Red Hawk Rising

by Peter William Hall

  On board the Anson, the team were busy readying the crate to be dropped at stalling speed to a waiting ship in the North Sea and the pilot adjusted his course to rendezvous with the ship. The plan was to then ditch the aircraft after the transfer and be picked up by ‘friendlies’. Those on board never really knew what happened. The Red Hawk missile tracked the aircraft and closed rapidly. It tore through the underbelly of the aircraft and exploded on impact, causing the aircraft fuel tanks to explode and the aircraft just disintegrated and the pieces dropped into the sea. To those who watched from the ground, the missile entered the cloud and shortly afterwards there was a burst of reddish-yellow colour followed by the sound of an explosion. Then debris fell from the cloud into the sea.

  “Target destroyed, sir,” reported the console operator. The officer breathed a sigh of relief. In the control tower the station duty officer cancelled the order for the fighter planes and then telephoned the station commander. In Missile Control, the officer telephoned the Officers’ Mess and asked to speak to Squadron Leader Dawson, his CO and was told that he was on his way to the unit. The launch had been heard by officers who had raced outside to see what was happening. The men were congratulated by the officer on the way that they had gone about their work and were told to take a short break. The theft of an important part of interest to the enemy had been thwarted.

  Now would come the enquiry and the need to provide a story to satisfy the general public, since there were a number of civilian witnesses to the occurrence. Fortunately, it happened so fast and unexpectedly that only one civilian managed to photograph the event — the ‘birdwatcher’. The other photographs were taken in the control tower at RAF West Sanby.

  Out in the North Sea, an East German freighter waited for the Anson aircraft, its crew ready to extend a specially constructed net to catch the expected crate. They waited in vain. At 16.00 hours it radioed Moscow to report that the expected aircraft had not arrived.

  ***

  Squadron Leader Dawson congratulated his officer for his quick thinking that had saved the situation but knew that there would be a formal enquiry. He telephoned Air Ministry and told the duty officer that he needed to speak to Group Captain Clarkson urgently. Fifteen minutes later Dawson was speaking to Clarkson, who was at his home, and explaining the situation. “I’ll contact the AVM immediately and we’ll work out a statement for the media. If the debris was too far from land to be recognised then we can say that there was an accidental firing and the missile was made to self-destruct. We will satisfy the prime minister and there will not be an official enquiry, just an internal de-briefing,” was Clarkson’s response. Thirty minutes later, Clarkson was talking to Air Vice-Marshall Denby and briefed him on the situation. Denby told Clarkson to get a written report to him of the whole incident, including a background on the corporal storeman. They would need to get Intelligence onto that aspect of this.

  The BBC Six O’Clock News reported that ‘during a missile system trial at an RAF base in Lincolnshire, there was a technical fault which resulted in a missile launching out over the sea. It was commanded to self-destruct and the debris fell harmlessly into the sea. At no time was there any danger to the public or shipping. The aircraft that was seen to take off minutes before the incident was satisfactorily accounted for’. Denby heard the news item and smiled to himself, thinking that it was brilliantly worded. Since the system was top secret, no further information would be forthcoming and the media would have to accept it. There would, however, be a further tightening of security on the Red Hawk programme.

  The Six O’Clock news was also heard by Major Garasov and he wondered at the truth of the statement by the RAF since the Anson aircraft seemed to have disappeared. He wondered what their man at Parfleet St Peter would report. Garasov wasn’t looking forward to the next message from Moscow. Once again, his plans had been thwarted. An hour later, a call was put through to him from the consulate switchboard. It was the ‘birdwatcher.’ He said that he was ‘phoning from Louth and had an urgent report. He then related the event concerning the Anson aircraft and that shortly after it had taken off and entered cloud, the trials missile had been fired, it tracked after the Anson and then there was an explosion and some debris fell into the sea. He would post the film to the major who could have it developed at the consulate. Major Garasov thanked him for the report and hung up the telephone. Security would be so tight now that it would be waste of time trying anything more.

