Aviation 10

(MPCs) at RAF Valley in Wales and air

combat manoeuvring detachments to

Decimomannu in Sardinia. Retired Wg

Cdr Dave Gledhill, a former 56 and 92 Sqn

navigator and 228 OCU instructor, explained:

“Early MPCs were not of great training value

to Phantom crews: they were more about

expanding the performance envelope of the

Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles. In the late

1970s some more tactically relevant pro les,

like head-on attack, were introduced.

“Annual APC training required clear

air, so locations like Malta and Cyprus

were important. The mostly pilot-centred

training was aimed at achieving NATO

certi cation rather than being operationally

representative. Initially we  ew very

‘academic’ attack pro les with a banner-

towing Canberra, with successive sorties

becoming steadily more complex as

training progressed.

“On the  nal sortie the Canberra  ew two

orbits and you had a full load of ammunition

to use against the target in the time those

two orbits took to complete.”

The arrival of the USAF Northrop F-5E-

equipped 527th Tactical Fighter Training

Aggressor Squadron in 1976 offered great

opportunities for dissimilar air combat

training. “The Americans  ew as closely as

possible to resemble the MiG-21 and used

Soviet tactics,” said Dave. “We regularly

detached aircraft to their Alconbury

[Cambs] base for a week and worked

through 1-v-1 to 2-v-1 up to 2-v-2 missions.

It was a really good concept and they were

absolutely brilliant.”

THE FALKLANDS SHUFFLE

War in the South Atlantic in 1982 added

another strand to RAF Phantom history.

No.29 Sqn had detached three aircraft to

Wideawake air eld on Ascension Island

between May 24 and 26 to protect it

against possible Argentinian long-range

reconnaissance sorties. On July 11, after the

Falklands War had ended, they intercepted

two Soviet Tu-95 Bears.

The detachment returned to the UK three

days later, sending  ve Phantoms back

again in mid-September to await movement

forward to Port Stanley, the Falkland Islands’

capital, in October, a nearly nine-hour  ight

from Ascension.

Falklands duty was shared between

crews from the UK Phantom squadrons,

initially for four-month periods, but later

shortened to reduce unit disruption. On April

1 the following year, 23 Squadron’s ‘number

plate’ transferred to the South Atlantic as the

unit re-formed at Port Stanley, taking over

the 29 Sqn FGR.2s already there.

48 Aviation News incorporating Jets October 2018

possible to resemble the MiG-21 and used

training was aimed at achieving NATO training. “The Americans  ew as closely as

certi cation rather than being operationally

[Cambs] base for a week and worked

through 1-v-1 to 2-v-1 up to 2-v-2 missions.

It was a really good concept and they were

absolutely brilliant.”

THE FALKLANDS SHUFFLE

reconnaissance sorties. On July 11, after the

two Soviet Tu-95

A fully armed FG.1 XV570

of 111 Sqn outside its

hardened aircraft shelter.

Key Collection

Above: Fifteen former USN/USMC Phantoms were acquired for the RAF to bolster  ghter

numbers in the wake of the Falklands War. They were assigned to 74 ‘Tiger’ Sqn at RAF

Wattisham in Suffolk as F-4J(UK)s. Illustrated is ZE364/Z. Key Collection

Below: A pair of 23 Sqn Phantoms during the transition from camou age paint schemes to the

all-grey livery. Dr Kevin Wright