3(F) issue 56 V2 · Joined in 1990 and has served at Honington, Wyton, Marham, JARIC, RIC (NI), 39...

EYE IN THE SKYENGLISH ELECTRIC PR9THE LAST CANBERRA

60 SQUADRONPHOTOGRAPHER IN THE 1950s

THE SEARCH FOR TINKERBELLEAT THE SHARP END WITH 3(F)

FLASHBACKFLASHBACKMAGAZINE OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION No 74 SPRING 2019

Flashback 74 MW.qxp_3(F) issue 56 V2 07/04/2019 13:23 Page 1

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RAFPA CONTACTS

CHAIRMANJohn Barry MBE

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Gerry [email protected]

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TREASURERPaul Nile

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PHOTO COMPETITIONMick Muddiman

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MERCHANDISE MANAGERTony Story

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EVENTS COORDINATORChris Twiner

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EDITORPhil Ward

[email protected] High Avenue

LetchworthSG6 3RL

NEW RECRUITAndy MalthouseJoined in 1990 and has served at Honington, Wyton, Marham,JARIC, RIC (NI), 39 Sqn, MoD London and DSOP as School WarrantOfficer. Andy is currently Head of Trade at HQ Air Command, HighWycombe.

OBITUARYSusan SellarsI must sadly inform you of the death of Susan Sellars nee Rudd onthe 9th of February 2019. She Joined as a Ground Photographer in1971 and served at Jaric, Gibraltar, Cranwell, Laarbruch andConingsby leaving the service in 1982. Peter Sellars.

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITSThis page: Smoke in the Sun. Mark ThompsonFront cover: PR9 XH134 at Goodwood Revival. Michael WardPage 4 top: Centenary Room DSOP. Gerrald linsteadPage 5: Images provided by John LewisPage 6 & 7: Images courtesy Ulster Aviation SocietyPage 8 top: 60 Squadron Javelin. www.aviationphotography.comPage 9 top: RAAF Long nose Lincolns. Radschool AssociationPage 9 bottom: 60 Squadron Javelin. Charles McHughPage 13 bottom: 60 Squadron Pembroke. Public Domain

SPECIAL THANKSSpecial thanks to WO Andy Malthouse for suppling the images forthe 2018 RAF Photographic Competition. A selection of thewinning entries appear in this edition.

Flashback is published by the RAFPA for the benefit of paid-up membersof the RAFPA. Accreditation for text, images and logos has been givenwhere appropriate, however the RAFPA cannot be held liable for anyomissions or errors. If such omissions or errors are notified to the Editorthey will be published in the next available edition of Flashback. If any person responds to an advertisement or commercial suppliernamed in Flashback they must satisfy themselves of the authenticityand honesty of any advertiser or trader and the RAFPA cannot be heldliable for any loss, however incurred. Flashback is copyright and requeststo reproduce text, images or logos must be made to the Editor

FLASHBACKEDITION 75 SUMMER 2019

Deadline for contributionsJune 7th

Photos MUST be 300dpi

www.rafpa.org.uk

2019 PHOTOGRAPHICCOMPETITION

Entries are invited for the 2019 Joe Oliver AwardSubject CITYSCAPES

Home – Abroad – Night – DayThrough the Seasons

NO SELFIES!Closing date TBA

[email protected]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR0930hrs, I press the

Download option in my emailfrom WeTransfer, above me atabout 10,000ft two USAF F15sfrom Lakenheath chase oneother around a clear blue sky,the jet jocks won’t need radartoday just cool Ray-Bans! Isettle back to enjoy Flashbackedition 73, an excellent readcomplete with external soundeffects, all that is missing isthat whiff of burnt paraffin!Would it be possible toincorporate a ‘Scratch & Sniff’panel in edition 74, probablyhopelessly carcinogenic but atmy age it won’t matter. Keepup the good work.

John Lewis – 43rd – TheBest (just ask our Chairman!)


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It’s Friday the 29th March2019. As I write my notes onthe banks of the river

Moselle, Germany, in the middleof Europe, Spring is in the air.The Cherry trees, the Magnoliasand the Forsythia are in fullbloom and the colours heraldthe beginning of a bright newyear. This was the day that Ithought the UK was to begin anew era in its relationship withEurope. I am still not sure! Ihave been undercover for thepast few days making sure thatmy GB sticker is very discreet.My International Driving Permit(1949 edition – the only oneavailable when I left the UK inJanuary) is valid for Spain butnot in France or Germany so Iam being very cautious with mydriving skills on the wrong sideof the road.

One advantage of being onthe continent is that your canget the differing views asespoused by the ‘arm chair’pundits from both sides of theEnglish Channel – experts fromthe BBC, Sky News and EuroNews have provided me with anightly dose of BREXIT triviawhilst on my travels. From myRAF experience I can onlygather that the House ofCommons couldn’t organise a‘Happy Hour” (I use these words

advisedly) in a brewery. I amsure most of you would agree.

Enough said, as far as I amconcerned we are stillgeographically in Europewhether the UK is in the EU ornot. As I head for the Bitburgbrewery!

My travels this past fewmonths did include a trip to theTechnik Museum in Sinsheimbut only to get a closer look atthe Air France Concorde aircraftsitting side by side the Tupolev-144 ‘the Russian Concorde’. Anamazing experience. The visitalso gave me the chance tolook at some very interestclassic cars, from Bentley’s toBugatti’s and Mercedes to thewonderful Maybach’s. Naturally,I was disappointed that noMorgan sports car was ondisplay. However, to please ourEditor Phil, I took a ‘grab shot’of his favourite Lamborghini!

Summer is almost upon usand the weather, I understandin the UK, has beenexceptionally kind – time to getthe cameras out and capturethose ‘Kodak moments’ toplease Mike Muddiman with theAssociation Photo Comp laterin the year. Enjoy!

