The aircraft photo you took you like most!

[A_J_Rimmer]

...who's looking at the aircraft?!

The lady could be leaning on a five bar gate for all I care.

Good catch, A.J.

Nearly 25 years - I am eternally grateful.

[Waspie]

Technically one the boss took rather than myself, but it perfectly illustrates the problems of photographing aircraft in flight. It's better than the one of the empty sky, but only just!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1224324[/ATTACH]

No - the photograph is not upside down, the Sea Fury is.

A chap I flew with tin the RN was a regular pilot of the Sea Fury. (John Beattie). To date he has destroyed two. One at Prestwick Ayrshire, (in the sea to be truthful), after an undercarriage failure whilst landing. The second was in the Yeovil area crashing between a couple of trees. But honestly - he is a very good pilot!!!

[stona]

My father flew the Sea Fury in the 1950s though he never destroyed one. He did do for a helicopter later, off Malta.

801 Squadron in, I think 1952. The geeky looking chap arrowed in blue is Ted Anson, who was with 801 at this time and who ended up an Admiral. According to my mother this was due to family connections, which were distant, and not due to the widely held view that he was an exceptional officer. My mum saw Anson on TV in the '70s, I think as part of the Ark Royal documentary, given that he was the last captain of that carrier, the one with Rod Stewart's awful theme song. Her only comment to me? 'Ted's lost a lot of his hair'.

My dad is arrowed in red.



I wonder who the chap standing back left, who looks like he's bunked off school, might be!

[Waspie]

I have a Certificate of Merit signed and presented to me by FOCAS. (Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships). A certain Rear Admiral Anson!!

[stona]

I have a Certificate of Merit signed and presented to me by FOCAS. (Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships). A certain Rear Admiral Anson!!

Did he have much hair?

My father successfully disposed of one of Her Majesty's helicopters at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in 1957.

[Waspie]

Did he have much hair?

Haha, no idea, We both had hats on!! I was caught unawares by the presentation. (Also - it was some 50 years ago now. (1971).
It was during an inspection and we oils were all in our ranks, then my name was called out to approach the Dias!!!

[stona]

I just looked up my father's logbook for January 10 1957. He took off at 1205 and ditched at 1255. Under the heading 'DUTY (Including Results and Remarks)' he wrote 'CASEX 40 (Ditched)'. And that's it!
What's even more remarkable was that at 1605 on the same day he was airborne again, with the same crew, in WV223.

Different times.

[Waspie]

I just looked up my father's logbook for January 10 1957. He took off at 1205 and ditched at 1255. Under the heading 'DUTY (Including Results and Remarks)' he wrote 'CASEX 40 (Ditched)'. And that's it!
What's even more remarkable was that at 1605 on the same day he was airborne again, with the same crew, in WV223.

Different times.

Entries in flight log books do tend to be brief.
If you’re not aware, CASEX simply means Combined anti submarine exercise!! No idea what the 40 referred to. My log book is full of ‘Casex’s’
I bet dear ole dad was awarded a ‘Goldfish’ for his ditching. (Something I managed to avoid - but only just!!)

[Waspie]

I just looked up my father's logbook for January 10 1957. He took off at 1205 and ditched at 1255. Under the heading 'DUTY (Including Results and Remarks)' he wrote 'CASEX 40 (Ditched)'. And that's it!
What's even more remarkable was that at 1605 on the same day he was airborne again, with the same crew, in WV223.

Different times.

It was SOP for ditched aircrew to get back in the air as soon as possible to avoid loss of bottle!! Obviously had he been injured it would have been postponed. I had a bad experience on some cliffs once, winching, next morning I was back out on the Isle of Arran on some 3-400 foot cliffs going up and down them like jack in a box!!
The Whirlwind was the first helicopter I worked on, (Mk 7 in 1968). with a 14 cylinder Leonides Major engine. Quite 'quirky'!!!! The Mk7 ditched for a hobby, usually on a Tuesday at Portland. (Valve springs self destructing).

[stona]

Entries in flight log books do tend to be brief.
If you’re not aware, CASEX simply means Combined anti submarine exercise!! No idea what the 40 referred to. My log book is full of ‘Casex’s’
I bet dear ole dad was awarded a ‘Goldfish’ for his ditching. (Something I managed to avoid - but only just!!)

Lots of CASEX with a number in the 40s appended. JANEX sometimes with a number in the 20s appended and then all the usual Locals, SAR, etc. The squadron seem to have acted as taxis for quite a few WRENS for some reason. My favourite is 'Netting' which I take to mean this and was interesting enough for the Times of Malta to photograph.



I vaguely remember my father telling me that Barnes Wallace had something to do with the design of that contraption.

[Waspie]

Lots of CASEX with a number in the 40s appended. JANEX sometimes with a number in the 20s appended and then all the usual Locals, SAR, etc. The squadron seem to have acted as taxis for quite a few WRENS for some reason. My favourite is 'Netting' which I take to mean this and was interesting enough for the Times of Malta to photograph.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1224428[/ATTACH]

I vaguely remember my father telling me that Barnes Wallace had something to do with the design of that contraption.

Ah yes the good old ‘Sproule’ net always an interesting sortie. It wasn’t Wallace I’m afraid. The chaps name was, roll of drums - Sproule!! Oddly enough.
The war cry from the back, ‘over the bar and in the net’

The net would be trawled from the winch wire to pick up detritus or bodies from the oggin. No longer cleared for lifting live people although it would have back then.

[stona]

You learn something new every day!
I Googled the Sproule net and it turns out that Lt. Cmr. John Sproule came up with the contraption in 1956. My father's first 'netting' exercise was flown in July 1957, presumably as FAA helicopter pilots and crew were learning the new system. The Navy must have liked it, because it features regularly in his log books thereafter.
That the system was novel might also explain why the Times of Malta was interested enough to take what amount to publicity photos for the RN!

[Waspie]

You learn something new every day!
I Googled the Sproule net and it turns out that Lt. Cmr. John Sproule came up with the contraption in 1956. My father's first 'netting' exercise was flown in July 1957, presumably as FAA helicopter pilots and crew were learning the new system. The Navy must have liked it, because it features regularly in his log books thereafter.
That the system was novel might also explain why the Times of Malta was interested enough to take what amount to publicity photos for the RN!

It was a b*gger to assemble in the back, as much a nightmare folding it outside the cabin door to bring inside. If you had anything in the net then it remained outside but secured either by hand or bungee’s!!
A nightmare but it had its uses!!

[Madstacks83]

The B-2 stealth bomber flanked by 2 F-15, carterton 2018, not a great photo but was so cool to see! flew over about seven or 8 times directly overhead whilst circling to do a flyby at Riat that day!

[Madstacks83]

I also like this one of the SU-27 from Riat on the same year.