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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0868.PDF
FLIGHT, 3 July 1953 An Auster of No. 1913 Flight with the Cessno L-19. (Right) Imsun Gun and Kim Yun Gi, South Korean youngsters serving with the Flight. THE SHARP END . . . field. Members of the Flight extricated him under the fire of R.P.s from the now-flaming aircraft, and, the tanks having failed to explode, the pilot and observer escaped uninjured. Capt. Wilson was less lucky, but seemed none the worse when we talked to him the other week. Capt. H. Irwin, D.F.C. (Royal West Kents), is an ex-fighter pilot, R.A.F., and Staff Sergeants Hall and Rolley are both war time glider pilots; "Staff" Hall did glider ops. onD-day,atArnhem and on the Rhine, and Rolley, with nine years in the Glider Pilot Regiment behind him, had extensive Hamilcar experience. Sergeant J. Hutchings, D.F.M., is regarded as "the General's pilot," being responsible for flying Major-General A. R. West, G.O.C. No. i Commonwealth Division, in the Flight's cherished Cessna L-19. He formerly flew Austers in Malaya and has a reputation for consistently accurate reporting of enemy positions in face of anti-aircraft opposition. Sergeant Jermy is credited with the "nearest miss" to date : his Auster was turned practically upside down by a 37 mm burst— without apparent damage. No. 1913 Flight is mainly engaged in visual-reconnaissance and communication flying. Reconnaissance over the lines may be undertaken with or without a passenger; and if one is carried he may be a senior officer, a patrol commander familiarizing himself with the ground, or a mortar-platoon officer or sergeant supervising a shoot with a battalion's 3in mortars. Occasionally a low-level sortie in search of missing patrol members may be called for and this may entail penetration behind enemy positions. The Army commanders use the Flight as an accurate and fast means of reconnaissance in forward and rear areas, and for the Engineers it can do an especially useful job. For instance, the Austers may fly down the divisional roads to ascertain where repairs or flood clearance is needed, or to seek good timber for dug-out props. When the Flight first began operations in Korea sorties of 3-4 miles over enemy territory were fairly common; but with the accretion of light A.A. during the past six or eight months such flying has been limited to "essential occasions." Sightings have, in any case, steadily decreased, for not only have enemy day-time movements been reduced almost to vanishing point, but camouflage has improved and the enemy is reluctant to betray his positions in any way for fear of air strikes. Though the Flight works primarily with infantry, it does not fail to put the artillery on to "opportunity" targets, e.g., concentrations of men or active supply points. To this end the pilots undergo a short artillery course so that, by changing their radio frequency to that of the gunners, they can "do a shoot" with them, using a simplified technique. Alternatively, they may call up the A.O.P. Flight and ask an Auster to look in on a given map reference. Usually, when over the lines, the Austers fly above small-arms range, though often within range of 20 mm and 37 mm fire, a certain amount of which has been forthcoming, as we shall later confirm. A control vehicle informs the pilot of friendly artillery activity, but he must work out for himself those unhealthy areas where the trajectories of the shells will correspond with the Auster's flight path. Through his binoculars he may see groups of perhaps 40 or 50 of the enemy who, having moved up before first light, may be laying-up in a "concealed" area ready for an evening attack on our positions. He will note the usage of roads, supply points, any new diggings, field works, and active guns or mortars; and once the Flight was asked to keep tally on an expanding Chinese grave yard. The score reached over a hundred. Generally the pilot will fly with one ear uncovered so that he may hear the cracl of passing bullets. Capt. Downward told me how the terrain varies with the seasons. In the winter snows the tracks of vehicles can be easily picked up; in the spring the greenery and foliage give natural camouflage; and towards the end of summer, when the natural colour is turning to brown, the artificial camouflage can often be picked out. Communication flying is now the Flight's heaviest commitment, and for such work in the rear areas V.H.F. is fitted to the Austers so that the pilots can work the American frequencies. One Auster 7 is engaged solely on communication flying, for which task it is superior to the Mk 6. Even so, a typically bulky senior officer in winter clothing may be subjected to some undignified situations. Much preferred for V.I.P. work in the Flight is a Cessna L-19, or Bird Dog, loaned by the 8th U.S. Army primarily for the G.O.C.'s use and usually flown by Sgt. Hutchings. I was assured that it lands in about the same distance as an Auster, takes off shorter, and has a very much steeper climb; which is hardly surprising, for it has a 220 h.p. Continental engine and is of much later design. Recent V.I.P. passengers logged by Sgt. Hutchings are Admiral McGrigor, Admiral Sir John Collins, Vice-Admiral Mainguay, Sir Esler Denning, Lt.-Gen. Bridgeford and Lt.-Gen. Miller. Each month the Flight issues a confidential resum6 of its (Left) Officers of No. 1903 Independent Air O.P. Flight: (I. to r.) Capt. P. J. A. Tees. R.C.H.A., Capt. K. Perkins, R.A., Capt. R. S. Deacon, R.A.A., and Capt. G. W. C. Joyce, D.F.C., R.A. (Right) "Light liaison" over the wire by No. 1913 Flight. r$
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