von Marwitz
Forum Guru
When I was a kid, I visited my aunt a couple of times during the holidays, who lived in a rural area of Germany.My dad saw some of those Diesels at Goose Bay, Labrador when working seismic there in the 1970s. He took photos of the signs on base that read LUFTWAFFE but back then neither of us had a clue how to pronounce it. At one time, GATES (German Army Training Establishment Shilo) had more tanks in Manitoba than the Canadian Army had tanks in the world. I still remember the Legion Magazine doing an interview with their CO, an Oberstleutnant IIRC named Nik Frankenstein.
Back then, NATO airforces were quite busy practicing low level flights. I seem to recall they weren't supposed to go lower than something like 500 ft., but for sure some did. Sometimes I could see the visors of the pilots and the decals on their helmets. Especially the "Phantoms" were freakishly loud. I also remember German "Tornados", "Alpha Jet" trainers, F-16s, A-10s, British "Harriers". Understandably, my aunt hated them for the noise, but I found them exciting and interesting.
von Marwitz