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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 0065.PDF
AIR DEFENCE AND INTERCEPTION R OLLING, ROILING, GO." called the leader of our two-Phantom formation, nodding his head sharply to emphasise the "go." The two aircraft moved forward quickly once the brakes were released and almost immediately came the call "Burners, burners, go." At that we really surged forward along Leuehars' runway—my pilot. Wg Cdr J. R. "Hank" Martin AK. commanding 43 Squadron, jockeying the afterburners slightly to keep position during the run. Sitting in the rear cockpit of the second aircraft I had nothing to do but look and take pictures at this stage. In a very short time we reached rotation speed and I watched the lead aircraft's nose oleo extend before the wheel left the runway. Then we too were airborne—in ungainly fashion, it seemed for a fleeting second, with part flap down and leading-edge droop (both blown), the undercarriage and three slipper tanks providing additional drag. Gear and flaps were raised in quick succession and before we reached 500ft we were turning sharply right and settling into a full reheat climb to our patrol altitude of 30,000ft. * * * "What I have arranged for you." Wg Cdr Martin had said earlier that day on my arrival at Leuchars where 43 Squadron is based, "is a sortie which will give you a chance to see different types of interceptions which we can do. and some in-flight refuelling. The Phantom is a two-crew aircraft and we depend very much on radar for our operations. Unfor tunately only the navigator in the rear seat has full control of the radar and we haven't time to train you fully in its use. although you will have to learn certain control functions before we take off. By JOHN BENTLEY PHANTOM FORAY :Y THE "FIGHTING COCKS" "So instead of operating as we normally would, with one aircraft, we will go as number two in a pair. The lead aircraft will perform all the radar work necessary for us to intercept the targets which have been arranged. We will follow him. first in close formation and then in battle formation, and try. with what radar operating skill you can pick up in the time, to get lock-ons ourselves. "We will be taking off with a fuel load which will give us a potential loitering time at altitude of more than three hours. The slipper tanks (jugs') don't degrade the Phantom's performance anything like as much as they would on other aircraft. Naturally, to outpace a high-flying supersonic target, "we would drop the tanks and forge along past Mach 2 to our maximum potential speed and rate of climb." In the air-defence role the Phantom carries four Sparrow and four Sidewinder missiles. AH the pilots on 43 Sqn were agreed that the aircraft was a very fine missile platform and stressed its superior range and endurance compared with those of the Lightning. Endurance, of course, is a function of fuel capacity and power available for take-off at maximum gross weight, but the real advantage of the aircraft lies in its radar system, said to be much superior to that in other intercepters. It was this system with which I had to be familiar before take-off. Half-an-hour in the rear seat of a Phantom in the hangar, being drilled on the positions and functions of the bare minimum of switches and knobs by one of the squadron navigators, left me feeling that at least I would be able to acquire a picture of some kind. That hangar time was also my first experience of an actual Phantom cockpit, although I had been strapped into a mock-up at North Luflfenham during my kitting-out session.
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