Hunter used to fly lower?
 

I doubt it and I've never seen any pictures to prove it either!

But that would have been in the days before we could afford cameras.

Seriously, my first 35 mm camera was a simple point and click Boots Birette circa 1967 with a separate light meter at a cost of £7. My next was an Asahi Pentax SLR at £120 in 1970 and that bought in Singapore. We just did not get the dosh to afford non-essential consumer items. You even needed a Singapore Det to buy a decent watch - £10 down Change Alley.

Low Flying Hunters
 

PN. I thought the discussion related to Hunters in Oman but I completely take your point re the costs of half way decent cameras and watches! I remember haveing a Yashica copy of a twin lens Rollei which I think cost £15 in Bahrain and a very nice yellow faced Seiko from Singapore. There are stories of very silly recce competitions in RAFG in the 50s, Hunters at the time Pictures of clock towers with 'Who could get the face filling the whole frame', a train on an embankment photographed from below and that sort of stuff. A Hunter was damaged by hitting a 4 ft high concrete plinth at Wombleton(?) Airfield while 'burning off fuel prior to a precautionary landing'! That was certainly low and I make no claims for any Jaguar superiority in the field of silly low flying!

A2QFI, that was my point, when Hunters were in Oman even though the prices were duty free the cost of items like cameras, to capture the evidence made them a rare luxury.

The rest was to remind the young 'uns that we did not live in the same consumerist society that we do now.

Returning to the fly low topis, the USAF ran a trial with F105s in the 60s to see if they could incapacitate with a low level sonic boom. They could but the Thud was as likely to decapitate as incapacitate as it had to fly at about 5 feet. Gainsy might remember the photos in Flight.

I'm not that old.:)

I vaguely remember reading about such trials but can't recall any pictures. That would probably have been in Humphrey "Footnote" Wynn's era at Flight. (Guess what I'm reading at present).

Talking of low level, wiring an airfield is one thing, but how about the Buccs wazzing Beirut High Street? Talk (probably just talk, at that) of returning with clotheslines/TV aerials.

Terry I think I may have some tucked away, not quite as dramatic as flight international cover, but close. Seeb arrival after national day flypast mid 1980s. Lil bangworthy?
I remember watching a USN airfield attack at thummers in the late eighties, it was quite a sight to see. However, there were a number of Tomcats/ Corsairs/ Intruders that became the meat in a Jag/Hunter tag team sandwich.:) :ok:

Airfield + Carrier Group Attacks
 

At Thumrait we would take it in turns, one day the Carrier Group would attack Thumrait and the next day the Thumrait 'Wing' would attack them. One day an USN aircraft diverted in with some minor mech problem and the pilot was taken to the bar. In the meantime his aircraft was searched and we found a strike plan for the next day. As a result we were able to lie in wait, or fly in wait, and catch a load of aircraft, short of fuel and queuing for the tankers somewhere about 100 miles South east of Thumrait. Lots of easy 'kills' that day!

Mighty in-decent of you A2QFI.......... :hmm:

Meanwhile..... It's only silly if you're trying to juggle a camera at the same time.

Or if you hit something.

USN vs Omani Jags and Hunters
 

On the US Navy side (from the cockpit of a Tomcat), we used to call these exercises Beacon Flash in the 80s and we weren't allowed to discuss it pre Desert Shield due to sensitivity of operating inside Oman. Needless to say flying over Oman, and in what we called Star Wars Canyon and having a chance to fight some outstanding aviators was the highlight of the deployment, bar none. In fact, looking back, I'd say that type of training where we never knew where we would encounter Jags or Hunters or how many for that matter was the very best peacetime training I ever did in over 20 years of service and that includes Red Flag, Fallon/Topgun or with any other dedicated adversary units. Instead of canned routes or defined areas or altitudes, anything went and you had to be looking out for anything anytime. My hat is doffed to some real pros! First one's on me, anytime!

John Pym's 'paramour' a loverly Aussie woman friend of ours has been visiting from Hong Kong this week and has asked for links to this thread so she can show John when she gets back to Honkers next week.

She has asked for deatils so we should know whether John is prepared to own up to this event!

Cheers

Here's a couple . . .

http://www.canberra.plus.com/pics/thum1.jpg

http://www.canberra.plus.com/pics/thum2.jpg

:cool:

"we called Star Wars Canyon"

It scared me in a helo, let alone on a fast mover.

Very Low Level hunters at Thumrait
 

Excellent pictures! Thanks for posting them, I agree that they are as low as anything else in this thread.

loman
 

The Hunters possibly did fly lower... I was pulling up to miss the station photog who had scampered out after the first pass. Thanks for your remarks Mike - I wish I had gone back with Craig at 2 am but instead allowed Rushton to drive me back at 6 !! And we think we only do those silly things when we are young and drunk! There were some other wrinkly hooligans there at Colt on the friday it was good to see...;)

I met, in the loosest possible sense, the Omani Jags in the Sumhail Gap a couple of weeks ago whilst on holliers. Whilst not flying as low as anything posted, it was lower than anything I have ever seen that wasn't gear down! Typicall, the camera was in the glove compartment! Mind you, by the time I'd switched it in they would have been in Izki.

Hope they will oblige again in December, and that Fox3's film project comes off.

Not Omani or Jags but some barking mad German in an F-4.
Not too polished.:uhoh:
(26.5Mb BTW)
http://www.patricksaviation.com/avia...an_F-4_Phantom

Nice one Gainesy:ok: :ok:

Seems Alpha Jets can have gravity get the better of them also...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/61434/...ly_low_flying/

Ps Watch the #3

Back from another few days down Thummers way, got some great flight line stuff...but got caught at Baite 71 bar and missed the nuts and bolts of "Glittering Rug" but as usual always worth it.

The revamped and restored Jag vid will slide a bit as we missed the A/A content due to the last verse of "Piano Man" at 3 Am on the last few days of the bombex!

Jobs on, tapes on, fights on!

;)

A few more...
 

Having had to suffer interminable war stories over the last couple of weeks from two co-workers (ex Thummers), both of whom were adamant that Hunters flew lower, I demanded evidence.

I enclose herewith the duly submitted evidence..with a few more Jags thrown in. (click the image for a bigger version, if available)
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._hunter_02.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._hunter_01.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._jaguar_11.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._jaguar_10.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._jaguar_06.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._jaguar_05.jpg

How low can you go ? Part of a railing I understand.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._jaguar_07.jpg

car bit by both strakes !

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._tcar_02-1.jpg