I can remember a Canadian Air Force Base at Prestwick, Scotland during the 1960's. They patrolled the Atlantic using F-104 Starfighters for the job. It was quite amazing to watch the start up and take off procedure.
An F-104 would be towed from the hanger and put into a jet blaster canopy and the engine was run up with a howl. Fire Brigades were dispatched near the main runway and then the Starfighter appeared. It was simply a man strapped to a jet engine with tiny wings!!! On very lucky days, they would launch two on patrol and they would takeoff side by side to avoid jet wash and climb together.
The Tower would announce "clear for takeoff and immediate climb to 50,000 feet" and with a high rev howl it was off down the runway. The better takeoffs were out over the Firth of Clyde on a Summer's day. Half way down the runway, wheels came up and it flew parallel for the last quarter of the length of the runway and then the pilot just pulled back the stick, stood it on it's arse and off it went, re heat burning, very near to straight up in the air!!!!
Then if you turned back to the runway a fire engine would be tanking down the runway!! Fortunately they never had to be used. there were two at takeoff and one, the racer, at the start of the run. if memory serves me the RCAF only lost two of them, one from Prestwick.
The USAF had a Search and Rescue base there and a MATS Freight Terminal as well. The Royal Navy Search and Rescue helicopters were there too. The USAF ran flight after flight using C 54 (Douglas DC-4) and c-56 (DC-6) but never found it.
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