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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1942.PDF
2 July 1954 5 RETURN TO SCAMPTON No. 27 Squadron Canberras Complete their Goodwill Tour THE six Canberra B.2s of No. 27 Sqn which have been engaged on a good-will tour of six European countries, returned to their base at Scampton, Lines, on June 24th. Judging from the sunburnt faces of the crews and from their accounts of their travels, the tour was an unqualified success. A.V-M. J. R. Whitley, A.O.C. No. 1 Group, Bomber Com mand, who led the force reported, that at every stage the reception had been all that could possibly have been desired, and nowhere more so than at Belgrade, their penultimate point of call. The Canberras themselves had also behaved perfectly, and all returned to England in good condition, still carrying unused in their bomb bays the major portion of the spares with which they first left England. The various stages of the tour have been reported in Flight as it progressed, up to last week's report of the visit to Belgrade. From Belgrade the team flew to Malta, where they night-stopped; they then continued to Gibraltar and made their last call at Lisbon. They finally returned to Scampton from Lisbon in one 2 hr 24 min flight (reaching Start Point 1 hr 50 min after take-off) and buzzed the airfield one after the other in the space of three minutes; they had taken off at short intervals and flown individually. Five Canberras originally left Scampton, four from No. 27 Sqn under their commanding officer S/L. D. H. Chopping, the fifth being the personal Canberra of A.V-M. Whitley, who led the tour; he did not, however, fly in the displays which were given at each calling point. At Rome one of the two spare aircraft which had been standing by at Scampton joined the team—not because of any failure in the other aircraft. It flew from London to Rome in the remarkably short time of 1 hr 41 min, beating the unofficial point- to-point record, and achieving an average speed of 564 m.p.h. After his arrival back at Scampton, A.V-M. Whitley particu larly stressed the warmth of the reception at every stage of the journey and the strong comradeship which exists between the R.A.F. anil the many members of foreign air forces who have been trained by it. Within the ranks of the NATO air forces (all the six countries visited are NATO members) there was a very strong binding bond which was everywhere apparent. It was also noteworthy that none of these countries, as yet, possessed a jet-bomber force of its own, although American-supplied F-84s were everywhere to be seen. The visit, and particularly the Three of the team's Canberras over the Blue Mosque at Istanbul. demonstration by the Canberras, therefore aroused the genuine admiration of the service and civilian spectators, many of whom were with difficulty convinced that this was not in fact a special demonstration team for Bomber Command. Their surprise was only increased when further told that formation flying did not form a normal part of the pilots' training or operational routine. A.V-M. Whitley had to apologise to many of his hosts that, owing to the fact that full operational equipment was being carried, the aircraft were not allowed to perform aerobatics. It is also under stood that any attempts that may have been made to intercept the Canberras on arrival or departure from the various countries visited, were not successful. The Mediterranean summer temperatures, which were first fully experienced during the visit to Greece, would have caused the crews extreme discomfort in their cockpits on the ground and during low-level flying had they not been equipped with air- ventilated undertunics. These, and salt tablets, however, staved off all ill-effects. During their visit to Turkey, which was reached on June 13th, the Canberras split up into two teams and gave demonstrations over many of the major centres of population and indulged in some very low-level flying over Istanbul harbour. At Belgrade, interest in the Canberras was such that the public was for the first time allowed en masse on to a military airfield to watch the demonstration. The crews were presented with red star cap-badges which many of them were wearing on their flying suits when they returned to England. During the Lisbon visit the crews were taken up the coast to Estoril where they bathed (the water here was reported to be colder than in any of the other countries visited) and thence up to Cintra for lunch. This is the second foreign tour made by Canberras (the first was to South America in 1952—by No. 12 Squadron) and the first in Europe. It is regarded by all to have been most successful, and to have done a great deal for British prestige. It is to be hoped that more of such visits can in future be arranged, for the benefits to be derived from them, by all concerned, has been amply proved by this second venture—perhaps even more strongly than by the first. Certainly the tactical mobility of the Canberra units cannot be doubted. (Above) At Belgrade. Left to f'ght ore : G/C. G. F. Ler- wi//, D.F.C., A.V-M. J. R. Whitley, Sir William Ivo Mallett, British Ambassador, W/C. H. P. Connolly and S/L. D. H. Chopping. (Right) Taxying in at Scampton after a 2 hr 24 min flight from Lisbon.
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