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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0828.PDF
34° FLIGHT, 27 April 1950 SERVICE AVIATION • • • close liaison with affiliated . R.A.F.squadrons. There are at present in the UnitedKingdom 654 open squadrons of the Air Training Corps, of which 327 have nowa strength exceeding 50. A Second Australian C.A.G. AFTER a period of land-based trainingin ;his country, the Second Carrier Air Group—No. 21—to be formed for the Royal Australian Navy will embark in H.M.A.S. Sydney at Portsmouth in July. Before sailing for Australia in October, the Group will continue training on board ship. With the exception of eight R.N. officers the aircrews of No. 21 C.A.G. are all Australian. Commanded by Lt. Cdr. T. \V. Harrington, D.S.C., R.N., the Group consists of 808 Squad- ron (Sea Fury) and 817 Squadron (Firefly) R.A.F. Appointments "T^HE Air Ministry announces the A appointment of A. Cdre. H. D. Sprackley, O.B.E., as Director of Opera- tional Requirements (B). He spent last year as a student at the Imperial Defence College, and was formerly Commandant of the Empire Air Armament School. A. Cdre. Sprackley began to specialize in armament in 1927, and his experience in this field includes war-time assistance, as a member of M.A.P., to the Ameri- cans in arming their aircraft for combat in Europe. For this work he was awarded the American legion of Merit, in the degree of Commander. He joined the R.A.F. as a boy in 1920, and later won a cadetship at Cranwell, from which he was commissioned in 1925.' It is also announced that A. Cdre. L. T. Pankhurst, C.B.E., has been ap- pointed Air Officer Commanding at Air H.Q., East Africa. A. Cdre Pankhurstrecently completed two years as Director of Command and Staff Training at theAir Ministry. He was previously, tor two- and-a-half years, Assistant Commandantof the R.A.F. Staff College. Born in 1902, he entered the R.A.F. on a short-servicecommission in 1925 and received a per- manent commission four years later. South African Record ;A VAMPIRE of the South African Air Force last week set up a new record between Cape Town and Pretoria, flying at an average speed of 516 m.p.h. It made the 980-mile trip in 1 hr 5.4 min, compared with the time of 2 hr 16 min taken by a Mosquito in 1947. Value of the A.T.C - - - AIR Ministry appreciation of thevaluable pre-Service work done by the A-T.C. was expressed at a London conference recently, the nrst of a series of group gatherings to be held in various parts of the country. Addressing 200 delegates, Mr. Arthur Henderson, Air Minister, revealed that, in 1949, 25 per cent of the R.A.F.'s aircrew intake had come from the A.T.C., as had a fifth of its apprentices and nine per cent ot ground crew. The present strength of the Corps was, he said, over 42,000. During the past three years, 11,000 cadets had gained their proficiency cer- tificates. The Air Member for Personnel, Air Marshal Sir Leslie Hollinghurst, empha- sized the need to increase the number of proficient cadets—at present nine per cent of the Corps—who held ;i marked advantage over other entrants. Quality, not quantity, should be the A.T.C.'s immediate aim. Air Marshal R. M. Foster, the A.O.C.-in-C Reserve Com- mand, mentioned some of the attractive experiences—all free—available to cadets THE HUMAN ELEMENT: Despite the many advantages of modern radar in detecting the approach of hostile aircraft, visual observers still play an important part in Britain's system of defence — particularly in plotting intruders. Seen at work in a plotting centre, during the recent "silver jubilee " exercise, are members of No. I Group, R.O.C. Problems affecting the R.O.C. today were discussed in last week's Flight. to-day, such as the exchange scheme withthe U.S.A. and Canada and the new flying scholarships. Activity in Malaya "DETWEEN April 15th and 18th, air- -*-' craft of Far East Air Force made 97 sorties against bandits hiding in a tract of hilly jungle north-east of Broga, Malaya. Targets were attacked daily by Lincolns—bombing from a high level— and Brigands, Tempests and Spitfires, which made low-level strafing attacks with bombs, rockets and guns. In addition,Sunderlands took part in the second day's activity. All the attacks were made in co-operation with ground security forces. During the same period, Tempests and Spitfires were also in action against targets in Negri Sembiian and Pahang. .'- . Sport at Shalhifa " : CHALLUFA, in the Canal Zone, is— *-5 from a recreational viewpoint—-one of the best-equipped R.A.F. stations in the Middle East. The station has two excellent soccer pitches and a practice pitch ; a hockey ground ; tennis courts for all ranks; squash court; badminton court; softball-baseball diamond ; fencing equipment ; and table-tennis and darts. A gymnasium and swimming pool are in course of construction, and a golf course is being laid out. The swimming pool, started last October, is nearly com- pleted. Water for the pool, pumped from the nearby Sweetwater Canal, will pass through a filter plant. It is hoped soon to establish a motor cycle speedway for a sport which has lately become very popular with the R.A.F. in the CanalZone. Training "National Servicemen THE present system of selectingNational Servicemen for the various trades open to them is showing good dividends, judging from a recent Air Ministry report. Trade training failures have been greatly reduced by a more careful selection policy : entrants are not allotted trades until the fifth week of their recruit training, following a com- prehensive procedure of tests and inter- views. In the immediate post-war period, conscripts were selected at the reception unit after tests and one brief interview . Consequently, airmen often proved quite unsuitable for, and reluc- tant to undertake the duties chosen for them. Nowadays, says the Ministry, 85 per cent of National Servicemen are picked for one of their first three choices ol trade. Special staffs for personnel selection arc maintained at the five re- cruit centres responsible for initial train- ing of National Servicemen—at Henlow, West Kirby, Bridgnorth, Wilmstow and 1'adgate. During their stay at these stations, men of school-certificate standard may volun- teer for special National Service Commis- sions in the Fighter Control, Secretarial or Equipment Branches, or the R.A.F. Regiment. Those wishing to spend their 1S months' service in aircrew training make application immediately they enter the service, as do suitably qualified men eligible for Technical or Education com- missions. All National Servicemen may apply, at any time, for regular aircrew engagement, short service commissions or Cranwell cadetshjps.
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