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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0066.PDF
66 FLIGHT FOR SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY: Mr. George Dowry receives the honorary freedom of the Borough from the Mayor of Cheltenham, as recorded on this page. The Town Clerk, Mr. F. D. Littlewood, holds the casket. FROM ALL QUARTERS Minister at DerbyI N the course of a speech at a civic luncheon given bythe Mayor of Derby, Alderman Ling, in the Coun- cil House, Derby, on January 12th, the Minister ofSupply, Mr. Selwyn Lloyd, said that the primary purpose of his visit to Derby had been to see somethingof what the Rolls-Royce company was doing. On the subject of military aircraft he said, "It may be com-paratively not so difficult to construct a flying machine which will travel at one-and-a-half times or twice thespeed of sound. It is quite another thing to turn that flying machine into a weapons system, that is to say, to equip itwith adequate armament, and means of control so that at that speed and at the appropriate altitude it is an effective fightingweapon." Speaking at the Rolls-Royce works on the subject of our first-line jet fighters, the Minister said, "The problems concerned development rather than production. The R.A.F. is being re-equipped with Hunters and substantial numbers of these aircraft have been delivered. It is, I think, fair to state that the Swift,although a very fine aircraft, has not yet reached the same stage of development. There are certain problems but these are being,and will be, overcone." Mr. Selwyn Lloyd discussed with senior executives the Avon-powered V.T.O. aircraft being constructed by the Ryan Aero- nautical Company, of San Diego, and he was shown an Avonundergoing tests in a vertical position. Death of James Verdin AFTER California's Mojave Desert had been scoured by more' than 2,000 searchers and 25 aircraft, the body of Lt-Cdr. James Verdin, U.S. Navy, who last year established a world airspeed record of 752.944 m.p.h. in a Douglas Skyray, was discovered with unopened parachute, three miles from the wreckage of theDouglas A4D Skyhawk which Verdin had been testing. He had baled out at 30,000ft. ... _,...., "Zero-Length" Fighter Launching T"\ISCUSSIONS of vertical take-off fighters often overlook -*•'' the possibility of launching standard machines in "zero" distance from a suitable structure with the aid of rockets. It is now officially announced that this technique has been developed by the Air Research and Development Command of the U.S.A.F.and the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore. To "explore the possibility of eliminating runways under certaincombat conditions" Martins have been using platforms mounted on trucks, i.e., the technique employed for the Matador "pilotlessbomber." The aircraft involved were Republic F-84G Thunder- jets with Matador-type booster rockets attached beneath the tail.According to Martin test pilot Bob Turner, the shock of the take-off is less than is experienced during a normal catapulting,peak acceleration being 4 g. The launching system has been proved in nearly 200 Matadorlaunches by the A.R.D.C., the Tactical Air Command and Martin engineers during the past few years. Though the Thunderjet isconsiderably larger and heavier than the Matador, it has served to demonstrate that the same launching technique is applicableto fighters. A U.S.A.F. spokesman has referred to the mobility of thelaunchers and envisages jet fighters operating close to the front lines while presenting minimum targets for bombing. It is fore-seen that normal landings would be made at forward bases and the aircraft immediately dispersed for maximum protection. TheU.S.A.F. consider this to be especially important in the age of atomic weapons, when a single bomb might wipe out a conventionalairfield and render its entire area indefinitely untenable. Mr. George Dowty Honoured TN the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Gloucester,-•• Councillor and Mrs. Howard Gibson, the Mayor and Mayoress of Tewkesbury, Alderman and Mrs. T. G. Bannister, the Speakerof the House of Commons, Mr. W. S. Morrison, M.P. for the Cirencester and Tewkesbury division, and other dignitaries, Mr. OFF IN A FLASH: Filled with eerie drama is this photograph of a Republic Thunderjet leaving the Martin Matador - type zero launcher, subject of an item on this page.
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