CHAPTER 2

GIANT VOICE

The first few RAF Tornado units to form took the numbers of distinguished strategic bomber squadrons: IX, 27, and 617. Many suspected that this owed something to the man who was chief of the air staff at the time; the man who, in the Vulcan’s dying days, had ordered the famous ‘Beetham bomber’ to be launched on its epic raid against the runway at Port Stanley. But whatever the reason it reinforced the impression that the aircraft was a new V-bomber. Of course it was nothing of the sort, either in range or payload. And in any case the Vulcan’s primary raison d’être, carrying the UK’s strategic deterrent, had been passed many years earlier to the Royal Navy’s Polaris submarine force.

The USAF’s ‘Giant Voice’ competition seemed primarily to be the domain of its B-52 Stratofortresses. Even though F-111s had participated in later years, it was very much a ‘strategic’ event. Thus it was a surprise to many – and perhaps quite a bold move – when the Tornado, a ‘tactical’ aircraft, was dispatched across the pond to compete. It would be very interesting to see how it would do, and Vic Bussereau is able to tell us – because he was there.

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WING COMMANDER VIC BUSSEREAU (RETD)

When P01 first took to the air I was a Phantom FGR2 navigator at RAF Brüggen on 31 Squadron – and from then on I set my sights on joining one of the early MRCA strike/attack squadrons. Perhaps I could also get involved in the aircraft’s development programme first.

Luck was on my side when, almost four years after that first flight, I found myself starting a three-year tour at NAMMA in Munich, via a stint at the RAF College at Cranwell struggling through the general duties aero systems course with nineteen other students. My time in Munich passed quickly as the development programme of the Tornado continued apace. As I approached the end of my time at NAMMA I awaited my posting with some trepidation – as there were rumours that I would be posted back to the Vulcan force I had left in 1973 (there were still remnants around). However, I was greatly relieved and very pleased to find that I was to become the navigation leader on the second Tornado GR1 squadron to form. This turned out, after some indecision, to be 617 Squadron at RAF Marham.

Following refresher training and Tornado courses, I arrived in November 1982 to join 617 – still officially to reform after disbanding with its Vulcan B2s the previous December. Little did I realise the interesting times which lay ahead.

At that time the squadron had only two aircraft and two crews. Work on the new aircraft and on a brand-new HAS site had its challenges as more aircraft, crews, equipment and, significantly, release to service clearances gradually became available. The squadron officially reformed in January 1983 and we continued towards our NATO commitment in the overland strike and attack roles. Meanwhile, in the latter part of that year a rumour started doing the rounds that Tornados were to take part in the USAF’s Strategic Air Command Bombing and Navigation competition (elements of which were, from time to time, known as Exercise Giant Voice) in the USA. These rumours followed a visit to the USA by a team of RAF specialists to observe the 1983 competition; one of these was Squadron Leader Alan Dyer-Perry, a 617 Squadron navigator flight commander with F-111 experience, and another was Squadron Leader Nigel Huckins, a QWI from Honington. Unbeknown to 617 at that time, Nigel had been working closely with the Tornado in-service software maintenance team (TISMT), and in particular with Howard Robinson, who was BAe’s representative detached to TISMT, to explore changes to the aircraft’s operational flight programme aimed at enhancing the Tornado’s capabilities for the event.

The first SAC competition had been held in 1948, and it had become an annual event, barring the 1960s and 1970s when Vietnam operational commitments had prevailed. The RAF first partook with B-29 Washingtons in 1951 but did not return again until 1957, when two Vulcans and two Valiants competed. Vulcans then participated in many of the subsequent competitions.

Rumours were replaced by confirmation that 617 Squadron would represent the RAF in the 1984 competition with two teams of two aircraft, supported by Victor K2 tankers from 55 Squadron, also based at Marham. The detachment was to deploy to Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, a large B-52 base, from the end of August to mid-October, first to familiarise both squadrons with operating in the US environment and then to compete. Our exercise was to be known as ‘Prairie Vortex’ – PV for short.

