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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0429.PDF
FLIGHT, 2 March 1951 271 SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News A " CONSIDERABLE increase" hasbeen made in the order placed by the Canadian Government with Canadair, Ltd., for F-86 Sabre jet fighters. The original order was for 100 aircraft to re- equip the R.C.A.F. day-fighter squadrons. The production-increase, it is reported, may result in allocation of Canadian-built Sabres to the R.A.F. Sabres now being produced by Canadair at Montreal are of the latest F-86E type. Jet re-equipment is also under way in Australia, where the Air Minister, Mr. White, stated recently that the R.A.A.F. would be operating 100 jet fighters by the end of this year. This total includes Australian-built D.H. Vampires and 36 Gloster Meteor 8 s recently ordered from Britain. The first Australian squadron to receive Meteors will be No. 77, now flying Mustangs in Korea. New Singapore-Japan Service EMPLOYING Handlcy Page Hastings, -tj Transport Command has opened a new shuttle service between Singapore and Iwakuni, Japan, via Manila. The air- craft carry freight and passengers into Japan' and return as ambulances with battle-casualties from Korea. The new service operates once a week, supplement- ing the existing twice-weekly Dakota ser- vice of the Far East Air Force. At Singapore, the casualties, with any other patients requiring treatment in Great Britain, are transferred to ambulance aircraft on the Transport Command Far WEATHER SHIP : A Handtey Page Hastings of a Coastal Command meteorological squadron prepares to take off from Aldergrove for a weather-reconnaissance over the Atlantic. Eastern trunk route. In addition toBritish casualties, the ambulance service has brought back wounded from the French,Netherlands, Greek and Turkish contin- gents of the United Nations force in Korea. Jump in the Lake AN officer from the R.A.F.'s No. 1 **- Parachute School at Abingdon, Berks, S/L. J. R. W. Blyth, A.F.C., made his 1,029th parachute jump when he took part in the trials of new airborne life-saving devices in the Great Bitter Lake, Suez Canal Zone. The tests were held in the warmer climate rather than in wintry conditions in England; S/L. Blyth was among a party of Navy, Army and Air Force personnel who had been flown from the Army Airborne Transport Training and Development Centre at Abingdon to test for the first time a new composite para- chute-lifejacket and other new life-saving devices for wartime parachutists. The parachutists made their jumps into the Great Bitter Lake from the Dakota which had flown them from England. Each man carried 20 lb of sand to represent the weight of a pack and rifle and entered the water with hardly a splash. Their canopies at once heeled leisurely over on to the water and the parachutists were quickly bobbing on the surface of the lake in inflated "armchairs," awaiting the arrival of the launches that raced out to pick them SPR/NGBOK MUSTANG : Armed to the wing-tips with six rockets, two napalm bombs and 1,500 rounds of O.SO/n ammunition, a Mustang of No. 2 (Flying Cheetahs) Squadron, South African Air Force, is seen prepared for a strike in Korea. up. Supervising the operation was W/C.F. C. Griffiths, D.F.C., A.F.C., com- manding officer of the Flying Wing atAbingdon. Charity At HomeR ECEIPTS from car parks, collections and programmes during the "At Home" day on September 16th last year, when over 60 R.A.F. stations were open to the public, produced £13,625 for R.A.F. charities. The money has been divided equally between the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund and the R.A.F. Association. This year the open day will be Saturday, September 15th; Battle of Britain Week is from September io-i6th. Services Rugby Football PLAYING with a depleted team—absentees included the captain, S/L. R. H. G. Weighill—the R.A.F. lost their fifth match in succession when Cambridge University defeated them by 14 points to 3 in an open game at Halton last week. The R.A.F.'s try came from an energetic new halves partnership, G. Morgan finding a gap near the scrum and G. A. Phillips receiving his pass to score. On Saturday, the R.A.F. also lost (6-11) to Coventry. The Royal Navy meet a strong Army team at Twickenham on March 3rd in the Inter-Services Tournament, second round. R.A.F. Appointments AN exchange of appointments is an-- nounced between A. Cdre. H. W. eslop, C.B., O.B.E., Director of Aero- _ tical Inspection Services at the Air Ministry since 1947, and A. Cdre. J. F. Titmas, C.B., C.B.E., Senior Technical Staff Officer at Bomber Command H.Q. from March, 1949. The exchange will take effect early in April. A. Cdre. W. A. Opie, Senior Technical Staff Officer at H.Q., Far East Air Force, since December, 1948, has been appointed to command the Far East Maintenance Base at Seletar from April next. His successor at F.E.A.F. Headquarters will be A. Cdre. G. B. Beardsworth, C.B., who has been Senior Technical Staff Officer, F.ghter Command, since March, 1949. Esher Trophy AwardedT HE Esher Efficiency Challenge Trophy for 1951 has been won by No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron with 458.2 points out of a possible 475. Marks are awarded to R.Aux.A.F. fighter squadrons, which compete annually for the Trophy,
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