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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0273.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 February 1951 173 SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News iind Announcements GLASGOW VAMPIRES : Scene from Renfrew- Airport, where No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron took delivery of its first Vampires, bringing to IS the total of jet-equipped Auxiliary Squadrons. Other Scots units whose Spitfires will soon be replaced are Nos. 603 (Edinburgh) and 612 (Aberdeen) Squadrons. R.A.F. Reserve TrainingM ORE detaaed plans have now beenannounced by the Air Ministry for recalling and training for 15 days 10,000members of Class G Reserve—" those necessary to fill gaps in the control andreporting organization in case of emer- gency." Last Monday the Records Officewere to begin sending " first warning" notices to the reservists liable to be re-called. The notices specify seven 15-day, Saturday-to-Saturday, training periodsbetween June 2nd and September 8th. Reservists are asked to name, when ack-nowledging not-xes, three periods which would cause least inconvenience to them.Where possible, the R.A.F. will organize training dates according to the men'spreferences. The Service intends to give each mantwo full working weeks of training. Re- servists wiH report to personnel transitcentres for kitting-out and medical exami- nation. At the P.T.C.s their ranks andpay-rates will be adjusted according to the new trade-structure which came intoeffect on January 1st. At the end of training they will be paid full rates, plusa £4 bounty, and released direct from training-stations. The Air Ministry ex-pects that all warning notices, which take the form of a letter from the A.O.CRecords, A. Cdre. R. Coats, will have been issued and acknowledged by mid-February. Auxiliary Call-up "DROBLEMS likely to arise from the-*- impending three-month call-up of R.Aux.A.F. fighter-squadron personnelwere discussed at a commanding officers' conference at the Air Ministry last Fri-day. The meeting, under the chairman- ship of Mr. Aidan Crawley, was addressedby Mr. Arthur Henderson and Marshal of the R.A.F. Sir John Slessor. The com-manders of 17 of the 20 Auxiliary, fighter squadrons were present, together withA.V-M. T. N. McEvoy, Assistant C.A.S. (Training); A.V-M. D. A. Boyle, Direc-tor-General of Manning; and A. Cdre. Finlay Crerar, Inspector of theR.Aux.A.F. The call-up, of 2,300 pilots and ground-crew members of the squadrons, will probably take place in two phases, May-July and August-October. Re-equipment with jets, now three-quarters completed,will be speeded-up by the recall. Nine squadrons now have Vampires and six flyMeteors; the remaining five squadrons will exchange their Spitfires for jetsduring their extended summer training. Each unit will spend a month at an air-firing camp; the strain thus thrown on Fighter Command's limited gunneryfacilities may cause some auxiliary squad- rons to be posted abroad. It is, in anycase, customary for some units to visit Germany during the summer. R.N.V.R. Fireflies A S forecast in Flight last week, the new•f*- R.N.V.R. air squadron now being formed at Culham, and eventually tooperate from Ford, will be equipped with Fairey Fireflies. The aircraft will be ofthe latest Mk 6 anti-submarine type. Raincoats for Airmen X7ISITING R.A.F. Station Syerston* last week, Mr. Henderson, the Secretary of State for Air, gave airmenthe welcome news that raincoats were to be authorized for Service wear. To aquestioner who had complained that " greatcoats were too hot and capes wereugly," Mr. Henderson said: " There may be a raincoat for you in due course,but I think you will have to pay for it yourself. We will be making an an-nouncement about it shortly." Canadian Naval Aviation DESPITE an attempt at sabotage, theCanadian light fleet carrier Magnifi- cent was due to sail from Halifax lastMonday, as planned, for a five-week programme of exercises off Bermuda. Onboard were the Avengers of No. 826 Squadron and Sea Furies of No. 883Squadron (together comprising the 18th Carrier Air Group). The Avengers aregoing to sea for the first time since their acquisition from America last year andsubsequent modification as anti-submarine aircraft. In addition to the fully opera-tional 18th C.A.G., the Royal Canadian Navy has formed the 19th Support AirGroup, which will be based ashore at H.M.C.S. Shearwater (Dartmouth, NovaScotia). This Group consists of 825 Squadron (Avengers) and 803 Squadron(Sea Furies). Naval Pilots Wanted HTHE Admiralty announces that, despite-*- the Government's decision to re- engage for 18 months a number of Navalofficers (including pilots), the recent offer of four-year re-engagements to former'Naval pilots is still open. The offer, in- cidentally, has brought a good response,but ample opportunity exists for further applicants. Pilots re-engaging on the terms offeredshould not be older than 33; they will receive^a gratuity of £700 at the endof their four years' service. Applications should be made to the Secretary, TheAdmiralty (C. W. Branch). R.A.F. Appointments THE Air Ministry announces the ap-pointments of A. Cdre. D. W. F. Bonham-Carter C.B., D.F.C., to AirHeadquarters, Hong Kong, as Air Officer Commanding, and of A. Cdre. S. O. Buf-ton, C.B., D.F.C., as Director of Weapons at the Air Ministry. A. Cdre. Bonham-Carter has been com-• manding officer of R.A.F. Station Brise Norton since August, 1949, and wasformerly Deputy Director of Civil Air Operations, Ministry of Civil Aviation,from February, 1947. Soon after the out- break of the war he was seconded toHeadquarters, R.C.A.F. Training Com- mand, from January, 1940, until May,1943. After returning to the United King- dom he served as a station commander inNo. 5 Group, Bomber Command, for two years. During this time he took part innumerous operational sorties and was awarded the D.F.C. in March, 1945.Later he served for a year at No. 45 Group, R.A.F. Transport Command, inCanada, and was afterwards S.A.S.O. of No. 46 Group. Educated at Winchester, A. Cdre.Bonham-Carter was commissioned from Cranwell in December, 1921. For a timehe was a test pilot at the R.A.E. The new Director of Weapons, A. Cdre.Bufton, was until recently Assistant Chief of Staff at H.Q., Air Forces WesternEurope. At the outbreak of war in 1939 he wasserving at the Air Ministry in the Direc- torate-General of Operations but wentsoon afterwards to Headquarters, British Air Forces in France, where he remained
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