Dedicated forum to share your older or thematic photos with the rest of the community.
Please note large files may exist here before you start browsing!
Forum rules
This is the forum to share your older or theme-based aviation photos, under the same conditions as the parent forum. For more information on how to upload you images, check this post.
In topic titles, please use airfield names in stead of just codes, and be clear about what kind of photos your viewers can expect (e.g. CIV/MIL, location etc.).
If the label on the slide is correct, this was January 20, 1971. The TF-104 came from WaffenSchule-10. Can someone confirm the date? I got it 25 years ago from a guy in Zeist who's name I do not remember. He did quit spotting and sold his entire collection.
The dates, the years are getting a little mixed up when you get older. For me everything after 1970 is blurry. Luckily the Soesterberg sixties are covered already quite well on the Internet.
This one is from October 1975, says the Kodachrome frame. There was a two-seater as well, and we hope see one flying at Bodo this year.
In 1980 or 81, after the TAM80 at Ramstein (where participants carried a letter to facilitate recognition of who got good or bad points) there was an exchange between 32 TFS and 1 CAG at Baden-Solingen. This happened rather unexepectedly. Getting there in the morning we wondered how many. Two appeared, two again. Again two, and another two. Eight F104s against 4 F15, what I'd call a good deal!
Talking about squadron rotation Canadian style: They even made it into the newspapers when Lt. Porter plunged his jet into the Waddenzee near the Vliehorst range. Fortunately he was able to eject and sustained only light injuries. This mishap occurred on August 27, 1980. The rumour was he was flying so low over the sea that he struck a wave. The serial was 104859, I took this picture a week or so before it happened.
Base closures have started more than 30 years ago. USAF units started returning to CONUS in the sixties. They came back every year in fall to take part in a big exercise REFORGER (REturn of FOrces to GERmany). Later this was moved to spring and renamed Central Enterprise, and other countries took part in it. For several years Danish F104s were stationed at Soesterberg for two weeks during Central Enterprise. This one is from June 1982.
32FS already said goodbye to their F4s. The end was nearing for 50FW F4s. They came to Soesterberg to act as drone carriers. This one was pictured after an early dawn mission. Too early for the brake chute retrievers, he carried his all the way to the shelter.
Thanks for all these great pictures on this forum.
Still looking for a photo of the F15-serial 79-0007 in 32nd markings.
I do have a photo of it in Tyndall-markings.
It was only a short time stationed at Soesterberg, Oct'90-Jan'91
Hope someone took a photo of it.