The day started well with pilot Paul Stanton putting XT626 right on the spot. A busy event with plenty of interest from all. Many thanks to Fawley Parish-Council for the invite.
We did tgt recces on Op Banner in Scouts, later Gazelles. The Scout was also used for Eagle patrols (tgt pursuit). The Gazelle couldn’t do that role. For patrol insertion in rural areas the Lynx became the stalwart. (We used RAF Wessex then Puma). But AAC were a bit special. I was infantry. There was an AAC WO2. I remember his surname but shalln’t mention it. On the back of his helmet he’d Dymotaped “Don’t call me Sir”. He would sometimes fly his Lynx wearing a monstrous witch’s nose. It was a superb make-up job. Had us in absolute stitches. One day after being picked to return to BBK (The Mill) the Lynx was re-tasked to intercept or ‘buzz’ an unauthorised Cessna flight. I was the ‘brick’ commander so in comms with the pilot. He explained the detour. He’d quickly come alongside the plane and was so close that the pilot could see his witch’s nose. He seemed momentarily mesmerised by this sudden apparition! No disrespect intended to the RAF but AAC pilots often attended O groups and would without fail orient the Lynx at the drop off precisely as dictated by the patrol orders. An RAF Puma once dropped my patrol in the Republic! He was 1 km out of reckoning. We cursed him as we had to tab at full tilt back across the border. That could have turned very ugly. 😂
