1969 USAF C130 Wreckage Found in Channel

[paulh]

Who the heck would want to steal a Varsity

That did make me chuckle Paddyboy

Cheers - Paul.

[Sparts99]

There's a lot of cloak and dagger around this. If I remember rightly from some books I've read it was inferred an RAF fighter, flown by a USAF pilot who was on exchange at the time.

Chapter 7 of Lightning Boys Vol 1 makes a reference to this although the chronology is wrong, unless it happened twice? I have read the same thing elsewhere saying it was a Lightning with a USAF pilot but haven't been able to find the book.

[gosman767]

I was a J/T on 111 Sqdn at Wattisham when this happened, our QRA aircraft were scrambled and had the 'target' on radar when they were recalled to base. It was a long time ago and my memory is not so good but I seem to remember the crews said they had been recalled as US Phantoms had taken over, wouldn't stake my pension on it though.

[effects]

The full tale is on pprune https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-354300.html. Scroll down to posts by ColinB.

Make sure you read all of the parts, it is quite a tale!

[willow70]

I wouldn't think a Lightning would have the range to get to near Guernsey where it went down . At low to medium level it would need a F4 to get from East Anglia and back . A ex Bentwaters controller said it was one of their jets that got it, So many conflicting stories about this, perhaps the truth is buried in some MOD file with a 100 year restriction on it.

[Blackcat1]

The SAS didnt kill Diana, wasn't professional enough ;-)

[Sparts99]

I wouldn't think a Lightning would have the range to get to near Guernsey where it went down . At low to medium level it would need a F4 to get from East Anglia and back . A ex Bentwaters controller said it was one of their jets that got it, So many conflicting stories about this, perhaps the truth is buried in some MOD file with a 100 year restriction on it.

I'd agree with that if the Lightning was in a hurry. In the Lightning Boys book the event is stated as being at Christmas rather than May but as I said I have read elsehwere that it was a USAF pilot in a Lightning, I just can't remember which book. And yes, I doubt the truth will out for sometime yet.

[Sparts99]

Me again. Lightning Boys 2, last page of chapter seven, coincidentally the same place as the info I quoted above, a Gutersloh Battle Flight (QRA) Lightning was brought to cockpit readiness when this happened as it was considered a possibility the airman was trying to defect.

[TankBuster]

I was having a read up about the C-130 incident on the link below & I have to admit that I'd never heard about the story until this thread popped up on FC. Its all very interesting!..

https://www.sammcgowan.com/meyers.html

TankBuster

[Sparts99]

Me again. Lightning Boys 2, last page of chapter seven, coincidentally the same place as the info I quoted above, a Gutersloh Battle Flight (QRA) Lightning was brought to cockpit readiness when this happened as it was considered a possibility the airman was trying to defect.

Actually they scrambled and patrolled the border until they knew which way the C-130 was going. I wonder if they would actually have ordered the C-130 to be shot down overe mainland Europe?

[Knife 04]

Resurrecting this thread again - I see the story made the centre pages of the ‘Fail on Sunday’ on the 25th March - mum gave it to me today. Not read it yet but I expect it has some hidden ‘gems’

[nickowen]

And then there was the Australian Auster which jumped the chocks during hand starting at Bankstown, took off on its own, and flew around over the Sydney suburbs for a couple of hours, eventually reaching 10,000 feet. The RAAF launched a Wirrway and then a Meteor, but both had to recover after their guns jammed, and it was left to two RAN Sea Furies to shoot it down once it was on a safe heading. (Both Sea Fury pilots were RN exchange Officers)

[GeorgeA]

This may be of interest:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-43800089

[Bucky P]

They are about to talk about this on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 during the next hour!

[paddyboy]

Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 = Grasshoppers 'display' at MH, IMHO

[Malcolm]

1969 was before my time, but, did the USAF in the UK really stand active air defence QRA in those times? I've got my doubts. And if they didn't stand QRA, then the time required to put live armourments on a fighter and launch it would have precluded them doing anything in time I would have thought. By the time the alarm went off, someone legged it to the armoury and fetched some cannon shells and a sidewinder or two, fitted them to a jet and found a qualified crew the Herc would be 2 hours down range and out of F-4 range. If they'd gone supersonic half the country would have known about it, and it would hare required a tanker to get back to base and/or a divert to St Mawgan.

If a shoot-down did happen, then RAF or French QRA seem far more likely candidates to me, although the chain of command required for either to be allowed to shoot down a US aircraft if it were outside the 12 mile limit over the sea makes even that unlikely IMV.

[Freeman Lowell]

Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 = Grasshoppers 'display' at MH, IMHO

Paddy,
I feel that I have jump in here...and agree with you!
Freeman

[Snoop 95]

I was around in 1969, at school!, and vague memory recalls that it was not shot down and just ran out of gas and flopped into the sea.

[The Phantom]

That's why it would be good if they could recover it and hopefully find clues to what really did happen once and for all.

[Snoop 95]

Extensive and enlightening (but inconclusive) article about this from BBC News Webisite:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-44711694