (our first main request for spares - Signal 29 to 11 Group. Most urgent and Secret - please send a Hoover).

By the way that is a Pucara drop tank in the pic.

The Sweep

Well, it looks like Phantoms were near the mainland some times...

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3611/t21m.jpg

Also, apparently Mr. Thomas was a Phantom admirer!

Marcantilan, we meet again... it looks like :ok:

If my memory doesn´t play tricks on me, I think I remember Freedman´s writings on some plans calling for some "preventive attacks" on the argentinean continental air bases. These plans were supposedly promoted by MT herself around September or October 1982, and disregarded later on. May be, these document you´ve just posted shines a light on the matter...

By the time Sir Lawrence Freedman wrote those words, many of the documents released in 2012, were still "secret". Have you got to see the ones I refer to?

Christian

PS: Bsweeper I just sent you an PM.

Back in early 1999, I was enjoying yet another few weeks in the sun drenched South Atlantic. Predictably, our trusty VC10K had developed a fault, deeming it a 'wargoer only', so we were sitting around waiting for a Timmy to bring the necessary part down to us.

One morning, a QRA scramble was ordered, much to our surprise. Piling into the oldest, rustiest and slowest Land_Rover on base, we made our laborious way to the jet, pausing as the F3s thundered off to the west.

Having crewed in and checked in, the next thing we knew was when OC Eng bowled up and demanded to know what we were doing on an 'unserviceable' jet. I told him that it was a wargoer and that, if we were launched, he could either get off or come along.... That seemed to deflate him and he left the flight deck.

Listening to the comms was hilarious. Someone was champing at the bit demanding to know the identity of the suspect aircraft. "Stand by" called the F3 crew.....

"What markings can you see?".
"I said STAND BY! OK - the markings, are you ready to copy?"
"Yes - go ahead!"
"Aerolineas Argentinas!"
"Err. Roger.....continue to shadow".

When we were stood down to RS Crewroom and coffee, I asked one of the Herc mates, young StopStart, if he could do a little research. Stoppers was a bit of an Internet whizz, for those days, so I asked him if there was anything such as www.aerolineas_argentinas.com which he could find...

Some minutes later, a yell from the office indicated that Stoppers had triumphed. "See if there's a flight schedule", I asked him. There was, so we duly printed it off and sent it down to the TIC-TOC with a 'you might find this useful' memo attached.

Not long after, OC1312's phone rang. It was the Int spooks demanding to know 'the source of this highly important intelligence' - it seems they'd been trying to get hold of an Aerolineas Argentinas schedule for months, with zero luck....:rolleyes:

We told them, then realised this was too good an opportunity to miss. Shortly afterwards, OC1435 received the following letter:

They weren't impressed. Just another merry jape to make the days pass less boringly....

Was the microwave dodgy??

Or were you not allowed to use charcoal when airborne??

If I recall correctly, it was a B-sys hyd leak. So we planned to use A-sys and s'by brakes until lined up, pressurise B-sys for take-off (giving us normal brakes with maxarets in case we had to abort the take-off) and depressurise it once the gear, flaps and slats were retracted. Then repressurise it again for landing. If we lost B-sys hyd contents during flight, there was every chance of a tyre(s) bursting on landing (no maxarets) - but that was an acceptable 'wargoer' risk. No doubt one that wouldn't be allowed today....:rolleyes:

The VC10K2/3 galley was a single hot cup and a small oven. From which, as the groundcrew will doubtless recall, some noteworthy feasts were often produced.

Late on parade, as SATCO May-Sep 83.

Have loads of photos, and access to some by the first bunch of ATCTOs (TacATC) who went down.

I shall not dribble, but I will respond to meaningful PMs.

Oh, it was one on my guys, a diving enthusiast, who explored the Tower water tank, plugged the holes, and gave us the the only functioning flush toilet on the airfield. SATCO held the key, naturally ... "Do you want to trade something?" :p

Hello to you all!!

I´ve just received this picture. It appears to be either mid or late ´80s, somewhere "in the camp"... can anyone add information?

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4017/7iu4.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Thanks,
Christian

Christian

I doubt that's on camp, it will probably be a small holding farm - the Phantom crews used to have great relations with locals and would often spend their 2/3 day rest and recuperation time on some of these farms.... Hence the fly pasts like this.

I'm sure some ex Phantom crews will pop up and fill in the details as to which farm this would have been.

lj101, 'camp' is the word used by the bennie....the locals for anywhere outside Stanley and comes from the Spanish word countryside - campo.

CAW

I did a search for you as I knew it had been written up before.

The story behind the photo is written up here on this Phantom thread.

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...ml#post7518439


If the link doesn't work, it's post 232 in the
Any Phantom stories out there? thread

Thanks to all of you for your answers!!

500N I miss that thread!! Guess I`ll need to pay closer attention to the other Falkland Islands related threads.

Any suggestion which ones I should not miss?

Thanks again,
Christian