  The ‘birdwatcher’ left the telephone booth and as he started to walk away, he was approached by two men. They showed him their credentials and ask him to accompany them to the police station. There he was searched and the envelope with the film addressed to a PO Box in Manchester was confiscated and he was held pending further investigation.

  Members of the JSTU heard all about the incident from those on shift returning to the barrack block. It caused a lot of excitement but they all knew that they would not be able to discuss it outside of the unit.

  CHAPTER 17

  On 23rd November, Corporal Hill was told that he was to report RAF Leuchars to join a RAF mountaineering team on 4th December. This was for further training, following which he could have one week of his disembarkation leave. A week later, Corporal Crossley’s family were informed of his death in the line of duty and offered a military burial for him. Due to the nature of the unit, the true circumstances of his death could not be given. No more airborne trials would be carried out until the spring and other trials and training would continue. The general feeling was that the system had been proved to work, even though it was not a planned demonstration.

  Similarly, on the other side of the country, Major Garasov had accepted an invitation to join a team from the Mancunian Mountaineering Club to do some training in the Cairngorms in winter conditions. Garasov remembered his last visit there two years previously and the result of it. Apart from his forays into the Pennines, Garasov had done no serious mountaineering since he was posted to the United Kingdom. He was busy organising his equipment and cold weather clothing.

  On the Friday (2nd December), Corporal Hill drove north to Alnwick to pick up his mountaineering equipment from his home. En route he would be able to spend an evening with Alice, a hasty arrangement made the night before by telephone. Alice was excited that Andy would have a week’s leave after this mountaineering training.

  On the Saturday afternoon, Andy Hill caught the train to Edinburgh and then one to Leuchars where he was picked up and taken to the RAF Base. Some other members of the RAF’s internal intelligence unit also met there. For Corporal Hill there were some new faces in the group. Incidents to members and others leaving the RAF brought necessary change. The next morning the members met in a conference room in the base HQ building with a guard posted outside the door. Being a Sunday, there were mainly duty personnel around and less risk of disturbance or being overheard. The briefing was led by Wing Commander Harry Westbourne. He reviewed some of the threats to RAF security and discussed new equipment in development to help them with intelligence gathering. Westbourne reminded them that while the mountaineering was a cover for the organisation it also gave them excellent training in reaction to emergencies and general physical fitness. Before leaving for the Cairngorms they would all go to the gym for refresher training in unarmed combat and be assessed on their standard of fitness.

  The team assembled at 13:00 hours and climbed into the back of a three-tonner with their gear. The camping equipment and supplies had already been loaded. They were being led by Flying Officer Crombie. He was new to Corporal Hill who had been used to Flying Officer McEwan. Crombie had gone through the refresher training in the gym and showed himself to be very competent. He was from a Bomber Command unit but that was all that the rest of the team were told by the wing commander. Sergeant Bradley was still part of the team but had been promoted to Flight Sergeant. He now had a scar on his left cheek but no-one asked him about it. Those sorts of questions were taboo in their team. A member of Mountai
n Rescue was also in the intelligence unit and would be the driver. His name was Evans and he was from North Wales and he was commonly known as ‘Taffy’. Fifteen minutes later, the truck pulled out of RAF Leuchars and headed for Dundee. It was a clear, crisp day, with a weak sun in the sky. They crossed the Firth of Tay and passed through Dundee, heading for Blairgowrie. From there the truck headed west to join the Perth — Pitlochry Road and thence north to Aviemore. En route the members talked mountaineering and RAF general talk but no-one mentioned their individual intelligence assignments. There was a firm rule of being on a ‘need to know’ basis. The road followed the River Garry and then climbed, turning north towards Aviemore. The truck made a ‘comfort’ stop at Dalwhinnie. By now the light was fading and there was little could be seen of their surroundings. Fifteen minutes later they started off again. Eventually the truck turned off the main road and followed the road to Loch Morlich. The night was crisp and the team was glad to arrive at their destination.

