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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1133.PDF
P AIR( 6Hf and RAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2361 Vol. 65. FRIDAY, 23 APRIL 1954 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 2510. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams, lliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C2, 26b Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00. IN THIS ISSUE: The Proof of the Provost 504 507 508 Beaver—Farmer's Boy In on the Ground Floor Airfield Visibility Assessment - - - - 511 The Queen's Squadron 514 The Cauldron and the Banner 519 Airline Engineering - - 520 Out of this Nettle . . . WHEN the splendid symbol of peace and progress which is Britain's Comet is repeatedly struck from the sky in circumstances of mystery and horror (and no one can cavil at the words), the shock sweeps fast round die world. Thus the grievous blows dealt over India and the Mediterranean have been felt not by our own country and Commonwealth alone but by the whole of civilization; and civilization being founded on human values as well as on the achievements of science, messages of under standing have come from many nations. Especially we would mention America, where, a de Havilland representative reports, he found "a sense of extreme sympathy and the conviction that the troubles will be overcome"; and France, whose Civil Aviation Minister has affirmed, "The career of the Comet is not ended. The British effort is not broken, but only slowed down." In gratefully acknowledging these expressions Britain gives her pledge that, if a technical fault lies hidden in the Comet, she will spare herself no pains or perils to find it and root it out. In the words of Mr. Profumo, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, exhaustive investigations and tests will be carried out "as a major national research project by the Ministry of Supply," and the full resources of that Ministry have been made available for the purpose. Mr. Profumo, we were glad to note, suggested that the opportunity should not be missed of "taking off our hats to those V.I.P.s on whose courage and genius the future of this great British project now relies." Never was the term V.I.P. more truly used, for among the appalling uncertainties now besetting the whole of the great Comet project only one thing seems sure—that the men engaged—especially, of course, the test pilots and their flight observers—will not hesitate to grasp the nettle danger if they glimpse within it the flower of safety. The Royal Auxiliary Air Force ELSEWHERE in this issue appears the first part of a history of No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, of which Her Majesty the Queen is Honorary Air Commodore. The twenty squadrons which, in the inter-war years, made up the Auxiliary Air Force, rendered fine service in World War 2. During the critical pre-war months they were equipped, alongside the Regular fighter squadrons, with the latest operational aircraft, and as soon as hostilities began they took their place as fighting units in the front line. Let it not be forgotten that the status of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (the tide "Royal" was earned during die war) is still the same today; the Force is, in fact, an integral part of Fighter Command, and constitutes a not inconsiderable proportion of it. It will be remembered that the major United Kingdom air defence exercises held over the past years have been specially arranged to include weekends in order that the Auxiliaries might take a full share in them, and even with vasdy increased complexity of the aircraft and their operations, the Auxiliary squadrons are still prepared to undertake full-time operation if any emergency should arise. It is significant that the second of all Air Force squadrons to receive its Standard after completion of 25 years of service was No. 600 (City of London) Squadron. There is no reason why, in the defence of this country, the Auxiliary squadrons should be regarded as in any way different from other units in Fighter Command. The Auxiliary pilots, and the ground crews who support them, are well able to operate efficiently the fighters now in service and those due in service for many years to come; equally, early-warning and anti-aircraft duties will not exceed the abilities of the Auxiliary fighter control and light anti-aircraft squadrons. Nevertheless, there is a tendency in some quarters (though these appear to be the remoter and less well-informed quarters) to regard the R.Aux.A.F. as obsolescent. Surely it would be more fitting to ensure^ for example, that full advantage is taken of the willingness of its members to undergo the specialized training courses run for Fighter Command as a whole. c
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