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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0152.PDF
150 FLIGHT, 3 February 1956 The first two Glostsr Javelins to be delivered to the R.A.F. leaving their makers' airfield at Moreton Valence last week for a Service station. They were flown by S/L. P. Scott and F/L. P. W. R. Varley, two of the Service pilots seconded to Glosters for development flying. SERVICE AVIATION . Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm News Taking Over (")N Monday of last week 32 R.A.F. ^-' Sabres flew past over the combined headquarters at Miinchen-Gladbach to greet Air Marshal the Earl of Bandon as he made his first official entry into the headquarters building as commander of 2nd A.T.A.F. In his new post he suc- ceeds Air Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst. On the same day Air Marshal G. E. Nicholetts arrived in Malta to take over from Air Marshal Sir Brian Reynolds the post of Deputy C-in-C. (Air) to the C-in-C. Allied Forces Mediterranean, Admiral Sir Guy Grantham. C.A.S.'s Record FlightF LYING his own Canberra recently, Air Chief Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle, the new Chief of the Air Staff, set up a record time of 3 hr 40 min for the flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. Sir Dermot Boyle, who piloted a Canberra across the South Atlantic in 1952, is the first pilot to fly a twin-jet aircraft over this far-eastern route. He was making a familiarization tour of R.A.F. bases in the Far East. Naval Guided WeaponsL AST Friday the Guided Weapons ' Group was opened at H.M.S. Excellent, the Navy's gunnery school at Whale Island, Portsmouth. The Group, which has the use of an office, lecture rooms and a cinema, has been formed in advance of the introduction of guided weapons into service in order to teach officers and men the operating techniques and technical capabilities of the new weapons. •-..- . •/• - > West Raynham's Loss TT is with regret that we record the death, * in a flying accident on January 15th, of W/C. R. B. Cole, D.F.C. and Bar, A.F.C. and Bar, and S/L. P. Needham, A.F.C. The following are extracts from a tribute to W/C. Cole by a brother officer: — "The son of an Indian Army officer, BruceCole possessed the qualities of greatness. Courage and integrity were his, together witha burning sense of purpose. "A young man in the early days of the lastwar, he fought with distinction in the desert campaign. . . . the fire and enthusiasm whichinspired him in those early days never left him. Intolerant of inefficiency, he had a great gift of imparting knowledge. ... he was held in the highest regard and affection by seniors andjuniors alike both in his own Service and in the United States Air Force, with whom he hadrecently served with unqualified success in an exchange posting. Since the war his leaningshad been towards development and evaluation of flying, and by constant study and diligencehe acquired a very wide experience . . . know- ledge of the many problems surrounding thedesign, building and operation of high speed aircraft. "A brilliant pilot with an analytical mind, hehad the rare ability of not only being able to assess the measure of an aircraft as a fightingweapon by flying it, but also of being able to pass on to the scientist in his own language ascientific interpretation of the practical require- ments. . ." S/L. Needham joined the R.A.F. in 1941 at the age of 17 and served with No. 256 Sqn. and in the Middle East. He was posted to West Raynham in 1954 as Squadron Leader Night Tactics. He was recognized as a brilliant pilot and an expert in his particular field. He leaves a wife and two children. Cyprus Air Base is continuing apace on the new R.A.F. base at Akrotiri, which is being built on a square, flat headland of rock jutting out from the southern extremity of the island of Cyprus. The married quarters, in the form of prefabricated bungalows laid out as a model village, are now complete; amenities to be constructed later include churches, cinemas, shops and sports fields. The main runway will be 3,000 yd long. Cyprus is the only air staging-point between Malta and Singapore and Malta and Aden which is completely under British control. El Adem in Libya, Mafraq and Amman in Jordan, Habbaniya and Shaibah in Iraq and Abu Sueir in the Suez Canal Zone are occupied only under treaty arrangements. Australian Re-equipmentT HIS year fighter squadrons of the R.A.A.F. will be re-equipped with Avon-Sabres. First to receive them will be No. 3 Sqn. of No. 78 Fighter Wing based at Williamtown, N.S.W. The new aircraft will call for a variety of new equipment, including two Ayon- Sabre flight simulators made by Redifon, Ltd., in England. The first of these will reach Williamtown during the next few months. Another item of equipment is the new radar control and reporting unit, the first of which has been completed near Sydney at a cost of about £Alm. The R.A.A.F. is also receiving nine Can- berra T.4 trainers, two of which have been bought directly from English Electric in England. They are to be based at Amber- ley, near Brisbane, with No. 82 Bomber Wing. Ferry crews to fly them to Australia have been provided by No. 6 Bomber Sqn. The remaining seven Canberra trainers will be produced in Australia as part of the total of 48 Canberras ordered from the Government Aircraft Factory at Fisherman's Bend, near Melbourne. Long-term Partnership AT a recent ceremony at Wey bridge Mr. •**• G. R. Edwards, managing director of Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd., pre- sented to S/L. J. C. Ward, commander of No. 70 Sqn., a model of a Valetta to com- memorate the fact that for 30 of the past 36 years the squadron has been equipped with Vickers aircraft. Between 1920 and 1945 No. 70 Sqn. had Vimys, Vernons, Victorias, Valentias and Wellingtons, and since 1950 it has had Valettas. In the interval between 1945 and 1950 it was equipped with Liberators, Lancasters and Dakotas. No. 219 Sqn. History INFORMATION is being sought by *- F/L. P. Gilliatt, R.A.F. Driffield, Yorks, about the early years of No. 219 Squadron's existence from its formation in August 1918 until February 7th, 1920, when it was disbanded. F/L. Gilliatt is compiling a history of the squadron. R.A.A.F. AppointmentsT HE new S.A.S.O. at the H.Q. of the R.A.A.F.'s Home Command at Penrith, N.S.W., is to be A. Cdre. G. C. Hartnell, whose promotion to his present rank was recorded in Flight on January 20th. His place in the important post of Director of Air Staff Plans and Policy will be taken by G/C. W. N. Gibson. G/C. C. W Pearce is to become Director of Training and will be succeeded as S.A.S.O. Training Command, Melbourne, by G/C. C. F. Read. The three first-named officers were all with No. 10 Flying Boat Sqn. in Britain at the outbreak of World War 2, and G/C. Read commanded No. 77 Fighter Wing from 1944 to 1945. •
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