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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0009.PDF
FLIGHT, 6 January 1956 9 TRAINING THE NAVAL AIR OBSERVER . . . standard. The decision to weed him out was arrived at reluctantly;but, as already stated, the qualifying standard must remain high if the Fleet Air Arm is to continue to get the best material available. Pan II of the course repeats some of the mixture as before, butnow the emphasis is more on practical navigation. The syllabus includes navigational maps and charts, navigational instrumentsand their maintenance and adjustment, radio aids and meteor- ology, ship and aircraft recognition, photography, air communica-tions and organization, aerodynamics and aero engines, crypto- graphy and fleetwork, and touches basically on maritime warfare. Flying training is carried out in Firefly Mk 7s, and for thispart of the course the students are required to notch up some 40 hours' day and eight hours' night flying. In the air they do naviga-gational exercises, being briefed in the normal way before take-off, and work on interception practices with a frigate from Devonport. Accidents to training aircraft are rare at Culdrose, but notlong ago a Firefly on a training flight with a Part II student and a telegraphist trainee crashed off Land's End. The pilotwas killed, and the telegraphist, injured and unable to inflate his dinghy, was in danger of drowning. The student hoisted theinjured man into his own dinghy and kept him afloat until rescue arrived. For his gallantry he received the medal of the RoyalHumane Society. Despite the very full technical curriculum the nose of thestudent observer is not kept continuously to the grindstone. One afternoon a week is given up to organized games. According toseason these include rugby soccer, cricket, tennis, athletics, cross- country running, hockey, water polo, fencing, boxing and basket-ball. Those so inclined may indulge in squash, golf and bad- minton. There is plenty of boat sailing on the nearby Helfordriver in the summer months, and Culdrose is fortunate enough to possess a 50-square-metre ocean racing yacht. Another examination comes along at the end of Part II ofthe course, and those who pass move on to Part III. The focus is now on the tactical side of their job. The syllabus includes moreextensive navigation exercises; scouting and tracking by day and night, and search planning; photo-reconnaissance; H.F. W/T;tactical games; air defence communications; codes and cyphers; and the wider aspects of maritime warfare. The training aircraft is still the Firefly, and Part III studentsare required to put in a minimum of 50 hours' day and eight hours' night flying during this final leg of the course. In addi-tion, they are given the opportunity to fly in as many different types of aircraft as possible, including helicopters. Throughout the course lectures and demonstrations continueon such points of airmanship as air traffic control, safety equip- ment and Arctic survival. Wet dinghy drill, "abandon aircraft"and helicopter rescues are regularly practised. More pedestrian chores cover divisional officer's duties, Naval accounts, air stores,victualling and administration. At last the ultimate hurdle is reached, in the shape of finalexamination. A typical question in the plotting exercise in which a recent passing-out class had to provide a number of answersconcerned a convoy shepherded by a carrier in northern waters. It was assumed to be threatened by an enemy surface force. Thestudent was required to take off from a shore base some distance away, find the convoy, search for and pinpoint the enemy, andreturn to and remain with the carrier. Presentation of w/ngs by the Flag Officer Aircraft Carriers, Rear- Ad miral A. R. Pedder, at R.N.A.S. Culdrose (December 1st, 1955). On the evening preceding wings day, dinner in the gunroom—at which the whole class is present and the Commander (O) the guest of honour—is pervaded by a slightly strained atmosphereuntil after the loyal toast has been drunk. Then, to vociferous shouts of "Up, up, higher, higher!" the Commander (O) rises,mounts his chair and, after a tantalizing pause, smilingly an- nounces, "Well, you've all passed!" But for the final order ofmerit they must wait until the actual presentation. In each class there is a best student of the course who, in addi-tion to his wings, will receive a prize and have his name engraved on a silver tablet in the hall of the school's administration block.In selecting the individual to receive this distinction the final examination result forms only one of the assessing factors. When the larger gunroom now being built at Culdrose isopened shortly a new trophy will be given a place of honour. Consisting of an oak plaque mounting a bronze medallion givenby Sir Winston Churchill to the late Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, it will be called the "Dudley Pound Trophy." In addition, atrust fund is being instituted from which a "Dudley Pound Prize" will be provided for the best all-rounders. But although they now sport their wings the newly fledgedobservers must undergo still more instruction. For this they move on to Eglinton in Northern Ireland for two months' liveexercises in Gannets. A short divisional course at Portsmouth and a week's grounding in air intelligence organization wind upthe training period, after which they are ready for service with the fleet. Following the end of World War II, recruiting for theObserver Branch of the Fleet Air Arm came to a standstill. But not for long, for it was soon recognized that the observer hasa very definite and important part to play in the flying Navy of today and the future. "Even if we do eventually get pilotless,push-button aircraft," declared a distinguished figure in naval aviation recently, "we shall still need an observer in the backseat." Culdrose is seeing to it that the observer's training is the best possible. SARO CHIEF TEST PILOT HANDS OVER AS briefly recorded in our last week's issue, S/L. J. S. Booth,**• D.F.C., has been appointed chief test pilot of Saunders-Roe, Ltd. The appointment becomes effective on February 1st. Born in 1919, John Stanley Booth joined the Royal Air Forcein 1938 on a short-service commission, and served with distinc- tion in France in 1940, where he was wounded and awarded theD.F.C. From 1941 until the end of 1943 he was instructing in Canada. Then, for two years, he flew night fighters and intruderoperations with 100 Group, Bomber Command, during which time he was awarded a Bar to his D.F.C. Towards the end of 1944 he was posted to "A" Squadron at Boscombe Down, and in1945 was in die third course at the Empire Test Pilots' School. On demobilization, he became a test pilot with Power Jets,Ltd., then went to Short Bros, at Rochester, later moving to Belfast. During the next two years he was responsible for mostof the test flying on the Sturgeon, did much work on the develop- ment of the Solent, and flew the civil version of the Shetland. John Booth went to Saunders-Roe as deputy chief test pilotin February 1949. He did some of the test flying on the SR/A.l and also shared with Mr. Geoffrey Tyson the development flyingof the Princess. He has logged over 3,500 hours on more than 90 different types. One of the earliest pilots to fly jet aircraft, inhis new post he is likely to be testing an extremely advanced machine—the S.R.53 mixed-power fighter. S/L J. S. Booth (left) and Mr. G. A. V. Tyson.
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