Yours Aye John

CHAIRMAN’S CHAT MERCHANDISE

REGALIA & CLOTHING PRICE LISTPOLO SHIRTS £22 SWEATSHIRTS £24

BOTH ARE AVAILABLE IN ALL SIZES AND COLOURSPLEASE SPECIFY SIZE & COLOUR WHEN ORDERING

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Clothing orders can take around six weeks.

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Cheques payable to: RAFPA. All orders include P & P

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Colours: Bottle Green, Black, Charcoal, Heather Grey, Maroon,

Navy, Pink, Purple, Red, Royal Blue, Sky Blue, White, Yellow


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OUT AND ABOUT

A Frosty Tale by Mike SpeakeIt’s the Cold War, 1967. It’s a crystal winter’s night at RAFLaarbruch, Germany, freezing at -5C under a blanket of snow. Iwas an SAC Photographer at the time and I’m on frost guard onthe edge of the airfield making sure that our No 3 Mobile FieldPhotographic Unit’s (3 MFPU) caravans don’t freeze up. You see,we have to be ready if the Russians decide to declare war on theWest tonight.

The plan is that we’ll launch our aircraft, amongst them thephoto recce PR7 Canberras of 31 Sqn, to repel the Sovietinvaders. So we have to make sure that photographic chemicalsare at 68°F to develop the air camera films when (and if) theCanberras return after their recce sorties over the armouredSoviet columns racing across the Hanover Plain to the Channelports. Serious stuff and true, as we of Cold War vintageremember. So, the lone frost guard has to patrol the MFPU’swagons throughout the night to make sure the aircon heatersare working, the film developer is warmish, and that all is in order.

The wagons are arranged in a U-shape and illuminated by yellowsodium lamps. I’m parked off in the admin caravan – run by Admin-basher SAC Pat Gloam (was that his name?) – and I have the fanheater on full blast, and eventually nod off after a NAAFI supperbreak of several beers. Meanwhile it’s getting hotter and hotter inthe ‘Shiny Wagon’ (RAF lingo for a clerk was ‘shiny’, as theiruniform trousers were shiny on the backsides due to them sittingdown all the time). I eventually wake up with a start and, lungingfor the door, stagger down the steps into the cold night airgasping for breath.

Something catches my eye. It’s a shadow across the pan. It’sloping towards me and it’s getting bigger and bigger. I’m wideawake now, with my back pressed against the caravan and I feelmy heart racing.

Suddenly, out of the yellow glare emerges a large buck hare,gently hopping towards me, just coming to visit. Time for a change of underpants.

Anew ‘Dave HumphreyRoom’, dedicated to thehistory of Aerial

Reconnaissance, was openedat the Defence School ofPhotography (DSOP) at RAFCosford in February.

The room is an extension ofthe hugely popular CentenaryRoom which was opened in2015 and charts the history of

Dave Humphrey Room official opening

military photography.The room was named in

honour of Dave, an RAFPhotographer and RAFPAstalwart who served aroundthe world and was both aService and Civil Serviceinstructor at DSOP. Passionateabout photographic history hepublished a book on thesubject and remained avolunteer at the School, beinginstrumental in opening theCentenary Room.

The room was opened byDave’s brother and sister.

WO Andy Malthouse verykindly showed a small group ofRAFPA members around theSchool and explained itsfunction as a multi-serviceoperation, which includestraining governmentintelligence operatives andscenes of crime investigators.

The museum exhibits includemany historic items includingthe first camera to be used inthe WWI trenches and theactual camera used to producepassport pictures during theGreat Escape. The Associationwill be visiting in October.


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It’s been a long time since thispicture was taken of myself,probably 1965 on 58

Squadron when Wyton’sCanberras were still silver. As Irecall it was for press purposes,hence the clean denims!

Wyton was my first postingafter training at Cosford,initially I was sent to theFactory but quickly realisedthat working on aircraft wasmore attractive. The optionswere the Valiants on 543Squadron or Canberras on 58,which was the best choice,especially as there were regularoverseas detachments.

My turn soon came to go to‘Singers’ on Reforce for theIndonesian Confrontation,which ultimately led to my firstoverseas posting to Tengahand 81 Squadron.

Joe Lewis’s story about 60

Squadron at Tengah in thisissue reminded me of theMeteor NF 14 WS 787 that wasthe camp gate guardian. It wasthe last operational 60Squadron Meteor and was ondisplay from 1961 to 1971. Itreally deserved to be preservedbut ended its days on the RAFGan fire dump. Does anyoneknow how it got there?

More memories from the late’60s at Tengah are ex-49thStewart Grant’s collection ofimages on page 16. We shared aroom together in Ward Block. Ofthe several other ex-49th bodson the station, sadly AlanTemple and Les Hester are nolonger with us.Phil WardMystery photo! Spotted atDSOP, what was this hybridF126 camera used for – whyand where?

EDITORIAL

As part of the UKGovernment’s First WorldWar Centenary campaign

commemorative paving stoneswill be laid at the birth places ofVictoria Cross (VC) recipients ofthat war. In total, 477 stoneswill be laid in communities inEngland, Wales and Scotlandand Northern Ireland. OverseasVC recipients will also becommemorated.

One of those honoured isJames Thomas ByfordMcCudden, VC, DSO & Bar, MC &Bar, MM was among the mosthighly decorated airmen inBritish military history. He diedon the 9th July 1918.

Born on the 28th March 1895he joined the Royal Engineers in1910. Having an interest inmechanics he transferred tothe Royal Flying Corps in 1913as an Air Mechanic and by theoutbreak of war in 1914 he wasflying as an Observer beforetraining as a Fighter Pilot in1916. McCudden claimed hisfirst victory in September 1916.He claimed his fifth victory,making him an ace in February1917 and by the end of thatyear he had he dispatched afurther 31 enemy aircraft.

With his six British medalsand one French, McCuddenreceived more awards forgallantry than any other Britishairman during the First WorldWar plus he was also one of thelongest serving. By 1918 in partdue to a campaign by the DailyMail newspaper McCuddenbecame one of the mostfamous airmen in the United

Kingdom. At his death he hadachieved 57 aerial victories, themajority of his successes wereachieved with 56 Squadron RFCand all but five fell while flyingthe S.E.5a. His commemorativepaving was installed at theMain gate of the RoyalEngineers Museum inGillingham.