The competition, which would be held over a three-week period, was clearly going to be extremely challenging for 617, flying a complex aircraft that had been in service for barely two years. We would be up against B-52s, USAF FB-111s, USAFE F-111s and RAAF F-111s, some thirty-six opponents in all. Moreover, we would be flying sorties of over five hours, compared with our typical one-hour-forty-minute duration. So, unlike the other competitors, we’d require tanker support. On the plus side we would benefit from the experience of our many ex-V force navigators.

The elements of the competition for which Tornados had been entered would be flown in two phases. The first would be a daytime hi-lo-hi profile to the Nellis ranges with both simulated SAM and fighter threats on the low-level portion, which would culminate with practice bomb drops on two separate no-show targets (aimed by reference to offset features visible to radar) some twenty miles apart. Phase two would comprise two sorties, one day and one night, both of which would be hi-lo-hi-lo-hi profiles. Each sortie would include a high-level target and four low-level targets with simulated weapon releases; the accuracy of these attacks would be assessed by ground radar bomb scoring units. The low-level routes through Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota were cleared for automatic TF in cloud if necessary. In addition to weapon accuracy, timing to weapon release point and ECM effectiveness was also to be assessed.

Air-to-air refuelling (AAR) with the Victor tankers was to be an essential ingredient throughout. However, this would be especially so on phase two when the Tornados would climb out from low level after the first two targets to RV with the tankers, uplift sufficient fuel in the most expeditious manner, and then return to low level to complete a further two targets. Finally they would climb again for the transit back to Ellsworth.

Following crew changes made in early April, six crews were selected to work up for the competition. The pilots were chosen for their flying skills, particularly AAR, their airmanship and their ‘big-match temperament’, while the navigators needed outstanding radar expertise – and the experience and ability to work with degraded systems. Those ex-V force navigators would now prove their worth!

The work-up started immediately, with much day and night RBSU work at Spadeadam and West Freugh ranges. This was limited to the use of the only two aircraft that, at the time, had competition-specific modifications fitted, but it allowed the crews to get used to the simulated releases. This process involved the cut of a tone which was broadcast from the aircraft at the release point, and combined it with tracking information obtained by the ground radar sites and release parameters obtained from each aircraft’s data-dump facility. From this information, simulated weapon impact points were determined and scores calculated.

The UK training was interrupted by a deployment, known as PV1, to Ellsworth AFB for two weeks in May. Three Tornados and two Victors plus support equipment and ground personnel were deployed, staging through Goose Bay in Canada. This allowed crews to operate against a number of the ranges to be used during the competition for simulated attacks with tone releases. Significantly, the routes chosen allowed many of the competition routes and ranges to be criss-crossed. Even though we had to remain outside thirty degrees of competition tracks, this provided an opportunity to obtain vital radar intelligence. Finally, it provided aircrew and ground crew the opportunity to identify and resolve problems when operating out of Ellsworth, proving a vital lead-in for the main detachment.

PV1 was not without its interesting moments. One lesson was that the four-external-tank fit for the Tornado GR1, with the standard of engine fitted at that time, was not compatible with AAR from Victors for crossing the Atlantic. At the typical heights for AAR, the Tornado required afterburner on one engine in order to plug in successfully and maintain contact. As the aircraft got heavier, almost full afterburner was needed on one engine. This placed unforeseen demand on Victor fuel capacity, which resulted in a fuel emergency situation on recovery to Goose Bay. We concluded that three external tanks would be better for long, medium-level transits.

