2017 UPDATE BULLETIN

1. XV SQUADRONASSOCIATION President: Air Marshal Sir Michael Simmons KCB AFC RAF(Retd) Treasurer: Mrs Valerie Ford-Jones valerie.fordjones@btinternet.com Membership Secretary: Sqn Ldr Rob Williams RAF (Retd) rgc.williams@btinternet.com Chairman: Gp Capt Ivor Evans RAF (Retd) diandivor@btinternet.com Vice Chairman: Gp Capt Graham Bowerman RAF (Retd) Bowermans@hotmail.com Website: Al Bailey alan.and.eleanor@sky.com www.xvsqnassociation.co.uk 2017 UPDATE BULLETIN 2017 Reunion Dinner Following the success of the Reunion in 2016, the 2017 Reunion Dinner will be held once again at RAF Wittering, near Stamford, Lincs PE8 6HB, on 12 May 2017. Timings will be 1900 for 1930. Gp Capt Graham Bowerman has very kindly offered to organise this event again as he still flies from Wittering. At the time of writing the MT transport to/from the designated local hotel is expected to be free. If this situation changes we may have to make an additional charge to those who wish to use the coach. The Committee have decided to subsidise the evening from Association funds to keep the price down. Whilst we hope to see as many members as possible, numbers are still limited to 120 diners by the capacity of the Officers Mess and all bookings will be taken on a ‘first come, first served’ basis so please don’t delay booking your place at this prestigious occasion! For this occasion, the cost of the meal has been set at £45 per person. With this newsletter you will find a booking form for the Reunion. Please note that the booking form will need to be completed with your menu choices (please do not ‘mix & match’ the menus!) and returned with your payment to the nominated address before 14 April (Good Friday)2017. This is to ensure that the catering arrangements will run smoothly. Late bookings will be accepted if space is available but are not guaranteed their choice of menu. 1

2. As is unfortunately usually the case these days, accommodation is very limited at RAF Wittering, so we have nominated a couple of relatively inexpensive hotels on the A1 road, to the south of Wittering, from where coaches will be organised to transport diners to and from the dinner. 15 rooms have been reserved at the: Days Inn (primary hotel) 12 miles south from RAF Wittering at Junction 17 (the A1(M)/A605 junction) on the A1(M), Peterborough PE7 3UQ Tel: 01733 371540 Booking Reference: BK86390, BUT individuals must also to state "XV Squadron" when booking directly with the Motel on 01733 371540. Cost £45 per night, £57 with full English breakfast.   http://www.daysinn.co.uk/hotels/united-kingdom/peterborough/days-inn-peterborough Suggested overspill option: Travel Lodge 11 miles south from RAF Wittering On A1(southbound), Alwalton, Peterborough PE7 3UG 0871 984 6003 http://www.travelodge.co.uk/peterborough Please book (and pay for!) your own room requirements direct with the Hotel. Please book the coach transport on the Reunion booking form. As the coach runs are expected to be full, you will need to ensure that you get on the return coach at your nominated time. RAF Wittering will redirect any accommodation enquires to the Association, so please do not attempt to book on-base accommodation direct with the Officers Mess. If planning to drive to RAF Wittering, please approach the base from the south. Please do not attempt to cross the northbound A1 carriageway – it is an accident blackspot. Use the junctions north and south of Wittering to reverse direction. 2

3. DINNER MENUSPlease annotate on the booking form 1, 2 or 3. Please do not attempt to ‘mix and match’ different parts of the menus! MENU 1 Starter Slow Braised Belly Pork with a Pear and Apple Terrine, rested on a Micro Herb salad and Black Pudding Crisp Main Corn Fed Chicken & Pimento Roulade Served with a White Wine & Cream Reduction Pomme Anna with Celariac, Glazed Carrots & Wilted Greens Dessert Double Chocolate Delice Served with Chocolate Rum Truffles & Baileys Ice Cream MENU 2 Starter Slow Braised Belly Pork with a Pear and Apple Terrine, rested on a Micro Herb salad and Black Pudding Crisp Main Tournedos Rossini Fillet steak rested on a herb croute with pate and finished with a rich Madeira Sauce Pomme Anna with Celariac, Glazed Carrots & Wilted Greens Dessert Double Chocolate Delice Served with Chocolate Rum Truffles & Baileys Ice Cream 3

