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57each contact in the 100 plus which might be detected during a patrol wasa powerful capability, especially if you could report that there was onlyone possible hostile, or even no hostile vessels, amongst all the contactsdetected during a 15-18 hour flight. If a contact was deemed to bepotentially hostile, perhaps because of where it was operating,Searchwater permitted the crew to make a good stab at classifying thereturn as naval or non-naval without having to penetrate the target%u2019smissile engagement zone. All of this represented a considerableimprovement in the Nimrod%u2019s ability to conduct long range surveillanceover a large areas, even when it produced only negative intelligence.Not so well known was the fact that infra-red linescan was triedbriefly, fitted in the starboard beam. Quite a good performance wasachieved in trials held at Kinloss during April and the equipment wastried once in anger from ASI. One of the daytime island surveillancesorties found an Argentinean bulk freighter with a projected trackpassing close to ASI during the night hours. One of our chief techsperformed wonders fitting the equipment (there was only one set) inshort order for a night sortie to check that the vessel kept well away fromASI. Sadly I have to report that the infra-red did not perform well on thatsortie and it was never tried out again.Crew accommodation at Ascension changed in June with the arrivalof %u2018Concertina City%u2019, courtesy of several USAF C-141 Starlifters. Thenaval party at ASI thought a nautical touch would raise the tone and theychristened the cabins with such august names as Jellicoe, Fisher andHornblower. Needless to say, they were thwarted by our bold aircrewswho preferred Pugwash, Bird%u2019s Eye and Long John Silver. Americanengineers erected the cabins in typically efficient style but when queriedabout sewage disposal at one of the main briefings a grizzled Seabeecommented somewhat curtly that he was not going to be responsible forany British %u2018S-H-One-T%u2019.It had been a challenging time; the Nimrod had gained severalimprovements, especially to its weapons suite, and we had all learned alot, particularly about ourselves. I left Ascension on 4 July, about threeweeks after the white flag was raised over Port Stanley. We sawCanberra passing through, covered in rust and full of Royal Marines,some of the real heroes. Station Routine Order No 1 came out that day.Things would never have been the same; it was a good time to leave.