RAF Lightnings over Africa (profiles)

[Gekko_1]

Thanks guys. Whilst I get the next installment ready, here is a profile of the SHAR that Ivan saw flying over Saints when he fell over his bicycle.

This particular SHAR went on to shoot down 2 MiG-17's and 3 MiG-19's.

Cheers

Richard.

[Antoine]

It must be Sharkey's aircraft.

[AnonymousDFB1]

Nice profile Richard

[keefr22]

Great profile, love the sharkmouth!!

Keef

[bexwh773]

Looks good Richard, and very realistic

Bex

[Gekko_1]

Now guys, back to see how Harriett (female Wessex pilot), Ian (Royal Marine Commando) and Major Luke Smith (Australian SAS) are going!

Major Luke Smith sat patiently as Ian had his chest x-rays. After a long twenty minutes Ian came out of the room wincing a little and walking quite slowly. An Australian Nurse gently eased him into a wheelchair and together the three headed back to the casualty ward. One of the Doctors saw to him straight away. After assessing his x-ray’s it was determined that Ian had five green fractures of his ribs, none causing any tissue damage or secondary bleeding, just bruising. He would need to be bandaged and kept quite still for about a week. First thing needed was to get him showered!

“Now then Sergent I am going to have to shower you and get you all cleaned up first before we apply any bandaging. I hope you won’t be too embarrassed, but we have to do it now and I won’t be taking no for an answer you’re in far too much of a risky position. Any further straining by you may aggravate the fractures which may lead to serious bleeding and surgery, so come with me, then we’ll get your kit off and give you a good scrubbing!” said a rather petite blond Australian casualty Nurse who couldn’t be a day over 22!

Ian went as red as a beetroot and Luke couldn’t help but have a little chuckle. Ian wasn’t too sure about this, but realised he had no choice and slowly walked off with the little blond Aussie. Once in the shower room the Nurse gently sat him down on a sturdy plastic chair. Out of sight and hearing range of the other men Ian now let out a few audible gasps as the pain from his fractures took effect. Karen, the Nurse, took off Ian’s boots as gently as she could, then his socks. Unfortunately Karen wasn’t quite ready for the smell of Ian’s socks and it nearly sent her off balance!

“Bloody hell mate, when did you last wash them!”

Ian, now doubly embarrassed “Ummm, Oh, sorry, it’s been a while, not a lot of spare water where I am at the moment. Sorry.” Ian was sure he must have been a dark shade of maroon by now and he had yet to get his underpants off!

Karen then stood Ian back up and undid his belt and fly buttons. Ian was trying to think of some of the ugly sweethearts he had met whilst doing his recruit training, anything to take his mind off what was about to happen. Karen dropped his pants and let them fall to Ian’s ankles, she then looked up at him with a cheeky smile on her face and said “Now I don’t want you to be embarrassed OK I see naked men every day of the week!” with that said she stood slightly to his side and gently pulled down Ian’s underpants and slid them down to his ankles. If any of the blokes could have seen Ian at that point they would have instantly wee weed themselves with laughter. He was stood there, pants and underpants around his ankles, with a very nice blond Nurse on her knees and all he could do was think of his drill Sergent and how he really needed some urgent dental work!

Karen helped Ian out of his pants and underpants and gently sat him back down on the chair, she then reached for the flexible shower unit. Karen adjusted the water until it was a little cooler than lukewarm and gently began showering him. She then grabbed the soap and lathered her hands and began washing Ian’s shoulders, arms and under his arms and the back of his neck. She also shampooed his hair, then gently washed his chest.

“Now then Ian, I want you to stand up and think of something else for a few minutes OK!”

“Oh no, do you really have to”

“Oh yeah, I really have to!”

Ian couldn’t work out if he was in a version of heaven or hell, it could have been either and he wasn’t sure which he preferred! Karen was thorough leaving nothing to chance, by the time she was finished Ian was probably the cleanest he’d been in years!

With the shower done Karen dressed him in a surgical gown, the type that ties up at the back. She did not tie it up and Ian found this to be just another little embarrassment he could add to his growing collection. Then once sat back down in the wheelchair it was off to get strapped. Again Karen was as gentle as she could be.