On 9th July 1918 MajorMcCudden was killed in anaccident when his aircraftcrashed following a probableengine failure immediately aftertake-off; at that time he wasCO of 60 Squadron, RAF.McCudden is buried at theCWGC cemetery at Wavans inthe Pas de Calais, France.

The significance of the date5th March 1918 on McCudden’scommemorative paving stone isthat he would not have been inthe RAF on that date as it hadnot yet been invented!

By the middle of February1918 he had reached his 50thvictory and by the time he wenton leave on 5th March he had57. Perhaps he despatchednumber 57 during the morningof Tuesday 5th March,collected his Blightly Pass inthe afternoon, had dinner in theMess and travelled home thenext morning. John Lewis

A Victoria Cross Remembered


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THE LAST CANBERRA – PR9 XH131A review of the must have book by Guy Warner

It’s not a big book at 64 pagesand it’s not expensive at£11.25 but it’s packed with

info on the most successfulCanberra ever to enterservice – the PR9.

This softback book has beenproduced by the Ulster AviationSociety to support itsacquisition of XH131 as a majorexhibit in the aviation museumat Lisburn, Northern Ireland.The location is appropriate asthe PR9s were built by Shortsof Belfast.

The PR9 project began withthe conversion of PR7 WH793which was fitted with morepowerful Avon Mk 206 enginesand broader wings. The firstproduction PR9 was XH129,which was lost after just threemonths due to failure of thewing root. XH129, 130 and 131were originally fitted with afixed nose with side dooraccess for the navigator, later

The Ulster Aviation Society is charitable societythat is a diverse group of enthusiasts, workingon a voluntary basis to further public educationin the history of aviation.

The heritage collection currently includes 35+ aircraft,ranging from vintage WW II fighters through Cold War-era fastjets, Shorts-designed and built aircraft, civilian aircraft, plusmilitary helicopters, engines, artefacts and rare aviationreference materials, all with strong links to aviation within theisland of Ireland.

Our aircraft are housed within two ex-WW II hangars at MazeLong Kesh, outside Lisburn (on the site of the old prison) inNorthern Ireland.

Join the Ulster Aviation Society!Enjoy exclusive Membership Benefits when you join the UlsterAviation Society. Download our Membership Form from thewebsite, or if you visit our hangar where one of our HangarVolunteers can help you.

All public visits are organised by prior arrangement. We caterfor group visits, school trips (children’s groups should bearound 30 max.) and tour groups. We are open from March to October.

www.ulsteraviationsociety.org

Above: Rare picture of theSystem III pod being installedvia its specially built pitBelow: XH130 showing theoriginal fixed nose section

THE ULSTER AVIATION SOCIETY

changed to the more familiarswing nose design. This rarepicture of XH130 shows theearly configuration.

The majority of the excellentimages in the book weresourced from Shorts’ own

archive supplemented by highquality mono period picturesand contemporary colourphotography.

The book records that thefirst PR9s were first allocatedto 58 Squadron at Wyton in1960 for initial set up and crewtraining. In 1961 they werereallocated to 13 Squadron inCyprus and 39 Squadrons inMalta. All the subsequent‘postings’ and detachments arerecorded along withexplanations for aircraft losses.

The information on thenumerous camera systemsthat the PR9 carried during itslong career will be fascinatingto many readers who were notprivileged to be ‘in the know’ atthe time. There are declassifieddescriptions of the F49 Mk4,System III, U2 cameras,panoramic cameras, infraredline scan and real time imagedownloading.

Equally fascinating is howwide the PR9s operatingtheatre actually was, theaircraft being the preferedoptical platform of both sidesof the Atlantic. If you everwondered why you weredetached to some pretty weirdplaces it’s all in here –allegedly!

‘The Last Canberra – PR9XH131’ by Guy Warner isavailable from the UAS at just£5 including UK postage.Contact Ernie Cromie:[email protected]


Flashback 7

A Career in Aviationby Martin Brunskill

In the 1950s, Shorts built thephoto-reconnaissanceCanberra PR9. These aircraft

returned to the factorythroughout the 1970s and1980s for major refurbishment.The crew consisted of a pilotand a navigator who was seatedin the nose.

In December 1971, I wasoffered a flight and the firstthing to be tested was me, tosee how I would react to theclaustrophobic environment ofthe navigator’s station and thewearing of high-flying milliaryprotection kit. Not everyone ishappy with an oxygen mask; I’veknown people feel sick whenwearing one. I was sent to theaeromedical school atBoscombe Down where we hadlectures on survival in desert,jungle, arctic and sea environsand first aid.

The PR9 could fly at 45,000feet while the pressure in thecrew section was equivalent to22,000 feet, when we werebreathing almost pure oxygen. Ifthe aircraft suffered apressurisation failure, the crewwould be instantly exposed tothe thin air pressure at 45,000feet, which is not good news. Toavoid death, we were fedemergency oxygen at high

pressure which meant you hadto reverse your breathingprocess, ire let air in underpressure and blow to exhale.When this was practised on theground at Boscombe Down,supervised by a doctor, youwere also required to radio airtraffic and tell them what hadhappened and what you weredoing about it. This task is noteasy because when you aretalking you are not breathing.

On one occasion, I talked for toolong and collapsed in a pressurebreathing faint. The doctor putme to bed in a recovery room for20 minutes. After that, I wasready to repeat the exercise buthe said no way would I have tocome back another day. Hemust have been reallyconcerned because he took meto Heathrow to get a plane backhome, with orders to report tothe company medical officer.

The other practical test wasto experience the effects ofanoxia. Boscombe had adecompression chamber whichcould simulate high altitude airpressure. As air was pumpedout, half of us had no oxygenand gradually began to passout, at which point the otherhalf would switch on our oxygenand we were instantly revived.This test was done at theCombat and Sea Survival Schoolin Plymouth.

