TIP OF THE SPEAR: FLYING A MODERN-DAY LEGEND

RAF TORNADO TRIBUTE

Having led a detachment hunting Scud missiles in Iraq and commanded a squadron in Afghanistan, Air Commodore Ian Gale MBE MBA FCMI CMgr talks to editor Dino Carrara about his long career as a Tornado pilot, both in peacetime and on operations.

Two 31 Sqn Tornado GR4s on a training sortie in the UK, while Ian Gale – then a wing commander – was OC. The nearest aircraft is carrying two Storm Shadow missiles under the fuselage, while the second jet has Paveway IVs – for self-defence an ASRAAM is visible on the wing of each Tornado.
Jamie Hunter

“On a mission over Afghanistan, I was talking to a British soldier in a ‘troops in contact’ situation and I could hear the bullets whizzing past. I said, ‘I’m 100 miles away.’ He replied, ‘then I’m dead.’ I told him, ‘the bomb will be with you in less than ten minutes.’ He went, ‘wow!’ and we managed to get there in time.” This incident was one of many where Wing Commander Ian Gale (now Air Commodore) and his squadron came to the aid of coalition forces. Gale’s career path – which led to him scorching across the Afghan sky at the controls of a Tornado, racing to assist troops – began in tranquil Rutland at RAF Cottesmore.

As a fligh

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