Mallet Blow exercises ??

[Yorker]

Heres a couple pictures from Spadeadam on the 1st August 1990. Hopefully of interest. it was my first ever tractor photo. The Tornado is returning to Heyford.
(I hope these are Ok first attempt on flickr)

Mallet Blow 90 5 by Yorker, on Flickr
mallet blow 90 1 by Yorker, on Flickr
Mallet Blow 90 3 by Yorker, on Flickr

[Blackcat1]

Grrrrrrrreat days!

[Andyph]

Beautiful photos Yorker. Yes they are really OK! Have you any more?

Where were you ? I'm picking off to the south of the range - near Birdsowald?

[Andyph]

These were from the 1989 Summer Mallet Blow at Alwinton

I think the Canadians tended to do every 2nd or 3rd Mallet Blow - much like the Danes - this was part of a 10 Ship - they made an awesome attack on Otterburn on the Wednesday

F18-Mallet Blow 89-2 Canadian by Andy Heap, on Flickr

and much more Common - 31 sqn Tornado

31SQN-Alwinton -Mallet Blow 89-2 by Andy Heap, on Flickr

[Tiger-G]

I'm sure I remember jets making it into the "valley within the valley", where the flagpole was ?? Jets flying through there lower than the level of the flagpole ?? I remember thinking what a sight and sound that must have been for the people who stayed down near the flagpole !!

[Andyph]

I'm sure I remember jets making it into the "valley within the valley", where the flagpole was ?? Jets flying through there lower than the level of the flagpole ?? I remember thinking what a sight and sound that must have been for the people who stayed down near the flagpole !!

Yes that was one of the Red tailed 15 Sqn Tornado passes in the Valley with a Valley!- I remember when we went down the hill at the end of the day to the car looking at where he went and thinking it would be sporty taking a helicopter through there!

Glad we are getting a few photos together now

[Finty]

Liking these ‘early’ low level shots, keep em coming!

[Andyph]

Not on a Mallet Blow but from that time frame

F3-in the M6 pass in the late 1980s by Andy Heap, on Flickr
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Fighters would often enter the Appleby valley CAP via the M6 pass. And on the Monday/Wednesday/Friday MB track would see bombers too - often with the CAP bouncing them around the valley.

Sometimes awesome when you are in the centre of a scrap but usually frustrating when they scatter and nothing comes close!

[Hymermobiler]

Not Mallet blow but around that time I was up near Orton / Tebay in the Appleby valley with Andy and we saw a good fight between F3s and Harriers with one of the harriers hanging back and appearing from nowhere behind an F3 and called a kill on the radio. The F3 had to do a wing waggle and slope off feeling very sorry for himself :-) Too far away for photos but great to watch and listen to the comms on the scanner. The F3s used to train with Chinooks up there as well with the F3 flying away while the chinook hid in the valley the F3s then returning to find them a very expensive game of hide and seek :-) Same thing happened at the loop with a Harrier and a Hercules link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlFYWfPyNhk they were chasing each other around for quite a while.

[Andyph]

Not Mallet blow but around that time I was up near Orton / Tebay in the Appleby valley with Andy and we saw a good fight between F3s and Harriers with one of the harriers hanging back and appearing from nowhere behind an F3 and called a kill on the radio. The F3 had to do a wing waggle and slope off feeling very sorry for himself :-) Too far away for photos but great to watch and listen to the comms on the scanner

Yes the F3s (Carbon flight?) spent ages setting up the Harrier intercept (MAGIC was running the CAP) - and then the F3s got battered!

I think there was a also Mallet Blow CAP around Malham too - but I think there was only ever fighters in either Appleby or Malham on the western side (and was almost always Appleby)? can you remember Shag?

There of course was a CAP off the East coast too at Amble - and a Type 42 destroyer as well.

There was a supersonic corridor on a Mallet Blow off the east coast after Amble down toward the Wash.

Talking to the fighter crews about where they CAPPed first heard the term "seal clubbing" F-111s

[Hymermobiler]

Not Mallet blow but around that time I was up near Orton / Tebay in the Appleby valley with Andy and we saw a good fight between F3s and Harriers with one of the harriers hanging back and appearing from nowhere behind an F3 and called a kill on the radio. The F3 had to do a wing waggle and slope off feeling very sorry for himself :-) Too far away for photos but great to watch and listen to the comms on the scanner

Yes the F3s (Carbon flight?) spent ages setting up the Harrier intercept (MAGIC was running the CAP) - and then the F3s got battered!

I think there was a also Mallet Blow CAP around Malham too - but I think there was only ever fighters in either Appleby or Malham on the western side (and was almost always Appleby)? can you remember Shag?

There of course was a CAP off the East coast too at Amble - and a Type 42 destroyer as well.

There was a supersonic corridor on a Mallet Blow off the east coast after Amble down toward the Wash.

Talking to the fighter crews about where they CAPPed first heard the term "seal clubbing" F-111s

Sitting on the coast off Coquet Island eating what was left of the curry from the night before for breakfast while the Canberas were playing Queens greatest hits on the radio jamming all the TADs. Listening to the mudshifters marshalling and getting closer only for mad panic to break out as the fighters aquired them and chased them to the IP where we were waiting to watch the mayhem. Muds and fighters breaking everywhere around you. Almost as good as the hill at alwinton! Dont know about F-111 the A-10s always got slaughtered first :-)

[Hymermobiler]

I'm sure I remember jets making it into the "valley within the valley", where the flagpole was ?? Jets flying through there lower than the level of the flagpole ?? I remember thinking what a sight and sound that must have been for the people who stayed down near the flagpole !!

Yes that was one of the Red tailed 15 Sqn Tornado passes in the Valley with a Valley!- I remember when we went down the hill at the end of the day to the car looking at where he went and thinking it would be sporty taking a helicopter through there!

