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| Place |
Date |
Time |
SUMMARY OF EVENTS COMPILING OFFICER. Fg. Off. J.C. Haig |
REF. TO APPENDICES |
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| R.A.F. JEVER |
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Monday 1st - Saturday 6th June, 1959
This week, the editorship of the F.540 was handed
over to Fg. Off. J.C. Haig who now wields the pen. On Wednesday, the Squadron said
goodbye to one of the old stagers of Jever Wing, Fg. Off. A.J. Lakeman. Fg. Off. A.J.
Lakeman came to Jever in November, 1956 to join No. 118 Squadron and transferred to
No. 93 Squadron in September, 1957 when 118 disbanded. He goes now to Central Flying
School where, the Squadron hopes, he will have much success.
A convenient high pressure system gave us a good start to the month and this week
saw the operational cine commitment well under way. On Thursday five aircraft were
scrambled on Exercise 'Argus' claiming three 'kills'. The main theme of the week,
however, was the practice flypast for the Anglo-German day flying display on Saturday.
Saturday dawned bright and clear and, by lunchtime, the airfield was swamped by
several thousand local inhabitants.
The show was fittingly opened by an impeccable display of solo aerobatics by
Flt. Lt. R.D. Stone who is, of course, the Command aerobatics representative. This
was followed by a demonstration of immaculate formation flying by the Jever Wing,
led by Sqn. Ldr. C.A. Wade of No. 2 Squadron. After two flypasts, the Squadrons broke
up and made dummy R.P. attacks on a simulated rocket which was suitably destroyed by
the Station Armament officer in the traditional manner. The attackers were
harassed by a battalion of light ack-ack, who fired large puffs of black smoke at
them. The 93 Squadron team were:- Sqn Ldr. H. Minnis A.F.C.(No.1), Flt.Lt. G.A.
Talbot, (No.2), Flt. Lt. J.J. Parker, (No.3), and Fg. Off. P.R. Wild, (No.4). The
show was generally acknowledged to be a great success and was a fitting climax to a
hard weeks work. |
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| R.A.F. JEVER |
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Monday 8th - Friday 12th June, 1959
The entire week was spent doing air-ground firing at
Strohen Range. The aircraft serviceability rate was not high but nevertheless 57 sorties
were carried out and most pilots managed to complete at least three sorties on the
range. Top pilot scores were:-
Precision:- Flt. Lt. J.J. Parker 66%
Strike:- Flt. Lt. R.D.Stone 70 hits out of 116 rds. fired
No. of Rounds fired:- 6645
Stoppage rate:- 1.2215
On Saturday 15th the Squadron bade another farewell of sorts when Fg. Off. M. A.
Harvey had a Bachelor Party prior to going on leave to U.K. to become espoused. This
great loss to the Bachelor-living-in contingent brings the Squadron marriage rate to 50%. |
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| R.A.F. JEVER |
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Monday 15th - Saturday 20th June, 1959
This week the Squadron once again took over the
Battle Flight commitment which severely curtailed flying, total of only forty two
sorties being completed. On Tuesday Fg. Off. J.C. Haig had a little trouble with his
engine, forcing him to land at Ahlhorn, much to the annoyance of the German Air Force
who do not seem to trust aeroplanes which have ammunition on board.
On Wednesday Flt. Lt. J.J. Parker and Fg. Off. M.A.F.Ryan were scrambled to
assist an Iranian Airways D.C.3 which was, to quote the National Press, "being buzzed by
Russian fighters". On seeing that our steely-eyed pair were airborne, the Russians
evidently ceased playing with the D.C.3 and it was picked up unharmed on our side of the
border by the above mentioned officers who had been orbiting inside the A.D.I.Z. as a
show of force. This interception was given an honourable mention in the Daily Telegraph
of 19th of June, the contributor having invented some amazing scrambling times.
On Thursday the Squadron bade a very sad farewell to Sqn. Ldr. H. (Paddy) Minnis
A.F.C. who has been in command for the past two and a half years. He was remarkable
for being a true leader of the Squadron and during his first year as commander he
trained and led a first class aerobatic team which was chosen to represent the Command.
He made himself very popular with both the pilots and the groundcrew and there were
many lumps in throats when we eventually shook his hand prior to his departure.
The Squadron will also miss Mrs. Kay Minnis who is generally acknowledged to be the
ideal Squadron Commanders wife. They go now to U.K. where Sqn. Ldr. H. Minnis is to
complete first the O.A.T.S. Course and then Staff College. They carry with them the best
wishes of the Squadron. The same day the Squadron welcomed to its midst Sqn. Ldr.
D.S. White who is the new Squadron Commander. |
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| R.A.F. JEVER |
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Sunday 21st - Tuesday 30th June, 1959
Battle Flight continued until Monday. Sunday
an increase in serviceability of the aircraft and a respectable number of sorties were
completed consisting mainly of H.S.I.s and Cine 1/4's. The serviceability saw continued
on Monday, but on Tuesday, the first day off Battle Flight, the aeroplanes suddenly
seemed to fall to pieces and although the weather was perfect, the number of sorties
flown between Tuesday and Saturday lunchtime, when the Squadron ceased work,
dwindled to a meagre few. Many of these were Green Salad sorties The results of the
Green Salad exercises were gratifyingly good and pilots are now starting to become quite
proficient in the planning of interceptions using this equipment.
This weekend, the 27th - 28th, saw the end of our period of magnificent weather
when the skies suddenly emptied themselves onto the airfield, much to the relief of
the gardeners and the chagrin of the pilots. On Monday only six Hunter sorties were flown.
Eight Vampire sorties were also flown all being either I.R.T.'s or I.F. Practice.
Unfortunately no flying was possible on Tuesday owing to bad weather. |
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Day |
Night |
Sorties |
| Operational Type - Hunter Mk.6. |
252.40 |
Nil |
254 |
| Non-Operational - Vampire T.XI |
42.30 |
Nil |
49 |
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OPERATIONAL
The month of June was dominated during the last fortnight by a combination of
Battle Flight and constantly decreasing serviceability which prevented the Hunter
target being reached by 57.20 Hrs. This indicates to all that a Hunter Squadron with
only 12 aircraft U/E is poorly placed to carry out commitments other than the
training of its pilots.
Signature D S White
(D.S. White)
Squadron Leader
Officer Commanding
No. 93 Squadron. |
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