Operation BESSEMER

[Bob]

Couple of pix attached of first operational Wolf deployment, to Macedonia, inside the new RAF C-17 heavy transport aircraft.

Bob

Picture removed by |2oUnS -Old Thread-

[Bob]

Couple of pix attached of first operational Wolf deployment, to Macedonia, inside the new RAF C-17 heavy transport aircraft.

Bob


Picture removed by |2oUnS -Old Thread-

[Bob]

Images were taken around 14:00 Zulu (15:00 local) 18August 2001 at RAF Brize Norton. Four Land Rovers from 216 SIGS plus trucks and generators were loaded onto one of three RAF C-17 heavy transport aircraft for deployment to Macedonia on Op BESSEMER (NATO name Op ESSENTIAL HARVEST). These are the first Wolves to be deployed operationally by the new C-17s. They should be on the ground in Skopje as you read this.
Bob

LRM - Providing the exclusive military Land Rover pix that other mags can only dream off!

[Mark Charnley]

Was at the RIAT airshow at RAF Cottesmore the other week & I think they had one of those RAF C17's there.....bloody huge it was !

[Mark Charnley]

Also took a picture of these nice TD5's at the airshow !


Picture removed by |2oUnS -Old Thread-

[DEANO3528]

I spy a Nimrod!
Well the top of the tail anyhow.

[Time Bandit]

You mean one of these....


Picture removed by |2oUnS -Old Thread-

[DEANO3528]

That's the badger!
"The Vomit Comet", as it was known in civvy circles.
I don't know why they don't scrap them and go all out for the E3 "Sentry", at least it would standardise the fleet.

[Bob]

We don't we standardise on the E-3 because we can't afford them? 'Cos the ones that the RAF fly belong to NATO, not UK plc.
Bob
PS - did you know that the E-3s that the RAF fly have their escape hatch sealed to prevent parachute escape - unlike the Yanks who are expected to bail out if the brown stuff hits the fan, our Crabs are made of finer stuff. (This useless piece of trivia has been brought to you by the only person to vomit on seven consecutive E-3 practice landings with one engine shut down on finals).

[DEANO3528]

Welcome to the UK, (i don't suppose you brought any money with you? Just wondered as we give all ours to the asylum seekers).
I guess it'll be illegally immigrating Macedonians next.
Whoa, had a Sid moment there, I think.
Trust you to have the low-down Bob. The sceptics won't even go near a flying machine unless it's got quad redundancy flying systems(that's sceptics as in tanks(yanks)). They even put ejector seats in choppers, that must be the ride of a lifetime. Like punching out of the bottom of a B 52.

[Rex Hunt]

:p

nice pics Bob.......can we reproduce them on the Beltring EMLRA stand.......where can we cadge a C17?
Rex

[Great Pebble]

Well , I would have thought that the main reason why the RAF obtained E-3's was that the early warning (AEW 3) version of the Nimrod didn't work...
Those Nimrods in RAF service are subhunters, (MR.2s soon to be MRA4 under the Nimrod 2000 program), Except for 3 R.1s which belong to 51 Sqn. and do all sorts of sneaky beaky things in the elint field (bit like an airborne 101 Vampire).
Also although I hesitate to disagree wiv' Bob, 8 & 23 Sqns. Operate Sentry AEW1's bought and paid for by the RAF.
They differ in several respects from those operated by NAEWF (NATO Airborne Early Warning Force), for which the RAF does provide crews.

Nick in Belfast

[DEANO3528]

Originally posted by Great Pebble
Well , I would have thought that the main reason why the RAF obtained E-3's was that the early warning (AEW 3) version of the Nimrod didn't work...

That's what I was getting at, a total failure, in that respect.
Trying to fit reasonably up to date computers to a hopelessly out-dated airframe. Sad really, although I believe they work quite well in the ASW/Rescue role.

[Bob]

Nothing wrong with the airframe - a couple of the ******s fly over my house daily on take-off or finals and I have no worries. The problem lay with the civil servants in the procurement chain who continued to move the goalposts rather than letting the contractors finish the job - as the contractors were working to a cost plus basis, they didn'y give a **** how many times the buyer changed his mind.
Bob

[Bob]

Sorry for mixed dialect in last post. Please read either as "didn'y gie" or "didn't give".
Bob

[Bob]

Rex,
Ring me ref above or e-mail me.
Bob

[DEANO3528]

Nice one Bob, I think you hit the nail on the head.
Civil Servants eh?
Bleeeeeess!
The name implies that they look after us doesn't it?
Obviously no-one told them that.
No trouble with translation, ex-lorry driver here, had to deal with loads of foreign languages, and I was only driving in UK:D

[Erinues]

Almost right. (civil servant coming to the defence of others).

The blame primarily lay with GEC, who kept coming up with ideas (to make themselves more money). The civil servants, then (stupidly) agreed and GEC then failed to come to fruition with their pipe dreams.

Thankfully this should all be a thing of the past, with the demise of the Downey procurement cycle and the adoption of SMART procurement and the CADMID cycle.