4. MENU 3 - Vegetarian Option Starter Goats Cheese & Pear Tart with a Chicory & Watercress salad Main Wild Mushroom Risotto with wild rocket and a Parmesan Crisp Pomme Anna with Celariac, Glazed Carrots & Wilted Greens Dessert Double Chocolate Delice Served with Chocolate Rum Truffles & Baileys Ice Cream **** Wine and Port During a sortie last Autumn, Sqn Ldr Dave Gallie and Flt Lt Chris Stradling realised that they were almost certainly the first Tornado crew to have achieved over 10,000 hours Tornado flying between them. 4

5. XV SQUADRON DISBANDMENT The Squadron thanks all those who have, as requested, already registered their interest in attending the Squadron Disbandment events on 31 March 2017. Unfortunately, as it has now become necessary to control the overall numbers at the events, the lists are now closed to new applicants. If you have accepted an invitation directly from the Squadron, or have received an acknowledgement of your intention to attend, then we look forward to seeing at RAF Lossiemouth on 31 March. Flt Lt Sarah Shekhdar will be sending out further information to you shortly. St Clement Danes Floor Tile Appeal In St Clement Danes Church in the Strand, London, the floor is largely made up of floor tiles, each with a different RAF Sqn crest engraved on it. The XV Sqn tile is in a very worn condition and the Association Committee would like to replace the tile with a new one, hopefully in time for the laying up of the Sqn Standard on 30 April. The cost of the tile is approximately £900, of which half will be donated by the current Squadron officers. So this is an appeal to raise the balance of £450 required for a new tile to be prepared and installed to replace the tile that is currently in place. Please don’t delay in making your donations to AC No: 10852166 Sort Code 83-20-06 using the reference ‘Appeal + your name’. Thank you. The penultimate ‘F’ takes off from RAF Lossiemouth on the wing of another trainer aircraft. ZA602/F was retired from service in November 2016. A new ’F’ will appear in time for the Squadron disbandment. 5

6. XV(R) Squadron Sqn Cdr’s Report and the other departed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on secondment to BAE Systems.  The final Electronic Warfare Instructors Course will also finish  at this time after a gruelling series of industry visits in the United States of America.  This will leave the Squadron with 2 weeks of flying before our final sortie as a formed unit on 17 March.  I had hoped that we would be able to mark the end of the Squadron closer to the disbandment date, but the drill rehearsals required to be ‘Parade Fit’ requires most of the engineering cohort! Preparations are well under way for the celebrations on 31 March at which I hope many of you will be able to join us.  Alas, I still do not know the future of the XV Squadron badge beyond our role as the Tornado GR4 Operational Conversion Unit, despite repeatedly asking the question.  Whilst this is frustrating both from a planning and a historical point of view, we are preparing for the hardest logistical option and currently intend to lay the Standard in the Royal Air Force Church, St Clement Danes, on 30 April during the normal Sunday service.  This of course will be open to all and once we have details, I will ask the Secretary to publish on the Association Website. It only remains for me to thank you all for your support of the Squadron, not only during my tenure as the Commanding Officer, but throughout the Squadron’s history.  It is an incredible privilege to Command any squadron, but to be trusted to Command XV Squadron with our unique and illustrious history has been the ultimate honour.  I wish you all clear skies, fair winds and safe landings.  Aim Sure. It is a little over 4 months since I last wrote my Report for the Association Newsletter, and it is now only 7 weeks until the Squadron formally disbands.  I cannot believe that my Command tour is almost over – it seems like yesterday that I sat in this chair for the first time and contemplated the enormous challenge I faced.  It is a reflection on the XV Squadron team – those serving, those supporting and our families at home – that we achieved everything we have been asked to deliver, even though this has sometimes stretched our people, our resources and our capacity.  I could not be more proud of everyone. On 1 February this year, the very last ab-initio pilot to join the Tornado GR4 Force left these hallowed halls for the front-line, along with his fellow course mate, a navigator who had previously flown the Tornado but had spent 10 years as a truck driver.  The remaining flying training task for the Squadron are two pilots who are completing a refresher course as they return to the jet from a ground-tour and an instructional tour at Valley.  By the end of February they will have completed their courses and one will have joined the front-line 6

