Bomber Command 1961

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ricardian
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Bomber Command 1961

#1 Post by ricardian » Sun Jan 26, 2020 1:01 am

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#2 Post by Boac » Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:38 am

Thanks, Ric - great film. I enjoyed it. Particularly liked the chap with the carrier bag going up the ladder at 4:08 with his pork pies and can of Watneys Red Barrel... :)) Really surprised that the first 'FIRE' memory action was 'Check Parachutes'!

Memories of the dispersals - was it 'Mickey Finn's?

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#3 Post by ian16th » Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:48 am

I wasn't seen in it :(

No faces I recognised, but one a/c I worked on. XD816 trailing the old style solid basket.

Ah! Memories are made of this.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#4 Post by Pontius Navigator » Sun Jan 26, 2020 1:19 pm

The Exercise was May Flight the precursor to Mickey Finn. The Bomb List was add I remember, the coded alerts had been changed to Readiness Stated by 1964. What surprised me was the shot of Yellow Sun in a Restricted film. By 1964 it was only shown shrouded.

Simulators in the 60s were all separate. The AEO had a trainer, no idea of its scope, the Navs had the Fish Fryer (NBS Trainer), and the pilots their own box. Even though the AEO would read the aircraft checks he was never involved with pilot simulator training.

The shot of an alert practice during sports was true too. In 1964 our sqn crew and his crew were engaged in a 5-a-side station hockey tournament while on QRA. Predictably the was a practice and they call boarded the aircraft, hockey boots and all!

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#5 Post by Pontius Navigator » Sun Jan 26, 2020 1:30 pm

Gold Mine:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/sear ... STRY%5D=on

OK, not quite the right thread but I think it will do.

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#6 Post by Pontius Navigator » Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:52 pm

Gold Mine:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/sear ... STRY%5D=on

OK, not quite the right thread but I think it will do.

Trouble is not all film is available online.

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#7 Post by Alisoncc » Sun Jan 26, 2020 3:33 pm

Remember discussing with Ian16th when techy NCO's reversed the direction of their stripes. The Chiefy's arm, in the video at 19:36 in, has his stripes upside down, old techy fashion. That was Feb 1961. Got my corporal tech's stripes in 1965 just prior to heading down the gulf. As they were then sewn on to KD, I don't recollect which way up they were. I always thought they were still reversed, but Ian16th says not.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#8 Post by ian16th » Sun Jan 26, 2020 3:55 pm

Alisoncc wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 3:33 pm
Remember discussing with Ian16th when techy NCO's reversed the direction of their stripes. The Chiefy's arm, in the video at 19:30 in, has his stripes upside down, old techy fashion. That was Feb 1961. Got my corporal tech's stripes in 1965 just prior to heading down the gulf. As they were then sewn on to KD, I don't recollect which way up they were. I always thought they were still reversed, but Ian16th says not.
The date of change was 1st April 1964.

This has caused a problem with the GSM Cyprus 1963-4! A 50 years after the event medal.

The qualifying period for the medal was 21 December 1963 to 26 March 1964. I've regaled y'all elsewhere with my tale of daring do as Ord Cpl at Akrotiri on 21st Dec 63.

As you can see the end date is within a week of the change in the rank structure. A simple recipe to get things wrong.

When I wrote off for mine I filled out the form, which carried a clear warning that the rank required was from the qualifying date and not demob rank.
I correctly, filled it in with my rank of the time, CPL/Tech, and I wrote a covering letter indicating the pitfalls that the staff at Innsworth might fall into.

They did fall, head first!

My shinny engraved medal, says Cpl. I dunno what they did with the medals for Senior and Master Tech's. Jnr and Chief Tech's of course kept their devalued ranks.

Mine is in Oz now for my grandson to play with.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#9 Post by Alisoncc » Sun Jan 26, 2020 4:12 pm

ian16th wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 3:55 pm
My shiny engraved medal, says Cpl. I dunno what they did with the medals for Senior and Master Tech's. Jnr and Chief Tech's of course kept their devalued ranks.
Fully agree Ian. I considered going from Cpl Tech to plain Cpl was a significant down grade. Going from an inteligent knowlegeable individual to the equivalent drill instructor Cpl. Yuk. At least I got to keep my sparks. Us junior NCO's who got to sort out B2 Vulcans were a bunch of smart kiddies. Those above Cpl Tech mainly did paperwork and stuff, we did the smarts stuff. Always first out on the line to find out what had gone wrong when a big bird came home. Signing off the F700 when sorted. Wow.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#10 Post by ian16th » Sun Jan 26, 2020 4:32 pm

Alisoncc wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 4:12 pm
Fully agree Ian. I considered going from Cpl Tech to plain Cpl was a significant down grade. Going from an intelligent knowledgeable individual to the equivalent drill instructor Cpl.
At least in 1964, we kept our Trade Pay, I understand the today this is not so.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#11 Post by Pontius Navigator » Wed Jan 29, 2020 5:50 pm

Rather than subvert the socks thread where mention of remembering telephone numbers promoted a memory.

