Ripping Yarns : Squadron One-upmanship Fun
 

All ...

Many seemed to enjoy the last "Ripping Yarns" opportunity we a had a couple of weeks back ... so I thought another topic in the series might be appreciated.

In fact it was Courtney who gave me the idea given his quip about Tremblers aircraft always being a target !

Professional rivalry and general one-upmanship is a healthy thing and can be quite hilarious even if some short term bollocking's have to be endured. Many stories get embellished over time I'm sure ... but let's see what this invitation brings.

So what are we looking for ...

Example 1. The alleged nocturnal activities of a certain UAS involving a watering can, weed killer and a grass runway ... then an irate Station Commander a couple of weeks later :hmm:

Example 2. A Tremblers F4 in 1988 on APC at Akrotiri that went tech and was left behind only to be zapped by their Base Mates 43 Squadron ... I wonder if a certain F/O Courtney was involved in that little escapade in some way :}

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/...pscd28db28.jpg

I bet the Boss of 111 was a "picture" when XT864 arrived back in Scotland :}

Best regards ...

Coff.

ISTR that 43 got their come-uppance when someone kidnapped their bantam cockerel (or was it a gamecock?) from its hutch outside the hangar and replaced it with a Buxted frozen chicken. That was in the '70s I believe. Wonder if the Tremblers had anything to do with that?

Rgds SOS

I was on that APC. I don't think Tremblers thought for a minute that they'd get that jet back unscathed!
Personally, I think they should have left that logo on when they put it on the gate.


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I believe it was tremblers again who suffered during GW2. They were pretty cross when someone "stole" the squadron pennant from its flagpole outside their HQ building at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia. The F3 had been relegated to a "backstop" defensive cap during the conflict and its aircraft were restricted to within Saudi airspace.

OC 111 was even unhappier when he was presented with the missing pennant a couple of days later by OC 51 Sqn who told him that even if his aircraft had not been over the border then at least his flag had been combat flown over Iraqi territory(in a Nimrod R1).

Nice try Wensleydale but I don't think you've even managed to hit enough accuracy for the 10% rule to apply.

Yes a Pennant was stolen, as for the rest - Want to try again...

:rolleyes:

This went out to the entire RAF:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...tzbulkhead.jpg

Ahhhh, the old "StrikeList A". Was on the Sqn when that was sent out.....was also there when the one before was sent out when we recovered the bulkhead from IX at Bruggen. :ok:

I was on the aforementioned unsuccessful raid. There was no damage to the bulkhead but the crewroom was a bit of a mess.

Ivor

Sisemen and Co ... Brilliant :D:D:D:D

Speaking of bulkheads, here's the report into the damage sustained.

Loss of Battleship Tirpitz

Unfortunately untrue.

There were several scratches/marks made during that nights attempt to release it from the concrete foundations.....hence the desire to cease the rivalry before it got seriously damaged.

Good on Baggers for suggesting the compromise which led to it being handed over to the RAF museum.

The crewroom was quite a mess though. :ok:

The one item I wanted to take was a sengar saw(compressed air hack saw) I wasn't allowed to take it, if we had we might have got it back to Bruggen for Burns Night - that was the plan.

Ivor

Obviously a lot of fun has been had.

Who obtained the Bulkhead from the Tirpitz and when ?

I was there!!

Ivor... "Going equipped" as MOD Plod might say :D

Ivor.....even with that kit, I still think you'd have been pushed to recover it in the time you had. That concrete was really hard and the ironwork on the back of the bulkhead went deeeeeep into it.

500N - IIRC it was a gift from the Norwegian Govt, though to whom, I cannot recall.

Can't deny the junior squadron a bit of kudos on the 70th anniversary today, but let's get it on record that they did not sink the Tirpitz!

Once we had taken the tiles off from around the bulkhead and broken some of the concrete up with the 3 jack hammers we had carried over the fence, we realised that the only way we were going to get it out was with angle grinders or cutting gear. The sengar saw would have cut through the iron work underneath like a hot knife through butter, but we didn't have it! There was actually quite a gap under the bulkhead between the back of it and the concrete. We actually ran out of time that night, we considered going back the next night but we couldn't be sure our handy work wouldn't have been discovered the next day. We considered long and hard getting oxyacetylene and going back but we were aircrew and none of had the expertise to use it, we would either have blown ourselves up or totally wrecked the bulkhead, so we returned empty handed. We would love to have seen OC 617's face on Monday morning when no one could get in the crewrom, as we had nailed it shut from the inside and climbed out through the skylight.

Ivor

http://www.9sqn.co.uk/modules/copper...z/bulkhead.jpg

Best regards ...

Coff.

There is a comprehensive history of the Bulkhead wars here:

Tirpitz Bulkhead | IX(B) Squadron Association

including the account of the most audacious of the raids, which involved a zip down the A1 in the back of a van and an emergency landing at Wittering by a Vulcan :ok:

As to who sank the Tirpitz, well, many 'neutral' accounts credit Dougie Tweddle DFC of IX(B) Squadron with dealing the final blow. Even the Junior Squadron's own wikipedia entry says so!

No. 617 Squadron RAF - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(how long before that gets changed? :E)