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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1839.PDF
3O2 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 2O*IH, 1945 UBIQUITY ITSELF — THE BEAUFICHTER this was largely damped out when the dihedral tailplane was introduced. If one is prepared to apply a reasonable degree of physical strength, the Beau will do anything in the way of aerobatics, and, trailing vortices from the wing- tips, will out-turn most things, f As far as semi-forced landklgs are concerned, the flap area is such that the Beauflghter can be brought practically over the edge of the airfield and pointed straight down without obtaining excessive speed. The change oi angle, of course, is fairly pronounced during the hold-off in this condition, and it is as well to start the check early from a fairly high speed. The drag, with the flaps down and at the full ground angle, is enough to pull it up very rapidly, with a little differential braking to keep.it straight. But one does need braking air pressure, since once it starts to veer from the straight the e.g. is so far aft that nothing will prevent a really magnificent ground-loop—which, nevertheless, the aircraft appears to survive, more often than not, without damage. s The. entrance and pilot's emergency hatch 4s in the belly behind the driver's seat, and both entry and exit require a somewhat special technique if shins are not to be barked. I found that it was best to climb in with the back of the seat upright and with the top hatch open. To leave, whether in emergency or otherwise, one pulls a lever on the right of the seat, which collapses the back, pulls the hatch release, grasps a pair of overhead parallel bars, and swings oneself out over the gaping hole, through which one climbs^or drops out in emergency—if there is no torpedo in tj**^vay. For the first hour or two of one's experience of the Beau- fighter the sense of being somewhat '' hemmed in" is strong. Though the forward view is above reproach? two hugely cowled engines prohibit the view to port and star- board, and it is an odd feeling to be, so to speak, at the very front of the aircraft while parts of it extend forward on each side. As with everything else in the world of flying machines, one becomes accustomed to it in due course. One day someone may explain why a pair of Hercules— and particularly in the Beau—make a rhythmic, sing-song noise however well the engine speeds are synchronised jcm^ the airscrew controls. On a long flight, and particularly over the sea, it is eventually like the beating of the heart..4 And when I come to think of it, the rhythm is still thereC even when one motor is dead and the airscrew feathered. Even before the days of feathering airscrews tor the Beau- fighter it flew very nicely on one instead of two. Battle of Britain Anniversary Three Hundred R.A.F. Aircraft in Air Parade over London VICTORY was in the air at North Weald airfield on Satur-day last when Battle of Britain pilots took off to lead aformation over London in celebration of the fifth anni-versary of the famous September day in 1940 when the zenith of the air battle was reached, and 185 German aircraftwere shot out oi the 5,lry by Fighter Command. In the formation were Spitfires, Mustangs, Meteors, Mos-quitoes, Typhoons, Ternpests and Bcaufighters The latter had to "pedal" rather hard to keep up, while the Meteor pilotscomplained bitterly at having to keep down to a modest 250 m.p.h. It is to be much regretted that there were no Hurri-canes available in this country to take part. There are still a number in existence and they bore the brunt of the fighting. I flew in the formation with Wing Cdr. D. L. Cartridge,D.S.O., D.F.C., in a Coastal Command Beaufighter—one of those with the fin extended up the spine of the fuselage to giveymore fin area. It had been stripped of all excrescences and th4 gun ports covered to resurrect a few more knots. , / As we taxied out to take off we passed Air Chief MartialLord Dowding—who commanded Fighter Command in talking to a dozen or so of his old pilots. What a galaxy ofstars were there. Groups Capts. D. Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C.; C. F. Carey, D S.O., A.F.C., D.F.M.; P. S. Turner, D.S.O.,D.F.C.; Wing Cars. P. M. Brothers, D.S.O., D.F.C.; E. P. P. Wells, D.S.O., D.F.C.; R. S. Tuck, D.S.O., D.F.C.; W.Crowley-Mills, D.S.O., D.F.C,; K. T. Lofts, D.F.C..; B. Drake, D.S.O., D.F.C.; J. Ellis, D.F.C.; T. Vigors, D.F.C.; andSqn. Ldr. C. R. Bush,, D.F.C. These twelve made up the formation of i^Spftnres jfrTttje van. After a l^fi-second run forsake-off we climbed into a verygrey skjf^-so different ifom thepay of which this was the aiini- On that da#there w|re great white cumulus clouds tq/frame the de. inted. We made athe Beaus got i: on the Ea;a formatioi the sea toaircraft for AT NORTH WEALD : Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding chatting with Battle ofBritain pilots before the formation took off. canval on which history was being of widtf* circuits while the remainder ofnatiotft and then set course for Bradwell ^On t\e way we gradually caught up with_uitoes. Two more wide turns over then the formation of twin-enginedfdon. As London was approached, at 230knots, the fighters came in from the star- board beam to take up their stationbelow the Mosquitoes and Beaufighters. Two circuits over London and its en-virons were made omitting, strangely-* enough, the south-eastern suburbs.They, surely, deserved a show more than anyone. The route was Ilford, Poplar,Hyde Park, Northolt, Northwood, Elstree, Finchley, Hackney, Deptford,Wimbledon, Teddington, Welsh Harp, Finchley and out over Ponders End backto North Weald. As I passed near Flight offices I couldnot help thinking of the days I passed in 1940 as a Jim Crow (roof-spotter), oncegetting so interested in a head-on attack by Hurricanes against a formation ofDorniers that I almost forgot to sound the alarm bells. I also remembered see-ing a single Heinkel III flying on tip-toe, so to speak, while six Spitfires flew closeby without noticing him. I could have cried with impotent vexation. From the height at which we wereflying the raid damage could be seen, and certainly it is bad enough.—J. Y.
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