My new pilot, Flight Lieutenant Steve Legg, and I enjoyed the delights of first-class travel to Ellsworth courtesy of an RAF Hercules, but we brought a Tornado back to the UK. The first leg to Goose Bay went without incident; however, the leg from Goose Bay to Marham proved far more interesting. The first refuelling bracket went smoothly, but on the second our prod missed the basket. Trying again, our probe tipped the drogue, which immediately broke off from the hose, leaving the remains of it flailing around on the end of our probe. The hose, now minus its basket, took on the appearance of a demented snake. At this point we were about halfway between Greenland and Iceland, and had concerns that part of the drogue had gone down the starboard intake, damaging the engine. The Victor crew worked out that we would be better continuing on to Iceland, and this we did without further incident, but with the remains of the drogue continuing to flap on the end of our probe. The Victor remained with us until we were within radio range of Iceland before continuing, while we made a precautionary single-engined landing at Keflavik.

A recovery Hercules arrived the following day, and technicians determined that the engine had not suffered any damage. However, Steve and I were ‘invited’ to continue to the UK in the Hercules while another crew flew our Tornado. An eventful episode which was made more pleasant by the night stopover in Iceland in a wooden chalet on the edge of a lava field, where we took a midnight swim in daylight in a warm-water spring. Regrettably, Steve and I had no money with us and the owner of the chalet would not accept a credit card; I recall it took several months for Marham’s accounts section to reimburse him!

Back in the UK, work-up for the competition began in earnest. It was decided that OC 617 Squadron, Wing Commander Tony Harrison, would not fly in the competition as his presence on the ground would be essential. All six crews would get equal exposure to the RBSU ranges, AAR and, significantly, extended length profiles.

Despite problems with aircraft serviceability, the programme stayed largely on track. Many more simulated attacks with tone releases were carried out against no-show targets using offset bombing techniques during June, building up over July and August to full-length profiles, with 55 Squadron playing its part by providing the essential AAR support. This gave both Tornado and Victor crews the opportunity to practise the join-up technique that was devised for phase two of the competition by Alan Dyer Perry and Flight Lieutenant Dick Lotinga. This involved using Tornado radar and air-to-air TACAN, as there would be no external agency available to assist. The aircraft would converge on reciprocal headings towards a datum point and, at given split range, the Victor would turn through 180° and the Tornados would manoeuvre to roll out behind and just below the tanker. Once sufficient fuel had been taken, the Tornados, already on correct heading to re-join the low-level route, would drop off. Timing was critical, with each second early or late on target resulting in points loss, so it’s easy to see how important the refuelling RV was.

Meanwhile there was much activity on the ground, with the focus on Nigel Huckins, who was detached to 617 from Honington to act as the project officer. Under his supervision, two non-competition squadron navigators started detailed planning for both the continued training in the US and the competition, while two of the competition navigators assessed the radar film from PV1. In addition, support was provided by Flight Lieutenant Mac McBeath from the Joint Air Reconnaissance and Intelligence Centre who, using a point-positioning system, started working on vertical photography supplied by the USAF in the competition briefing pack. This, combined with the information gleaned from PV1 radar film, enabled initial selection and mensuration of both radar offsets and fix points. Much of this vertical photography was of poor quality and was up to three years out of date. However, the biggest problem throughout the whole exercise was mapping, with large-scale coverage of the required areas in the US being either unavailable or difficult to obtain. TISMT support continued with assistance to develop further the aircraft software, as well as developing programmes for a computer which was used to store and analyse data produced from PV1.

The engineers were also very busy during this phase preparing the aircraft and embodying competition modifications. Eight aircraft were readied, with the intention of deploying six. A contractor working party from RAF Honington carried out laser modifications, while squadron engineers, supported by additional Marham personnel, strove to embody other required modifications. These included the provision of a groundspeed readout on the HUD, increasing the number of waypoints and fix points available, increasing offset distances to twenty nautical miles and fitting the laser ranger.

