Pleased to have been of some assistance – good luck with the flypast and your wonderful memorial project! :applause:

Steve did you make your request via the form on this website http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/contacts.cfm or did you download the request form?

If not it might be worth doing so – normally they try to accommodate late requests. If you struggle to download the application form, PM me an email address and I’ll send you a copy of the form as a Word file!

IIRC it went to the FAAM at Yeovilton – the curator should be able to advise full details! 🙂

It might be me becoming more cynical!

I suspect there’re a multitude of reasons for being there – it just seems strange to complete the WB-57 survey work if there’s no interest!

That may be the case but since we and the US are withdrawing our troops we would be relying on contracts agreed with the probable future Taliban lad government to acquire mining rights. And with the current and historic nature of that country’s lack of stability is the West likely to invest time and money there? And it was certainly not why we went there in 2001.

I didn’t mean to imply that it was the reason for being there. However some of the trade publications that I have contributed PR items to in the past, have carried pieces, about the ‘potential commercial paybacks’ from being in Afghanistan!

Yes, I don’t doubt that it would be difficult to achieve; and IMHO too high a price has already been paid on all sides of the conflict.

……But you have to look beyond Afghanistan to find the reason that British Forces are there; why would anybody want to conquer Afghanistan for Afghanistan?

Minerals – if you search “WB-57 + minerals” then below are the first two of many links on the subject.

http://southasiainvestor.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/afghan-mineral-wealth-discovery.html

http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3152/B/