Are you deliberately missing the point or what JDK? The Defiant analogy was just that, I could have used any other aviation misfit, insert any type you care to mention – if it will make you any happier substitute Botha for Defiant? Hells bells!

I and the other poor sods that have had to use the bloody things haven’t got a good thing to say about the ‘bog rolls’ and I don’t think there would be too many that would mourn their extinction . Having said that if someone wants one be my guest.

Just making the point that what we think we know (either firsthand, general interest or as a specialist) is very often a part, not the whole of the story, and thus partial.

May I suggest you ‘stag on’ in one in the depths of winter for a week before you think you know better than the ex-regulars?:mad:

Well that’s what one of the flight told ‘the other magazine’ in interview a few years back

To be honest it’s about the only bit of Cold-war kit that I have no affection for, after a few months after the initial installation most were manned by bored cover guards while the checker crawled all over vehicles at the check-point. They were quickly abandoned for many reasons, mainly you couldn’t cover your oppo correctly (or at all the way some were sited), ballistically if you had to fire you’d be deaf after about two rounds (tested that out on exercise – ouch!) and as for protecting from blast? 5-10m away from a vehicle-borne bomb? No chance, in fact the shattering concrete would be more likely to increase casualties. I’d much rather an old style Invasion 40 pill-box had been recovered or even got the TA to build a ‘proper’ sangar complete with the great smell of damp sand, wee and rat droppings – that would truly give the kids a feel of the time……In fact throw in a Mk III NBC suit a trusty SLR and some compo sausage and I might even do some reenacting……

NBC BLACK……

Seem to remember an F-4 shape at one of the Moscow test fields