Peter Gooding took command of IX (Bomber) Squadron which had re-formed on the Panavia Tornado GR1 on April 1, 1982 at RAF Honington, Suffolk. On this same day he collected the last of 12 jets assigned to the unit from BAe Warton in Lancashire. The first to receive the Tornado had been two training units - the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE) at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, and the Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit (TWCU) at RAF Honington. As the aircraft was new to the RAF it was mainly experienced aircrew initially who passed through the aforementioned units and then were assigned to IX(B) Sqn. Peter explained: "My previous aircraft type had been the Buccaneer which was the case for a number of other pilots. We also had a lot that came from the Canberra, Vulcan and Phantom - these were the same four types that the navigators were selected from. We also had five former Lightning or Jaguar single-seat pilots. This wide range of backgrounds was very useful because everybody brought something to the 'party' particularly the former Vulcan navigators who had a lot of expertise working radars. The only first tourist of the initial aircrew was a navigator, who did very well." The squadron reached its full complement of 16 crews in October 1982.
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