“Now then Ian, you are going to have to be on a liquid diet for the next couple of days at least. Which is good for you because we have some of the nicest ice cream and jelly in Africa!” she said with the cutest little smile, her baby blue eyes bright and cheerful.

“Ice cream and jelly? Blimey it’s been a few years since I’ve had that.” He said, quite exhausted. “Is there any chance I can see any of the others that came in with me?”

“No. I’m afraid not. You my friend need to keep quite still. Once I’ve finished here I’ll be getting you into bed and you will be staying there unless you need to go to the toilet is that clear.”

“Yes ma’am.” Said Ian in a dreary voice, the energy quickly seeping from his exhausted body.

“Once I’ve got you all tucked up I will go and see what I can find out about the others OK.”

“Thanks, that would be great.”

At that moment Luke came strolling in like he owned the place. “Hi Karen is our friend behaving himself? I hope the shower was OK mate?” he said with a big grin on his face!

“Hi boss, yeah he’s been OK. We got through the shower quite well all considering.” She beamed him a bright big smile.

Luke’s tone now dropped a little. “Now, Ian, Harriett is out of surgery. That went well. Apparently her shrapnel wound to the neck wasn’t as bad as it looked and the surgeons were able to remove it without complications, her feet and back have been x-rayed and nothing too serious was found there. She must have taken a pretty big knock to her face though as she has quite a good pair of black eyes now. So, Harriett is going to make a full recovery quite quickly so I’m told. I have no information yet about the rest of them as I’ve been busy with a few other things and I just wanted to check up on Harriett before catching up on your progress.”

“Oh, thanks for that Sir, that’s great news.” Ian said with relief.

“No worries; now I have to see some people before I catch up on some sleep. I will see you again early in the morning and I’ll also catch up with Harriett before I head off for some more play time in the gravel box. See you in the morning guys, bye!”

“See ya boss.”

“Yeah, thanks again Sir, see you tomorrow.”

“Now then Ian, let's get you off to bed!”

Ian smiled. He was relieved that Harriett was going to be OK. He didn’t know what to make of his feelings towards her at this point. Seeing her lying there in the helicopter in that vulnerable state suddenly made him realise she was indeed a woman and not just ‘one of the lads’ like she wanted everybody to see her as. He’d never seen her going out with anybody in particular and was sure she didn’t have any ‘significant other’. This was all so new and out of the blue. Who the hell would have thought that Ian Sykes would have fallen for somebody in the middle of a combat zone! That was just insane, yet that was what was happening!

Karen could tell Ian was deep in thought as she wheeled him over to his ward where he’d be staying for the next couple of weeks, unless there was an influx of casualties. She had been briefed before the latest bunch of casualties had come in what to expect. She knew the best thing she could do was keep him distracted as best she could, always keeping a close eye on the slow encroachment of shock which could sometimes be the invisible killer to people who had just been through an extremely traumatic combat event. The shower seemed to do the trick, distracting him enough so that she could get on with cleaning him up and strapping his chest to limit the movement of his fractured ribs. But now she realised he would be getting quite tired and needed to get some shut-down sleep. Some deep restless sleep.

Once she helped get him into his new bed she fed him some chicken soup that had a mild sedative in it, just enough to help him drift off to a calm sleep. It did the trick and within fifteen minutes of his head hitting the pillow his was off in la-la land, gently snoring, breathing easy. Well, as easy as he’d be able to under the circumstances. Karen sat with him for about an hour just keeping an eye in him and monitoring his vitals before her relief turned up at midnight, then she too was off to la-la land, well, as best as she could anyway.

Cheers

Richard.

[keefr22]

Excellent again, Richard!!

Keep 'em coming!!

Keef

[Tiger41]

Very cool Richard i forgot to ask are you using Bucs in this story

[Gekko_1]

Very cool Richard i forgot to ask are you using Bucs in this story

Yes, both South African and Rhodesian Bucs will make an appearance, in both the strike and Wild Weasel roles.

Cheers

Richard.

