The North Sea Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation range (ACMI), affectionately known by Military aircraft enthusiasts as the 'Showground', was opened by British Aerospace's owners in August 1990.
By October 1990, we were beginning to realise that RAF Waddington, which served as the control centre of this operation, was quickly turning into a 'Mecca' for visiting airforces. Air forces from Europe and the UK, the British Navy, and the United States Air Force are among these.
The Belgian Air Force was the first to deploy in the second week of October 1990. They arrived with three F-16s; they flew missions alongside Tornado F3s drawn from the 229 OCU. Following the month's end, the Danish Air Force came with three F35 Drakens and three F-16A. There were also free orientation flights to other European air arms.
With the Swiss Air Force arriving in mid-November 1990 for their first Nordseekampagne 90 (NORKA 90) exercise on the range, it was time to head North. I recently found the slides from that exercise and many more visits over the years.
Back then, it was a tedious four-hour drive from Dorset. No wonder I was on first-name terms at the local B&B.
I digress! Below are some of the many photos taken during those great years in no particular order. They include RAF Jaguars Tornado F3 and GR1s. French Mirage F1 and 2000s, Swiss F-5 and Mirage 111s, Austrian F35 Draken, German Air Force F-4F, and Spanish and Swiss F-18s. Some are from 'Nomad', a Belgian-inspired annual exercise utilising the 'Showground.' Many are from individual deployments. This is just an introduction as exercise Nomad, alongside some of the separate European deployments, needs its own report.
Over the years, it was not only RAF Waddington that hosted aircraft while they deployed for training on the Showground. I have also found photographs of Dutch and Danish F-16s at RNAS Yeovilton.
Then, there were USAF F-15Cs at RAF Honnington whilst the Lakenheath runway was under repair.
RAF Conningsby hosted Danish F-16s alongside the RAF Tornado F-3 and German-based RAF Tornado GR1 aircraft. Everybody wanted time on the 'Showground'.
Below is a small collection of my great days at RAF Waddington in those 'Showground' years.
109/12-YI Mirage 2000C EC.01.012 'Cambresis' Tiger Sqn heads the recovery back at RAF Waddington partnered by 19/2-EA Mirage 2000C from EC01.002 'Cigogne de Guynemer'.
RAF Waddington action at its best as they both recover to runway 20.
FA-109 and FA-89 F-16A BAF.
This photograph captures the high degree of action that was to be caught with the visiting air forces.
FA-106 F-16A BAF heads up FA-117/FA-114/FA-116/FA-85, a mixture from the 350th Squadron and 349th Squadron Belgian air force.
XZ119/FG Jaguar GR1A 'Katrina Jane' 41 Sqn RAF.
Today, this aircraft is preserved at East Fortune in Scotland.
ZE760/AP Tornado F3 229 OCU leads ZE288/GG Tornado F3 43 Sqn, XZ119 Jaguar GR1A 'Katrina Jane' 41 Sqn, and XZ399/02 Jaguar GR1A 226 OCU.
XX115/ER Jaguar GR1A 6 Sqn RAF.
ZE288/GG Tornado F3 43 Sqn and ZE760/AP Tornado F3 229 OCU RAF.
ZE858/A5 Tornado F3 43Sqn RAF.
216/30-SG, 219/30-SL, 241/30-SA, and 259/30SH Mirage F.1s AdlA.
ZE204/DD Tornado F3 11Sqn RAF.
ZE760/P Tornado F3/P, its previous (A) is clearly scrubbed from the old (AP) code.
ZG774/GN Tornado F3 43Sqn RAF.
264/30-ML Mirage F.1CT "Normandie Niémen' EC02.030 AdlA from Colmar.
231/30-SO Mirage F.1CT 'Canard Col Vert' AdlA.
15/30-FD Mirage F.1CT 'Chardon Lorraine' AdlA.
24/12-ZM Mirage F.1C 'Tete de Dogue' AdlA arrived at Waddington from its base at Cambrai in Northern France.
ZD582/710 Sea Harrier FRS.2 899 Sqn RN from RNAS Yeovilton.
XZ455/717 Sea Harrier FRS.2 RN unmarked.