Glad we are getting a few photos together now

Apart from Schwabby (see the other thread when I can find some videos) that was the lowest pass I ever saw. Mind you the same aircraft changing his exit valley and overflying the hill while not low to the general area was very very close to us!

[Andyph]

Dont know about F-111s the A-10s always got slaughtered first :-)

Well the only time I saw A-10s get bounced was on Excalibur 87 at Spade .
I think most USAFE sqns put up a four ship and it was a competition to see who would go to Red Flag.
Great (but freezing day) at Spade - as everything came through - my favorite was EF-111's escorted by Hahn F-16s getting down below the horizon in the Valley at Gilsland Spa. Spang and maybe ZR F-4s too
I know lots of spotters went to Lakenheath but the action was up here
Like Mallet Blow it was a 4 ship every 10 minutes or so and the F-15 CAP was waiting for them over Haltwistle. which we saw intermittently in the distance bouncing stuff.
But each F-15 CAP would arrive and use NATO Low Fly 273.9 for Air- Air - and were promptly told each time it was not a chat freq (by Spade?) - (I think some of the CAPs were done by the Bentwaters Aggressor F-16s too)
Obviously Spade was a bit annoyed by the F-15s so each formation checking in was told that the CAP was waiting for them 5 miles south of the range!
One of the A-10 formations got cornered by the F-15s just at the bottom in Gilsland. The 4 A-10s were going round in a low level circle (wagon wheel) and the Eagles were diving on them from say 10,000ft down to 2000 ft before bottling it.
Reminded me of when my dog found a hedgehog - he was super excited but had no idea what to do with it!

[Andyph]

Dont know about F-111s the A-10s always got slaughtered first :-)

The last Heyford jets I saw got battered on Ros Hill.
Leuchars F3s nailed everything coming off the sea there.

I remember someone (probably you?) asking an F3 crew why they didn't just dial in Newcastle LARS to find out what was coming - no need for E-3s and Boulmer !

[Hymermobiler]

Dont know about F-111s the A-10s always got slaughtered first :-)

The last Heyford jets I saw got battered on Ros Hill.
Leuchars F3s nailed everything coming off the sea there.

I remember someone (probably you?) asking an F3 crew why they didn't just dial in Newcastle LARS to find out what was coming - no need for E-3s and Boulmer !

Or at an Ex in a field having found the Forward Air Controllers thanks to NOTAMS and having to shout the FACs sitting in their tent smoking and having a brew while the AWACS was calling them on a TAD. It just wasnt the TAD they were tuned to! "Hey mate the AWACS is calling you" "No he isnt" So we turn up scanners volume. "Oh ****" Followed by a mad scramble to reply to the AWACS

[Tiger-G]

We need a "like" button on this forum.....enjoying the posts

[Yorker]

Andyph,

We were at Wiley Sike by one of the radars they'd set up for the exercise . We could see the E3 and CAP to the south. As soon as the radar started to move we kept a look out for attacks.
As DickFlute has indicated there were over 100 aircraft on Spadeadam during the day and it was pretty difficult to see all of them - we were primarily spotters not photographers. They'd been and gone in a few seconds. Only a few came anywhere near us. But the weather was far better than any other time when we'd been up at Spadeadam farm and it was the only time we visited when photos were possible.

However I wish I'd known about Alwinton. It looked fantastic. I never got photos with drama like that. I only started going to the Mach Loop twenty years later when digital cameras became available.

Heres the last few scene setting pix from 1st August.

Mallet Blow 90 7 by Yorker, on Flickr
Mallet Blow 90 4 by Yorker, on Flickr
Mallet Blow 90 6 by Yorker, on Flickr

[AndrewBarclay]

My highlight of Mallet Blow was seeing seeing 30 F111s consisting of 24 F 111 with 6 EF111 Ravens flying into Spaeadam Airspace and being bounced by Leeming And Coningsby F3 Tornados All 30 were splashed as they flew over Wiley Syke and D510 before flying towards Berry Hill. Keith Fidler RIP captured all these on his Panasonic M10 Video Recorder. I recall he denoted his entire photographic Collection to Carlisle Airport

[Blackcat1]

Andyph,

We were at Wiley Sike by one of the radars they'd set up for the exercise . We could see the E3 and CAP to the south. As soon as the radar started to move we kept a look out for attacks.
As DickFlute has indicated there were over 100 aircraft on Spadeadam during the day and it was pretty difficult to see all of them - we were primarily spotters not photographers. They'd been and gone in a few seconds. Only a few came anywhere near us. But the weather was far better than any other time when we'd been up at Spadeadam farm and it was the only time we visited when photos were possible.

However I wish I'd known about Alwinton. It looked fantastic. I never got photos with drama like that. I only started going to the Mach Loop twenty years later when digital cameras became available.

Heres the last few scene setting pix from 1st August.

Mallet Blow 90 7 by Yorker, on Flickr
Mallet Blow 90 4 by Yorker, on Flickr
Mallet Blow 90 6 by Yorker, on Flickr

Brilliant! I used to see so much low flying in my local area in South Wales, I never ventured up to the Loop until the 90s! There was no need too! I used to see more traffic and SAP on targets down here !

[toom317]

I remember when we went down the hill at the end of the day to the car looking at where he went and thinking it would be sporty taking a helicopter through there!

I actually got an Apache going low through there, and the rumour was Harry was in it. I couldn't make out if it was him or not from the pics. The hill at Alwinton was my usual haunt during these, but I also did the western edge of the range. I was up there the day the 2 Harriers collided and the smoke was visible from over a ridge, and then the concussion wave hit me and it was a pretty hefty hit.