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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1596.PDF
388 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 23RD, 194S SERVICE AVIATI i "Flight" Two Meteor 4s make a study in speed as they leave Horsham St. Faith on the first teg of the Denmark trip rrfii n aTThni ihh jntijit. 1 — R.A.F. Receives the PublicT HE R.A.F.'s "Open-Day," a now customary feature of the Battle of Britain celebrations, was held last Satur- day, when more than 550,000 members of the public were received as guests at 82 R.A.F. stations. On Air Council instructions, a particular effort was made this year to give the public the clearest possible view of Service activities and conditions. Good use was made of the opportunities presented for recruiting. The number and variety of aircraft taking part in the large total of flying displays must rarely, if ever, have been exceeded on any previous occasion, and it is unfortunate that such an achieve- ment should have been marred by the four regrettable flying accidents which occurred. Flight extends sympathy to the relatives of the ten civilians and seven members of the R.A.F. who were killed. Aerobatics by Meteors and Vampires,aided by the excellent weather, were prominent events in many of the dis-plays, not only at the fighter bases, but at many units where jet fighters are still-a rarity. Small formations of visiting F-80 Shooting Stars of the U.S.A.F.demonstrated with no mean skill at stations in the south, and two forma-tions—six Lincolns and six Lancasters— put in appearances on behalf of BomberCommand at a widely-scattered selection of stations. The Secretary of State forAir, Mr. Arthur Henderson, visited Thorney Island, where after " scramb-ling" the three resident Meteor Squad- rons, and watching part of the display,he took off for Booker to see Bomber Command's "At Home." A flying tourby the Chief of Air Staff, Lord Tedder, enabled him to visit Odiham, Upwood,Bassingboum and Manston, and similar flights were made by Air Officers Com-manding. Meteors Fly North '"PHE visit to Denmark by eight Gloster'•*- Meteor 4s (two Rolls-Royce Der- •went 5s) was announced in the precedingissue. Last Thursday morning,- Flight arrived at their Horsham St. Faith base Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News and Announcements as two Halifaxes, carrying ground staff,departed, but in good time to wish suc- cess to G/C D. G. Lewis, D.F.C., whocommands the flight. The other pilots were W/C. J. H. Lapsley, O.B.E.,D.F.C.; S/L. E. W. Wootten, D.F.C. and Bar; F/L. R. E. Windle; F/L.E. M. Higson; F/L. H. A. Groves; F/O. K. C. Nixon, Pilot 1 D. C. Todd;Capt. A. J. Tucker, U.S.A.F. The re- serves were Pilot 2 T. M. Hamer; Pilot3 A. Burns. "Met." promised good weather, withan anticyclone moving in off the Atlan- tic. The first leg of the trip was toEindhoven in Holland,' the second to Lubeck, Germany, and the third toCopenhagen. Flying times respectively should have been about 30 min, 43 min,and 15-20 min. W/C. Lapsley said that after leaving Horsham St. Faith hewould climb, at 12,500 r.p.m., to 10,000 feet. The Meteors would fly in twobattle formations and would close up into two boxes when approaching Eindhoven.A Lancaster with an airborne lifeboat was to stand by at Manston. One of theWing Commander's final instructions was that immediately after take-offpilots should see that their belly drop tanks were on, and that the fuel leveldid not drop below 100 gallons in each fuselage tank. Fraternal Qreeting '• , /^ENERAL HOYT VANDENBEKG,VJ Chief of Staff of the U.S.A.F., last week sent the following message toMarshal of the R.A.F. Lord Tedder : "On this eighth anniversary of theBattle of Britain the United States Air Force takes pride in joining the RoyalAir Force in honouring the heroic men and women whose steadfast courage and ' Flight " photograph. G C. D. G. Lewis (fourth from left), and other pilots taking part in tfieJHght to Denmark*..
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