The City of Ely branch of the Royal British Legion took a coach load of branch members and beneficiaries from the wider veterans community on a visit to RAF Mildenhall.
They were welcomed by the community relations team and had the opportunity to visit and learn about the role of units of the 100th Air Refuelling Wing which 30 years ago was assigned as the host wing at RAF Mildenhall with nine permanently assigned KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft.
These units, along with all the other units that call RAF Mildenhall home, has made it one of the most important strategic forward bases in the U.S. Air Force.
The day ended with a visit to 351st air refuelling squadron where the visitors met members of the aircrew of one of the impressive Stratotankers.
The visit was of extra special interest to one member of the Legion group, Neil ‘Badger’ Brooks, a veteran of the RAF’s first offensive air action against the Argentine invasion forces that had occupied the Falkland Islands.
Two Vulcan bombers left Ascension Island in the south Atlantic to drop bombs on Port Stanley airport runway, an 8,000-mile round trip and a logistical nightmare as a Vulcan’s range is 4,000 miles.
Operation Black Buck 1 on 30 April 1982 involved air-to-air refuelling of the Vulcan bombers by 13 tanker aircraft.
No wonder the young Stratotanker aircrew found plenty to talk about with a veteran of a refuelling mission which has gone down in history as one of the RAF’s most daring operations since the end of the Second World War.
Press release from Ely Royal British Legion
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