CIA using us

[ghaynes]

Hi Graham

I think i got confused with another weapon that we had. It was a large flatish container with lots of small bomblets in it, i thought it Pave Way but obviously not. I know that the Hunting aircraft company were the developers and we tested it on Salisbury Plain. It was rather nasty.

Observer

Hi Observer,
That was the JP233...also carried by Tornados.
Regards.

Graham

[Observer]

Hi silvertop

Makes you think, doesn't it. Some thing this size/weight coming down in the forest would surely have flattened a few trees and would have broken up on contact with the trees. Its worth chasing up though.

Observer

[redsocks]

Hi Graham,


Can I ask you if there is any evidence of Aurora was flying in the late 70's early 80's, and what dates were the SR-71 based at RAF Mildenhall?
When I was a kid I used to live at RAF Wattisham as my dad was based there,one evening at late dusk whilst being where I shouldnt I am pretty sure I saw either the SR-71 or Aurora do one pass across the runway and went,this would have been in the late 70's I guess.

Redsocks

[Observer]

Hi redsocks

Can i jump in before Graham answers. The word Aurora was a generic term used as a cover for several high speed programs, Check the net.

Observer

[redsocks]

Check out "Aurora aircraft" on wikipedia.org,theres some very interesting facts about unmanned ariel vehicles and recon satellites.

Redsocks

[Observer]

Some of the russian Zenit and Voskhod space vehicles/spy satellites look similar to Penniston's description. Dates need to be checked against Russian usage.
Check out the web sites, they make interesting reading especially the on board recovery systems.

Observer

[Observer]

Hi silvertop

Just type in google, Russian space craft re entry modules, check Soyuz, Voskhod and Zenit, check the pictures and diagrams.

Observer

[ghaynes]

Hi Graham,


Can I ask you if there is any evidence of Aurora was flying in the late 70's early 80's, and what dates were the SR-71 based at RAF Mildenhall?
When I was a kid I used to live at RAF Wattisham as my dad was based there,one evening at late dusk whilst being where I shouldnt I am pretty sure I saw either the SR-71 or Aurora do one pass across the runway and went,this would have been in the late 70's I guess.

Redsocks

Hi Redsocks,
Sorry, I appear to have missed this post from you. There's far to many active threads for me to keep track of!
Det4, 9th SRW operated SR-71s at Mildenhall from April 1979 to 18 January 1990.
Regards.

Graham

[redsocks]

Hi Graham,


Can I ask you if there is any evidence of Aurora was flying in the late 70's early 80's, and what dates were the SR-71 based at RAF Mildenhall?
When I was a kid I used to live at RAF Wattisham as my dad was based there,one evening at late dusk whilst being where I shouldnt I am pretty sure I saw either the SR-71 or Aurora do one pass across the runway and went,this would have been in the late 70's I guess.

Redsocks

Hi Redsocks,
Sorry, I appear to have missed this post from you. There's far to many active threads for me to keep track of!
Det4, 9th SRW operated SR-71s at Mildenhall from April 1979 to 18 January 1990.
Regards.

Graham

Thanks Graham,


Just pick your brains again,is ther any chance that SR-71 landed at the twin bases?

Redsocks

[ghaynes]

Hi Graham,


Can I ask you if there is any evidence of Aurora was flying in the late 70's early 80's, and what dates were the SR-71 based at RAF Mildenhall?
When I was a kid I used to live at RAF Wattisham as my dad was based there,one evening at late dusk whilst being where I shouldnt I am pretty sure I saw either the SR-71 or Aurora do one pass across the runway and went,this would have been in the late 70's I guess.

Redsocks

Hi Redsocks,
Sorry, I appear to have missed this post from you. There's far to many active threads for me to keep track of!
Det4, 9th SRW operated SR-71s at Mildenhall from April 1979 to 18 January 1990.
Regards

Graham

Thanks Graham,


Just pick your brains again,is ther any chance that SR-71 landed at the twin bases?

Redsocks

Yep, landed twice at Bentwaters following weather diverts from Mildenhall in the mid-80s. Believe I mentioned it in an earlier thread about the SR-71. We have photos of it at Bentwaters in the museum. It never landed at Woodbridge.
Regards.

Graham

[IanR]

Going back to a message you posted in January:

Source: The Times; Dec 9 1980; Page 6; Col E: (electronic and microfilm copies of The Times are available in almost all UK libraries so this can be verified)

Article headed: Polish crisis behind NATO decision to keep five-ship force together over Christmas holiday

"NATO's standing naval force in the north Atlantic is being kept in European waters instead of dispersing for Christmas, officials confirm here today......" the article goes on to say "...uncertainty over the outcome of the Polish crisis is the reason."
++++

STANAVFORLANT (Standing Naval Force Atlantic) comprised five ships. Amongst them were HMS Norfolk (UK) and USS Valdez (US) plus a Canadian ship HMCS Fraser. The Dutch and German ships which made up the remainder of the force sailed to their home ports but the British, US and Canadiian ships remained at Portsmouth, UK.

If the sitiuation was serious enough for STANAVFORLANT to remain in European waters then the situation was almost certainly serious enough for the two major USAF bases in the UK to be on alert.

I learnt recently that Dave Clarke had looked into this a while back. He has emailed me with what he found:
>>
On 5 July 2005 they [Royal Navy] sent me a copy of HMS Norfolk's logbook for 20-30 December 1980. For the entire Christmas week the ship was moored in dry dock in Portsmouth; no exercises, no sailings. Re my question for info on "any Royal navy exercises manouevres or operations that took place in the North Sea, English Channel or Thames Estuary, 20-30 December 1980" the answer was: "As you would expect the bulk of the non-deployed fleet was in port for Christmas leave. Exercise Teamwork 1980 included activity in the English Channel, but this took place in September."
<<
Make what you will of that reference to "non-deployed fleet".

Ian