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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0127.PDF
28 January 1955 SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm News C.A.S. Visiting Norway A r the invitation of General O. Lam-* *• brechts, Commander-in-Chief, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Marshal of the RoyalAir Force Sir William Dickson, Chief of the Air Staff, is this week paying an officialvisit to the Norwegian Air Force. He is accompanied by A. Cdre. K. B. B. Cross,Director of Operations (I), in charge of Air Defence matters in the Air Ministry.The invitation is a mark of the close ties which exist between the Royal Nor-wegian Air Force and the Royal Air Force. During his stay in Norway, Sir WilliamDickson is expecting to have discussions with the Norwegian Minister of Defenceand the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in addition to completing a full programme of visits toRoyal Norwegian Air Force units. He will also have the honour of being receivedin audience by His Majesty King Haakon. F.A.A. Reorganization ' I 'O fall in line with the present system••• of commissioning aircraft carriers in such a manner as to limit the time spentoverseas by ships' companies, the front- line squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm are tobe reorganized. Under the new arrangement, which takeseffect from March, three squadrons will be disbanded every 18 months. During eachactive period there will be seven months' working-up at a shore base and a furthereight months embarked in a carrier. These squadron cycles will begin on March 14thwith the formation of two squadrons of Sea Hawks and one of Gannets. Working-up the new squadrons will bethe responsibility of Rear-Admiral Guy Willoughby, Flag Officer Flying Training. The carriers in which these squadronswill operate will be Ark Royal, Eagle, Hermes, Albion and Centaur. Bulwark,the fourth Hermes Class ship, is to become the trials and training carrier. Sea Power and the AirO N the occasion of his installation asRector of Aberdeen University on January 21st, Admiral of the Fleet SirRhoderick McGrigor had a good deal to say regarding the place air power now takes inrelation to command of the sea. He first delved into history and tracedBritain's rise to greatness and wealth by command of the seas. Coming then tomore recent times and referring to the maritime side of the last two wars SirRhoderick said: "In each of these wars the issue has depended on sea power and ourability to move our merchant ships and troop ships in the face of the threat fromenemy surface ships, submarines and air- craft. The victory at Alamein was madepossible by sea power, by the battle fought against U-boats in the Atlantic, and by thedetermination and leadership of Andrew Cunningham in the Mediterranean in theface of the numerically superior Italian fleet and the constant menace of theenemy's aircraft. "For the other bide of the picture, we saw what happened in the Pacific when sea power was lost to the Japanese and how the Americans fought back and regained it with the new weapon of naval air power and drove the Japanese back to final defeat." , . , , Of the naval/air problem of today he had this to say: "There are the ships of theRoyal Navy and the aircraft which work with them. Today, there is much unin-formed talk about the role and future of the Navy in this nuclear age and amateursin every walk of life have no hesitation in expounding their views on this subject. "These," said Sir Rhoderick, "are thefacts. As long as we need merchant ships to supply us and to carry and support ourforces overseas, they will need protection against whatever danger may threatenthem. That protection is the task of the Royal Navy; that is the reason why wehave a Navy. Where so many have gone wrong is that they have not realised that airpower at sea is not something which replaces the Navy, but it is the instrumentby which the Navy today so largely exer- cises its sea power. Whether the aircraftare shore-based or carrier-borne must be a matter of convenience, of geography, andof availability of shore bases. "The aircraft today is both the strikingpower of the Fleet, largely replacing the 15in gun of the battleship, and the eyes ofthe Fleet, largely replacing the cruiser in this respect. It plays its vital part in anumber of other roles such as killing the U-boat, defence against air attack, andminelaying. In co-operation with the sur- face ship and the submarine, it is an essen-tial part of sea power. "Since the war we have embarked ona new era of nuclear power. Today it is more than ever necessary for all the fight-ing Services to walk hand in hand with the scientist to ensure that the lessons theydraw from the past are still valid and that they are not preparing to fight the last warover again ... ". .. Today Russia has a great and grow-ing fleet of surface ships, U-boats, and shore-based naval aircraft, presenting anaval threat greater than we have experi- enced before. As for us, we still live on anisland and it is still vital to us that supplies should continue to reach us from overseasso that our people may eat, our armies may fight, and our aircraft may fly ... ". . . Air power at sea is all importantand its place is as the instrument of the Navy in the application of sea power." The Bahrein Accident ON January 17th, whilst on a flight fromBahrein to Shaibah in the Persian Gulf, a distance of 340 miles, an Anson carryingfive officers and a sergeant met with an acci- dent. The last contact with the aircraft wasat 0838 G.M.T. when it was 55 minutes outward bound. Those lost with the aircraft were: G/C.H. J. Irens (pilot), Sgt. Radley (signaller), G/C. A. M. Aberdein, W/C. M. Dean,S/L. R. H. Stevenson and F/L. Cranley. A search was instituted by a Hastingsfrom Shaibah, a Valetta from Bahrein, a U.S.A.F. Dakota from Dharan, sevenVenoms from Habbaniya and Austers from Kuwait, surface craft also assisting. Later, A Vampire T.ll in the final stages of a mock attack on a flag air-to-air firing target towed by a Meteor 8. The two-seater is generally used to demonstrate the sequence of the quarter attack, from which the T.ll in the photograph is just about to break away. The target is towed at 180 kt, usually at low altitude over special ranges at sea. ••"-•• 127 parts of the aircraft and the bodies of G/C.Xrens and W/C. Dean were found by H.M.S. Owen. The two officers were buriedat sea. Rhodesian Air Attache TN succession to W/C. K. D. Taute,-*• D.F.C., Royal Rhodesian Air Force, W/C. H. Hawkins, A.F.C., has beenappointed Air Attache at Rhodesia House, London. W/C. Hawkins, who has justspent a year at the R.A.F. Staff College, Bracknell, was born at Toowoomba, Aus-tralia. He has flown in most areas of the world, including the Antipodes, thePacific, North America, Europe and the Middle East. W/C. Taute was due to leavefor Southern Africa on January 20th. Malaya Airfields to be Rebuilt TN order that they may be suitable for-*- the operation of modern bombers and fighters, the airfields at Kuanan, Alor Starand Gong Kedah in the Malay Peninsula are to be rebuilt and extended. The costis expected to be in the region of £1,500,000 and the work is due to be completed bynext autumn. Lloyds TrophyF OR the second year in successionNo. 2605 (County of Warwick) L. A. A. Squadron, commanded by S/L. C. B.Barrett, has won the Lloyds Trophy. No. 2602 (City of Glasgow) Squadroncame second and No. 2608 (North Riding) Squadron third. Engineering Appointments AFTER nearly two years' service as**• Director of Maintenance and Supply to the Royal Pakistan Air Force, A. Cdre.W. R. Worstall, O.B.E., A.F.R.Ae.S., is to become Director of Air Engineering atthe Air Ministry. His post in Pakistan is being filled by G/C. W. D. J. Michie, whowill assume the acting rank of air commodore. R.N. AppointmentsT WO recent Naval appointments arethose of Capt. W. A. F. Hawkins, D.S.O., O.B.E., D.S.C., to H.M.S. Albionin command, and Capt. A. E. Turner as Superintendent R.N. Aircraft Yard,Fleetlands.
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