  The camping ground was deserted and the truck rolled to the location pointed out by Flying Officer Crombie. Everyone piled out and quickly unloaded tents. Using the trucks headlights, they erected the main tent first and then split into their pairs to erect their alpine tents. Corporal Hill was paired with a Corporal Stan Stanier, nicknamed ‘Loco’ after the Stanier range of steam locomotives. In the team he was known as Stan. Once that was done, Flight Sergeant Bradley organised a roster for kitchen duty and a meal was prepared while others organised a fire to warm themselves up. Pressure lamps were lit to give plenty of light and these also started throwing heat into the tent. It was about 19.00 hours when they all sat down to a hot meal. After the meal, Flying Officer Crombie split the group of twelve into two teams, one led by him and the other by Flight Sergeant Bradley. There were two other sergeants in the group and one was paired with Flying Officer Crombie and the other with Flight Sergeant Bradley. The rest of the group were all corporals and they were paired off. Again, they would use Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radios for communication and they were briefed on which channels to use. The new machines were more compact and less cumbersome and there was one per team and one to be kept at base camp. After final briefing, hot cocoa was made and the pairs all headed for their tents and settled down for the night.

  Across the road from the camp site stood the lodge, providing accommodation for those that did not want to camp out in tents. One of the groups that had arrived that weekend was the Mancunian Mountaineering Club. There was a group of sixteen members and they had split into teams of four. Major Garasov was in one of those teams. Two of his team were academics and the fourth a public servant. That evening they had met in the dining room and planned the daily targets, which would be rotated round the teams so that each team experienced each target.

  It was 06.00 hours (Monday 5th) and the RAF team started rising and preparing for the day. Unfastening the front flap of the alpine tent and crawling out, the cold hit them after the build-up overnight of a fuggy warmth of the tent. The air was crisp and stars still shone in the sky. A light frost was on the grass. The breath of the men formed small clouds of condensation as they talked. The duty team headed for the main tent to start preparing a cooked breakfast for the whole party. After the long night most of the men were glad to get up and start moving. For most of them, 06.00 hours was normal reveille and part of their daily habit and routine. Across the road and not too close to the lodge stood a toilet block for the use of the campers. Corporal Hill and other team members had a quick wash, the water being so cold as to almost numb the fingers and nose. No one shaved. Cleaning one’s teeth was a case of trying to curl the lips outward to avoid the almost painful feel of the water on the lips. All were now out of uniform and wearing appropriate clothing for mountaineering. They favoured multiple layers of clothing that could be peeled off depending on the weather. First light came at about 06.45 hours and slowly strengthened over the next hour to provide full daylight. A mist hung over Loch Morlich and the surface was mirror-like. The early falls of snow glistened on the mountains. It would be soft and loose and easy to walk through except for where it had drifted. At 07.00 hours the team members headed for the main tent. A smell of bacon and eggs filtered out of the tent and they headed in, carrying their mess tins and ‘irons’. As they all sat at the folding tables, a hubbub of conversation broke out and short work was made of the food. Breakfast finished, a second duty team cleaned up and washed the cooking utensils. Each person queued to wash their own gear. In the mountaineering mode, rank did not apply for such tasks.

  Everything cleaned up, Flying Officer Crombie called everyone together to lay out the programme. The first day they would all do revision on intelligence gathering exercises and also some physical limbering up in preparation for the exercises on the mountains. Then Crombie’s team would go out for three days and camping for two nights. Bradley’s team would work from the base camp. His pair would go out for one night with Corporals Hill and Stanier and then take the other pair out for the second night. Then the teams would change over and repeat the exercise.

  It was 08.30 hours and the men dispersed to their tents and brought out their rucksacks and equipment to check them over.

