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Starting work.

93 Squadron's motto was "Ad Arma Parati" which, when translated, means 'Prepared for War'. How true. As a new sprog pilot with the Squadron I was aware that I could have to put my training into practice - for real.
It is often said that when one thinks one has finished training that's when the real learning begins. And so it was for me. I was in a new environment, in a strange country, and with professionals in a potential war situation. Russia and its Eastern bloc were a recognised and serious threat to the Western world. Each was always testing the other's defences and looking for weaknesses. We knew we were not going to attack them, but we were always unsure of Communist intentions and therefore had to be ready immediately to counter any aggression or border incursions from the other side.
The task of 93 Squadron in its primary Ground Attack role was to counter the advance of any potential enemy's ground forces by the use of 20mm cannon fire, rockets, or bombs. Close low level reconnaissance was also a possibility. This, in the jargon of the day, was termed 'interdiction'. The Squadron's secondary role was that of day, high level, interception. In other words, to do as much damage to an attacking air force as possible by intercepting any enemy aircraft and destroying them. The Vampire was ideally suited to the first role but far from adequate for the second. The rate of climb was too slow to be of much use, and the rate of turn at altitude was not tight enough. Nonetheless we had to practise both roles and, strangely, the one practised most often was that of interceptor, for the Squadron's duty was, in its turn with other Squadrons, to maintain a four aircraft Battle Flight at readiness, fully armed up, for virtually immediate scramble when ordered to do so by 2 Group, our higher authority. This was real and serious stuff, and one never knew whether any scramble was for practice or something else. Our job was front line defence. We were supposed to be all-weather capable, but that was very much open to question. To attack a target at night or in extreme meteorological conditions was simply 'not on' and could not be practised.
Settling in took a long time. In addition to obvious things like drawing a parachute from the Parachute Section and maps from the Map Section there was a great deal to familiarise myself with, not only with regard to Station domestic routines, Station Routine Orders, Flying Wing Detail, and Squadron Orders, but also with unfamiliar Squadron routines and methods which I could no way have been taught about or experienced before.
It was seven days after my arrival that I had my first chance to fly. It was a dual, 35 minute, flight in a Meteor Mk 7 with Flt.Lt. Keith Pearch, 'B' Flight Commander (my Flight) as captain to check me out and show me what the local area looked like from the air. The terrain was flat, so flat that it was often said that you had no need to climb above 100 feet to get from the Lincolnshire Wolds to the Urals in Russia. The only hazards would be wireless masts and tall buildings.
That same day, and the next day, the 28th and 29th of September, I took a Vampire up for two more 35 minute flights to further familiarise myself with the area. Obvious landmarks, apart from the coastline and off-shore islands, were the Jade and Ems basins, the Ems-Jade Kanal which links them, the Zwischenaner See, Oldenburg, Emden, and Wilhelmshaven. Further east lay Cuxhaven, the river Weser, Bremerhaven, Bremen, and Hamburg, but that was not our usual area of operation. Railway lines and water features were the most important visual aids to
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