We had lessons in the use ofan ejection seats, parachuteand life preserver and how tospend all night driving beer withone of the instructors – someintakes of that good old oxygenwould have been just the jobthen. The course concludedwith a trip into Plymouthharbour on an RAF rescuelaunch, where each of us wouldbe towed behind it in a

parachute harness which wehad to release, inflate the lifepreserver, retrieve our single-man dinghy, deploy it and climbin. Then there was a lot of workto do. There were several piecesof equipment attached to thedinghy with lines which neededto be untangled. Then, as half ofPlymouth harbour seemed to bein the dinghy with me, the balingstarted.

The four principles of survivalare protection, location, waterand food, in that order. Nowthat I had done my best withthe first, I sent off a specialradio signal so that, in time, theair sea rescue guys could homein on me and as soon as I heardthe sound of the approachinghelicopter I would ignite a had-held flare which enabled thecrew to pinpoint me and showthe pilot the wind direction.While watling for their arrival, Iwould set up a solar still toobtain water. For food, I wouldhave to wait to be rescued.Eating raw fish was notrecommended as it requiredwater to be digested. The eyeswould be OK but I would neverbe that hungry!

So began a 14-year affair withthe PR9.

Martin Brunskill was a test pilotfor Shorts and died in 2018. Ed


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Ienlisted as an RAFphotographer for four years in1956. As was normal at that

time I was randomly advisedthat I would become a GeneralService Photographer, whichshould have meant that I wouldbe employed in a photographicsection but needs on theground meant that little of thetime I had to serve were in thiscapacity.

After completing three

months basic trade training atWellsbourne Mountford I wasissued with tropical kit and puton a troop ship, destinationunknown. All of us embarkingfully expected it to be Suez, butwith the first port of call beingthe Canary Islands and thenDurban in South Africa, thesethoughts were found to begroundless. We finally docked inSingapore and were taken toRAF Seletar, home toSunderlands and PR9 Meteorsbut my stay only lasted a fewhours until myself and oneother were advised we wouldbe elsewhere and RAF Tengahwas to be our posting for thenext two and a half years.

Tengah was a moreinteresting base. Amongst thesquadrons based there was 1Squadron RAAF equipped withlong nosed Lincolns, which werebeing used in the bombingoperations assisting groundforces in the MalayanEmergency form 1948 to 1958.My lasting memory of theseaircraft was their early morning

starts which entailedproceeding to the end of therunway and sitting there doingtheir pre-flight checks for whatseemed like hours before takingoff. It was noisy (next to ourbillet) and a nuisance to melater, as the road to 60Squadron’s line was near the

60 SQUADRON PHOTOGRAPHERJoe Lewis reflects on his 1950s tour at RAF Tengah

end of the runway, and nothingcould cross until the lastaircraft had taken off.

For my first year at Tengah Iwas employed for the tasks Ihad been trained for, in thePhotographic Section,everything was eitherphotographed with a Speed

Top: Javelins arrived in 1961Left: Joe Lewis during his tourat Tengah in the 1950sRight: 60 Squadron Venoms


Flashback 9

were shot by a designatedmarksman. Carrying the MPP ofcourse meant that we could bethe only unarmed member ofthe squad. So it was with somerelief to state that the occasionnever arose in anger.

We did get some annual leaveup country in Penang but withMalays still in a state ofemergency it entailed travellingby train armed with a 303 rifleand a magazine of 12 rounds,which were expected to bereturned unused or a very goodreason why not. The train tookus to Kuala Lumpur and wewere then ferried across toPenang. These breaks wereenjoyable with a lot of sailingand sampling of the local beer.So after two and a half years Iwasn’t too sorry when I was dueto go home, again by ship, butthis time sailing through Suez,so only a three week trip at seainstead of four.

The lasting memory of myfirst three years of service wasalways being short of moneyand long periods of boredombecause of it. However we wereable to escape to Seletar to sailin either GP14’s dinghy or thesecond hand ‘Pram’ dinghy I hadacquired, but good funnevertheless. So I was lookingforward to getting home forleave and hopefully aninteresting posting where Iwould actually do morephotography. I was some threestone lighter, the food wasawful on camp and oftenmissed due to problemscrossing the runway for themess. In the interim I knewthere was already talk of theSquadron being reequippedwith Meteors and then Javelins

Graphic or its replacement theMPP, they both used 5x4 cutfilm. We Photographers werebilleted with the armourers asthe Photo Section was abovethe armoury. It was happy billet.

I was told suddenly that Iwould be moved to 60 Squadronequipped at the time with 16Venom FB4s and one T11Vampire. The Squadronstrength was one corporal andtwo airmen. Because I was onlya Photo GS I had to be broughtup to speed on how to fit thegun cameras, load themagazines, develop and thenassess the films and mark eachpilot’s results. Not too bad taskusually, but there wereoccasions when up to 60sorties were achieved in a day,especially during intensiveweapon training, usually carriedout up country at RAFButterworth.

The Venom was able to carryeither two 1000lb bombs or 16air-to-ground rockets and fourfixed canons. The Squadronalso had a two seat Vampiretrainer and ground crew wereencouraged to put their namesdown for a half hour trip.

Squadron life was fairlyroutine other than tasks thatarose if we were called out asDuty Photographer, which couldrange from a nosewheelcollapsing or a bar room brawl.Any task that seemed remotelyinteresting was always coveredby our NCO, but we two erkswere drilled in the dutiesexpected from us if we werecalled out as part of a riotsquad to quell civilian unrest inthe city. Not exactly a popularduty for us photographers as itentailed being with a squad of adozen armed men while wewere expected to photographany trouble maker before they

and I tired to keep aware ofwhat they were doing once theMalayan campaign was over.

