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The Hawk
Era - 1991 to The Present Day
1991
ended with the final sorties undertaken by the
Canberra during a detachment to the Hebrides. In
January 1992, 100 Squadron entered a new
operating environment with the smaller and
faster Hawk T1 aircraft under the command of Wg
Cdr John Pitts. Many Canberra pilots attended
training courses at Valley, but navigators were
trained at squadron level. New aircrews were
posted into 100 Squadron from Tactical Weapons
Units and operational squadrons. Some of the
ground crews converted to the Hawk, with further
Hawk qualified ground staff being posted in as
the number of the new aircraft built up.
Specific initial tasks included familiarising
Air Traffic Control and to Operations Wing with
Hawk operations and to establish a new set of
Standard Operating Procedures.
Changing to the Hawk meant that the Squadron
lost some of its roles. These included Rushton
Target Towing, radar calibration and Pluto 5
calibrations. The maritime exercises were
maintained, and new roles were developed
including the training of Forward Air
Controllers with the Army. Also added to the
Squadron tasks were numerous ground attack
sorties, extended fighter affiliation activities
and the introduction of new crews to fast jets
prior to posting to full combat duties. 100
Squadron continued to receive deliveries during
1992 to bring it up to an established strength
of twelve Hawk aircraft. Notwithstanding the
effort devoted to re-equipment and the
associated training activities, a successful
detachment to Akrotiri for banner towing was
undertaken early in the year.
1993
saw re-training and re-equipment completed, and
the Squadron embarked on what would prove to be
a very busy year. In the first half of the year,
detachments were made to Gibraltar, Norway,
Scotland and Cyprus. In August, the Squadron
moved from Wyton to a new home at RAF
Finningley. After the move, further detachments
were made to Italy, Denmark, Scotland and
Norway. The successes achieved in 1993 were
recognised by the award to the Squadron of the
“Sky Fame” trophy, 18 Group’s efficiency prize.
In
1994, John Pitts handed over command of ‘The
Boneyard’ to Wg Cdr Sid Vincent. This year saw
“The Hornets Nest” published; this major update
of the Squadron’s history was researched,
written and edited by Arthur White, the
Association’s Newsletter editor. Also in 1994
early warning came of a major change to the
servicing of the Squadron’s aircraft. From 1995,
a civilian engineering company would undertake
all servicing and support on a ‘contract’ basis.
In August 1995, 100 Squadron lost all of its RAF
ground crews with aircraft maintenance and
ground handling transferring to civilian
control. 1995 also saw the closure of
Finningley, and yet another move for the
Squadron to RAF Leeming. Wg Cdr Vincent led a
9-ship formation in a mock attack on Leeming
airfield before landing to join the Tornado F3’s
already in residence. In 1996, 100 Squadron
undertook detachments to Scotland for joint
maritime exercises, followed by deployment to
Karup in Denmark to take part in Exercises
‘Natinad’ and ‘Brilliant Foil’. During a
detachment to Lossiemouth, Flt Lt Merv Smith
received a Green Endorsement for superb
airmanship following a major bird strike that
caused serious damage to the aircraft.
In 1997, Sid Vincent handed over command to Wg
Cdr Gordon Buckley. This was to be a very busy,
and somewhat worrying year for 100 Squadron.
Over 4500 sorties were flown, but with Defence
Cuts in the offing, there were rumours of
disbandment circulating. New roles were added
by Wg Cdr Buckley including combat training,
acting as an ‘aggressor’ squadron simulating
fighter aircraft acting as a threat to bomber
aircraft, and acting as a bomber package for
fighters carrying out air combat training. In
addition to the new roles instituted by Wg Cdr
Buckley, it is worth reminding ourselves of the
activities and roles performed by ‘The Boneyard’
as we continue our journey. These include:
-
The provision of ‘live’
targets for the Tornado F3 OCU (56
Squadron);
-
A service to the School of
Fighter Control;
-
Acting as targets for radar
trials and threat simulators;
-
Deployments out of Leeming in
support of Qualified Helicopter Instructor
courses;
-
Deployments in support of
Combined Weapons Instructor and other
squadron operational work up phases of
training;
-
Maritime exercises, routine
detachments to Cyprus and banner target
towing;
-
Deployments to many European
countries including visits to former Warsaw
Pact countries such as Poland and the Czech
Republic;
-
Visits to Jordan, Qatar and
Saudi Arabia for joint exercises.
October of 1997 saw a magnificent celebration of
the 80th Birthday of 100 Squadron at
Leeming. The Reunion involved flying displays,
and an excellent dinner. We were favoured with a
large contingent of our Canadian friends, which
helped to make this a memorable celebration.
In
1998, 100 Squadron hit the headlines. One of the
Hawks, crewed by Flt Lt’s Geoff Sheppard, and
Iain Brosche, experienced engine trouble at
41000 feet whilst en route to an air show in
Norway. After descending to 20000 feet, the
engine ‘died’ with a resulting loss of all
electrics, instruments and radar. Geoff
ascertained that the nearest air base was Vigra
in northern Norway. He made a successful ‘glide’
to Vigra, landing at 150 mph with no hydraulics.
