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Valiant Project E guarding / custodian question


stuartp

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There is a Valiant B1 sitting almost complete on my shelf, the intention is to put it on a base representing one of Marham's SACEUR-assigned aircraft sitting at Cockpit Readiness at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis with a couple of armed guards wandering past. 

 

Initially I was going to have two RAFP acting corporals, one with a dog and one cradling a Sterling, then I remembered the USAF custodians for the B28 bombs. The internet has turned up numerous period photos of RAFP and USAFAP bods with and without dogs, so I'm reasonably sure I can get the uniforms right. 

 

But bearing in mind the two man rule and no lone zones, which is the most likely scerario ? Two RAFP patrolling together with the custodian somewhere on the edge of the pan outside the NLZ or a joint RAF/USAF guard? And where would the crew chief be while all this was going on ? Standing outside with his headset on on his own, or accompanied ? 

 

Some modeller's licence is to inevitable given the dearth of real pics of nuclear armed aircraft on alert (as opposed to posed publicity pics) but I'd like to not drop too many howlers. A diorama of such a tense weekend consisting of just an aeroplane, two blokes and a dog has a certain 'less is more' appeal about it. 

 

Thanks 🙂

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  • stuartp changed the title to Valiant Project E guarding / custodian question
1 hour ago, stuartp said:

But bearing in mind the two man rule and no lone zones, which is the most likely scerario ? Two RAFP patrolling together with the custodian somewhere on the edge of the pan outside the NLZ or a joint RAF/USAF guard? And where would the crew chief be while all this was going on ? Standing outside with his headset on on his own, or accompanied ? 

I'm not sure that the two man rule/NLZ was in force during the Cuban Missile Crisis, I talked with veterans that had been working on the nuclear deterrent during this period and it wasn't an issue.

Military Police and guards only control access to the NLZ as they are not considered competent to know what the crew or weapon team are doing with the weapon, the two man rule only works if both of the team members know that the correct procedures are being carried out.

Once the weapon was loaded and the bomb bay doors are closed it was considered secure.

The Airfix Valiant comes with a Blue Danube weapon so there would not be a USAF guard.

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Thanks Bob, all noted. 

 

According to Brookes the SACEUR Valiants were using Mk28s by 1962 as they were required to carry two, although it's got the kit Blue Danube in it at the moment !

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