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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1461.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2437 Vol. 68. FRIDAY, 7 OCTOBER 1955 ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. and Bar ASSOCIATE ED/TOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR W. T. GUNSTON ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry, Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM. 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191(7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260. Deansgate. Telegrams, Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 359S (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00. IN THIS ISSUE : Exercise "Beware" - - High-Speed Drone - - Aeronautical Research in Canada - - - - Modern Air Survey Technique - - - - Politics and Tactics - - Army Handmaid—The Fairey Ultra-light - - Principles of Gas Turbine Control 575 579 583 586 587 588 590 Ready, SteadyO F the many large-scale exercises arranged by the R.A.F.—usually in co-operation with American and Allied European Forces—"Beware," which ended last weekend, proved the most encouraging. It was a home-defence exercise, intended to show how we might fare in the event of an all-out bomber attack on the British Isles. For the first time, there was no necessity to gloss over any terrifying gaps in our system of air defence. It does not seem so long in retrospect (though it felt intolerably long during the waiting period) since we had to simulate jet bombers in such exercises. Next, for a while, the Canberras had to operate at restricted heights and speeds to give the fighters a chance. These are now subterfuges of the past, and although observers at bomber stations were not on this occasion permitted to know how the Canberras operated, there is no reason to suppose they were restricted in any way at all. A very large number of Canberras made up the attacking forces, together with B-47s, B-45s, F-86s, F-84s, Mysteres, Mistrals, Vampires and Meteors of the U.S.A.F. and French, Belgian and Dutch Air Forces. These proved to be sitting ducks for Hunters which managed to get among them, and reports indicate that the interceptions were numerous and what is even more important, were made well out to sea from the English coastline and, in some cases, higher than ever before. The Hunters are one of two factors which have swung this defence exercise markedly in favour of the fighters. We sense that the squadrons operating them have been agree- ably surprised at the speed with which they get away and climb towards their quarry, notwithstanding their heavy armament—in fact, with the way they have behaved all round in this, their first real exercise. The second main factor has been the enormously improved radar service, both for early warning and vectoring. All who have seen something of it at home and on the Continent have been greatly impressed. Here again, the Hunter pilots were gratified to find that ground control really knew what was approaching in the way of enemy aircraft and where they were in the sky. Night Starvation Are there still any shortcomings in our air defence organization? The answer is yes: we badly need night fighters. Two Javelins got into the Beware act and apparently acquitted themselves admirably, each managing a number of interceptions. Now we need Javelins by the score, and all that has to go with them to enable them to operate efficiently. The Hunters alone cannot cope in all circumstances, because their pilots must see to shoot. In other words, they are (for the present at least) clear-vision air- craft only. Should the question come to mind, we would give it as our opinion that the strength and performance of the Russian jet bomber force today is less than that of the force pitted against the home defences in this exercise. Sir Dermot Boyle, C-in-C. Fighters, confirmed this opinion, and he said also that if he were the enemy, he would be twice as reluctant to attack us today as he would have been six months ago. Bombers still, of course, get through, but not in anything like the numbers that they have done previously; and this time they were free to use every trick the planning staffs could think of. The ambiguous remark of the opposing commands was that the exercise was very satisfactory from both fighters' and bombers' points of view. Two cheering notes round off our thoughts on this latest, largest-but-one defence exercise since the war. First, Beware is today a very appropriate name. It implies readi- ness without tension. As a nation, together with our Allies, we are still unable to relax our military preparedness, but equality of strength, or the fact that we are now joined in nuclear deadlock, seems to be leading toward happier relationships between East and West. Secondly, in all the 7,500 sorties flown by the new Hunters and other defending aircraft, not one pilot lost his life in an accident.
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