Did a RAF pilot sleep with his wife?

b****r! There goes another keyboard :D

I pick all three!

My slightly more serious hypothesis about Sharkey:

He's one of those people who is his job. His job is gone, both in SHAR and retirement/career terms, and he can't let it go. He was an accomplished, brave, committed fighter pilot who doesn't see the bigger picture- he was a big fish in a tiny pond locally; but (like everyone else here who served) only a little cog in the big scheme of things. That's demonstrated by his one-dimensional whining about the RAF/carriers/Navy etc.

CG

CG
 

I completely agree. His naivety and narrow outlook is astounding for someone who reached the rank of Commander.

BV

Seems particularly graceless in the week that hard work by RN and RAF personnel have seen QNLZ and her crew declared trained and safe to conduct carrier strike operations. Perhaps some (maybe understandable) bitterness that a world he once dominated now goes on without him?

....and thereby, perhaps, is the clue. Was he prevented from going higher, where arguably he could have attempted to cause more sh*t-stirring? Or did he see the writing on the wall and leave? Either way, rather than reflecting on a worthy career and enjoying his retirement, he chooses to grind his axe ad infinitum... If he carries on, he'll end up as an incoherent, mumbling OAP sat in a corner and avoided by most people. Sad in a way, but it's his choice...

With a book on its way, then to some people any publicity is good for them.

He must have forgotten about the Jaguar downed by an F4 in Germany

Sorry, Vendee just noticed you got there first!

Its all very very sad- someone coming across his mad raving & ranting now will just pigeon hole him forever as a bitter and twisted nut case. he was better than that once..............

When was that? He was virulently and vituperatively anti-RAF (and anti-800, and anti-anything that wasn;t him or his) even before his first book.

Let’s be a weeny bit fair. He’s not the only somewhat peculiar individual on the block.

Anyone here ever worked for/with AJCB? Or a few other rather strange personalities? At my retirement interview, taking redundancy, I mentioned a few to my AOC, who replied “Oh, you had drawn a few short straws”. I declined to mention he was on the list!

Perhaps he found his Falkland experience later took a toll on his mental state, I wouldn't be so ready to judge too harshly, have seen it occur.

Yes, for not being handsome, witty and intelligent enough...obviously! They’ve all been hit with the ugly stick in the FAA :E

WAFUs :rolleyes:

Maybe the baddies were afraid to face RAF aircraft.

I was his QFI/Flt. Cdr. at Linton (JP's) in the late 60's when we had RN courses. He was the course leader (Lt. RN) and I found him one of the most competent students going ! What happened since then I have little idea, but did meet up again briefly in mid -70's at MOD, and he still seemed the same reasonable guy that I remembered. (Maybe it is my fault !!)

Bill

Met him at Deci during ACMI. Seemed a reasonable chap, but he spun some yarn about RM (or Para?) having shot dead some mercenaries they discovered in some hut on the Falklands...

He didn't show any antipathy towards the RAF at the time.

If you ask the standard person on the street about the Falklands,
a) they’ll say that the Vulcan raid was the most important part of the air war. They’ll not even know there was more than 1.
b) they’ll say that the RAF Harriers were brilliant. (They’ll have no idea Fleet Air Arm exists, all flying things are RAF right?)
c) They’ll say we lost all those ships because the French gave the Argentinians the codes to launch Exocet.
(I’ve not even checked if it’s true, I’ve been told it so any times, I’ve presumed that’s how it was reported at the time)

Do a a straw poll of any friends who have not served and this will be what they say, I guarantee it!

i think that’s all Mr Ward is grumpy about.

That may all be true, but it's his attacks ON the RAF, not his disputes over who did what, that bring him so low in our eyes.