[Tiger41]

Cool cant wait to see them looking foward to a profile of them

[AnonymousDFB1]

Another great instalment Richard

[bexwh773]

I like the way this is going Richard, a romantic interlude in amongst a very well detailed story line with plenty going on. Absolutely brilliant, so 'urry up mister and get typing

Thank you for sharing

Bex

[Gekko_1]

Here's a little bit more guys!

The next day Harriett awoke to the usual clamour of a busy hospital preparing for the day’s activities. She could smell food and could hear muffled conversations occasionally. She opened her eyes slowly. Then she made her first mistake of the day, she tried to move! She let out an involuntary moan; this attracted the attention of the nearest Nurse.

“Good morning sleepy head. In a bit of pain are you?”

“Oh, poo-poo, my head, my back, Oh, everything hurts!” All of Harriett’s various injuries now came back to life in a vengeance.

“OK, I’ll get something for that in a second, but first I need to know if you can see OK?”

“Umm, yes....my eyes can see fine.......they’re a bit sore, but otherwise fine.” She said as she briefly scanned the ward. “I need to pee!”

“OK, would you like a pan, or do you think, with my help, you could walk just over there to the toilet?”

“I’ll walk thanks, there’s no way I’m using one of those things!”

“Right, now first I want you to sit up very, very slowly OK.”

“OK.” Harriett did as she was told. It was then that she understood why she was told to sit up slowly. The room started spinning, she suddenly felt weak. “Oh god, I think I’m going to throw up!”

Rebecca was ready for that. With one quick movement she had the bowl placed under Harriet’s chin and Harriett let rip! “There, now you should start to feel a little better. Its just the after effects of the anaesthesia that’s all, it should all pass in a few moments.” Harriett threw up twice, mostly clear fluid. Once done, Rebecca wiped her chin and put the bowl down on a near by table. “OK, I’m going to pull the sheets down and help you swing your legs out OK, go slowly, you should be getting a little more steady now, yes?”

“Yeah, a little better.” Rebecca helped Harriett out of the bed and assisted her to the toilet. Once Harriett had finished her wee she felt much better. It wasn’t until Rebecca helped her back up that she saw herself in the mirror for the first time in what seemed like ages. “Oh f***, look at me!” She exclaimed in horror.

“You’ve been through quite a lot mate. From what I’ve heard from the others it’s nothing short of a miracle that none of you were killed out there yesterday. Don’t worry about the black eyes; they will go away after a couple of days. Your neck will heal, leaving the smallest of scars and the bruising to the rest of your body will also fade in time. All considering you’ve come out of it quite well.

Now, speaking of which, now that your up, can you lift your top please I need to check your chest and back to see if any new bruising has formed.” Harriett did as she was told. In the mirror she could now see the extent of her injuries. She even had bruising on one of her breasts! “Is that breast sore to touch?” Harriett gently felt her breast.

“No, it’s OK.”

“Good, now I’m going to lightly press some of the bruising, let me know if any of it is really sore.” Rebecca then began a section by section check of Harriet’s chest and back. Apart from a section of her ribs on her lower left side she wasn’t too bad. “Alright that seems to be a little better than I expected, now let's get you back into bed and get some breakfast into you.”

“OK.” Rebecca then helped Harriett back to her bed and got her sat up in a position that wasn’t too painful for her. It was at this moment that Major Luke Smith came into the ward heading straight for Harriett. He was all kitted-up ready for an Op.

“Good morning Bec, and who have we here, Oh, it looks like Paddy the Panda is here for some R&R!” He said smiling at Harriet. “Just kidding mate, how are you this morning?”

Harriet smiled as best she could. “I’ve just seen myself in the mirror, I look like a nightmare! How is Ian?” she asked looking into his steel blue eyes. He was quite a looker, this Australian soldier. Tall, fit, sandy brown hair. ‘Not bad she thought.’ But her attentions were not on him, but the man she had gotten to know over the past couple of weeks. The man that held her hand and didn’t let go when she was at her worst, when she was the most frightened she had ever been in her life. He was the man she wanted most to see.

