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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2216.PDF
2 November 1951 579 AIR TROOPING I: The first load of troops of Command Hastings at Lyneham SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News Army Air-Lift IN the raw, mist-ridden chill of lastFriday morning, at R.A.F. Station, Lyneham, the first batch of troops of the 19th Infantry Brigade mustered for their air-lift out to the Middle East. For Transport Command, it was just another air-bus service, with the difference only that it was bigger than any other one job the Command had tackled by itself since the end of the war. Apart from that, however, it was routine stuff. The job, in brief, was to transport the troops—about 3,000 of them—out to the present trouble spot in the vicinity of the Suez Canal. For this duty Transport Com- mand used their normal 42-seater Hastings and, on this basis, would need to make 72 trips—a • figure which accords with the schedule of I take-off every 2 hours, 24 hours a day for 6 days. How many Hastings were being used for the lift, however, no one would say. We counted 19 lined up around the field and parked on the aprons, but this might mean anything or nothing. All that can be said with certainty is that the lift was operated as a shuttle service, for the first Hastings to return from Lybia arrived back at Lyne- ham, flown by a slip-crew, at 2 a.m. the following day, Saturday. Certainly, the casual matter-of-factness of Transport Command's handling of the job was impressive. The troops arrived at the station, their luggage was taken and loaded into the aircraft, whilst they them- selves were weighed, "manifested" and, of course, refreshed by the inevitable N.A.A.F.I. cup of tea; in the meantime, the aircrew were having their final briefing. The troops were then taken by bus to the aircraft, they climbed aboard, the engines were started, and slowly the Hastings AIR TROOPING II: Men of the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade waiting at Nicosia, Cyprus, to emplane for the Canal Zone. the 19th Infantry Brigade boarding a Transport en route for "somevihere in Lybia." taxied out for engine run-up and take-off. Each man was allowed an all-up weight maximum of 250 lb, including himself; so far as personal kit was concerned, therefore, the 9-stone man had an edge over his 14-stone comrade; there was, however, little evidence that any man was taking anything more than regulation essentials. At 250 lb per man, the load per aircraft works out at just under 4.7 tons. The 19th Infantry Brigade is commanded by Brigadier C. G. Lipscombe, D.S.O., and comprises units of the Highland Light Infantry, the East Surreys, and the Devons, plus 77 Company R.A.S.C., the 37th Field Squadron, R.E., the 48th Field Regiment, R.A., and Brigade H.Q. H.M.S. "Eagle" Handed Over 1AUNCHED by Princess Elizabeth in-* March, 1946, Britain's largest aircraft carrier, H.M.S. Eagle, is now completed and has been provisionally accepted by her commanding officer, Capt. G. Willoughby, R.N., from the builders, Harland and Wolff. The new ship was due to go to sea from Belfast on October 30th. Today, Novem-ber 2nd, the Captain and officers are "At Home" to those concerned with herbuilding since 1942, when the keel was laid down. Originally she was namedAudacious, but in January, 1946, the name was changed to Eagle. She is due to arrive at her home port,Devonport, on November 5th, when stores, provisions, ammunition and fuelwill be embarked before sailing for the Clyde eight days later. The following tendays will be spent at sea, carrying out machinery and manoeuvrability trials. Naval trials will continue throughoutthe winter, and during the spring Eagle will embark her air squadrons, some of• which will be flying Attackers. Flying training, gunnery and other working-uppractices will follow, and it is expected that the carrier will be in operational servicewith the Home Fleet in June next. The present Eagle is the 21st ship of theRoyal Navy to bear this name and replaces the aircraft carrier of the same name whichwas sunk in the Mediterranean in 1942. The ship's motto is Arduus ad Solem,and her battle honours go back to the battle of Portland in which Blake adminis-tered a beating to van Tromp in 1653. Percival Sea Prince T.i LAST week we illustrated one of the firstJ Percival Sea Prince T.i "flying class- room" and communications aircraft which are being supplied to the Navy for training of aircrews prior to their joining first-line anti-submarine squadrons. On this new variant of the Prince, the twin-wheel main undercarriage is of longer stroke than formerly, and the nose of the fuselage has been lengthened to accom- modate radar equipment; otherwise the Sea Prince is similar in configuration to the standard civil Prince. As is well known, for an aircraft of its size the Prince fuselage is unusually spacious, and full advantage has been taken of this fact in accommodating many hundreds of pounds of electrical and special equipment while leaving ample room for the trainee crew and instructors
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