Page 19 - Demo

19Once we had won back the Falklands much remained to be done. Themain task was to ensure the integrity of the islands and provideprotection from any further air attacks. Although the RAF Harriersinstalled themselves on Port Stanley airfield we needed to replace themwith Phantoms and this meant extending the runway.Within two weeks of the surrender I flew down to Port Stanley withIan Macfadyen, the CO of No 29 Sqn, which was to be the first Phantomunit to be deployed, to reconnoitre the ground. A month later I took withme a Fighter Control expert, Wg Cdr Bob Daniels, to explore sites forpermanent radar installations on the Islands.On my first visit it was bitterly cold and the islands were covered insnow. It was most encouraging to see the high morale of the RAFpersonnel, all of whom were still living in tents at that stage.On my second visit, in October, it was comparatively warm and sunny.Jeremy Moore lent me a Gazelle and I had the opportunity to visit bothislands and visit the spots indelibly marked on my memory. San Carloswater, Goose Green, Pebble Island, Mount Kent, Bluff Cove and Stanleyitself. I also spent a night on Illustrious.Victor tankers were the key to the conduct of practically all air activitiesduring Operation CORPORATE.