“Oh Ian’s doing fine. Poor sweetheart couldn’t manage to shower himself last night though, he needed a little help” he said grinning from ear to ear “Once he gets over the embarrassment of that I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Luke’s tone then got a bit more serious “He’s got three green fractures of his ribs, very painful but not life threatening. He’ll be bed ridden for a couple of days, then he should be able to see you, although you may actually be up and about before him? What do you think Bec?”

“We’ll have to see how she goes today boss. But I reckon she’ll be good for a wheel around to see her friend tomorrow or the day after. Now, you’ll have to excuse me for a minute, I’ve got to sort out some pain medication and some breakfast for Panda here.” She said with a smile, and then headed off to do just that.

Luke then took off his webbing and dropped it down by Harriet’s bed, then acquired a chair. ‘Chat time’ Harriet thought. Harriet could tell by the weight of the webbing that his water bottles were full and the ammunition pouches were full of live ammunition too. He was off somewhere this morning and knew better than to ask him where. Bloody dangerous business, the business he was in. Still, he was a big boy, he knew what he was doing and she was very glad of that. Otherwise she may very well not be sitting in this bed.

“Now then. Do you remember the missile impact? Anything at all of the time your helicopter was hit?” Luke’s demeanour had changed, he was now deadly serious. The look in his eyes was of steely determination. She knew straight away that he was looking for serious answers to serious questions. Life and death on the modern day battlefield. She knew that she’d be debriefed by MoD people soon enough, but thought that this way may be a bit easier for her initially. She was glad of that as Luke was a nice guy and she felt comfortable talking to him.

“Sorry Sir, nothing, nothing at all. First thing I remember is Ian trying to make me as comfortable as possible and the taste of blood in my mouth.”

Luke looked disappointed. “OK, maybe some of it will come back later. I’ll talk to Ian about this too this morning before I head off.” Luke’s eyes then softened again “So, can I ask a personal question?” Luke looked at her with a look of hopeful anticipation. Harriet wasn’t sure what this was about but thought she could trust this man with just about anything.

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you have a significant ‘other’ in your life at the moment?”

This knocked Harriet for a six! She hadn’t anticipated anything like that! Why would he want to know something like that?

“Umm, no, why?” she replied hesitantly.

“Oh, good. Nothing to worry about. It’s just that I can let Ian know that when I go see him this morning. I’m sure he’d been thinking the same thing, just wanted to put him out of his misery that’s all’ he said with that cheeky grin on his face again. Harriet now went a nice flushed red colour which made Luke laugh.

“You cheeky bugger.........Sir!” she said also laughing. “Now, how about I ask you the same question?”

“Ah, well” the smile slowly evaporated from Luke’s face, he looked down. Suddenly he no longer looked like the ten foot tall super soldier, he looked quite vulnerable. Harriet then wished she’d never asked, she could see by the look on his face that she had asked something very painful for him. “There was.................is...................but she is spoken for. I guess that is why I asked you. So that Ian doesn’t have to go through what I go through every day” he said, talking to his boots. Then he looked up. She could see the stress on his face.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry Luke. Are you in love with her?” Luke nodded, he looked down again.

“Its funny you know. I can go out there, do the things I do and it just doesn’t phase me. Yet put me in her company and I just turn into a completely useless idiot. It’s ridiculous!

“How long have you known her for?”

“A couple of years now. She’s a Nurse. She got assigned to this Combat Recovery Unit that is being tested by the Army. I met her during the initial trials and I haven’t been the same since. I try and think about what life was like before I met her and I just can’t. It's insane, its like she’s cast some sort of spell on me or something.”

“Is she here?” Harriet asked quite concerned for Luke. Seeing him in such pain was quite upsetting for her.

“Yeah, she works over in the male patients section.”

It was at this moment that Rebecca came back into the ward with Harriet’s pain relief. As she got closer she noticed the look on Luke’s face and did an immediate 180 degree turn and headed straight back out again. She knew better than to interrupt a man like that who was obviously deep into a serious conversation. Harriet could wait a little while longer she decided.

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself Luke. I knew a guy at University, he was the same. Totally besotted by a girl who just didn’t look at him twice. There’s only one real option, you know what that is don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do, but as yet I just cannot separate myself from her. I just need to be around her. For now at least I’ll keep things as they are. This war will not be going on for very much longer. Once it comes to its conclusion I will probably leave the Army and try something else for a while. I might even do some travelling?”