  Over at the lodge, members of the Mancunian Mountaineering Club emerged to see the day. Major Garasov walked across the road with the others to look at the Loch and the scenery. He noted the tents that had been erected after dark and the men outside checking their equipment. He then noted the RAF truck on the other side of the main tent and showed more interest. As his group walked by, Garasov saw the man he wanted to kill, Corporal Hill. He could hardly believe his eyes and wondered what sort of fate brought them both to the same place again, albeit under different circumstances. At the same time, Flight Sergeant Bradley saw Major Garasov. His mind raced back to when that man had held a gun on him. He wondered whether it was someone who looked similar but then he noted the surprised look on Garasov’s face and felt sure that it must be the same person. Flight Sergeant Bradley turned away so that Garasov couldn’t see his face and headed for the main tent. Inside Bradley let out a deep sigh and knew that he must tell Flying Officer Crombie and somehow check on that person. The opportunity would arrive sooner than he had expected.

  Major Garasov had turned away after seeing Corporal Hill and tried to keep acting normally with his group. They walked to the water’s edge and admired the scenery, discussing weather and plans. To himself, Garasov was determined to find out the RAF planned routes and look for an opportunity to deal with Corporal Hill. He walked over to the group’s leader, Iain Morrison, and suggested that it may be helpful to know the RAF team’s planned routes in case members of the Mancunian team needed help. Iain Morrison nodded agreement and said that he would make contact with the officer in charge of the RAF team. Garasov felt pleased with himself.

  Flying Officer Crombie walked into the main tent and immediately Flight Sergeant Bradley asked if he could have a few words. Crombie nodded and Flight Sergeant Bradley told him about the incident two years ago and that the man who held a gun on him was a member of the group by the lakeside and described him. “Corporal Hill fought with him and the man fell over the edge and we couldn’t find him. He must have escaped with help, sir.”

  As he finished speaking, a voice called from the entrance, “I’m looking for Flying Officer Crombie.”

  Crombie turned and said, “That’s me. How can I help you?”

  The person said, “My name is Iain Morrison and I’m heading up a group from the Mancunian Mountaineering Club, based in Manchester. If our two groups are going to be out in the mountains it could be a safety measure to know each other’s planned routes.”

  Crombie said, “Come in and have a seat. Can we offer you a cup of coffee? It won’t take long to brew up. We have some restriction on how much information we can share but happy to help where we can. What are the skills of your group? Brad, can you get the stove going and make us all a brew?” Flight Sergeant Bradley nodded his assent and went
about it.

  “We have a mixed bunch, really,” Iain Morrison replied. “They are all from different walks of life and levels of skills. We even have a Russian diplomat with us and he apparently is a very experienced mountaineer, although he has a limp from a fall about two years ago. I have split the group into four teams with a very experienced person in each group. We have planned four objectives for each team to try for in turn. I’ll bring the map over later to show you the objectives. Each team can plan their own route to each objective.”

  Bradley’s ears really pricked up at the mention of the Russian diplomat and the limp. He brought mugs of coffee over. Crombie introduced him to Iain Morrison. “Mr Morrison, we will be in two groups, also with different objectives, but we will have people at our base camp all the time we are here. As a military organisation, we cannot give you details of our planned routes but can indicate how close to your teams we will be when you bring the map over. If you need help at any time, please contact the base camp and we can radio the team nearest to where you need help.” The three men discussed weather forecasts and likely risk areas while they drank their mugs of coffee. They arranged to meet in an hour’s time.

  After Morrison had left and returned to the lodge, Flight Sergeant Bradley called Corporal Hill over to the main tent for a brief talk with Flying Officer Crombie. After he entered the tent with Flight Sergeant Bradley, he was told by Crombie to join them and have a seat. “Flight Sergeant Bradley here told me that two years ago you had a fight with a Russian and he fell over a cliff and disappeared. Flight Sergeant Bradley believes that the same person is here now as a Russian diplomat. Brad will point him out to you and whatever you do, do not react as if you had met him before.