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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0676.PDF
670 FLIGHT This Armstrong Whitworth (Closter) Meteor N.F.11 carries the black and red chequerboard of No. 85 Squadron. The navi gator sits in the back seat and faces forward towards his radar equipment. THE QUEEN'S AIR FORCES "Flight" photographs FIGHTER COMMAND AND 2nd T.A.F. IT is with the Battle of Britain that Fighter Command will for ever be associated. Then it was that the British public first began to know something of the Command's work, and there are few indeed who do not recall those white vapour trails against the blue September skies of thirteen years ago. But the Royal Air Force, and Fighter Command in particular, cannot afford to live in the past or rest on great achievements now part of history. Each day, the security of our homeland depends in the first place upon this Command and upon the strength which it can bring to bear at the right place at the right time—irrespective of weather, maintenance schedules and all the thousand-and-one things that threaten the efficiency of an air force. Like all such organizations, Fighter Command has undergone fundamental changes since 1940, and the pilot who flew a Hurricane or Spitfire in that year would feel like a fish out of water with a squadron of today—although, of course, many such pilots have remained in the Service, as is obvious from a perusal of the earlier pages of the Air Force List. But before present squadron life is discussed, attention should be turned to the aircraft which equip the Command, or are about to be introduced. The first name one thinks of is, of course, the Gloster Meteor. Through Marks 1, 3, 4 and 8 it has been the backbone of the Command for many years and is still by far the most numerous aircraft type in the Royal Air Force. Its strength and dependabihty have become a legend and, although there is a growing tendency to poke fun at straight-wing fighters, the Royal Air Force owes the Meteor a great debt. Not only has it provided a pillar upon which our air defence has leaned heavily for very nearly ten years (Meteors were in action against flying bombs in 1944) but it has been the means whereby many hundreds of pilots have become thoroughly experienced in modern air fighting. For years to come the majority of our fighter pilots will be able to show many pages of Meteor time, logged at their A.F.S., O.C.U. and front-line squadron. For ordinary interception of medium-speed aircraft, or for ground- attack or photo-reconnaissance or all-weather fighting, the Meteor is still hard to beat and it will be seen for a long while yet. The de Havilland Vampire followed hard on the Meteor's heels as the second British jet fighter. Quite large numbers were at one time on Fighter Command's strength, but this is no longer the case. Today the Vampire is found only in the 2nd T.A.F. in Germany, in Middle and Far East Air Forces—and, of course, in almost any other country one cares to mention. In Great Britain, single-seat Vampires are reserved for the R.Aux.A.F., where their economy, superb handling and versatility are responsible for the affection in which they are held. But it should not be inferred that Fighter Command no longer favours D.H. twin-boom fighters, for our day-fighter strength is being reinforced continually by deliveries of Venom F.B.is. For every aspect of performance except sheer speed these neat aircraft can put up a good show against any comer, swept-wing or not. Much more powerful than the Vampire, the Venom is considerably heavier and it cannot avoid making slightly greater demands in the matter of runway length and strength, although these factors are still unusually good by any standards. Most of the first batches are going to Germany, but the Venom will probably soon be a very familiar sight in English skies. As yet no de Havilland successor to the Venom has been ordered but it may be remembered that the D.H. 110 is one of our supersonic prototypes.
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