[Hornchurch]

Sadly, as yet, I don't own a Digital camera (shame on me !) with one of those HUGE funnel type lenses able to capture a/c that fly around here all the time (usually F.15-E's, from Lakenheath; Tornado's from Marham & Harrier's from Wittering).

As one of my mates, who has, AND goes Para-gliding, he's just supplied me with a few cracking shots of our local area from the air - the VERY same airspace that some of these military a/c use, from Mon-Fri, going to & from the local target range.

Sometimes we get some exotic & more unusual types visiting the range.

I'll TRY & post a few with dates where possible......

[Hornchurch]

B.1 Lancer - have seen quite a few of these, over the last eighteen

months/Two years.

Was sitting at the range freezing in late September when this one (there

were Two over the range at the same time) made numerous passes overhead


A.10 'Warthog' (Thunderbolt II/official name which no-one uses !!!).

I was standing right next to the guy, when this photo was taken, on a lovely warm day in August 2005.......

Four A.10's made numerous passes, strafing the range with their 30mm on each & every pass.
The noise & spectacle was an absolute joy to watch - with the ground under the targets spurting up, as high as a house & twice as wide !!!!

They stayed for two weeks, on detachment at nearby Lakenheath.
This was for N.A.T.O. Exercise 'Excalibur' 2005 - of which this photo & sortie are part of.

B.2 'Spirit' this came direct from Whiteman A.F.B. on the 21st April 2005.

Apparently everyone I spoke to over the next few days had watched this a/c (call-sign "Fury 11") circling around the bay (The Wash), as she made two bombing runs at a rather low 5,000ft..... these being at 18.12pm & 18.46pm.

As it came un-announced, & I'd spent the early-till-late afternoon painting the low-wall surrounding our fish-pond, I had a bad backache & just went to lie down on the couch - imagine the shock/horror/suprise when I looked up to see THIS sailing VERY-CLOSE by, past our front window- LOW & SLOW,
Yelling at the Wife & Son in shock...... (they saw it too).

As I wanted to find out more about WHY it was here, I registered with a British aviation website, which gave subsequent details about this very-unusual practise bombing mission.
Luckily one of their guys was there to record the (practise) bomb launch.

[no4mkit]

Very cool stuff, Hornchurch. I'm amazed that civvies can get this close to a live fire exercise.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Sounds like i will pull up a lawn chair and watch the next show of force.
Thats really cool to be able to see them like that too.
JP

[SKUNKY]

NICE!....sometimes if I'm real real lucky I get to see an occasional Cessna 172 with floats fly over my house!!!!!!!....YEE HA!!!!!!

[ZS-VAN]

Very cool pics Hornchurch. I've seen some live fire stuff but you really need binocs you get a good look. When they first opened the top secret Test Flight and Development Centre to the public after the demise of apartheid we have an airshow there every two years.

I've seen Cheetahs do bomb runs with dummy bombs. Dropping a stick of 10 bombs is very impressive. Impala MkII (Aermacchi MB326K) doing rocket attacks and strafing runs. Most fun though was an Alloutte III armed with a 20mm firing at a drum containing phosphorous close in. Super cool. What's more, after their demo firing bursts, they emptied the gun on full auto.The recoil pushed the Alloutte viscously out of its circuit. Awesome!

[mustangdriver]

Awsome pics. I was shocked the other day to walk out on to the ramp where I work and find an Apache.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

I was shocked the other day to walk out on to the ramp where I work and find an Apache.

Sounds like they need to beef up security there....How the hell did he get in?

[chiefs70]

Thanks for the pics, Hornchurch. Good stuff.

When I was in Boy Scouts we used to go to the Smokey Hill Bombing Range near Salina, KS. Our Scoutmaster had served with the one of the brass running the range in Viet Nam so it was a pretty cool annual trip. I was lucky enough to see F-4s, A-10s and F-16s using the range from one of the control towers. They had a huge trench which they told us was 20 feet deep, 50 feet wide and 500 feet long which was near full to the top of brass dropped by the cannons as they flew over it firing at the stationary gunnery targets. Pretty cool stuff.

Several years later I lived in Wichita, KS near McConnell AFB. They used to have both F-16s and B-1s stationed there and occassionally they had drills where the the entire base would scramble. It was pretty impressive to see F-16s ripping off full throttle and creating a protective screen while the B-1s scrambled. I saw B-2s several times and while they were quite impressive I must admit the most awe inspiring aircraft I ever saw were the B-52s. I have never questioned why 1/144 is the largest scale we see them in as they are a sight to behold.

[Hornchurch]

Originally Posted by no4mkit

I'm amazed that civvies can get this close to a live fire exercise.

Many thanks for the numerous responses, guys !!!!

no4 & ZS ; Honestly, there's no special dispensation - just turn up (on the right day !!), i.e. when the Red Flags are flying on the masts around the periphery of the Range & JUST DON'T stray off the Embankment that curves around the Range side of the 'Service Rd' (denoted by the Range observation towers).
EVERYONE BEHAVES = they know the consequences !!!! (including arrest).

And you DON'T need binoculars, the naked eye is plenty good-enough !!!!

On a good day (i.e. A BUSY day, like 'Exercise Excalibur'), there'll be HUNDREDS of hardcore 'anorak'/plane spotters, lining the embankment with fold-up chairs, cool-boxes/flasks... & the ubiquitous 'Bazooka/Panzerschreck' type camera lenses, (usually) also with hand-held UHF/VHF radio receivers (hence, how those in the know, find out the call-signs of the various a/c).
But I have had tip-offs, & turned up to an empty range (like the day THAT B.1 picture was taken) = just 4 or 5 guys, freezing - but treated to seeing 2 x B.1's making about six passes each, with practise bombs.
The Bombing takes place on the shoreline - much further out than the Strafing.

The laughable thing was, the Local RAF Tornado base, had one Squadron out of four (from Marham/Norfolk) representing them....... (No IX Sqdn)
They came LAST in the strafing contest !!!! being beaten by the USAF A.10's & F.16's (based at Spangdahlem/Germany), & the winners, the F.16's from Aviano/Italy..... (how embarrassing for the locals !!!).

The shots I've uploaded (they WOULDN'T last-night) are taken from my mate (Wayne Martin's) paraglider & digital camera, as he's passing over Snettisham, looking North, towards Heacham (foreground)... & Hunstanton (in the background) = the Seaside town on the curve of N.W. Norfolk.

During W.W.II this was the assembly area for the B.24 Liberators of the 392nd B.G. (to the left coastline).... & Leon Johnson's 44th B.G. (on the curve of the Northern coastline that you see here), circling & formating before heading for Germany (via Cromer, further down this coastline).

Just to the left (out of picture) was the USAAF 1st Air Div Gunnery school at Snettisham from where gunners would be sent, ready for operations over Germany to B.17 units (displaying the 1st A.D. Triangle markings on their tail)

Nowadays if you fly (like this !!!) during a Week-day (Morn/Aft/Eve)..... you'd risk getting struck by various a/c (especially F.15-E's, as they make their run-in to the Range (Holbeach), via this actual airspace !!!! (He took this at a Week-end).

The village in the fore-ground (Heacham) will be celebrating it's part in the 400th anniversary of the 1st English settlement, in what is now,

the U.S.A !!!!
Jamestown - Virginia, in 1607.

Heacham's most famous Son, John Rolfe, married the Indian Princess, Pocahontas in 1614 , & went on to cultivate & export tobacco, putting Virginia on the map, so to speak & being a big influence on local affairs.

Dial-up Wikipedia & type in Jamestown, Virginia.... or John Rolfe