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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2305.PDF
636 FLIGHT, 16 November ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL DEDICATION : With the Lord Bishop of Rochester are A. Cdre. R. B. Lees (Sector Commander), A. V-M. Th^bnTof Bofl (A.O.C. No. 11 Group), GjC. J. N. Keeling (Assistant Chaplain in Chief), Lord De L'Isle and Dudley (Secretary of State for Aiflland W/C. A. H.^ Donaldson (Station Commander, Biggin Hill). On the right is seen the exterior of the chapel. /"Flight" photograph. SERVICE AVIATION . . . on the way. As Lt. Cdr. Michael Fell, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N., the Air Group Commander, flew low to tell the men that helicopters were coming, his aircraft, also, was hit, and he had to limp to a friendly airstrip. Meanwhile a flight of Meteors from No. 77 Squadron R.A.A.F. joined the Sea Furies over the Firefly. At 1700 hr there was a crisis. The shore- based helicopter was ordered to return to base because of the risk of approaching darkness and passed the Sydney's heli- copter on its way back. The Sea Furies were told to leave the spotati7i5hr because their fuel was running low. At 1715 hr the Meteors left. The Sea Fury pilots, Lt. J. G. Cavanagh and Lt. J. Salthouse, decided that they could carry on for a little while longer and continued their protective patrol. As dusk deepened, anxiety increased, but the Sydney's helicopter (Aviation Pilot Babbitt, U.S.N., and Airman G. C. Gooding, U.S.N.) made a good 20 knots more than the accepted maximum for this type. At 1725 hr the helicopter reached the Firefly. Inside a protecting circle of shells from the guns of the Sea Furies, the helicopter dropped down beside the two men, Good- ing jumped out and shot two of the enemy who had crept up to within 15 yd. He and the two crashed airmen then got into the helicopter which withdrew out of range. Triumphantly escorted by the Sea Furies, whose pilots had taken the risk of staying 15 minutes beyond the estimated fuel limit of their aircraft, the helicopter returned to the carrier. The last half hour of the flight was made in darkness, but all three aircraft landed safely. Biggin Hill DedicationO N Saturday last the Lord Bishop of Rochester, the Right Reverend C. M. Chavasse, O.B.E., M.C., D.D., dedicated the new St. George's Chapel of Remem- brance at Biggin Hill. The service was attended by the Secretary of State for Air and many of the R.A.F. High Command. The chapel replaces the original building, burnt down in 1946, and flanking the new altar are panels on which are inscribed the 453 names of those who lost their lives in the Battle of Britain. On the altar is a Book of Remembrance, which opens with the following quotation from a poem by Spender :— The names of those who in their life Fought for lifeWho wore in their hearts The fire's centre Born of the SunThey travelled a short while Toward the sun And left the vivid airSigned with their honour. For the dedication service the chapel was filled by a congregation of relatives of those who had died in the Battle of Britain. ? R.A.F. Appointments THE Air Ministry has announced thatA. V-M. W. L. Dawson, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., will give up his post as R.A.F. Instructor to the Imperial Defence College and become Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) from January next. His place at I.D.C. will be taken by A. V-M. C. B. R. Pelly, C.B., C.B.E., M.C., who, until recently, was Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operational Requirements). A. V-M. Pelly will also be remembered as the com- manding officer of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down, Wilts. R.C.A.F. in Britain YESTERDAY, with ful1 ceremonial, the •*• R.A.F. Station at North Luffenham was handed over to the Royal Canadian Air Force. North Luffenham will become the R.C.A.F. headquarters in Britain and the newly arrived No. 410 (Cougar) Squadron, R.C.A.F., with their Canadian-built Sabres, will be stationed there. A fuller account of the ceremony will appear next week. BATTLE OF BRITAIN REMEMBRANCE: (Left) Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, who was A.O.C.-in-C. Fighter Command in 1940, arriving with Lady Dowding for the service at Biggin Hill. On the right is the altar of the new chapel, with its flanking memorial panels and flags of all the nations whose pilots fought in the Battle. > "Flight" photographs
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