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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0709.PDF
(Above) Lancaster and Grand 51am: Bomber Command's favourite aircraft, and 8. N. Wallis's huge bomb, which only the "Lane" could carry. (Upper right) The very first take-off of a jet aircraft from a carrier: Lt. Cdr. £. M. Brown leaving the flight deck of H.M.S. "Ocean" behind on December 3rd, 1945. (Right) The Trent-Meteor, first aircraft in the world to fly on turboprop power (1945). In the Queen's Lifetime . . . that the same results might be obtained "next time" in a matter of days, or even hours. It was a warning that all wise people bear in mind. Thp Pn«t-wnr Pprind AS IS known only t0° we" to 1UC rusi Wdr rCI 1UU everyone interested in aviation, the years immediately after the war were a difficult time for Great Britain, so closely had our production been geared to purely military affairs. B.O.A.C. and the newly formed B.E.A. and B.S.A.A. (British South American Airways), in particular, were very badly handicapped by lack of suitable aircraft, and eventually the two long-range Corporations were merged and a number of American aircraft purchased to fill the gap. There were some bright spots, however. We gained the speed record for a time in 1945 and 1946, G/C. H. J. Wilson achieving 606.49 m.p.h. and, later, G/C. E. M. Donaldson 615.78 m.p.h., in specially-prepared Meteors. Geoffrey de Havilland would quite certainly have raised the record still further in the D.H.108 if he had not lost his fife while testing that aircraft. John Cunningham wrested the altitude record from Italy in a modified Vampire fitted with a Ghost engine, reaching a height of 59,492ft. Aries I (Lancaster) and II (Lincoln) made fine flights over the North Pole and elsewhere. The S.B.A.C. Show was revived, this time at Radlett, and in 1948 was moved to Farnborough, where it has now become a unique occasion in the air year. Fighter Command of the R.A.F. was gradually equipped with Meteors and Vampires as an interim measure, providing a start for the "all jet" programme. During these years, also, some notable British civil aircraft made their appearance, among them the spectacular Bristol Brabazon and Saunders-Roe Princess, the Airspeed Ambassador (now B.E.A.'s Elizabethan class), the Handley Page Hermes, and those "best sellers" the de Havilland Dove and the Bristol Freighter. The really important aspect of those first post-war years, how ever, was one of forward planning and development—and now, at last, we are beginning to see the results. B.O.A.C. has already operated Comet services for over a year, spanning distance at revolutionary speeds and with perfect regularity. B.E.A. has just started operations with the Viscounts, which are likely to be equally successful. Production of the Britannia is coming along. Orders for our turbine-powered transport aircraft have already grown to unprecedented size. On the Service side, Canberras have changed the whole concept of bomber operations, and carried out a series of outstanding flights, notably those of W/C. R. P. Beamont and his crew, who crossed the Atlantic twice in one day, and F/L. Dick Whittington, who made the trip from London to Darwin in 22 hours. The V-bombers are already in production, and in due course will still further revolutionize the work of Bomber Command, just as the Hunter, Swift and Javelin will call for entirely new techniques from Fighter Command. In the sphere of freighting, the Berlin Airlift achieved a great cold-war victory, the Americans and ourselves together delivering over 2,000,000 tons of supplies to the city in 277,728 sorties between June 26th, 1948, and October 6th, 1949. Other successes have been obtained in the development of British helicopters for both civil and military purposes; in the production of the huge Blackburn and General Aircraft Beverley, which seems destined for a fruitful career; and by the remarkable results that have been obtained by Silver City Airways in ferrying cars across the Channel, an entirely new departure. Most recent of indi vidual achievements is the climb to 63,668ft—subject to con firmation, an aeroplane world height record—by W/C. W. F. Gibb in the Olympus-Canberra on May 4th. In this Coronation Year of 1953, therefore, the path of British aviation shines clearer and brighter ahead than it has ever done in the past. Native invention and production, coupled with the efforts of the pioneers of the past, have provided the opportunity. Let us hope for years of peace in which to reap the benefits. D.I.C. This modern age: Youth's enthusiasm for flying in the jet era is symbolized in this pic ture of tree-borne boys watching a Comet land at Hatfield after a record-breaking journey from Copen hagen. The Comet and the Viscount together have placed Britain in the forefront of present- day civil aviation.
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