Hitting the Mark 10 Sqn VC10s

摘要

Gp Capt Tony Gunby took command of 10 Sqn on July 5, 1999. His previous experience included tours as a Navigator (Plotter) on Victor tankers with 57 Sqn at RAF Marham, including deployment to Ascension Island during the Falklands Conflict in 1982. He completed successive tours as a navigator on Vickers VC10 K.2 and K.3 tankers with 101 Sqn at RAF Brize Norton, followed by a spell as a navigator instructor with 241 Operational Conversion Unit, the VC10 tanker training unit, in 1989-90. He returned to the Victor force from 1990-93, including the 1991 Gulf War, as navigator/flight commander on Victor K.2s with 55 Sqn. Although familiar with the VC10, Tony was new to the main part of the squadron's role. As he explains, the squadron's activities were divided between the air transport and air refuelling tasks: "I had no experience in the air transport role - that was quite a change for me - aerial refuelling was second nature. [As] probably one of the largest RAF squadrons, we always had aircraft scattered around the world on various tasks, a real 24/7 operation. We had approximately 145 flight deck and cabin crew, plus more than 200 groundcrew.