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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 2371.PDF
SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1943 FLIGHT 3*7 B.O.A. Has a Birthday Nearly 600 Atlantic Crossings by Return Ferry in Two Years* Operation Pioneer Organisers Braved Newfoundland Winter in Rail Coaches : Liberators Adapted for Historic Two-way Service N X SEPTEMBER 24th, 1943, saw the completion of twoyears' successful operation by British Overseas Air-ways of one of the most remarkable air services in the world, the North Atlantic Return Ferry, and during this period there has only been one fatal accident. It was in September, 1941, that the Secretary of State for Air issued directions to the Corporation to take over the responsibility for the operation and maintenance ot this vital Atlantic sendee, and to run it to the requirements ot the R.A.F. Ferry Command, which is now part ot the Transport Command, R.A.F. The main object of the Return Ferry Service is to take from the United Kingdom to Canada the Transport Command air crews, which liver bombers to this country, and in addition it carries 'official passengers and freight. Official passengers and cargo form the loads as the aircraft return to the U.K. Only Two-way Winter Service The service has operated through two winters, with air- craft never intended for such work, over the most difficult ocean route in the world. Last winter it was the only service to keep the air in both directions over the North Atlantic. With an average of from five to six aircraft in service at a time, nearly 600 crossings have now been made. Of the total crossings, over 80 per cent, have been made in the last twelve months. On several occasions there have been betweep 35 and 40 flights in a month. In winter, temperatures of more than 40 degrees below freezing point are encountered on this route, together with head winds, on the west-bound voyage, of from 50 to 60 m.p.h. over the greater part of the journey from the United Kingdom to Montreal, 3,000 miles in length, which has frequently been flown non-stop. To avoid icing conditions, in winter the aircraft are obliged to fly at a height of 20,000ft. or over. After two years' experience of main- taining a two-way service, British Overseas Airways tech- nicians are satisfied that they understand all the major problems involved in regular operation over this route, and the necessary solutions are being worked out on a practical basis. The conclusion has been confirmed that "a, safe, regular, two-way commercial air service across the Atlantic can be established after the war, as soon as the necessary aircraft become available. Spade-work in Canada The story of the North Atlantic Return Ferry really began, however, in August, 1940, when the Ministry of Aircraft Production decided that it was necessary to estab- lish an organisation for ferrying American military aircraft from Canada to the United Kingdom. Col. Burchall, formerly an Assistant Director-General of British Over- seas Airways, and Capts. A. S. Wilcockson, D. C. T. Bennett, I. G. Ross, and Humphrey Page, who had been seconded by British Overseas Airways, went over to Canada to assist in the setting up of this ferry service, and after some preliminary work at a small airfield near Montreal they went to Hattie's Camp, Newfoundland, to begin the work of building up their organisation. Here they had no hangars, there was no accommodation of any kind for themselves and for those they began to gather round them, and they had to live through the bitter New- foundland winter, in three railway coaches, in a siding near the airfield. They searched the highways and byways of Canada and the United States for pilots, who, as the ' arrived, were put into training. After a great deal of hard work the day arrived when there were ready for despatch 21 Hudson bombers, the first American aircraft to be delivered to Britain. By that time a large number of B.O.A. personnel had arrived, including a number of experienced captains. It must be remembered that the Atlantic had never before been flown in winter, and only a small number of operational flights had been made at any time. In 1937, Capt. Wilcockson had carried out some Atlantic survey flights in a rlying- boat, and during the summer of 1939 eight return flights had been made. There was available a certain amount ot wireless and meteorological data which had thus been accumulated, but there had never been any winter opera- tion to find out the actual conditions. When, therefore, 21 aircraft were drawn up on the air- field at Hattie's Camp to fly to England, they were to a large extent venturing into the* unknown. The 21 were divided into three groups of seven, each to be led by an experienced Captain. These Captains were D. C. T. Bennett (now Air Commodore Bennett, C.B.E., D.S.O.), Capt. Humphrey Page (since killed on service), and Capt. Gordon Store. When the three flights took off, what had been foreseen as probable did actually happen. Most of the followers soon lost their leaders in the murk and cloud over the »Atlantic. Nevertheless, the skill and experience of the three leaders, embodied in their flight plans, enabled all ATLANTIC LIBERATOR : Powered by four 1,200 h.p.,14-cyl. double-row Pratt & .Whitney engines, it has a range of 3,000 miles cruising at 230 m.p.h. the aircraft, except one which had to turn back, to arrive safely at their destinations within 20 minutes or half an hour of each other. Before long, 50 aircraft had been flown across the Atlantic, with every one accounted for; a triumph for the skill, long experience, and careful planning by the small group .pt R.O.A. Captains and operations staffs who had laid down the first organisation and worked out the operational details. Then came the problem of organising a two-way Atlantic service which would have to function winter and summer. Six Liberator bombers were converted in the summer ot 1941 for the purpose of maintaining this two-way Atlantic service. These aircraft had not been designed for North Atlantic service, especially in winter, and a large number of alterations had to be carried out, particularly to the engines. Carburetter heating had to be installed to enable the engines to function satisfactorily in temperatures ot 40 degrees C. below freezing, which, from the experiences of the previous winter, it was known would be constantly encountered. Alcohol sprays were fitted for clearing ice from the carburetter. Shutters were fitted to the oil coolers, and some kind of cabin heating had to be devised with double windscreen panels to avoid icing in the cockpit; a problem satisfactorily solved only some six months ago.
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