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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0602.PDF
342 MARCH 2QTH, 1945 B.O.A.C WARTIME SERVICE calls to be performed in re- cord time were periodically made on the technicians, such as the refitting of four Short Empire flying boats for the 2,000 miles hop from Lisbon to Bathurst, the re-powering of Ensigns for trans-African services, etc. But apart from the de- mands of the corporation's own transport services, other wartime needs made heavy calls upon the corporation's engineering resources. To cope with them a complete re- organisation was necessary, involving the opening of new plants and the migration of established ones. From these efforts arose the P.E.R.A. (Propeller and En- gine Repair Auxiliary), an integral part of the B.O.A.C. organisation, operating three units and employing several thousand - men and women, mostly trained from the start by B.O.A.C. engineers. The P.E.R.A. embraces, among others, the overhaul workshop evacuated from Croydon to Treforest, and the propeller overhaul and repair factory at Bath, and is oper- ated for M.A.P. Since its inception the P.E.R.A. has overhauled thou- sands of engines and many more airscrews for the R.A.F. and has rendered great services, in assisting the maintenance of R.A.F. machines. Not only has the total strength of personnel become nearly seven-fold, but what is even more important, the average rate of engine output has increased eleven times. This is indeed a remarkable achievement, especially if one remembers that over 38 per cent, of the P.E.R.A. staff are newly-trained women. The value of P.E.R.A. to the war effort might be illus- trated by even one of its many-sided activities. The sec- tion engaged upon the salvage of useful parts from crashed aircraft engines, which began in November, 1940, salvaged some 2,500 different kinds of spares in two years of its work. It is indeed this type of work, little known though it is, which is of immediate interest to the taxpayer. Some time ago, when the total cost of running this shop for a year was com- pared with the cost price of the total of 35 main items salvaged, a financial-saving of some £120,000 wa* shown. NURSING THE EXPLORER : Gold Coast crews refuelling an Ensign at Takoradi. The Armstrong Whitwortii Ensign was designed several years before the war for Imperial Airways. This is just a fraction of the overall picture of P.E.R.A. The M.A.P. were, meanwhile, building other plants for the repair and overhaul of aircraft and components. Special- ised equipment was needed for many important processes, and the B.O.A.C. service equipment factory was asked to help. Experienced in the design and manufacture of this type of equipment, they were instrumental in producing many useful test rigs and other fixtures. Typical of their ingenuity is the hydraulic rig devised for straightening bent airscrew blades. This has been responsible for the return of many damaged blades to front-line service. A review of the engineering activities of the B.O.A.C. would not be complete without some reference to the men who made these operations possible. Originally the system was to send engineers overseas for a period of three years. But when war broke out and difficulties in transportation followed, as well as the need for maximum numbers of skilled technicians overseas, these "contract engineers" had to remain on their posts irrespective of the length of their sojourn abroad. Theirs was the task to build up the new bases, and to do the pioneering work in training local personnel. Only recently with the improved war situation and as men of reasonable experience become available in the United Kingdom for transfer overseas, are these old-' timers given a chance of returning to home bases. POST-WAR AIR SURVEY SIR ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR, Secretary for Air, told Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Sueter (C, Hertford) in the Commons last week that he recently caused a review to be undertaken of the way in which the air photography needed for surveying in this country and the Colonies could best be provided after the war. The K.A.F. has specialised equipment, and work oi this kind would afford valuable training. It was therefore his view that the task should be allocated to the R.A.F. The Minister for Civil Aviation was in complete accord. Asked by Sir Oliver Sirnmonds (C, Duddeston) whether the policy of the Air Ministry was to eliminate all the civil firms which were engaged in air survey before the war, Sir Archibald replied that there was not very much of this work done before the ,war. It was now going to be undertaken on a big scale by the R.A.F. as part of its ordinary training duties. The object was to get the work done in the most efficient and economical way and to give valuable training to the R.A.F. FOUR WORLD FLYING RECORDS pN Air Command now hold four world flying records,-*-' Reuter announced last week. It was disclosed that R A.F. Liberators recently completedan operational mission entailing a flight of more than 3,000 miles—equivalent to a non-stop return flight between Londonand Moscow. This is one of four world' flying records held by Eastern Command, and never before had a Liberator attempteda combat sortie over such a distance. The other three records were:— A round flight of more than 2,400 miles in 8 hrs. 50 mins. by a Mosquito on photographic reconnaissance—equivalent to a non-stop return flight between London and Leningrad. A flight of 1,350 miles by R.A.F. Beaufighters to attack shipping off Tavoy (200 miles south-east of Rangoon)—equiva- lent to an attack on Prague or Milan by fighters based in South- east England. A 1,500- miles flight by 2nd U.S.A.A.F. Air Commando .Mustangs to shoot up Donmuang Airfield, Bangkok.
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