FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0459.PDF
FLIGHT, 19 February 1954 213 It. (£) M. H. Ha//, air engineer officer of 898 Squadron, supervises an undercarriage-retraction test. The picture also shows how smoothly the Sea Hawk wing merges with the fuselage. Sea Hawks . . . trailing edge. It is a Hawker claim that this arrangement greatly reduces the frictional loss associated with long intake and exhaust systems, and at the same time affords valuable space for equipment and tankage fore and aft of the engine. The pressurized cockpit is equipped with oxygen, heating, ventilating, windscreen de-icing and fire-extinguishing systems, and a Martin-Baker automatic- ejector seat. The spacious canopy can be jettisoned in conjunc tion with the seat or by itself. Four 20 mm Hispano-Suiza guns are mounted in the lower portion of the fuselage, aft of the seat. The present Sea Hawk F.l is not equipped to carry bombs or rocket projectiles, though provision for external armament stores will be made in the Mk 3 variant. Under-wing pylon-mounted tanks are already in use. Sea Hawks in Service: The first Sea Hawks squadron was No. 806, formed last spring at H.M.S. Goldcrest (Brawdy, Pem brokeshire), under the command of Lt.Cdr. P. C. S. Chilton, R.N. A series of superb flying demonstrations quickly spread the fame of the unit, and the CO. explained at the time that these were made possible so soon after forming because the pilots were already highly proficient in the aerobatic art and because the Sea Hawk was "a pilot's aircraft." Much and widely was 806 envied its dainty, glossy new fighters. Emblazoned with the Ace of Diamonds insignia, they made a vivid flash of colour at the Royal Fleet Review at Spithead on June 15th, flying in company with prototype Sea Venoms at the rear of the historic fly-past. On August 24th last a second Sea Ha*wk squadron—No. 898— began to form at Brawdy, and to see how it was progressing in its "work-up" at that bleak and distance base we set out early this new year. Brawdy, as we have said, is in Pembrokeshire. Eleven miles of angular and elementary road stretch between the airfield and the nearest railway station, at Haverfordwest. Brawdy village is the merest sprinkling of houses and a chapel, and lies inland from the plateau upon which the airfield is built. This knowledge we had second-hand, for we saw nothing of man-made or natural features as the '"tilley" bore us from Haverfordwest in the blackness of a bitter night. The ministrations of a small company of officers lingering in the wardroom soon enabled us to forget the rigours of the journey, and ultimately we were conducted by flashlight, instinct and dead reckoning to our sleeping quarters. The rudimentary nature of this accommodation was relieved by a quite magnificent soiled- linen basket; and, pondering on this incongruity, we fell asleep. At a respectable hour next morning we presented ourselves before the Commanding Officer of the station, Capt. R. E. N. Kearney, O.B.E., and proceeded to draw upon his unrivalled knowledge of H.M.S. Goldcrest. The airfield, he told us, was built for the R.A.F. during the late war and was an important base for Coastal Command Liberators. Its "weather factor" (in the parlance of the initiated) is good, and the approaches perhaps the best in the country—by which we understood Great Britain. Though still incomplete, the airfield was commissioned as a Royal Naval Air Station on September 4th, 1952. Runway re surfacing was then in hand and parts of the perimeter tracks remained to be concreted. The temporary R.A.F. buildings, dating from about 1942, were not in a good state and considerable work was necessary to make them habitable. By November that year the airfield was usable, though even then lighting equipment was still being installed. Work on this was completed the follow ing spring. As now in use the airfield has three runways, two of 2,000yd and one of about 1,400yd, arranged in a broad arrow. Lighting is complete and night flying is frequent, for the Navy's fighter pilots must familiarize themselves with the darkness; it might be necessary, for instance, to catapult their aircraft from a carrier before dawn in order that they might be in position at first light. The present development programme is an extensive one, calling for permanent living accommodation and greatly increased hangarage and technical facilities. A good deal of effort is being directed also to the preparation of armament training ranges at Castle Martin (army support), and St. Bride's Bay (air-to-sea). Castle Martin is being provided with sections of armour plate and hit recorders, a couple of disused tanks, and bombing circles. A third range at Talbenny (a deserted airfield near Dale) has circles for practice dive-bombing. No release takes place here, but the angle of dive is checked and the result assessed by means of the cine-camera. The first Naval squadron to move into Brawdy was No. 804, equipped witii Hawker Sea Furies. Eventually this unit was. embarked in H.M.S. Theseus and left for the Mediterranean, whence it has not yet returned. Nos. 806 and 898 (Sea Hawk) Squadrons, formed, as already noted, last year. Brawdy also has a Station Flight (Lt.Cdr. E. Dixon-Child) equipped with two. Gloster Meteor 7 trainers, two Westland-Sikorsky Dragonfly helicopters, a Hawker Sea Fury Trainer and a de Havilland Dominie. The Meteors and Sea Fury Trainer afford flying prac tice for the station pilots and simulated instrument-flying prac tice for the squadron pilots; the Dragonflies serve for search and rescue; and the Dominie for communications. Eventually the- Meteors will be employed as tugs for winged and banner targets. Happily the services of the Dragonflies are seldom in demand, though on two occasions they have been urgently required by the R.A.F. Practice rescues of Naval pilots from their dinghies are big attractions for holiday-makers in the summer months—which reminds us that last year the Brawdy "At Home" drew about 10,000 visitors, a great number of them from remote parts. This year the Captain expects about half as many again, and we predict that they will be well rewarded. In passing it may be remarked that some seven miles from Brawdy, near the tiny cathedral city of St. Davids, is an airfield which is operated by Airwork, Ltd., on behalf of the Admiralty, and which comes under the direction of H.M.S. Goldcrest. Its two principal commitments are a "heavy twin" conversion course- on Mosquitoes and a jet-conversion course on Meteor 7s. Night flying is done from Brawdy, since St. Davids has no adequate night-flying facilities. Commander F. A. Swanton, D.S.O., D.S.C. and bar, is Brawdy's Commander (Air), and in that capacity he is responsible to the Captain for all flying on the station (especially for the exercising of the squadrons in accordance with the work-up pro gramme laid down by the Admiralty), and for the safety organiza tion. His "Number Two" is the Lieutenant Commander (Flying), Lt.Cdr. W. F. Rogers, who co-ordinates the various exercises and lays down the week's flying programme. The Executive Com mander is Cdr. D. Cameron, V.C., and the Air Engineer Officer Cdr. (E) P. S. Wilson, A.F.C. No. 898 Squadron is commanded by one of the most dis tinguished of all Fleet Air Arm officers, in the person of Lt.Cdr. D. G. Parker, D.S.O., D.S.C., A.F.C., who has as his senior pilot Lt. D. B. Morison. The duties of this last-named officer are diverse and exacting. As second-in-command of the squadron he is responsible to the CO. for the running of the flying programme; for flying discipline and training; for briefing; for the recording of flying hours, exercises completed, and so forth; and for co operating with the engineer officer to ensure that serviceability is Capt. R. £. N. Kearney, O.B.E., who commands H.M.S. "Goldcrest" (Royal Naval Air Station Brawdy), where the first Sea Hawk squadron— No. 806—was based before going aboard H.M.S. "Eagle" recently, and where No. 898 Squadron is now working up, as here described.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
