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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1379.PDF
AUGUST 26TH, 1948 FLIGHT YIATI Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News and Announcements A Qood Month T ATEST available figures show that•L/ June was a good month for recruit- ing in the R.A.F.V.R., the R.Aux.A.F.and the Royal Observer Corps, the grand total of volunteers reaching 963.During the month, 108 airmen gunners and other tradesmen were enrolled inthe new Royal Auxiliary Air Force Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Squadrons, whileFlying Squadrons increased their ground crews by 41 and there were *<; volunteersfor Air Defence Units, 31 of whom were women joining the W.A.A.F./R List. The Royal Air Force VolunteerReserve figures show an increase for the month of 176 officers and aircrew, 150of the latter being enrolled at Reserve Flying Schools and 26 for ab initio andrefresher training at University Air Squadrons. Women pilots W.A.A.F./V.R. List) now number 31. Norwegian Meteorologist Honoured '"THE King has approved the appoint-* ment of Dr. Sverre Petterssen, a Norwegian meteorologist, as an HonoraryCommander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his outstandingservices to the Meteorological Office during the war, which contributedgreatly to the success of the Allied Forces. Dr. Petterssen, who has been Chief ofthe Norwegian Meteorological Service since December, 1945, was weather fore-caster for Western Norway from 1931 to 1939 and was afterwards Professor andchief of the department of meteorology, in Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, U.S.A. He volunteered for wax service in Great Britain in Novem-ber 1941, working first as an adviser to the Admiralty before .. becoming anadviser to the Meteorological Office, Air Ministry, in the following year. FromOctober, 1942, he commanded the aero-- logical section of the MeteorologicalOffice with the task of developing new methods of forecasting weather and windm the higher stratosphere, particularly for the bombing of Germany. InJanuary and February, 1944, he was adviser to the British and Americanforces in the Mediterranean theatre and for the landing south of Rome onJanuary 21st. Later he assisted in the Preparations and weather forecasting ofthe Normandy landings. For his services in this connection he receivedPersonal letters of thanks from General Eisenhower and the Air Council. B 29 GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY: In a majestic setting—the Cromarty Forth—three of Coastal Command's trusty Sunderlands ride at anchor. No type of flying boat has made more history than this stately Short. V.I.P. SquadronN UMBER 24 (Commonwealth) Squad-ron of Transport Command, R.A.F. has now added another name to the longlist of " V.I.P.s " carried in its aircraft— that of the Shah of Iran. He was flownto this country, and taken to Paris, in one of the squadron's four-engined AvroYorks. This squadron, based at Bassing- bourn, Herts., is the V.I.P. squadron ofthe R.A.F., and is equipped with Yorks and Dakotas. Its passengers haveincluded members of the Roval Family, the Cabinet and the Chiefs of Staff, andmany leading personages of other countries. The York recently used bythe Shah of Iran was No. MW 140, formerly known as the Endeavour,and was used by H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester during his tour as Governor-General of Australia. It is now one of No. 24 Squadron's regular fleet, alongwith other famous Yorks, such as MW 100 and MW 101, and is availablefor V.I.P. work in all parts of the world. Battle of Britain ServiceA SERVICE of Thanksgiving for thevictory achieved in the Battle of Britain in 1940 will be held in Westmin-ster Abbey on Sunday, September 19th, at 3 p.m. Applications for tickets fromwidows and parents of aircrew who lost their lives in the Battle, and from re-tired Royal Air Force officers and Battle of Britain pilots who wish to attend theService should be sent to the Under- secretary of State (S.4) Air Ministry,Whitehall, S.W.i, in writing not later than September 4. In view of thelimited number of seats in the Abbey not more than two tickets can be issued toany applicant. Application for tickets should not be sent to the Abbey. High-speed Map Reading A HIGH-SPEED map reading com-*?• petition in which Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons will compete for achallenge trophy will be a feature of the flying events at the International AirMeeting to be held at Lympne on Satur- day next, August 28th. The Trophywill be competed for by one representa- tive from each of the 6 Reserve Groupsand from R.A.F., Northern Ireland, and the race will be flown to and fromLympne over the 100-mile route which will not be disclosed to pilots until tenminutes before their time of take-off: Pilots will belianded maps marked withtracks and courses ten minutes before take-off and each type of aircraft will behandicapped by an official handicapper at Lympne, so that the winner will haveto depend as much upon his skill in "pin-pointing" his position in the airby reading his map as upon his skill in handling the aircraft. Each aircraft willbe tracked by the Royal Observer Corps or the Royal Corps of Signals who willsignal the turns. Aircraft will be handicapped inaccordance with maker's figures for per- formance of each type and mark of air-craft. These will include Spitfire Marks, 14, 16, 21 and 22, and Mosquito Mark 30. Concession for Cadets /^ADETS of the Air Training CorpsV-' who obtain the Higher School Certificate may be granted the A.T.C.Proficiency Certificate and Badge, and the Advanced Training Badge if theysatisfactorily complete the compulsory sections of the Proficiency and AdvancedTraining curriculum and have taken mathematics or science in the HigherSchool Certificate examination.
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