Aircraft filling the sky

[douggym]

When I were a young lad in about 1961-62 living near Southampton I remember looking up and seeing very many jet trails heading south. They were just passing overhead and were in line abreast covering the sky. As I remember it there must have been about 40 aircraft. This may have been something to do with the Suez crisis but can anyone tell me what happened to so many aircraft at the same time . Did they stay where they were going, was it just an excercise, what was it all about? No one seemd to talk about it at the time.

[kempie]

The Suez Crisis was during 1956.

It is possible you saw a contingent of the various RAF Squadrons which transferred to Aden during the years of turmoil which led to the Aden Emergency of December 1963.

[SeaJayPea]

I suppose it could have been something with people being readied in view of the Cuban Missile Crisis. There were any number of American aircraft based here in those days.

[douggym]

Thank you both. It would have been about? the time of both. I do remember that a lot of people were concerned about events at the time. I seem to remember that the jets must have been small or very high as they were not easy to see at the front of the vapour trails.