7. As I enter my last year of planned full-time employment, it has inevitably caused me to ponder and recall events from throughout my career. One period that stands out, in particular, is that of the halcyon days of my first tour of duty on XV Squadron from 17 Jan 77 to 15 Feb 80. In particular, but now a hazy memory, was a sortie flown from Decimomannu in Sardinia on 22 Oct 79 (in XV340). I shall recite it as best I can, notwithstanding the passing of time and associated loss of a significant number of brain cells and, therefore, my inevitable invention and embellishment of the facts. There are, of course, many stories that have been and will be told of Deci-related daring, drunkenness and disaster. This one, however, is of fear and flight. Our Bomb Camp at Decimomannu in 1979 was somewhat later in the year than was the norm. Also, because of his posting, it was the first time I would be flying at Deci with a pilot other than dear and trusted Rick Willey; indeed, it was to be with the Boss – Wing Commander T Nattrass! As a first tourist, I was somewhat nervous of this crewing arrangement; however, things went well on the first three sorties and by the end of the Detachment we were placed second overall (he would have rather been first, of course!). Nevertheless, it was the fourth sortie of that Detachment for which memories are clearest, and that is because the Boss had decided that dedicated range sorties were not enough; more training MARFRIGHT (A play on ‘Maritime Strike’) by Wg Cdr (Rtd) John Plumb value should and could be had. It was later that day, in the ‘Pig and Tapeworm’ (the British aircrew bar), that the idea surfaced that we could have a sniff around the Hammermet Anchorage, Tunisia, in search of Soviet ships prior to returning for the first slot of the day on Capo Frasca Range. The Boss approved the idea, and said that he and I would lead the 4-ship. Next morning (at an unearthly hour from a post-Pig and Tapeworm Deci Red session perspective), planning for this ad hoc ‘MarStrike’ mission was duly completed (that may not have included the submission of a formal Flight Plan per se). Alas, I cannot remember who was on the mission, but I would be keen to be reminded if it was you, dear reader. As we checked in as ‘London Formation’ on Deci Ground Frequency, the Italian controller seemed to be surprised (not even the local feral ‘bondo’ dogs had risen). Nevertheless, he gave us clearance to take-off which we did and subsequently headed South with Italian ATC no doubt thinking, ‘Crazy Brits’. At the coast we set course for the anchorage and after some 20 minutes in battle formation, low level over the Med, 7

8. land appeared on the horizon (my remark of “Enemy coast ahead skipper” raised only a “F**k off Plumbo” retort from the Boss). Soon, grey shapes could be seen near to the coast. The Boss called London into Arrow formation ready for an early morning wake-up call on the Soviet matelots. The next thing I remember is the canopy filled with grey superstructure, red decking and a very large lattice mast.– a Don-class submarine tender (yes, not a big deal for the 12 and 809 Sqn mates, but for XV Sqn ‘mud movers’ a DCO). As we re-positioned for the second pass, London 4 reported, “Right, 3 o’clock, four bogies tipping in”. The Boss, now with concern in his voice, said, “Plumbo, you’re the bloody aircraft recce expert, what the hell are they?” followed by (on the RT): “London Buster, counter port, roll out 090o and split”. My reply to the Boss was, “Etendards.” That was met by a further question from him: “Do the Libyans have ‘em?” “Don’t think so Boss”, I whispered back. For the next 5 minutes we hurtled at ‘max chat’ away from the unknown ‘threat’. Eventually, we returned to 420kts and reformed in Battle formation to proceed to Capo Frasca on the west coast of Sardinia and conducted what we could of our planned range slot with the limited fuel remaining. Once back at Deci, the GLO revealed that the French aircraft carrier ‘Clemenceau’ had been reported in the area and wondered if we had seen her or any of her complement of aircraft? A pity he had not been at the Out Brief! XV Sqn at Decimomannu, Sardinia October 1979 Wg Cdr T Nattrass standing (on a Navigator?) in the centre, Plumbo is second from the right. Vic Blackwood is to the Boss’ right. Roger Sunderland kneeling third from right. 8

9. Left: The target. Below: The ‘Threat’. Left: ‘London’ Formation (at Deci the Brit callsigns were British towns and cities. Who can forget “Cammeberridge 2, you go ‘ome!” from the Italian Range Controller? EUROPEAN COMMEMORATIONS WW2 commemorative events in Belgium, France and Denmark (as detailed in the last Newsletter) have been attended by XV Squadron personnel for many years, with those attending being very well looked after by the local people. The Blenheim Society attend the events in Vraux, France, the day before Bastille Day in July each year. If you would like to attend, Tony Lowe, the Society’s Hon Sec, can be contacted via Blenheimsociety@yahoo.co.uk  for further details. 9

