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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0318.PDF
FLIGHT rytn, 1-9:43 Correspondence times apt to dissipate too jnuch energy in battling against each other, rather than in co-ordinating their different functions to the benefit of the unit as a whole. There is far too often a "dire shortage.of personnel" when some special duty arises. No section will release their men who are invariably "engaged on work of the utmost importance "—except when they are due for a " pass '' or some" cither privilege ! A greater under- standing of each other's point of view, problems and difficulties between officers and N.C.O.s i/c of the different sections, would help materially in ensuring a smoother running of units generally. The keyword to a successful Air Force is esprit de corps. New Maiden, Surrey. N. HEATON, Ex-Adjutant, R.A.F. GROUND CREWS OF THE R.A.F. Something Better Them ACH,CD Adminstrators NeededY OUR correspondent Mr. Alex Metxalf (Flight, January 27th) accuses me of bias against the R.A.F. May I state that as a youngster my greatest ambition in life was to enlist as a regular airman, but family duties effectually prevented this. My father was elderly, and I found myself involved in his business In January, 1939, free from earlier responsibilities, I en- deavoured to join the Balloon Barrage side of the Auxiliary Air Force. But on the grounds that I was engaged in a reserved occupation they refused me. An appeal to the O.C. of an R.A F. recruiting office, a friend of mine, availed nothing. (Correspondence to support this has been submitted to the editor of Flight.) Finally I had to wait my call-up in August, 1941, before joining the R.A.F., and I still remember the proud feeling as I donned for the first time the uniform I had so long respected. Does this not suggest a bias in favour of the R.A.F. ? That bias is still strong within me. I realize that discipline is necessary, and smartness too, in a fighting Service. I cannot agree that despotic powers, in and of themselves, are the cause of the trouble. I have known officers and N.C.O.s who showed that they possessed leadership and who, in the right sense of the word, were gentlemen. They were efficient and maintained order without tyrannizing. The retention of authoritative powers in the hands of the officers is essential to enable them to control the ever-present unruly, minority in the ranks of a conscript Service. I agree, too, that officers and N.C.O.s should be trained in the art of leadership and in the firm but humane administration of discipline. Mr. Metcalf claims that many ACH/GD N.C.O.s possessed intellect as high as that of most Group I tradesmen. I can only ask, "Why did they remain ACH/GDs when travelling boards were scouring the country endeavouring to find ACHs capable of learning a trade, and when Group V pay was so poor? " The majority of wartime airmen never met these ACHs of high intellectual standard. Typical of most ACH N.C.O.s was the sergeant who asked, quite seriously, in my presence, "Where is Salisbury Plain? " Typical also was the ACH/GD Station Warrant Officer who placed a notice on a sergeants' (i.e., Senior N.C.O.s) mess notice board and saw, a few hours later, the comment: " Spelling 10 marks, grammar 4." At this station each sergeant took in turn the duty of marching the men to work, the rest of the sergeants cycling each way. Now was issued the order that all sergeants were to march daily to work with the men. This was the S.W.O.'s " comeback " for the schoolmasterly comment, which he blamed on an unidentifiable sergeant. Subsequently the real originator of the joke confessed—he was a senior Group I Warrant Officer! The remark that G.D. N.C.O.s were the curse of the R.A.F. was made in my hearing by a Group I regular N.C.O., who was a technical instructor of high intelligence. Subsequent comments by instructors during my fitter's course confirmed this as their opinion of their Group V colleagues. For years I read happily most worth-while books and articles on the R.N.A.S., R.F.C., and R.A.F., and I used to approve the theory of the first adjutant of the R.F.C., Hat late Major Barrington-Kennett, that the RFC. should be "as smart as the Guards and as handy as the Navy." Now I am less certain. With the increasing complication of modern aircraft, more than handiness is required. With the increasing education and self-reliance of the modern airman, something more than the military automaton of 1912 is neces- sary also. Lord Trenchard, five times creator of British air supremacy, said once that the R.A.F. would not come into its own until a Cranwell cadet had risen* to be Chief of the Air Staff. As that time approaches, may the R.A.F. evolve its own traditions and discipline as a