RAF Mildenhall Air Fete 1978.

Part one of a three-part report from East Anglia.

It was early Autumn 1978. I was going to Suffolk in East Anglia and its many United States Airforce bases, maybe for the last time in the next decade, as I was about to leave the United Kingdom. While having a pub lunch along the way, my car was stolen. What to do? Well, report it to the Police, find a railway station, stay calm and be positive. Easier said than done, but eventually, the train stopped at Lakenheath, just a short distance from Mildenhall. These neighbouring towns on the fenlands have one thing in common: they both have air force bases and are American bases.

As a Military aviation enthusiast, Suffolk has long been a favourite destination, with its long hot Summers spent camping in East Anglia, enjoying the planes by day and Tolly Cobbold beer by night. Days often consumed with the locals on the beaches of Sizewell and Aldeburgh.

With those fond memories, Suffolk seemed the right area to spend some time before my departure to foreign shores, and of course, Mildenhall was holding its iconic Air Fete, one of the UK's and Europe's top airshows, and it was not about to disappoint in 1978...

54-2307 EC-121T 79AWACS AFRES Mildenhall air fete 1978.

54-2307 EC-121T 79th AFRES USAF.

54-2307 EC-121T 79th AFRES USAF.

66-7553/WR F-4D Phantom 81TFW USAF Mildenhall 1978.

66-0425/AR RF-4C Phantom Mildenhall 1978.

72-1448/LN F-111F 48TFW Mildenhall 1978.

74-0039 F-15A Eagle new kid on the block Mildenhall 1978.

74-01532 F-5E 527TFTAS USAF Mildenhall 1978.

152939/AB KA-6B Prowler and 159013/AB F-14A Tomcat Mildenhall 1978.

152939/AB KA-6B Prowler VA-34 USN Mildenhall 1978.

159013/AB F-14A Tomcat VF-32 USN Mildenhall 1978.

159751/AB S-3A Viking VS-32 USN Mildenhall 1978.

104636 CF-104D RCAF Mildenhall static 1978.

32+94 Fiat G-91R Luftwaffe Mildenhall 1978.

38+51 F-4F Phantom Luftwaffe Mildenhall 1978.

WT809/867 Hunter GA11 Blue Herons RN display team Mildenhall 1978.

D-8091 F-104G Royal Netherlands Airforce Mildenhall 1978.

CF-104Gs of the RCAF at Mildenhall Air Fair 1978.

146/64-KR Nordatlas L'Armee de L'Air Mildenhall 1978.

68-10364 HH-53C 67ARRS Mildenhall 1978.

69-6607 UH-1N Iroquois USAF Mildenhall 1978.

AT-151 TF-35 Draken 207sq RDAF Mildenhall Air Fete 1978.

BA20 Mirage 5BA Belgium Airforce Mildenhall static 1978. 

61+13 Br1150 Mildenhall 1978.

68-0029/0051/ ? / UH F-111E Mildenhall 1978.

63-7841 C-130E USAF Mildenhall static 1978.

2407 Cessna T37 ASAS de Portugal Mildenhall Air Fete 1978.

141023 C-131F Samaritan USN NAF Mildenhall Air Fete 1978.

160009 E-2C Hawkeye USN Mildenhall 1978.

64-0610 C-141 Starlifter 437th MAW Mildenhall 1978.

Next time, a few days outside the fence at Mildenhall back in 1978...
see here:-https://legendarymilavia.blogspot.com/2019/04/usaf-mildenhall-aircraft-enthusiasts.html