213/30-SR Mirage F-1CT 'Tete de Ranard' AdlA.
103/12-YN Mirage 2000C EC.01.012 AdlA.
Although the French Air Force had flown their Mirage F-1s for many years on North Sea ACMI missions with similar cold morning starts, this and the following photo captured those mornings we often witnessed at RAF Waddington. Thick frost is still on the wings and canopies, and the Sun has yet to rise fully.
118/12-KH Mirage 2000C EC.02.012 AdlA.
Another cold sunrise at RAF Waddington.
The Sun is up when the Belgium Air Force F-16s taxi arrives, but frost is still evident in untreated taxiways.
FA-99 F-16A 1Squadron BAF from Florennes airbase.
Waiting for the AdlA Mirages to get airborne.
525/12-KN Mirage 2000B EC.02.012 AdlA.
Lands back at Waddington, the mission completed even before the Winter day's Sun is high in the sky.
FA-75 and FA-76 F-16A 349/350 Sqn BAF.
AdlA Mirage 2000C's and BAF F-16 aircraft are seen during a 'Nomad' exercise. Notice the scorched grass. We all had to duck down behind the boundary hedgerow as the jets powered to taxi. I can still smell the JP-8 aviation fuel, the wash of heat, the roar, and the excitement tucked behind that hedge.
44/2EQ Mirage 2000C 01.002 'Cigogne' from Dijon/Longvic follows a BAF F-16 onto RAF Waddingtons 02 old humped runway.
FB-23 F-16B from 1Squadron BAF recovering back to RAF Waddington following an ACMI mission.
56/5-AR, 57/5-AH and 46/? Mirage 2000C's from EC03.005. I imagine this was a Friday, as two AdlA C-130s can be seen behind them. They were 5150/61-PG and 5144/61-PF.
58/5-AK Mirage 2000C EC03.005. AldA.
Mirage 2000s 76/5-NP and 112/5-NB kept us warm as they performed their last checks.
527/5-NO Mirage 2000B fast taxi to catch up.
512/2-FI Mirage 2000B lands back at Waddington on yet another ACMI visit.
FA-116 F-16A BAF has no option but to go around again due to heavy traffic on the runway.
J-3023 F-5E and J-3208 F-5F were seen during their first Nordseekampagne 90 (NORKA 90) exercise.
J-2313 Mirage 3S was seen landing on a later 'NORKA' exercise on a foggy Waddington morning.
J-2312 Mirage 3S landing on runway 02 at EGXW.
J-3006 F-5F Swiss Air Force. What a beauty. I am amazed by the number of aircraft I photographed at EGXW over the years.
This aircraft was sold to the USA.
J-5021 F/A-18 Swiss Air Force on another miserable afternoon.
ZG756/AA Tornado GR1, the ACMI pod, is the opposite. In the earlier days, the aircraft recovered to RAF Waddington for data download and debriefing. This practice later changed, allowing many airliners to return to their home base for download and debriefing following their missions.
CE.15-9/12-72 EF/A-18B Hornet Ala 12 EdA from Torrejon de Ardoz.
TE.12B-41/79-94 Casa 212-100 Ala 79 EdA support aircraft.
It was later sold to the Columbian military.
There were many support transport aircraft, so I kept them for another report.
C.15-26/15-13 EF/A-18A Hornet Ala15 EdA was deployed from its Zaragoza airbase.
C.15-3/15-72 EF/A-18B Ala 15 123 Esc.EdA.
38+45 F-4F Phantom JG72 'Prancing Horse' GAF from Hopsten.
Recovering after a 'Nomad' mission.
38+01 F-4F Phantom JG72 GAF.
05 J35D Draken 1 Staffel AustAF. Arriving from Zeltweg.
14 J35D Draken 2 Staffel AustAF. Deployed from Gras-Thalerhof.
22 J35D Draken 2 Staffel AustAF.
ZD328/09 Harrier GR.7 4 Sqn RAF.
ZG504/75 Harrier GR.7 1 Sqn RAF.
After a long day, two Belgian F-16s landed as the Sunset.
If you made it this far, thanks for looking, I hope it was interesting. Any comments and corrections are always welcome.