third but pre-eminent Service. To achieve that end something better than the ACH/GD administrator is required. F. A. S. BROWN. London, N.5. THE LATE ROBERT LINDSAY-NEALE An Appreciation T3OBERT LINDSAY-NEALE, the chief test pilot of Boulton Xv Paul, has just departed from us and gone the way many of the test pilots unfortunately go. He was one of the very best test pilots this country has ever had, and his technical knowledge was extraordinary. Much is owed to him. I think it is fitting to state that it was he who first flew the Mamba turboprop in the BallioL He also, quite recently, dived the Balliol to over 470 m.p.h., a previously unimagined performance for a side-by-side trainer. His aerobatic exhibi- tions at the Radlett S.B.A.C. Display in 1947 were unfor- gettable. In foreign countries they have been praised as exceptional. Lindsay-Neale had suffered the loss of a leg through a motor- racing accident, and nobody would have thought that a one- legged pilot could put up such a show in a military multi- purpose trainer. He had amazingly quick reactions and an extremely fine feeling for control co-ordination. In the years before the war he owned a Puss Moth, and as the moving spirit of Lindsay-Neale Aviation, Ltd., b* did much free-lance test flying. He also sampled the de Havilland Comet racing monoplane with success, and he must have had an exceptionally wide flying and technical experience in those' years. When the war came he sacrificed his business in order to take a flying part in the war effort. It was sad that the R.A.F. had no place for a pilot of such great qualities. .: An extremely modest man, Lindsay-Neale has never had the>- public acknowledgment he deserved. The only exception was when he became one of the few pilots to have landed a fully loaded single-engined aircraft intact after the engine had sud.- denly detached itself from the airframe; news of this only.y leaked out months after the lucky event. . -,••-; I ask you to accept this as a modest tribute to the memory-' of a great, enthusiastic and much-loved member of our flying: community, who lost his life in the execution of his duty. • All those who knew him feel that they have lost a friend. Dunstable, Beds. A. R'. WEYL, A.F.R.Ae.S. - FORTHCOMING EVENTS Feb. 17th.—Royal Aeronautical Society : " Planned Servicing in the Royal Air Force," S/L. E. A. Harrop, O.B.E., A.F.R.Ae.S. Feb. 17th.—R.Ae.S. (Coventry) "The London-Sydney Air Route," C. H. Jackson. Feb. 18th.—Institute of Navigation : " Operational Aspects of Marine Radar." A Symposium of Papers. Chairman: Sir Robert Watson-Watt, C.B., F.R.S. Feb. 22nd.—R.Ae.S. (Belfast) : Lecturettes and Informal Discussion. Feb. 24th.—R.Ae.S. (Manchester) " The Development of the Mamba Engine," A. S. Lindsey, M.A., A.F.R.A«.S. Feb. 24th.—Royal Aeronautical Society : " Flutter and Stability," Prof W. J. Duncan, B.Sc, F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Mech.E., F.R.S. Feb. 24th.—R.Ae.S. (Isle ofWight) " Naval Aircraft," Lt. Cdr. E. M. Brown. O.B.E., D.F.C., M.A., A.F.R.Ae.S. Feb. 26th.—Society of Licensed Aircraft Engineers (South Eastern Area) " Airframe Repairs," G. C Banks. Feb. 26th.—Helicopter Association of Gt. Britain : " Helicopter Trans- mission Systems," K. Watson, A.R.Ae.S. Feb. 28th.—Institute of Public Administration : " The British Overseas Airways Corporation," J. O, Blair-Cunynghame. Mar. 2nd.—R.Ae.S. (Luton) " Evolution of a Modern Aeroplane," Prof. R. L. Lickley, B.Sc., D.I.C., F.R.Ae.S. Mar. 2nd.—R.Ae.S. (Graduates' and Students' Section) " The Develop- ment of the Brabazon I," G. P. Hebden, A.F.R.Ae.S. Mar. 3rd.—R.Ae.S. (Gloucester and Cheltanham) '* Electrical Aircraft Instruments," E. B. Moss, B.Sc., F.lmt.P., M.I. Mech.E. At Gloucester. Mar. 5th.—Rugby Football, Twickenham, Royal Navy versus The Army. Mar. 5th Royal Aeronautical Society: Full day Discussion on Air Safety. Mar. 7th.—R.Ae.S. (Derby) " Helicopters—The Technical Point of View," Capt. R. N. Liptrot. C.B.E., B.A. Mar. Btli,—R.Ae.S. (Southampton) Lecture by A. G. Pugsley, O.B.E., D.S.C. Ma--. T'h.—R.Ae.S. (Belfast) : " Helicopter Design," T. E. Goligher. B.Sc., D.I.C., A.F.R.Ae.S. I"hr. ?'£.—R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : "Air Force Requirements and their Origin," Air-Cdre, G. W. Tuttle, C.B., C.B.E., D.F.C. M-"\ *|h.—R.Ae.S. (Preston) : " Recent Developments in Aircraft Pro- duction Engineering." Professor J. V. Connolly, B.E., A.F.R.Ae.S. Mar. 9-h.—R.Ae.S. (Leicester) " Charter Flying " Sqdn. Ldr. Wright. Mar. 100.—R.Ae.S. (Isle of Wight) Lecture by N. E. Rowe. C.B.E., D.I.C., B.Sc., F.R.Ae.S. (Provisional). Mar. 10th.—Timber Development Association : " Modern Adhesives— Their Present and Future Application." D. A. Hubbard. B 26
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