We are in Malaya at RAF Butterworth, the Canberra's have been on a mission against the terrs and are returning. They are coming round the peri/track and I pick mine out and signal him to turn into the pan. Signal to stop and open bomb doors with an armourer standing by in case of a hang up. No hang up, worse, as the bomb doors open, a thousand pound bomb squeezes through the gap and crunches onto the tarmac. We didn't know wether to throw ourselves down or run and then we realised it hadn't fallen far enough to arm. The air crew must have wondered what was wrong with the ground crew in groups counting their worry beads. Fun over for the day!

Ken.

Somehow I can imagine the feeling that eternity between the bomb hit the runway, and you actually started to breath again...

That's when time stands still. I wonder if they had to change their underwear.

I would....

There was a story regarding a very nervous guard on the RAF airfield in Aden.

Guards were issued 5 rounds of ammunition which they carried in their top left breast pocket, the rounds may only be loaded if they come under fire from terrorists. None of the guards were issued with their own rifle, the relieving guard took the rifle from the man he was relieving.

One of the guards became so nervous he loaded his 5 rounds racked one into the chamber, when his relief came he tossed the rifle at the man and climbed in the Land Rover and drove off. The relief was unaware the rifle he was carrying was loaded (extremely bad weapon handling that he didn't check), neither did he notice the rifle was cocked with the safety off. The bored guard saw a Hawker Hunter coming into land, took a bead on it and pulled the trigger. BANG!!!! A 174 grain Mk7 303 bullet sped towards the Hawker Hunter hitting it just in front of the cockpit. The pilot applied power and took off shouting that he was under fire.

To cut a long story short, both men were thrown in the cells, put in front of a court martial, found guilty, sentenced to 156 days in the glass house and dishonourably discharged.