Page 4 - Sept 2018

Next, he was posted to Germany and 421 Squadron, “Never heard another word from anybody -- except one
one of eight CF-104 units there, practising low-level pilot on the night shift. He said he was sleeping and when
nuclear strike and reconnaissance trips in the we went over he jumped up and hit his head on a
smoggy skies of southern Germany. “A lot of our bulkhead!
work was at low level in the murk,” recalled Yogi,
“But,” says Yogi, “not a word from the captain.”
adding the 104 – powerful, but with tiny wings —
was “a non-forgiving airplane, but a great airplane These simulated air strikes were so done with such
to fly.” enthusiasm that an order went out to restrict future ones
to 1,500 feet. That was far too high for realistic training.
By 1970, the federal government had cut 1
Canadian Air Division to six, and then to three, So one US admiral finally conceded the high-spirited
squadrons and gave up the nuclear strike role. Yogi Canadians could fly a simulated attack at low level – but
went back to Cold Lake as a CF-104 instructor pilot only between 0700h and 0900h the next day. “Do what
(IP) with 417 Squadron, wherein some great stories you want.”
– like training with NATO navies. So at about 30 seconds after 0700h, four Starfighters

whistled over the ships. Yogi recalls hearing over the pilot
grapevine that three things happened:
■ First, the captain of an oiler refueling a destroyer
thought the warship had rammed him; he hit the
“emergency escape” button and the two ships hit each
other during the escape.
■ The crew of a naval helicopter dipping its sonar into the
ocean from a low hover thought the booms meant
engine failure “and autorotated into the drink”.
■ And, finally, the admiral who’d given the OK was so
surprised that he “jumped and his hat went overboard –
never to be found!”
They long had been worried about Soviet
This is not to say that Starfighter pilots were beyond
submarines, but slowly were awakening to the
errors. Just as Sabre pilots sought to break Mach 1,
threat from low-flying strike aircraft. On one students learning to fly the Starfighter sought to hit Mach
exercise off Bermuda, the captain of the American
2. That involved getting to 35,000 feet, finding the high-
carrier USS Midway asked for a four-ship CF-104
speed corridor near Cold Lake and hitting the
Starfighter strike simulation at low level.
afterburner. “Hit Mach 2 and come home ’cause you’re
Yogi cautioned that the supersonic boom could do a pretty much out of gas.”
lot of damage.
But Yogi listened as one pilot radioed he was having
Noting the Midway had been designed to survive a trouble getting past 25,000 feet and Mach 1.6. What
nuclear explosion only 1,500 yards away, the could be wrong? The pilot said his enunciator panel was
captain scoffed. “What’s that little airplane going to clear, speed brakes were “in” and gauge readings were
do?” he asked Yogi. all good.

“I just smiled.” And the flaps?

Well, the four Starfighters came over the ship so “Ah, stand by,” came the embarrassed reply from the
low that “I had to go up to go over the deck of the student pilot.
carrier!” recalled Yogi, adding it was lucky his
Starfighter’s arrester hook wasn’t down that day –
else he might he snagged it on the flight deck! He
figures the four-aircraft flight was doing Mach 1.1.