“That’s a great idea! Why don’t you come to England for a while? Its about as opposite to this place as you could possibly get!” she said with a concerned smile on her face. A little spark of light appeared once again on Luke’s face.

“You know what. I’m going to do exactly that! I’ve become quite fond of you Poms whilst being here. I’ve always wanted to see Big Ben and for some reason the Welsh coastline? Never could quite figure that one out though?” he said with a confused look on his face. Ever since he could remember he’d wanted to go to the Welsh coast and visit the little fishing harbours. One day he would remember, because one particular harbour he will visit will be the very one he saw in a book in his school library when he was six years old and to this very day it hasn’t changed.

Just then the unmistakeable sound of Chinook helicopters broke the silence around them. There was obviously more than one, maybe as many as four. Harriet studied Luke’s face, upon hearing the approaching helicopters his face changed completely. Business! His ride for the day had arrived!

“Taxi’s here got to go! I’ll drop in on Ian before I leave, let him know you are free!” he said with a wink “catch ya later mate!”

“Thanks Luke, please be careful, I’m going to hold you to that visit to England you know!”

Luke grabbed his webbing and hurried out of the ward, shouting back “you got it Harriet, wouldn’t miss it for the world!” and he was gone.

Moments later Rebecca arrived. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. They’re very very good at what they do, as I’m sure you saw for yourself yesterday. Now, here’s breakfast and some pain relief!

“Thank you, I’m starving!” said Harriet who was now anxious. Anxious for both Ian and now Luke too. ‘Men! They’re all sweethearts!’ she thought to herself, laughing at her own predicament. ‘Just what was Ian thinking?’

cheers

Richard.

[Col.]

That was worth the wait Richard

[AnonymousDFB1]

More, more.

Nice one Richard

[bexwh773]

Brilliant Richard, dont stop

Bex

[keefr22]

Great stuff!! Keep it coming mate!!!

Keef

[Gekko_1]

Thanks guys!

Now, time for a bit of action!

As Luke sat on the rear ramp of the speeding Chinook his thoughts, as with most on board the flight that day, drifted to loved ones. He thought of his Nurse. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about her, especially not today of all days, but what could he do? He had to keep it all inside. He couldn’t tell anybody, especially not his mates, although he’d just told Harriett more than he ever intended to. Perhaps he should tell her the rest? She seemed nice and to get it all off his chest would be at least a bit of a relief? She was right though in what she had said to him. He had to face the fact that she would never have feelings for him like he does for her. He had to distance himself from her, which was a bit difficult at the moment. Sometimes he wouldn’t see her for a couple of days and the longer he was away from her the easier it got, but then he’d find himself in her company again and it all started over again. He’d never had this happen to him before, sure he’d had crushes on girls, but for some reason this was different, even he didn’t fully understand why. He just had to see her and he’d become an emotional mess. He couldn’t understand exactly what it was a bout this woman that effected him so much. She wasn’t exactly ‘stunning’, sure she was beautiful in her own way, but not the type of woman that would stop a man in the streets. But there was ‘something’ about her that would stop ‘him’ in his tracks. He laughed at himself, that thought reminded him of The Beatles song “Something”, he tried to remember how it went but the constant vibrations, thudding and engine noise made that impossible. Time to switch ‘her’ off he thought, business is at hand! Luke got up and carefully made his was past his troops and the MoD personnel to the cockpit so he could talk to the pilots and get some idea of how much time he had left.

“How long now guys?”

“We’ll be descending in three minutes Sir.” Said one of the pilots.

“OK.” Luke peered forward out of the cockpit into the dusty hot dry environment of Mali. He realised all too well how vulnerable they all were in a big flying target like a Chinook. If the Foxbats were up, a Chinook would make for a nice big target for them to hit and with four of them flying together like they were now it would be too good an opportunity to miss! Up above he could see the contrails of the Aussie Mirages and British Lightnings that were going to do their best to protect the Chinooks from the ravenous Foxbats that were becoming such a dire threat to the Coalition. Just then some Danish Drakens sped past. He counted six but knew there were more. They would be prepping the ground in advance of their landing.