10. From our Hungarian correspondent Ken Skuse Part 1 Hi Bill,           I am sad to hear that XV Sqn is being disbanded. It's not something I ever expected. It's terrible, really awful. Although I have tried several times to write, I have not had the spirit; it just stopped me in my tracks.    Over Christmas, I have read the newsletter several times; many stories fascinate and interest me. I recall the Gnat fighter aircraft flying in, as told by Ron Legget. The British government was trying to obtain an export order from King Hussain at the time. A great aircraft. Ron also mentioned a Chief Tech Fergie. Recently I sent you the name of a - Chief Tech Ferguson; maybe I made a mistake, and Ron has it correct?   Gordon Stringer told of his trip to Canada 1959 in a De Havilland Comet. Amazingly, I was one of the jealous ground crew detailed to see this aircraft off. The Comet, like the Victor, was another British aeroplane that we were all proud of, so on this particular day I brought my Pentax camera into work. I was pretty sure I still had the picture somewhere, and after several searches have found it!   As a boy, my father always talked well of King Hussain, stressing that he had been trained at RAF Cranwell. About fifty years later, in 1993 at a  hospital in Aiud Romania after an accident on my Yamaha, I managed to get my hands on a second hand English book. It was brought in by some wonderful and friendly Romanian people curious to see their first Englishman. It was the story of another British motorcyclist, on his tour.  Passing through Jordan his ' bike was stolen and desperate with worry he reported it to the police.  The next day he was summoned by King Hussain to the Royal Palace. So ashamed was the King, he took the rider to a subterranean garage housing his priceless collection of motorcycles.  "Choose whichever one you like, and it's yours," he said.   Amazed but grateful he decided on a beautiful big Harley Davidson, a custom replica of one owned by Elvis Presley. He thanked the King and happily continued on his travels.   My father was right about King Hussain and RAF Cranwell! A beautiful aeroplane, and a legend.  On its way to Canada from XV Sqn at RAF Cottesmore.   I was aged 21 standing on the extreme right in the picture, close to the fire extinguishers and generator. I remember a story about a Victor aircraft, its O-rings shrinking in the severe Canadian cold weather when parked outside overnight resulting in hydraulic oil leaks and unable to fly. It was taken back into a hangar to warm up. Gordon will know much more. Garvie Island 23 February 2016. A Paveway 4 drop. 10

11.  In nineteen fifty-nine, I was detailed at RAF Cottesmore to work the weekend when an XV Squadron Victor was returning from overseas.  I jumped into our Bedford truck to collect a brake parachute from safety equipment. As I drove onto the peri track, an Airspeed Oxford taxied out from a dispersal in front of me.   Victors were okay to follow, quite fast thanks to their tricycle undercarriage and a clear view from the cockpit. However, an Oxford was a different story. Tail down and nose up, it zig-zagged slowly from one side to the other, the only way the pilot could see. It would be a death sentence for me to overtake, so I had to settle down and be patient. Anyway, I was nostalgic with the sound of piston engines again, and the whirl of propellers again. After an age, we reached the top of the airfield, crossed it, and set off for the far end of the runway.  Suddenly the Oxford’s engines wound up to full power, gathered speed, raced past the air traffic control tower and took off from the perimeter track, soared into the air, waggled its wings and disappeared from sight. Wonderful.    It was said that Group Captain Johnson used to visit friends and pilots on weekends, those from the second world war, Hurricane ace Robert Stanford Tuck, Douglas Bader and others.  More from Ken Skuse Part 2 On one of his last days at RAF Cottesmore, Group Captain Johnson broadcast a message for the all the ground crews to proceed to one of our hangars. When we arrived, he instructed us to move one of the Victors. Someone send for a tug but putting his shoulder to the undercarriage he said, no let's all push it, and a one hundred thousand pound weight aircraft began to roll. With a safety raiser in place, he scrambled up its ladder and began to address us. Not as in a speech, not as a lecture but as a leader and friend, what we had achieved, was left to do, and how to conduct ourselves in the future and not to let him down.   With one last smile and wave of encouragement, he jumped down, striding off through a gap between the two massive hangar doors and out into the sunshine.  We followed him.   As a boy, he had flown above my head and protected me, as an adult he was my leader and moulded my character; in old age he is the greatest man I ever met.  Group Captain Johnnie Johnson CB CBE DSO AND BAR.  If you stand between C and D hangars at RAF Cottesmore, you would swear it was impossible for a Victor bomber to fly low enough, and with enough room to pass through. Legend has it that  Johnnie Johnson did just that. I do not know if it is true, but the aircrew probably do? 11