He managed to bring the Hawk to a stop, 50 feet
short of the end of the runway, which ended with
a sheer drop into the sea. Needless to say, the
brakes were just a bit warm! Subsequently, Geoff
Sheppard was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC).
On
16th May 1999, Wg Cdr Buckley led a four-ship
formation to Ronaldsway Airport in the Isle of
Man to join in the family celebrations for Lt
Roy Shillinglaw’s 100th Birthday. Wg Cdr
Buckley presented Roy with a print of the Hawk
signed by all the current members of the
Squadron and, on behalf of the Association, Air
Commodore Bonnor presented a print of a painting
by the aviation artist John Young of FE2bs
taking off from Ochey. Roy had a splendid
birthday! Later in 1999, Wg Cdr Buckley added a
further role to the growing repertoire of the
Squadron. He negotiated and managed the move of
the Navigator Training Unit (NTU) from No. 4
Flying Training School at RAF Valley to 100
Squadron. Since then, the NTU has trained all
fast jet navs destined for operational service
in the Tornado F3 and GR1 and GR4 front-line
squadrons. In September1999, we lost the last
of the Squadron’s WWI veterans - Lt Roy
Shillinglaw. His passing broke the final link
with the intrepid fliers of WWI. Alex Wedderburn
and John Willis of 100 Squadron Association
attended a Memorial Service which paid tribute
to a remarkable gentleman who had ‘kept it
going’ for over 100 years.
October 1999, saw tragedy strike 100 Squadron
yet again. Sqn Ldr Mike Andrews and Flt Lt Steve
Todd were both killed when their Hawk crashed
near Shap in the Cumbrian fells. The crew were
posthumously praised for staying with their
aircraft, rather than ejecting, thereby
preventing the aircraft crashing onto the
village of Shap. The crews of 100 Squadron
continue to pay the high price.
In
November 1999, Gordon Buckley handed over
command of ‘The Boneyard’ to Wg Cdr Nick Seward.
2000 was to become an exceptionally busy year
for 100 Squadron with over 50 detachments to
many destinations across Europe including
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and The
Netherlands as well as Cyprus and Qatar. On the
18 September 2000, a Squadron Hawk crashed near
Berwick-on-Tweed after suffering a massive bird
strike. Flt Lt Darren Berris was lucky to
escape with only scratches when the initial bird
impact ripped off his mask, smashed his visor
and rendered him temporarily unconscious; Flt Lt
Nick Mathews in the back initiated Command
ejection and thus save them both.
2001
was another year with many detachments in
Europe, including new destinations in Austria,
The Czech Republic and Iceland plus a Squadron
exchange to Nancy in France which involved
dissimilar air combat training with the Mirage
2000 of the French Air Force. However, in the
UK, the Squadron’s tasks were severely disrupted
by the Foot and Mouth Crisis with low flying
banned or curtailed in many areas; normal
operations did not resume until November. Late
in 2001, Wg Cdr Mike ‘Simpo’ Simpson took
command of 100 Squadron. At this time, the
Squadron comprised 26 very experienced staff who
had amassed a total of over 70,000 flying hours
- with over 30,000 on type.
In
2002, the Squadron continued flying their wide
of tasks but also became heavily involved with
supporting trials of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
In September, a detachment to Kecskemet in
Hungary for dissimilar air combat training with
the Mig 29; the Squadron completed another
successful exchange to France - this time to
Colmar. On 12 December 2002, Flt Lt Wirdnam and
his student navigator, Fg Off Allen, suffered a
major birdstrike on a low level sortie.
Fortunately, despite a shattered canopy, they
were able to recover to Edinburgh airport where
the airport authorities initially demanded
£1,000 a night for hangarage; not exactly the
welcome you would hope to get after a very
frightening experience.
In May
2003, Wg Cdr Simpson led a detachment to The
Netherlands for the Dutch Remembrance Day. A
three aircraft formation was flown over 100 Sqn
memorials, culminating in a poignant sunset
overflight of the Eelde memorial. The crews
were fêted on arrival in Eelde and were
splendidly hosted by the enthusiasts from the
area who have subsequently become Association
members. In June, the Squadron was also tasked
with providing the whipper-in aircraft for the
annual Queen’s Birthday Flypast over Buckingham
Palace; this gave a superb opportunity for Sqn
honorary member and ace air-to-air photographer
Geoff Lee to obtain images of many RAF
aircraft. Regular training tasks continued
through 2003 but many of these were enhanced by
the introduction of the RAIDS Pod. RAIDS
stands for Rangeless Airborne Instrumentation
Debriefing System and effectively eliminates the
need to use the Air Combat Manoeuvring ACMI
Range in the North Sea which has only limited
availability.
