The First RAF 'Top Guns' at Red Flag

It was the middle of the 1970s when number 208 Squadron RAF reformed with Buccaneer aircraft based at RAF Honington in Suffolk. As a frontline squadron, 208 Sqn was given a variety of tasks, flying in Germany, Scandinavia and elsewhere, to be ready to carry out ground attack missions and also to be ready to strike the enemy with nuclear weapons if required. Red Flag was the name given to the biggest air-war exercise developed by the United States Air Force to enable fighter and fast-jet aircrews to survive and flourish in combat operations. Sqn Ldr Stuart Ager takes us through his times flying the Buccaneer on 208, 237 OCU, XV and 16 Sqns and his participation in no less than 6 Red Flag wargames. In 1977, 208 Sqn was chosen to be the first to represent the RAF on this exercise, and Stuart Ager, with his navigator David Wilby, led the first flight of 4 aircraft to land at Nellis Air Base (near Las Vegas). Over the next two weeks, the USAF found the Buccaneers and their aircrew to be formidable opponents. When not flying, he describes some of the delights of the Las Vegas nightlife. Stuart Ager covers Buccaneer operations during the 'Cold War', including his task to introduce laser precision-guided weapons (PGMs) to joint flying operations with the RAF Germany Jaguar force and his subsequent time in the Ministry of Defence as the desk officer responsible for writing the requirements for the next generation of PGMs. He describes the personal life of RAF aircrew and their families, their feelings and their difficulties in coping with frequent and sometimes long periods of separation when operating away from the home base.