Whilst wishing you all a Happy New Year I thought I would share this Video Clip that was sent to me by one of my old RAF colleagues.

It is nearly 60 years old and shows RAF Coltishall, Norfolk, at the time I left my 3 years, in 1961, of training and started working.
Apart from the early Landrovers engaged in towing and fire fighting, you will see the Radar Bay in which I worked for the first 6 years of my RAF career. - and yes I did do many miles in those early Landrovers.

My years on the main attack radars of the Javelin, and Lightning aircraft explain why I use them as my Avatar.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/204879 FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

HNY and thank you for sharing.

Very interesting, thanks

Excellent thank you,
Dave DAVE.

Nice shiny Landie in that footage - I passed my test for a military driving permit on one of those around 1981 as part of my initial training, and about 12 years later as a civvie on an Air Cadets Gliding School had to do so again... having not driven one at all in between. I turned up to both tests in my rusty trusty MGB GT- which I still have though has been extensively restored since....

I remember to this day the MT assessor at the latter test, a Corporal, saying that anyone able to turn up driving “that piece of old c**p” (my MG!!) won’t have no trouble driving these chuffing things - they both have “crash boxes” with clutches that are basically two bricks rubbing together”...

Well, he was spot on in one respect - It was an old series 2a painted bright yellow for air-side use, with the earlier shaped gear lever. I passed the test OK, and back in the MT compound he jumped out and told me to back it into a particular bay while went and filled out my permit.

I never actually made it, as the “crash-box and two bricks” conspired against me and I franged the gear lever trying to find reverse!

At the MT controller’s window with the gear lever in hand I managed to refrain from asking if I could please have the rest of the Land Rover belonging to this gear lever as well... He was fine about it and told me that the gear levers were designed to frange rather than break the gearbox, which made me feel marginally better about it....

I also did hundreds of miles whizzing around the airfield in those... glad to say without a repeat of that incident!

...and come to think of it, I’ve no idea if Freelanders (1 or 2) got into any of the Armed Forces inventories or not... anyone any idea if they did or not? Lexus RX450H - 500 mile a week commuter- I just couldn’t trust in a newer RRS or DS for that….
2009 Freelander 2 HSE... 155K miles, we’ve done 135k of those, has done brilliantly on the commute and staying firmly put as car two in the household
2002 Jaguar XK8 Coupe... fun, fast, ours for 12 years and owes us nothing - so staying with us too…

@ Ianmetro - many thanks - i enjoyed that Jules

other RAF LR, but this one recommissioned



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Thanks for sharing. Former RAF myself (79-86) and learnt to drive at RAF St Athan’s in a L/R.