Exercise Cooperative Bear RAF St Mawgan 1998

Exercise Cooperative Bear 1998 featured significant para drops across the Salisbury plain, and many former Eastern block transport aircraft participated alongside their NATO partners. 

"Cooperative Bear 98." 

A NATO Medevac/humanitarian aid exercise, running from the 4th to the 13th of September 1998.

I must have been slow in going forward! First, I visited Salisbury Plain drop zones, then a trip to RAF Keevil, another drop zone. The result was nothing other than a Polish AN-26 at Keevil.

So, it's time for action. I departed for the exercise's main operating base at RAF St Mawgan.

Yes, it was a long drive, but it was rewarded with some great aircraft. The number one position had to go to the Latvian Air Force LET-410, but there were some lovely pickings enhanced by the Cornish clear light, as you can see below.

2506 An-26 call sign "Bear 0809B" with stunning grey, black, and white camouflage.

955 C-130H RNorAF from 355 Skvadron based at Oslo/Gardermoen Airport.

Red 145 Let 410T Latvian Air Force, from the 3rd Tranporta Eskadrilla based at Lielvarde.

1603 An-26 PolAF 13 plt from Krakow/Balice.

114/62-IJ CN-235 Escadron de Transport 01.062 "Varcors" from Creil airbase near Paris.

955 C-130H RnorAF landing back at RAF St Mawgan.

XV306/306 Hercules C.1 LTW/RAF Lyneham, callsign "Bear 0813."

U-03 Fokker 60U 334 Squadron RNLAF  based at Eindhoven.

U-03 Fokker 60U RNLAF.

84005/845 TP84 Hercules Swedish Air Force from F7 at Satenas airbase.

84005/845 TP84 Hercules Swedish Air Force.

114/62-IJ CN.235 French Air Force.

955 C-130H RNorAF Taxies.

G-FRAS Falcon 20C FR Aviation from Bournemouth/Hurn airport.

XV300/300 Lockheed Hercules C.1 from LTW/RAF Lyneham callsign "Bear 0814".

XV300/300 Lockheed Hercules C.1 RAF.

2409 An-26 CzechAF arrived from the 6 Základna Dopravniho Leteckva (6 ZDL) at Kbely.

6150 C130B Hercules Romanian Air Force serving with the 90ATB at Otopeni/Bucharest.

XV306/306 Hercules C.1 RAF landing back at RAF St Mawgan.

ZE396 BAe 125 CC3. RAF Landing from RAF Northolt. Today preserved at Landgoed Groot Bentveld.

145 L410T Latvian Air Force.

ZH658/106 Harrier T10 1 Squadron RAF.

ZD435/47 Harrier GR.9 1Squadron RAF from RAF Wittering.

XX205 Hawk T1A Royal Navy, low pass from RN Culdrose.

XZ585/A Sea King HAR3 departs on a local mission. Today, it is preserved at the RAF Museum at Hendon.

ZE369/S Sea King HAR3 RAF departing RAF St Mawgan on a training mission. 

Unfortunately, I did not get to photograph the participating Lithuanian Air Force An-26 as it had gone tech before my visit.

Happy Days!

 

A&AEE Boscombe Down photo's from the 1990's.

In 1992, the A&AEE at RAF Boscombe Down became known as the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment, formally known as the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment; following the name change, the Experimental side of operations passed to the Defence Research Agency.

Only one year later, in 1993, the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation (DTEO) controlled the airfield. After, it passed again to the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) headquartered at Farnborough.

The photographs I am showing below are from this period in the Nineteen Nineties and up to the early Two Thousand.

Just to conclude on these operating names, it was 2001 when (DERA) gave way and was split into two, with one part being the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the other a civilian British multinational defence company QinetiQ, photographs from this era will have to come later.

Tales around the runway caravan. 

ZA267 Tornado F.2 (Second ADV prototype) Used by BAE as a Trials and development aircraft.

It later passed to the RAF Marham Fire section before being transported to RAF Syerston as an Instructional airframe.

 

XV292/292  C-130K C.1 Hercules LTW 

 

XS235 DH.106 Comet 4C 'Canopus' A&AEE

XS235 DH.106 Comet 4C 'Canopus' A&AEE.

ZA195 Sea Harrier F/A.2 British Aerospace Dunsfold operating out of EGDM.

XS606 Andover C.1 ETPS

ZA326 Tornado GR.1 There appears to be a problem.

