Category: ellybelly pictures

Dutch in the Desert

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Dutch F-16AMs J-0010 (ex 88-0010) and J-366 (ex 84-1366) of the 148th FS based at Tucson Arizona fly in close formation over the desert on 6th December 2017.

Dutch F-16AMs J-0010 (ex 88-0010) and J-366 (ex 84-1366) of the 148th FS based at Tucson Arizona fly in close formation over the desert on 6th December 2017.

Dutch Air Force F-16s train all year round in the US Desert

In November 2017, our aviation photographer John Stiles visited the West Coast of the United States with a COAP (Centre of Aviation Photography) visit to a number of airfields and aviation sites. A few days were spent with Dutch pilots who train with the 148th Fighter Squadron based in Tucson, Arizona.

The Royal Netherlands Air Force aren’t blessed with the best climate to train their pilots, so it has relied on partnerships with other air forces to provide a base suitable for training pilots all-year round. The most obvious place is the desert areas of the United States; and so, the current training partner is the Arizona Air National Guard’s (AZ ANG) 162nd Fighter Wing based opposite the commercial terminal at Tucson International Airport. Tuscon lies in the Sonoran Desert and is surrounded by a number of mountain ranges that provide an environment perfect for training pilots in various combat scenarios that mimic their most likely theatre of combat operations.

The 148th Fighter Squadron currently hosts the traininee F-16 pilots from the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The 148th FS flies ten F-16 aircraft; five F-16AM single-seat fighters and five F-16BM twin-seat fighters all owned and operated by the Dutch Air Force. All aircraft within the training wing are identical to those aircraft flown by the 306 and 322 Squardrons back in Holland, and any modifcations are immediately made to the US-based aircraft so that pilots do not need to undergo any further training when they move to an opeartional squadron back home.

We are slowly making photographs from John’s trip available to buy, and the photographs from John’s trip to Tucson as well as a visit to the ‘Top Gun’ school at NAS Fallon can be found here.

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Night-time Lancaster

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The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster, PA474 'City of Lincoln', at RAF Coningsby at a night shoot on 21st September 2012.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Lancaster, PA474 ‘City of Lincoln’, at RAF Coningsby at a night shoot on 21st September 2012. © John Stiles, ellybelly Pictures.

As we revealed in our last post we are pleased to showcase photographs from the renowned railway photographer, John Stiles; but at least initially we will be concentrating on John’s renewed passion for military aviation and vintage transport. Our first featured photograph is of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster PA474 ‘City of Lincoln’. This fabulous night-time shot was taken at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire in 2012.

The photograph re-lives the routine that Lancasters and other aircraft of Bomber Command would go through during the Second World War when night-time raids on Germany were a regular occurance. As it happens, PA474 never took part in any bombing raids as it was built after VE day, rolling off the production line at Vickers Armstrong Broughton factory at Hawarden Airfield, Chester on 31 May 1945. It was being prepared to be shipped to Japan when the war ended in the Far East too!

After use in photo reconnaissance work in South Africa, and various roles in experimental aerofoil designs the aircraft was reprieved from being used as a static exhibit by Wing Commander D’Arcy, the Commanding Officer of 44 Squadron (then flying Vulcans at RAF Waddington) in 1965. Having been flown to Waddington it was found that the aircraft was in sound condition and over the following eight years the aircraft was restored back to it’s original condition, joining the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 1973. (For more information please visit the BBMF website.)

The photograph is now available to buy as either an A4 or A3 print, or as a Digital Download. We do offer Wall Mounted products too, contact us through the Form below for further details, and we will see how we can help meet your requirements.

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