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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1201.PDF
FLIGHT, 29 June 1950 Si it- vssJ #*• .«* (Above) Trevor Wade introduces the light-green Hawker P. 1081. Right: R.A.F. representatives—D.H. Vampire 5s of No. 247 Squadron. Having touched down, the French Dassaults delighted theassembly by reversing along the runway. Five Dutch Har- vards following their dignified display with some pleasingfollow-my-leader manoeuvres. The Shooting Stars of the 36th Fighter Bomber Wing,U.S.A.F., rendered their now-famous repertoire, including the hair-raising thread-the-needle cross-over and bomb-burst for-mation break-up. The pilots were a real credit to their Ser- vice; they were Capt. V. P. Gordon, Lts. C. A. and C. C.Patillo (twins) and Lt. L. Danewood. Their British opposite- numbers in the 247 Squadron formation were F/L. F. M.Heggerty, F/L. R. W. Bunyan, A.F.C., F/L. T. W. Kearton, and F/O. N. Carter, A.F.C. "Nick" Carter, back in harnessafter a too-long spell on Civvy Street, was, of course, the individualist. An inverted run by the flight of three in line-astern was an object lesson in perseverance and showmanship in defiance of clouds and bumps. Incidentally, we have alwaysconsidered the Vampire's turbojet to be a work of art, but not until Saturday's commentary had we heard it called a"Gobelin" ! Collectively and individually thte six Belgian Air ForceMeteors were absolutely first-class. Formation aerobatics— A tight circuit of Antwerp-Deurne by Wing Commander R. P. Bea mont in the English Electric Canberra B.I twin-Avon bomber. especially line-astern rolls—and searing " beat-ups " showedcomplete mastery of high-speed flying technique. As the burghers of Antwerp trooped tramwards, the Nene-powered S.O. Triton flashed bullet-like above them. Then Sunday outing had been well rewarded. N.C.O. AIRCREW RANKST HE Secretary of State for Air, The Rt. Hon. Arthur Hender-son, addressing aircrew personnel at R.A.F. Station, Ben- son, 011 June 24, recalled that soon after the end of the war anew scheme for aircrew in the R.A.F. was introduced, involving, among other things, a change in rank titles; thus "SergeantPilot" became "Pilot II." He said that for some time the.R.A.F. had been aware thatthis scheme had not been working out as had been hoped, and it had therefore been decided to introduce a new scheme whichwould include reversion to the traditional rank titles of Sergeant and Flight Sergeant. Under the new proposals Sergeant rank will be given to everymember of aircrew when he receives his wings. These titles would be coupled with the appropriate aircrew designation—forexample, Sergeant Pilot, Flight Sergeant Pilot, Sergeant Sig- naller, Flight Sergeant Signaller, and so on. For the top rank ofall, however, it was intended to keep the present title of Master Pilot, Master Signaller, etc. These changes in title would, ofcourse, mean new badges, and those for Sergeant and Flight Sergeant would be based on the traditional N.C.O. stripes. The full details of the new scheme, which would also providea definite improvement in the long-service career prospects of aircrew, were being worked out, and Mr. Henderson said thathe intended to make an announcement shortly. He hoped, therefore, that any aircrew who might be contemplating leavingthe Service in the near future would at least wait until thev had heard the details of the revised scheme.
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