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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0496.PDF
FLIGHT, 16 March 1951 CO-OPERATIVE AIR SUPPORT Joint Demonstration by R.A.F. and U.S.A.F. Transport Aircraft Illustrated by "Flight" photographs VER Berkshire, on the afternoon of March 6th, a transport support exercise -was held by units of R.A.F. Transport Command and the U.S.A.F. Third Air Division. To witness the operations under the best con- ditions we accepted the hospitality of Lts. R. Kemmeling and W. W. W. Wicklund aboard a Fairchild C-82A Packet, one of a number of these excellent machines (from the 61st Troop Carrier Wing, 60th T.C. Group, 12th T.C. Squadron) which had flown over to Abingdon from their base at Rhein-Main in Germany. Spectators assembled at the Watchfield drop- ping zone included officers from the School of Land/Air Warfare, Col. Strickland (base commander, Rhein-Main), and Col. Bogue (group commander). On take-off, we looked astern from the vast, dim, box- car interior of the Packet, through the paratroop doors and watched the green fields failing away at a quite alarming rate. We surmised that Lt. Kemmeling's facial resemblance to W/C. ("Canberra") Beamont might have some bearing on this memorable introduction to the Packet's performance. Having scaled the ladder to the bridge (the width and general spaciousness of the cockpit fully justifies the description) we saw, close to starboard, a most unusual and very impressive sight: two U.S.A.F. Packets were snugly formating on a Handley Page Hastings C.I of the Transport Command Air Support Flight. The Hastings is the faster aircraft and its flaps were lowered for the run-up to the dropping zone. The Hastings among the Packets at the head of the page is symbolic of R.A.F.JU.S.A.F. co-operation in military transport flying. On the left, the same Hastings is putting down its containers on the Watchfield dropping zone. Below, a Halifax lets go its huge "paratechnicon."
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