Red Hawk Rising

for tomorrow’s activity.
Forty minutes later, the RAF Anson was turning into circuit to land at RAF Leeming. The team had eaten some supper and then dozed for the rest of the flight. They woke to the sound of the pilot talking to the control tower. The pilot then wound down the landing gear. The plane levelled up on the runway and gently dropped down onto it, the pilot revving the engines and then cutting them back to a gentle ‘feather’ as he taxied off the runway and headed to the dispersal. An airman with illuminated batons signalled the pilot in and when he crossed the batons the pilot applied the brake and came to a halt. He cut the engines and nodded to ‘Sarge’ to open the door. A small truck pulled up and a couple of ‘techs’ got out and waited for them all to emerge. The orderly officer then arrived in a Landrover and told Sarge they were expected and workshop facilities made available. The klystron crate was loaded into the truck. Sarge joined the orderly officer in the Landrover and the corporals climbed into the truck with the toolkits. The two vehicles headed over to one of the hangers that was brightly lit. Two delta-winged Gloster Javelin AW fighters taxied past toward the end of the runway as they prepared to go out on a night patrol. Another one out on the pan was being worked on by engine fitters and prepared for a ground run. This was an operational fighter base. Lance and Sean were wide awake and taking a real interest in all the activity. They pulled up outside the electronics workshop at the side of the hangar and the two techs unloaded the crate and took it into the workshop. Sarge and the two corporals followed with their toolkits. Inside they found the senior technical officer and a flight sergeant waiting for them. They came to attention and saluted. He returned the salute and told them to relax. “I understand you know what you have to do, Sergeant?” and Sarg’ gave a “Yessir” in reply. “Good. This is Flight Sergeant Hemsley. He’s in charge of the electronics maintenance and will help you with what you want. Okay, Flight, I’ll leave you to it and call back a little later.” He then went off with the Orderly Officer.
Sarge turned and said, “Nice to meet you, Flight. I don’t know what you’ve been told. We have to gut the klystron unit we brought with us and install some older equipment into the casing that I’m told you have in your stores. We then have to seal it up in the crate ready to be picked up in the morning.”
Hemsley replied, “The parts are already here for you.”
“Okay,’ said Sarge, “let’s get into it.” Sean and Lance set their toolkits up while one of the local techs opened up the crate. They put the unit on the bench and started to take the covers off. ‘Sarge’ and Hemsley were examining the spare parts that had been allocated and assessing what modifications would have to be made. The key components were removed, as were the cards containing the transistors. Fortunately, the cards and slots from the older units were the same size as the new klystron unit but it was clear that they would have to do some wiring to make it look good. It was clear that the main unit wouldn’t fit and they would have to modify the frame to take it. As Lance and Sean stripped the klystron unit down, the two SNCOs (senior non-commissioned officers) were busy sketching up the modifications needed. Hemsley told one of his techs to get some aluminium plate and set up the bench drill. When it arrived, he and ‘Sarge’ set to work to cut and drill the connecting plates needed to fit the older design into the newer klystron unit. Lance and Sean worked on the cabling, soldering new leads into the plugs that would screw into the sockets. While they were working on it the senior technical officer returned and watched with interest as they all worked. Outside, a refueller driver was refuelling the Anson and an airframe fitter was checking the aircraft over in readiness for its return flight. The pilot was at the Officers’ Mess having a quick sleep while the technical work was being carried out.
Two hours after landing, the job was finished and they were packing up their tools. The pilot was brought from the Officers’ Mess and he ran through his pre-flight checks. A vehicle was called to pick them up and take them to the aircraft. Sarge thanked Hemsley and his two techs for their help. He and Lance and Sean picked up their toolboxes and headed for the transport. They drove past the Gloster Javelin having a ground run done on it. The noise was deafening. It was as if the engine fitters wanted to wake up everyone on the base and the nearby farms. Soon they were climbing into the Anson and settling down into their seats. The door was closed, Sarge nodded to the pilot, he released the brake and the aircraft rolled onto the taxiway. They had to wait while a Javelin came in to land, the beams of its wing lights cutting through the night as it dropped towards the runway. It touched down and the whine of its engines turned to a roar as the pilot braked and rolled on down to dispersal. Soon the Anson was racing down the runway and heading skywards and back to RAF Ouston. Meanwhile Flight Sergeant Hemsley and his two techs were packing and sealing another crate ready to be collected in the morning. They knew something was going on but as usual they were denied the full story because it was ‘on a need to know’ basis and they didn’t need to know. That wasn’t to say that they didn’t want to know