Calling all ex-Wessex personnel
 

Calling all ex-Wessex personnel (inter alia, 18, 22, 28, 60, 72, 78, 84, 103 Sqns, SARTU, SAREW, WSF, Muharraq SAR & The Queen's Flight; 700, 706, 707, 737, 771, 772, 781, 814, 815, 819, 820, 826, 829, 845, 846, 847, 848 NAS; ETPS & A&AEE; and any ex-Bristow people for Mk.60s etc etc).

I am currently writing the follow-up to my previous Sea King HU Mk.5 (2014) and Lynx HAS Mk.3 & HMA Mk.8 (2016) Haynes Owners Workshop Manuals, this time on the venerable Wessex.

Unlike the other two, however, this book will cover all British marks - RAF and RN.

To that end I would be pleased to hear from any ex air or ground crew from their days operating the aircraft who might have some hitherto unseen photographs of interest and/or feel they might like to contribute some of their tales of what it was like to fly and maintain (my own Wessex maintenance experience being limited to training airframes during my apprenticeship!).

If anyone thinks they might like to help, please send me a PM for more details.

Many thanks in advance.

Lee

Don't forget 78 Sqn.

At last the Double Datum Overspeed Trip Governor will get the recognition it deserves. And the Hydraulic Fuses? Those were the days....

It was a very rough non-exhaustive list off the top of my head. I'd overlooked 28 Sqn as well...now corrected!

Good project, looking forward to reading it. I'll dig out some Wx HAS Mk III photos when next home. I'm sure you didn't forget 737 NAS on the main exhaustive list. pp.

I would suggest opening a thread over on Rotorheads, too.

ps 826 NAS needed in your listing

And what about 103 Sqn? They operated Wessex 1972-1975 at RAF Tengah in Singapore.

The Wonderful Wessex, a machine which magically converted jet fuel into noise, vibration, electricity, friction, heat and cold with a little bit of energy left for the accomplishment of flight. It was made from a combination of unobtainium, corrodium and Tough Stuff.
I proved that it indeed was made of Tough Stuff on many occasions, but notably when a bunch of jolly naval aviators invited me, not being of the Senior Service, to attempt to land their Mk5 helicopter, which I was supposedly in charge of, on 1 Spot on the otherwise empty deck of the original and much loved Rusty B. This would have normally have been quite simple, except for the fact that the weather had precluded flying by the wise members of said Senior Service and they were not going to miss out on their little jape by allowing me the pleasure of a more comfortable landing on 4 or 5 spot. Hey ho, I am still here.... but there is more....
Such as. How to organise oneself an early lunch by casting the tracking flag on to the hangar roof by using only one tied down Wessex and its associated and by now mangled main rotor blade tips. Or. How to remove the tail rotor Gust Lock without having to bother climbing up on to the pylon. This involves engaging the main rotor first, which allows the 3 to 4 kg of Twangy Metal Gust Lock to disappear at an exceedingly high rate of RPM's and knots. Or. How to check out the flying properties of a Riley motor car by using only a few wire slings, an 8 foot strop, 1500 feet of unoccupied airspace and a Wessex Mk2. A truly wonderful and magnificent aircraft much loved by its crews.
Sadly, I cannot PM you, so if you wish any more, particularly with reference to the more esoteric technical bits, please PM me and we can go from there.
PS. We could start with the amazing windscreen wiper system, that did many things but this did not include wiping windows. There is so much more. RG

Lee, there are many years of Wessex reminiscing here: What is it about the Wessex that makes people so fond of it?

Seems to have forgotten HOCF, 240 OCU, the Shawbury mob and several others too.


Just remember to put the stay back in before you remove the second engine, because lifting a jack up onto the decking to jack the nose back up to allow it to fit was a pain :p

Let us take a moment to contemplate the Electrically Wound Clockwork Start Relay. I had forgotten the Barking Wiper System. Nothing wrong with self parking by bleeding pressure from the number 1 flying control circuit?

All,

Many thanks for the replies. And just to reiterate, the list above was NOT exhaustive! It was merely off the top of my head without having anything written in front of me - not bad!). But rest assured, they'll all be listed in the book.....that includes 2FTS!

RG: I'll be in touch shortly. Some good 'dits' there, by the look of it!

PP: I'd be interested to see what you might have Wx3-wise, albeit with the other FAA books I've written, I've probably got a fair selection to choose from already....but you never know!

DW: PM sent!

Lee

Not forgetting No 5 Squadron Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya), they took some of our Wessex 2's over (Ex 28 Sqn and Shawbury 2 FTS). I was on RAFWATT (RAF Wessex Advisory and Training Team) in Montevideo in 1997.

Lee, I live in East Devon & would be happy to meet up with you.

