Christ there's a name from the past......

I really must say thank you to all of you for making me feel so welcome on this great thread. My only direct connection with the RAF is that my father was a Sergeant Pilot towards the end of WW2 doing his training in S Africa and eventually going on to fly Yorks with the RAF. I have benefitted from the kindness of RAF personnel in the recent past both when learning to fly and when I attended the MACASD at Shawbury. The ATCOs and students were unfailingly courteous and helpful whenever I darkened their area in the trusty C152 and I fear that OC Ops may have been the target of a bit of coercion when I wen to the MACASD. He volunteered (was possibly volunteered) to look after my Welsh Sheepdog teenage pup for the day (my arrangements for him had fallen through at the last moment). He also looked after me and I remain grateful to him as I had a thoroughly enjoyable and informative day which I have to say was far better than the CAA Safety Evening which I had attended previously.

Binbrook Minival-inject suspect package with aid of (real) Postman Pat. Uneven weight, grease stains, wires. At each stage it is re-injected it is dealt with properly and promptly. Then we get it into the COC. "That for me?" asks the Staish (it was addressed to him by name). He takes it and pulls dinghy knife - "Could you hang on please sir. We'd like all the execs to see it." " No" says Staish, it is addressed to me. Before we can say or do anything he slits seal with dinghy knife. Package bursts into flames (no explosive just an ignition device). Staish incandescent, us on Distaff trying not to laugh, and wondering how we will write up the post exercise comment.

I remember the plods at Conners blowing up a wedding cake that they thought was a bomb.

Stornos
 

The spring clip on the Storno mike, , when pulled out a bit and released on transmit produced a most satisfying "BOINGGGGGGGGGGG!!!" sound across the net. Watching all those at an 'O' group simultaneously grabbing their chests added to the fun.
The most surrealistic Storno episode in my experience was on a Harrier deployment in RAFG in the mid 70's, when due to a freak sky wave we had about 20 minutes sharing frequency with New York taxicabs.
New words were learned on both sides of the Atlantic that day.

Apparently a troop of signallers all in dispersed locations can produce a passable version of the Muppets' "Manaa Manaa" on the net :ok:

Ah yes, the fun of sporadic 'E' and a MUF at VHF!!

Didn't something similar happen in the Malvinas when Icom 2m sets picked up taxi drivers somewhere in South America?

Our school CCF '88 sets' had but 2 frequencies* in the low 40 MHz range. One summer a field day was rather ruined by continuous Spanish TV on one of the channels - so everyone used the other with predictably chaotic results!


They had 2 others, but it had been found that Channel B was on the same channel as 405-line BBC TV from Crystal Palace. The locals complained, so the Army solution was a large rivet inserted through the selector, physically preventing selection of Chan A or B!

or S6.

As I was issued all my cabbage kit in clear polythene, it was the issue polythene bag I would carry around like some eastern European bag lady.

The S6 haversack on the other hand was properly packed. KFS, 2 oz jar of coffee, several dusting bags, aka coffee mate, can opener. The inside of the S6 smelt wonderfully of coffee rather than rubber and CS.

B0ll0cks it was!

I'm with Abbey Road on that, Ultra Man Pack was much better. So the story goes one was left on the wheel of a VC10 as it taxied forward with the inevitable result. On arrival at North Luff for 3rd-line repair (or burial at sea) the Equipment Label read, 'flat battery'. Sorry, thread drift.

Ahh, Pontius, as I had a set of pongo webbing (needed for shooting competitions) I used my S6 bag for its intended purpose. (/smug)

The Ammo Pouches, on the other hand, contained useful things like spare packs of ciggies, packet soup, coffee and wet-wipes. And my water bottle was full of fresh water from home, so if anyone decided to "poison the Stn water supply", I could still have a brew … whilst annoying those who were less well-equipped :cool:

Suspect bag in Officers Mess loo. Plods called. Tannoy made. No one claimed it so it was wheelbarrowed - result loo redecorated in yogurt pasting shredded porn mags to the tiles. Something to do with % Sqn (look at the keyboard) ISTR

MPN, ah, but did you notice the can opener?

The parabag also contained essential items such as overnight kit, civvies for diversion, and for the Taceval an additional 6-pack. One night, in the hardened aircrew accommodation (top floor of the old mess at ISL) I opened the door and popped a can. Heads appeared from doors further up the corridor and game on. As we were mixed officer/SNCO crew but co-located for the exercise the knockers were equally resourceful :)

My Compo can-opener was permanently attached with para-cord, Sir :cool:

Not quite sure where it is now - we use an electric one :)

Anyway, back to the subject …. bring it on, folks, it's wonderful.

(Otherwise I shall have to bore you with other stories … which do not involve gerbils)

As a helicopter crew, we always deployed into the field, away from any proper facilities (unlike the Harrier Force who usually took most of the contents of the Officers' Mess with them). On longer exercises the problem of clean underwear became an issue. My crewman told me how he had solved the problem. He'd been to Hong Kong and found disposable underpants for sale. He'd brought a packet of these with him and not bothered with any conventional ones.

He was pleased as punch until late afternoon on day one, when he dropped his flying suit for a latrine stop - only to discover to his horror that he was now wearing nothing underneath but three rubber bands, one round his waist and one at the top of each leg. The pants had disposed themselves into tiny shreds and were now falling out onto his boots as if he had a very serious skin disease. :ooh:

Bruggen '72. R-hour.

Rule was: if you are u/s in peace-time (but might have gone in war-time)you call 'I'm a non-flier'.

There we were, in our shiny F4, at the holding point with a problem so I made the call.

Minutes later, surrounded by fire-trucks, I realised they might have mis-heard my call...

Friend of mine, Army WO1 distaff, pongo evaluation, Guards Regiment.

Programme starts at o'chr1st hundred. O'chr1st hundred 05 no reaction. Seeks out all the officers to find marquee, dinning table, chairs, mess silver, and breakfast in progress.

"Go away my man, we're still dining."

Apoplectic he tries to jilldy them up with thunderflashes to no avail. :)

Just on the live vs blanks debate. Not strictly TACEVAL story, but true.
St Angelo base in NI, early 1990s. Jayteeto doing service on puma helicopter, masked man running towards wire firing weapon on automatic. I had a live mag on my SA80 and the crewman was loading the GPMG, ****ting ourselves, preparing to return fire. Masked man stops and someone walks towards him from gatehouse. It was a planned exercise that they forgot to mention to us. After much shouting and swearing a pale faced SNCO realised how close things had gone, I reckon I was seconds from firing. He was sent home to England the next day........

Way of thread, but someone mentioned STORNO's.

NUAS (Northumberland University Air Squadron) ((added for Wombat, oh, and welcome Wombat)) operated Bulldogs from Leeming most weekends.

This particular Sunday, a Bulldog started up when all of a sudden a crow decided to take a short cut through the propeller disc.

Not suprisingly, it came off second best. Remarkably it was neatly decapitated, the head landing about 20 feet from the aircraft and the the body, in one piece, (albeit minus a head), deposited itself by the front oleo leg. The aircraft shut down for checks but radioed ATC as to what had happened.

I went out from ATC, in the Trabant, to gather up and bag the remains.

When I got there, an audience of UAS studes had gathered and one brave soul had picked up the crow's head and was displaying it to his fellow studes with some bravado style comments.

As I opened the Trabant door, the STORNO made a squawking noise (as they did). The brave student leapt 3 feet into the air and the crow's head made it's final flight in the opposite direction.

Much laughter, with a red faced stude, ensued.

Sorry, Mods, about the thread drift but......STORNO brought it all back.

Was that due to having to fly with you old Man?:E