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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0926.PDF
FLIGHT JUNE 1947 SERVICE AVIATION in the general duties branch the propor-tion is lower—6 per cent of the extended service commissions and 16 per cent ofthe permanent. In future, ex-regular airmen on emer-gency commissions will still be eligible for short-service commissions, and thosenow holding extended-service commis- sions will be considered for permanentcommissions. Moreover, regular airmen who have not been commissioned canobtain permanent commissions direct in ground branches, in keeping with thepost-war policy of the R.A.F. that most officers must serve in the ranks beforecommissioning. Burmese National Air ForceT HE C.-in-C. Allied Air Forces, South-East Asia (Air Marshal Sir George Pirie) lately arrived in Rangoon to dis-cuss with the Burmese Interim Govern- ment the provision of R.A.F. aid informing a Burmese national air force. Service Aircraft Colour Schemes AT last it is learned that standardcolour schemes for all R.A.F. air- craft are to be adopted. According tothe type and role of the aircraft, these will be silver, dark green, anti-search-light black, medium sea grey and white. It has also been decided to revert to theold style of roundel. r Thus, the whitering will be officially reinstated and the yellow ring, which during the war en-closed the blue and red, will disappear. New Signals Trades FOUR new trades—air radar mechanic,ground radar mechanic, air wireless mechanic and ground wireless mechanic—have been introduced into the R.A.F. These are to be Group B trades and theywill take over part of the work at present being done by the higher Group A radarmechanics and the wireless, wireless and electrical, and wireless operatormechanics, now to be known respectively as radar and wireless fitters. Entry to these new Group B trades,which have been introduced as a tem- porary expedient to meet serious man-ning difficulties in the Group A signals trades, will be restricted to NationalService entrants and to regulars unable to qualify for the Group A trades. "Bomber" Harris in CanadaM ORE than 600 serving and ex-Servicemembers of the Royal Canadian Air Force stood and roared their approval asMarshal of the R.A.F. Sir Arthur Harris, guest of honour at an Air Force reuniondinner, told them that '' without the enormous contribution Canada made tothe war effort we would never have had the great bomber force we had." Sir Arthur told the men who servedunder him in Bomber Command that there are few homes in Canada to-daywhich should not feel the deepest grati- tude towards Bomber Command becauseof the number of lives saved on land by the efforts of the bomber units. Admitting that losses were heavy inBomber Command, Sir Arthur declared: "I was certain that every man lost inthe Command meant the saving of the lives of 10 men on the ground. BomberCommand brought hope to i*"^e in *ccu- ii^ri "v CITY OF DREAMING SPIRES : Tiger Moths of the Oxford University Air Squad-ron over the Colleges. Christ Church College, with Tom Tower, is in the right fore- ground, Magdalen College and Tower (right background), and the Sheldonian Theatre (left). pied countries, for its efforts gave themcourage to carry on. You of Bomber Command destroyed the German Navy—in your spare time—and were the de- cisive factor in Germany's defeat." B.A.F.O., S.A.A. Meeting A T the recent inaugural meeting of the•**• B.A.F.O. Small Arms Association, held at Bad Lippspringe, in Germany,some 600 competitors fired roo,ooo rounds of 0.303m rifle ammunition and50,000 rounds of 0.38m revolver ammu- nition. Some of those with the highestscores will shoot for the R.A.F. and King's Prize championships at Bisleylater in the year. Auxiliary ExpansionG OOD news continues to come in of the expansion of the Auxiliary Air Force, now getting into its stride not only with "week-end flyers" but with "week-end fighters" and "week-end plotters." In four areas—Edinburgh, Gloucester- shire, Middlesex and the West Riding— recruiting begins very shortly for Light A.A. Auxiliary Air Force Regiment Squadrons (applications can be dealt with on June 1st), and 16 other Squad- rons are planned for the near future. These A.A.F. Regiment Squadrons are affiliated to, and are located alongside,the existing Auxiliary Flying Squadrons. Each Regiment Squadron will consist oiabout 200 officers and men, mostly those with R.A.F. Regiment or gunnery ex-perience. There are also vacancies for men with other qualifications, such as 'doctors, cooks, clerks or mechanics. Like the 20 flying squadrons—which arestill welcoming volunteers—the Regiment squadrons will be front line units, fullymobile and equipped for action at a moment's notice. Their main armamentwill be the Bofors (40 mm.) A.A. gun. So far only nine units of the week^"plotters have begun to form. These $ nine stretch from Hull to Bournemouth,'as far inland as Northampton and Not- tingham. Their role is raid reportingand fighter control with operational equipment. The twenty flying squadrons—soon tobe joined by A.A.F. Regiment Squadrons —are as follows: Ulster, West Lancaster,North Riding, West Riding, South York- shire, Counties of Kent, Gloucester, Not-tingham, London, Middlesex, Warwick, Durham, Chester, Aberdeen, Glamorganand Surrey, Cities of London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester. The nineAir Defence Units are in Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northampton,Nottingham, Suffolk, Sussex and East Riding.
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