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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0053.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 18, 1934 A TEMPORARY CRIPPLE : A forced landing at Bair. Waiting for a new engine to be brought by lorry from Amman, 150 miles away. of the Air Force as a source of pro- tection for his country. No. 14 Squadron have lately been re-equipped with Fairey " Gordon " general purpose ma- chines, fitted with "Panther 11A" engines in place of the Fairey III.F's which succeeded the D.H. 9.A's. Many years must pass, however, before the old " Ninak " is forgotten in connection with No. 14 Squadron. This machine did sterling work in the early post-war years when it was first decided to station aircraft at Amman. Heavily overladen with wireless and desert equipment, this relic of the war staggered off small aeiodromes and lumbered through thin, hot air, bumped and buffeted about by local climatic con- ditions. Considering the number of hours flown, the old " Liberty " engine seldom let the pilot down, and the scarcity of accidents proves the high standard of efficiency and skill maintained by the pilots under very trying con- ditions. No squadron in the Service can boast such an interesting history, in so much that it is almost sacrilege to condense it into so few words. Formed at Shoreham on February 3, 1915, from the 5th Wing, R.F.C., the squadron were equipped with Maurice Farman biplanes and a few Martin- sydes. On November 7, 1915, they embarked for Alexan- dria and, equipped with B.E.2C's, were stationed at Ismailia to operate between Egypt and Palestine. There- after, like the Children of Israel, they wandered over Pale- stine, Transjordan, Egypt and the Hedjaz from Alexandria to Ismailia and Suez, from Kantara to Ramleh and Jeru- salem and from El Wejh in the Hedjaz to Damascus in Syria. They assisted in the push across the Sinai Desert, sent a flight to join Lawrence's campaign in Arabia and Transjordan, and finally took very active participation in Allenby's magnificent drive up to Damascus, bombing Amman, their present home, on the way. In May, 1916, machines from No. 14 rescued Lt. (now Sir Pierre) Van Ryneveld, who had forced-landed in the Sinai Desert. About the same time, Lt. Kingsley forced-landed on a flat mountain top in South Sinai. The pilot repaired the engine while his observer kept the Turks at bay with a rear gun. Eventually the pilot took off, diving over the mountain side after a too short run and flew back home. In the beginning of 1917, after the evacuation of El Arish, and when the pipe line was being laid across the desert, Lt. Seward was hit by " Archies " near Gaza. He descended in the sea to prevent his machine being captured. On being fired at by the Turks, he swam farther out to sea, then for four hours followed the coast, and eventually landed exhausted, being picked up by one of our own cavalry patrols. The Squadron returned home in January, 1919, and were disbanded at Tangmere in the following month. In February, 1920, No. Ill Squadron, stationed at Ramleh, Palestine, were redesignated No. 14 Squadron, and a few years later moved eastward across Jordan to Amman. From the wide bay of Alexandria, and from under the shadows of the great Pyramids at Giza in Egypt's fair, sunny land, to the desert fastness of El Wejh in Arabia, to Jerusalem upon its seven hills, to the desert solitude of Azrak's beautiful pools, and to the magnificent ruins of Jupiter's temple at Baalbec, No. 14 Squadron have crusaded through the pilgrim lands of history, traversing on their way the ruins of Rome's civilisation, the devastated splen- dours of Asiatic Greece, and the wonderful land of Pale- stine, wherein is enshrined for ever the glorious memory of the triumphs of early Christendom. (The writer of this article had the privilege of being a member of No. 14 Bomber Squadron during the years 1927 and 1928. This article in detail refers to that period, and the accompanying photographs were taken then. The general work of the Squadron, however, has not changed much, and the country is still the same, so this article should enable readers of FLIGHT to get some idea of the very valuable work done by No. 14 Bomber Squadron in the country of Transjordan,) W. A. C. For a list of other descriptive articles on the work of R.A.F. Squadrons, etc., see page 67. POLICING THE DESERT FRONTIER : Taken at a landing ground on the edge of the Wadi Sirhan. These six machines were doing a long reconnaissance, during a Wahabi revolt. A large party of Wahabis were sitting on their frontier, but a few miles away, when this photo was taken. Air aides-de-camp to the King THE Air Ministry announces the appointment of Group Capt. Roderic Maxwell Hill, M.C., A.F.C., and Group Capt. Thomas Edward Barham Howe, A.F.C., as Air Aides-de-Camp to the King. Group Capt. Hill succeeds Air Commodore Lawrence Arthur Pattinson, D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C., who relinquished the post on promotion to his present rank on January 1, 1934. Group Capt. Howe's appointment is an additional one. • .. Honorary chaplain to the King THE Air Ministry announces the appointment of the Rev. James Rowland Walkey, M.A., Chaplain-in-Chief, Royal Air Force, as an Honorary Chaplain to the King, in succession to the Rev. S. L. Clarke, M.A., B.Sc. 53
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