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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1960.PDF
316 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 21 SI, 1944 A.T.A. Achievement A Word of Praise for the "Back Air Boys" on the Occasion of the Fifth Anniversary of the Unit SOON after the outbreak of war, at any rate during that fateful month of September, 1939, a small pool of pilots was formed by Mr. Gerard d'Erlanger of the British Overseas Airways Corporation. That was the modest beginning of the unit now known as the Air Trans port Auxiliary. It comprised some 30 experienced civil pilots who were attached to two R.A.F. stations and shared with the Service the task of ferrying fighters and bombers from the manufacturers' works to the maintenance units which were responsible for installing some of the military equipment. Within a few months there were four ferry pools, the pilots were given their own uniform (based on_ that of B.O.A.C), and were no longer under the direct* control of the R.A.F. The work expanded, and within a year or so of the formation of the unit, the Air Ministry entrusted to it the entire responsibility for ferrying service aircraft within the British Isles. By then the strength of the unit had grown to 133 pilots, 20 of whom were women. Captain Harold Balfour, Under-Secretary of State for Air, paid a tribute to the work of the A.T.A. at an anni versary dinner held on September nth. He said: — Quarter of a Million Aircraft The Air Transport Auxiliary has fed our fighting forces to the extent of about a quarter of a million aircraft of over 135 different types, safely delivered to their bases in England and on the Continent. It is an achievement of tremendous and first-class impor tance to the war effort. The exploits of famous fighter and bomber pilots would not have been possible if it had not been for those whose work we honour to-night—the Air Transport Auxiliary. There is a saying that the scientific achievements of the "back room" boys of the M.A.P. made possible our victories over the Luftwaffe. But it is equally true that if it had not been for the '' back air'' boys and girls of the A.T.A. these victories could not have been won. The R.A.F. said "give us the tools,'1 and the response of the A.T.A. has never failed. R.A.F. pilots on many occasions declare publicly that they owe everything to the devoted skill of the ground crews who keep their air craft flying, but they are also the first to pay tribute to their comrades of the air in the A.T.A., who have made it possible for them to carrv the war to the enemy. There is no type of aircraft that the A.T.A. cannot fly, from the humble Moth to the latest types of secret air craft, and for the servicing of their fleet, more varied in types than any other in the world, more than 1,000 experienced engineers are employed. To the personnel of the A.T.A., under the leadership and command of m 4fflm*$^***^ Commodore Gerard d'Erlanger and his able lieutenant, Senior Commander Philip Wills, down to the last joined mechanic, there is a national debt of gratitude which must be lasting, and, I trust, will never be forgotten. The A.T.A., when it came into existence soon after the war, possessed a nucleus of 39 pilots. To-day it has over 700 pilots located at more than 15 centres spread through out the United Kingdom. As an instance of the varied and arduous nature of the work entailed, one pilot's log recently showed that, after flying to an aircraft factory from his centre in an Anson taxi, he delivered in one day a Stirling, a Sunderland, a Mosquito and a Liberator. Like the Royal Air Force, the A.T.A. is an Imperial— even an International—force, for Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Rhodesia all provide their quota of pilots, and in addition the U.S.A., Poland, Belgium, Denmark, and even Siam, are represented amongst its personnel. We know the work is hard and hazardous, for A.T.A. pilots have to fly in all kinds of weather, with one object only—to deliver the goods safely. It is evidence of the hard, responsible and often dangerous nature of their work that of the 39 original pilots no fewer than 19 have given their lives in ferrying His Majesty's aircraft. Their sacri fice has been just as much one given to the Nation as that of an air crew stricken down over enemy territory. Famous Names in A.T.A. There are many names famous in aviation included in those who have lost their lives, and equally, I am glad to say, that there are many names still famous who are to-day continuing their work in the A.T.A., and who we hope will be heard of much in post-war aviation circles. A special word of praise is due to the ,__j^ women pilots who number just over gtf . 100, and also to the women ground H staff. If ever there was any idea of sex inequality in aviation, this has been effectively disposed of by the achieve ments of the women's section. With the natural wish of the male "closed shop," before the war men used to make it a practice to say that women could never really fly. A few of the braver ones performed outstanding achievements, and others enjoyed Satur day afternoon flying in the Club Moth, but, by and large, men said that t'ais was a man's job. Now our Trades Union has been broken wide open, and I think that in post-war aviation the sex union of males will have to alter its rules or it
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