El Adem 23rd September 1969 1 (F) Squadron Hunter bumped.
 

Hi.

At the risk of being accused of teasing...


If the date means anything to any Hunter drivers of the period, please get in touch. The incident involved a 1 (Fighter) Squadron Hunter FGA 9 as far as I can tell.

Or, if you were at EL Adem in September 69, working on the line or in Crash n Smash, you may well feature in this event.

My late brother was a Snowdrop, and an avid photographer, so he has left some interesting pictures from an incident that day, which I want to share.

Tease :).......

That, of course, is roughly when Gadaffi seized power - I remember because our crew had a Conventional Bombing Lone Ranger (CBLR) planned for the last week of September; it was abruptly cancelled.

Oops, there's a hill in the way?

There is something odd here. No 1(F) Sqn had begun Harrier conversion at the end of June 1969, had moved from West Raynham to Wittering, and no longer had any Hunter FGA9s. Nor, according to the information I have, did they go to El Adem in Sept 69.

However: their Hunters were still at West Raynham, as was 54 Sqn, whose Harrier conversion (and renumbering as 4 Sqn) did not start until about early 1970.

It is possible that 54 were using an ex-1 Sqn airframe, still in 1 Sqn colours.

I have checked listed losses, and no Hunter is shown for that date; so, if one was bent, it seems to have been repairable.

The coup was 1/9/69, but I think it was early 1970 before we left El Adem

It's a single seat Hunter with a 1 (F) Squadron crest on the side. So... as far as I can tell, it looks like an FGA9 to me.

The only photo I have of aircrew, has his back to the camera, but leg restraint straps on, so I think he will be the hunter driver involved.

The aircraft certainly should have been repairable, a little T-Cut and polish, and some paint, and some filler.

I just wanted to share the pictures with people who were there, before making them public. I also wanted to know a bit more about the reason for the Hunter being there, at that time.

I only have two prints here, dog eared and showing signs of having been printed in 1969, so understandably not in great condition. I hope to obtain boxes of old negatives in the coming weeks, which might produce better images from my brother's time at Waddington and El Adem.

If you are thinking of S***y A*****n bouncing off the escarpment about 5 miles short of rwy 33 at night: I think that was the previous year and a 54 Sqn airframe. As I recall, the aircraft was not damaged, though the pilot's pride was; and two wheelmarks were found at the bounce site.

If it was indeed in 1968, I was at El Adem in July 1968 doing the night flying part of a Hercules conversion course (there were too many retired admirals living in the Thorney Island (242 OCU) area to do it there). We were flying in the same circuit as a Hunter, but flying much wider ones than he was accustomed to. As a result he ended up on an extended final (for him) and got far too low, resulting in the cart tracks mentioned by Ken Parry above.

I think he was doing a refresher course himself, so we felt some sympathy for him. The two a/c types doing night flying training together were incompatible in my view, and better planning might have prevented what could have been far more serious than some dented pride.

WOT NO PAPIs?

Our night flying training would have included full and restricted lighting (ie no VASIs/PAPIs, no Approach lighting, and limited/omni r/w lights). What the lighting config was at the time of the incident I cannot remember, but suspect that the restricted lighting would not have been a factor or I would have associated that with what happened. Those who have operated at night at El Adem would know that the only lights visible were in the main at El Adem itself, so no horizon or surface orientation available. You might just as easily have been practising night carrier landings, with the added advantage of the lack of surrounding hills or dunes. :E

hmmmm ... say no more. :(

Agreed!!
Bill

The incident to which my pictures refer, seems to have happened in bright sunshine.

C'mon guys. There must be Hunter Pilots from September 1969 still out there.

Yes we are here: at least two of us in the above replies

That bit is easy. The West Raynham Hunter sqns, 1 and 54, each went to El Adem a couple of times a year, 2-3 weeks each time, for Armament Practice Camps, concentrated periods of weapon training on the nearby range in almost constant good weather - as opposed to the almost constant bad weather (I exaggerate slightly) on the UK ranges at Cowden (Yorks) and Theddlethorpe (Lincs).

The El Adem range was also used by 2 & 4 Sqns from Gutersloh, and Canberras from Germany and Cyprus; possibly other sqns as well.

Bump:

Nobody else from that time?

Well yes, but not with much to add to the above. Other than the "ridge bounce", the only other thing I remember was a collapsed nose gear on the short runway I believe.

I heard the crash alarm go and went outside to look but it was too far away to be seen from the Comcen.

IG

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9cdc56e89b.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d7e7061c67.jpg
That'll do for me.

Here are the scabby prints. I hope to produce much better quality if there is any interest.

You might just make out part of a name on the side of the aircraft.