FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1590.PDF
744 PLIGHT, 4 December 1953 SERVICE AVIATION . . . of flying in a B-47, an aircraft which he learnt had been seen low over the squad ron's airfield at Kidlington on many occasions. No. 4 Squadron Standard ADDRESSING the parade after pre senting No. 4 Squadron with its Queen's Standard at Jever, Germany, on November 20th, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Slessor dwelt on the unit's long history. "You really have something to be especially proud of in No. 4 Squadron," he said. "It was an air craft of your squadron, together with another of No. 3 Squadron, which did the first attack on an enemy column ever made —nearly forty years ago, on the 31st of October, 1914." Sir John continued: "The squadron fought in France all through the first Great War right up to the bitter end, and after the war it had hardly got home when it was sent off to Gallipoli—where you put up another record by being the first squadron ever to fly an ordinary land- plane off the deck of a carrier. "I took over command, when the squadron got back from Gallipoli, from a S/L. Blount, who later commanded an air component in France in 1940, and whose son is a wing commander flying in 2nd T.A.F. today. "Then, nearly twenty-five years to a day after you first went to France, you found yourselves in France again and in the second Great World War. When the Ger mans invaded Belgium you were the first unit to move up into Belgium. You fought through those terrible three weeks and then came away from Dunkirk. And four years later, you were back again in the front line over the Normandy beaches and fought with the Army right up through France into Germany and here you are today." Sir John ended by saying: "I hope you will be here for a long time, because what you are doing now is to make sure that you will never have to do again what you have spent about ten years of your forty years of existence doing—namely, fighting in the great wars." Jet Accidents A QUESTION was recently asked in the House of Commons about the number of fatal accidents involving jet aircraft, particularly during close forma tion flying. The Under-Secretary of State for Air, Mr. Ward, stated in a writ ten reply that during the twelve months ALMOST A HELICOPTER : A Prestwick Pioneer take-off from an air strip in Malaya. The R.A.F. run and 180 yd to clear a 50ft obstacle ended October 31st, 1953, there had been 135 fatal accidents involving R.A.F. jet aircraft. Of these, 15 were due to collision and seven of these collisions occurred dur ing close formation flying. Mr. Ward said that such flying was still a tactical neces sity for day-fighter ground-attack aircraft, and that the accident figures showed that the inherent hazards had been minimized by careful training. To Command No. 22 Group I T is announced by the Air Ministry that A. Cdre. J. L. F. Fuller-Good, C.V.O., C.B.E., is to be A.O.C. No. 22 Group, Technical Training Command. He will assume the acting rank of air vice-marshal. Since May last year, A. Cdre. Fuller- Good has been Director of Personal Ser vices (A) and before that commanded R.A.F. Station Changi at Singapore. 1,000th Flying Scholarship /"\N Thursday of last week, Lord Braba- ^-' zon of Tara, who holds Pilot's Certi ficate No. 1, presented the 1,000th "A" licence to be won under the A.T.C. flying scholarship scheme. The recipient was H. E. B. Mayes of No. 2226 (Ciren cester Grammar School) Squadron. The scheme, devised by the Air League in 1949 and since sponsored by the Air Ministry, has been responsible for the training to "A" licence standard 1,019 IN KENYA: A Lincoln of No. 49 Squadron, now being used against the Mau Mau, is re-armed at Eastleigh Airport, Nairobi. 1,000 lb. and 500 lb. bombs are being used. (Alvis Leonides engine) now in service, about to stipulate 80 yd as sufficient take-off or landing The Pioneer is a four-seater plus pilot. members of the A.T.C. and R.A.F. sec tions of the C.C.F. Another 106 are now under training. A.T.C. Efficiency Trophy TT was recently stated that No. 1143 -•- (Portobello) Squadron were the win ners of the A.T.C. Efficiency Trophy. It is now learned that the actual winners were No. 384 (Mansfield) Squadron with No. 261 (Guildford) and No. 204 (City of Lincoln) Squadrons second and third respectively. R.A.F. Appointments T-1 HE Air Ministry announces the follow- -*• ing recent appointments. Group Cap tains : V. H. B. Roth, C.B.E., to command No. 61 M.U.; B. A. J. Crummy, C.B.E., to No. 61 Group air staff; R. F. Aitken, O.B.E., A.F.C., to command Horsham St. Faith; J. C. Larking, D.F.C., to command Tarrant Rushton; C. R. J. Hawkins, O.B.E.,A.F.C.,to command Oakington; A. Selby, to command No. 14 M.U.; K. T. Nicklin, O.B.E., to department of Air Member for Supply and Organization. Acting Group Captain F. A. Willan, D.F.C., to Coastal Command administra tive staff. Wing Commanders : G. Burges, O.B.E., D.F.C., to Seletar for flying duties; D. O. F. Lumsden, D.F.C., to No. 22 Group air staff; T. Preston, D.F.C., and T. A. Whiting, D.F.C., to department of Chief of the Air Staff; H. E. Bodien, D.F.C., to West Mailing administrative staff; R. D. Romanis to No. 12 School of Technical Training; H. W. Ford to H.Q. F.E.A.F. administrative staff; A. F. Merritt to de partment of Air Member Personnel; C. T. W. Morgan to Hednesford adminis trative staff; C. V. Guest, O.B.E., to Tech nical Training Command technical staff; S. H. Bonser, M.B.E., to department of Chief of the Air Staff; E. T. Weddell, M.C., to Bridgnorth administrative staff; A. Pres- cott, to West Kirby administrative staff; T. E. J. Hewitt, to Hednesford adminis trative staff; G. G. Edwards, to No. 11 Group administrative staff; R. N. H. Courtney, D.F.C., to No. 11 Group air staff; F. V. Morello to H.Q. Northern Sec tor air staff; W. G. Clegg, O.B.E., to com mand No. 202 M.U.; J. B. Taylor, O.B.E., to Maintenance Command administrative staff.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
