FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0282.PDF
\ 282 FLIGHT CIVIL AVIATION ... CATHAY PACIFIC PILOTS HONOURED THE Queen has approved the award of the Queen's Commenda-tion for Valuable Service in the Air to Capt. Philip Blown and lst/Off. C. W. Carlton, crew-members of the Cathay Pacific Air-ways DC-4 which, on July 23rd, 1954, was flying on the normal route from Bangkok to Hong Kong when it was attacked withoutwarning and forced down in a rough sea by fighter aircraft of the Chinese Communist air force near Hainan Island. The citationrecalls that one of the starboard engines and the fuel tanks of the DC-4 were set on fire by the first attack. Capt. Blown calmly tookall appropriate action to extinguish the engine fire and sent lst/Off. Carlton to the rear to calm the passengers. Capt. Blown alsoinstigated radio distress calls which were cut short by damage to the set. Immediately after the first attack Capt. Blown took evasiveaction but his aircraft was subjected to continuous attacks while diving and at a height of 3,000ft became almost uncontrollablewhen the rudder and aileron controls were severely damaged. He recalled lst/Off. Carlton to the cockpit and together they managedto correct the flight of the aircraft, mainly by judicious use of engine power, to enable Capt. Blown to carry out a successfulcrash landing on the sea. Freeing himself from the cockpit of the sinking aircraft Capt.Blown began to gather together the survivors, although injured and suffering from shock. lst/Off. Carlton, who was also injured,discovered survival equipment while in the water and managed Use of air freight enabled two 34 cwt fine-boring machines to be delivered to Rotol, Ltd., in two days instead of the usual 21. Of German manufacture, the equipment was flown from Stuttgart to London by Sabena; two similar machines, for another firm, brought the DC-4's payload to nearly 7 tons. to equip some of the survivors with life jackets. He then found the dinghy, which was inflated, and all survivors were taken on board. All survivors were subsequently picked up by a flying-boat and flown to Hong Kong. ,. . BREVITIES THE Lockheed Aircraft Corporation have announced that thefour additional Super Constellations for which Lufthansa are negotiating will be L.1049Gs equipped with wing-tip fuel tanks.It is also stated officially that Air France, Avianca and L.A.V. have each ordered an additional Super Constellation. * * * Formerly with Pan American, Mr. Frederick E. Pearce lias been appointed regional Press officer for K.L.M., with effect from February 4th. * * * B.E.A. have taken delivery of one of the two D.H. Heronsordered recently for service in Scotland. The aircraft, G-ANXB, was flown from Chester to Renfrew on February 12th.* * * Formely district manager for S.A.S. at Hanover, Mr. BerndBarg arrived in London last week to take up his new appointment as U.K. manager for Lufthansa. * * * Mr. Evert van Beek has been appointed president of the Avio-Diepen Trading Co., Ypenburg. He succeeds Mr. G. C. Snyders whose resignation at his own request, effective from January 1st,was announced recently. * * * Capt. Stanley Williamson, a former R.A.F. pilot who won theD.F.M. with Coastal Command during the war, has been ap- pointed chief pilot of Aer Lingus. In his new post he will remaina fully qualified line captain. Australian National Airways have taken delivery of the first oftwo DC-6Bs ordered from the Douglas Aircraft Co. The airline is already operating two DC-6s purchased a year ago fromNational Airlines. * * * Pakistan International Airlines opened a new service betweenKarachi and Delhi on February 19th. The service is operated three times weekly with DC-3s. It is reported from Pakistan,incidentally, that the amalgamation of P.I.A. and Orient Airways, the domestic carrier, has not yet been completed.* * * As a result of the increase in capacity obtained from their newViscount fleet, Aer Lingus have decided to dispose of their four Bristol 170s. W. S. Shackleton, Ltd., have been given the soleselling rights for these aircraft, which are Mk. 31Es suitable for both freight and passenger work. Britannia fuselage assembly jigs have already been set up in Short and Harland's Belfast works, where— as announced recently —eight long - range versions of the Mk. 250 passenger - freighter are to be built. Three will go to independents for trooping; the re- maining five are being put in hand in antici- pation of demand.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
