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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1265.PDF
JULY 7TH, 1949 FLIGHT SERVICE AVIATION " t'liuht " tihotourajili IN ECHELON : The near-perfect station-keeping of these Spitfires is on indication of the results of many hours' week-end and annual training by squadrons of the R.Aux.A.F. No. 600 City of London) Squadron is the unit represented, the photograph having been taken 6ft the occasion of the recent fortnight's camp at Thorney Island. . •.'.•. Plainf are's First Birthday TO mark a year of non-stop activity,the Dakota which began the Royal Air Force contribution to the Berlin AirLift on June 28th, 1948, flew again from Wunstorf to Gatow exactly 12 monthslater. The aircraft, No. 128 of i8 /Squadron, was manned by the same N.C.O. crew—Pit. I. Hughes, Nav. IIBotsford, and Sig. II Drimll—but the original load of 6,000 lb of flour andbacon was increased by 910 lb, and the cargo carried was newsprint.Final figures for the Platnfarc year sio.ow that of a total load of 1,952,660short tons taken into Berlin, the R.A.F. (and the Commonwealth Squadrons) car-ried 334,227 tons, and the civil operators 1,23,693. On the lesser-known "back-load " operation—by which cargoes are flown out of Gatow—R.A.F. and Com-monwealth aircraft carried 32,809 tons, and the civil fleet 1,602 tons. The occasion, although a cause forcelebration, brought no relaxation in effort: in fact, in the 24 hours ending onJune 30th, the R.A.F. achieved a new record tonnage of 2,263.2. Naval Retirement THE Admiralty has announced that,with effect from June 22nd, 1949, Admiral Sir Denis W. Boyd, K.C.B.,C.B.E., D.S.C., has been placed on the retired list. Early in the war AdmiralBoyd commanded H.M.S. Illustrious, and from January, 1943, to April, 1945,was Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Equipment. After serving as FlagOfficer (Air)~in 1946 he became C.-in-C. British Pacific Fleet, and was promotedto full Admiral in 1948. Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News and Announcements R.A.F. Boxing AssociationI N succession to G/C. T. N. Ccslett,O.B.E., G/C. E. Nelson, D.F.C., of Bomber Command H.Q., has becomevice-chairman of the R.A.F. Boxing Association. The Association also has anew honorary secretary, W/C. L. W. V. Jennens, O.B.E., of Yatesbury, whosucceeds S/L. -J. B. Stapleford. Victory (Ex-Services) Club ALL ex-Service personnel—men andwomen—of the British Common- wealth and Allied Forces are eligible formembership of a recently opened London club which offers such amenities as awelfare, employment, and information bureau, meals at a reasonable cost,accommodation, and games, reading and writing rooms. Applications for membership of theVictory (ex-Services) Club, which is a logical development of the smallerVeterans Club, should be made to the Secretary at 73-79, Seymour Street,Marble Arch, London, W.2. Fees are 10s per annum or £5 for life. There isas yet no accommodation ior married members, however, but if donations areforthcoming it is planned to construct a new building for this purpose on abombed site near the Club. President of the Club Fund is Field -Marshal Lord Chetwode. Coastal Command Entertains IN return for hospitality extended tomembers of Coastal Command over the past several years, over 400 guestswere invited to the Command H.Q. Garden Party, held at Northwood, Mid-dlesex, last Saturday afternoon. Air Marshal Sir John Baker, K.C.B., M.C.,D.F.C., the A.O.C.-in-C, Lady Baker and the members of the officers' messreceived the guests, who included Mem- bers of Parliament, foreign attaches, andmany officers of the Navy, Army, and R.AiF. Marine-Branch Activities A 7'oo-ton ex-Naval minesweeper,which now operates with flying- boat squadrons as H.M. Air Forcevessel Bridport, is making visits this summer to many seaside resorts, as areSunderlauds of Coastal Command. For the operation and servicing of flyingboats, target-towing, and maintaining a rescue service for aircraft operating overwater, the R.A.F. has its own small fleet, of which the largest vessel is theAdastral, a 10,600-ton depot ship for flying boats. The Bridpott and its sister ship, theBridling ton. are used chiefly as radar target and torpedo recovery ships. Thereare also a number of high-speed target- towing and rescue craft, and severalsmaller boats for duties on coastal air gunnery ranges and for the variousfunctions involved in operating and ser- vicing a flying-boat base. We learn from the Air Ministry thatthe Marine Branch of the R.A.F., which was formed about 18 months ago to manthese vessels, is still short of officers:
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