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Forwife Carole

FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, while waiting for the control tower to clear h the Perspex cockpit canopy at the surrounding Ger December moon

Behind me lay the boundary fence of the Royal Air Force base, and beyond the fence, as I had seen while swinging hter into line with the takeoff runway, the sheet of snow covering the flat farmland stretched away to the line of the pine trees, two ht yet so clear I could almost see the shapes of the trees themselves

Ahead of h the headphones, was the runway itself, a slick black ribbon of tarhts, illu the solid path cut earlier by the snos Behind the lights were the huain where the sno blades had pushed theht, the airfield tower stood up like a single glowing candle aars where thedown the station for the night

Inside the control tower, I knew, all ar only forcars, and head back to the parties in the hts would die out, leaving only the huddled hangars, seehter planes, the sleeping fuel-bowser trucks, and, above theht, brilliant red above the black-and-white airfield, beating out in Morse code the naht there would be no wandering aviators to look down and check their bearings; tonight was Christ pilot trying to get hohty for his Christmas leave

I was in a hurry and low of the control panel where the rows of dials quivered and danced It ar turned up full to prevent the Perspex’ icing up It was like a cocoon, s ht that can kill a man inside a minute if he is exposed to it at six hundred miles an hour

“Charlie Delta …”

The controller’s voice wokein my headphones as if he ithin ainst orders, but what the hell? It’s Christmas Eve

“Charlie Delta … Control,” I responded

“Charlie Delta, clear takeoff,” he said

I saw no point in responding I simply eased the throttle forward sloith the left hand, holding the Vaht hand Behindthrough a cry and into a screahts each side of the runway passed in ever quicker succession, till they were flashing in a continuous blur She beca the nosewheel from contact with the runway, and the rumble vanished instantly Seconds later thealso stopped I held her low above the deck, letting the speed build up till a glance at the air-speed indicator toldfor 150 As the end of the runhizzed beneathturn to the left, easing up the undercarriage lever as I did so

From beneath and behindtheir bays and felt the lunge forward of the jet as the drag of the undercarriage vanished In front of uished the the radio button with the left thumb

“Charlie Delta, clear airfield, wheels up and locked,” I said into en mask

“Charlie Delta, roger, over to Channel D,” said the controller, and then, before I could change radio channels, he added, “Happy Christmas”

Strictly against the rules of radio procedure, of course I was very young then, and very conscientious But I replied, “Thank you, Tower, and same to you” Then I switched channels to tune into the RAF’s North Germany Air Control frequency