12. The Lottery.   Life is a matter of contrast, and I was happy in my new world. The RAF was changing into a fully professional force, I was no longer a National Service conscript, my pay had doubled, and I wanted to stay in for too many reasons to list here.  Brand new Victors were flown in direct from Handley Page, jacked up for undercarriage retraction tests, and then joined the Squadron.      One day I was taken to stores and issued with a wooden chest. I signed a F668 for new fitter’s tools including the famous GS screwdriver!  Better than those my father had owned. Next came one of the famous pale grey, cold wet jackets and trousers rivalling the best available in sports shops today. Ray Ban style dark glasses in a case, cold wet boots, an oiled navy blue roll neck pullover, string vest, long white seaman's socks, a thick leather jerkin, fisherman's waterproof hat, ear defenders, heavy duty gloves, a torch and several other items.      Looking back I can't believe some of the things we did then; for example, at meal times we would flood across the airfield to the airmens’ mess. It was vital to get to the front of the line, so a mad dash was made for the nearest and fastest transport to beat the bus across. Everything with wheels was fair game, trucks, vans,  Land Rovers, moon waggons, cherry pickers, even a Coles crane. The car park was full to overflowing.  More From Ken Skuse Part 3 There was much for me to learn on the Squadron, installing ejection seats, loading conventional and nuclear weapons, Blue Danube and Yellow Sun, before and after flight inspections, of chocks covers, aircraft armed notices, and bungs, scheduled servicing, seeing aircraft off and back in again, deployments, alerts, scrambles, first aid and firefighting, GDT, snow clearing, and  many other things, of ships and ceiling wax, and whether pigs had wings!     Trips to the NAAFI club were eagerly looked forward to each evening. The buzz of conversation and laughter, crowded dart boards, companions and friends. I could buy a snack or a meal, a cup of Naafi tea or a glass of beer served through a hatch in the wall. Someone would be playing the piano; it was all like a scene out of a Biggles book or a film about the war. One day an airman fed some money into a newly installed jukebox which drowned everything else out. The pianist stopped playing, stood up, closed the lid of the piano and walked out. Sadly I never heard it played again. The end of one era.    Back on the squadron morale was high, there were annual pay rises to entice new recruits, and the RAF had some of the finest aircraft in the world, Victors, Vulcans and Valiants, Canberra, Lightning, Hunters, Buccaneer, Javelins, and Hunters, with more to come, the TSR2, and the Sky-Bolt standoff  missile for our Victors. One day a USAF B47 or B52, I can't remember which, made a special fly past. We were deeply unimpressed. 12

13.     And so it was, a happy band of armourers who volunteered for extra work, hair cuts, snow clearing and fire picket duties,  aircraft cleaning, bull nights, and long detachments. Honestly! The only whingers were some of the national service bods who wanted their mums.       “Skuse!”      ”Yes, Chief?”      ”Get your denims on, your aircraft's in”      ”Yes, Chief. Is it still raining?”      ”Hissing down“. However, there was an armourer (I can't remember his name) who wanted to leave. One day he surprised everyone by telling us that he had bought himself out. I felt sorry for him. A couple of months passed until one day someone rushed into the crew room waving a newspaper. Amazingly, on the front page was a picture of him with headlines screaming,- RAF man raffles himself as prize for a week.- In a woman's lottery!  It was a sellout; and more tickets had to be printed. Happy days. Many thanks for those stories Ken. Surely there are great stories from XV Sqn that other members could share with the membership? The XV(R) Sqn flight line at RAF Lossiemouth in 1995. The pan at the far end usually had two lines of Tornados on it. Latterly, only the nearest eight slots have been used. 13

14. FIELD INVESTITURE MILDENHALL 1944 During a Royal Visit to RAF Mildenhall for a field investiture on 5 July 1944, HM The Queen and HRH Princess Elizabeth posed informally with XV Squadron personnel who were on standby for an operational mission that evening. HM King George VI was also in the Royal Party. The final Battle Honour awarded to XV Sqn was ‘Gulf 1991’. Here are some of the jets flown by the Sqn at Muharraq, Bahrain, probably just before the war as the nearest aircraft is loaded with the JP233 anti-airfield weapon. 14

15. 15/XV SQN OVER THE SEA A century separates these photos – what would the BE2 pilot on his way to France at Christmas 1915 make of today’s Tornado? 15

16. XV SQN ASSOCIATION CONTACTS Pre-Canberra: Martyn Ford-Jones 48 Caraway Drive, Wood Hall Park, Swindon, Wilts. SN2 2RF mfj_xvhistorian@hotmail.co.uk Canberra: Tony Britton “Bro-Bri”, 7 Queen’s Avenue, Bradford, west Yorks. DB2 4BP jambritton@virginmedia.com Victor: Gordon Stringer gordonstringer@outlook.com Buccaneer: Vic Blackwood 25 Beaufort Road, Ingham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. IP31 1NW vicblackwood@btinternet.com Tornado: A willing volunteer required XV(Reserve) Squadron will disband on 31 March 2017 after 102 years of service to the country. Aim Sure God Save the Queen 16