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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0157.PDF
could have cradled a nation of such cruel little men. Darkness fell and our navigator confirmed that Japanese time is nine hours ahead of G.M.T.; he gave us an E.TA of 1815 hr. The cabin became colder for a while but the excellent heating arrangements on the Dakota soon restored equable conditions; in fact, it became a trifle too warm before we put down at Iwakuni some minutes ahead of our E.T.A, Iwakuni is a British and American military air base, situated at the south-western tip of the island of Honshu and in the prefecture of Hiroshima, of atom-bomb fame. Apart from its employment as a staging post for Transport Command it is the operational home of two RA.F. flying- boat squadrons under the command of W/C. Burnside, D.S.O,, D.F.C. It is from here, also, that the Americans send off their B-26s on night interdiction sorties to Korea. In the Far East there are three squadrons of Sunderlands, one stationed at Hong Kong and two at Seletar air base on Singapore Island. These units take turns in going up to Iwakuni to do patrols along the coast of Korea. Depth- charges are carried, but the main purpose is to seek out sea mines which, it is suspected, are being laid by Chinese junks rather in the same manner as that employed by fishing boats during the Spanish civil war in the nineteen-thirties. The Sunderlands work with two squadrons of U.S. Martin Mariners, also stationed at Iwakuni, and it is usually left to the Mariners to destroy any mines found, as they carry heavier armament. Patrols last from lOJ to 12 hours. While back at Seletar base the Sunderlands do anti-bandit bombing with large numbers of small bombs in the manner referred to in Part II of this article. Despite the age of the Sunderlands—most of them are over six years old—their serviceability record is good. Like all other aircraft in the tropics, they suffer from electrical faults caused by the damp heat, but there is no excess of corrosion of bottoms. After 800 hours' flying they are flown back to Britain for overhaul. Each crew then collects another boat and flies straight back. It is a great tribute to these aircraft that they should be giving such excellent service—their take-off characteristics and performance are considerably better than that of the Mariners—yet the basic design—that of the Short C-class flying-boat, is more than fifteen years old. Certainly, as they sit at their moorings they look quite modern. Although the stay at Iwakuni was so brief, an opportunity was found to visit Hiroshima and check on the many re- ports, sentimental and otherwise, which have emanated from that city. The devastated area is completely built- over again, but this work must not be confused with re- building as we understand it. A large proportion of the rebuilding is of wooden-shack construction which we would not tolerate even as temporary accommodation. The whole area, and the scars from the explosion, have been commer- cialized for tourists' benefit. Large posters declaim " Peace, From a local guide-book on atom-bomb effects in Hiroshima : the city in 1945, just after the bomb was dropped, compared with the same area in 1949 after rebuilding. (Above) English as she is wrote in Hiroshima railway station. (Right) The peace memorial situated in front of the skeleton of the Industrial Exhibi- tion Hall, which marks the centre of the atom-bomb damage area. A Japanese " Oscar " decorates the forecourt of Clark Field Head- quarters, near Manilla, on Luzon island, in the Philippines. (Above) In the grand manner—the airmen's mess at Clark Field. (Below) Typical mountainous terrain in the north of Luzon island.
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