I have some Wessex publications and did two and a bit tours as a Wessex Crewman.

lsh
:E

The unforgettable Gnome engine bearings, Roller, Ball, Roller, Roller, Ball. Takes me back 40 odd years, and some of them were odd!!!!

First time I did a BF on a Wessex, prepping them for the Spithead Review in 77, I forgot to shout Igniters. Some poor engine fitter got a HT wallop. He was ok; at least he ran quickly as he chased me round Flight Test.

Ish: where in Devon? PM me.

Lee/WASALOADIE
In the course of some other work in 2012 in South America I chanced upon the ex-Shawbury Wessies parked in storage at Punte del Este airbase in Uruguay (along with two ex-750 Jetstreams), regrettably all in a sorry state apart from one which was stated as physically complete in all respects, apart from suspended from all routine servicing and planned maintenance.
I'll post a couple of photos soon. XR 505 and 521 were two of them. There were also a couple of ex-US Sikorsky H34s; obviously the mould for the Westland-built machines, as different a SeaKing was from an H3.

WASA, this Squadron Print was still on the Armada crewroom wall 4 years ago.

PP - looking forward to seeing them.

OK, I'll date myself. XR 505. Last flown March 13th 1969. Display rehearsal. Display for Gen Le Contain (?) C in C (?)

Herod,
Heres your trusty steed (as found 4 years ago) you flew for the display in 1969.
The rest of the storage area was not a pretty sight and mainly bits and pieces of cannibalised Wx2.
However on the plus side, XR 505 was relatively complete, it was under engine and intake covers and apparently it is the airframe closest to full flying condition.
See photos attached. For the spotters yes, a H34 is sandwiched in the line as well.
I won't show you the rest, I hate to see/hear grown Wessexmen and women cry.

Thanks Peter,

Now all I need is a BIG lottery win, and we get her back here and flying. You really shouldn't have included that last picture though. :{

Another one missing from the list. Manston SAR. The aircrew were 22 Sqn, but the groundcrew were ASF.

Technically still 22 Sqn, though...:confused:

Nice (in a bad way) pics of he cabs in Uruguay. I used to have photos of them being loaded and unloaded from the ships but need to do a bit of digging to find them again.

and didn't it show? On detachment once from a SAR Flt 'somewhere in Wales' I landed from a training sortie with a U/S PTR 175 (UHF). I was informed by the shift boss at ASF that we'd be 'off state' for approx an hour and a half (other A/C was U/S too) because it was ASF's lunchtime! I offered to do the box change myself (ten minute job IIRC) along with some career advice and very grudgingly lunch was delayed for 15 minutes. I believe things did improve there, eventually. :ugh::hmm:

What about SAR Wing Engineering Flight at Finningley, some tales to be had from there (correct Brian ?).

Zetec2 - and their later re-incarnation at St Mawgan (HMF?). Of note the last Wessex out of there was XV729 which I took back up to SARTU on 10 May 96. Some guys there had worked on the Wessex for years (and moved down from Finningley) and were quite sad to see the end of line (so to speak)

Don't forget there are still some flying, one in the UK I believe.

XV729 is alive and well, still dripping OX 38 but now registered as 9G-AEL. Flew it 3 years ago.

9G-AEL is back in the UK

I am talking about G-BYRC formerly XT 671

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalap...llregmark=BYRC

what happened? it shows the reg cancelled :(

Welcome to The Wessex Club - Home of the Wessex Enthusiast

https://en-gb.facebook.com/The-Wesse...6560906816937/

Here we go again "when I was no'but a lad" XT671 25th June '70. Up-country Malaysia as part of Op Bersatu Padu.

Does Matron know you are out?

Herod - Snap. 25 Jun 70 Ex Bersatu Padu - only 9:35. I vaguely remember charging around at low level (100 ft or so) over the Malaysian jungle in the Shack, but no idea why!!

Shackman. Probably looking for me. I know we did quite a bit of "Go somewhere away from here, land, camouflage self and aircraft, come back in four hours" FJs looking for us I believe. Probably exactly that. Earlier in the day 25/01 "dispersal up-country". XT671 was 25/02

And 20 years later I was flying 671 at Benson!

All,

Some great contacts being made and some useful gen/tales being forwarded to me via PM and e-mail. Please do keep them coming. Any ex-28 Sqn guys out there with details of policing Hong Kong?

Lee

Had a great deal of fun chasing Chugfei's and Daifei's (sp?) around the SC sea at night lobbing para-flares for the HK police to chase them...

Lee,
I used to live close to North Denes airfield in sunny Norfolk. I've a few shots of Bristow's Wessi if you'd like copies. They are scanned slides but photo-shopped up nicely.....

bobward - many thanks. PM sent!