International Air Tattoo 1979 Greenham Common

International Air Tattoo 1979, held at R.A.F. Greenham Common between the 21st and the 24th of June.

 

The year's central show theme featured twenty-five Lockheed C-130 Hercules in an impressive lineup, having achieved twenty-five years of operational service around the globe.

A second theme that year was Alcock and Brown's historic transatlantic air crossing, celebrated with a specially marked Royal Air Force Phantom FGR2 XV424 from 56 SQN.

There was also a broad spectrum of mixed aircraft and airarms. 

      

As with some airforces, I also had a long-distance flight to visit this Tattoo, arriving at Southampton airport via Amsterdam from the Middle East. Sadly, the weather was very indifferent to the Middle East.

It would also be the first time I would use the Freinds of International Tattoo's enclosure; it may have been the first time they had one. I had been coming here to Greenham Common since 1976, and before that, the two shows were presented at North Weald Aerodrome in Essex.

The following photographs are my memories of this show and some aircraft I thought were worth sharing from that era.

67-14684 OV-10A 20th TASS USAF. 

 Arriving on Friday, the 21st of June, at Greenham Common Airbase.

209/V  SP-2H Neptune Royal Netherlands Navy.

Always good at attending the Greenham shows, Netherlands Navy Neptunes, 1979 saw 209/V

 SP-2H Neptune arriving on Friday. Sadly, it has now been scrapped.

   

61-2491 VC-140B 58th MAS USAF. 

Taxis into the static park on Friday. Status scrapped.

160418/AG-013 E-2C Hawkeye USN. Stored at St Augustine.

160564/AG-301 A-7E Corsair USN.Aircraft scrapped.

160121/AG-704 S-3A Viking USN. Transferred to the 309th AMARG.

159584/AG-602 EA-6B Prowler VAQ138 USN. Sadly, data backs and barriers are all sad for photographs. Aircraft is withdrawn from use.

FT29  T-33A 11sm Belgian Air Force. Aircraft status transferred to the Spadeadam range.

FT28 T-33A 11sm Belgian Air Force. This may have been their last visit to a Tattoo? FT28 was handed over to the Portuguese Air Force in 1992.

J-1074 Venom FB54 Flieger Staffel. Status was withdrawn from use.

1233 Canberra B82 FA Venezuela. Withdrawn from use, ex GBR G-27-302.

WR963/63 Shackleton AEW2 8 SQN Royal Air Force taxiing for departure. To Coventry as civil G-SKTN.

556/4-BB Mirage111E EC2/4 French airforce. Aircraft W/O on the 27th of June 1984.

M-071 SA318 of Esk 722. Transfer to civil as HB-XNZ.

67-14630 OV-10A 20th TASS USAF on the static park behind can be seen a CP-107 10735/35 415SQN RCAF and Nimrod MR1 XV262/62 from St Mawgan wing. 67-14630 itself was transferred to the Philippines as 630.

54-1640 C-130A  105th TAS Tenn ANG. Transferred to Fort Bragg as an instructional airframe.

57-0493 C-130D 139th TASS New York A.N.G. Aircraft stored at Tucson Pima. 

69-5827  HC-130N 67th ARRS USAF. Transferred to the 309th AMARG. 

A97-008 C-130H 36Sqn RAAF won the best-turned-out aircraft at the 79 show. It was on its delivery flight to the RAAF, so one might argue that it was a bit of cheating. The plane was stored in Richmond in September 2016 and allocated TNI-AU/A1338.

A-713 Twin Bonanza Transport flight Korps. Stored at Dübendorf in the storage hangar for the Flieger-Flab museum.

77-0081/CR F-15A 32nd TFS USAF. Aircraft scrapped.

68-0392/HR F-4E 50th TFW USAF. Transferred to South Korea as 80-392. 

C. 12-40  F-4C Phantom Ala 12 Spanish Air Force. This aircraft is currently stored at the Las Bardenas range in Northern Spain.

It's just an age thing! I had to include this. It's not because the Red Arrows are flying Folland Gnats. Just look at the cars?

One of the no less than 16 AH-1S of the 503rd AvCo. On detachment to R.A.F. Greenham Common.

There were also 8x OH-58C, 3x UH-1H from the 503rd and 3x CH-47C from the 295th AvCo taking part in the deployment.

The flagship of the 1979 International Air Tattoo was the C-5A Galaxy 68-0217 of the 436th MAW USAF. It was seen making one of its two low passes before departing on Monday following the show.

Celebrity Phantom FGR2 XV424 of 56Sqn getting Airbourne while carrying the distinctive Alcock and Brown red letter markings on Monday's departures.  

The second pass around with a high-power pullout! 

That was 79!

A modest Forty years ago?