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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0950.PDF
422 FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS NATO is Five CXH April 4th the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had been V^ growing up for five years. President Eisenhower, himself a former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, said: "Fourteen nations . . . are joined within it because each is determined to sustain its own independence. Dedicated to a common purpose, their strength is multiplied, their inexhaustible energies are pooled." The fourteen NATO Air Forces have steadily increased in strength and are incomparably more effective now than they have ever been; their organization and disposition have been out lined in several of our recent issues. First Indian C-in-C. of I.A.F. AIR MARSHAL S. MUKERJEE, O.B.E., was appointed > C-in-C. of the Indian Air Force on April 1st, thus becoming the first Indian to hold the post. He takes over from Air Marshal G. E. Gibbs, C.I.E., C.B.E., M.C., who, on leaving, issued an order of the day in which he said, "I am convinced that the I.A.F. is firmly established and should go from strength to strength." Air Marshal Mukerjee, who has recendy taken a course at the Imperial Defence College in Britain, was among the first few Indian cadets admitted to Cranwell in the 1930s. He is 41. His appointment coincides with the 21st anniversary of the I.A.F., which was marked by an impressive ceremony near Delhi, at which the President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, presented his Colours, "in recognition of the meritorious services rendered by the I.A.F. to the country." Addressing 1,500 officers and airmen, Dr. Prasad said, "Besides being the efficient sentinel of our skies, the I.A.F. never fails to render valuable help to the people in distress." General Vandenberg CHIEF OF STAFF of the U.S.A.F. since 1948 until his retire ment last June, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg died last Friday, April 2nd, at the age of 55. A gifted officer, he left the Army War College in 1939 and came to England in 1942, subsequently accompanying the 12th Air Force, which he helped to organize, to North Africa. He was promoted brigadier-general in December 1942, and was appointed Chief of Staff of the North-West African Strategic Air Force. During this command he flew on numerous sorties. After being recalled to Washington to fill the post of Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, he headed a mission to Russia and attended the Quebec, Cairo and Teheran conferences. In the crucial period before D-day he was commander of U.S.A.F.E.; and in August 1944 was appointed to command the 9th Air Force. After the war he became Director of Intelligence in the War Department, and then Director of Central Intelligence. On the retirement of General Spaatz in 1948 General Vandenberg succeeded him as Chief of Staff of the Air Force and in that office strove for the strengthening of the U.S.A.F. after its post-war decline. He entered hospital in May 1952, but resumed work in the following August. Last December he was again taken seriously ill. Cranfield S.C.R. Dinner "THIS year's dinner of the Senior Common Room Society at the ••- College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, on March 31st, showed a healthy widening of the circle of guests. The toast to the College and the Society was proposed by Dr. O. G. Sutton, C.B.E., D.Sc, F.R.S. A technological university, he said, was a mixture of university, technical college and research establishment—in equal proportions. Dr. Sutton went on to describe the differing approaches to engineering education (to which reference is made in our leading article). The chairman of the Senior Common Room Society, Mir. A. H. Yates, B.Sc. (Eng.), A.F.R.Ae.S., replied. The College had grown, he reported; 150 students were now taking the two-year course, and 400 had attended specialized short courses during the past year. After listing additions to the staff, Mr. Yates referred to those who had left the College this session, and who were about to leave: these included Professor Young, of the Aerodynamics Department, who was moving to Queen Mary College, London, and the speaker himself. The health of the guests was proposed by Sir Reginald Verdon Smith, J.P., D.C.L., M.A., who described himself as "a com pletely new boy" on the governing body of the College. He had been able to see, however, that much had been accomplished at Cranfield. The excellent reputation acquired was a tribute to Sir Roy Fedden's original committee; the present standards were high, and a great deal of goodwill had been generated in various institutions, including the Ministry of Education and the S.B.A.C. Replying for the guests, Sir Frederick Mander, M.A., B.Sc, began by giving an enlightening account of his experiences at previous dinners. Referring to the College, the National Aero nautical Establishment and the A.R.A. wind-tunnel project, he went on to point out that Bedfordshire, home of "Pilgrim's Pro gress," was becoming also the home of aeronautical progress. For Sir Victor Goddard, principal of the College, and Mr. Yates, both of whom had identified themselves with the life of the county as a whole, the speaker had a high regard. "I watch the continued development of Cranfield," he concluded, "with interest and approval." Colonel Rozanoff ONE of the world's great test pilots, Colonel Constantin Rozanoff was killed at Melun-Villaroche last Saturday, April 3rd, while demonstrating a Mystere IVB in the presence of Mr. Duncan Sandys and a party of distinguished officials. A colourful figure, he was born in Warsaw in 1905 and, after attending the Ecole Superieure d'Aeronautique joined the French Air Force. He took up test flying in 1935 and on the outbreak of war assumed command of a fighter squadron. By the end of the war he had been awarded the Croix de Guerre and had been three times mentioned in despatches. After a period at Mont de Marsan he became chief test pilot to the Dassault Company. With Aeronautical Flavour 'THE flying Services and the aircraft industry were well repre-••• sented at the Livery Dinner of die Worshipful Company of Coach Makers and Coach Harness Makers, held at the Mansion House, London, on March 22nd. The guests of honour were the French Ambassador, M. Massigli, and Mme. Massigli, and the R.A.F. was represented by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Trenchard and Air Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle, A.O.C-in-C. Fighter Command. The Senior Warden, Mr. W. J. Connolly, proposed the toast of the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and Corporation of the City of Lon don, and the Lord Mayor, Sir Noel V. Bowater, replied. In the absence of Sir Miles Thomas, Sir Anthony Hawke, the Common Serjeant, proposed the toast of the Company, and Mr. Roland Dangerfield replied. These speeches were followed by others of an equally high standard, made in turn by Sir Frederick Handley Page and Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick McGrigor. Bill Waterton Hands Over IN succession to S/L. W. A. Waterton, G.M., A.F.C. and bar, who is leaving, W/C. R. F. Martin, D.F.C. and bar, A.F.C., has been appointed chief test pilot to the Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd. A statement from the Hawker Siddeley Group runs: "Bill Water- ton has been with us as chief test pilot for seven years and is leaving us now with our very best wishes. During his tenure as chief test pilot he has been in control of the Meteor during its long and successful service in die R.A.F. and in ten countries overseas. He has flown three prototypes, the Gloster E.l/44, the Avro Canada CF-100, and the Javelin. To date, he has done most of the development flying on the Javelin since its first flight as a proto type, and in 1952 he was awarded the George Medal 'for an act of courage beyond the call of duty,' when he crash-landed a pro totype in such a way that valuable records were preserved." W/C. "Dickie" Martin passed out at Cranwell in 1939 and was posted to No. 73 Fighter Squadron at Digby. He was in France with the A.A.S.F. at the outbreak of the late war, won his first D.F.C., and returned to England for posting to a Fighter O.T.U. In 1941 he went to the Middle East, where he served with several fighter squadrons and won the bar to his D.F.C. Late in the war he was transferred to Transport Command and fin ished up in India and China. In 1945 he went to the Empire Test Pilots' School, afterwards be coming a flight commander at the R.A.E. During this period he was awarded his A.F.C. He returned to the E.T.P.S. as an instructor and then attended No. 2 course at the R.A.F. Flying College, Manby. He is a private owner and acts as pilot to the Shuttieworth Collection of vintage aircraft. This summer, with W/C. Martin in charge of the Gloster test team, Glosters hope to complete the flight trials of the Javelin. WIC. Martin.
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