“Its time Sir.” Said one of the pilots looking up at him.

“OK, thanks guys.” Luke turned and made his way back to the ramp. All four Chinooks descended to forty feet off the hard baked Mali earth. Game time! Luke gave the signal to the RSM. His troops then began to gather their equipment and arrange the MoD staff for a quick exit off the helicopter. Luke looked down to see the hulk of a dead Lightning lying there all twisted and broken pass by. Another victim of the dreaded Foxbat. Not long after the Chinook flared and gently hit the ground. Luke was out and running. His men fanned out and took what ever cover they could. Most tried to protect their bodies from the dust and small rocks being kicked up by the Chinooks and they lifted off. It was pretty pointless though. The dust would get everywhere.

A couple of minutes later it was quiet and still. The section Corporals moved their troops out to form a protective perimeter. Ammunition was distributed and troops began to add camouflage to themselves and begin to conceal their positions.

“OK gents follow me and we’ll begin inspecting the first Wessex wreckage.” Luke said to the Ministry of Defence personnel that were with them today. Their job was to look for evidence of exactly what it was that took down the three Wessex helicopters that fateful day.

From what Ian was able to tell Luke, it seemed more likely it was a Sagger Anti-Tank missile that did the damage rather than a shoulder fired missile. But which version? To be good enough to hit a moving target with a Sagger would mean either an extremely well trained and proficient operator or somebody who had had the luckiest day of his life? Was it mounted on a BMP vehicle or the man portable version?

Luke knew that the six MoD people there with him were not the hardiest of types. They were experts at what they did but ‘outdoors’ types they were not! He’d have to keep a close eye on them and make sure they kept drinking and kept themselves well covered. It didn’t take them long to locate the first bits of wreckage. How on earth they could discern them from the rest of the Wessex wreckage he’d never know, but hey, they were the experts!

“So are you able to tell what it was?” asked Luke a little amused by their enthusiasm.

“Oh yes of course. This is the fin of a AT-3C Sagger C 9M14P Malyutka-P1. Range approximately 1.86 Miles. But my best guess would be that it was fired from much closer than that. I’d also say that I’d highly doubt it was fired by one of the local chaps. Most probably the Soviet equivalent of yourself.” Said the man quite matter of factly!

“Oh poo-poo I was hoping you wouldn’t say that!” Luke said, not necessarily aimed as a reply to the MoD man. “Hey Micko we could be targeted by Spetz so be ready!” he shouted to the RSM, fearing the worst for their situation. If Spetsnaz were operating in the area that day then there would be a good chance that they’d still be around and possibly in bigger numbers, if for no other purpose than to sit and watch what the Coalitions response would be to trying to find out what it was that took down their helicopters that day and if that was a trap then so might this be!

Luke’s worst fears were confirmed a couple of minutes later when the telltale plume of a shoulder fired missile streaked into the sky and had a direct hit on one of the low flying Drakens!

Oh dear! What's going to happen next!

Cheers

Richard.

[Col.]

Oooohh, it's Monday morning and the excitement levels fully cranked up already! Cracking stuff Richard, can't wait to find out what happens next

Now, any chance of a Draken profile?

[Nwanda]

Hi Richard - great stuff, thanks! Just a thought, as we seem to be moving to a world where Rhodesia had access to proper aircraft, South Africa would then also probably been in that position. It has been reported that a number of HP Victors were reserved on the production line for the SAAF - if they had in fact been taken up in the world you are describing, they could cause a whole lot of long range hurt

Mike

[bexwh773]

Brilliant stuff Rich cant wait for the next instalment

Bex

[AnonymousDFB1]

Great Richard, next please...

[keefr22]

Oh dear! What's going to happen next!

Cheers

Richard.

Well hurry up & tell us then!!!

Great stuff again Rich!! Would make a great little novel.....!!!

And I like Nwanda's suggestion of SAAF Victors - would look rather nice as a profile, hmmm.....??!!!

Keef

[Tiger41]

Very cool looking foward to the next part bring in the spetz that is a major curve ball

[bishopscourt]

Great tale. Thank you