After training, (you might want to look at the Navy part of the blog), I took up my first appointment as a fully qualified Air Engineer Officer (AEO). This was 1982 and I was the Deputy AEO of 737 Naval Aircraft Squadron (NAS) at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Portland. The squadron had 2 ship’s flights on board HMS Antrim and HMS Glamorgan and both were despatched to the Falklands war
737 NAS closed at the end of 1982 and I was then appointed to 810 Squadron at Culdrose, as the Sea Flight AEO. Like 737, 810 was a training squadron; it carried out the last part of flying training for RN pilots and Observers specalising in ant-submarine operations, using the Sea King Mk 5 helicopter. What this meant for me was that I would embark with 3 helicopters and 50-odd maintainers on board the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) whip Engadine for 6 weeks at a time, for the young aircrew to finish their training with a period afloat. I served on 810 Squadron for the whole of 1983.
My next appointment was to the london-based RN Schools Presentation Team (RNSPT). The RNSPT toured the UK, visiting secondary schools throughout the nation with a Wessex Mk 5 helicopter. After treating the school to a short flying display, we would then repair to the school hall, where we would give a half-hour presentation about why the nation has a Navy and what it does. This was intended as part of the VI form’s General Studies programme, but as the team was funded by the Department for Naval Recruitment (DNR) you can guess the motivation. I worked on the RNSPT for 2 tours, and I visited about 100 schools between July 1984 and March 1986.
After my time with the RNSPT, I was pleased to return to a FAA establishment, HMS Daedalus, where I worked as Radar Projects Officer for the Naval Air Technical Evaluation Centre (NATEC), where I was responsible for sorting issues with the support of in-servide airborne radars, and with reliability and maintenance aspects of new radar developments. I worked at the NATEC for 2 years, between June 1986 and March 1988.
From NATEC, I was appointed to the staff of the Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA), where I was responsible for the day-to-day arrangements of engineering training – both trade training and pre-joining training, the preparation and execution of which was delegated to the Air engineering School at HMS Daedalus, and to the engineering training schools at RN Air Stations. I worked at FONA between 1988 ad 1990). I was promoted to Lieutenant Commander during this time.
I worked at the Aircraft & Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down for 2 years(1990 – 1992), where I led the small Software Validation team in the Armament Division. It was a good time for me and I think my work there was appreciated.
In 1993, I was the AEO of 707 NAS. In the RN, one’s ‘Charge’ job was seen as important, so I’m pleased that I made a succcess of it. We had a trip to the South of France, for the young aircrew to learn mountain flying, and we also deployed three aircraft to RAF Aldergrove, near Belfast, establishing a FAA presence there.
For the next few years I worked as a Staff Officer for two MoD departments. The (not very pithily named…) Directorate of Naval Logistics and Staff Duties (DNLSD) and the the Directorate General Aircraft (Navy) – DGA(N). DNLSD moved from London to Bathduring my appointment, and when I was re-appointed to DGA(N), the move was a straightforward change of floors within the same building. I didn’t enjoy this staff work, which involved the development of engineering policies, and decided to resign from the Service. I left the RN in 1998.