aviation - the past, present and future of flight

THE MISSION

When the Aardvarks were  rst deployed to

the UK their primary mission was all-weather

nuclear strike, with conventional attack being

the secondary role. Both were practised

regularly and rigorously by the 48th’s pilots

and weapons systems officers (WSOs). The

F-111F’s principal ‘special weapon’ (nuclear

bomb) was the B-61, though it also had both

the B-53 and the B-57 in its inventory.

Throughout the 1970s the aircraft

could carry three ‘nukes’ at a time, two on

the wings and one internally. The later

development of the weapons bay-mounted

AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack electro-optical

targeting pod meant that ‘special weapons’

could only be carried externally.

Lt Richard Crandall was a pilot with the

48th TFW between 1982 and 1984. He

recalls his nuclear role: “The mission was to

stop the Soviets. We sat nuclear alert to be

always ready to counter any aggression on

their part. We trained to  ght them as they

poured through the Fulda Gap [in central

Germany]. Every crew member I served

with at Lakenheath thought it was a case of

when we would  ght World War Three, not if.

“I was absolutely convinced I would have

to nuke a Warsaw Pact nation, as that was

about all we could hit with the F-111. We had

a couple of targets in Russia where we would

have had to recover with emergency fuel at

one of the far northern bases in Norway. But

really, we all knew the base would be gone

and we would have to punch out.”

The F-111F could carry a large assortment

of ordnance, and practise in both nuclear

and conventional delivery was carried out

routinely to maintain pro ciency in a variety

of delivery techniques. Most of the ranges in

the UK were used on a regular basis.

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 49

Weapons system officer Capt Bradley Seipel (nearest) and pilot Capt Michael Russell strap

themselves into the cockpit of a 48th TFW F-111F aircraft in preparation for a mission during

Operation Desert Storm. USAF Archives

Wearing the special identi cation number

on the tail, this F-111F is taking part in the

Strike Command bombing competition

held between the USAF and the RAF at

Lossiemouth in June 1981. USAF Archives

A pair of Lakenheath F-111Fs in formation

over the English countryside during the

Cold War. Jim Rotramel

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