B52s Lake district low level flying 1980-1982

[PCR1965]

Hello all this maybe a long shot request I went to a school in Appleby Cumbria from 1980-1982 and most summers saw B52s doing low level flying over my school I can remember the B52s had a large number 2 on the tail fin. I not sure where they originated or were based at the time of the low level sorties . Cheers all Paul

[H.A.Bucken]

I remember them coming off the bay right over our works and over Potter Fell. I was under them so couldn't see identification, but the were G models in that instance. During the Giant Strike/ Double Top competition in 1981 they were H models, deployed to RAF Marham. On that occasion they were coming across Morecambe Bay from S. Walney, over Warton Crag at '500' feet, up Barbondale then down Mallastang to egress across the Solway Plain and up the west coast of Scotland.
Unless Graham L. beats me to it I'll post the serials of these later. I think they were all marked up including at least one with 'Invasion' stripes.
I don't think the D marks deployed a year or so later came up this way.
Roger

[H.A.Bucken]

Not sure which year it was when the G models flew over Potter Fell towards Shap, 1980 or 1981, but the H's off the Bay was June 1981. Five were based at MRH as it was then: 60 0057 and 61 0028 both wearing Invasion stripes and markings of predecessor WW2 units (410BS of the 94BG?). Home-base was K. I. Sawyer. 60 0026 and 61 0022 were from 319BW, Grand Forks and were adorned with SAC sashes down the fin with "Yosemite Sam" and 'Red River Raiders' written underneath. 60 0046 was from Minot, 5thBW.
Amongst them I got pictures of 60 0046 and 60 0026 on the 26th June and 60 0046 and 61 0028 on the 29th, the last albeit being a distant shot going up the Kent estuary. One day I recognised second passes over Warton Crag, Carnforth; bad weather over one of the Scottish ranges caused that. They were low-level exercises, the targets to be hit from 500 feet, done photographically- bomb-doors open; one was the lighthouse on South Walney and there was another (the old lead-mill?) behind the crag.
Roger
edit: those with "2" on the fins were probably G models- don't think any D models flew low-level around our way.