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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1532.PDF
o August 1951 165 Government stated that if home-produced prototypes such asthe Nord 2200 and the Arsenal V.G. 90 did not show more signs of being useful, then licences for the production of 150 foreignrwo-seat radar-equipped naval fighters would be sought without delay. Tooling-up is going on at the Marignane factory for Venom 20production, but the first aircraft will definitely not appear before well into 1952, and the company will be forced to wait until air-craft can be spared from this country for them to re-assemble and examine. A Venom 20 fuselage mock-up has been delivered to Marig-nane, and this is at the moment being used to try out arrange- ments for latest Martin-Baker ejector seats which will be fittedas standard. It will be remembered that ejector seats are not mounted on Venoms for the Royal Navy and certain headroomdifficulties will have to be overcome. - Venoms will be introduced on to the one line in a similarmanner to the Mistral, and thus three different types will be in production at the same time. Ghost power plants are to beimported from this country, as with the thin-section wing of the Venom it will be impossible to fit the Mistral intakes to feed theNene plenum chamber. Venom F.B.is are also scheduled to be built at Marignane forthe Armee de l'Air, and will eventually replace Vampire 5s and Mistrals. The Naval orders for Mk 20s have priority over theMk is, as it is considered that the Air Force is in a better position to continue utilizing such material as the Mistral, whereas theNavy has no jet aircraft. D. H. W. AIR O.P. CAMP Summer Training with the Handy Mk 6 Austers on Salisbury Plain THIS year's "open season" on Salisbury Plain has beennotable for the number of Auster 6 Observation Post air-craft which have been seen buzzing placidly around the little-used airfield at Netheravon, and occasionally (less placidly)streaking over the tops of Army convoys at zero altitude. The majority of these camouflaged Austers bearing R.A.F.markings belong to the Territorial Army and R.Aux.A.F. Air Observation Post Squadrons which have been carrying out theirsummer camps on the Plain. Comparatively little has been said or written about the Air O.P. squadrons and civilians and Service-men alike are sometimes puzzled by the sight of vehicles carrying a mixture of Royal Artillery and R.A.F. men pulling into farmers'fields, their crews going into frenzied activity with white recog- nition strips and Aldis lamps, and a few minutes later a stream ofAusters piloted by Army officers coming in to land in spaces little bigger than football pitches. The job of an Air O.P. unit is to observe for field artillery inmuch the same way as a ground observation post in a slit trench or tank. At present the Auster 6 (Gipsy Major) is the standardaircraft for the job, chosen because it can be flown in and out of any field giving a 200-yd strip clear of obstruction, is highlymanoeuvrable at low altitudes, and is easily maintained in the field. All Air O.P. aircraft are flown by Royal Artillery officers—largelybecause a knowledge of field gunnery is the first essential of the job : flying the aircraft is simply the pilot's method of getting himselfinto the most convenient position to observe the fall of shot. That may be an over-simplification, however. The Auster is, of course,entirely unarmed and very slow, and an extremely high degree of skill is required on the part of pilots to avoid attack by enemy fnter-SerWce map-reading: Members of 1951 Flight, with their Com- mander, Capt. C. A. T. Wright, on an exercise during the camp period. The open-air life: "Bedding down" an Auster for the night. aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. The Air O.P. pilot's sole defencelies in his ability to fly very low—sometimes only a matter of 30 to 50ft above the ground—in being able to take cover behind woodsand hills, and to turn inside the circle of any modern fighter. Most of the Air O.P. squadrons in Britain have now been turnedover to T.A. and R.Aux.A.F. status. Each squadron has a number of out-lying nights which are actually self-contained units, oftenbased more than 100 miles away from squadron headquarters, and relying on H.Q. only for certain administrative matters. On theground, the squadrons and flights are composed roughly equally of T.A. and R.Aux.A.F. personnel. The airmen service theaircraft and the Gunners handle all wireless communications and M.T. vehicles. Because nearly all commissioned officers are fairly heavilycommitted; in flying their aircraft a great deal of attention is paid to making all "other ranks" completely competent in map reading,camouflage, and landing-ground-occupation drill as well as in their own individual jobs as drivers, wireless operators andengine and airframe mechanics. Though many flying hours have been put in by all pilots at this year's summer camps the emphasishas been very largely on the part which the ground crews play in Air O.P. operations. Each squadron competes in an annual efficiency competitionfor which a silver cup is awarded and the most important factors are the results of officers shooting on "live" ranges and on a testof the whole unit's general competence, known as "Exercise Algy." "Algy"—derived from the abbreviation A.L.G. for air landingground—consists of the occupation of three or more separate landing grounds widely spaced apart while a Regular Armydirecting staff from the School of Air O.P. at Middle Wallop watches every fine point both from the ground and the air. The flight commander ("Algy" is usually carried out by one
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