ZA326 Tornado GR.1 aborting! Not for the first time in its operational life. This 8th production Panavia Tornado was to have entered service with the TTTE, but after a devasting fire, it had to be rebuilt; following the rebuild, the RAF refused to accept the aircraft, and it later passed to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Bedford in its prominent 'Raspberry Ripple" colour scheme.

Its final years and flights were made from here at Boscombe Down.

It was the last flying Tornado GR.1. 

XW987 Blackburn S.2B Buccaneer.

XL564 Hawker Hunter T.7 EPTS.

XX830 Sepecat Jaguar T.2 ETPS.

It had been a British Aerospace 'Trials' aircraft.

XX341/1 Hawk T.1 ETPS.

XZ103/FP  Jaguar 41 Sqn RAF.

ZD745/DA Tornado GR.4 31 Sqn 'Goldstars'.

ZD745/DA and XZ103/FP operating multiple paired missions.

ZE432 BAC-1-11-479FU after returning from AIM Aviation at Bournemouth 'Hurn', where it had received this final colour scheme. 

It started its operational flying back in 1973 when it was ordered and delivered to Air Pacific as 

DQ-FBV, later to the ETPS but sadly soon after this photo, was found to have corrosion leading to it being scrapped; the cockpit was saved and now resides at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum.  

 

ZJ647 Alpha Jet ex 98+71 GAF, in total 12 arrived from storage at Furstenfeldbruck in Germany, 6 airframes were initially non-flying, two were destined for the Test and evaluation facility at DERA Llanbedr, seen here one of the four early flying examples still in    

 a GAF colour scheme.

 

XW175 VAAC Harrier is the only fly-by-wire Harrier.

XW175 Harrier was quite an impressive aircraft; not only flyby wire, it was the longest-serving Harrier, 1969 through to 2008, forty years of service and the last fixed-wing aircraft to take off from HMS Invincible. 
It was stripped of its American technology at the end of its service, returning it to a Harrier T.4A.

ZB615 Jaguar T.2A ETPS.

ZD285 Lynx AH.7 Defence Research Agency. 

ZD285 Lynx AH.7 Stored by 2003 at Boscombe Down.

XL612  Hunter T.7 ETPS's primary use with the ETPS was demonstrating how to recover from an inverted spin. Its status is to the civil register, currently at Swansea airport. 

XX105 BAC-1-11, with its unique colour scheme, operated from RAE Bedford (Thurleigh) for 21 years with the Blind Landing Experimental Unit (BLEU) and transferred to Boscombe Down in 1994 in a similar role.

ZH654 Harrier ll T.10 (DERA).

ZH654 Harrier ll T.10 (DERA). 

Sadly, on the 24th of August 2000, whilst landing back at EGDM,

It was slightly higher than this photo when the crew ejected; both suffered back injuries, and the aircraft was written off, damaged beyond repair. The investigation found an inaccurate fuel gauge reading.

XX342/2 Hawk T.1 ETPS.

ZB615 Jaguar T.2A ETPS.

ZH102/02 AEW.1 8Sqn RAF.

ZA267 Tornado F.2

ZA267 was the second ADV prototype.

The BAE company designation was  A.02. There was also an A.01 ZA254 and A.03 ZA267. 

ZA267 was one of the three ADV aircraft, all dedicated to different roles. 

A.02's strengths were engines, general systems and armaments; I imagine it was spending time at RAF Boscombe Down.

ZG501 Harrier GR.7 (AWC) SAOEU

'Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit

Formed back in 1983 with the introduction of the Panavia Tornado GR.1 into RAF service, by 1988, they had added ZG501 Harrier GR.7, which later became a GR.9.

ZE756 Tornado F.3 AWC (Air Warfare Centre)

ZE756 Tornado F.3 RAF. 

Flying missions with the Tornado GR.1 and a GR.1A.

 

 ZA353 B-53 Tornado GR.1 (TTTE) was seen here whilst serving with DERA at Boscombe Down.

ZA449 Tornado GR.1A recovers to Boscombe Down.

XZ570 Seaking HAS 5+ or Mod! (DTEO) at Boscombe Down in 1996.

It had been used for testing Merlin helicopter engine filters.

XV211 Lockheed Hercules C.1 LTW RAF.

XV211 Lockheed Hercules C.1, accompanied by FT375 Havard IIB,  sadly, was sold by Tender in May 1996 and became G-BWUL on the civil register. 

XV208 Lockheed Hercules W.2 'Snoopy" operated by DERA/MRF.

XS596 Andover C.1 (DERA) modified to a (PR) photo-reconnaissance type and used for the British Open Skies Treaty flights.

I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

Happy days!