USS Independence – CV62

I wrote this story soon after my 1975 voyage in USS Independence and it was cleared then for publication but never actually published until now. I have edited it to delete names and photographs of US Navy personnel because I do not have their permission to identify them.  All the photographs I took on board the Independence and reproduced in these pages were taken with the permission of the Captain and always in the presence of the Captain or other senior officer.

I had carefully wrapped my duty-free bottles of wine and brandy in clothing in my suitcase. It had not occurred to me that I was about to break a US Navy regulation

Towards the end of October 1975 I was summoned by the Station Commander at RAF Marham, Group Captain David Parry Evans, and asked if I fancied an ocean cruise. Knowing the Station Commander very well, I knew that there was more to this question than he had let on. With a grin he told that my name had been put forward to go on a cruise on the US Navy’s aircraft carrier Independence.

‘As you know, Tony,’ said the Group Captain, ‘Exercise Ocean Safari starts shortly. It’s a major exercise involving a large number of NATO ships and aircraft. It will take place mainly in the UK’s south western approaches. It’s just been agreed that the US Navy will take part because their fleet just happens to be in that area at the time. Pure coincidence, apparently. Anyway, the Americans have requested permission to carry out air-to-air refuelling from our Victor Tankers. Headquarters 1 Group have agreed in principle but invoked our SOPs. As you well know, no pilot may refuel in flight from our tankers unless they have attended our Air to Air Refuelling School to learn our procedures.’

It still did not dawn on me where this conversation was leading. The AARS was a small but highly respected unit based at RAF Marham. There were only four or five staff, mostly navigators, but they were all highly experienced air to air refuelling operators. In fact, between them they had designed, tested, refined, and taught the techniques over many years – and then written the AAR SOPs – the standard operating procedures’ bible for air to air refuelling.

‘Obviously,’ continued the Station Commander, ‘ the US Navy pilots can’t come here to Marham – the Fleet’s somewhere in the Mediterranean at present. In any case, there’s no way the US Navy would allow all the Independence’s pilots to leave the ship at once to come here! I believe there are well over 100 of them anyway.’

I could see that might pose a problem.

‘So the AOC has decided that you, Tony, must go out to the ship and teach the US pilots all they need to know!’

The Victor Standardisation Unit (VSU), of which I was then the commanding officer, was a lodger unit based at RAF Marham, because that was where all the tankers were, but I came directly under the command and control of the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Number 1 Group based at RAF Bawtry.

‘The guys on the AARS are not going to be too pleased,’ I said lamely. ‘They’ll see this as a task for them – after all they’re the experts at air to air refuelling.’

‘The AOC knows that,’ said the Group Captain. ‘However, the AOC says that as OC VSU you’re his expert and spokesman – and in any case he thinks the US Navy pilots will prefer to be taught by a pilot! No point in arguing with the AOC. The job’s yours. You’re to go to Bawtry for a briefing in a few day’s time. In the meantime, I suggest you find out everything you can about the Independence and the way the US Navy do things. A word of advice, Tony. Don’t forget that US Navy pilots on carriers rely on buddy-buddy refuelling for their every day operations. I don’t suppose they'll take too kindly to being told by a Brit how to do their job. You’ll need to be very tactful.’

On 30 October 1975 I flew out from Gatwick Airport to Gibraltar, my first visit since early 1960. I spent a couple of days there getting more and more worried about my forthcoming task. I also picked up a nasty stomach bug which I blamed on a curry I had in a restaurant – that’s my story anyway. Early on 1 November I had a message to report to a remote area of the airfield and await the arrival of my transport to the ship. Accordingly I packed my bags, including my duty free liqueur allowance, and boarded the RAF Land Rover that had been sent to collect me. The vehicle dropped me off then departed, leaving me standing all alone on the grass at the side of the runway. I had carefully wrapped my duty-free bottles of wine and brandy in clothing in my suitcase. It had not occurred to me that I was about to break a US Navy regulation. No-one had told me that US Navy ships are strictly alcohol-free.

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