At last came the great day, 29 August, with six Tornados and four Victors deploying via Goose Bay. The second, and major, part of Prairie Vortex (PV2) had begun. In fact elements had started some ten days earlier when an advance party had left to set up the combined squadron operations, while a ground survey party had deployed to Ellsworth in early August. Comprising Nigel Huckins and navigators Flight Lieutenants Bob Sinclair and Graham Heath, and Squadron Leader Mike Ellaway, this was an invaluable part of the overall exercise. Split into two teams, they visited all four of the ranges, with exotic names such as Wibaux, Gillette, Scobie and Powell, that would be used on phase two of the competition. The teams took many photographs of likely pre-bomb fixes and radar offsets, noting details such as construction and material, likely radar characteristics, possible terrain screening and clutter around each point. Four-wheel-drive vehicles were required for some areas, and they even hired a light aircraft to cover more extreme areas. On return to Ellsworth the data was recorded and plotted, and offsets and fix points mensurated using the point-positioning system. All was now ready for the flying to start.

The main party soon settled into their new environment, with everybody living in hotels in Rapid City, a town thirty minutes drive away. While the aircrew lodged in a basic, no-frills motel, our adjutant found himself in the wonders of the Rapid City Hilton – as, he told us, he held the imprest and needed a safe in his room.

Flying commenced with academic range sorties on the strategic training ranges which were to be used. Flying against the competition targets was, as one would expect, prohibited; however, radar offsets selected as a result of the radar intelligence collected in May and the ground survey could, in many cases, be evaluated. Furthermore, to augment the inadequate vertical photographs and large-scale mapping in the offset areas, crews were briefed to take vertical photos of the areas from 5,000 feet using hand-held cameras.

By mid-September the academic range sorties were complete, the support team had reviewed all the data and crunched more numbers to refine values, and the final offset selections had been made. It was now time to test aircrew, aircraft and the work done by the support team by bringing together all the ingredients required for the competition. Aircraft performance was being assessed, as well as the scores achieved by the aircrew. It was almost time to nominate the four crews who would compete.

Although the priority for the detachment was never in doubt – to win all three of the elements of the competitions for which the Tornado had been entered – there were many opportunities to visit some of the notable features of the surrounding area and to explore the delights of Rapid City. Six of the more adventurous aircrew clubbed together to buy a car, a banger they called ‘Elvira’, which travelled far and wide in their hands. Others, using hire cars or vehicles provided by the USAF, visited places in and around the Black Hills. Mount Rushmore, with its carvings of four US presidents, was a must. I and other squadron navigators formed a group that became known as ‘scuttle’s tours’ after the well-known Benny Hill character, Fred Scuttle. Our ‘tour’ went to Deadwood one bitterly cold Saturday; while we didn’t see either Doris Day or the Deadwood stage, we did have a bowl of soup to warm up in the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back while playing cards. We even climbed the hill to Mount Moriah cemetery, where Hickok and Calamity Jane lie in adjacent graves.

Close by our motel was the Colonial Bar, which became very much ‘our pub’. We met many interesting folks there, including a number of FBI agents who visited one evening with their wives. We also met up with a geologist who, when we suggested it would be fun to blow up the very large pumpkins which were sitting on the bar, offered us the opportunity to do just that. We went off into the hills with a couple of the large vegetables, and he produced a brown satchel containing sticks of some form of explosive. The pumpkins were wired up with a detonator, I was allowed the privilege off pushing down the handle, and up they went. A dead tree was next to explode, before we found a deep, black pool of water in which to sink one of the sticks of explosive. The plume of water produced was most satisfying! Rather alarmingly, the geologist turned up at Ellsworth on the day the Tornados finally departed for the UK – carrying, once again, the brown satchel. He tried to present two of the crews with small parcels, an offer which was politely refused. We hurriedly escorted him to Ellsworth’s main gate, being highly relieved when he drove off into the distance.

Another vivid memory is of a ‘scuttle’s tour’ into Wyoming to visit Devil’s Tower, which featured in the 1978 sci-fi film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. On arriving at the base of the tower we unloaded kit from the car boot, and a rather reluctant navigator was made to don ropes and hard hat to be photographed posing as though about to scale the sheer face. After climbing the first fifteen feet and then giving up, some genuine climbers appeared, having just descended from the top, and remarked that it was a mighty fine day for the climb. A very embarrassing moment for me!