In the V-Force a number of telephone numbers on each station were common across the command. Hugely useful if you moved station to station. It may be possible that it applied to other stations too. I can remember the Ops Officer, Ops Clerks and Vault Officer. Photo Section, MT Control and Officers Mess were common too. Each sqn had a different set of numbers with the lowest numbered sqn on each station having the same set etc.

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#12 Post by ian16th » Wed Jan 29, 2020 6:12 pm

I remember that on the Sqdn dispersal we had one (1) telephone extension!

It as quicker to drive the RVT to the Electronics Centre to speak to someone, than wait in the queue to use the phone.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#13 Post by fareastdriver » Sat Apr 04, 2020 7:03 pm

My Bomber Command time was spent at Honington on 90 Squadron. It had just converted as a Valiant tanker squadron so Micks and Mickey Finns didn't apply to me. (Well, I ignored them anyway) so when the hooters went in the mess at some Godforsaken hour in the morning I just turned over in bed.

My fellow co-pilots that had gone through flying training with me but had been selected for Main Force Victors because of their superior brownie points would get about one Lone Ranger a year. I was off to the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Africa, the USA or the Far East every month.

It all had to come to an end when the Valiants were withdrawn from service. Not being of captain material I was sent off to Tern Hill to learn to fly from minus 30 knots to 120 knots instead of 120 to Mach 0.9.

The best move I ever made.

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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#14 Post by ian16th » Thu Apr 16, 2020 11:49 am

Two 214 Valiant's at Gan, 1961 I do believe! Heading for Karachi refueling Javelins, going home after a FEAF exercise in Singapore.

The one taking off is very noisy, using water meth injection. Can't hear it in the pic.

Dawn is just breaking, we started work in the dark as the a/c needed to take off before the temp got too high.
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Re: Bomber Command 1961

#15 Post by ricardian » Fri Mar 25, 2022 10:29 pm

At 12.30pm on Friday 29 April 2022, Dr. Thomas Withington will outline the WE-177’s rationale and development, discussing its design and its intended role had nuclear war broken out in Europe. He will also explain how the WE-177 was to complement the Polaris missile as part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and conclude by discussing the decommissioning of the WE-177 and its legacy.
The lecture will be live-streamed online via Crowdcast.
Talk Outline
It was the most expensive weapon the RAF ever deployed. Thankfully, it was never used.
By the early 1970s, it seemed that the RAF was out of the nuclear business; the Royal Navy was to get the new Polaris ballistic missile and new submarines to boot. Yet this was not quite the case. From 1966, the air force began receiving the WE-177. This was a tactical nuclear bomb that would also outfit the Royal Navy. It would remain in service for over 30 years and was finally phased out in 1998.
The WE-177 has the distinction of being the most expensive weapon the RAF ever acquired. However, little information has been shared with the public on the WE-177, its development and intended role. Drawing on official government documents now in the public domain, this lecture will shine a light on the WE-177 and its intriguing history.
The lecture will outline the weapon’s rationale and development. It will explain the WE-177’s design and intended role had the unthinkable ever happened and nuclear war had broken out in Europe. It will also explain how the WE-177 was to complement the Polaris missile as part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. The paper will conclude by discussing the decommissioning of the WE-177 and its legacy.
Location
The lecture will be live-streamed for our Cosford lecture theatre on Friday 29 April 2022. This lecture will begin at 12.30PM.
TICKETS
This lecture is free to attend via the RAF Museum’s Crowdcast channel but registration is required. Booking is quick and easy. To reserve your slot, please go to: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/cosford-we-177/register
To access the lecture you may need to check your internet browser is compatible. It is currently reported that Google Chrome provides the best experience for using Crowdcast.
If you would like to attend the lecture in Cosford please visit: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/wh ... on/events/
About Thomas Withington
Dr Thomas Withington is a writer and analyst specialising in electronic warfare, radar and military communications. He has written hundreds of articles on these subjects for a range of general and specialist publications. He has also worked as an adviser and consultant for several leading public and private sector organisations. In addition, he regularly presents on these subjects at conferences around the world, and provides comment and insight for leading media outlets.
About the RAF Museum research programme
The RAF Museum’s 2022 research programme includes Lunchtime Lectures at the RAF Museum, Cosford; Air Power Lectures, co-organised with the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University; Air Power Seminars, co-organised with the University of Wolverhampton; and the Trenchard Lecture series, hosted at the Royal Aeronautical Society. You can attend these lectures in person or join us online as we live-stream from the venue.
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