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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1762.PDF
762 FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS MALTA ROUND: Firefly 5s of No. 821 Squadron (Lt. Cdr. J. R. N. Gardner, R.N.) leaving Lee-on- Solent last Monday for Malta, where they are to be embarked in H.M.S. "Glory." On the following day the Sea Fury 11s of No. 801 Squadron (Lt. Cdr. P. B. Stuart, R.N.) made the trip for the same purpose. Before departure the crews were addressed by the Flag Officer Air (Home), Vice-Admiral Charles E. Lambe, C.B., C.V.O. "Flight" photograph A Month of Manoeuvres D URING the past few weeks several international air, naval and military exercises have taken place, each involving the Allied Air Forces Central Europe. Although on quite a large scale, they have chiefly been designed to iron out detail problems and so smooth the way for very extensive manoeuvres due to take place later this year. From June 2nd to 6th, "Bluebird" was sponsored by the C.-in-C. Netherlands Home Station to examine naval support for the Central Europe Army. "Javelin III," from the 4th to the 10th, was a B.A.O.R. exercise, the British 1 ith Armoured Division being supported by units of Air Marshal Sir R. M. Foster's recently formed 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force. A similar unit, Maj-General Dean Strother's 4th A.T.A.F., held their fortnightly exercise under the code-name "Martini" on the 4th and 18th. Scramble and intercept procedure, G.C.I, and control and reporting was examined and aircraft and personnel changes took place between U.S. and French units. "Barricade," on the nth, was a regular French air-defence exercise, while "Barrage," on the following day, was a twice-monthly air-defence manoeuvre involving integrated action by units from Belgium, Holland, N.E. France and S.E. England. "Castanets," from June i8th-26th (see page 785) was a com bined NATO marine exercise for Channel, Home and E. Atlantic fleets, with A.A.F.C.E. aircraft used offensively and defensively. This manoeuvre merged into "June Primer," the climax of the month's exercises, which started last Monday and was due to finish yesterday, June 26th. "June Primer" has been timed to coincide with "Bullseye," R.A.F. Bomber Command's periodic night operation; "Barrage," previously mentioned; and "Skyscraper," the trial daylight bomb ing by the U.S. 7th Air Division from Great Britain, with B-45S. The greater proportion of the powerful jet offensive forces needed for "June Primer" came from R.A.F. Fighter Command. The Baltic Affair THE Swedish Ambassador in Moscow has been instructed to inform the Soviet Government that laboratory tests in Stock holm show that the missing Swedish Dakota, for which the Swedish Catalina shot down in the Baltic on June 16th was searching, was itself subjected to "shooting" before it crashed. "In view of this," runs a Swedish Government note to Russia, "the Swedish Govern ment would inquire of the Soviet Government whether Soviet fighting forces fired at the Swedish aircraft, and in the event of an affirmative reply, under what circumstances did this take place?" The Swedish Defence Minister stated in Stockholm last Sunday that the laboratory tests had confirmed "earlier smouldering suspicions" as to the Dakota's fate. Contrary to Russian assertions that the searching Catalina had fired on Russian fighters, the Minister said that it was not armed and could not have been armed. Promising Combination AUSTRALIA is undoubtedly "on to a good thing" with the • Avon-Sabre, tooling-up for which is now proceeding at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation plant at Lorimer St., Port Melbourne. During his recent visit to the factory, Lord Hives, managing director of Rolls-Royce, Ltd., expressed great confi dence in the ability of the Australians to manufacture the "ad vanced mark" of Avon which is destined for this fighter. He hoped there would, one day, be as many varieties of Avon as there were of the Merlin. The Avon-Sabre will, it is reported, be a development of the F-86E. Changes include a four-20 mm armament (pleasing news for Major Jabara, U.S.A.F., who, in a Flight interview last March, admitted that he "would trade the Sabre's six 0.5 in guns for four 20 mms") in addition to the great increase in thrust. Unchanged, however, is the American instrument panel. This appears to be a retrograde step in comparison with the standardized instrument ation of British aircraft. Nevertheless, with the finest turbojet in service allied to the best fighter airframe in service, this project appears likely to repeat the success of the North American/Rolls- Royce Mustang. Dx The Britannia : and a Freighter Project |URING his recent visit to Australia—undertaken partly in connection with guided-missile work at Woomera—the joint managing director of the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Mr. W. R. Verdon Smith, gave some interesting tit-bits of news. The first prototype of the Britannia, he said, was expected to fly this month, and he added that, in service, these aircraft were initially intended for the London-Sydney and Sydney-Auckland routes. Less definite was his reference to "a new freighter project," with which Bristols were going ahead. No details of this aircraft could be given but, said Mr. Verdon Smith, "it is a project for which we have considerable hopes." Col. W. C. Devereux BY the death of Col. W. C. Devereux, C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S. (which occurred suddenly on Saturday last—he had been taken ill while visiting the Ascot race meeting) the aircraft industry loses an outstanding figure whose recognition of the value of research, particularly in the field of light-alloy metallurgy, had brought tangible and valuable results over a period of many years. At the time of his death he was managing director of Almin, Ltd. (Farn- ham Royal, Bucks), and chairman of a number of associated companies, including International Alloys, Renfrew Foun dries, Warwick Production Co., Southern Forge, and Struc tural and Mechanical Develop ment Engineers. Born in 1893, Wallace Charles Devereux was educated at King Edward Grammar School, Aston, where, thus early, his engineering ability became ap parent; and he was still in his early twenties when he was appointed to the responsible post of Superintendent of No. 1 National Aircraft Fac tory during the 1914-18 war. His study of airframe and engine design during this period, and in the years immediately follow ing the war, convinced him of the possibilities of forged light alloys, in which, with the increasing use of all-metal aircraft, designers were beginning to show interest. In 1927 he founded High Duty Alloys, Ltd., at Slough, with a small but well equipped laboratory, foundry, and machine shop. Much of the early work was on Y-alloy and also on "DU," from which Hiduminium was developed. The company prospered and expanded, and when the Second World War broke out it was in a position to make a valuable contribution to Britain's aircraft-production effort. Col. Devereux Col. W. C'Devereux.
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