Returning to the competition it was now time for the final part of the work-up – the full-length training profiles. By this time the teams had been selected:

RAF 1:

Flight Lieutenant John MacDonald and Squadron Leader Alan Dyer-Perry, Flight Lieutenant Steve Legg and Squadron Leader Vic Bussereau.

 

Reserves: Flight Lieutenants Jim Davidson and John Huggett

RAF 2:

Squadron Leader Pete Dunlop and Flight Lieutenant Dick Middleton, Flight Lieutenants Iain Hunter and Dermot Dolan.

 

Reserves: Flight Lieutenants Dick Lotinga and Mike Ellaway

We practised full sorties for both phases. Phase one went without incident: Victor AAR en route; descend to low level into the Nellis ranges; release a practice bomb on each of the two targets in range 76; climb out and take on more fuel; accompany the Victor back to Ellsworth. The phase two practices, though, had some interesting moments. The route required us to auto-TF over high ground, approaching some 8,000-foot high ridges. Quite spectacular scenery, though Steve Legg and I flew about sixty per cent of our trips at night. But at last observing in daylight what we had already completed at night was a moment to remember. I must say here that the auto-TF function worked impeccably.

One issue which did concern us was the weather. Although towards the end of the detachment there were some very cold days, we also experienced some extremely high temperatures during the work-up and changes could be rapid. On one evening a sortie had to be cancelled when a cockpit canopy could not be opened because of high temperatures during the day. Those high temperatures also set off some significant thunderstorms along the routes we were to fly. One night, our met officer from Marham, who was with us, warned that we might see some big boomers. After witnessing a spectacular thunderstorm at low level, one navigator was heard to say after landing that he had pulled down his tinted visor and continued with Dire Straits playing loudly through the cockpit voice recorder. High temperatures also caused considerable turbulence at times, an issue especially when refuelling. On one occasion when taking on fuel, Steve and I hit severe turbulence and I recall looking down on the top surfaces of the Victor as we fell out of the drogue. We were very circumspect for the remainder of that sortie.

I haven’t so far mentioned the electronic warfare aspect of the competition. The Skyshadow countermeasures pod was a relatively new addition to Tornado’s inventory, and 617’s experience with it was limited. During the work-up the pod was programmed by the RAF Electronic Warfare Operational Support Establishment to counter the expected, simulated SAM threats. The establishment also provided on-site support at Ellsworth to maintain the pods, as well as offering much-needed guidance on employment.

The competition commenced properly in early October, with our master plan devised to ensure maximum flexibility should the prime aircraft become unserviceable at any time up to take-off. Phase one sorties brought the added spice of having to evade Canadian CF-101 Voodoo aircraft en route to the target area. But things went well, and all four crews felt confident after completion of this phase.

Phase two commenced ten days later. The first of the two sorties for each crew was supposed to be at night; however, as the slots allocated to the RAF teams were at the end of the aircraft stream, our sorties were flown in early-morning daylight. Three of the four crews reported that all seemed to go well, with radar offsets found and timing good. However, John MacDonald and Alan Dyer-Perry experienced a major problem, with only some quick thinking salvaging anything at all from their sortie. After the medium-level target and while preparing to descend, they noticed that the main computer ground position seemed to have jumped about two miles; this was something that happened occasionally in those days and was confirmed by the radar picture. The intention was to fix the computer by matching the radar picture with the moving map display – not a particularly accurate method but the best available in the circumstances. But a bigger problem then occurred when the spring-loaded fix accept/reject switch suffered a mechanical failure, losing its spring. There was now no way the fix just completed could be accepted. The only way that the computer could now be updated was to first update the inertial platform by carrying out unplanned, visual, on-top fixes and, when completed, recycle the computer to get it to accept the inertial position. While trying to sort this issue they were also doing the descent checks, making contact with the strategic training range and carrying out the appropriate weapon switchery. Thus the first target was not a success, and in Alan Dyer-Perry’s words, “the score was not of competition standard – or any other standard”. However, working very much as a team, they adopted a makeshift routine, not practised before, which produced excellent results on the remaining three targets as well as enabling them to make an accurate RV with their tanker before the final two low-level targets.

