FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0782.PDF
776 • - mJ&T K'***i n£S ' ! •' -i-^' ^T**' ^H ^H^. ^MmMBm;'m. • IBP - . k- / ^MEBB - • •w; r\ •:• •• p""*-as!S fch"" •• (Left) Supervising the preparation of an Auster for Korea is FjO. J. A. H. Sorrell, who commands the equipment and air movements section at Iwakuni. (Right) Hawker Sea Furies of the Fleet Air Arm at Iwakuni. In the background are Privateers of the U.S. Navy. The Sharp End . . . base facilities for the Sunderland detachment of the Far East Flying Boat Wing; for providing staging post facilities for visiting R.A.F. landplanes; and for the administrative control of the Casualty Evacuation Flight and Nos. 1903 and 1913 (Auster) Flights, while these Flights are under the operational control of the G.O.C., No. 1 Commonwealth Division in Korea. The equipment and air movements section is under F/O. J. A. H. Sorrell, and the staff—trained for the double function—handle incoming and outgoing couriers, the "cas. evacs." and "specials." The aircraft servicing section deals with R.A.F. landplanes staging through, and is further responsible for the major inspections of, and erection of, the Austers for Korea. Additionally, there is a marine-craft section, for the functional use of the Sunderland detachment. To hear something about the work of this detachment, which operates under the control of the U.S. Navy, we presented our selves before S/L. P. F. Eames. He began by telling us of the anti submarine patrols and shipping surveillance in the Tsushima Straits and Yellow Sea, which the Sunderlands undertake, turn and turn about, with U.S. Navy Mariners. Every other day—from Iwakuni or from a U.S. Navy AVP seaplane tender (from the stern of which they refuel)—they are out on an 8-hr sortie. Another task is night weather-reconnaissance in the Yellow Sea, beyond the Shantung Peninsula. These flights last for 8-10 hr, and they influence the operations of the Combined Naval Task Force and of shore-mounted air strikes. Then there are the occasional combined anti-submarine patrols and weather recces, towards Vladivostock; Task Force refuelling patrols; and convoy escorts. At the time of our visit the night recces, were considered very little fun indeed. Freezing level at Iwakuni was between 500 and 2,000ft, and if a pilot went out I.F.R. to the Tsushima Straits, he could expect plenty of ice. Alternatively, to keep below icing level, : • -: • '::; : •:• : — : he might map-read by radar to the Shimonoseki Gap and pas'5 through blind at 1,200ft. Around the south-western tip of Korea (where it became necessary to descend to 800ft for patrol, and to take readings at four points down to 200ft, using the radio alti meter) the freezing level was likely to be found somewhere in the water. In the absence of cabin heating, provision is made in the Sunderland for electrically-heated clothing, but for Korean winter operations the crews were dressing as though this were not the case. Continuous use of current by all hands had the unfortunate effect of overloading the generator and blowing fuses; and this being so, S/L. Eames favoured the following ensemble : short pants, "long Johns," pyjama trousers, Aertex vest, two string vests, aircrew shirt, roll-neck sweater, battledress, electrically-heated "inner," lightweight flying-suit, flying-boots, gloves and scarf. The stern and waist gunners, who would otherwise have had the chilliest time of all, were permitted to keep themselves plugged in. Other crew-members were heated for a short spell every quarter of an hour, which, one might suppose, would afford some relief from the monotony—as did the occasional radar blips registered by sup posed Tu-2S. On daylight sorties shipping photography offered a more agreeable form of diversion. The Sunderlands have no radio compasses and in icing conditions compliance with American "airways" rules is not always possible; so these are waived to allow them to come into Iwakuni on VFR flight clearances or to grope their way round the coast by radar. We heard of one young pilot who had lately found himself icing up in cloud, with his VHF aerial useless and only very weak R/T. All but lost, he managed to find a hole in the clouds for a descent off the west coast of Japan, and so was able to set about finding the Shimonoseki Gap. In sleet and snow he put the Sunderland down on the sea and taxied at 8-10 kt for six miles through the gap. Once into the Inland Sea, he took off again and approached base IFR, in snow, at 600ft. The Sunderland passed under the South Gap wires at 50ft and put down safely at base. On more than one occasion a Sun derland has taken off and alighted four or five times between Shimonoseki and Iwakuni. Visiting the moored Sunderlands in a bomb scow the morning after we arrived, we saw that two depth charges had already been secured in Peter's bomb room. The sight of fitters, radar technicians and armourers buckling down to their jobs in the bitter wind, standing in small craft, or precariously A Dakota of No. 30 Transport Unit, R.A.A.F., unloads Korea casualties at Iwakuni. (Below) First pilot of No. 77 R.A.A.F. Squadron to shoot down a Mig-15 in combat, F/L. Bruce Gogerly, D.F.C., receives the American Air Medal from Col. H. R. Thyng. (Right) F/L. D. G. M. Hills (R.A.F.) and Senior Sister H. deary (R.A.A.F. Nuising Service) doing the rounds at No. 91 (Composite) Wing sick quarters.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
