some 50 feet of unprocessed film
on to the concrete apron. Had this
been what he thought it was, he
would have lost a huge number
of marks, but it was not. Ed’s film
had been off-loaded with all speed
earlier and was being processed
successfully as this drama
unfolded. Such humour at times of
tension says much for the spirit on
the 18th TRS.
It is hard to exaggerate the
importance of Royal Flush, not
only from a military standpoint,
with the need for rapid teamwork,
precision flying and quality of
reporting, verbal and photographic,
but also for the political prestige it
could bring, and on which funding
for improved equipment and flying
hours sometimes depended. It
followed that the competition was
fierce, and despite every attempt
to ensure flight safety, risks were
taken. In 1963, another friend of mine,
Captain Wes Brooks, a highly competent
pilot, lost his life trying to stay below cloud to
acquire his target but suddenly found himself
in a blind canyon, his emergency climb in
reheat failing to clear the summit by some
60 feet.DANGEROUS TIMES
In the very nature of their operations at
Upper Heyford, there were many incidents
in the air and on the ground. Two RF-101s
of the 66th TRW crashed in Oxfordshire,
one at Deddington (the pilot ejected safely)
and another at Steeple Ashton, where
Major Robert ‘Buster’ Sipes lost his life in an
accident. Other incidents were false alarms,
such as that involving Nick Pishvanov who,
while taxiing out, was told white smoke was
pouring from one of his engines, that he was
on fire and should exit his aircraft at once.
Nick duly unlocked his canopy, and when
it failed to open electrically he called for
help. Meanwhile, his would-be saviour, now
getting more and more agitated, demanded
he “Blow the canopy! Blow the canopy!”,clearly without realising the risk to a group of
mechanics who had surrounded the cockpit.
At this point, the smoke disappeared, a
crew chief cranked open the canopy, and
everyone went back to work. Just another
‘happening’ at Heyford.
The RF-101 pilots’ war cry was ‘Alone,
Unarmed and Unafraid’, the latter claim
being questionable in the intimidating skies
over Vietnam. Most of us who started our
operational flying in single-seater jets were
willing to admit that the RF-101 was no
fighter, but that did not stop some chancing
their arm against those fast jets that were
optimised for combat.
In addition to Royal Flush, squadrons
were kept on their toes by numerous
national and NATO, scheduled and no-
notice inspections, to ensure they were
always ready for war. Typically, the USAF’s
operational readiness inspection (ORI),
tested reaction times, mission planning,flight times over targets and
more. Lt Col Bob Gould had all
the necessary maps and briefing
material prepared for every likely
target to ensure his unit was
ready for anything. He ordered
everyone available to assist the
pilots selected to fly the simulated
war missions in their planning and
preparation, and in checking their
aircraft were fully serviceable and
ready to go.
In this way, the 17th TRS passed
their ORIs with flying colours.
Work days on Upper Heyford’s
flight line may have been long
and hard, but there were no
complaints and the pilots always
found time to relax and socialise.
The old RAF officers’ mess was
as lively as ever and the Manor
House at Piddington, rented by
Lt Col Bob Gould (CO of the 17th
TRS), was the scene of many a
memorable party, including one with the
German RF-104G ‘Immelmann’ Squadron
from Ingolstadt, Bavaria. Bob – who had
taken command of the 17th TRS in January
1968 – would remember the return match at
Ingolstadt, during which he readily agreed
to join an F-104 and a Mirage from a visiting
French squadron, in a close formation of
three very experienced and well briefed
pilots. This however had not received
authorisation from the USAF and it attracted
the attention and grave displeasure of his
hierarchy, but it seemed to do no harm to
Bob’s career, as he went on to serve the
USAF and his country well.
In 1969, the 17th TRS converted to the
two-seat RF-4C Phantom, and moved to
Zweibrücken, West Germany, where it was
committed to day and night operations. The
66th TRW ceased to exist in 1970 when the
RF-101 Voodoos of the 18th TRS, in their
day only role, returned to their original home
at Shaw AFB, where they too were re-
equipped with RF-4Cs. The Voodoo’s time in
the UK may have been relatively brief, but it
cast a spell on those who witnessed it.34 Aviation News incorporating Jets July 2018Proud winners of Royal Flush XII in 1967,
a trio of 18th TRS Voodoos overfly their
rivals, the two-seat RF-4C Phantoms at RAF
Alconbury. Nick PishvanovMaj Jack Nelson, a squadron commander in the 66th TRW, had RF-101C ‘Balls 99’ as his personal aircraft; it now resides as a gate guard at Shaw
AFB. Scotty Schoolfield30-34_usaf_voodoosDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 34 08/06/2018 11:47