Leeming Station Ex Spring '98 (+ 1)

[F3]

Around Easter '98 (can't remember if it was the week before or after Easter w/end) I arrived at Leeming to find an exercise in progress (altho' not a national one as I'd have known about it). The F3s of both Sqns. flew a lot of sorties and were operating old school from flightlines. No 'hostiles' put in an appearance altho' the sidewinder armed Hawk probably indicates that 100 Sqn. was exercising its aggressor role. I believe that this was the first time I saw the Leeming F3s carrying ASRAAMs. Any info about this exercise will be appreciated. Further to my exchange with stickshaker I decided to post the Hawk paired landing shot referred to as it illustrates the effectiveness of the original Barley grey scheme.

Leeming Ex - 25 Sqn. flightline by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming Ex - ZE962 25 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming EX - ZE961 (XD) XXV Sqn (1st Leuchars F3 Op Grapple + QinetiQ) by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leerming Ex - F3s paired take-off by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming Ex - ZE162 FK 25 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming Ex - ZE160 DV XI Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming Ex - ZE966 DXI XI SQn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming Ex - Hawk T1A with sidewinder acquisition round by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Leeming Ex - Hawk T1As 100 Sqn. in old + new colour schemes by Michael Britton, on Flickr

[paddyboy]

Hi Mick

Always great to see some F3 shots

Thanks for posting

Paddyboy

[slogen51]

Definitely nice to see the F3

You were fortunate to live relatively close to Leeming

[F3]

Definitely nice to see the F3

You were fortunate to live relatively close to Leeming

True - and at the period when it was a main operating base with a fighter wing. My best travel time from York was 45 mins when I drove up once during my lunch break to photograph the XI Sqn. flagship DXI (shown above) earlier that year when it first appeared in the new trial Sqn. mks. Was worth it as the photo appeared in Aircraft Illustrated.

[stickshaker]

Checking my logbook, I can see a Hawk sortie marked as 'Stn Ex' on 20 March in XX325 and I did fly 289, which looks suspiciously like the photo above, on the same day - and again a couple of times in the week before Easter, all on bounces - but with no further mention of any exercise-related work into April.

That picture was, as you say, probably an aggressor sortie of some sort but so was the majority of tasking at that time. We only had 4 aircraft (I think) with winders, and later RAIDS pods, so most sorties were flown without missiles. The missiles gave a modicum of shot validation but since there was no recording device it was a moot point. Mostly what it did was reduce the performance and time on task quite dramatically so not always what the customer wanted.

[F3]

Checking my logbook, I can see a Hawk sortie marked as 'Stn Ex' on 20 March in XX325 and I did fly 289, which looks suspiciously like the photo above, on the same day - and again a couple of times in the week before Easter, all on bounces - but with no further mention of any exercise-related work into April.

That picture was, as you say, probably an aggressor sortie of some sort but so was the majority of tasking at that time. We only had 4 aircraft (I think) with winders, and later RAIDS pods, so most sorties were flown without missiles. The missiles gave a modicum of shot validation but since there was no recording device it was a moot point. Mostly what it did was reduce the performance and time on task quite dramatically so not always what the customer wanted.

Thanks for that. I do believe that must have been the same occasion. I was guessing it was April as it was around Easter time but Easter was probably early that year. From another pic (not posted) of a pair crossing the threshold to land it was interesting to see that one was still in the original barley grey sch. I'd thought they were all in the black by then. It must have been the last one in that scheme. The recently announced retirement of the T.1/A fleet is a shame. Wonder whether that will signal the end of the Ton as I can't see what type would replace them as the T.2 is surely too sophisticated.

[Nighthawke]

Easter Sunday 1998 was 12th April if it helps.

[F3]

Easter Sunday 1998 was 12th April if it helps.

Thanks Nighthawke but that only adds to my confusion. Think my memory was playing tricks and stickshakers log is more reliable. I was probably just looking forward to the Easter break at the time. The trees in the background are not yet in leaf so that's enough to convince me it was March. They'd hardly have had two Station exercises in such a short space of time, given the amount of fuel those F3s were burning.