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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0533.PDF
FEBRUARY 23, 1939 FLIGHT. 187 AIR FORCES IN EMPIRE LANDS AND ALLIED COUNTRIES Egypt Eire "TvESPITE its comparative youth -L^and small proportions the Egyptian Army Air Force must be reckoned a formidable arm. A considerable proportion of the equipment is of the latest type available, and the training of the personnel is of a high order, mainly due to the attachment of a Mission from the R.A.F. With headquarters at Almaza, the Force embodies the following units: Nos. i and 2 (General Pur pose) Squadrons; No. 3 (Bomber Transport) Squadron; and a Training Squadron. For general-purpose work, the Egyptian Army Air Force uses Cheetah-engined Avro 626s and a special ver sion of the Hawker Audax with an Armstrong Siddeley Panther. Other types on charge are the Avro Anson, Westland Wessex, De Havilland Moth and a number of recently acquired Miles Magisters. The latest acquisition is a batch of Westland Lysander army co-operation mono planes (Bristol Mercury XII), which are almost identical with those supplied to the Royal Air Force but carry cer tain items of equipment to suit them to local operating conditions. These machines were supplied under the terms of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The Egyptian Army Air Force has lately been issued with a new uniform similar in style to that of the Royal Air Force, consisting of a jacket with patch pockets, slacks and a forage cap. Egyptian officers are often attached to the R.A.F. at home. The R.A.F. made special efforts to send the young Egyptian Air Force some officers of ability to start it well on its way. Among those lent have been Air Comdre. Sir Christopher Brand, K.B.E., D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C., who is famous as one of the two pilots who made the first flight from England to South Africa. Another is Wing Comdr. S. N. Webster, A.F.C., who won the race for the Schneider Trophy in 1927 at Venice. rpHI$ section shows the varying status of the lands whose aircraft can be reckoned as part of the armed might of the British Empire. The thrones of King Farouk and King Ghazi have grown out of the relations of Egypt and Iraq (both former territories of the Turkish Empire) with Britain. Eire is, of course, one of the nations of the British Commonwealth. India is at one and the same time an Empire and a Dependency, though Dominion status is regarded as her destiny. Air Forces in the Colonies are a new develop ment which is certain to grow in importance. 'T*HE history of military aviation -*- in Ireland goes back to 1913, when the Royal Flying Corps made its first oversea flight. Several machines of No. 2 Squadron of the Military Wing flew from their station at Montrose to County Limerick to take part in the mili tary manoeuvres of the Irish Com mand. The Eire Army Air Corps, however, started life in 1922 on the establishment of the Irish Free State. At that time the Royal Air Force had five aerodromes in Southern Ireland. These were evacuated on the withdrawal of British Forces, and taken over, together with a fair amount of flying equipment, by the Irish Free State Army. The first pilots of the Air Corps were Irishmen who had learned their flying with the R.F.C. and R.A.F. during the War. The young Corps started off with a period of active service, some excellent reconnaissance work being done during the two years' Civil War. After the pacification of the country late in 1923 the Air Corps withdrew from its aerodromes in Oranmore, County Galway; Fermoy, County Cork; Gormanston, County Meath ; and Tallagh, County Dublin, and established its headquarters at Baldonnell, County Dublin, nine miles from the Army Headquarters in Dublin. Fermoy has since " Flight " pkotograph. (Above) A Hawker Audax of the Egyptian Air Force. This version is fitted with a Siddeley Panther X two-row engine. Left) AH Islam Pasha, in com mand of Egyptian military aviation, inspecting officers of the Egyptian Air Force wearing their newly designed uniforms for the first time. The inspection took place in Cairo.
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