Nimrod callsigns

[VulcanDriver]

Not current unfortunately but does anyone know what callsign 42 and 120 squadrons used when they flew Nimrods please?

[hschuit]

Kinloss MR Wing used:

ASCOT 9001-9099
KIN 400-599
NIMROD
OCTOPUS
PELICAN
RAFAIR 7465-7469 / 7480-7499
RESCUE 051-052

Also 3 character combinations like O8Y, V3J were used.

[VulcanDriver]

Thanks for that most useful.

[jimrodger]

Kinloss MR Wing used:

ASCOT 9001-9099
KIN 400-599
NIMROD
OCTOPUS
PELICAN
RAFAIR 7465-7469 / 7480-7499
RESCUE 051-052

Also 3 character combinations like O8Y, V3J were used.

Can't remember ever using an ASCOT callsign, about the only time possible for it would be on a SAR trail escorting FJs "across the pond" or "down south" with a VC10/Tristar as the trail boss.
The Kin callsign would be used for local area pilot training sorties or post major/minor test flights.
Pelican is one of the NATO brevity code words used for a LR MPA.
NIMROD/FALCON/OCTOPUS tended to be used for formation fly past eg Queens Birthday, and DEMOs.
The trigraph callsigns were used as both operational and ATC callsigns until the UK maritime force adopted the used of Air Tasking Orders as opposed to the previous rainform messages where the form Green was the tasking signal. After adoption of the ATO the Nimrod fleet (especially in the Middle East) would use typical tactical callsigns with a number eg SPIDER22 where we woulod be allocated a block of numbers for relief aircraft etc, we would rotate through the allocation until all used up and start at the beginning again, or start with a new callsign. Occasionally we could decide on our own callsign, so Guernsey has been used for 201Sqn, as well as the well known Kipper callsign. The groundcrew on several dets, for radio comms with ATC for crossing runways to reach dispersals etc used to use Slipper1 until our American friends cottoned on .
Thankfully the Rescue callsigns used tended to be 051 with relief of 052, but IIRC we were allocated up to 065.

HTH

Jim

[jimrodger]

Oops missed the RAFAIR callsign....

RAFAIR was used by Nimrods for transit flying eg Kin-Cyprus.
I'm pretty sure that it was the standard route flying callsign used by everbody apart from Brize/Lyneham/Northolt.

Jim

[Firebird]

You are correct Jim, ASCOT was a 38 Grp callsign.

[jimrodger]

You are correct Jim, ASCOT was a 38 Grp callsign.

Yep, I think it's an acronym derived from

Air Support Command Operational Task

Jim