I still look for news of 60Squadron but hear little ofthem now and what I see as itslong drawn out decline afterserving so long overseas. I wishsomeone would publish ahistory of the Squadron. Thesnippets of information I haveseem to indicate interestingtimes were there but mainly itseems to live up to the name ithad in Singapore as part of theforgotten air force. I don’t knowif this remained in later yearswith those who served whensquadrons were equipped withmore exotic aircraft, but it hadto be admitted that our effortsduring the Malaya campaign,known as Operation Firedog,were far more cost effectiveand in the end efficient, ifprolonged with 10 years dealingwith problems that moved from

country to country around theFar East to culminate inVietnam.

In many ways I still have anaffinity to 60 and what it hasachieved over the years. It’ssignificant that the Squadroneven still exists, be it only inareserved squadron basis.

I considered myself to befortunate in that the whole ofmy service was classed asbeing ‘on active duty’, firstly inSingapore, during the Malayancampaign and then at StMawgan with Coastal Commandwhere I was posted, with oneyear of service to complete.

More from John Lewis in thenext issue, in the meantimecheck out 60 Squadron’shistory on page 13. Ed.

Right: Long nosed Lincolns ofNo 1 RAAF flew bombingmissions in Malaya

Below Left: Javelin following awheels up mishapBelow Right: Venom three ship


Flashback10

LIFE AT THE SHARP ENDMore camping in the woods ‘somewhere in Germany’. Words and pictures by Phil Ward

Right, let’s get thissorted out first. Herefollows the official

origin of No. 3 Squadron.No. 3 Squadron (Royal

Flying Corps) was formed atLarkhill on 13 May 1912 bythe renaming of No. 2(Aeroplane) Company of theAir Battalion Royal Engineers,under the command of MajorRobert Brooke-Popham. Beingalready equipped withaeroplanes and manned bypilots and air mechanics, No.2 (Aeroplane) Company wasthus the first British, Empireor Commonwealthindependent military unit tooperate heavier-than-airflying machines, hence the 3Squadron motto Tertiusprimus erit, meaning "Thethird shall be the first".

There has been muchcontroversy andmisinformation surrounding

the fact that No. 3 Squadron(with the word ‘Fighter’ addedin 1937) was the first Britishsquadron to fly aircraft. Whilenumerically Nos 1 and 2preceed 3, they were initiallyformed as balloon operators.Sorted? Good, now I can geton with the story.

The Harrier GR1 carried a16mm Telford PDR mountedon the pilot’s head-up display.A 4-inch Mk7 F95 PFO waslocated in the nose cone. The‘Photo Section’ on 3(F) atWildenrath in 1975 was an oldMFPU darkroom trailer

located behind the flight line.It was managed by CorporalACFs and the SAC APOs whoran the ML16 processor toprocess the PDR film. The F95film was processed in the RIC.

The Telford was an easycamera to fit and simplyclipped onto the HUD andwas connected with a pushon pull off plug. It wasoperated by a flip up switchon the control column, whichalso armed the weapons. Forobvious reasons the cameraswere tested before fitting. Toreplace the F95 magazine an

access panel on thestarboard side was attachedwith screws requiring an allenkey to remove. If the cameraneeded to be removed whenthe nose came off forservicing a panel under thecone gave access to thecamera’s high-speedmounting screws. Refitting

Top: GR3 XZ 132 at ‘off therange’ site Widey. It is now inprivate collection.Below: Beer call! Pilot PeteKirton was subsequently toeject safely from XV 770


Flashback 11

could be a real pain becausethe screws had to be lock-wired together. Access waslimited and the ACF had towork with his arms raised, OKif you were tall. The T-birdwas easier to work on as theF95 was mounted inside thefuselage accessed via thenose-wheel bay.

3(F) operated mainly in thefighter role using the PDR buthad recce phases where theF95 was operated.

tractor in wet and muddyconditions took someconcentration.

My second tour on 3(F) wasat Gütersloh where thesquadron operated its GR3son a flight line but also out ofthe revetments on the HASsite vacated by 19 and 92Squadron’s Phantoms. Thissemi-dispersed arrangementrequired the squadron Photogto be bicycle-equipped tocover the area. Harrierssometimes had wet enginestarts when the fuel from theAPU would briefly ignite. I wascycling past an aircraft whichwas starting up when flamesshot out of the APU but theydidn’t go out! The groundcrew were in panic modebecause they had forgottento bring the extinguishertrolley. I dropped my bike andsignalled to the pilot to shutdown, he was on the ballbecause he could see theflames in his mirror. I dashedinto the line caravan andpicked up the firstextinguisher to hand, dashedback, leapt up the steps andput the fire out before it gotout of control. Theextinguisher I had used waspowder and not C02 so thecockpit was covered in reddust. Even though I had saveda valuable aircraft from

with several waves of two,three or four Harriers flyingsorties of less than one hourthroughout the day, usuallywith quick turnrounds. 3(F)Squadron was all inclusivewhen it came to flight linetasks. In between my cameraduties I assisted in runningthe flight line desk andaircraft towing. Pulling theHarriers out of the hangar onearly morning starts was themain activity during normaloperations, but it was in fieldthat towing was reallyimportant. Aiming a Harrierinto a hide with the Unimog

Occasionally a recce pod wasfitted and the associatedgremlins were much worsethan on my time at 4Squadron. Because the 3(F)Harriers didn’t carry the podsvery often the electricalsnags had been allowed tobuild up making installationtedious. Usually only one podwas allocated and instead ofkeeping it on a fully sortedaircraft it was moved aroundbecause of aircraftunserviceability and rolechanges.

Fighter squadronoperations could be intensive

Below: A Harrier GR3 in troubleat the Bergen Hohne siteBelow Left: Procedure foraccepting an aircraft landingfrom a contaminated area

Above: GR1 Harriers landing atMandalay site, the teamhaving crashed out from itsprimary site during a TACEVAL


Flashback12

serious damage I was beratedby the armourers who had totake the seat out and cleanthe cockpit.

