FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0868.PDF
•53 AIRPOWER SUPPORT and many o£ these have called for the exercise of real ingenuity; small, light ah>y castings have been made from scrapped, crashed airscrew blades, melted down and "reincarnated." Nothing is wasted if it can possibly be used again, or in another guise, and even if that is out of the question, metal parts are sent out to British companies to be re-smelted and put back into war production. Oil from engine test runs and oil from road vehicle sumps is filtered, re-refined and used again. Not only individual items, but special aircraft are also built at this depot, i-off types for special experi mental purposes or missions are made, or if someone gets a bright idea which it is easier to incorporate in a special machine than on an ordinary service type, it is tested and developed in an actual "flying-laboratory" aircraft. I saw one or two extremely interesting aircraft which were certainly "not quite normal." Among other items handled at B.A.D.A. are: all-rubber flight equip ment; self-sealing oil and fuel tanks; 0.50m. machine guns and 20 mm. cannon ; bomb sights ; radio equipment; para chutes ; electrical and hydraulic equipment; and airscrews. At this base large numbers of overhauled airscrews—Hamil ton and Curtiss-electric—are turned out daily, both for delivery to forward areas and for aircraft actually on the station. Igas^toM th^t^lmost all parachutes now being made ^^afeof nylom^wing to the restriction of silk, but nylon is equally ^Eient, and\the only real difference in its practical application is that it cannot be packed into quite so saRfU jNspace as genuine silk. The mais-pj^odfaction/lystem 'extends even to the radio >tenana^sjfops,ynn which installations undergoing travel alorfg J,fee benches on conveyor rails. As r-lwsndrads »of overhauled 0.50m. cal. m/g.s are Jj^ay. depot is under the command of Lt. Col. and was organised by him and his very istant, Lt. Col. D. S. Soper. These two geft- These one-man dinghys are being inspected after repair in the rubber equipment section of one of the Base Air Depots. The stabilising bags, inflation bottles and hand lines can clearly be seen. Aircraft radio sets being re-assembled after overhaul. Note the carriage trolleys on the conveyor rails which run the length of the benches. It's all part of the U.S.S.T.A.F. Service. tlemen have in truth done a magnificent job, and they have every reason to be proud of their work. B.A.D.A. is commanded by Brig. Gen. I. W. Ott, who was recently awarded the Legion of Merit for the way in which he successfully handled a tremendous task. It mis a tremendous task, as even anyone who has seen only a brief glimpse of it can readily understand, for the greater part of the huge increase in output has come about in under 12 months, although the original foundations were laid in 1940-41. A lighter side of the picture is provided by what is knowlF^ as the Rocking Chair Ferrying Squadron, Inc., Ltd. (Incor porated in Good Fellowship and Limited to Fair Weather). This is the highest ranking squadron in the world, being composed of Gen. Ott, Col. Newberry, jCol. Coates, Col. Scott, Lt. Col. Soper, Capt. Castle and Capt. Bezzant. These seven gentlemen—in order to remain officially active pilots (minimum, four hours solo per month)—undertake, when the normal ferry crews are overworked, to collect aircraft arriving by ship in this country and fly them to base. Mostly they handle Thunder bolts, but occasionally other types. The first three officers named are all Command Pilots—that is, each has over 1,500 flying hours, plus three years' active service with the U.S.A.A.C. It must surely be a relief to be able to get away from a desk and reams of paper work and indulge in a spot of active flying—even if only for a little while—and they have the satis faction of knowing that they are doing useful work, despite its appearance of play. The Supply Division of the B.A.D.A. is an organisation which has few paral lels even in the giant U.S. manufactur ing plants. For a start, they have 100,060 item cards in one section of their records; the paper work for every phase of Air Service Command supply is handled at this base, although in many cases actual freight is delivered from the entry port direct to its forward destination. However, thousands 'fii
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
