Aviation News - May 2016

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The big US bomber was a regular visitor

during this period with a further detachment

from the 2nd BW at Barksdale AFB,

Louisiana, the following month.

On the way back home I popped into

Mildenhall to photograph C-130H Hercules

84-0212 of the 166th Tactical Air Group/

Delaware Air National Guard (ANG). There

was also a pair of C-5As present along with

a single C-141B.

On Sunday morning I headed down

to RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk. It was a

lovely sunny day and parked in one of the

hardened aircraft shelter areas were two

A-10A Thunderbolt IIs from the 104th TFS/

Maryland ANG. These two aircraft, 78-0682

and 79-0088, were from the Coronet Moat

deployment to Hohn in West Germany.

The latter aircraft had visited nearby RAF

Woodbridge on May 17 where it had become

unserviceable. It was later transferred to

Bentwaters and 78-0682 had arrived on May

20 to accompany it home.

The other ten aircraft on the deployment

routed Hohn to Lajes in the Azores

that same day. The pair at Bentwaters

eventually departed on May 31. Also visiting

Bentwaters were a pair of Italian Air Force

F-104S Star ghters, MM6794/5-12 and

MM6847/5-14 from 5° Stormo at Rimini.

A USAF C-130B, 58-0725, of the 167th

TAG/West Virginia ANG was also noted

visiting Woodbridge. There were a further

pair, MM6762/9-42 and MM6708/9-51, from

9° Stormo at Grazzanise parked by the

control tower at RAF Wattisham, Suffolk.

The base was home to the Phantoms of 56

and 74 Sqns at the time.

The last weekend of May had a bank

holiday Monday and was when RAF

Mildenhall traditionally held its annual air

fete. This weekend was also a popular

time for European air forces to hold their

airshows.

I spent Friday, May 27, sitting on the

mound at Mildenhall with a couple of dozen

fellow enthusiasts watching the inbound

The big US bomber was a regular visitor May saw the  nal Tornado crews of the MM6847/5-14 from 5° Stormo at Rimini.

initial complement for JaBoG 34 graduate

from the Tri-National Tornado Establishment

at RAF Cottesmore. Ten aircraft from the

unit attended along with a number of other

visitors, such as this Tornado 44+14 from

JaBoG 31 shown on  nals to Cottesmore.

A lovely Sunday morning at RAF Bentwaters on May 22. A Maryland ANG A-10A from Coronet

Moat and an Italian Air Force Star ghter in the background bask in the sun.

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