FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1896.PDF
662 FLIGHT, 17 November 1949 SERVICE AVIATION . . . the Army for the previous four years.It is also announced by the Air Minis- try that G/C. D. G. Morris, C.B.E.,D.S.O., D.F.C., has been appointed A.D.C. to the King, and that the Rev.F. D. Morley, B.D., the Methodist Principal Chaplain, has become anHonorary Chaplain to His Majesty. Clean SheetD URING September last, there were no accidents involving death or injury in R.A.F. passenger- and troop- carrying aircraft. A total of 4,900,000 passenger miles was flown. Reunion : r- NO. 246 (Madras Presidency) Squad-ron's re*union will be held on Satur- day, November 26th, at Ye Olde Dr. Butler's Head, Masons Avenue, Cole- man Street, London, E.C.2. Tickets, 12s 6d, from Arthur T. Figg, Ash Hall Hotel, Stoke-on-Trent. (Acceptances by November 23rd.) Jet Re-equipment AS reported on page 606 of last week'sissue, Mr. Arthur Henderson, the Secretary of State for Air, recently gave some details of re-equipment of the Auxiliary squadrons with jet aircraft. In answer to a question in the House of Commons, he announced that re-equip- ment of all R.Aux.A.F. fighter squad- rons would be completed by 1951. The Air Minister was also asked why our pilots were expected, in the event of war, "to fly in out-of-date machines," in view of the export of jet fighters to foreign countries. In reply, Mr. Hender- son stated that the question of exporting fighters concerned the Minister of Supply, but that it had not limited supply to the R.Aux.A.F. From a defensive point of view, it is undeniable that 20 Ancillary squadrons of jet fighters would have presented a more formidable picture than does the R.Aux.A.F. at present. However, it would be incorrect to regard squadrons of Spitfires—the majority being the PLAINFARI PARTY: The contribution of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the British Commonwealth share of the Berlin Air Lift earned grateful remembrance in this country. Pictured above, on their return to Australia, are R.A.A.F. aircrews who took part in the operation. - v- latest variants—as an obsolete, last- resort force. The most modern air forces continue to employ large numbers of piston-engined bombers with maximum operating speeds of little more than 300 m.p.h. The " Spit" is by no means out- classed by these machines, and, in addition, its endurance characteristics enable it to maintain standing patrols, unlike the majority of jet fighters. Concerning the Regular Air Force, Mr. Henderson said : '' We have re-equipped all sqnadrons of Fighter Command and all groucd-attack squadrons in the Middle East. In fact, all fighter squad- rons of the Regular Air Force will be re-equipped by the end of the year." The news is encouraging, but correction should be made of a partial error in this CHIEFS MEET : Prominent members of the Belgian Services visited Canada recently and made a tour of Army and R.C.A.F. establishments. Seen at R.C.A.F. Station Rockcliffe are (left to right) : Lt. Gen. C. Foulkes, Canadian Army Chief of Staff; Maj. Gen. L. Leboutte, Chief of the Air Staff, Belgian Air Force ; Lt. Gen. E. Baele, Chief of Staff, Belgian Army ; His Excellency Viscount du Park, Belgian Ambassador ; and Air Marshal W. A. Curtis, Chief of the Air Staff, R.C.A.F. official statement; R.A.F. night fightersquadrons are equipped with Mosquitoes, which are likely to remain in serviceuntil the delivery begins of jet night fighters. No. 9 Squadron's Pakistan TourS IX Lincolns of No. 9 Squadron, R.A.F. Bomber Command, returned to Binbrook, Lines., on November 1st after a most successful training and good- will mission to the Royal Pakistan Air Force. They flew the last leg of the return flight from Castel Benito in 8J hours. The aircraft left Binbrook on October 1st accompanied by two Yorks carrying ground crews and spares. In all, 130 officers and men made the journey. After a fortnight in the Canal Zone of "Egypt practising as part of Bomber Com- mand's Exercise Sunray. the Squadron flew direct the 2,000 miles to Mauri- pur in twelve hours, and began combined exercises with the R.P.A.F., the R.P.N. and the Royal Navy. In one such exercise the Lincolns dropped live 4,000-lb bombs on Churna Island, n«ar Karachi, after the Navy had bom- barded it, and they were followed by rocket-firing fighters of the R.P.A.F. Later they made a simulated attack on the cruiser Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, and " bombed " Karachi through a severe dust storm, which extended up to 10,000ft. The Lincolns were able to contribute their maximum effort through- out the tour. Going up to Peshawar, where they spent two nights, many ol the personnel visited the Khyber Pass. At Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore the Squadron was entertained at civic receptions and its commander, S/L. P. A. Ostle, was received by the Governors and the Deputy British High Commissioners. Members were most hospitably received wherever they went. No. 9 Squadron returned to Egypt on October 27, stay- ing at Habbaniyah, Iraq, on the way. It leit Egypt for Castel Benito on Octo- ber 31. , ^
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
