Home - to Cranwell! - Tony Cunnane's Life and Times

The Red Arrows finally arrived back in the United Kingdom on 20 February 1996 to land for the first time at their new home, RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire. Straightaway they had to begin preparations for the 1996 season, the opening displays of which were barely 12 weeks away. The overall statistics for the 1995 season and for the two overseas tours are impressive. The Team passed through 16 countries in four continents, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia, and the tally of countries in which the Team has displayed increased to exactly 50, with the first-ever displays in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia and the Philippines. In all, each pilot travelled about 52,000 miles, the equivalent of twice around the Equator.

"I’ll have many lasting impressions of these tours," John Rands told me when we all gathered together at Cranwell for the first time, "but the first, and probably the most lasting, was the sheer exuberance and sense of achievement we experienced when we arrived in Pretoria. All the months of uncertainty and planning were over. We were there – we’d done it – and we were on schedule! We’d made an incredible two day, six sortie, dash south from Oman, where we had performed in front of the Prince of Wales, to arrive exactly on time to the minute at Waterkloof on the outskirts of Pretoria. But the journey was not without its challenges. Hot and high operations at several African airfields with temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius and an altitude of 6,000 feet above sea level tested the aircraft and pilots to the limits. It was even more demanding at Nairobi. We descended through thick turbulent cloud from over 40,000 feet to just 400 feet on the final approach to Nairobi. Not very pleasant. Without the Garmin GPS satellite navigation equipment it would have been very hazardous flying over vast tracts of Africa. For long periods we would have been out of range of all navigation aids."

Were there any low spots, I asked JR? "Undoubtedly the fatigue," he replied. "It sounds very glamorous to be travelling around the world visiting all these exotic places. But the frequent time changes, forever booking into and out of hotels, rushed meals, being caught in horrendous traffic jams in places such as Manila, Bangkok and Singapore, and wondering whether we would get to the aircraft in time for the display – all these things contributed to an ever growing sense of fatigue. I also feel both very grateful and desperately sorry for the ground crew. They worked very long hours: they started before the pilots each day and finished after them, often working in extremely hot and humid conditions. The saddest thing was that most of them did not get a chance to see the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe because it was dark by the time they had finished working on the aircraft and we had just a one night stop. Sydney was one of the nicest cities I’ve ever visited, clean, fun and friendly. The display over Sydney Harbour on Australia Day was the most amazing experience – more so because of the huge crowd."

"One of the most impressive logistical achievements was getting two new tail-planes delivered to Oman in less than 48 hours after ordering them," said Flight Lieutenant Mark Northover, the engineering officer. "Splendid teamwork by the Hawk Engineering Authority and the 38 Group Hercules people. We had to change an engine in Brunei. The Hercules had to go back to Singapore to collect the new engine and as a result missed the trip to the Philippines. We flew to Manila, a long leg from Brunei over the shark-infested South China Sea, with just 10 Hawks and the ground crew in the rear cockpits. It sounds very dramatic – changing tail-planes and engines – but it wasn’t at all. These, and other components wear out from time to time and have to be changed – we can’t always have the luxury of doing the work at base. Apart from those fairly major items we had only minor technical problems to deal with. In total the Hawks flew about 1,100 sorties during the tour – that is from the time we left Scampton back in September until the day we arrived at Cranwell. We never had less than 10 of the 11 Hawks serviceable and we flew every sortie and every display on time. I think that is a remarkable tribute both to the ground crew and to the reliability of the British Aerospace Hawk aircraft."

Air Commodore Simon Bostock, who accompanied the Team on both tours said, "Few would disagree that the 1995 Season was one of the finest ever, and the manner in which all members of the Squadron faced daunting challenges was nothing short of superb. The highly successful tours just completed are a fitting reflection of their worth and all members of the Red Arrows, but above all the Leader, deserve great credit."

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