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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0760.PDF
340 FLIGHT "EAGLE" WORKS UP A Day in the Navy's Newest Aircraft Carrier—Jet-squadron Training By THE EDITOR IT is one thing to read about the Navy's carriers and the squadrons embarked in them, and quite another to have the personal experience of spending a day with them. Such an opportunity, which came my way last week, served both to recall a much earlier experience and to provide some telling comparisons between impressions on the two visits. H.M.S. Eagle is the latest carrier to be commissioned in the Royal Navy, and her equipment and trials formed the subject of an article in our November 30th issue. Since that time, she has been taken over—Captain Guy Willoughby, R.N., signed for her about one month ago—and several aircraft have been embarked in her by No. 800 Fighter Squadron and No. 827 Torpedo Squadron. No. 800 were the first squadron to be equipped with Attackers, and are now the first to operate them—at half strength—from a carrier. During my visit, five were catapulted off, and after simulated rocket-attacks on the ship, and other exercises, landed-on an hour later. No. 827 Squadron flew-off five Firebrands for similar train ing exercises, and in addition, two old Firefly Is were operated. The Commander Air is Cdr. N. K. Campbell, M.B.E., D.S.C., R.N. Having established myself in one of the gun sponsons overlook ing the flight deck at the after end of the island, the first impression I registered was of the width and length as compared with my imagined picture. In fact, the flight deck appeared wider but shorter than I had expected. Drawn up at the after end were the piston-engined types, and spread out below and forward were the Attackers to be catapulted. All over the deck were smart, quick-moving crews, the colours of whose helmets clearly indicated their duties. The fire party, for example, have bright red helmets, and the chockmen's are blue; the deck engineers in charge of barriers and wires have black and- white headgear, and the messengers have green. Batsmen and directors wear yellow helmets, and the aircraft servicing teams white. Nearly all wear navy-blue overalls, although green proofed-suits are worn as protection against kerosine, and asbestos suits protect some members of the fire party. Since the jets were embarked, the batsmen have taken to wearing additional light- yellow strips on their arms. When controlling the aircraft landing-on they are, in any case, silhouetted against the white retractable screen which protects them from the wind sweeping the flight-deck. Looking down on the parties of men as they fell out from abreast the island, and bounced off to their various goals among the aircraft, one had the odd impression of dozens of coloured footballs bright against the dark blue- grey deck. By this time Eagle was steaming into wind at some 20 to 25 kt in a flat green foam-flecked sea, lighted here and there with shafts of sun light, and astern the attendant destroyer pitched and weaved in the carrier's huge wake. Five Attackers were due off first. All started up with the aid of starter-acc trolleys, each aircraft with its chockmen lying alongside the main wheels. In quick succession they were taxied and lined up on the cata pult, hold-back link and harness were attached, and the Attackers were launched into the air. The whole proceeding was completed in about ten minutes—which, for a ship at an early stage in the working-up process and with the first squadron to operate these jet fighters, was very creditable. A limiting factor in speed of launching seemed to be the time taken to get the catapult trolley back to the starting position for the aircraft bridle to be attached. Eagle is at present fitted with a pair of the standard type of hydraulic catapults, but it is understood that the new steam cata pults will be installed later. The catapults—flush slots in the deck and some 50 yd long— have two retractable barriers which fold up from the deck at the Captain Guy Willoughby, R.N., of H.M.S. "Eagle."
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