FAO Al R; you wouldn't have a higher res version of the photo in your last post, would you? I think my brother may be in that shot.

Its not the greatest thats for sure, it was scanned in and posted onto Facebook where I lifted it from. I have another somewhere, taken from a different angle on my camera. If your bro is in it, I can put you in touch with the original owner or I might have some more of him in other shots (C Flt, 34 Sqn RAF Regt).

Thanks for that. The timeframe fits, as ISTR bro was in 34's hierarchy at about that time.

Sorry, BOAC, it was this which I found perplexing:

I'm well aware of the meaning of the rest of the post.

Which bit - 'Spoofed' or 'recovery? 'Colonial' I assume is a veiled ref to one of the pilots.

Sounds like 360's Cranberries doing the bombing run. Their crowning success was to 'spoof' two RN frigates on to a collision course at night during one of our interminable JMC's and then tell them at about 1 mile:) They were a great squadron. Many a 'fun' jamming/spoofing detail with them.

Not difficult. Vice-Admiral Tryon managed to do it with two battleships in 1893.

No, BOAC, it was the scenario - I couldn't work out the distance / time / speed / fuel which would have achieved it, nothwithstanding the impressive QTR.

360 - yes indeed! Many a fun time with them both in my brief F-4 time and on the VC10K. I recall one Coffee Charlie when Neatishead were being as dull as usual. Then along came a couple of Cranberries playing music. During one break in their game, a voice was heard to say "Please give us back the music, it stops us having to listen to that dull git!".

But anyone who'd flown a Hunter could easily recognise the background noise of an Avon's generator / inverter on the electrical system, so spoofing to the trained ear wasn't that effective - neither was straight noise jamming. But reading out the Readers' Letters from Mayfair certainly was....:ok: As was a laughing box.

Personally, if I'd ever had the chance, I would have simply replayed some RT which had been recorded on an earlier sortie.....

Best authentication refusal I ever heard about was one day when 'Thrombo' was flying with a certain fightergator who often posts on here. Checking in with Neat, our hero in the back seat duly does the usual intro. "Papa Fox 4/5 Delta in the Golf Hotels, we're Bravo 4 4 zero, Tigerfast plus 10" or words to that effect.

"Shouldn't you authenticate her?" queried Thrombo.
"Authenticate her? Don't need to, mate - I've sh*gged her!" came the response from the back seat.

Anyway, back to more WIWOL yarns, please. By the way, where is 'Porky' these days?

- from a Canberra on HF?

No doubt one of Roger Waitout's ancestors got a bit smart with his sempahore?

Is Roger still serving? All those JMCs when any call to one of HM's war canoes would be answered "Ah.....Roger, wait, out...." :\ Followed by control which could sometimes be less than useful. One on occasion, having twice tried to take him into the Brest FIR, the normally placid VC10K captain advised Roger somewhat frostily "Do that again and we'll be RTB!".

Redtop vs Jindivik
 

This thread inspired me to dig out my copy of 'Modern Combat Aircraft - the BAC Lightning' by Arthur Reed (pub. 1980) and I found these photos tucked inside. Taken from a Lightning G90 gun camera they show a successfull Redtop intercept on a flare towed behind a Jindivik. The pictures were taken in the mid-eighties at MPC.

Interestingly, we had one MPC where the first 6 Redtops all misfired - not one left the rail. That caused a lot of head scratching. I think that was the trip I had to do a torch test on a live Redtop...and I was the bloke holding the torch. Concentrates the mind, that does, standing about 20 feet in front of a live, armed, powered-up-and-ready-to-go missile and you're the target. Health & Safety must be a modern invention, cos we had none of that in the 80's.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...l/RedTop_1.jpg

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...l/RedTop_2.jpg

In reply to post 153 - I think that 5 sqn carried out the Malta Adex in 67(Oct according to my log book). Most turnrounds were less than 5 mins (I don't think we rearmed - just changed the amonia bottle), and wheels on to off in 10mins. We had trouble with the bomber stream, from Cyprus, trying to spoof us on the r/t - fortunately we'd brought a WRAF controller from Patrington and we only listened to orders from her after that. I think that we were parked on the Sunspot (?) dispersal just next to the tower and runway threshold - so cockpit scramble times were quick. On one raid the bombers turned round after we were airborne. Madeleina (?) Radar saw this and recalled us to refuel. We we airborne again before the stream had resettled down inbound again. We had fantastic groundcrew who worked all hours to get, and keep, the jets servicable.

@ endevol
 

smashing second picture there! Q-OWS on the F3 had it's up sides two videos that still stick in the mind was the harrier gr5 [?] 'winder with it's perfect display of prop nav and a very slow-mo shot of an almost out of energy 'flash drifting in from r-l under the Fresnel lens with all control surfaces fully deflected....oh yeah and watching the frightning chase bending his pitot probe on the pull out [just to keep the OT police happy ;) ]

I think that was me
 

Back to the original question and the response on post 56. I think I am the Wessex mate Arkroyal is talking about. Not a happy time - if any successful WIWOLs want my view - happy to relate ...
Kbc

Just have to say as the Canberra came up, I did the last operational refuel on the T17 at RAF Wyton. Still wondering to this day if a T17 fried my goolies as I drove my tanker one night onto a pan to top up a Canberra to find an angry Chief Tech running at me, he said they were doing a live fire of the ECM in my direction. Put the wind up me that did. They got the girls to do the ECM live fires in the cockpit as I remember as they had no spuds to fry.

Sorry for the thread drift there, still love the Canberra.

As we used to say on Tanker Pool "try flying without us" ;)

From a former MT Driver :ok:

A million years ago, on my first tour Harriers in Germany in the early 70's, I went on a weekend ranger from Wildenrath to Cyprus, using 330 gal external tanks. Very uncomfortable, but occasionally fuel transfer actually worked! It also changed the external profile of the jet to the uninitiated!!

On arrival, to the west of Cyprus, we were intercepted by two Lightnings. Who, after the intercept, asked the controller to "Thank the Canberras for their co-operation"!!!

So much for aircraft recognition!!

But it might have been frightening!!

Had a bit of a blarney that evening in the bar, especially as OC XX Sqn Lightnings in Cyprus was my ex-Sqn Cdr when I was a cadet at Sleaford Tech!!

Enjoyed the moment!!