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Bedford Tactical Refueler


MattBlack33

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Hi all.

I'm wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of pictures of the above being used to refuel Harriers in operational settings as I can't seem to find any online.

Apologies if this has been discussed before, however a quick search turned up nothing for me.

Many thanks!

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Hi all.

I'm wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of pictures of the above being used to refuel Harriers in operational settings as I can't seem to find any online.

Apologies if this has been discussed before, however a quick search turned up nothing for me.

Many thanks!

IIRC They were not normally used to refuel harriers as they could not carry enough fuel. Harriers in field sites in my times used Fuel pillow tanks and pumps / pipes.

I believe they were used mainly for helicopters and MT.(carrying different fuel types as required of course!)

Selwyn

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Airfix lied! It says they were used in the field for both Harrier and helicopters.

Don't get me wrong, the Bedford Refueller was capable of refuelling a harrier, it just wasn't very practical for the task. The Bedford carried 1000gal of fuel which equates in weight terms as about 6700 lbs. The problem was that the full fuel load with drop tanks of a Harrer GR3 was IIRC 6600lbs so potentially every aircraft fill up could near as dammit empty the Bedford, not a great state of affairs!

So in reality they used the fuel pillow tank /pipe system, or if practical the bigger AEC Tankers that didn't need to be topped up after every aircraft refuelling.

Selwyn

Edited by Selwyn
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Ah, the waft of avtur first thing in morning as Tactical Supply Wing, (TSW, pronounced Tizwas), do their Rambo impersonation.... Happy memories!

To stop being accused of thread digression, all the Harrier hides that I witnessed were plumbed into the pillow tanks and I do not remember seeing any Bedford's refueling aircraft, only MT.

Christian exiled to africa

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Ah that makes sense, Selwyn. I thought it was strange when I couldn't find any images of Bedfords and Harriers in the same room!

Do any of you have any links, or any of your own images of Harriers circa 1980 in hides?

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Ah that makes sense, Selwyn. I thought it was strange when I couldn't find any images of Bedfords and Harriers in the same room!

Do any of you have any links, or any of your own images of Harriers circa 1980 in hides?

I don't, but if you look at U tube there are a few Deployment films on there that are worth a look.

Selwyn

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My memory is that on the field site they were normally used for defuels, not refuels. I think it was one tac refueller per site, but I'm probably mis remembering. The plumbed in site system was better, until you had a hide fire...

Regards

Tim

IIRC They were not normally used to refuel harriers as they could not carry enough fuel. Harriers in field sites in my times used Fuel pillow tanks and pumps / pipes.

I believe they were used mainly for helicopters and MT.(carrying different fuel types as required of course!)

Selwyn

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Thanks guys, I've had a look at some of the YouTube videos out there, gives a great sense of some of the activity and equipment.

I did manage to find this image:

1976_b-osborne_field_deployments_016.jpg

There does appear to be a Tactical refueller in the vicinity of the Harrier hides so that's enough evidence for me to include one on my dio :) I'm planning to replicate something similar to this in diorama form!

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Now, now chaps! With a better half in the Army, I'm not allowed to even mention the RAF Regiment under this roof! ;) Where does the rockape nickname come from?

For anyone who's interested, I've found some nice images here:

http://www.fourfax.co.uk/wpg2-2?g2_itemId=1198

I've found it incredibly useful and I hope others will too!

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Now, now chaps! With a better half in the Army, I'm not allowed to even mention the RAF Regiment under this roof! ;) Where does the rockape nickname come from?

For anyone who's interested, I've found some nice images here:

http://www.fourfax.co.uk/wpg2-2?g2_itemId=1198

I've found it incredibly useful and I hope others will too!

Well, I am not surprised! For as it has been said from years of yore, "Where the army goes, the pongos to"

As to where the moniker of Rock Ape comes from, there, (as always), are more than a few ideas. The only one that holds water for me, (ooh Matron! were going naval...), is that shortly after the formation of the RAF Regiment, (henceforth referred to as God's Finest), there was a minor disagreement in the officers mess on Gibraltar as to who's men were the best. It was decided to hold a race, with the winning team being that which reached to top of the Rock of Gibraltar. Navy, Marines, RAF, RAF Regiment and army where all involved and to cut a long story short, the first team to the top where God's Finest.

Now, a we all know the Rock is home to an established colony of diseased, parasite-ridden vermin of the Order Primate, also known as Barbary Apes. Thus as a sign of 'respect' the other teams started to refer to God's Finest as Rock Apes as an accolade to their victory. And it stuck...

Rumors that some Barbary Apes actually joined God's Finest have yet to be proven and the parade ground at Catterick Depot did not have three lines per rank, (middle made by marching feet, one either side caused by the dragging of knuckles).

Christian exiled to africa, ex-God's Finest!

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Well, I am not surprised! For as it has been said from years of yore, "Where the army goes, the pongos to"

As to where the moniker of Rock Ape comes from, there, (as always), are more than a few ideas. The only one that holds water for me, (ooh Matron! were going naval...), is that shortly after the formation of the RAF Regiment, (henceforth referred to as God's Finest), there was a minor disagreement in the officers mess on Gibraltar as to who's men were the best. It was decided to hold a race, with the winning team being that which reached to top of the Rock of Gibraltar. Navy, Marines, RAF, RAF Regiment and army where all involved and to cut a long story short, the first team to the top where God's Finest.

Now, a we all know the Rock is home to an established colony of diseased, parasite-ridden vermin of the Order Primate, also known as Barbary Apes. Thus as a sign of 'respect' the other teams started to refer to God's Finest as Rock Apes as an accolade to their victory. And it stuck...

Rumors that some Barbary Apes actually joined God's Finest have yet to be proven and the parade ground at Catterick Depot did not have three lines per rank, (middle made by marching feet, one either side caused by the dragging of knuckles).

Christian exiled to africa, ex-God's Finest!

According to Wiki (yeah...I know!):

"In the past the nickname "Rock Ape" has been attributed to their traditional role guarding areas of Gibraltar, but this is not so. The term came into use after an accident in the Western Aden Protectorate in November 1952. Two Regiment officers serving with the APL at Dhala decided to amuse themselves by going out to shoot some of the hamadryas baboons (locally referred to as "rock apes"). The officers drew rifles and split up to hunt the apes. In the semi-darkness one of the officers fired at a moving object in the distance. When he reached the target he discovered he had shot the other officer. After emergency treatment Flight LieutenantPercy Henry Mason survived to return to service a few months later. When asked why he had fired at his friend by a board of inquiry the officer replied that his target had "looked just like a rock ape" in the half light. The remark soon reverberated around the RAF and it was not long before the term was in general use.

Another version of the nickname rationale was that Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels heard the legend that, if the barbary apes on the Rock of Gibraltar ever left, the British Empire would crumble. At that stage of the war, when things weren't going too well for the Axis forces, he decided that a propaganda coup was required and reportedly sent a commando raid to eradicate the apes. The story goes that Winston Churchill heard of the mission and immediately tasked the RAF Regiment with protecting the apes, and thus the nickname was born."

The latter story was the one I heard when I joined up. The truth is probably lost in the mists of history.

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