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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1623.PDF
716 PLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS Air Views in the Lords IN a debate in the House of Lords last week on the 1954-55 Air Estimates (the Commons Debate took place last March) Lord Douglas of Kirtleside spoke of the suggestions that Britain should leave strategic bombing to the U.S.A.F. He believed that "Britain should do her share in providing the greatest deterrent to world war three—we should not expect the Americans to do our dirty work for us." From this he went on to ask why we should have three types of V-bomber (Valiant, Vulcan and Victor) under development. Such development, he maintained, could become both inefficient and wasteful, and he believed, looking back on the simultaneous development during the war of the Stirling, Halifax, and Manchester, that that was a mistake. He hoped that before it was too late the Air Staff would make up their minds which of the three bombers was the best, and would concentrate pro duction on one, or at the most two, of them. After going on to criticize delays in getting modern fighters into service, Lord Douglas turned to flying-boats, saying that it seemed a mistake to have stopped their development; something should be set aside next year for the development of a successor to "that grand old aircraft the Sunderland." Lord Templewood made a plea for an insurance scheme for aircrews, pointing out that at present a widow received a pension varying from 23s a week for a sergeant to £130 a year for a flying officer, or £200 for higher ranks. He went on to quote the U.S.A.F. scheme, under which next-of-kin received a sum con sisting of six months' pay and allowances while every man, what ever his rank, was insured for $10,000, which on death was paid at an annual rate of 2\ per cent. The Secretary of State should arrange with the life offices to produce a definite comprehensive insurance, preferably contributory, with sufficient Government aid to bring the contributions within reach of R.A.F. men. Lord De L'Isle and Dudley, Secretary of State for Air, after references to the new Service pay arrangements, said he would certainly look into the American scheme. [Insurance companies, according to the Daily Telegraph, would welcome such a pro posal; a spokesman of the Life Offices Association is quoted as saying: "It is entirely up to the Air Ministry. We are prepared to insure the lives of R.A.F. fliers, but extra premiums would be required to cover flying risks. . . ."] Commenting on Lord Douglas's remarks about V-bombers, the Air Minister said that in the Government's view it was better to continue the development of the three bombers than to decide on only one. The Valiant represented the first stage, and the crescent wing Victor and delta wing Vulcan were later stages in the long-range medium bomber. They were not, therefore, dealing with three different types and a premature decision and a wrong choice might well be disastrous. Britannia Tropical Trials TROPICAL trials of the first prototype Britannia are expected to be made at Idris el Awal, Tripoli, next month. Bristol's chief test pilot, "Bill" Pegg, has flown to Tripoli to plan the trials. On Tuesday the aircraft made its first flight after considerable modification to bring it to full production standards; it is now ready to take over some of the duties of the production prototype lost in the forced landing four months ago. Additional flight-development of Proteus turboprops for Britannias is about to begin at Bristol in the second prototype Ambassador G-AKRD. No photographs of this interesting installation have been made available. . t& jr ril U.K.—U.S. Guided-weapon Co-operation? [" AST Tuesday, the Minister of Supply, Mr. Duncan Sandys, -•—' flew to America for high-level talks, particularly with Mr. Charles Wilson, the U.S. Secretary for Defence. It was under stood that a principal topic of discussion would be the pooling of the research effort now being conducted in the field of guided weapons by both countries along roughly parallel lines. The Sunday Times last week drew attention to this subject: "Outside the atomic field, which is governed by the restrictions of the McMahon Act, there exists already a fairly free interchange of information about new weapon projects, but that is not active collaboration." The report points out that some military aircraft have distinct civil possibilities, and legitimate commercial interests make co-operation impracticable in such cases. But the guided-weapon field is an outstanding case where duplication of effort by highly skilled men can, and should, be avoided. It may be noted that, before going to Washington, Mr. Sandys is touring American guided weapon establishments, accompanied by Sir Steuart Mitchell, the M.o.S. Controller of Guided Weapons and Electronics. He has already toured guided weapon establish ments in Australia and Canada. PREMIER AWARD in the Royal Aero Club Trophy Race, to be flown at Baginton, Coventry, on the evening of Friday, June 18th. It is to be won outright, and the winner will also receive £100. Entries for the race— totalling 28—were listed in "Flight" of May 14th, and details of the air displays on June 18th and on the 19th (when the King's Cup Race will be contested) were given on page 704 of last week's issue. Fire in American Carrier YjyHILE steaming from Norfolk, Virginia, to Quonset, Rhode ' ' Island, on May 26th, the U.S. Carrier Bennington was severely damaged by explosions, followed by fire, as a result of which 99 of her training-cruise complement of some 2,300 were killed. The disaster occurred at about 6.20 a.m., when the carrier was 75 miles south of Newport. The first of the ship's air groups (F2H Banshees and F9F Cougars) had just been launched, when a suc cession of explosions took place forward on the port side, at the second or third deck level. The resulting fire was not under control until nearly six hours later, and the carrier eventually docked at Quonset soon after noon. During the last 75 miles the ship had been under her own power; the second air group was flown off to clear the deck, and the most critical casualties were evacuated by a shuttle of heli copters, most of which seem to have been Piasecki HUPs. No aircraft were lost. The inquiry into the disaster opened last Saturday. Evidence was given suggesting that the port catapult may have failed; at least two officers, Cdr. Hanley and the executive officer, Cdr. Avery, testified to the appearance of dense yellowish smoke smell ing of highly inflammable hydraulic oil. Capt. Raborn, who had only commanded the ship for a month, said that a radio fault had MOVING IN; The first helicopter to alight aboard the new aircraft carrier H.M.S. " Centaur" was this trim-looking Westland-Sikorsky Dragonfly (Alvis Leonides). Note, to starboard, the lethal-looking nest of anti-aircraft ordnance, and, soaring above, the radar and other aerials.
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