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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0636.PDF
284 FLIGHT FOUR-LEGGED FREIGHT From Cargoes to "Cowgoes" on the Channel Air Ferry THE respective merits of tunnels and bridges are of little interest to the aviation fraternity and the thought of thousands of cows pouring through a Channel Tunnel must be rather bewildering to any man. Yet the Channel "airbridge" carried such traffic from the second week in November, 1951, until early this year. In late October Silver City Airways received a contract to fly 1,800 head of cattle, en route from Ireland to Italy, across the 47-mile stretch of water between Lympne and Le Touquet, at a rate of about 300 per week. Britain's trade agreement with Eire means that about 80 per cent of the Emerald Isle's cattle exports are sold to Britain at a favourable price, in exchange for releases of coal and other scarce materials. The remaining 20 per cent of edible Irish cattle are offered for sale to the highest bidders who this year have once more included rejuvenated Italy. Although the 1951 Italian live-beef shipments were smaller than in previous years, the various shipping agents who arrange transportation from Eire to the land of spaghetti looked to the air for a means of more efficient transportation across the Channel. The recent system, therefore, was for the cows and bullocks to be shipped from Dublin to Liverpool and Birkenhead, railed to Westenhanger Station, near Lympne, put out to pasture for a few hours, flown across to Le Touquet in Bristol Freighters and finally railed to Italy and slaughtered. It is a little known fact among we laymen that a bullock, in transit and away from pasture, loses i£ per cent of its fat content every 24 hours. As the air trip saves the shippers more than a day in time and avoids a possible rough and weight-reducing sea crossing, it is calculated that on the original contract of 1,800 cattle some 30,000 to 40,000 lb of beef has been saved for the purchasers. As almost all these beasts were destined for slaughter, this represents about £10,000 additional revenue on the Italian retail market. If we are conservative and say there is a meat saving of £3 to £4 per beast this, plus the boat fare, actually comes to more than the figure charged to the shippers by Silver City ! On arrival at Westenhanger, one mile away from Lympne, the usual daily batches of 48 bullocks were treated to a few hours of Kentish pasture. Then, four at a time, they were taken to the airport by Thomas Diver's fleet of new Commer cattle-trucks and loaded aboard the waiting Bristol Freighters. The cattle were brought to the airport as aircraft capacity became available and were not kept waiting in their trucks on the tarmac. Two truck-loads of four bullocks made up the average aircraft-load of eight 11-cwt animals; but, quite often, eleven 8-cwt beasts were carried within the Freighter. The method of loading, which was supervised by experi enced men, was quite simple, as no form of ramp was required. The tailboard of the cattle-truck was lowered to meet the sill of the aircraft, protective side-boards were extended from the truck, and the animals, suitable encouraged by gentle words and brandishings from the capable cow hands of Kent, were soon persuaded to transfer themselves from one vehicle to another. While the first cattle-truck was moving away, the second was already backing-up. Protection from Kicking A new type of aerial cattle-pen was delivered to Silver City for use in Operation Cow. Basically, it took the form of an oblong cage, constructed of metal tubes and canvas. This cage was speedily lashed inside the cargo hold and the animals stood athwartships, secured only by their halters to the tubular frame. This method proved to be entirely satis factory and resulted in a very much quicker turn-round. Before the cage was introduced the system was to protect the sides of the aircraft with padding and install individual tubular-metal hurdles between each beast. This method, although efficient, wasted much time. As the Bristol Freighter is not the quietest of aeroplanes, the reactions of cattle in the air were very interesting. The writer flew on the cow-lift many times and is convinced that the animals had absolutely no sensation of flying. In the first place they were unable to see out of their canvas- covered cage, and the whole effect must have seemed to them to be very much like a slow and lumbering passage through a very long and luxurious railway tunnel. At no time did the writer see any sign of nervousness in the air, nor did he hear a solitary moo amid the clouds. All the animals stood unbelievably still, perfectly balanced, and completely uncon cerned throughout their flights. Always, however, there was a cow-marshal inside the hold ready to attend to his pas sengers' requirements. There was sometimes a slight reluctance to exchange the comfort of the Freighter for that of the French cattle-truck that was always on hand to meet each aircraft as it landed after its 20-minute flight from Lympne. While Silver City's average shipments ran to about 300 a week and a flight every 90 minutes or so, things were a little less "average" in practice. A spate of bad fogs, torrential rains, and hold-ups on the railways resulted in a series of special efforts and slack days. In spite of these things, the overall plan was not disjointed, and on some days as many as 80 bullocks crossed the Channel in the Freighters. Operation Cow proved a useful experience for Silver City. It meant that although the type of cargo underwent a radical change, the company was able to operate the same Lympne to Le Touquet air bridge all the year round at a high frequency. This was the first year that there had been heavy winter traffic, and the obvious result has been to make the overall running cost of the fleet of Freighters, and of the car ferry, very much cheaper. J. S. W. A beast walks calmly into the Freighter over the bridge formed by the lorry tailboard. Canvas hurdles protect the fuselage walls from hooves.
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