Jump to content

RAF Fairford BTF Deployment


Seamus

Recommended Posts

Afternoon all,

 

Thought I'd share some images from a couple of trips up to Fairford in the last week to catch the B-52s on deployment. First, a frustrating afternoon on the 10/09 resulted in just a couple of images of YANKEE41 returning

 

50327623278_1b085ebecd_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 60-0005/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 10/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

50328469042_f014a14819_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 60-0005/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 10/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

I had much more luck on the 14/09 with KAGO flight returning after a long mission, plus the bonus arrival of U-2S BLACK01 in mission fit.

 

50343224057_998a1d1347_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 60-0005/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 14/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

50343224037_e962cdf8d7_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 60-0007/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 14/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

50343062401_9204f1aa8e_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 61-0034/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 14/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

50344739382_160ca70cb0_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 61-0034/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 14/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

50343896098_1b2d6a0efb_o.jpgBoeing B-52H Stratofortress | 60-0005/MT | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 14/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

50343664483_ac2219b372_o.jpgLockheed U-2S | 68-10337 | US Air Force | RAF Fairford | 14/09/20 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

There are a handful more on my Flickr for those interested. Hopefully I'll get another chance or two to get up there later this week before they go home.

 

Thanks for looking, hope they were of interest,

 

Shaun

Edited by Seamus
  • Like 17
  • Thanks 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great photos Shaun. I was in a field, glamping near RAF Fairford and saw the B-52s and the U-2S fly above me. Really surprising to see the smoke coming out of the engines on the B-52s.

 

Regards

Robert

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even less environmentally friendly when a 3-ship comes back en masse and each does a last minute go-around while they clear the previous aircraft from the runway! That was Monday's experience as the last pair poured on the coals just over the airfield boundary. Impressive though!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, DonH said:

Wow. great pictures! I notice that the crew open the side windows on the cockpit while taxiing. Any idea why that is? Perhaps it gets a bit ripe in the cockpit after a long mission?

You could well be right!  I recall a friend telling me that there is a single Elsan type toilet toilet in the cockpit for the benefit of the 4 person crew use. On a particularly long mission this inevitably gets quite well used.  More worrying was the story that the toilet contents had completely evaporated after one epic long distance flight and the fumes had been inhaled by the unfortunate crew members!  :who-let-rip:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, DonH said:

Wow. great pictures! I notice that the crew open the side windows on the cockpit while taxiing. Any idea why that is? Perhaps it gets a bit ripe in the cockpit after a long mission?

It's common for crews to open the windows so that the ground crew can see that the aircraft is not pressurised. Thus it's safe to open the crew door/s.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazing to see these, absolutely brilliant photos.

 

Incredible to think these front line bombers entered service before The Beatles formed and could end up in service for almost 100 years. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, potentially the century-old bomber. Surely there will be no other airframe that will beat this record. Having said that, I remember reading that there are some DC-3 aircraft still being used in South America, with much more modern engines.

 

Chris.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/09/2020 at 23:30, SAT69 said:

What I find most impressive is how well cared for these old airplanes are. A lot of maintenance pride showing there.

Thinking that myself. They could pass as almost new. So clean and well maintained.

 

Great photos. Wish I lived a bit closer, would love to visit and see them. 

 

Thanks for posting these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...