TRUSTEE REUNITED WITH AN OLD FRIEND
.jpg "TRUSTEE REUNITED WITH AN OLD FRIEND")
Gp Capt Jock Heron, Trustee of the RAF Charitable Trust, was recently reunited with an old friend on a visit to RAF Barford St John in Oxfordshire.
Jock was attending the anniversary commemoration, marking the test flights of the Gloster Whittle E28/39 and the first Meteor with a parade and consecration of a memorial stone.
After the ceremony Jock was reunited with the RAF Croughton gate guardian Thunderchief F-105 62-4428, which he flew several times between 1965 and 1967 when on exchange tour with the USAF at Nellis AFB. He said: "The jet looks just as good as when I flew it."
The aircraft had been converted to Wild Weasel standard for use in the Vietnam War and following its retirement in the 1980s was used for battle damage repair training at RAF Upper Heyford, finally being moved to become the gate guardian at RAF Croughton.
Jock says: "Because of my personal link with the F-105, I was asked to give an illustrated talk in the officer's mess describing my flying career, with a focus on flying their gate guardian during my exchange tour with the USAF."
October 20, 2011
