Hunter Pilot and Buccaneer Navigator

Having gained his private pilot’s licence at just eighteen, Bob Kemp was commissioned into the Royal Air Force straight from school, beginning a career he later described as living ‘life in the fast lane’.He initially flew single-seat Hawker Hunters before transferring to the Blackburn Buccaneer as a leading navigator in low-level strike operations. Flying these highly capable subsonic attack aircraft, Bob accumulated around 3,000 hours and developed a reputation as a skilled weapons expert.During his Buccaneer service, Bob survived a dramatic crash at the Paris Air Show on 5 June 1971\. While demonstrating low-level air-to-air refuelling behind a Victor tanker, severe turbulence caused the aircraft to crash. Both crew members ejected safely, but despite suffering serious spinal injuries, Bob returned to the wreckage to rescue his pilot. He then commandeered a transport aircraft at the air show to fly his colleague back to the UK for urgent medical treatment.After a long recovery, Bob regained full flying fitness and returned to operational duty. He later commanded the Buccaneer Peace Keeping Force during the Lebanon crisis in 1984, earning the prestigious Wilkinson Sword of Peace. As weapons instructor on the first RAF squadron to participate in the Red Flag exercises in Nevada, he played a key role in developing innovative low-level tactics to outmanoeuvre American ‘aggressor’ forces.Following his military career, Bob worked with a defence contractor, marketing advanced weapon systems internationally. His work took him across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including Russia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.Alongside this, he served as an Air Force Reservist, commanding one of the UK’s three Maritime Headquarters Units. He was mobilised twice: during the Kosovo Crisis at NATO headquarters in Brussels, and during the Gulf War, serving in Kuwait, Iraq, and the Falkland Islands. He later became Inspector of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II for seven years.