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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1280.PDF
FLIGHT, 6 July 1950 Air Traffic Controllers.—The Joint Air Traffic ControlOfficers' course is incorporated in the C.N.C.S. and trains air- traffic officers for the R.A.F., R.N., and M.C.A., and airmenas runway controllers. Weapons Training—All pupils, pilots and navigators aregiven some basic weapons-training at F.T.S. or A.N.S. The Central Gunnery School, equipped with Wellingtons,Spitfires, Meteor 4s and 7s, Vampire 5s and Tempest T.T.5S, runs five distinct courses. It trains pilot attack instructors,bombing instructors and free gunnery instructors. The Junior Weapons Course at the C.G.S. provides post-graduate training for regular General Duties Officers in the combatant aspect of their work. They complete 50 hours'flying, which covers all aspects of bombing, air-to-air firing, and ground attack problems.Air gunners are also trained and complete 20 hours' flying. Further responsibilities are the demonstration of air attack forService displays, the assessment and evaluation of weapons- training equipment, and the production of training literature.The R.A.F. Flying College.—The first course at the R.A.F. Flying College commenced in January of this year. Selectedsquadron leaders and wing commanders of the General Duties Branch are being given practical instruction and experience inweapon employment, navigation and flying in all weather conditions. The College has an elaborate ground school set»upand is equipped with Harvards, Meteors (Mk. 4 and 7), Vam- pire 5s, Valettas and Lincolns. Flights are to be undertakento America, where liaison with key establishments of the U.S.A.F. will be effected; and, similarly, students will fly""to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The problems of operating aircraft in extreme northern latitudes will be metat first hand in the flight to Canada, which will be routed as far North as possible, and during a series of flights fromIceland into Polar regions. The Flying College has representa- tives from the U.S., the Dominions and the Royal Navy onits staff and on the course. TRANSPORT COMMAND From Air Marshal Sir Aubrey Ellwood, K.C.B., D.S.C., Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Transport Command TRANSPORT COMMAND provides mobility for the three fighting Services. It wasformed in the last war, when our shipping resources were severely strained andwhen it was vital that large numbers of much-needed aircraft should be ferried across the Atlantic. It was Transport Command which made possible our first land victories against the Japanese when the 14th Army advanced into Burma. That army relied almost entirely on supplies by air for all its needs. In this operation 400 aircraft, British and American, were used and these aircraft took forward to our troops some 2,000 tons of supplies daily. Later, in the final overthrow of Germany you will remember that it was that great fleet of transport aircraft and gliders which played so magnificent a part in the never- to-be-forgotten bridging of the Rhine at Arnhem. Again, in more recent times, and in peace, Transport Command, accompanied by our American friends, supplied Berlin by air for nearly a year. How vital this was to the maintenance of peace few of us are even yet in a position to appreciate. These few examples serve, perhaps, to remind us of the simple truth that in war—and even, at times, in peace—land and sea communications may well become difficult if not impossible, and it is under these conditions that air transport becomes essential. I would stress that in these difficult and uncertain days, when by force of circumstances our fighting Services are comparatively small, our great Commonwealth cannot be strong everywhere; and so, in both peace and war, we must be prepared to reinforce rapidly any threatened area. This is the great asset of a transport force. THE fact that economies are now being made in TransportCommand should not be interpreted as indicating thatits importance as part of a balanced air force has diminished. The present emphasis must be on the expansionof Bomber and Fighter Commands, and the available money and manpower is being used accordingly. Since the effectiveoperation of relatively slow and unarmed transport aircraft is dependent on a high degree of air superiority, this decision isseen to be reasonable. Economies have been achieved by a reduction in the numberof hdme-based squadrons, and by cutting-down the administra- tive organization. There has been no serious curtailment inthe scope of the Command's operational activities—nor in the enthusiasm with which they are undertaken. Transport Command has a strategical and tactical function.In the first category fall the operation of trunk routes for the requirements of the armed forces, the strategic movement ofunits, reinforcement by air and air trooping, and aircraft deliveries and ferrying. The second category includes airborneassault, the carriage of troops into actual battle areas, tactical supply by aii and casualty evacuation. Certain of these func-tions, including the operation of the medium-range force, special flights and ferrying, are the direct responsibility of theCommand H.Q., while No. 38 Group is responsible for the long- range squadrons and Airborne Forces training. Although the tactical function is perhaps the more spectacu-lar, it is primarily confined to times of actual war. Training continues in peace-time, as well as an active programme ofresearch into the use of new techniques and equipment. The twice-yearly demonstrations at Netheravon to students of theSchool of Land/Air Warfare give evidence of the progress in this field. Operations in the strategical category, on the other hand,form a task which goes on from day to day, in peace and war. The growing mobility of modern warfare, and th* consequent increase in the size and distance between theatres of war, makesit essential to move men and equipment from one theatre to another in the shortest possible time. When operational airforces are moved from one location to another in theatres where surface transport is inadequate, there must be air transport forthe carriage of the ground personnel and equipment. Without transport aircraft, the strategic mobility of air forces wouldbe no greater than that of land or naval forces, and a valuable asset of air power would be sacrificed. The Transport Command trunk routes provide invaluabletraining and experience for this type of work, in addition to their immediate function of carrying official passengers andfreight. The primary requirement of R.A.F. transport crews may be described as the ability to carry men and materialanywhere in the world with regularity and safety. A consider- able number of the R.A.F.'s most experienced aircrews are soemployed. At present the trunk' routes run to the Middle East, Singapore and Nairobi. Training in strategic-mobility operations is provided by theregular carriage of Bomber Command ground personnel from England to the Canal Zone of Egypt for the monthly Sunrayexercises (described in the '' Bomber Command '' section of this review). Two other recent examples were the carriage ofground personnel of the Lincoln squadron now operating in Malaya, and the move of No. 82 Squadron's men and equip-ment from West to East Africa. In both cases the use of air transport avoided the necessity for a long sea voyage. It is important that transport squadrons shall be able tochange quickly from their everyday role to some other task of greater urgency, and to a well-trained squadron such changespresent few difficulties. It may be recalled that towards the end of the war the Dakotas of No. 46 Group, which had beenemployed almost exclusively on route flying, were switched on to the Rhine airborne assault with great success afteronly a brief period Of special training, while a more
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