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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0405.PDF
27 March 1953 403 Stacked in the cabin and baggage compartments were 1,700 lb of spares, ranging from oil coolers down to instruments. Forty gallons of oil (for our brand was not stocked in the Cocos) was another small item, accounting for 400 lb. Rarely was the take-off weight less than the 80,000 lb limit. A flight of such extent and intensity must be a test of any air craft, and WJ330, with her four 1,640 h.p. Bristol Hercules 106s, acquitted herself magnificently. The only snags were a damaged tail-locking unit and three broken magneto springs. Take-off, even in the tropics, was comfortably short, and on leaving Manby only 900 yd of a 1,100-yd runway were needed to unstick. With its spring-tab controls, improved fore-and-aft stability (conferred by the enlarged and lowered tailplane), extra tankage and other refinements, the Hastings 2 is a far superior aircraft to die Mk 1. We ourselves flew the 13,192 miles from Iwakuni to Manby in rearward-facing troop-seats, with feet up on boxes of spares, and thus installed were happy enough. Especially was this so whenever Chief Technician Campbell, who discharged the office of quartermaster, showed up (as he invariably did at the right moment without prompting from the skipper) bearing coffee or an in-flight meal. The Hastings had left Manby, her captain told us, on Feb ruary 12th, and, after 10 hr 25 min airborne, put down at Fayid, in the Canal Zone. Three hours later she was pressing on to Bahrain, where she halted for 11 hr. At Negombo, Ceylon, she was on the ground for only 2 hr; in fact, of 51 hr elapsed between Manby and Singapore, 35 were flying time. At Changi the captain ordered a two-day halt—not for rest alone but to enable the syndicate to discuss anti-bandit operations with H.Q. Far East Air Force. Then the Hastings headed out over the China Sea for Clark Field, and once again the party was cosseted to the extent of being allowed a night-stop. The 1,756-mile leg to Iwakuni took a mere 7 hr 15 min, and now the students deserted die Hastings for a U.S.A.F. C-46 (Commando), which bore them on to Tokyo for a five-day sojourn with the American F.E.A.F. H.Q. They were greeted by General Weyland and discussed operational techniques with MATS (Military Air Transport Service), FEALOGFOR (Far East Air Logistics Formation), BOMCOM (Far East Bomber Command), the Air Defence Com mand, and a troop carrier (Combat Cargo) intra-theatre air division. The party was impressed by the scale of die American effort represented by these formations, the variety of aircraft handled (upwards of 30 types) and the manner in which Japanese labour has been recruited to repair aircraft on a production-line basis. Anodier Combat Cargo C-46 was the appointed vehicle between Japan and Seoul, whence the syndicate was taken on to H.Q. 5th Air Force. From this focal point die students radiated each day to units equipped with F-86s, RF-8os, F-84S and B-26s; and, of course, they did not fail to call on die illustrious No. 77 Squad ron, R.A.A.F., which operates its Meteor 8s with telling effect against ground targets. They were present, too, at one of General Barkus's evening briefings (the General convenes a briefing every morning and evening to allow operations to be reviewed), and there was still time for a visit to the Commonwealth Division. Though the "Div." was out of the line, most of the party went up-front, and W/C.s Stanbury and Cox were lucky enough to witness a fighter/bomber strike by the U.S. Marine Corps. In addition to die C-46 Commandos, die syndicate made their rounds in L-20 Beavers, a C-119 Packet, and General Weyland's personal C-47 Dakota (or Goony Bird). Back at Iwakuni a new tail-locking unit, flown out from England, had been fitted to the Hastings and, as already intimated, it was at Iwakuni that we ourselves "latched-on." The notoriously mountainous terrain round Kai Tak resulted in an abortive first attempt to land, after 8| hr in the air; but on our second circuit we really snuggled into the mountains and a more comfortable approach followed. We sat down without further loss of dignity and taxied in as four Hornets roared out across the sparkling water. A mag. drop on No. 4 engine detained us at Kai Tak for the greater part of March 4th, enabling us to procure from F/L. Graham our movement orders for the United Kingdom. With the memory of our arrival stubbornly persisting, we noted approvingly the flattening operations on die local hill-tops, undertaken with the object of improving the approaches. The broken rock, one learned, is carted lorrywards by industrious Chinese ladies with baskets. "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS By L. W. McLAREN (Below) Kai Tak (Hong Kong). (Right) V.I.P. Hastings WJ325 distributing the Cocos coral. (Left) Lines of No 2 Airfield Construction Company, R.A.A.F., West Island, tocos. (Right) Sartorially distinguished from students and crew-members is VV/C. Stanbury, captain of the Hastings and leader of the syndicate, with Mr. Neville Sneddon (Qantas) on his left. •?i ;ppv# -p • -1 ^L^^- p -,AV;/
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