Hi Nick, I think we put up the RAF threads at the same time. I was on 59 squadron based in Germany, which was re- formed just for the Canberra Bomber Interdiction aircraft. (BI mk8) It was later amalgamated with 3 Squadron. I spent my last year on Britannias and Comet 4's at RAF Lyneham. This was shift work and could be lonely cold walks out to transport aircraft at 3 in the morning to look at Green Satin navigation radar.
It was odd in some respects as you would drag up a PE (Petrol Electric) set plug it into the aircraft, climb in, set the converter /alternators and DC path switches and switch on. Run what you could of the radar, did not really work on the ground and work out what was wrong. There were only 3 parts to the radar a mechanical analogue computer indicator, a RF (radio frequency) set in where the luggage goes, and the complex mechanized aerial system, this had 4 wave guide transmitters that could rotate 20 degrees aither side of the axis of the aircraft and covered by a streamlined radome. Usually I could find the faulty unit and then go to stores and get a serviceable one. I knew they were OK as I or my counterpart had repaired them in the radar servicing bay.
The only parts we could not fix at component level was the magnetron which I think had some radio active items in it.
I had an assistant everyone called Albert (well his surname was Hall) and he helped with the heavy stuff.
When finished, restore the switches for the aircraft engineering Officer, then go and sign the Form 700 and back to playing a game of Bridge.
Years later when the RAF Hendon museum opened I was telling some of my engineers (we visited one lunch time) that I used to work on a particular aircraft displayed there, of course met with complete disbelief! This was the front end of a Britannia and a service history Form 700 opened on display and my signature was on one of the opened pages.
Nostalgia aint what it used to be!
Roy
