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General Discussion Area / Re: Vulcan XH558
« on: 25 May 2013, 11:29:48 »Remember so many years ago now,as a boy going to the airshows at R.A.F.Finningly[now Robin Hood airport]just outside Doncaster.The show was always opened by 4 Vulcans doing a "scramble".The noise!The vibration of sound!What an awesome thing to experience.
My father was born in Cottesmore village, use to go and visit relatives in the village, end of the fifties. Was in his cousins house when they scrambled for real for RAF Cottesmore, they shook the whole village. A crew and a ground crew stayed with the aircraft at all times for a quick scramble.
It was a full throttle Scramble, it was noisy, shook everything off the mantelpiece in the cottage.
WW2 Fighter Ace Johnny Johnson was the CO at the time.
Awesome days, but very scary ones that I remember only too well.
Yes a full Vulcan scramble was a sight to behold, but thanks to my Royal Navy father I knew only too well what it could mean. A knowledge that grew with age
I knew that if "for real" the Vulcan's would be taking off with already fully nuclear armed American B52's of SAC (Strategic Air Command), that had been kept in the air on a rota of 24/7/365, would already be on their way over Russia towards their allotted targets, after Presidential codes had been conformed. The end would have been very near.
Very very near At the time of the Cuban crises in 1963 the finger must have been a Gnats left B*****k away from the firing button. RAF Melton Mowbray was a satellite of RAF North Luffenham and had three Thor ballistic missiles based there. Could see them from my bedroom window, that was the only time I saw them in the launch position for days, got the impression they were fuelled and armed ready to go. I remember sitting watching them, wondering how long before the Russian Missiles hit, the area must have been targeted. Just didn't believe it would happen, I was 19 at the time.
Looking at the reports of the crises years later, I didn't realise, at the time, how close we were, .
The missiles had gone and the airfield closed by 1965.
Apparently the Russian people knew nothing about it until years later.
I got tangled up with a cycle event, I saw at least 100. First I saw of them, they were pouring out of a minor road onto the A387, the road I was on, they could see me coming but continued to pour out almost defying me to hit them, if I dare, I had almost stopped, eventually they gave way. Followed them into Looe, they were racing, crazy, one point they were four abreast, at one point the outside rider was the wrong side of the double white line on a blind right hand bend, I was hoping he would reappear stuck to the front of a bus, Tom and Jerry fashion. Headed for the car park, over the bridge, on the the West Looe side, signalled to turn right into car park, was over taken on the right, road narrow, he could not wait, spose it would have been my fault if I had turned into him 
Might get away with claiming it's a sculpture/work of art