Wg Cdr
Wayne White took command of 100 Squadron shortly
before the Association Reunion on 25/26
June2004. Chris Bulteel, the Association
Liaison Officer, took advantage of the major air
show held the same weekend at RAF Waddington to
persuade most of those involved to make their
final practice at Leeming and so provided an
exceptional air show for the Association and the
Squadron members. The aircraft in the display
included: a Typhoon, an Apache helicopter, a
Tucano, a Harrier, Tornados, a Jaguar, a Hunter,
a Nimrod, Mirage 2000s from the French Air Force
and the RAF Falcons who dropped in from a
Hercules. Our Associate members over from The
Netherlands also had a short flight in a VC10.
2004 was again a busy year with three
detachments to Florennes in Belgium for the NATO
Tactical Leadership Programme, to Cyprus for Air
Combat Training and other detachments in UK to
support Joint Maritime Exercises and the
Qualified Weapons Instructor Courses. The
Squadron also provided support for the
introduction of the Typhoon to service; this
ranged from air-to-air photography of the
aircraft to the provision of targets for the
Operational Evaluation Trials of 17(R) Squadron.
Detachments to The Netherlands in May also
provided fly-pasts at 100 Squadron memorials at
Eelde, Twello, Grashoek and Nijmegen.
Despite a shortage of Adour engines and poor
weather at the start of the year, 2005 followed
a similar activity pattern to 2004 with support
for trials with both 17(R) Squadron and 29
Squadron - the recently formed Typhoon OCU.
Joint Maritime Exercises and Qualified Weapons
Instructor Courses were also supported. Again
there were detachments to Florennes and Cyprus,
but there was a new task in Poland where the
Squadron helped introduce the Polish Air Force
at Lask to western tactics and doctrine. Other
tasks included Dissimilar Air Combat Training
for front line squadrons and fighter evasion
training for helicopters. By the end of 2005,
Flt Lt Dave Harvey completed his third season as
the 100 Squadron Display Pilot; Dave averaged 40
displays a year and brought much credit on both
the Squadron and the RAF for his immaculate
flying. His replacement for the 2006 season was
Flt Lt Duncan Wylie.
2006
was another busy year with detachments to
Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Norway and Poland.
Support continued for the Typhoon OCU and the
School of Fighter Control. Wayne White left the
Squadron in March and command was taken
temporarily by Sqn Ldr Dave Owen until Wg Cdr
Darren Legg arrived in October. A number of
more unusual tasks were undertaken including
air-to-air photography of a 6-ship formation of
Typhoons, and simulating a rogue airliner as the
target for the Tornado QRA (South).
2007
started with a run of new detachments to
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and
Nordholtz in Germany together with the usual
detachments to Lossiemouth and Akroitiri in
Cyprus. Highlights of the year included two
prestigious awards to Squadron aircrew.
Firstly, the award of the L G Groves Memorial
Award for Air Safety to Flt Lt Kinno Kinnersley,
the Squadron Liaison Officer,
in recognition of his considerable efforts in
improving the safety of fixed-wing aircraft
operating in the Iraq theatre. And
secondly, the
award of the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in
the Air to Flight Lieutenant Stuart Grimsey. On
August 22nd, Grimsey was returning to Leeming
from an NTU training exercise when, just west of
Barnard Castle, his Hawk suffered a major
bird-strike. Debris struck him on the head
removing his dark visor and damaging the clear
one. Faced with a serious emergency while flying
with a very inexperienced student, Grimsey
displayed exemplary airmanship in effecting a
safe diversion and landing and outstanding
captaincy in reassuring his student.
In
2007, and beyond, 100 Squadron is made up of ‘A’
Flight, ‘B’ Flight, Navigation Training Unit (NTU)
and the Joint Forward Air Control and
Standardisation Unit. The Squadron continues to
carry out a variety of roles with its Hawk
aircraft. 100 Squadron trains all fast jet
Navigators, or Weapons Systems Officers (WSO’s)
as they are now known, and all Forward Air
Controllers. 100 Squadron is also making a
significant contribution to the operational
training of front line Tornado, Harrier, Jaguar
and now the Typhoon squadrons.
Our
journey through 90 years of the history of 100
Squadron, from February 1917 until today, has
included much for us to be proud of. Our links
to the past are strengthened through our ties
with the 100 Squadron of today. Today’s 100
Squadron, although very different from the
Squadron of 1917, is imbued with the same spirit
of endeavour to ‘keep it going’. The airmen of
today can be proud of knowing what a Squadron
they belong to.
Our Lancaster veterans from World War II, were
honoured in April of 2007, when at RAF Coningsby,
the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster,
PA474, was rolled out in 100 Squadron colours as
EE139, ‘The Phantom of the Ruhr’. We have also
celebrated our 90th Anniversary in
true 100 Squadron style with a splendid Reunion
weekend at RAF Leeming.
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