The last competition sortie was a daytime task against the ranges. Again the RAF were at the end of the aircraft stream, so this time, perversely, our allocated slots were at night. The only unserviceability I recall was a partial failure of the Skyshadow pod on my aircraft. However, we did have a problem when trying to RV with our tanker for the mid-point AAR slot. The join up was hampered by cloud and we finally plugged in late, still heading in the direction of the descent point. By the time we reached the point we still hadn’t taken enough fuel and, to remain within the airspace allocated for AAR, the Victor had then to fly a racetrack pattern. Steve was working hard to stay plugged in throughout the turn as the aircraft’s weight increased and, by the time we had the required fuel we were flying away from our descent point and had lost time. However, by increasing to maximum permitted speed we sorted out the timing by the time we reached our next low-level target. The remainder went as planned, and then it was climb to height and return to Ellsworth one last time.

All that remained was to pack up the detachment, and the Tornados and Victors left Ellsworth on 22 October, accompanied by an engineering support team. The remainder of the detachment left a few days later in a VC10. The results were to be announced at a three-day symposium at Barksdale AFB at the end of October, so, having returned to Marham, all the competing aircrew together with Tony Harrison, Wing Commander Andy Valance (OC 55 Squadron) and Group Captain Bob O’Brien (OC RAF Marham), found that they would be flying out to Barksdale with a number of the engineers from both 617 and 55 for the symposium the following week. Best uniforms were to be taken, as well as new flying suits.

We were joined there by a variety of very senior RAF officers, including the C-in-C Strike Command and the AOC No 1 Group. The symposium got under way the following day; however, the part that we were all waiting for, the results ceremony, didn’t start until 2100 hours. All the competing crews assembled in a large auditorium, together with the VIPs. As the results were put up, one by one, on a vast board at the back of the stage, the suspense built. But finally came what we had all been waiting for – confirmation that 617 Squadron had done the business!

We all acknowledged that the Victor tankers had been vital to our success. Of course they could not win events for us. But such was the severity of the timing penalties that, if the Victors hadn’t been where and when we needed them they could certainly have lost us the competition.

Naturally the rest of the evening and night were a bit of a blur. I seem to recall that the hotel swimming pool was the focus for quite a few hours – it seemed a good idea to have a dip in flying suits – and we certainly consumed a few beers. The following day was devoted to recovery in time for the symposium banquet, again attended by all participating crews. It came as bit of a surprise to note that there was a singalong in which we were all expected to participate – this included each Wing entertaining all present with a song. As there were no known words to the Dambusters March the RAF contingent decided to be very British and sang Jerusalem!

Best uniforms were required for the presentation ceremony, which saw Pete Dunlop, Dick Middleton, Iain Hunter and Dermot Dolan weighed down with silverware. Following a quick lunch we all boarded the VC10 for our trip back to Marham. The high jinks on the journey home are another story.

It is now thirty-four years since the Tornado GR1 entered RAF squadron service. The aircraft then represented a new era in the arena of offensive airpower, and the SAC bombing and navigation competition in 1984 was the first significant operational and international challenge for the aircraft – and indeed the first triumph. The results obtained were outstanding, remembering this was before the era of GPS and smart bombs. Prairie Vortex required a stupendous effort and consumed resources, but provided the opportunity to gain a much deeper understanding of the aircraft and its systems. It paved the way for the Tornado to be a big player for many, many years to come; we had certainly spoken with a Giant Voice.