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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1823.PDF
November 1949 Above : Left, Squadron formation in rather murky weather during the Wapiti period. Right, S/L. Collett introduces the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Maurice Jenks, to the officers of his escort when opening Romford airfield in 1932. Below : Left, The Hon. J. B. Rodney, M.C.. the first regular adjutant, and the Rt. Hon. Frederick Guest. Right, No. 600 Sqn. Harts in the aircraft park at the 1934 R.A.F. Display. flare tube, wireless aerial tube, generator, a large exhaust pipe by the side of the engine, and various other gadgets which were stuck on as additional requirements for a light day-bomber squadron. '' The safety equipment consisted of a broad belt, and there was no Sutton harness. There was a ring in the middle of the floor of the rear cockpit to which the air gunner attached himself by a wire before attempting to manage the elastic- counterbalanced Scarff gun ring. A small windscreen pro- vided some comfort for the pilot, but there was no heating. "The means of communication to the brave man who ventured into the rear seat was by means of a Gosport speaking tube. However, if the chap at the back happened to be on wireless duty, the means of communication was by a cord tied round his wrist, which the pilot pulled and then handed him hastily written notes. " I flew on a number of occasions as air bomber, and in air-to-ground firing. To move the Lewis gun, clear a stoppage or empty the collector box was almost a day's work, and this poor fellow in Sidcot suit and flying boots, and with a para- chute on his stomach, had to imitate an earthworm and ooze himself down the fuselage in order to lie full length and gaze through the floor to get his eye on the bomb sight. The LB camera, of course, was fed on boxes of plates. Continuous film had not, at that time, been introduced. " I know of no more satisfactory feeling than a perfect three point landing in a 9A, when one was lucky enough to pull it off and did not give the elastic on the undercarriage or the tail-skid too much to do." In 1935, with the international situation already tense, expansion of the R.A.F. was under way and training pro- grammes were accelerated. No. 600 put in over 2,000 flying hours for the first time. Lectures were given at town head- quarters and among other well-known names of lecturers in the squadron's records are to be found those of S/L. George Reid (now Reid, of Reid & Sigrist), who talked on "Instruments," and F/L. W. E. P. Johnson (the first man ever to make a "blind" take-off, and now of Power Jets, Ltd.) on "Instru- ment Flying." Keenness at that time was such that at a week-end camp in January no fewer than 11 officers and 81 airmen put in an appearance. In these days of difficult recruiting it is interest- ing to read of six applicants for commissions being interviewed and only one being selected; and of the acceptance of 10 out of 17 men anxious to join the ranks. Of a squadron which was destined to become one of tile first line night-fighter units, it is also of interest to record that the first night flying was carried out by F/O. Sweeney in the squadron Moth. It was in 1935, also, that King George V held his review of the R.A.F. and A.A.F. at Mildenhall and Duxford. No. 600 were present at Mildenhall, but did not fly over Duxford. Later that year they went to camp at Hawkinge. In the diary for the same year, P/O. R. G. Kellett is shown as having proceeded on May 26th to Eastchurch for an arma- ment course. On May 30th it is recorded that during front- gun practice he mistook the target-towing motor boat for the target. Fortunately there were no casualties, and little damage resulted. His shooting must subsequently have im- proved considerably, for he finished the war as a squadron leader with the D.S.O., D.F.C., and a Polish award to his credit; his bag of enemy aircraft totalled five. Until recently he commanded No. 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron. Actually the squadron shooting was very good, for in July,r 935> at Sutton Bridge, the average for front-gun drogue- shooting was 96.3 per cent, beating the regular R.A.F. Squadron Nos. 29, 54 and 56, who were 88.2, 75.1 and 81.8 respectively. One of the highest individual scores was made by F/O. Peter Devitt who now commands No. 615. The following year, 1936, saw the going of an old favourite. The Avro 504s were replaced as training aircraft by Avro Tutors. The 504 was first produced in 1912 and through the whole of the 1914-18 war, right up to the early 1930s, its variants remained the standard training types—beloved by all who flew them. The squadron went as usual to camp at Hawkinge while their deadly rivals, No. 601, were at Lympne; it is on record that No. 600 were bombed with "a rare variety of missiles"— some of which, one gathers, had a very high length-to-width ratio. As already recounted, the Rt. Hon. Frederick Guest died early in 1937 and Lord Lloyd of Dolobran became the new Honorary Air Commodore. He took over on August nth and his keenness was such that he learnt to fly and eventually went solo on a Demon in April, 1938, at the age of 59. A year later he insisted upon having dual on a Blenheim and taking night-fighter instruction! By the middle of 1938 S/L Lord Carlow was commanding the squadron, vice S/L. Peter Stewart, and a taste of the future came with the first embodiment, which occurred as a result of the Munich crisis. All the aircraft had camera-guns and other peace-time paraphernalia removed; guns were fitted BRISTOL BLENHEIM IF JAN IS 39 BRISTOL BLENHE.IU 4-F taaa/*a •3*-" BRISTOL BOLINGBROHB IS 33/40
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