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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1613.PDF
730 FLIGHT, 4 November 1955 SERVICE AVIATION . . . Dam Busters' ModelA SCALE model of the Mdhne dam,breached in 1943 by No. 617 Sqn., has been constructed by the Post OfficeSavings Department branch of the R.A.F.A. and is being presented to thesquadron's adjutant. R.N.V.R. Squadron Trophies T^HE Kemsley Trophy for efficiency in-*• R.N.V.R. air squadrons was competed for recently at R.N.A.S. Ford and won byNo. 1844 Sqn. with Fireflies. Com- manded by Lt-Cdr. D. Woodhead, thesquadron is part of the Scottish Air Division at R.N.A.S. Abbotsinch. Hastings 90 Deg North : ^ HPHE officer who commanded the R.A.F.-•- unit which has recently been investi- gating the problems of operating aircraftover the North Pole, A. Cdre. G. A. Walker, C.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C., discussed the prob-lems of Arctic operations at a meeting of the Hand.ey Page Engineering Society atCricklewood on October 18th. The air- craft mainly employed have been HandieyPage Hastings, so the detailed personal account which A. Cdre. Walker gave wasof particular interest to his audience. He explained the complicated procedurefinally evolved for engine starting, which included a four-hour pre-heating of cylin-ders and oil system with Herman Nel- son appliances, then oil-dilution for fourminutes, followed by half-an-hour's run- ning to boil off the dilutant. Particularlytricky was the surprising sensitivity of oil pressure and temperature to the amountthe oil cooler was opened. General procedures adopted for day-to-day operation in temperatures down to minus 30 deg C included the coating ofoleos with a film of hydraulic oil, the re- moval of batteries, heating of refuellingvalves, adjustment of tyre pressures, and protection of the A.S.I, system. The speaker explained the navigationtechniques evolved for flying near 90 deg N. Since the normal meridians were uselessat these latitudes a grid had been evolved based on the Greenwich anti-meridian. Themagnetic compass was, of course, useless at a longitude less than 06 deg and head-ings were calculated by setting the aircraft's gyro on to a grid heading, cross-checkingwith the sun by day (i.e., half the year) and by astro means at night. Precession of cur-rent gyros was appreciable—up to 10 deg per hour—and it was necessary to compen-sate for this with regular sun- or astro- checks, at any rate until such times as thenew gyros with a precession of less than 1 deg per hour were available. Radar naviga-tion facilities were not yet extensive enough to be relied upon as a primary nayaid forgeneral arctic operations, and radio com- munications, although quite good, weresubject to unpredictable black-outs. The speaker recalled one occasion en route fromKeflavik to Thule when it was not possible to call up either base on W/T. or even totalk on V.H.F. to another Hastings nearby. A. Cdre. Walker described a further nav-aid method adapted for arctic flying; it in- volved pressure-pattern plotting by takingreadings of pressure altitude and compar- The Hunters of No. 43 Sqn., Leuchars, have now returned from their Scandinavian tour. Among the airfields they visited were Tullinge, near Stockholm—where W/C. D. F. P. Sheen, O.C. Flying, is seen (upper picture) on arrival —and Gadermoen, Oslo, where Air Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle inspected the guard of honour. ing them with absolute by radio altimeter:in this sphere the difference between piston-engined flying and high-altitude jetoperations was considerable because of the present inaccuracies of radio altimeters atgreat heights. The basic navaid continued to be astro by night and sun by day but,of course, there were the attendant prob- lems of visibility especially at low altitudeswhere in many areas there is almost per- manent cloud. A polarized sun compasshad been developed for arctic twilight operations when stars might be obscured.The speaker described the unpleasant phenomenon of "white-out," when it wasimpossible to distinguish sky from land. A. Cdre. Walker recorded that hisHastings aircraft had given remarkably trouble-free service and had always hadthe complete confidence of all crews that had operated them. , - . 