Once the port outriggerwheel fell off a Harrier thathad landed on the mainrunway, the aircraft veeringoff the tarmac and digging

itself into the grass. I wasdispatched with the tractorto drop off the towing armand ferried the pilot,complete with the wheel,back to the squadron whilethe Harrier was beingattended to. The pilot put thewheel on the counter in the

line office in front of the linechief who stared him in theeye and said: “Well where’sthe rest of it then”.

A more serious incidentoccurred when a pilot cameback to the flight line withnothing at all. I wassummoned to collect aHarrier that was in troubleduring a vertical landing onthe Mexe pad. On my arrivalthe aircraft was still in thehover and all theundercarriage was downexcept for the nosewheel. Icould see that this was notgoing to end well. Not havinganything to hook the towingarm on to I felt rathersuperfluous but continued towatch the proceedings. Thepilot made a great job oftouching down reallysmoothly but on shut downand without the nosewheel

the aircraft gently tiltedforward and the nose struckthe ground. A large crackappeared in the fuselage justbehind the cockpit. The pilotwas OK. GR3 XV779 ‘AP’ waslast seen at Gütersloh exitingthe station on the back of aQueen Mary. Coincidentallythis is the aircraft that wason the gate at Wittering formany years and is now partof the hermitage collection.

Being a veteran of 17Harrier field deploymentsand, by virtue of doing thesame thing often enough,there will be mistakes made,sometimes very publicly. One

Above: GR1 XV 781 taking offon grass at Mandalay siteLeft: Formation ‘take off’ byground crewBelow left: Sunday BBQBelow: NBC fashion parade


Flashback 13

Below Left: The Editor pushinga GR3 back into a hide atGeseke site. Picture waspublished in Air Clues

Above: Sqdn Ldr Keith Hollandpleading his case at the fieldcourt martial for taxiing in thewrong direction. Sadly he diedin a T4 accident as OC 4

60 Squadronwas formed in1916 at Gosport,barely a monthhad passedbefore the unitand its Morane-

Saulnier N's were despatchedto France.

After suffering heavy lossesduring the Battle of the Somme,the squadron re-equipped withNieuport Scouts. 60 squadronclaimed 320 aerial victories with26 flying aces.

Reformed at Lahore in India in1920, the squadron was equippedwith Airco DH10 bombers andbegan an association with theMiddle and Far East that was tolast for 48 years.

The squadron moved to Burmain 1941. After the outbreak of waragainst Japan the squadronfought in Malaya operatingBlenheims.

Having re-equipped withHawker Hurricane IIc fighter-bombers the squadron beganground attack missions in 1944and troop support against theJapanese in Burma.

In May 1945 the Hurricaneswere replaced by Thunderboltfighters which remained in servicewith the squadron until 1946.

Shortly after the Japanesesurrender, the squadron moved toJava and was in action againstIndonesian rebels. A year later, 60transferred to Singapore withSpitfire F18s and these wereemployed in attacks againstCommunist guerrillas in MalayanEmergency until the arrival ofVampires in late 1950 and thenVenoms in 1955.

By the time Meteor night-fighters arrived in October 1959,the unit had returned to RAFTengah in Singapore. A changefollowed in July 1961 whenJavelins arrived and these

remained until April 1968 whenthe squadron was disbanded.

In 1969, 60 Squadron founditself flying Pembrokes until theHawker Siddeley Andover arrivedin 1987.

60 Squadron's Pembroke's weremodified versions of 81Squadron’s C(PR)1. They flewregularly along the air corridorsbetween West Germany andBerlin. While the Pembrokes werewidely used as transport aircraft,their true function along thatparticular route was known only toa few within military andintelligence circles. These aircraftwere employed for OperationHallmark, a sensitive intelligenceoperation in which the Pembrokeswere fitted with F96 cameras toacquire imagery of Soviet and EastGerman military installations andairfields below the tightlycontrolled air corridors.

At the time of the Sovietinvasion of Czechoslovakia in1968, it was the Pembrokes thatprovided Western analysts withsome of the first indications as towhere the Soviet ground forceshad come from.

60 Squadron disbanded atWildenrath on 1 April 1992, butreformed two months later on 1June 1992 at RAF Benson inOxfordshire with Westland Wessexhelicopters. This proved a short-lived stay and the squadron wasdisbanded again on 31 March 1997and the numberplate passed on tothe RAF element of the DefenceHelicopter Flying School (DHFS) atRAF Shawbury on 1 May 1997.

As of 1 April 2018, the squadronbegan transitioning to the Junohelicopter as part of 9 RegimentArmy Air Corps and DHFS in orderto provide Advanced and TacticalRotary Wing training to both pilotsand rear crewmen, prior to theirpostings to OperationalConversion Units.

60 SQUADRON HISTORY

of the Harrier Force’s regulardeployment sites wasEberhard on the SennelagerRange. It was a ‘real world’site in that it was on a tarmacroad with hides in layby. Thehardstanding was a gift totractor drivers that pushedthe Harriers back without anymud or slippery PAP tocontend with. The hides werearranged in echelon fashion inthe layby and relied onreturning pilots taxying infrom the correct direction. Fora long forgotten reason someaircraft in a wave of fourtaxied in from the wrongdirection causing a nose tonose traffic jam and parkingchaos. The problem I had washaving to push back a Harrierat a severely acute angle. Thetask became protractedbecause the sharp anglerequired the towing arm to bedisconnected and the tractor

repositioned several times.The ground crew had toheave the arm over againstthe pressure of thenosewheel. There is at leastone cynic on every squadronand this one was incontinuous, vociferouscriticism over myperformance. Beingdetermined to put an end tothe task I gave the Harrier,which was still at a difficultangle, one final hard shove.The exhaust stack on theUnimog just touched the lasttwo inches of the pitot head.I could feel the whole weightof the aircraft through thesteering – and ping went thetube. I was left staring at thepilot in the cockpit who wasshaking his head. The strangething is that my detractorshad all evaporated! Thatnight it cost me a slab ofWobbly for the riggers whochanged the nose.


