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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1109.PDF
JULY IOTH, 1947 FLIGHT Now the personal aircraft of the Commander-in-Chief, Fighter Command, the Meteor record-breaker appears in a new guise. At this point we were obliged to leave Squire's Gate andthus missed some more first-class entertainment including the ham-fisted Tiger Moth tyro, Lt. Sproule in his Olympia sail-plane, and another spectacular Vampire show. Throughout the emergency programme already described,weather conditions were such that, had they been a fraction worse, demonstration flying would have been prohibited, whichmay give some idea of what can be expected in favourable, or even reasonable conditions. Should these not be forthcom-ing, the static display will gain even bigger attendances. In some respects, this display is one of the best seen outsideRadlett. Largest of the individual exhibits is that of the Air Ministry, built up we are assured, entirely from Ministryresources Here balloon fabric and coloured parachutes com- bine with full-scale aircraft and sideshows illustrative of mostmajor R.A.F. activities to produce a display which can be guaranteed to take the minds of visitors off any meterologicaldisasters such as befell on the opening day. Aries and EE 549 Dominating all is Aries, the Lancaster which will be re-membered as long as the Service remains. After her pro- digious travels she looks clean and fresh and is inscribed withher noble record for all to see. For sheer elegance, of course, she is well content to take second place to Sir James Robb'spersonal Meteor IV—the record-breaking EE549 in a new guise, looking far from crestfallen after recent events atMuroc. Painted a shining blue and bearing as her Service code letters Sir James' initials (J before the roundel, MR after), this most famous of all Meteors now sports a pair of short-span wings, and, like Aries, is inscribed with the story of her achievements. For quality of finish, not only in the painting and polishing of the airframe, but in the execution R.A.F. Police with pupils from the RAF. Police Dog School and Breeding Estab- lishment, Stoverton. -> FjO. Carter applies the air brakes of his Vampire. of the markings and letterings, she mustsurely have broken another record. Fringing the central R.A.F. display areattractive stands devoted to health, power, photography, gunnery trainingrecognition, R.A.F. apprentices, the R.A.F. Regiment, radar, Link Trainers,night vision trainer, accommodation, air- sea rescue, and the A.T.C. In theopposite corner to a 22,000 lb "Grand Slam" is a German Fi 103 (V-i) flyingbomb, looking very forlorn. The health display represents a normalR.A.F dispensary and treatment room; the show of power centres round a Der-went I, Centaurus IV, Merlin 131, and Hercules XV]. while gunnery (slightlydisappointing this) is portrayed solely by turrets-—an FN82 with twin 0.5mBrownings and AGL equipment, and the older FN50. The photography display is of appro-priate excellence, depicting the whole process from the taking of a reconnais-sance picture to its interpretation into viodel form. A sectioned F.52 camerais a marvel in itself. The otherwise good
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