15 Squadron Tie NOW obtainable from the squadronadjutant at R.A.F. Station Honington, Suffolk, is a No. 15 Squadron tie, of navyrayon, with the squadron crest in gold mounted on the Roman numerals XV.The price is 13s 6d, including postage. R.A.F. Appointments THE following continues recent lists ofRoyal Air Force appointments an- nounced by the Air Ministry: —W/C. K. H. Gooding, O.B.E., to Air Ministry for duty in the Department of theAir Member for Supply and Organization (act- ing rank of G/C); W/C. J. H. Iremonger,D.F.C., to R.A.F. Horsham St. Faith to com- mand (acting rank of group captain); W/C. B.Barthold to R.A.F. Cosford to command No. 2 Wing, No. 2 School of Technical Training;W/C. G. C. C. Bartlett, A.F.C., to R.A.F. Cranwell for Selection Board duties; W/C. R.E. Caesar to R.A.F. Hemswell for technical duties; W/C. M. H. C. France to R.A.F. Regi-ment Depot, Catterick, for administrative duties; W/C. D. E. Gibbs, M.B.E., to R.A.F.Wahn, 2nd T.A.F., for technical duties; W/C. A. H. Hewitt to R.A.F. Technical College,Henlow, for technical duties; W/C. L. Kelly, O.B.E., to Ministry of Supply; W/C. D. F.Laslett to H.Q. Fighter Command for adminis- trative staff duties; W/C. H. N. Phillips,D.F.C., to No. 29 Maintenance Unit to com- mand; W/C. H. J. Rayner, D.F.C., A.F.C.,to No. 5 Maintenance Unit to command; W/C. T. A. K. Wilson to No. 5352 (Airfield Construction) Wing, 2nd T.A.F. to command;W/C. G. B. M. Bell, O.B.E., to H.Q. No. 1 Group for administrative staff duties (actingrank of g;oup captain); W/C. J. Barraclough, D.F.C., A.F.C., to R.A.F. Biggin Hill tocommand; W/C. L. H. Bartlett, D.S.O., to the School of Land/Air Warfare to instruct;W/C. J. Blackburn, to R.A.F. Uxbridge to command Air Traffic Control Centre; W/C. P.G. Brodie, to R.A.F. West Mailing for ad- ministrative duties; W/C. H. J. R. Hailstone,O.B.E., to No. 104 Maintenance Unit to command; W/C. J. H. Hunter-Tod, to H.Q.Fighter Command for technical staff duties; W/C. C. J. Mackenzie, D.F.C., A.F.C., toR.A.F. Ahlhorn, 2nd T.A.F., for administrative duties; W/C. K. F. Mackie, O.B.E., D.F.C.,to H.Q. Fighter Command for air staff duties; W/C. D. G. Smallwood, D.S.O., M.B.Iv,D.F.C., to Imperial Defence College for direct- ing staff duties; W/C. P. H. Roscoe,toU.A.F.Records Office for air staff duties-(acting rank of group captain); W/C. W. N. Ash, to Ministryof Supply; W/C. R. P. Burton, M.B.E., to No. 25 (Light Anti-Aircraft) Wing, R.A.F. Regi-ment, to command; W/C. A. G. Evans, to H.Q. Allied Air Forces Central Eu'ope, forstaff duties; W/C. W. H. Flint, O.B.E., to R.A.F. Eastleigh, Kenya, to command; W/C.H. H. C. Hester, to R.A.F. Maintenance Base, San, Malta, to command; W/C. H. B. Johnson,D.F.C., to H.Q. Flying Training Command, for administrative staff duties; W/C. D. I. Pike,M.C., to H.Q. Home Command, for adminis- trative staff duties; W/C. R. A. Watts, A.F.C.,to R.A.F. Driffield, for flying duties. S/L. I. G. Broom, D.S.O., D.F.C., to R.A.F.Flying College, Manby, as Syndicate Leader (acting rank of wing commander); S/L. C. E.Cahill, to R.A.F. Topcliffe, for technical duties (acting rank of wing commander); S/L. T. C.Hutton, D.F.C., to H.Q. Fighter Command, for air staff duties (acting rank of wing com-mander); S/L. R. J. Maccallum, M.B.E., to R.A.F. St. Mawgan, for technical duties (actingrank of wing commander); S/L. P. A. Kennedy, D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C., to R.A.F. Staff College,Bracknell, for directing staff duties (acting rank of wing commander); S/L. C. S. Betts, toMinistry of Supply (acting rank of wing commander). S/L. C. W. Coulthard, A.F.C., to R.A.F.Pembrey for flying duties (acting rank of wing commander); S/L. J. W. Foster, D.F.C.,A.F.C., to R.A.F. Abu Sueir, Middle East Air Force, for flying duties (acting rank of wingcommander); S/L. R. T. Morison, M.B.E., to R.A.F. Gaydon for technical duties (acting rankof wing commander); S/L. D. A. C. Hunt to Air Ministry for duty in the Department of theChief of the Air Staff (acting rank of wing commander); S/L. J. D. Loughnan for dutyin troop transports as officer commanding troops (acting rank of wing commander).
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