Flashback14

The following text is anarticle that was part ofmy contribution to Steve

Bond’s book ‘Shackleton Boys’.The co-pilot of one of theShackletons involved in thesearch for Tinkerbelle alsowrote a piece about hisexperiences which appear inthe same book.

“I was stationed at RAF St.Mawgan in Cornwall, involved inprinting the photograph abovefor media/press releases at thetime. The aircraft 'D – Delta'WR958 of No. 42 squadron RAFwas flown by the CO. Wg.Cdr.R.A.Carson tasked in order tolocate Robert Manry'sTinkerbelle, a 13½ woodendinghy, in August 1965.

I do recall the greatexcitement over Manry'svoyage at St. Mawgan, as thiswas still the era of breakingrecords across the AtlanticOcean and round the worldyachting.

He was inspired to sailsingle-handed the 3200 milesfrom Falmouth, MassachusettsUSA to Falmouth, Cornwall UKwhich took him 78 days. It waswith a sense of relief all aroundon meeting up 400 miles outinto the Atlantic. It was also agreat feat of navigating, notonly on Manry's behalf crossingthe Atlantic but of the aircrewof the Shackleton MR2,searching with AOC designate18 Group and journalists onboard the aircraft well beforeGPS and sophisticatedcomputer systems.

To quote from Manry’s book“…it was flying quite low undera layer of dark clouds when thepilot spotted Tinkerbelle’s redsail and headed straight for us.It circled twice more anddropped two bright orangecanisters which contained awonderful supply of fresh fruitand a very friendly message.(Those RAF chaps aregreat fliers).”

Publishing the topphotograph for the world'spress was something I’m sureas Robert Manry would haveappreciated, he being in thenewspaper business. It is still agreat achievement by him.”

Flight Lieutenant Bob Lyall’sfirst tour was on AvroShackleton MR2’s of 42Squadron, based at RAF St.Mawgan in the 1960s. He co-piloted with Flt.Lt. Will Hay forsix months and flew on theaircraft that took the photowhich was then distributed tothe international press.

To quote from his story inthe book “…a quiet andreserved American was puttingto sea in a cockleshell of aboat. This was the start of avoyage that would end in aworldwide blaze of publicity.His name was Robert Manryand his boat his calledTinkerbelle; together theywould put 42 Squadron to thetest in the weeks ahead.”

He continues, “Our ASV 21Dradar was primarily designedto pick up metallic objects –submarine periscopes and thelike – small wooden boats werenot the same thing. As for avisual search; a salt stainedscrap of red sail and red cabintop against the steel grey ofthe Atlantic was not the mostvisible of objects when flyingat 500 feet and 170 mph. Awhite hull four metres longmakes – in anything but thecalmest of seas – a fineimitation of a breaking wave.

TINKERBELLE & 42 SQUADRONThe story of the search for a loan yachtsman by Pete Kain

Avro Shackleton MR2 ‘D’WR958 of 42 Squadron RAFflown by their CO Wg.Cdr.R.A.Carson meeting up withManry’s 13½ft Tinkerbelleover the Atlantic Ocean onthe 9th August 1965


Flashback 15

But, we were experts at radarand visual searches, and withextra crew we would haveseven pairs of eyes at lookoutpositions.

A minimum of two 12 hourto 14 hour flights were madeeach day starting on the 3rd ofAugust, in weather rangingfrom fair to foul. But try as wemight, Tinkerbelle was notfound. With the passing daysthe strain on crews, groundcrews and aircraft began totell. As the CO insisted the

search was an additional taskand that we were to meet allour normal commitments, theground crews were hardpressed to put up the requiredaircraft up for each days flying.

It was with some relief theTinkerbelle was finally spottedon the 8th. Containers withfruit and other goodies weredropped together with amessage of welcome to UKwaters and a promise of areturn visit the next day. Onthe morning of the 9th I wasco-pilot (my third flight in thesearch) on one of two aircraftthat went out loaded withmembers of the press, moregoodies and a message thatMrs. Manry was waiting inFalmouth.

It was to be another eightdays before Manry’s voyagewas over, and we made atleast one visit a day toTinkerbelle on most of them.After 78 days at sea, and justtwo days later than calculated,he stepped ashore at 19.30hours on the 17th of August,to the cheers of 5000onlookers and a last salutefrom one of our Grey Ladies.For us the job was done and

thankfully we retired from thescene.”

The post script to this was Irecently emailed the batch ofphotos which appears in thebook to Bob for his keeping,via Steve Bond. My email to Steve: Having read Bob Lyall’saccount of his ‘Tinkerbelle’experiences would you kindlyforward these photosattached onto him. I didn’tknow that he flew on thesesearch flights for Manry but Ido recall the St. Mawgan PhotoSection going into hyperoverdrive producing hundredsof prints of WR958 overflying‘Tinkerbelle’ for the world’spress. I hope my text isaccurate as it really is Bob’sstory.Bob’s reply to Steve:Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.Thank you and please thank

Peter, photos are so hard tocome by and these are just,well, brilliant! Please beassured that on stories likethat I make every effort to getevery detail correct.Photo credits Shackleton aircrew by PeterKain. All others Public DomainMy thanks to Steve Bond and Bob Lyall forgiving their permission toreproduce text from‘Shackleton Boys’ forpublication in the RAFPhotographers Associationmagazine ‘FLASHBACK’You Tube sequenceType in “Manry at Sea ‘In theWake of a Dream” TRAILER2:06 (3:36 video). At 2:42Shackleton ‘D’ of 42 Sqdnoverflies on Monday Aug 91965 as photographed fromabove by the Shackleton co-piloted by Bob Lyall.

