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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1087.PDF
FLIGHT, 21 August 1953 239 SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm News R.A.F. Appointments A FTER commanding the R.A.F. Staff **• College at Bracknell, Berkshire, since June 1951, A.V-M. A. D. Gillmore, C.B.E., is to become Senior Air Staff Officer, Far East Air Force. His place at the Staff College will be taken over by A. Cdre. C. E. Chilton, C.B., C.B.E., who, since February last year, has been A.O.C. Gibraltar. It is announced also that A. Cdre. C. W. Gore, O.B.E., who has been Air Ministry Director of Equipment (A) at Harrogate since last March, is to become Director of Mechanical Transport and Marine Craft at the Air Ministry, with effect from August 31st. Another appointment effec tive on the same date is that of A. Cdre. A. M. Rodgers, who will relinquish a post with the Plans and Policy Division, AAFCE to take command of the Central Signals Establishment. The present holder of this post, A. Cdre. G. H. Randle, is to be Director of Signals (2) at the Air Ministry from September. He will succeed A. Cdre. V. G. A. Hatcher, O.B.E., A.F.C., who will become Senior Technical Staff Officer, F.E.A.F., in November. Two signals appointments are those of A. Cdre. T. U. C. Shirley, C.B.E., who becomes Command Signals Officer at Fighter Command, and A. Cdre. M. Wat son, C.B., C.B.E., who leaves Fighter Command and becomes Director of Sig nals (1) at the Air Ministry. Ferrying the Sabres COME 30 pilots of R.A.F. Transport ^ Command are now engaged in ferry ing Canadair-built F-86 Sabres from Mon treal to the United Kingdom. The Sabres are flown over in groups of thirty, each divided into six flights of five. The journey is made in four stages: Montreal to Goose Bay, Labrador; Goose Bay to Bluie West, Greenland; Bluie West to Keflavik, Ice land and Keflavik to the U.K. Three different types of flying clothing are worn during the journey: arctic kit over Labrador, immersion suits for the sea crossings, and normal overalls for final deliveries in the U.K. The immersion suits, though waterproof, are made of a special porous material which allows the suit to ALL WEATHER, OVER WEATHER: A Russell Adams impression of what fighter pilots of the future will see when flying "in the box" of a Gloster Javelin formation. The planform of the latest Javelin is shown on page 225. "breathe" in the air; immediately on immersion the suit seals itself and becomes buoyant. Pilots completed survival training before the delivery flights began. For arctic sur vival practice they had to subsist indivi dually for two days in the wilds, some 80 miles from Quebec, in a temperature of 20 degrees below zero. They were clad in parkas and special boots and for sustenance carried one oatmeal block, two meat blocks, one packet of chicken noodles, cocoa powder, tea and sugar. Familiarity with the immersion suits was gained in the chilly waters of a Greenland fjord, in which each pilot was left to float for over an hour. After each ferrying flight, transport air craft return the pilots to Montreal for the next batch of Sabres. Rear-Admiral Pedder A RECENT naval promotion is that of Capt. A. R. Pedder to the rank of Rear-Admiral. Admiral Pedder entered the Royal Navy in 1918 and qualified as a naval observer in the Fleet Air Arm in 1930; at the same time he took his civihan "A" pilot's licence. In 1937 he received his promotion to commander whilst serving in the old carrier Eagle. At the outbreak of war in 1939 he was serving in the Naval Air Division at the Admiralty, where except for a period at sea in H.M.S. Mauritius, he stayed unti going to Plans Division—becoming Assis tant Director of Plans (Air) in 1944. The following year he was at sea again, com manding the escort carrier Khedive in South East Asia. He is now Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (W). Exercise "Mariner" T HERE is to be a major NATO sea-air •*• exercise in the North Atlantic under the code name "Mariner"; it will last for 19 days from September 16th and will be staged by nine of the 14 NATO nations. For the first time the three principal NATO area commands—Supreme Allied Command Adantic, Supreme Allied Com mand Europe and Channel and Southern North Sea Command—will work joindy. Forces from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Portu gal, the United Kingdom and the United States will be exercised in one or more phases of applied sea/air power. "Mariner" will be directed by Admiral L. D. McCormick, U.S.N. (SACLANT), Gen. A. M. Gruenther, U.S.A. (SACEUR), Admiral Sir John Edelsten, R.N. (C-in-C. CHAN) and Air Marshal Sir Alick Stevens, R.A.F., Allied Air Commander-in-Chief Channel (CINCMAIRCHAN). R.A.F. Marksmen at Bisley I N the 1953 Pistol Championship of the National Small-Bore Rifle Association, R.A.F. marksmen won five of the seven challenge cups put up for competition. W/C. R. F. B. Guy, of Headquarters Training Command, won four, including the J. K. Gallie Cup for the championship of Great Britain, and S/L. C. C. Willott won the fifth. For the championship W/C. Guy scored 268 points out of a possible 300, beating D. G. Treble, who was second, by only one point. S/L. Willott's win was the British Silhouette Champion- NEW SQUADRON EQUIPMENT: A unique "Flight" photograph of F.1 (Avon) and F.2 (Sapphire) Hunters, which are the next fighters to go into squadron service. No announcement has been mode as to which is to be the fortunate "first" squadron of these or the Javelin above.
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