Tinkerbelle is currently on view at Crawford Auto AviationMuseum Cleveland Ohio USA. Robert Manry died in 1971

Manry’s view of a 42 SquadronShackleton overflyingTinkerbelle. Note the ASV21Dis in the lowered searchposition


Flashback16

RAF TENGAH 1967A montage of images from Ex-49th Boy Entrant Stewart Grant

1: PHSS personnel pose in frontof the MFPU trailers used on ‘upcountry’ exercises.2: Allan Temple’s tidy bedspace after the bearer hadbeen round.3: Stewart Grant and LesHester. Les later set up his ownphoto business in Forres.4: Robbie Downs with StewartGrant on the job. Note ‘illegal’Mamiya C33.5: Job sheets with Pete Stubbs.6: Queue for the Airmans’ MessChristmas lunch.7: Tengah Ground Section andPhotographic ServicesSquadron. Note every kerbstone at Tengah was paintedblack or white.

1

4

3

5

2

6 7


Please book the following for me:

Friday 11th Evening meal only @ £30.00 per person(please pay in full on booking, includes Reunion Fee)

Friday 11th Evening meal, B&B @ £85 for one person

Friday 11th Evening meal, B&B @ £145 for two people

Saturday 12th Dinner Only @ £30.00 per person(please pay in full on booking, includes Reunion Fee)

Saturday 12th Dinner, B&B @ £85.00 for one person

Saturday 12th Dinner, B&B @ 145.00 for two people

Total of my booking

Cosford Museum VisitPlease reserve for me zero, one, or two FREE coach seats

PLEASE NOTE A £30 non-returnable deposit per BOOKING(not per person) is required, which includes your £5 Reunion Fee.

When you ‘check out’ from the hotel £25 will be deducted from your final bill.Booking Deposit: By cheque made payable to RAFPA or

PayPal to [email protected] or BACS to 20414158 at20-10-03 (use your Surname as the Reference) must be received by: 16/08/2019This completed form should be sent to: Mr S Leeds, 8 Cornmill Grove, Perton,

The RAFPA will be holding its Annual Reunionand AGM at the Stourport Manor Hotel

35 Hartlebury Road, Stourport-on-Severn, DY13 9JA

Our annual gathering has been centred on thisvenue for a number of years and because of thepositive responses of our Membership and thesupport we have received from the Managementand Staff at the Hotel we hope that 2019 will againbe a successful event.

As a guest at the hotel you will have theopportunity to enjoy either a Continental or FullEnglish Breakfast in the morning after your relaxingovernight stay with use of the indoor swimmingpool and sports facilities.

Please DO NOT contact the hotel with questions.

TimetableFriday 11th Meet and greet your fellow Memberswith our private bar open from 1800 hrs with acarvery meal at 1900 hrs.Saturday 12th day Free – No Cost – group visit toCosford Museum including the School ofPhotography 1000 hrs to 1500 hrs.Lunch can be purchased in the Museum.Saturday 12th evening Our private bar will be openfrom 1800 hrs with Formal Dinner activities startingat 1900 hrs. Raffle (to help offset the cost of ourwine at dinner), for which your donations would bemost appreciated, plus our Prize Giving, honouringthose who have supported the Association in 2019.Sunday 13th AGM. 1000 hrs to about 1100 hrs.

To make the organiser’s task as painless as possible please book early, any questions, extra nights, etcplease contact: Stan Leeds, 8 Cornmill Grove, Perton, Wolverhampton, WV6 7XU

Tel: 01902 757678 or eMail: [email protected]

RAFPA ANNUAL REUNION OCTOBER 11-13

£

£

£

£

£

£

£

210

$


FRIDAY MENUFriday evening is a carvery but it would help the hotel

if you could give them an idea of starters and deserts required.

1 Leek and potato soup (v)2 Smooth chicken liver parfait, red onion chutney, toasted brioche3 Duo of melon with a pineapple mango and mint compote (v)4 Profiteroles with dark chocolate sauce5 Vanilla cheesecake with berry compote6 Fresh fruit salad

Carvery info:Honey and mustard glazed ham, Roast topside of beef , Breast of turkey

Cauliflower cheese , Red cabbage, Peas, Carrots, Roast potatoes, New potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets

SATURDAY MENUStarter

A Carrot and cumin soup with rosemary croutons (v)B Prawn and crayfish salad on a brown bread croute, served with Marie rose dressingC Pear and stilton tart with ale chutney and dressed leaves (v)

MainD Griddled pork loin steak, fondant potato, sautéed winter greens and cider cream sauceE Smoked haddock fish cakes, creamed leeksF Wild mushroom risotto, dressed rocket and garlic bread (v)

DessertG Apple crumble, custardH Dark chocolate tart with raspberry sorbetI Duo of cheese and biscuits with fruit chutney

Please choose your options for both evenings and mark in boxes

Name: ……………..……..…………………….................... Name: ………………..…..……………………....................

Friday Saturday Friday Saturday

Starter Starter Starter Starter

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REUNION DINNER 2019 MENU CHOICES

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Special Requirements Vegetarian Meals - Ground Floor Room

Twin Beds - Dining Room Seating, etc. Please advise and we will do our best to meet your

requirements - but no guarantees


Flashback 19

Second Place AwardCorporal Tim Laurence

‘Selfie’A “Selfie” captured during aroutine training sortie over thecoast of Anglesey, Wales in anRAF Hawk T2, from IV Squadronbased at RAF Valley.

Third Place AwardSergeant Paul Oldfield

‘Perfection’A pair of Typhoon FGR4 aircraftfrom the RAF Typhoon DisplayTeam, 29 Squadron, RAFConingsby. The aircraft areperforming a dynamiccrossover on their arrival at theRAF Cosford Air Show.

Highly Commended AwardCorporal Lee Matthews

‘Flaring Up’ Image shows a RAF Puma HC2flying over the city of Kabul,Afghanistan as part of a sortiein support of Operation TORAL.The Puma is the main source oftransport between differentcamps within Kabul.

And the winner is . . . . . . . . see the back cover!

RAF PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2018The Judges’ Choice RAF Image of the Year


Winner 2018 RAF Photographic CompetitionSAC Hannah Smoker. ‘Parallels’

(Image taken during transit from Kuwait to Doha)


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3(F) issue 56 V2 · Joined in 1990 and has served at Honington, Wyton, Marham, JARIC, RIC (NI), 39...

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